Connect with us
Tesla's IR Head says the Semi may be his favorite Tesla product Tesla's IR Head says the Semi may be his favorite Tesla product

News

California awarded $102 million for semi-truck charging corridor

Credit: Tesla

Published

on

California has been awarded $102 million for a charging corridor dedicated to zero-emission Class 8 trucks, with the route expected to also run through Oregon and Washington.

Last week, users in the Tesla Motors Club forum spotted an award recipient document and workshop meeting agenda from the California Energy Commission that details the roughly $102.4 million granted to the California Department of Transportation (CDOT), as part of the West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project. The project aims to establish as many as 34 trucking charging stations featuring five 350kW chargers each, along with five hydrogen stations sporting two dispensers each.

The funding comes as part of the Biden administration’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program. Users in the thread highlighted that the plans don’t include Megawatt Charging Systems (MCS), which would offer substantially higher charging speeds. However, the meeting agenda does say that the project plans to eventually upgrade to one MCS port within the project.

Caltrans, CEC, Oregon DOT and Washington State DOT all applied to get funding for the program in June, and will take part in development of the corridor. The currently proposed route is expected to connect major ports, agricultural regions, and freight centers near the borders of Mexico and Canada, as can be seen below:

Credit: California Energy Commission (via MP3Mike in the TeslaMotorsClub forum)

Projects for a Class 8 trucking charging corridor have been proposed in the past, including Tesla, which builds its own electric Semi.

Last year, reports suggested that Tesla was seeking as much as $100 million in funding from the CFI program for a similar Semi charging corridor running from California to Texas. That project would include eight of Tesla’s Semi Megachargers, which offer charging speeds of up to 1.5 MW. Tesla has a few of these Megachargers at its Gigafactory Nevada, along with developing some for its initial Semi customer PepsiCo.

Advertisement

One Tesla executive earlier this year suggested that the company could work to construct a California-Texas trucking Megacharger corridor regardless of whether it gains CFI funding or not. However, Tesla has yet to unveil any formal plans for such a project.

Tesla Semi Megacharger mobile unit briefly shows up in Utah

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla reveals awesome Model 3 and Model Y incentive, but it’s ending soon

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

Tesla has revealed an awesome Model 3 and Model Y incentive to help consumers make the jump to one of its affordable mass-market vehicles, but it’s ending soon.

Tesla is offering one free upgrade on eligible inventory of the Model 3 and Model Y until February 2.

This would help buyers receive the most expensive paid option on the vehicle at no additional cost, meaning white interior or a more premium paint option will be free of charge if you take delivery on or before February 2.

Tesla states on its website for the offer:

“Only for limited inventory while supplies last. Price displayed on inventory listings already deducts the cost of the free option.”

Advertisement

This latest incentive is just another advantage Tesla has by selling its vehicles directly and not using some sort of dealership model that relies on approvals from higher-ups. It is important to note that these programs are offered to help stimulate demand and push vehicles into customers’ hands.

It is not the only incentive Tesla is currently offering, either. In fact, there is a much larger incentive program that Tesla is working on, and it has to do with Full Self-Driving transfers, which could result in even more sales for the company through Q1.

Advertisement

Tesla is ending its FSD Transfer program on March 31, as it plans to transition to a Subscription-only basis with the self-driving suite for anyone who has not already purchased it outright.

This could help drive some on-the-fence buyers to new vehicles, but it remains to be seen. Given the timing of the program’s demise, it appears Tesla is hoping to use it to add additional sales and bolster a strong Q1 2026.

Interior and exterior paint colors can add up to $2,000 if you choose the most premium Ultra Red body color, or an additional $1,000 for the Black and White interior option. The discount, while small, could help get someone their preferred design configuration, instead of settling for something that is not quite what they want.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Full Self-Driving gets outrageous insurance offer with insanely cheap rates

Published

on

Credit: Ashok Elluswamy/X

Tesla Full Self-Driving is getting an outrageous insurance offer with insanely cheap rates that will slash the cost of coverage by 50 percent.

Lemonade, a digital insurance company, has launched its first-of-a-kind product known as Lemonade Autonomous Car Insurance, and it is starting with an exclusive offer to FSD. The new offer will cut rates for FSD-engaged driving by “approximately 50 percent,” highlighting the data that shows a significantly safer driving environment when the suite is activated and engaged.

The company also said it plans to introduce even cheaper rates as Tesla continues to release more advanced FSD versions through software updates. Tesla has been releasing new FSD versions every few weeks, highlighting vast improvements for those who have the latest AI4 chip.

The announcement comes just a few months afterLemonade Co-Founder and President Shai Wininger said that he wanted to insure FSD vehicles for “almost free.” He said that Tesla’s API complemented Lemonade’s AI-based platform because it provides “richer and more accurate driving behavior data than traditional UBI devices.”

Tesla Full Self-Driving gets an offer to be insured for ‘almost free’

Advertisement

In mid-December, Lemonade then offered Tesla owners in California, Oregon, and Arizona the opportunity to connect their vehicles directly to the company’s app, which would provide a direct connection and would require a separate telematics device, which is required with other insurance providers who offer rates based on driving behaviors.

This latest development between Lemonade and Tesla is something that Wininger believes will be different because of the advanced nature of FSD:

“Traditional insurers treat a Tesla like any other car, and AI like any other driver. But a car that sees 360 degrees, never gets drowsy, and reacts in milliseconds can’t be compared to a human.”

He went on to say that the existing pay-per-mile product has given the company something that no traditional insurer has been able to offer. This comes through Lemonade’s “unique tech stack designed to collect massive amounts of real driving data for precise, dynamic pricing.”

The reputation FSD has gathered over the past few years is really impressive. Wininger backed this with some more compliments:

Advertisement

“Teslas driven with FSD are involved in far fewer accidents. By connecting to the Tesla onboard computer, our models are able to ingest incredibly nuanced sensor data that lets us price our insurance with higher precision than ever before.”

The product will begin its official rollout in Arizona on January 26. Oregon will get it a month later.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk trolls budget airline after it refuses Starlink on its planes

“I really want to put a Ryan in charge of Ryan Air. It is your destiny,” Musk said.

Published

on

elon musk ryanair

Tesla CEO Elon Musk trolled budget airline Ryanair on his social media platform X this week following the company’s refusal to adopt Starlink internet on its planes.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Ryanair did not plan to install Starlink internet services on its planes due to its budgetary nature and short flight spans, which are commonly only an hour or so in total duration.

Initially, Musk said installing Starlink on the company’s planes would not impact cost or aerodynamics, but Ryanair responded on its X account, which is comical in nature, by stating that a propaganda it would not fall for was “Wi-Fi on planes.”

Musk responded by asking, “How much would it cost to buy you?” Then followed up with the idea of buying the company and replacing the CEO with someone named Ryan:

Polymarket now states that there is an 8 percent chance that Musk will purchase Ryanair, which would cost Musk roughly $36 billion, based on recent financial data of the public company.

Although the banter has certainly crossed a line, it does not seem as if there is any true reason to believe Musk would purchase the airline. More than anything, it seems like an exercise of who will go further.

Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million

However, it is worth noting that if something is important enough, Musk will get involved. He bought Twitter a few years ago and then turned it into X, but that issue was much larger than simple banter with a company that does not want to utilize one of the CEO’s products.

Advertisement

In a poll posted yesterday by Musk, asking whether he should buy Ryanair and “restore Ryan as their rightful ruler.” 76.5 percent of respondents said he should, but others believe that the whole idea is just playful dialogue for now.

But it is not ideal to count Musk out, especially if things continue to move in the direction they have been.

Advertisement
Continue Reading