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Elon Musk to meet with Indian Prime Minister Modi during TSLA’s Q1 earnings week: report

Credit: Tesla Asia/X

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Recent reports have emerged stating that Tesla CEO Elon Musk will be meeting Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi later this month. Musk and Modi’s meeting will reportedly take place during the week of April 22, which also happens to be the same week as Tesla’s first quarter earnings call, which is scheduled on April 23, 2024.

Musk’s reported visit to India this month was initially reported by Reuters, which cited two people reportedly familiar with the matter. The publication’s sources also claimed that Musk would be accompanied by several executives during his visit, and he would also be making an announcement about his India plans. 

The Indian Prime Minister’s office and Tesla have not provided a comment about the recent reports. The publication also noted that Musk’s agenda on his upcoming trip to India might still change in the coming weeks. 

Tesla’s entry into India has been a long time coming. While Tesla’s previous apparent attempts at entering the Indian market have not panned out, local reports and Elon Musk’s recent comments about the country suggest that a Tesla debut in India may indeed be coming. During a recent X Spaces session, for example, Elon Musk noted that India is a natural progression for Tesla, especially since the country is now the most populous in the world. 

“India is now the most populous country in the world, based on population. India should have electric cars just like every other country has electric cars. It’s a natural progression to provide Tesla electric vehicles in India,” Musk said. 

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Recent reports have also hinted at Tesla’s ongoing preparations for its potential India launch. Citing people reportedly close to the matter, Reuters claimed in a report that Tesla Giga Berlin-Brandenburg is producing Right Hand Drive (RHD) Model Y vehicles for the country. Local reports from have also suggested that the state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat are putting in some extra effort in their attempt to attract Tesla. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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.

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Tesla Semi factory receives giant production equipment

The massive machine was transported to the Semi factory using two diesel trucks and a triple trailer.

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Credit: @HinrichsZane/X

Tesla seems determined to kick off the production of the Tesla Semi sometime this year at its Nevada factory.

This was hinted at by the arrival of massive production equipment to the Semi’s manufacturing site near Giga Nevada.

New equipment

What appeared to be a massive stamping machine has been transported to the Giga Texas complex. Spotted by longtime drone operator and Tesla Semi advocate @HinrichsZane, the massive contraption is so large and heavy that a single semi truck and trailer were not enough to move it. Instead, the massive machine was shipped to the Semi factory using two diesel trucks and a triple trailer.

The machine was fully covered in the videos from Nevada, but based on its shape and size, it appears that it is a stamping press for the Class 8 all-electric truck. Tesla is a pioneer in the use of Megacasts in the automotive industry, so it makes sense for the company to use a Giga Press for the Semi’s production as well.

Ambitious goals

The Tesla Semi factory is expected to produce a whopping 50,000 units of the Class 8 all-electric truck annually when it is fully ramped. At that output, the facility would be one of the country’s highest-volume plants for semi trailers, electric or otherwise. In a video posted earlier this year, Dan Priestley, who leads the Semi program at Tesla, stated that the company is looking to achieve volume production over the coming quarters.

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This should allow the Tesla Semi factory to mass produce the vehicle by 2026. Tesla CEO Elon Musk reiterated this timeframe recently, when he responded to a post on social media platform X about Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates being bearish about battery electric semi trucks.  “Tesla Semi will be in volume production next year,” Musk said in his post, which also included a laughing emoji. 

Check out the drone operator’s recent footage of the Tesla Semi factory in the video below.

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Elon Musk argues lidar and radar make self driving cars more dangerous

The CEO is not just stating that using sensors like lidar is unnecessary to achieve self-driving.

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Credit: Tesla/YouTube

Elon Musk is taking a firmer stance in the vision vs lidar debate for autonomous driving. In his more recent comments, the CEO is not just stating that using sensors like lidar is unnecessary to achieve self-driving. 

Musk is stating that using lidar actually makes self-driving cars more dangerous. 

Uber CEO’s comments

During a recent interview, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shared his thoughts on the autonomy race. As per the CEO, he is still inclined to believe that Waymo’s approach, which requires outfitting cars with equipment such as lidar and radar, is necessary to achieve superhuman levels of safety for self-driving cars. 

“Solid state LiDAR is $500. Why not include lidar as well in order to achieve super human safety. All of our partners are using a combination of camera, radar and LiDAR, and I personally think that’s the right solution, but I could be proven wrong,” the Uber CEO noted.

Elon Musk’s rebuttal

In response to the Uber CEO’s comments, Elon Musk stated that lidar and radar, at least based on Tesla’s experience, actually reduce safety instead of improving it. As per the Tesla CEO, there are times when sensors such as lidar and radar disagree with cameras. This creates sensor ambiguity, which, in turn, creates more risk. Musk then noted that Tesla has seen an improvement in safety once the company focused on a vision only approach. 

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“Lidar and radar reduce safety due to sensor contention. If lidars/radars disagree with cameras, which one wins? This sensor ambiguity causes increased, not decreased, risk. That’s why Waymos can’t drive on highways. We turned off the radars in Teslas to increase safety. Cameras ftw,’ Musk wrote.

Musk’s comments are quite notable as Tesla was able to launch a dedicated Robotaxi pilot in Austin and the Bay Area using its vision-based autonomous systems. The same is true for FSD, which is quickly becoming notably better than humans in driving. 

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Tesla Model Y L sold out for September 2025

This was hinted at in Tesla China’s configurator for the all-electric crossover.

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Credit: Tesla China

It appears that the Tesla Model Y L has been sold out in China for September 2025. This was hinted at in Tesla China’s configurator for the all-electric crossover.

Model Y L deliveries

Since the Model Y L’s official launch earlier this month, Tesla has been pretty consistent in the idea that the extended wheelbase variant of its best-selling vehicle will see its first deliveries sometime in September. This was quite an impressive timeframe for Tesla, considering that the Model Y L has only been launched this August. 

Nevertheless, both Tesla China’s Model Y configurator and comments from company executives have noted that the vehicle will see its first customer deliveries in September. “Tesla cars are fun to drive alone, whether you have children or how many children, this car can meet all your needs. We will deliver in September and wait for you to get in the car,” Tesla China VP Grace Tao wrote on Weibo.

Credit: Tesla China

October 2025 deliveries

A look at Tesla China’s order page as of writing shows that the earliest deliveries for the Model Y L, if ordered today, would be October 2025 instead. This suggests that the six-seat Model Y variant has effectively been sold out for September. This bodes well for the vehicle, and it suggests that it is a variant that may be able to raise Tesla’s sales numbers in China, as well as territories where the Model Y L could be exported.

Rumors of the Model Y L’s strong sales have been abounding. After the vehicle’s launch, industry watchers estimated that Tesla China has received over 35,000 orders for the Model Y L in just one day. Later estimates suggested that the Model Y L’s orders have breached the 50,000 mark.

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