We are a month into 2021, and I wanted to switch things up a little bit and get away from the technical jargon of Tesla talk and move onto something a little lighter-hearted. Earlier this week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that he was taking a break from Twitter, and it inspired me to write a piece that wasn’t so focused on automotive development or batteries, and instead on something that it reminded me of.
Now, before I begin, I realize Musk holds a lot more responsibilities than I do. He is the CEO of several companies, he has a large platform, he has hecklers and botherers of proportions I cannot (and don’t want to) begin to imagine. The guy is under a microscope with every move, and I think it is perfectly reasonable that he took a break from social media, even if it was only for a few days.
It reminded me of how last Summer, I decided to take a break from social media. The only thing I kept was Twitter, and it was only for work. I deleted Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook, and I found it extremely refreshing. I decided that it was time to do a little bit of self-reflection, and instead of finding things through my phone for entertainment, I decided to do a slight dopamine detox and challenge myself to fight “boredom” in my spare time, and I found the effects to be very advantageous for my mental and physical health.
Off Twitter for a while
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 2, 2021
As a 26-year-old, I am at the heart of social media. I can remember when MySpace was a thing in my high school years, I can reflect back on opening up my first Facebook account. I even have a few Twitter accounts that still exist from the early days when I was figuring out the platform. Now, I’m a bit older than I was then, but I have slowly found myself finding the toxicity of social media to be more evident than I have in previous years. It is full of hypocrisy, hatred, criticism, and false glamour that many people simply do not have the time for. While it is used by basically everyone on Earth with an internet connection, it doesn’t mean it is great to be on constantly, and I must think that Elon, the guy who probably has more mental strength than most people, even needs to take a break and focus on himself every once in a while.
With that being said, I think there are a plethora of things that really went through my head when he announced his short-lived break. First off, I know I never want to be in the position he is in. I think about the lack of privacy he must have, and also how his critic base is likely as large as his support system. Unfortunately, there are people who find him to be unappealing, which is something I just don’t understand. However, I do know that even as someone in a position with such wealth and power, he has to feel that sometimes, social media is simply too much for even him to handle.
This is a preview from our weekly newsletter. Each week I go ‘Beyond the News’ and handcraft a special edition that includes my thoughts on the biggest stories, why it matters, and how it could impact the future.
I tried to take this lesson to heart earlier this week, and I realized that it is important to take a step back from who we are in our professional lives, and simply be human every once in a while. Many of us are lost in the daily grind of our careers. I know that, personally, I find myself up at night wondering how I can be a better writer. How can I break that big story? How can I make Teslarati a better outlet for news than it already is? These are questions I think anyone who gives a damn would ask themselves, with respect to their own careers. It is the kind of mindset my parents instilled in me as a child: Hard work and dedication pays the bills. You can be whoever you want to be if you set your mind to it, and I always told myself that I would be a journalist eventually, I just didn’t know when. Luckily, I got the shot when I was 24, and I’ll never look back.
As we all live in a world full of the latest and greatest technology, many of the readers of this newsletter owning perhaps the greatest piece of technology in our world right now, it is hard to get away from what we all use and love. It is hard, and it is understandable to think about life without it. But when is the last time you took a step back from everything and examined your life and how you are living? Take a step back from your work, your connection to so many others through the internet, and examine your serenity and how you feel without it. It will probably be refreshing.
Many of us are not under the level of stress that a Tesla CEO feels, and many of us will never feel that stress. But it doesn’t mean you don’t deserve a break. It doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve to set your phone down for a few days and just be by yourself with your own thoughts.
The last few nights, I have been reading “As A Man Thinketh,” by James Allen, a book I read several times a year. A few lines of it really inspired me to write this newsletter, and I want to share those lines with you all. The lines reminded me of Elon’s reflection on the 2017 “production hell” episode of Model 3 manufacturing, and how the critics are still vocal and plentiful. While Elon admits there are times where buying a Tesla vehicle is not favorable to the consumer, he is still doing his best to solve these issues.
“The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a man grow rich, they say, ‘How lucky he is!’ Observing another become intellectual, they exclaim, ‘How highly favored he is!’ And noting the saintly character and wide influence of another, they remark, ‘How chance aids him at every turn!’ They do not see the trials and failures and struggles which these men have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience; they have no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made, of the undaunted efforts they have put forth, of the faith they have exercised, that they might overcome the apparently insurmountable, and realize the vision of their heart. They do not know the darkness and the heartaches; they only see the light and joy, and call it ‘luck.’ They do not see the long and arduous journey, but only behold the pleasant goal, and call it ‘good fortune,’ do not understand the process, but only perceive the result, and call it chance. In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result. Chance is not. Gifts, powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of effort; they are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realized. The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart–this you will build your life by, this you will become.”
So with this, I want to say, grind while you can, but take breaks when the time is right. You have this one life, so don’t get lost in your work. Enjoy the good times. The work we put in brings us the fruits of life, but make sure that you take the time to enjoy those fruits.
They won’t be ripe forever.
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I use this newsletter to share my thoughts on what is going on in the Tesla world. If you want to talk to me directly, you can email me or reach me on Twitter. I don’t bite, be sure to reach out!
Lifestyle
Tesla Semi hauls fresh Cybercab batch as Robotaxi era takes hold
A Tesla Semi was filmed hauling Cybercab units out of Giga Texas for the first time.
A Tesla Semi loaded with Cybercab units was recently filmed leaving Gigafactory Texas, marking what appears to be the first documented delivery run of Tesla’s autonomous two-seater. The footage shows multiple Cybercabs secured on a flatbed trailer being hauled by a production Tesla Semi, a truck rated for a gross combination weight of 82,000 lbs. The location is consistent with Giga Texas in Austin, where Cybercab production has been ramping since February 2026.
The sighting follows a wave of Cybercab activity at the Austin facility. In late April, drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer spotted approximately 60 Cybercabs parked in two organized groups in the factory’s outbound lot, the largest concentration observed to date. Units being staged in an outbound lot is a standard pre-delivery step, and the Semi footage is the logical next frame in that sequence.
En route with @tesla_semi pic.twitter.com/ZfuOjaeLH1
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) May 7, 2026
This is not the first time Tesla has used its own Semi to move Tesla products. When the Semi was unveiled in 2017, Musk noted it would be used for Tesla’s own operations, and over the years Semi prototypes were spotted carrying cargo ranging from concrete weights to Tesla vehicles being delivered to consumers. In 2023, a Semi was photographed transporting a Cybertruck on a trailer ahead of that vehicle’s delivery launch.
The Cybercab itself was first revealed publicly at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, where 20 pre-production units gave attendees rides around the studio lot. Musk stated at the event that Tesla intends to produce the Cybercab before 2027. The first production unit rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026, with Musk posting on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab.”
Tesla’s annual production goal is 2 million Cybercabs per year once multiple factories reach full design capacity, with the company targeting a price under $30,000 per unit. Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.
Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.
Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.
The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.
What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing. Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybercab just rolled through Miami inside a glass box
Tesla paraded a Cybercab in a glass display at Miami’s F1 Grand Prix event this week.
Tesla set up an “Autonomy Pop-Up” at Lummus Park in Miami Beach from April 29 through May 3, 2026, embedded within the official F1 Miami Grand Prix Fan Fest. The centerpiece was a Cybertruck towing the Cybercab inside a glass display case marked “Future is Autonomous,” rolling through the beachfront crowd.
Miami is on Tesla’s confirmed list of cities for robotaxi expansion in the first half of 2026, making the promotion a strategic promotion that lays groundwork in a target market.
This was not Tesla’s first time using Miami as a showcase city. In December 2025, Tesla hosted “The Future of Autonomy Visualized” at its Miami Design District showroom, coinciding with Art Basel Miami Beach. That event featured the Cybercab prototype and Optimus robots interacting with attendees. The F1 pop-up this week marks Tesla’s return to Miami and follows a pattern Tesla has been running since early 2026. Just two weeks before Miami, Tesla stationed Optimus at the Tesla Boston Boylston Street showroom on April 19 and 20, directly on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon, letting tens of thousands of runners and spectators meet the robot for free, generating massive earned media at zero advertising cost.
Tesla is sending its humanoid Optimus robot to the Boston Marathon
Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year. On the production side, Musk told shareholders that the Cybercab manufacturing process could eventually produce up to 5 million vehicles per year, targeting a cycle time of one unit every ten seconds. Scaling robotaxis to 10 million operational units over the next ten years is a key condition of his compensation package, alongside selling 20 million passenger vehicles.
As for the Cybercab’s price, Musk has said buyers will be able to purchase one for under $30,000, with an average operating cost around $0.20 per mile. Whether those numbers hold through full production remains to be seen.
Cybercab at F1 Fan Fest in Miami
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u/Joshalander in
teslamotors
Tesla launches its solution to rare but relevant Supercharger problem
Tesla Optimus is already benefiting investors, top Wall Street firm says
