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Brazil gets free Starlink terminals after deadly flood
Elon Musk announced that SpaceX will donate 1,000 Starlink terminals to emergency responders after a deadly flood hit Rio Grande do Sul. He also said that all usage for Starlink terminals in the region will be free until it recovers.
“I hope the best for the people of Brazil,” said Elon Musk in his X post.
Starlink terminals would undoubtedly help emergency responders communicate in this time of crisis and effectively help the people hit by the flood. Communication is key in times of crisis.
Given the terrible flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, @Starlink will donate 1000 terminals to emergency responders and make usage for all terminals in the region free until the region has recovered.
I hope the best for the people of Brazil. pic.twitter.com/NK6kjz7Iag— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2024
According to CNN, the Brazilian flood death toll has reached 107 in Rio Grande do Sul since the heavy rain started falling last week. Rio Grande do Sul’s state civil defense agency estimates that over 1.4 million people have been affected by the flood. At least 754 people have been injured and 164,000 people have been displaced. 134 people are designated as missing.
Unfortunately, some people have added to the catastrophe of the flood by committing crimes. A minimum of 47 people have been arrested for looting and other crimes while emergency responders help victims of the flood. According to state media Agency Brasil, at least 6 people were arrested for alleged sexual abuse in shelters for victims who’s homes were hit by the flood.
Starlink’s aid to Brazil comes at a time when the Brazilian Supreme Court is in conflict with Elon Musk’s X social media platform. The Brazilian Supreme Court ordered X to suspend or limit some accounts on the social media platform. According to Musk, some of the accounts that X was ordered to suspend including sitting members of the Brazilian Parliament and journalists.
The conflict between X and the Brazilian Supreme Court led to Brazil’s government suspending all contracts with Starlink. Elon Musk responded by providing free Starlink usage to schools across Brazil.
If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via X @Writer_01001101.
News
Tesla Autopilot visualization gets big upgrade with tons of new additions
The AP visualization shows up on the center touchscreen and illustrates the surroundings of the cars. It has gotten better in recent years, as it is able to outline types of vehicles, pedestrians, animals, and more.

Tesla’s Autopilot visualization just got a big upgrade as the company added tons of new additions to what it will be able to render in terms of a vehicle’s surroundings.
The AP visualization shows up on the center touchscreen and illustrates the surroundings of the cars. It has gotten better in recent years, as it is able to outline types of vehicles, pedestrians, animals, and more.
Tesla just fixed a four-year-old bug with Full Self-Driving visualization
However, it still does not have every single application, and acquiring them will take some time. If an object or vehicle is visible to the vehicle but an accurate render is not available, the car will instead pick whatever is closest.
For example, I passed an Amish family yesterday in Lancaster, PA, and instead of illustrating the horse and carriage, it simply showed a small box truck.
In an effort to make the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving suites more robust and accurate, Tesla has added a substantial amount of vehicle renders, which will become available in the coming weeks.
The visualizations were found by Tesla hacker @greentheonly, who posted them on X.
The new visualization renders are:
- Ambulance
- Firetruck
- Garbage Truck
- Schoolbus
- European Semi Truck
- Golf Cart
- Person on a Scooter
- Person on a Skateboard
- Stroller
- Street Sweeper
- Three-Wheeler
- Trailer
- Train
- Tram
- Person in a Wheelchair
Here is an image with all of the Autopilot visualization renders:

Credit: Green
The visualization is a crucial part of manual operation and can be considered a distinct advantage that Tesla has over other companies.
It continues to be an effort that Tesla invests heavily in, as it keeps refining the suite and making it more robust with additional visualizations and animations.
Recently, it was revealed that Tesla is planning to utilize Unreal Engine for driver visualization to create a realistic depiction of the vehicle’s environment. Tesla has not yet confirmed this, but coding found with the Model S and Model X showed it could be coming in the near future.
News
Tesla dominates best-selling EVs in Q3, but there’s one disappointment

Tesla dominated the sales figures for electric vehicles in the third quarter in the United States, but there was one disappointment: the Cybertruck.
As a whole, the EV industry benefitted from the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit in Q3, which was something many expected. As the credit expired, consumers rushed to showrooms to take the credit and remove $7,500 from the purchase price of their new vehicle.
Will Tesla thrive without the EV tax credit? Five reasons why they might
It was a very interesting time for many companies as they scrambled to figure out how to push as many vehicles out the door as they could in preparation for the tax credit’s removal. In typical fashion, Tesla was able to top every manufacturer and secure a dominating portion of the overall market in Q3.
However, some other OEMs pulled out some surprises, including Chevrolet, Honda, and Ford, which managed to get two vehicles in the top 10, as many as Tesla.
Cox Automotive compiled the data in its Q3 Electric Vehicle Sales Report:
- Tesla Model Y – 114,897
- Tesla Model 3 – 53,857
- Chevrolet Equinox EV – 25,085
- Hyundai Ioniq 5 – 21,999
- Honda Prologue – 20,236
- Ford Mustang Mach-E – 20,177
- Volkswagen ID.4 – 12,470
- Audi Q6 e-tron – 10,299
- Ford F-150 Lightning – 10,005
- Rivian R1S – 8,184
10.5 percent of the automotive sales in the U.S. in Q3 were electric, a new record that surpasses that of Q3 2024, where the total share of sales for EVs was 8.6 percent.
Now, the disappointment that is evident from this list is the fact that there is no Tesla Cybertruck listed. That’s because it was the second-best-selling EV pickup on the market. The company sold 5,385 Cybertruck units in Q3.
The Cybertruck has been a vehicle that has confused many Tesla fans and owners, especially considering the company had such stratospheric expectations for the vehicle while it was in development. Reservation trackers had the truck sitting between one million and two million orders, but it has not lived up to that.
Pricing is the main issue with Cybertruck. Tesla introduced the pickup with Single, Dual, and Tri-motor configurations, priced at $39,990, $49,990, and $69,990. Those price points are simply a thing of the past.
🚨 Tesla Cybertruck was the second-best-selling EV pickup in Q3, Cox Automotive data shows.
It was only outsold by the Ford F-150 Lightning, which sold 10,005 units for the quarter.
Cybertruck had 5,385 sales. pic.twitter.com/Q2gnUbF6bk
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 13, 2025
News
Tesla makes major production announcement at Giga Shanghai
On Monday, Tesla China Vice President Grace Tao announced a change at Giga Shanghai.

Tesla has made a major production announcement at its Chinese production facility, Giga Shanghai. The change of plans comes right after the company announced its strongest quarter in terms of deliveries in its history.
On Monday, Tesla China Vice President Grace Tao announced that the production facility would begin ramping up manufacturing in preparation for an even stronger Q4.
Tao said on the Chinese social media platform Weibo:
“The Shanghai Gigafactory has recently begun its fourth-quarter production ramp-up! In the third quarter of 2025, Tesla delivered a total of 497,000 new vehicles worldwide, setting a new quarterly delivery record. As the fourth quarter begins, our colleagues at the Shanghai factory are working hard to expand production and fully charge their vehicles, so that car owners in China and Asia-Pacific can receive their vehicles as soon as possible.”
China is an extremely robust market for electric vehicles, and Tesla routinely delivers strong numbers in the sector.
However, Giga Shanghai is responsible for much more than just China, as it is a major export hub for other markets, including Asian-Pacific countries like New Zealand and Australia, among others.
Tesla delivered 497,099 vehicles in Q3, its strongest quarter ever from a delivery standpoint. About half of those vehicles came from Shanghai, as estimates point to roughly 242,000 of those cars coming from the Chinese factory.
Tesla China comeback: Retail sales hit second-highest month of 2025
Ramping up production at Giga Shanghai signals some internal belief that there is a lot of strength in terms of demand for Tesla vehicles. Tesla has a strong track record of fulfilling the need for its vehicles at the Shanghai factory, as it is widely regarded for building some of the best-quality Tesla vehicles.
However, the company launched a new configuration of the Model Y, called the Model Y L, in China. It is only available from Giga Shanghai and features a third row of seating and additional length in the wheelbase.
This additional space was widely sought out by customers, and Tesla listened. It could be a key to the company continuing its strength in the Chinese market, especially as there are many well-equipped competitors in the country.
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