Connect with us

News

Elon Musk will continue as DOGE adviser: VP Vance

A recent Politico report claimed that U.S. President Trump had informed his Cabinet that Elon Musk would soon be returning to his businesses.

Published

on

Credit: Elon Musk/X

Recent reports have suggested that Elon Musk will soon be departing his work with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

As per recent comments from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, however, these reports are untrue.

The Claims

In a recent report, Politico claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump had informed his Cabinet that Elon Musk would soon be leaving. The publication claimed that while Trump was pleased with Musk and DOGE, both men have reportedly decided in recent days that it will soon be time for the Tesla CEO to return to his businesses.

Citing a senior administration official, Politico also noted that Musk will still likely retain an informal role as an adviser. Musk’s departure will reportedly correspond to the end of his time as a special government employee, which is expected to expire in late May to early June, the publication claimed, citing insiders.

The Response

In response to the Politico report, the White House noted on Wednesday that Elon Musk would be staying on with DOGE until the department’s work is completed. This was highlighted by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who noted that “Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.” Musk also noted in a post on social media platform X that the report was “fake news.” 

Advertisement

What VP Vance Says

In a conversation with Fox News, Vice President Vance also stated that the recent reports were erroneous. Similar to the comments of the White House Press Secretary, Vance noted that while Musk took on the challenge of shrinking the bureaucracy, he will still continue as an advisor to the administration. 

“That report I saw was total fake news. Elon came in and we said, ‘We need you to make government more efficient. We need you to shrink the incredible, vast bureaucracy that thwarts the will of the American people but also costs way too much money.’ We said that’s gonna take about six months, and that’s what Elon’s signed up for. But of course, he’s gonna continue to be an advisor,” Vance stated.

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.

Investor's Corner

Tesla ‘Model Q’ gets bold prediction from Deutsche Bank that investors will love

Tesla’s Model Q could be on the way soon, and a new note from Deutsche Bank thinks it will contribute to Q4 deliveries.

Published

on

Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

The Tesla “Model Q” has been in the rumor mill for the company for several years, but a recent note from Wall Street firm Deutsche Bank seems to indicate that it could be on its way in the near future.

This comes as Tesla has been indicating for several quarters that its development of affordable models was “on track” for the first half of 2025. The company did not say it would unveil the vehicles in the first half, but many are anticipating that more cost-friendly models could be revealed to the public soon.

Potential affordable Tesla “Model 2/Model Q” test car spotted anew in Giga Texas

The Deutsche Bank note refers to one of the rumored affordable models as the “Model Q,” but we’ve also seen it referred to as the “Model 2,” amongst other names. Tesla has not officially coined any of its upcoming vehicles as such, but these are more of a universally accepted phrase to identify them, at least for now.

The rumors stem from sentiments regarding Tesla’s 2025 delivery projections, which are tempered as the company seeks to maintain a steady pace compared to 2023 and 2024, when it reported 1.8 million deliveries.

Deutsche Bank’s analysts believe the deliveries could be around 1.58 million, but they state this is a cautious stance that could be impacted by several things, including the potential launch of the Model Q, which they believe will make its way to market in Q4:

“Looking at the rest of the year, we maintain a cautious stance on volume calling for 1.58m vehicle deliveries (-12% YoY) vs. consensus +1.62m, with the timing of Model Q rollout as the key swing factor (we now assume only 25k in Q4). In China, Tesla will introduce the Model Y L this fall (6 inch longer wheel base allowing for larger 3-row seating with six seats).”

Interestingly, the same firm also predicted that the Model Q would launch in the first half of the year based on a note that was released in early December 2024.

Those estimations came from a reported meeting that Deutsche Bank had with Tesla late last year, where it said it aimed to launch the Model Q for less than $30,000 and aimed for it to compete with cars like the Volkswagen ID.3 and BYD Dolphin.

Tesla’s Q2 Earnings Call is slated for this Wednesday and could reveal some additional details about the affordable models.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla preps to expand Robotaxi geofence once again, answering Waymo

Just days after Waymo responded to them, Tesla is preparing for a potentially massive expansion of the Robotaxi geofence.

Published

on

Credit: @AdanGuajardo/X

Tesla is preparing to expand its Robotaxi geofence yet again, just days after Waymo responded to its initial broadening of the area.

Tesla launched its first expansion last week, less than a month after introducing Robotaxi rides in Austin.

The company opted for a very interesting shape for its geofence expansion, which was more of an indication that it could launch more rides in virtually any area of the city due to the new geofence it chose.

Waymo then responded to Tesla shortly after with an expansion of its own. After Tesla’s first expansion of its geofence, it had 42 square miles of Robotaxi-accessible travel region. This was larger than Waymo’s 37 square miles.

However, the Waymo expansion last week brought the company to a substantial 90 square miles of Austin:

Waymo responds to Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion in Austin with bold statement

Tesla appears to be ready to respond. Drone operator and Gigafactory Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer spotted Tesla Robotaxi validation vehicles well west of downtown Austin in the area of Marble Falls, Texas.

This would significantly increase Tesla’s square mileage if it could manage to bring its geofence to that size:

The two companies are not directly responding to one another with these expansions, but it appears that there is a significant amount of competition underway, which ultimately benefits the consumers.

Waymo has been operating in Texas since March from a fully public perspective, while Tesla is still slowly expanding its test size for the Robotaxi fleet on a nearly daily basis. Tesla launched Robotaxi rides to a handful of Early Access Program members on June 22.

Tesla is also expanding to other regions of the United States, particularly in Arizona and California. However, the Texas expansion is a priority currently, as it is the only region where Tesla has received approval to operate passenger rides in a driverless setting in the country.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk confirms awesome new features at Tesla Diner Supercharger

More details continue to be revealed about the Tesla Supercharger Diner as its opening seems to be imminent.

Published

on

Credit: Brad Goldberg (via Sawyer Merritt on X)

Elon Musk has confirmed a few new features that will be present at the Tesla Diner Supercharger in Los Angeles.

Musk confirmed these two new details as he revealed he recently ate at the Supercharger Diner. We also recently confirmed a few menu items as a soft launch has already occurred, and a public launch date appears to be within reach.

The new features were revealed by Tesla Joy on X. We shared the details, and Musk confirmed that these are, in fact, features of the Diner that Tesla owners will be able to enjoy.

Tesla reveals key detail of Supercharger Diner, but it’s bigger than you think

The Diner is not exclusive to Tesla owners, but these two features do require a Tesla for compatibility purposes.

Order Food from Your Car

As you pull into the Supercharger Diner, you can order any food item you want, including burgers, wings, fries, shakes, cookies, and more, directly from your vehicle.

A prompt will likely appear that will open a menu to the Supercharger Diner, allowing you to order food. An employee will bring the food out, that is, if Tesla decides to continue with a true and traditional 50s diner theme.

We get it, it’s not a groundbreaking feature. It’s still cool, convenient, and another advantage to visit the diner as a Tesla owner.

Movie Screen Audio Will Sync to Your Tesla

There are two massive movie screens that will play various entertainment options during your visit to the Supercharger Diner. There have been movie clips and even SpaceX launch highlights playing during recent drone flyovers at the location on Santa Monica Boulevard.

Instead of having to open your windows to hear the content on the screen, it will instead sync the audio and play directly in your vehicle through your car stereo speakers.

The Supercharger Diner has also appeared on the Tesla app for the first time, and is currently showing 80 stalls at the location:

Although the stalls are not yet active, the culmination of all the details we’ve learned over the past week about the Diner only points to one thing: an imminent grand opening.

Tesla has not yet confirmed a date for the Supercharger Diner’s opening, and Los Angeles building and construction permits also do not state a specific target date for opening.

It seems as if Tesla will reveal the date itself, potentially in the coming week, as it will report earnings on Wednesday, July 23.

Continue Reading

Trending