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Musk’s Boring machine makes an appearance at SpaceX

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An employee at SpaceX snapped a photo at work yesterday and posted it on Instagram. The photo has since been removed, but not before it was captured by Business Insider. It shows three large round pieces about the size of a tunnel boring machine. One of those pieces has the words “The Boring Company” painted on it.

Elon Musk announced suddenly in February that traffic in Los Angeles was driving him nuts and that he was going to start boring tunnels underground as a way of relieving congestion. Shortly thereafter, the beginning of  a tunnel from SpaceX appeared in the parking lot outside of Musk’s space company.

Musk has let it be known that he can imagine tunnels 30 levels deep in some areas as a way of getting traffic moving again in the world’s most congested cities. The photo from SpaceX, demonstrates that the tunnel boring idea is being pursued even while Musk and Tesla are working overtime to keep production of the Model 3 on track.

Musk told Bloomberg back in February that he already has a boring machine. It’s a 2015 model nicknamed Nannie that is 400 feet long and weighs 1,200 tons. Musk says his people are going to take it apart, figure out how it works, and build a new machine that can dig up to 10 times faster.  “To make it a little better should be easy,” he says. “To make it five times better is not crazy hard. To make it 10 times better is hard, but nobody will need to win a Nobel Prize. We don’t have to change the standard model of physics.”

The Trump administration is proposing a $1 trillion infrastructure program that would include new high speed rail corridors. At a town hall meeting in Washington, DC in early April, Musk told Trump economic adviser , “OK, I can solve the problem. I can tunnel the whole way.”

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The Boring Company is Musk’s idea on how to solve urban congestion. Uber has a different idea — flying cars, an idea that Musk thinks is ridiculous. “Obviously, I like flying things,” he tells Bloomberg. “But it’s difficult to imagine the flying car becoming a scalable solution.” It’s all a matter of physics. To offset gravity, flying cars will need to generate a lot of downforce and that means noise and debris flying around. “If somebody doesn’t maintain their flying car, it could drop a hubcap and guillotine you,” he says. “Your anxiety level will not decrease as a result of things that weigh a lot buzzing around your head.”

The problem with urban transportation is that everyone wants to move around at the same time and other transportation systems are not scalable enough to handle the demand peaks. “We have skyscrapers with all these levels, and we have a flat, two-dimensional road system,” he says. “When everyone decides to go into these structures and then exits them at the same time, you’re going to get jammed.” Tunnels are a three dimensional solution that can solve the problem of transporting large numbers of people n real time.

They also could accommodate Musk’s other idea for fast, affordable transportation, the Hyperloop. Whether the government ever decides to make a major investment in infrastructure, Musk intends to keep moving forward with his plans to tunnel beneath America.

 

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Tesla Semis to get 18 new Megachargers at this PepsiCo plant

PepsiCo is set to add more Tesla Semi Megachargers, this time at a facility in North Carolina.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla partner PepsiCo is set to build new Semi charging stations at one of its manufacturing sites, as revealed in new permitting plans shared this week.

On Friday, Tesla charging station scout MarcoRP shared plans on X for 18 Semi Megacharging stalls at PepsiCo’s facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, coming as the latest update plans for the company’s increasingly electrified fleet. The stalls are set to be built side by side, along with three Tesla Megapack grid-scale battery systems.

The plans also note the faster charging speeds for the chargers, which can charge the Class 8 Semi at speeds of up to 1MW. Tesla says that the speed can charge the Semi back to roughly 70 percent in around 30 minutes.

You can see the site plans for the PepsiCo North Carolina Megacharger below.

Credit: PepsiCo (via MarcoRPi1 on X)

Credit: PepsiCo (via MarcoRPi1 on X)

READ MORE ON THE TESLA SEMI: Tesla to build Semi Megacharger station in Southern California

PepsiCo’s Tesla Semi fleet, other Megachargers, and initial tests and deliveries

PepsiCo was the first external customer to take delivery of Tesla’s Semis back in 2023, starting with just an initial order of 15. Since then, the company has continued to expand the fleet, recently taking delivery of an additional 50 units in California. The PepsiCo fleet was up to around 86 units as of last year, according to statements from Semi Senior Manager Dan Priestley.

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Additionally, the company has similar Megachargers at its facilities in Modesto, Sacramento, and Fresno, California, and Tesla also submitted plans for approval to build 12 new Megacharging stalls in Los Angeles County.

Over the past couple of years, Tesla has also been delivering the electric Class 8 units to a number of other companies for pilot programs, and Priestley shared some results from PepsiCo’s initial Semi tests last year. Notably, the executive spoke with a handful of PepsiCo workers who said they really liked the Semi and wouldn’t plan on going back to diesel trucks.

The company is also nearing completion of a higher-volume Semi plant at its Gigafactory in Nevada, which is expected to eventually have an annual production capacity of 50,000 Semi units.

Tesla executive teases plan to further electrify supply chain

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Tesla sales soar in Norway with new Model Y leading the charge

Tesla recorded a 54% year-over-year jump in new vehicle registrations in June.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is seeing strong momentum in Norway, with sales of the new Model Y helping the company maintain dominance in one of the world’s most electric vehicle-friendly markets.

Model Y upgrades and consumer preferences

According to the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV), Tesla recorded a 54% year-over-year jump in new vehicle registrations in June. The Model Y led the charge, posting a 115% increase compared to the same period last year. Tesla Norway’s growth was even more notable in May, with sales surging a whopping 213%, as noted in a CNBC report.

Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian EV Association (NEVA), stated that Tesla’s strong market performance was partly due to the updated Model Y, which is really just a good car, period.

“I think it just has to do with the fact that they deliver a car which has quite a lot of value for money and is what Norwegians need. What Norwegians need, a large luggage space, all wheel drive, and a tow hitch, high ground clearance as well. In addition, quite good digital solutions which people have gotten used to, and also a charging network,” she said.

Tesla in Europe

Tesla’s success in Norway is supported by long-standing government incentives for EV adoption, including exemptions from VAT, road toll discounts, and access to bus lanes. Public and home charging infrastructure is also widely available, making the EV ownership experience in the country very convenient.

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Tesla’s performance in Europe is still a mixed bag, with markets like Germany and France still seeing declines in recent months. In areas such as Norway, Spain, and Portugal, however, Tesla’s new car registrations are rising. Spain’s sales rose 61% and Portugal’s sales rose 7% last month. This suggests that regional demand may be stabilizing or rebounding in pockets of Europe.

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Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15

The event is scheduled for July 15 at the Bandra Kurla Complex, a premier business district in Mumbai.

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Credit: Narendra Modi/X
Credit: Narendra Modi/X

Tesla is officially entering India with the opening of its first showroom and experience center in Mumbai next week. The event is scheduled for July 15 at the Bandra Kurla Complex, a premier business district in Mumbai.

Tesla imports to India signal an early-stage market entry strategy

According to Indian customs data, Tesla has imported approximately $1 million worth of vehicles, charging equipment, and merchandise into the country between January and June. The shipments include six Model Y comprised of five standard variants valued at $32,500 each and one long-range model valued at $46,000. Several Superchargers and related accessories were also imported into the country, as noted in a Yahoo Finance report.

These vehicles are expected to serve as display models and test units as Tesla gauges interest and navigates India’s high import duties, which hover around 70% on fully built vehicles. Despite the significant tariffs in the country, Tesla has opted to begin its India expansion with imported cars.

An invitation to the Tesla India launch event has been making the rounds online. As could be seen in the document, Tesla noted that July 15 would be the launch of Tesla in India through the opening of a Tesla experience centre at Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai.

Tesla India’s hiring and expansion efforts are underway

Tesla has filled a number of key roles from the 30+ positions it advertised earlier this year. Recent hires include store managers, service executives, and sales staff, while ongoing recruitment is focused on supply chain engineers and vehicle operators to support the company’s Autopilot program.

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Indian officials have been open about their intention to encourage Tesla to establish a manufacturing hub in the country. Tesla does seem open to the idea, at least, with reports last year hinting that Elon Musk was set to visit the country to discuss or even potentially announce a domestic project. The trip, however, was ultimately canceled.

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