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Elizabeth Warren calls for Tesla Board to be investigated by the SEC

Credit: Elizabeth Warren/Twitter and Credit: Elizabeth Warren/Twitter and Tesla/YouTube

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US Senator Elizabeth Warren has sent a letter encouraging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate Tesla and its Board of Directors. The official’s letter cited possible “conflicts of interest, misappropriation of corporate assets, and other negative impacts to Tesla shareholders” related to Elon Musk’s acquisition of social media platform Twitter. 

Warren’s nine-page letter, which was sent to SEC Chair Gary Gensler on Monday, mentioned the Tesla board’s “apparent lack of independence” from the CEO. It also cited “inaction and incomplete disclosures,” as well as “questions about possible violations of securities laws and exchange rules which fall under SEC’s jurisdiction.” 

When Elon Musk took over Twitter last year, he implemented a number of changes to the social media platform. These included cutting off a large portion of Twitter’s headcount, as well as the rapid rollout of new features. Musk also brought over workers from his other companies to help the social media platform function with a much more optimized workforce. 

Warren, for her part, wrote that “possible violations of state and federal labor law” might have happened when Musk brought over Tesla employees to temporarily work on Twitter. She also argued that the Tesla board had not informed shareholders about how the electric vehicle maker and Twitter have worked together, or how they may work together, as noted in a CNBC report. 

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Despite advertising veteran Linda Yaccarino being appointed as Twitter’s new CEO, Warren noted in her letter that Musk is still left in charge of the social media platform. Musk, after all, still serves as Twitter’s CTO and executive chairman.

“Despite hiring Ms. Yaccarino, he is likely to retain ‘significant control’ over the company1 and intends to continue overseeing core functions of the business.2 Given the concerns about the actions by Mr. Musk and the Board, I ask that the SEC conduct a review to determine if they have complied with relevant securities laws,” Warren wrote. 

The US Senator also reiterated concerns that were raised in an earlier communication with Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm last December. As per a spokesperson from the SEC’s Office of Public Affairs, Gentler will “respond to Members of Congress directly.” 

Warren’s letter can be viewed below. 

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Elizabeth Warren Elon Musk Letter by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially revealed its 2026 Summer Update, which comes with a variety of crazy new features, including Navigation fixes that owners have been wanting for months.

Tesla routinely releases a larger update with the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter updates, where it ships a variety of new features, bug fixes, and other additions to customer cars.

The 2026 Spring Update featured things like “Hey Grok” voice assistance, a redesigned self-driving app, Unreal Engine visual upgrades, and more.

Tesla’s Summer Release has about ten new features; we’ll show you each and detail them below:

New Grok Voice Commands

“Grok can now make phone calls, search and play music, adjust climate, open the glovebox, and answer questions about your Tesla.”

Self-Driving Stats in Mobile App

“View and share self-driving stats from the mobile app.”

Caraoke With Scoring

“Caraoke now scores your singing while in Park. High scores are saved to your Tesla profile.”

Automatic Navigation

“Automatic Navigation now adapts to your routine.

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In addition to Home, Work, and upcoming calendar events, your vehicle can now suggest and route to places you visit regularly – like a school drop-off on the way to work, or the gym on the way home.”

Preferred Routes

“For a more personalized experience, navigation now prioritizes routes that you’ve taken before”

Set Arrival Energy from Mobile App

“Set your desired Arrival Energy from your phone.”

Send Custom Wraps from Mobile App

“Skip the USB drive and upload a custom wrap of your car from the mobile app. Instructions for creating a custom wrap here: https://github.com/teslamotors/custom-wraps.”

Rear Display Lock

“Kids can watch content on the rear screen, but only the front row can control it through the rear screen app.”

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Other Improvements

  • Find Superchargers by name when searching for a destination
  • Add Apple Music songs to queue from search and artist page
  • Set your preferred zoom level for the Self-Driving visualization
  • Intro animations for new Model 3 and Y
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Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you, as the company’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, finally shed some light on the reason they are putting a satellite internet terminal on its ride-hailing-geared vehicle.

On Monday, Tesla officially confirmed that it would integrate Starlink V5 terminals into Cybercab vehicles, something many Tesla fans had figured the company would do, as the vehicle is primarily geared toward giving rides without any passenger intervention.

The ability to access the internet would allow riders to work or play in the car with their devices. It seemed like a more-than-reasonable feature to add to the Cybercab, which made its way off the production lines for the first time earlier this year.

Tesla reveals first vehicle model to receive Starlink integration

However, the move is not for the rider, as Elluswamy confirmed on Monday night. Instead, it’s actually for Tesla to be able to have a constant connection to the cars in the Robotaxi fleet so it can troubleshoot issues, contact riders, or resolve other issues.

Elluswamy said:

“It is still not required for safe operation of the vehicle. Connectivity is primarily meant for navigation, customer service and, in general, fleet management.”

Many initially assumed the option of constant connectivity would be enabled on the Cybercab for passenger entertainment or work. With the Cybercab, passengers won’t be doing anything but enjoying the ride, so it seemed more than logical that they would be hanging out with Starlink internet access as an amenity.

However, Tesla’s primary concern with Robotaxi is safety, and nailing these first unsupervised rides is a crucial step to setting a good narrative on how effective driverless transportation can be.

Being able to get in touch with passengers or a vehicle if something is wrong is a crucial part of the overall experience, and preventative measures are being taken by Tesla to ensure a smooth process, even in the worst-case.

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Tesla Robotaxi program expands in Florida to two new cities

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has expanded its Robotaxi program in Florida to include two new cities: Tampa and Orlando.

This marks the second and third cities to be added to the company’s available locations for autonomous ride-hailing in the Sunshine State, joining Miami, which was the first Florida city to offer Robotaxi rides.

Tesla announced the addition of Orlando and Tampa to the Robotaxi program on Tuesday morning. The cities now join Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and the San Francisco Bay Area as locations where Tesla can operate its Robotaxi platform:

These rides are unsupervised, as AI Head Ashok Elluswamy confirmed the suite in Florida is operating without safety drivers or anyone within the cabin to assist with operation.

Orlando Tesla Robotaxi Operation

The geofence in Orlando covers a prominent irregular shaded zone on the map, roughly 4-6 miles across in key dimensions, so it likely measures somewhere between 25 and 45 square miles, which is comparable to other early Tesla launches in other cities.

It encompasses central and southern areas bounded by major highways including SR-417 and SR-528, including parts of the Orlando metro core, tourism-adjacent zones, and residential/commercial districts. This represents an initial targeted rollout in a tourist-heavy region, positioned for quick expansion via Tesla’s software updates.

Tampa Tesla Robotaxi Operation

In Tampa, the shape of the geofence is a shaded polygon covering key neighborhoods, explicitly including West Tampa, Tampa Heights, Hyde Park, and downtown Tampa proper, with boundaries along major roads and the Hillsborough River area.

This focuses on high-demand central zones and will offer tourists and citygoers rides without drivers.

Robotaxi Progress

Tesla has been operating Robotaxi since last June, when it launched in Austin. The geofences in most regions have already expanded several times since their launch last year, but the bigger complaint is vehicle availability. Tesla has been working to add more Robotaxi-enabled vehicles to its fleet.

Tesla expands Robotaxi geofence, but not the garage

The company still plans to utilize its Cybercab, a new vehicle that is being produced at Gigafactory Texas, for the Robotaxi suite alongside the Model Y, which has been the vehicle of choice for Tesla with early operations.

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