All posts tagged: tesla

Tesla is facing up to .5 billion in lawsuits — and it’s only getting worse

Tesla is facing up to $14.5 billion in lawsuits — and it’s only getting worse

Published by skeptic

Tesla is currently fighting on more than 20 active litigation fronts, ranging from Autopilot wrongful death suits to securities fraud and racial discrimination — with total potential financial exposure reaching as high as $14.5 billion. The company’s “hardcore litigation department” and its “corporate puffery” defense strategy have failed to stem the tide. The situation is not stabilizing, it is accelerating. And what makes it truly alarming for Tesla is that the most dangerous lawsuits are still to come. To understand the scale of what Tesla is dealing with, we compiled every major active lawsuit and regulatory action against the company into a single analysis that we have been compiling for months. The picture is staggering: at least 21 distinct legal tracks across seven categories, with exposure estimates ranging from a conservative $2.7 billion to $14.5 billion on the high end. Here’s the full breakdown: Advertisement – scroll for more content # Category Type Est. low Est. high 1 Autopilot/FSD crash lawsuits Individual (dozens+) $1.0B $5.0B 2 FSD false advertising (In re Tesla ADAS) Class action …

Tesla Cybertruck sales inflated: SpaceX bought 1,279 units

Tesla Cybertruck sales inflated: SpaceX bought 1,279 units

Published by skeptic

New registration data confirms what Electrek has been reporting for six months: Tesla’s Cybertruck sales are being propped up by Elon Musk’s other companies. SpaceX alone bought 1,279 Cybertrucks in Q4 2025 — 18% of every Cybertruck registered in the US that quarter. Without those inter-company purchases, Cybertruck registrations would have fallen 51% year-over-year instead of the numbers Tesla reported. The figures come from S&P Global Mobility registration data first reported by Bloomberg’s Dana Hull. Of the 7,071 Cybertrucks registered in the US during the fourth quarter, 1,279 went to SpaceX. Another 60 units were registered to Musk’s other ventures — xAI, The Boring Company, and Neuralink — bringing the Musk-entity total to 1,339 vehicles, or roughly 19% of Q4 registrations. At the Cybertruck’s Q4 2025 pricing, that’s well over $100 million in revenue that Tesla effectively booked by selling trucks to companies Elon Musk controls. Advertisement – scroll for more content The numbers Electrek has been chasing since October Electrek first reported in October 2025 that truckloads of Cybertrucks were being delivered to SpaceX’s …

Tesla taped out AI5 chip, Musk says — nearly 2 years behind schedule

Tesla taped out AI5 chip, Musk says — nearly 2 years behind schedule

Published by skeptic

Tesla has taped out its next-generation AI5 self-driving chip, CEO Elon Musk said overnight, a key milestone that sends the final design to the foundry for fabrication. The tape-out comes nearly two years after Tesla originally promised AI5 would be in vehicles, and it still leaves volume production more than a year away. What Musk said In a post on X at 3:21 AM today, Musk wrote: “Congrats to the @Tesla_AI chip design team on taping out AI5! AI6, Dojo3 & other exciting chips in work.” He shared this picture of the chip: Advertisement – scroll for more content Tesla AI5 chip A “tape-out” is the point at which a chip’s design is locked and sent to a semiconductor foundry to begin fabrication. It is a meaningful milestone — but it is not the finish line. After tape-out, the chip still has to be manufactured, tested in silicon, validated, and ramped to volume production. For an automotive-grade AI accelerator, that process typically takes 12 to 18 months. Tesla is reportedly using TSMC for AI5 production, …

Tesla launches Spring Update 2026 with ‘Hey Grok,’ new Self-Driving app, and more

Tesla launches Spring Update 2026 with ‘Hey Grok,’ new Self-Driving app, and more

Published by skeptic

Tesla is rolling out its Spring Update 2026 software, bringing over a dozen new features to its fleet. The highlights include a redesigned Self-Driving subscription app, voice-activated Grok, and a long-requested auto-install feature for software updates. The update also adds some fun touches, like a new “Cyberhog” Pet Mode character and custom virtual wraps for Model S and X owners. New Self-Driving app with one-tap subscription The biggest functional change in the Spring Update is a redesigned Self-Driving app for vehicles running Tesla’s AI4 (HW4) hardware. The new interface lets owners subscribe to Full Self-Driving (Supervised) with a single tap at $99.99 per month and provides a dedicated stats dashboard. The stats tab tracks your Self-Driving usage with a daily streak counter and a breakdown of total miles driven with and without the feature active. This is clearly designed to nudge owners into subscribing — and keeping their subscription — by gamifying the experience. Advertisement – scroll for more content This comes just days after Tesla began rolling out FSD v14.3, which features a complete …

Rivian R2 vs Tesla Model Y spotted side-by-side: Detailed size comparison

Rivian R2 vs Tesla Model Y spotted side-by-side: Detailed size comparison

Published by skeptic

New photos of the Rivian R2 parked next to the Tesla Model Y are making the rounds on social media, and they offer a great look at how these two critical electric SUVs actually compare in size. The R2 is shorter in length but noticeably taller, with a boxier, more rugged profile. We decided to dig into the numbers and put together a full dimension-by-dimension breakdown — and the efficiency comparison is where things get really interesting. A Redditor posted photos showing both vehicles side by side, giving us one of the best real-world visual comparisons yet. The images confirm what the spec sheets suggest: these two vehicles occupy roughly the same footprint but take very different design approaches to that space. The Model Y prioritizes aerodynamic efficiency with its sleek, sloped roofline. The R2, meanwhile, opts for a taller, boxier shape with a more upright rear end — a design that sacrifices some aerodynamic slipperiness in exchange for more headroom, better off-road capability, and that distinctive Rivian look. Advertisement – scroll for more content …

TechCrunch Mobility: Who is poaching all the self-driving vehicle talent?

TechCrunch Mobility: Who is poaching all the self-driving vehicle talent?

Published by skeptic

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, how AI is playing a part. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Normally, I have an analysis and then a little bird (my insidery bits curated just for you). But today I am combining them because I simply have too many little birds talking to me about the new talent wars. About seven years ago, the founder of a self-driving vehicle company told me that competing with the likes of Waymo for talent was “like a knife fight.” Now it seems there is a new poaching war going on, according to a handful of little birds. And it’s pushing base salaries (not including equity and other benefits) to between $300,000 and $500,000.  Here’s what is happening. The buzzy physical AI sector is filled with robotics and defense tech companies looking for people with a specific set of skills (to quote Liam Neeson). And these folks are mostly working at …

Tesla doing final ‘Signature Series’ run of Model S and X Plaid — starts at 9,420

Tesla doing final ‘Signature Series’ run of Model S and X Plaid — starts at $159,420

Published by skeptic

Tesla is producing a final limited-edition “Signature Series” run of the Plaid Model S and Model X — 350 vehicles total — as a farewell to its flagship programs before they shut down for good. The Model X Signature starts at $159,420. The invite-only program, which is being offered exclusively via email to select Tesla owners, features an exclusive Garnet Red paint color and gold accents throughout the vehicle. What we know about the Signature Series Ryan McCaffrey, Senior Executive Editor at IGN and host of the Ride the Lightning Tesla podcast, shared details of the program on X today, listing a comprehensive spec sheet for the limited-edition vehicles. The Tesla Austin Owners Club, which is officially partnered with Tesla, also posted about the Signature Series with what appears to be a promotional image. Here’s the full breakdown of what’s included: Advertisement – scroll for more content Tesla is building 250 Signature Model S and 100 Signature Model X (6-seat configuration only). Access is invite-only via email — if you didn’t get the invite, you …

Tesla gets FSD Supervised approved in the Netherlands — here’s what it means

Tesla gets FSD Supervised approved in the Netherlands — here’s what it means

Published by skeptic

The Dutch vehicle authority RDW has granted Tesla a type approval for its “Full Self-Driving” Supervised system in the Netherlands, marking the first European country to officially approve the driver-assist technology. The approval, which falls under the UN R-171 regulation for Driver Control Assistance Systems, comes after more than 18 months of testing and is currently valid only in the Netherlands. Other EU member states can choose to recognize it nationally, but that process is not automatic. The approval Tesla Europe announced the news on X, stating that “FSD Supervised has been approved in the Netherlands & will begin rolling out in the country shortly.” The company described the system as “trained on billions of kilometers of real-world driving data” and claimed that “no other vehicle can do this.” The RDW confirmed the approval in its own statement, describing it as a “European type approval with provisional validity in the Netherlands.” The Dutch authority stressed that FSD Supervised is a driver assistance system — not an autonomous or self-driving system. The driver remains legally responsible …

Tesla China denies developing new smaller, cheaper SUV — but take it with a grain of salt

Tesla China denies developing new smaller, cheaper SUV — but take it with a grain of salt

Published by skeptic

Tesla China has denied a Reuters report claiming the automaker is developing a new compact electric SUV. The denial comes just one day after we reported on the original Reuters exclusive citing four sources. The denial was reported by Chinese financial wire Cailian Press (财联社), a major and well-established Chinese business news service. Tesla China told the outlet that “market information claiming that Tesla is developing a new, smaller, and cheaper electric SUV is inaccurate.” What Tesla is denying As we reported yesterday, Reuters cited four people familiar with the matter who said Tesla is developing an all-new compact SUV measuring approximately 4.28 meters in length — significantly shorter than the Model Y at 4.79 meters. The vehicle would use a smaller battery, a single electric motor, and weigh roughly 1.5 metric tons, with a price substantially below the Model 3’s $34,000 starting price in China. Three of Reuters’ sources said the vehicle would be produced at Tesla’s Shanghai factory, with plans to eventually expand manufacturing to the US and Europe. The report noted that …

Tesla adds China’s Sunwoda as fifth global EV battery supplier amid margin pressure

Tesla adds China’s Sunwoda as fifth global EV battery supplier amid margin pressure

Published by skeptic

Tesla has added Sunwoda (also known as Xinwangda) as its fifth global power battery cell supplier, with LFP cells already shipping on Shanghai-built vehicles destined for export markets. The move continues Tesla’s aggressive push to diversify its battery supply chain and squeeze costs as automotive gross margins remain under pressure — down to roughly 15% from a peak of 27% in 2021. Sunwoda enters Tesla’s global supply chain According to a report from Chinese outlet 36kr, Sunwoda’s EV battery subsidiary is now manufacturing third-generation lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells at its Yiwu, Zhejiang facility and shipping them to Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory. The cells support 3C fast-charging capability, aligning with the broader industry shift toward ultra-fast charging LFP chemistry. Unlike Tesla’s existing arrangement with CATL, where CATL supplies both cells and modules, Tesla is purchasing cells only from Sunwoda and handling module and pack assembly in-house. That’s a notable shift that gives Tesla more control over integration and, critically, more leverage on pricing. Advertisement – scroll for more content The cells are currently going into vehicles …