Tesla has begun production of the new Model Y trim at Gigafactory Berlin, the company’s production plant in Germany.

Tesla announced on Monday that its Model Y Standard configuration was officially being built at Giga Berlin, less than one month after the company officially announced the configuration early last month.

On October 7, Tesla announced the launch of the Model 3 and Model Y Standard trim levels, its answer to the call for affordable EVs within its lineup and its response to the loss of the $7,500 electric vehicle tax credit.

On October 3, Tesla started production of the vehicles in Germany:

Model Y Standard says „Hello World“ – Production at Giga Berlin has started today! pic.twitter.com/p37JIfJDIB

— Tesla Manufacturing (@gigafactories) November 3, 2025

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The Standard iteration of the Model Y is void of many of the more premium features that are available in the Rear-Wheel-Drive, All-Wheel-Drive, and Performance trims of the vehicle are equipped with.

A few of the features of the Model Y Standard are:

• Single Motor configuration
• No rear touchscreen
• Textile seats with vegan leather, instead of all vegan leather
• 320-mile range
• No glass roof

The launch of the Model Y Standard was truly a move to help Tesla get vehicles into the sub-$40,000 price point, and although many consumers were hoping to see the company get closer to $30,000 with these cars, this is a great starting point.

Deliveries in the United States have already started, and it seems it will be a vehicle that will do one of two things: either push some consumers to finally make the jump to Tesla, or it will give car buyers another reason to buy the Premium trims, as they may feel the lack of features is not a good enough deal.

This is something we saw with the Cybertruck’s Rear-Wheel-Drive configuration, which launched last year and ended up being more of the latter option listed above.

The Tesla Model Y Standard is actually a great deal in Europe

It was only a $10,000 discount from the All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck, but it also did not have adaptive air suspension, premium interiors, or the powered tonneau cover, which many people felt was too much of a sacrifice.

The Rear-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck was discontinued only a few months later.

It does not seem as if this is the case with the Model Y Standard, which already seems to be an attractive option to some buyers.

Elon Musk appears to have subtly confirmed that the uses of Tesla’s upcoming AI8 chip won’t be limited to vehicles or humanoid robots alone.

If Musk’s recent responses on X are any indication, it would appear that Tesla’s AI8 will be used by the CEO’s other companies, and its applications would literally extend out of this world.

Tesla’s AI8 could extend beyond vehicles

Musk’s update came on the heels of his recent comments, where he revealed that Tesla was not just working on its AI5 and AI6 chips. The company is also designing AI7 and AI8. This comment caught a lot of attention, with some wondering why Tesla feels the need to design an AI8 chip when AI4 seems on track to be a good fit for autonomous driving. 

Amidst these speculations, an X user suggested that Elon Musk’s comment about AI8 being out of this world could actually be quite true in the literal sense, as it could be used as the chip for SpaceX’s orbit data centers. Musk subtly confirmed this, as he responded to the X user’s post with a bullseye emoji.

Musk’s subtle confirmation that AI8 will be used by SpaceX’s in-space data centers presents a pretty interesting future for the electric vehicle maker. Synergy among Elon Musk-led companies is nothing new, but having Tesla produce chips for SpaceX is undoubtedly something that’s never really been done before.

SpaceX’s space-based computing with Starlink V3 satellites

Musk previously stated that SpaceX plans to use its Starlink V3 satellites to develop space-based data centers. In response to an Ars Technica report on autonomous space construction, he wrote on X: “Simply scaling up Starlink V3 satellites, which have high-speed laser links, would work. SpaceX will be doing this.”

The concept, while ambitious, could address growing energy and cooling constraints facing Earth-based data centers amid the AI boom. Space-based clusters could also cut down on land and water usage, though critics have questioned their cost and maintainability.

Musk recently called the orbital data center project “a very big deal,” and given SpaceX’s history of turning improbable ideas into operational systems, it may not be too far-fetched at all, especially since SpaceX’s Starlink V3 platform is capable of up to 1 terabit per second (Tbps) throughput.

Elon Musk recently revealed new details about Tesla’s next-generation AI5 chip while hinting at even more advanced iterations of its custom silicon. 

Based on the CEO’s post, it appears that Tesla is already exploring generations as far ahead as AI8.

Elon Musk teases Tesla’s chip development

In his X post, Musk stated that he had just completed a design review with Tesla’s chip engineers in California and Texas for the company’s upcoming AI5 chip. This was not surprising at all, considering that Musk has been discussing AI5 for quite some time now. What was surprising, however, were his comments that followed.

“And AI6 and AI7 will follow in fast succession. AI8 will be out of this world,” he wrote in his post, adding in a follow-up that his chip design review would be continuing the next day, followed by an Optimus demo review.

Considering that Tesla is currently rolling out a Robotaxi service using cars that are equipped with AI4 chips, some industry watchers have expressed interest in why the company is developing several generations’ worth of silicon for the company’s products. Inasmuch as AI4 might be enough for FSD and the Robotaxi rollout today, however, products such as Optimus might benefit from a more advanced chip. 

Even AI5 will already be insanely impressive

During Tesla’s Q3 2025 earnings call, Musk described AI5 as “an amazing design” that represents a full evolution from the AI4 chip currently used in its vehicles and data centers. The new hardware, which will be manufactured by both Samsung in Texas and TSMC in Arizona, is expected to deliver up to 40x performance gains compared to its predecessor.

Tesla’s in-house engineering team redesigned the chip from the ground up, removing traditional components such as GPUs and image signal processors to improve efficiency and power måanagement. Musk said the chip now fits within a half-reticle design, calling it “a beautiful chip” into which he’s “poured so much life energy.”

Musk confirmed Tesla’s plan to create an oversupply of AI5 chips that could power not only vehicles but also humanoid robots and data centers. He emphasized that Tesla’s vertically integrated approach, designing both hardware and software, gives it a unique edge in scaling AI applications.