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The best Chinese EV manufacturer is an American company: Tesla
The best Chinese EV manufacturer right now happens to be owned by an American company, Tesla. Tesla and America have a lot to be proud of.
During Tesla’s Q2 2022 earnings call yesterday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk complimented the Chinese competition but noted that the best Chinese EV manufacturer is Tesla China.
Elon Musk said that he had a lot of respect for China’s EV manufacturers. He also said that the best Chinese EV manufacturer for right now is Tesla China.
“They’re smart, they’re hardworking, and anybody that’s not as competitive as them will suffer a decline.”
“Right now the best Chinese EV manufacturer is actually Tesla China.”
Tesla China & Giga Shanghai Have A Unique History
In 2019, I wrote this article in CleanTechnica highlighting a video by Gali Filche (Hyperchange). Gali pointed out the uniqueness of Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai. In his video Gali said,
“Previous until now, every single car sold in China was built by a Chinese automotive manufacturer or built by a joint venture between a foreign auto company and a domestic partner,” says Gali.
“China is literally changing their policies to cater to Tesla to allow them to come into the region. … Why does China want Tesla instead of every other automaker? It’s because they have the tech.”
To spice up the uniqueness, let’s throw in a trade war between the U.S. and China. Gali said,
“As much as people say ‘Tesla is a fraud … how are they going to compete with foreign automakers? … Elon Musk is a horrible CEO he has high executive turnover’ I look at how the company has managed to navigate one of the most complex geopolitical scenarios in modern history and actually turn its incredible friction between its two biggest markets into a massive competitive advantage is brilliant management. It’s brilliant execution by Tesla, and it’s a reason why I love to be invested in this company,”
The fact that Tesla, an American company, is the leading EV manufacturer in China, a country that is leading the manufacturing of EVs, says a lot about Tesla’s innovation.
China Will Continue To Lead If Biden Continues To Put Politics Over EVs
President Biden has said time and again that China is leading the electric vehicle race. He’s also placed his focus on Ford, GM, and a few other automakers that have had nothing to do with electrifying the automotive industry.
Not only did he and his administration outwardly snub Tesla and Elon Musk, but the president seemed to put the needs of his political allies above those of his own goals regarding EVs. I’m referring to the United Auto Workers Union EV event that was held at the White House last year. According to the White House, Tesla was excluded because this was a union event.
When asked why the White House excluded Tesla from the event, Secretary Psaki said,
“We, of course, welcome the efforts of all automakers who recognize the potential of an electric vehicle future and support efforts that will help reach the president’s goal, and certainly, Tesla is one of those companies. Today, it’s the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers and the UAW president who will stand with President Biden as he announces his ambitious new target, but I would not expect this is the last time we talk about clean cars, the move toward electric vehicles, and we look forward to having a range of partners in that effort.”
When asked about Tesla being a non-union company, she said that these are the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers.
“Well, these are the three largest employers of the United Auto Workers, so I’ll let you draw your own conclusion.”
President Biden has then since acknowledged Tesla’s leadership in the EV space but the administration is still favoring the automakers who aren’t doing as much as Tesla in this space.
Politricks Aside, Tesla Continues To Lead
Tesla is continuing to lead as it pushes forward in its mission. Recently, there were at least 7,000 Tesla EVs spotted at Shanghai’s Luchao port. Tesla also announced in its Q2 2022 Shareholder Deck that Giga Shanghai is listed with an annual capacity of over 750,000 cars.
I’m sure that in Q3 we will see the results of Giga Texas, Giga Berlin the Fremont factory, and Giga Shanghai combined.
Disclaimer: Johnna is a partial Tesla shareholder with under 1 share currently. She plans on buying more and supports Tesla and its mission.
If you have a tip, feel free to send them to johnna@teslarati.com
SpaceX has achieved an incredible milestone by launching its 11,000th Starlink satellite into orbit.
This accomplishment occurred during the Starlink Group 17-50 mission, which lifted off on August 19 at 04:01 UTC from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Falcon 9 launches 24 @Starlink satellites from California pic.twitter.com/UscpmAxDls
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 19, 2026
A Falcon 9 rocket carried 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on this flight, successfully deploying them into low Earth orbit approximately one hour after liftoff. The first stage booster, identified as B1097 on its twelfth flight, landed successfully on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
According to tracking data compiled around that date, this deployment brought the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to just over 11,000.
The Starlink program began with test satellites known as Tintin A and B, launched on February 22, 2018. The first operational batch of 60 Starlink satellites followed on May 24, 2019, when a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Those initial satellites marked the start of a rapid expansion that has continued for more than seven years.
SpaceX has conducted hundreds of dedicated Starlink missions since then, routinely launching batches of 20 to 30 satellites at a time using reusable Falcon 9 rockets. By mid-2026, the company had already surpassed 12,000 total satellites launched across all versions, with continuous replacements for units that deorbit as designed to manage space debris.
Looking ahead, SpaceX continues to expand the Starlink constellation to enhance global broadband coverage, capacity, and speed. The network already serves millions of users across more than 160 countries and supports applications ranging from residential internet to maritime, aviation, and emergency services.
Future plans center on next-generation hardware, including larger V3 satellites capable of delivering substantially higher throughput, which require the increased payload capacity of the Starship vehicle currently under development and testing.
In July, SpaceX submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission seeking authority for a Gen3 constellation of up to 100,000 satellites. These spacecraft would operate in very low Earth orbit shells at altitudes near 325 kilometers and 475 kilometers. The filing requests use of existing Ku, Ka, V, and E band spectrum along with new greenfield W and D band frequencies between 92 and 275 GHz.
SpaceX states that the expanded system aims to deliver multi-gigabit symmetrical broadband to consumers, enterprises, governments, and billions of AI-powered devices worldwide while handling a majority of global internet traffic. Approval and subsequent deployment would depend on regulatory review and the operational readiness of Starship for high-volume launches.
This ambitious scale reflects SpaceX’s ongoing commitment to providing ubiquitous high-speed connectivity from space.
Tesla has opened a new sweepstakes to allow the public to be among the first to take an initial ride in a Cybercab. This all-electric, steering-wheel-less, pedal-less vehicle is the centerpiece of the company’s autonomous ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi.
There are two ways Tesla fans can get to Austin to take part in the first public rides of the Cybercab: by riding on the Robotaxi platform by August 23, or by mailing a very specific entry to their Headquarters at Gigafactory Texas.
Tesla announced the latter portion of the sweepstakes last night:
🚨 Want to win a trip to Austin to ride in one of the first Cybercab rides ever?
Here’s how:
Tesla has opened up a new sweepstakes to ride in a Cybercab upon its public launch. Here’s the details.
There are two methods of entry into the sweepstakes, and they are as follows:… pic.twitter.com/iJRd4evuWo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 19, 2026
Tesla will give one entry into the sweepstakes if you mail a 3″ by 5″ piece of paper with your full name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, and date of birth to their address:
Tesla, Robotaxi Sweeps Event
1 Tesla Road,
Austin, TX 78725
There is a limit of one entry per stamped envelope. You can send as many as you’d like, but they must be in separate envelopes.
The company’s unique strategy to give people the opportunity to ride in a Cybercab before pretty much anyone else outside of the company is a hilarious but spot-on representation of how Tesla operates. In classic fashion, they had the perfect response to the event:
— Tesla (@Tesla) August 19, 2026
Cybercab will launch later this month, it appears, especially as it plans to announce the winners of the sweepstakes on August 25. The car has already been operating internally, as employees have been able to utilize the Cybercab for rides in some capacity, something it announced earlier this month.
Tesla weirdly confirms Cybercab employee rides, a huge milestone
Moving forward, the big goal is to get Cybercab out on the roads and integrated into the public Robotaxi fleet, one that will pick up real-world ride-hailers and give them a ride from Point A to Point B.
No matter which way you cut it, it appears Tesla is close to putting a vehicle with no steering wheel and no pedals on the road to help people travel autonomously.
You can ride along with us in our first Cybercab ride from the We, Robot event in October 2024. The video is embedded below:
🎥: Our FULL first ride in the @Tesla Cybercab pic.twitter.com/6gR7OgKRCz
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 11, 2024
Tesla has revealed plans through permit submissions for a massive Robotaxi charging hub in Austin, Texas.
Tesla plans to build the Supercharger hub in multiple phases, with the second phase potentially introducing wireless induction charging, something the company has been developing for the Robotaxi fleet.
Initially, 48 Tesla Robotaxi-geared Superchargers will be built on a lot just across from the St. Elmo, Texas, Service Center. There are about 80 additional spots that will not be impacted by phase 1 of the construction process.
Filings show that the second phase of the project will turn those 80 additional spots into wireless charging for Robotaxi, but it might be an error. The Key Notes state that item 3 is listed as “V4 Charging Cabinet to Support 80 Wireless Chargers in Phase 2. However, the drawings point to V3 Cabinets that are already tied to Superchargers:
There are roughly 128 total spots in the lot, but it is unclear if they will all be used for charging based on what appears to be some sort of typo in the blueprint.
A new Robotaxi fleet charging hub is coming soon to Austin, Texas!!
Permits have been filed for the installation of 48 (V3) stalls in a vehicle storage lot across the road from Tesla’s St Elmo service center. pic.twitter.com/xwRgSWDqht
— MarcoRP (@MarcoRPi1) August 18, 2026
This is among the first Robotaxi charging hubs Tesla has started to develop, as it currently has four others planned throughout various areas: one in Phoenix, one in San Antonio, another in Irving, which will serve the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and another in Las Vegas.
These projects are necessary as Tesla expands its Robotaxi program. Now that preparations have started for the public launch of Cybercab, Robotaxi will likely be expanding aggressively, especially over the next two to three years.
Last night, The Information reported that Tesla was planning to launch Cybercab as soon as the end of August. Hours later, Tesla then announced it was launching a competition for fans to potentially ride in Cybercab during its first public rides.
Tesla’s plan to expand its charging infrastructure in the regions where Robotaxi will initially operate is great preparation for the expanding service. There is still a lot to do, including launching the Cybercab on time.
SpaceX achieves incredible milestone with Starlink program
Tesla is opening Cybercab rides to a select few
