Elon Musk once stated that no one ever changed the world working just 40 hours a week. This was something that is openly known among his companies. They have the potential to change the world, but they require a lot of hours.

SpaceX’s working environment was recently criticized by Chris Kemp, the chief executive officer of Astra. During some remarks at the Berkeley Space Symposium 2025 earlier this month, Kemp shared some sharp remarks about the Elon Musk-led private space enterprise.

SpaceX working conditions and Starbase

As noted in a report from Ars Technica, Kemp discussed a variety of topics during his talk. These included Astra’s successes and failures, as well as his thoughts on other players in the spaceflight industry. To be fair to Kemp, he practically shaded every major rival, calling Firefly’s engine “garbage,” dubbing Blue Origin as slow, and stating that Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket is “too small.”

SpaceX also received some colorful words from the Astra CEO. According to Kemp, SpaceX is leading the way in the spaceflight industry and Elon Musk is admirable in the way that he is willing to fail in order to move quickly. He did, however, highlight that Astra offers a significantly better working environment than SpaceX.

“It’s more fun than SpaceX, because we’re not on the border of Mexico where they’ll chop your head off if you accidentally take a left turn. And you don’t have to live in a trailer. And we don’t make you work six and a half days a week, 12 hours a day. It’s appreciated if you do, but not required,” Kemp said.

Elon Musk’s demands

It is known that Elon Musk demands quite a lot from his employees. However, it is also known that Musk-led companies move very fast and, in more ways than one, they have accomplished world-changing feats. Tesla, for example, has practically ushered in the era of the modern electric vehicle, and SpaceX has made space attainable through its reusable rockets. With this in mind, employees at Musk’s companies, and this of course includes SpaceX, are likely proud of their long work hours. 

No one could probably go to Mars in this lifetime with a team that really works just 40 hours a week, after all.

Tesla registrations in Sweden surged in September, with the Model Y climbing back to the top spot among fully electric vehicles in the country. The rebound marks a sharp turnaround for the electric vehicle maker, with new Model Y figures showing an impressive 492% increase compared to August.

Strong rebound after difficult year

The Model Y had previously slipped to fourth place in Sweden’s rankings, and even with incentives such as zero-interest financing, momentum had been challenged throughout much of the year. That is, at least, until now, with September’s results suggesting a notable recovery for the best-selling Model Y.

Data from Car.info indicates that the Model Y has become Sweden’s most newly registered car in September. Compared to August’s figures, September’s Model Y registrations have seen a stunning 492% rise. It should be noted, however, that year-over-year registrations are still down in the country, as noted in a CarUp report.

European production sees positive trend

Tesla executives have pointed to the company’s broader strength in Europe. Gigafactory Berlin head André Thierig told German outlet dpa that sales have improved enough to prompt revised production targets for the third and fourth quarters. “We currently have very good sales figures and have therefore revised our production plans,” Thierig said, noting that the factory is operating at full capacity.

Apart from the Model Y’s momentum, used Teslas are also starting to see positive trends in Sweden. As per recent reports, electric car dealer Carla, which has grown into Sweden’s second-largest used EV retailer, Tesla resale values jumped nearly 10% between June and August. So notable was the rise in consumer interest in used Teslas that the vehicles ended up helping Carla rebound into profitability.

Tesla has gotten its first-ever Supercharger highway sign in the U.S. state of Arizona, bringing a big change to the appearance of what usually shows drivers where gas, lodging, and food options are.

Although Tesla has the ability to flex its muscles with its EV prowess and its charging presence in the United States, one thing it has never done before is been recognized on a highway sign.

As EVs have gotten more popular in the U.S., owners have relied on in-car navigation to get them to where they need to be.

Highway signs are still useful, though. They can point travelers in the direction of a nice coffee shop, a notable restaurant, or to a lodging option that might not appear on the in-car navigation.

I like to use them to point me in the direction of the nearest Waffle Shop when I’m on the road.

But for the first time, a Tesla Supercharger is advertised on one of these highway signs:

First highway sign with Superchargers, more to come pic.twitter.com/k6VWcEJDyZ

— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) September 24, 2025

The contrast to the first-ever Tesla Supercharging highway sign is placed directly above the company’s iconic logo: it is the source of energy for what CEO Elon Musk has long sought to replace, gasoline-powered vehicles.

Perhaps a minor addition to a much broader change in the U.S. automotive sector, it serves as a reminder of how far the company has come in the past few years. Thinking back to just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Tesla was not doing anything close to what it is now.

It was delivering just over 100,000 vehicles in a quarter. It was not building the Model Y, and it was mostly reliant on its mass-market Model 3 for the vast majority of its volume, about 90 percent in Q4 2019.

Now, the landscape is changing, and it is changing quickly. Since many North American EV makers have access to the Supercharging infrastructure Tesla has built over the past several years, the advertisement of the location is advantageous for many.