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Elon Musk explains last year’s ‘Go f— yourself’ to advertisers

Ministério Das Comunicações, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

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Elon Musk broadened his explanation of why he told advertisers to “Go f— yourself’ last year as companies stopped pushing their products on X, the social media platform he bought that was formerly known as Twitter.

Musk is in Cannes, France, speaking at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, where he had a one-on-one interview with WPP CEO Mark Read in front of a live audience.

Last year, Musk told advertisers who chose to pull their ads from X to “go f— yourself” in an interview with CNBC.

Musk has held that stance for some time, but explained his words in Cannes earlier today:

“It wasn’t to advertisers as a whole. It was with respect to freedom of speech, I think it is important to have a global free speech platform, where people from a wider range of opinions can voice their views. In some cases, there were advertisers who were insisting on censorship…if we have to make a choice between censorship and losing money, censorship and money, or free speech and losing money, we’re going to choose the second.”

Musk has been a proponent of free speech for several years, defending his platform and his choice to allow content of any kind on X as long as it does not threaten a person or expose their private information. There are also restrictions on non-consensual nudity.

According to the X Terms & Conditions page, violent content is allowed on the platform as long as it is properly labeled. However, account owners cannot affiliate with or promote the activities of violent or hateful entities. There is a zero-tolerance policy for child exploitation, and there are restrictions on abuse/harassment and hateful conduct.

This has been where advertisers have felt pressure to take a stance on X, and some companies ultimately chose to stop putting ads on the platform. Apple, Sony, General Motors, and Disney were companies that chose to stop advertising on X for at least a short period of time.

Musk said that it is important for X to take a stance on free speech, and that comes with it being prioritized over ad dollars, which he said he thinks “is the right moral decision.”

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla receives approval for FSD Supervised tests in Sweden

Tesla confirmed that it has been granted permission to test FSD Supervised vehicles across Sweden in a press release.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla has received regulatory approval to begin tests of its Full Self-Driving Supervised system on public roads in Sweden, a notable step in the company’s efforts to secure FSD approval for the wider European market. 

FSD Supervised testing in Sweden

Tesla confirmed that it has been granted permission to test FSD Supervised vehicles across Sweden following cooperation with national authorities and local municipalities. The approval covers the Swedish Transport Administration’s entire road network, as well as urban and highways in the Municipality of Nacka.

Tesla shared some insights into its recent FSD approvals in a press release. “The approval shows that cooperation between authorities, municipalities and businesses enables technological leaps and Nacka Municipality is the first to become part of the transport system of the future. The fact that the driving of the future is also being tested on Swedish roads is an important step in the development towards autonomy in real everyday traffic,” the company noted. 

With approval secured for FSD tests, Tesla can now evaluate the system’s performance in diverse environments, including dense urban areas and high-speed roadways across Sweden, as noted in a report from Allt Om Elbil. Tesla highlighted that the continued development of advanced driver assistance systems is expected to pave the way for improved traffic safety, increased accessibility, and lower emissions, particularly in populated city centers.

Tesla FSD Supervised Europe rollout

FSD Supervised is already available to drivers in several global markets, including Australia, Canada, China, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United States. The system is capable of handling city and highway driving tasks such as steering, acceleration, braking, and lane changes, though it still requires drivers to supervise the vehicle’s operations.

Tesla has stated that FSD Supervised has accumulated extensive driving data from its existing markets. In Europe, however, deployment remains subject to regulatory approval, with Tesla currently awaiting clearance from relevant authorities.

The company reiterated that it expects to start rolling out FSD Supervised to European customers in early 2026, pending approvals. It would then be unsurprising if the company secures approvals for FSD tests in other European territories in the coming months. 

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Tesla owners in Sweden get direct attention from pro-union groups

As part of their efforts, the group has started distributing informational leaflets to Tesla vehicles across Stockholm, urging them to pressure the electric vehicle maker to sign a collective agreement.

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Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Amid Tesla Sweden’s ongoing conflict with trade union IF Metall, a group of pro-union supporters has begun directing their attention to actual Tesla owners.

As part of their efforts, the group has started distributing informational leaflets to Tesla vehicles across Stockholm, urging them to pressure the electric vehicle maker to sign a collective agreement.

Leaflets on parked Tesla vehicles

As noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report, participants of the protest place yellow information slips on parked Tesla vehicles across parts of Stockholm. The slips resemble parking notices that contain information related to the unions’ ongoing strike against Tesla Sweden.

Participants involved in the activity said the leaflets were intended to inform consumers rather than target individual owners. The action was carried out in public areas, with leaflets placed on windshields of parked vehicles. When vehicle owners are present, organizers said they provide verbal explanations of the labor dispute.

Tesla has not commented publicly about the matter as of writing.

Recurring demonstrations against Tesla

The leaflet distribution effort follows weekly demonstrations that have taken place outside Tesla’s workshop and office in Upplands Väsby, where protesters typically gather to express support for a collective agreement. Those demonstrations have included informational outreach to customers and workers and, at times, police presence, according to prior reporting.

In a comment, one of the protesters stated that even Tesla owners must be concerned about the unions’ conflict with the electric vehicle maker. “You may think it doesn’t concern you, as you only drive a car. But it does, as we all have a responsibility for the rules in Sweden. 

“We are not looking to hunt down individual Tesla owners. Rather, this is a way to spread opinion and increase pressure on Tesla. It should have some impact if several Tesla owners come in and say that you should sign a collective agreement,” one of the protesters stated. 

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Tesla lands massive deal to expand charging for heavy-duty electric trucks

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Credit: Tesla Semi/X

Tesla has landed a massive deal to expand its charging infrastructure for heavy-duty electric trucks — and not just theirs, but all manufacturers.

Tesla entered an agreement with Pilot Travel Centers, the largest operator of travel centers in the United States. Tesla’s Semi Chargers, which are used to charge Class 8 electric trucks, will be responsible for providing energy to various vehicles from a variety of manufacturers.

The first sites are expected to open later this Summer, and will be built at select locations along I-5 and I-10, major routes for commercial vehicles and significant logistics companies. The chargers will be available in California, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas.

Each station will have between four and eight chargers, delivering up to 1.2 megawatts of power at each stall.

The project is the latest in Tesla’s plans to expand Semi Charging availability. The effort is being put forth to create more opportunities for the development of sustainable logistics.

Senior Vice President of Alternative Fuels at Pilot, Shannon Sturgil, said:

“Helping to shape the future of energy is a strategic pillar in meeting the needs of our guests and the North American transportation industry. Heavy-duty charging is yet another extension of our exploration into alternative fuel offerings, and we’re happy to partner with a leader in the space that provides turnkey solutions and deploys them quickly.”

Tesla currently has 46 public Semi Charger sites in progress or planned across the United States, mostly positioned along major trucking routes and industrial areas. Perhaps the biggest bottleneck with owning an EV early on was charging availability, and that is no different with electric Class 8 trucks. They simply need an area to charge.

Tesla is spearheading the effort to expand Semicharging availability, and the latest partnership with Pilot shows the company has allies in the program.

The company plans to build 50,000 units of the Tesla Semi in the coming years, and with early adopters like PepsiCo, DHL, and others already contributing millions of miles of data, fleets are going to need reliable public charging.

Tesla is partnering with other companies for the development of the Semi program, most notably, a conglomeration with Uber was announced last year.

Tesla lands new partnership with Uber as Semi takes center stage

The ride-sharing platform plans to launch the Dedicated EV Fleet Accelerator Program, which it calls a “first-of-its-kind buyer’s program designed to make electric freight more affordable and accessible by addressing key adoption barriers.”

The Semi is one of several projects that will take Tesla into a completely different realm. Along with Optimus and its growing Energy division, the Semi will expand Tesla to new heights, and its prioritization of charging infrastructure.

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