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Elon Musk says Tesla Cybertruck launch will be ‘biggest on Earth this year’

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has predicted that the Tesla Cybertruck launch will be bigger than any other product launch in the world this year, ahead of the delivery event set to take place on Thursday.

Musk appeared for an almost-90-minute interview with reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin for the New York Times 2023 Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, during which the two talked about subjects ranging from Tesla and SpaceX to artificial intelligence (AI), the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, free speech and more.

During the conversation, Musk predicted that the Thursday Cybertruck launch would be “by far” this year’s largest product launch, adding that he’s done “more than any human on Earth” for the environment by selling electric vehicles (EVs).

“[The Cybertruck event] will be the biggest product launch of anything by far on Earth this year,” Musk said during the summit. “Whether you hate me, like me or are indifferent, do you want the best car or not the best car?”

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Tesla Cybertruck official webpage updated with delivery event countdown

Musk and Sorkin also discussed several other topics surrounding Tesla, including the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta. When pressed on how his companies were handling the competition, Musk noted that his companies aren’t intended to be competitive, highlighting how Tesla has even open-sourced its patents so other companies can use them.

Near the end of the conversation, Sorkin also asked Musk about the safety of autonomous vehicles, and when computer-driven vehicles would be “politically palatable” for the public.

“First of all, humans are terrible drivers,” Musk said. “So they will text and drive, drink and drive, they get into arguments. They, you know. They do all sorts of things in cars that they should not do.”

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“So it’s actually remarkable that there are not more deaths than there are,” Musk added.

“What we’ll find with computer driving is, I think, probably an order of magnitude reduction in deaths. The U.S. has actually far fewer deaths per capita than the rest of the world. If you go worldwide, I think there’s something close to a million deaths per year due to automotive accidents. So I think computer driving will probably drop that by 90 percent or more? It won’t be perfect, but it’ll be 10 times better.”

“The self driving thing is something I’ve been optimistic about,” Musk added. “We’ve certainly made a lot of progress. If anybody has tried the has been using the sort of full self driving beta, the progresses you know, every year has been substantial. It’s really not the point where in most places, it’ll take you from one place to another with no interventions.”

“And the data is unequivocal that that supervised, Full Self-Driving is somewhere around four times safer. Maybe more than than just be human driving by by themselves. So I can certainly see it coming.”

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Other topics surrounding Tesla included Musk’s prediction that the Model Y will become the world’s best-selling car this year, how much the CEO appreciates Chinese automakers, regulations on his companies and more. When asked if he thought full autonomy was another five or ten years away, Musk said “definitely not.”

Musk also disccused the recent decision from the UAW to launch union campaigns at Tesla and other automakers, saying that “if Tesla gets unionized, it will be because we deserve it and we failed in some way.”

You can watch Musk’s full interview at the New York Times Dealbook Summit below, featuring discussions on Tesla, the Chinese auto market, the U.S. political climate and much, much more.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Elon Musk

FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan

Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.

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Credit: @SecWar/X

U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.

Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.

Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.

The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.

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Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.

“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.

Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.

Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.

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Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.

SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.

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Energy

Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses

The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.

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Credit: Tesla Energy/X

Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.

The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.

According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.

The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.

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Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.

Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.

Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.

The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.

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Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.

The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.

At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk shares big Tesla Optimus 3 production update

According to Musk, Tesla is in the final stages of completing Optimus 3, which he described as one of the world’s most advanced humanoid robots.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that production of Optimus 3 could begin this summer. Musk shared the update in his interview at the Abundance Summit.

According to Musk, Tesla is in the final stages of completing Optimus 3, which he described as one of the world’s most advanced humanoid robots.

“We’re in the final stages of completion of Optimus 3, which is really going to be by far the most advanced robot in the world. Nothing’s even close. In fact, I haven’t even seen demos of robots that are as good as Optimus 3,” Musk said.

He also set expectations on the pace of Optimus 3’s production ramp, stating that the initial volumes of the humanoid robot will likely be very low. Musk did, however, also state that high production rates for Optimus 3 should be possible in 2027. 

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“I think we’ll start production on Optimus 3 this summer, but very slow at first, like sort of this classic S-curve ramp of manufacturing units versus time. And then, probably reach high volume production around summer next year,” he said.

Interestingly enough, the CEO hinted that Tesla is looking to iterate on the robot quickly, potentially releasing a new Optimus design every year.

“We’ll have Optimus 4 design complete next year. We’ll try to release a new robot design every year,” Musk stated.

Tesla has already outlined broader plans for scaling Optimus production beyond its first manufacturing line. Musk previously stated that Optimus 4 will be built at Gigafactory Texas at significantly higher production volumes.

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Initial production lines for the robot are expected to be located at Tesla’s Fremont Factory, where the company plans to establish a line capable of producing up to 1 million robots per year.

A larger production ramp is expected to occur at Gigafactory Texas, where Musk has previously suggested could eventually support production of up to 10 million robots per year.

“We’re going to launch on the fastest production ramp of any product of any large complex manufactured product ever, starting with building a one-million-unit production line in Fremont. And that’s Line one. And then a ten million unit per year production line here,” Musk said previously.

The comments suggest that while Optimus 3 will likely begin production at Fremont, Tesla’s larger-scale manufacturing push could arrive with Optimus 4 at Gigafactory Texas.

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