News
Department of Energy offers $45M in funding for more efficient EV battery development
The United States Department of Energy announced that it will offer up to $45 million in funding to support the domestic development of advanced and more efficient electric vehicle batteries. The announcement comes just one day after the Biden Administration allocated over $3.1 billion to boost EV battery manufacturing in the United States.
“Advanced batteries are the heartbeat of the electric vehicle industry and investments to make them charge faster and last longer will be critical to accelerate the deployment of electric cars and trucks,” Jennifer Granholm, the U.S. Secretary of Energy said. “The benefits of an electrified transportation sector in America will be felt for generations to come — from directly combatting climate change to growing domestic manufacturing jobs and strengthening our overall energy independence.”
We want to make electric vehicles more accessible for all Americans, so we’re announcing a new program (and up to $45M!) to develop more efficient EV batteries that will charge faster⚡️and last longer in colder temperatures and on the road. ?️ https://t.co/fW9D1iwYl4
— U.S. Department of Energy (@ENERGY) May 3, 2022
The DOE will fund the projects through the launch of the Electric Vehicles for American Low-Carbon Living (EVs4All) Program, which is made possible through the department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. The plan is part of President Biden’s plan to have at least half of all passenger vehicle purchases be electric in the United States by 2030.
The EVs4All program will address three of the most heavily scrutinized portions of the EV ownership experience: Charging Speed, Efficiency, and Resilience.
Faster Charging: The DOE said that while at-home charging is preferred for many EV drivers as it can offer a fully-charged vehicle every morning, there are still issues with some owners who live in rented spaces or are in other situations where home charging is not necessarily possible. Advanced batteries are capable of safe, rapid charging that can eliminate the total time spent at a public EV stall. It will not only keep times at chargers to as little as five minutes, but it will also increase cost savings during each charge.
Increased Efficiency: Electric vehicle ranges can vary based on climate. Those who live in colder weather settings will tell you firsthand that they do not get the range they expected in their EVs. Current EV batteries lose performance when confronted with these situations, with some manufacturers using things like heat pumps to combat range loss. Developing new battery chemistries that will not be affected as much by cold temperatures is “key to ensuring batteries can power vehicles in the coldest parts of the country as well as motivating broader adoption amongst drivers who live in those regions,” the DOE said.
Improving Resilience: Range anxiety is one of the most common terms in the EV ownership experience. Battery resilience is needed to alleviate concerns from new EV owners, especially those who take long drives to work or for leisure. The DOE said this may be the most important thing to develop as two-thirds of Americans prefer the more economical option of purchasing used vehicles rather than leasing or buying new cars.
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News
Tesla shares rare peek at Semi factory’s interior
The new video of the Tesla Semi factory was posted by the official Tesla account on X.
Tesla has shared a rare peek inside the factory of the Tesla Semi, which is expected to start production next year. Based on the video, it appears that work in the facility’s interior is ongoing, just as hinted at by drone flyers of the site.
Tesla Semi factory
The new video of the Tesla Semi factory, which is located close to Giga Nevada, was posted by the official Tesla account on X. While the video was short at less than 30 seconds long, it did show several parts of the factory’s interior, from its gigantic machines to its expansive space. The company also showed some initial production units of the Semi operating around the site.
Elon Musk shared a quick update on the Tesla Semi’s production at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting. While addressing the company’s shareholders, Musk confirmed that production of the Semi is on track for 2026.
“Starting next year, we (will) manufacture the Tesla Semi. So this, we already have a lot of prototype Tesla Semis in operation. PepsiCo and other companies have been using the Tesla Semi for quite some time. But we will start volume production at our Northern Nevada factory in 2026,” Musk said.
Tesla Semi redesign
Apart from Elon Musk’s confirmation that the Semi will indeed enter production next year, Tesla also showed an image of the Class 8 all-electric truck’s overall look. Based on a slide that was shown during Musk’s presentation, it appears that the Semi has undergone a pretty major redesign. The redesigned Semi features updated design cues that align with the company’s current lineup.
Immediately noticeable from the Semi’s updated design is its front end, which now feature headlights that resemble the style of the Cybertruck, Cybercab, and the new Model Y. Several other changes appear designed to improve aerodynamics, with Tesla now stating that the Semi has an efficiency of 1.7 kWh per mile. Side cameras, likely for FSD, are also quite prominent on the redesigned Semi.
Elon Musk
Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’
“In the next month or two, we’re going to look at the safety statistics, but we’re going to allow you to text and drive, essentially.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that within the next month or two, the company will be able to open the ability for people to text and drive because its Full Self-Driving suite will be robust enough to allow drivers to take their attention away from the road.
In its current state, Tesla Full Self-Driving is a supervised driver assistance suite that requires the vehicle operator to maintain control of the vehicle and pay attention to the road surroundings.
However, the company has been aiming to release a fully autonomous version of the Full Self-Driving suite for years, teasing its future potential and aiming to release a Level 5 suite as soon as possible.
CEO Elon Musk believes the company is on the cusp of something drastic, according to what he said at yesterday’s Annual Shareholder Meeting.
One thing Musk hinted at was that the company should be able to allow those sitting in the driver’s seat of their cars to text and drive “in the next month or two,” as long as the statistics look good.
He said:
“In the next month or two, we’re going to look at the safety statistics, but we’re going to allow you to text and drive, essentially.”
The company recently transitioned to its v14 Full Self-Driving suite, which is its most robust to date, and recently expanded to Cybertruck, completing its rollout across the vehicle lineup.
Currently, Tesla is running v14.1.5, and when major improvements are made, that second number will increase, meaning v14.2 will be the next substantial improvement.
Musk said that v14.3 will be when you can “pretty much fall asleep and wake up at your destination.”
🚨🚨 Elon Musk says Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3 will be when you can “pretty much fall asleep and wake up at your destination.”
We are on v14.1 currently 👀 pic.twitter.com/KMkWh5Qa7T
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 6, 2025
We’ve heard a considerable amount of similar statements in the past, and Tesla owners have been conditioned to take some of these timeframes with autonomous driving with a grain of salt.
However, with the upgrades in FSD over the past few months, especially with the rollout of Robotaxi in Austin, which does not utilize anyone in the driver’s seat for local roads, it does not seem as if autonomy is that far off for Tesla.
News
Tesla Semi undergoes major redesign as dedicated factory preps for deliveries
The Semi has been one of the most anticipated products in the Tesla lineup due to the disruption it could cause in the trucking industry.
Tesla put its all-electric Semi truck through quite a major redesign as its dedicated factory for the vehicle is preparing for initial deliveries to the public starting next year.
The Semi has been one of the most anticipated products in the Tesla lineup due to the disruption it could cause in the trucking industry.
It has already been in numerous pilot programs for some pretty large companies over the past couple of years, PepsiCo. being one of them, and it is moving toward first deliveries to other companies sometime in 2026.
Yesterday at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Tesla unveiled its new Semi design, which underwent a pretty significant facelift to match the aesthetic and vibe of the other vehicles in the company’s lineup.
Additionally, Tesla announced some other improvements, including changes to efficiency, and some other changes that we did not get details on yet.
The first change was to the design of the Semi, as Tesla adopted its blade-like light bar for the Class 8 truck, similar to the one that is used on the new Model Y and the Cybertruck:

There also appear to be a handful of design changes that help with aerodynamics, as its efficiency has increased to 1.7 kWh per mile.
Tesla also said it has an increased payload capability, which will help companies to haul more goods per trip.
All of these changes come as the company’s Semi Factory, which is located on the same property as its Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada, is just finishing up. In late October, it was shown that the Semi facility is nearly complete, based on recent drone imagery from factory observer HinrichsZane on X:
The factory will be capable of producing about 50,000 Tesla Semi units annually when it is completely ramped. The company has major plans to help get the Semi in more fleets across the United States.
Other entities are also working to develop a charging corridor for electric Class 8 trucks. The State of California was awarded $102 million to develop a charging corridor that spans from Washington to Southern California.
Another corridor is being developed that spans from Southern California to Texas, and 49 applicants won $636 million from the Department of Transportation for it.
Tesla requested funding for it, but was denied.
The Semi has been a staple in several companies’ fleets over the past few years, most notably that of Frito-Lay and PepsiCo., who have reported positive experiences thus far.
Musk said last year that the Semi had “ridiculous demand.”
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