Tesla

Today was supposed to be the day we got our first glimpse of Tesla’s much-hyped (but probably not fully operational) robotaxi. Instead, the event was pushed to October after Tesla CEO Elon Musk ordered some design changes to the prototype. Of course, as many theorized, the event was likely little more than a distraction from the company’s declining sales. And reports from the field of Tesla owners using Full Self-Driving don’t inspire much hope about the robotaxi’s near term viability.

A sad inevitability: a Cybertruck driver died in Texas early Monday morning after their truck left the roadway for an unknown reason and smashed into a concrete culvert, the local news station reports. The Cybertruck became engulfed in flames after the crash, complicating the victim’s identification. Tesla has sold at least 11,000 Cybertrucks since the vehicle’s release late last year, according to a recent recall report.

Tesla’s other vehicles have stellar safety ratings, but third party groups have yet to rate the Cybertruck, which has been hit with multiple recalls.

YouTuber WhistlinDiesel could have taken a more conservative approach to his test of the Cybertruck, but instead we get a balls-to-the-wall, absolutely over-the-top series of stunts and bad decisions that practically leaves the electric truck a pile rubble at the end. Tune in for the evisceration of the Cybertruck’s tow hitch, stay for the part where he straps C4 to the tailgate.

The family of a motorcyclist killed by a Tesla Model 3 driver using Autopilot is suing the company for knowingly releasing “defective and inadequate” software, Reuters says. Its the latest in a growing volume of wrongful death suits targeting Tesla’s driver assist features. The company has fought some, settled others, so how it responds to this one remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, another motorcyclist was killed last April by a Tesla driver using Full Self-Driving.

YouTuber Taki Udon got an early look at a Ryzen 8845HS-powered PC built into a detailed replica of Tesla’s electric truck. It’s got working doors, headlights, ports hidden beneath the rear bumper, and a power button integrated into the truck’s front shocks.

Pre-orders for the Xyber XPC will eventually happen through Indiegogo, but pricing and availability hasn’t been announced yet.

During an earnings call, the Tesla CEO said the company has “completed most of the engineering” on the next-gen Roadster with “upgrades” being made. The Roadster was announced way back in 2017 and opened to preorders that require potential buyers to put down a $50,000 deposit towards the expected price of $250,000.

The company will unveil its purpose-built autonomous vehicle October 10th, after previously delaying the event to allow more work on the prototype, Elon Musk said during an earnings call. The reveal was originally schedule to take place August 8th. “I wanted to make some important changes that I think would improve the vehicle,” Musk added.

What he means by that exactly is anyone’s guess. Will they be helping to build vehicles? Is Optimus being ditched as it wasn’t name-dropped? We might find out next year, though Musk has previously admitted these timelines are mostly guesswork.

It's not like Tesla has stuck to its Robotaxi reveal dates yet.

I guess we’ll find out soon, as Tesla’s Cybertruck is being added to the battle royale game starting July 23rd. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Fortnite going old-school with low-poly graphics.

The Information reports that Elon Musk is giving the 4680 battery team until the end of the year to “cut its costs and scale up” or it could be curtains for the project. Apparently testing has revealed the specs to be pretty middling. Also the battery keeps collapsing in on itself? Sounds bad.

Two of those people said they weren’t told what the consequences would be if the team misses the end of year deadline. However, both believe Musk may throw in the towel on trying to scale up the 4680 battery in house and instead rely largely on outside suppliers for the technology. 

The police department in Anaheim, California, apparently wants to “be the first” with a Cybertruck, according to an email sent to Tesla modification company Up.Fit and obtained by 404 Media.

Up.Fit has already shown what a Cybertruck for police use may look like. The Anaheim PD later confirmed to 404 Media that the email was “a joke” but that it would still like a Cybertruck for “community engagement.”

The Wall Street Journal put a number on Musk’s reported donation to a political action committee backing Donald Trump’s campaign and on the formation of America PAC. He’s not on the most recent list of contributors, but both Winklevoss twins, current SpaceX / former Tesla board director Antonio Gracias, and early PayPal exec Ken Howery are.

In a post on X, the CEO said the event to reveal the company’s long-promised fully autonomous robotaxi was delayed to make time for more design changes, include an ‘important’ change to the front of the vehicle. Musk also teased “a few other things” that will shown at the October event. The event was supposed to take place on August 8th, but now has been delayed until sometime in October. Tesla still hasn’t confirmed an exact date.

Current and former Tesla employees told Business Insider that the images and videos from Musk’s Teslas have “received meticulous scrutiny,” allowing the automaker to tweak its software to address hiccups on certain routes. The company similarly prioritizes driving data from Tesla influencers, Business Insider reports:

The result is that Tesla’s Autopilot and FSD software may better navigate routes taken by Musk and other high-profile drivers, making their rides smoother and more straightforward.

Misleading claims about Tesla’s alleged autonomous vehicle development are a dime-a-dozen, but this quote in the Wall Street Journal about China’s AV program was enough to exasperate ex-Waymo CEO John Krafcik.

Just to be clear: Waymo operates fully driverless vehicles, while Tesla’s Full Self-Driving requires a human driver behind the wheel.

According to Not a Tesla App, the 2024.26 update in testing has features like parental controls that limit speed and acceleration or notify about late-night drives, an AQI symbol for poor local air quality, and scheduled charging.

It also adds built-in apps for Amazon Music and YouTube Music streaming in the US if you have Premium Connectivity or an active Wi-Fi connection.

Last month, we reported that Tesla had purchased $2 million worth of lidar sensors from Luminar, a surprising deal given Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s very public disparagements of autonomous vehicle companies that partly rely on the laser sensor. This week, a reader sent us this photo of a Tesla Model Y with Luminar’s Hydra sensors mounted on the roof. The back of the vehicle says “Engineering Vehicle,” which could mean the company is using lidar to validate its self-driving software (although Musk has claimed that wasn’t necessary “anymore”).

Tesla recently filed a $1 billion lawsuit against a former supplier, Matthews International, alleging trade secret theft of its EV battery technology. Matthews has been supplying Tesla with machinery since 2019, and the company says it has been been swiping trade secrets related to dry electrode battery manufacturing. Tesla got those secrets by acquiring a company called Maxwell Technologies back in 2018.

Posts on the Cybertruck Owners Forum, Reddit, and on X say that Tesla has notified them their Cybertruck deliveries are being pushed back. Some say they were told it was a wiper blade issue, while others say they weren’t given a reason.

The reports come just two months after the company recalled all Cybertrucks over stuck accelerator pedals. Tesla didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk got his big compensation package approved yesterday, but how many really voted in favor? Well, it seems 1.78 billion shares voted in favor of Musk’s payday, while 529 million voted against — a 72 percent margin, excluding shares held by Musk and his brother Kimbal, as The New York Times reports. Musk took a victory lap on the mic at the shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas.

The shareholder meeting ends with several people pitching Musk on their personal business ideas. He adds another note about FSD’s rate of improvement. And that’s the end.

Thanks for following along with us! We’ll have more coverage of the meeting tomorrow, so stay tuned for that.

Musk kind of sidesteps a question about whether there’s a succession plan in place in the event that he gets hit by a car — or just decides to leave. “I think Tesla has a good future without me,” he said. “I think I’m a helpful accelerant to that future.”

“People will have super helpful humanoid helper robots,” Musk says in response to a question about robot personalities. “And, yeah, you’ll be able to customize the personality, customize the voice and really kind of, the robot will kind of get to know you as well and know your preferences.”

Let’s be real: people are going to try to bang the robots. We all know it.