News
Elon Musk talks AI, free speech with Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Monday in a live-streamed conversation on subjects like artificial intelligence (AI), free speech, and more. Most prominently, the two parties discussed the emerging landscape of AI and how to mitigate potential risks from the technology.
Netanyahu live-streamed the roughly 40-minute conversation, which took place in San Francisco, California, on X on Monday morning. The meeting was a part of a series of discussions Netanyahu plans to have with world AI leaders.
During the conversation, Netanyahu asked Musk how he thought the global rewards of AI could be maximized while minimizing its potential risks.
“I’ve actually met with a number of world leaders to talk about AI risk, because I think for a lot of people, unless you’re really invested in the technology, you don’t know just how significant the risk can be,” Musk responded.
Elon Musk: AI poses a ‘civilizational risk’ if not regulated
Musk and Netanyahu also discussed various applications of AI, including potential uses like senior care and precision agriculture. Additionally, Musk noted that AI might look different than some people imagine, highlighting the massive, heat-producing data centers required to power artificial general intelligence (AGI) systems.
“If you see a movie like, say, Terminator, the intelligence appears to be in the robot,” Musk said. “But actually, the intelligence is in large data centers, large server centers. And you see some of these data centers, you just see computers, like, you can practically see the curvature of the Earth. That’s how long the corridors are.”
Musk described the “gigantic, massive warehouses” that are needed to house these kinds of servers, saying that, in some cases, these buildings could hold hundreds of thousands of computers. He went on to explain that this is what would be needed for “extreme digital superintelligence.”
Hundreds of protestors also gathered outside the San Francisco meeting, criticizing Netanyahu’s recent judicial overhaul plan, which seeks to cancel a key “reasonableness standard” in the country. When the meeting was first announced, Musk said he got “the most amount of negative pushback from people at Tesla about this interview than anything else” he has done in the past.
In the meeting, Netanyahu also asked Musk to condemn anti-semitism within the confines of free speech, commenting that free speech was a “foundational” part of democracy. The question came after the Tesla CEO threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League in recent weeks over a study claiming that X has seen a rise in hate speech since Musk took over.
“I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only anti-semitism, or roll it back as best you can, but any collective hatred of a people that anti-semitism represents,” Netanyahu said. “And I know you’re committed to that, and I hope you succeed in it. It’s not an easy task, but I encourage you and urge you to find the balance — it’s a tough one.”
“I’m sort of against attacking any group,” Musk responded. “Doesn’t matter who it is, I’m in favor of that which furthers civilization and which ultimately leads us to become a space-faring civilization, where we understand the nature of the universe.”
“We can’t do that if there’s a lot of infighting and hatred and negativity, so obviously I’m against antisemitism,” Musk added.
Following the one-on-one meeting, Netanyahu and Musk also had an AI roundtable discussion with OpenAI President Greg Brockman and MIT physicist Max Tegmark, which was also streamed on X.
You can watch the full conversation between Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Tesla CEO Elon Musk below on X, or watch the roundtable discussion on AI here.
LIVE: Speaking with @elonmusk about how we can harness the opportunities and mitigate the risks of AI for the good of civilization. https://t.co/XiAQwOXzcP
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 18, 2023
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.
News
Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in.
Tesla has officially landed approval to operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service in its third U.S. state, as it has landed a regulatory green light from the State of Arizona’s Department of Transportation.
Tesla has been working to expand to new U.S. states after launching in Texas and California earlier this year. Recently, it said it was hoping to land in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, expanding to five new cities in those three states.
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in:
BREAKING: Tesla has officially received approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to launch its Robotaxi service on public roads in the state!
I just confirmed directly with the Arizona DOT that @Tesla applied for a Transportation Network Company permit on Nov 13th.… pic.twitter.com/iKbwfGfiju
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 18, 2025
Tesla has also been working on approvals in Nevada and Florida, and it has also had Robotaxi test mules spotted in Pennsylvania.
The interesting thing about the Arizona approval is the fact that Tesla has not received an approval for any specific city; it appears that it can operate statewide. However, early on, Tesla will likely confine its operation to just one or two cities to keep things safe and controlled.
Over the past few months, Robotaxi mules have been spotted in portions of Phoenix and surrounding cities, such as Scottsdale, as the company has been attempting to cross off all the regulatory Ts that it is confronted with as it attempts to expand the ride-hailing service.
It appears the company will be operating it similarly to how it does in Texas, which differs from its California program. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat, unless the route requires freeway travel. In California, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat. However, this is unconfirmed.
Earlier today, Tesla enabled its Robotaxi app to be utilized for ride-hailing for anyone using the iOS platform.
News
Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
A Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor appeared to doze off during a ride in the California Bay Area, almost ironically proving the need for autonomous vehicles.
The instance was captured on camera and posted to Reddit in the r/sanfrancisco subreddit by u/ohmichael. They wrote that they have used Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area in the past and had pleasant experiences.
However, this one was slightly different. They wrote:
“I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.
This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.
I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.
I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too.
Has anyone else seen this happen?”
My Tesla Robotaxi “safety” driver fell asleep
byu/ohmichael insanfrancisco
The driver eventually woke up after prompts from the vehicle, but it is pretty alarming to see someone like this while they’re ultimately responsible for what happens with the ride.
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
They should have probably left the vehicle immediately.
Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area differs from the one that is currently active in Austin, Texas, due to local regulations. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat unless the route requires the highway.
Tesla plans to remove the Safety Monitors in Austin by the end of the year.
Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.
Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.
It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.
In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.
The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.
Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.
Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.
Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.
Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.
We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:
🚨 Tesla Robotaxi ride-hailing Service in Austin and the Bay Area has opened up for anyone on iOS
Go download the app and, if you’re in the area, hail a ride from Robotaxi pic.twitter.com/1CgzG0xk1J
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 18, 2025
The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.
In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.
Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
