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BMW and VW says Tesla’s Grohmann Engineering must fulfill past contractual obligations
BMW and VW are pushing back against the newly formed partnership between Tesla and Grohmann Engineering amid reports that the Silicon Valley automaker has requested Grohmann to cease work on existing customers, as it pushes to bring Model 3 to market in July.
Recently publicized spats over wages and benefits arising from fears over job instability from Grohmann’s 700 employees, and reported clashes between Grohmann founder and Tesla Chief Elon Musk, has led to strong tensions behind closed doors. BMW and VW claim that the rebranded Tesla Grohmann Automation has sent mixed messages about its intentions, yet Germany’s largest automakers continue to take a strong stance and asking Grohmann to fulfill its contractual obligations.
However, a report from German publication Wirtschaftswoche indicates that Grohmann’s work counselor Uwe Herzig said (via Google Translate) that “the workload caused by new Tesla projects was so great that it has only been working on Tesla projects for a few weeks.”
It is clear that a competitor buying up a key supplier is cause for concern, but at this point what is not clear is whether or not Tesla has failed to fulfill any of its contractual obligations. BMW and VW have both gone on record stating that they both expect the new Tesla Grohmann Automation unit to fulfill existing contracts.
While the short-term pressure is causing tension for Tesla and headaches for its entrenched competition in Germany, Tesla is confident that there is a bright future for Grohmann. A Tesla spokeswoman (via Google Translate) shared that the company is confident that Tesla Grohmann Automation will “grow significantly over time, despite concentration on internal orders.”
Beyond just retaining existing employees, Tesla Grohmann has flooded the local market with job advertisements even going so far as to hire headhunters to find skilled workers, according to local reports. One of the job descriptions for an Engineer can be seen on Tesla’s careers page, listed below.
Engineer
Department: Engineering
Location: Prüm, Germany
Req. ID44211
Job Type: Perm Eu
Supercharge your career!
We are hiring world-class Engineering talent to help us build the machine that builds the machine. Looking for excellence in Electrical/Mechanical/Automation Engineering and other technical disciplines. A passion for technically complex tasks and problem solving is essential.
Tesla is committed to hiring and developing top talent from across the world for any given discipline. Our world-class teams operate with a non-conventional product development philosophy of high inter-disciplinary collaboration, flat organizational structure, and technical contribution at all levels. You will be expected to challenge and to be challenged, to create, and to innovate. These jobs are not for everyone; you must have a genuine passion for solving some of the most challenging problems in the world.
Wir suchen Weltklasse-Ingenieure, die uns dabei helfen, die Maschine zu entwickeln, die die Maschine baut. Gesucht wird nach exzellenten Experten für Elektrotechnik / Maschinenbau / Automatisierungstechnik und anderen technischen Disziplinen. Besonders wichtig ist die Leidenschaft für technisch komplexe Aufgaben und der Wille Probleme zu lösen.
Tesla sucht weltweit Toptalente aus den unterschiedlichsten Bereichen, die sich weiterentwickeln möchten. Unsere Weltklasseteams arbeiten im Rahmen einer unkonventionellen Entwicklungsphilosophie, die auf enge fachübergreifende Zusammenarbeit setzt. Flache Hierarchien und intensiver technischer Austausch auf allen Ebenen sind weitere Merkmale. Wir erwarten, dass Sie genau so herausfordern wie Sie Herausforderungen annehmen, um Neues zu konzipieren und zu schaffen. Diese Aufgabe nicht für jeden geeignet. Sie müssen die unbedingte Leidenschaft haben einige der schwierigsten Probleme der Welt zu lösen.
Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Bewerbung!
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
