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Honda to enter battery market with new ‘high capacity’ cells in joint venture [Updated]

Honda and GS Yuasa Reach Basic Agreement Toward Collaboration for a High-capacity, High-output Lithium-ion Battery - Credit: Honda

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Update: 10:27 am est: Added comment from Honda, para. 4

Honda has announced that it will be working to co-develop “high capacity and high output” lithium-ion batteries via a joint venture with Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa.

Automakers globally have quickly begun to realize over the past 2-3 years that having a dependable battery supply and potentially their own battery design can allow for a better product, more dependable production, and reduced cost. Honda will be doing both of those things via its newest partnership with battery maker GS Yuasa, resulting in a joint venture being formed by the end of this year.

According to Honda’s press release, the partnership between the automaker and battery company has been pursued to create “high capacity and high output lithium-ion batteries,” however, no specific specifications or design goals have been highlighted. The other key detail included in the release was that the partnership would also focus on “the supply chain for key raw materials,” potentially indicating that the companies would vertically integrate the development of necessary resources.

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In a comment to Teslarati, Honda specified stating, “The two companies will discuss details of their activities and specification of their products in the coming months with a goal to establish a joint venture company by the end of 2023. Further detail will be announced in due course.” Furthermore, Honda noted that the batteries would be produced “mainly for the Japanese market.”

Surprisingly, this is not Honda’s first battery partnership; it isn’t even the company’s first battery partnership this year. Honda announced just two weeks ago that it would be working with LG to establish a battery production location in the United States.

While some have criticized Honda’s slower move towards electrification compared to western counterparts, the brand may be leading Japanese competitors such as Toyota and Nissan, who have not pursued battery production deals with the same vigor.

Despite its slow uptake, Honda may need electric offerings now more than ever, and its partnership to create better batteries is crucial to that pursuit. Honda’s sales in North America plummeted in 2022, often attributed to supply chain issues that particularly impacted Asian automakers, but also due to a newer brand that has taken in many previous Honda customers, Tesla. According to recent survey data, Honda and Toyota were the leading brands that have lost customers to Tesla.

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As Honda attempts to right the ship and grow sales to match pre-2022 levels, dedication to electrification will be essential. However, without an electric offering, Honda will still face a significant challenge in growing sales in many western markets where electric offerings are becoming increasingly popular.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

Will is an auto enthusiast, a gear head, and an EV enthusiast above all. From racing, to industry data, to the most advanced EV tech on earth, he now covers it at Teslarati.

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Elon Musk

Tesla Hardware 3 owners could be made whole this month

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Credit: Tesla Asia/Twitter

Tesla Hardware 3 owners are set to get a new Full Self-Driving version this month as the company plans to release what it is referring to as v14 Lite.

The rollout is not yet confirmed for June, but Tesla executives have stated on several occasions that this more refined FSD iteration will work with their cars and increase its capabilities.

This comes after Tesla admitted during its last Earnings Call that these Hardware 3 vehicles would not be able to achieve Full Self-Driving, something that they did not know when they bought these cars. We regularly receive messages from Hardware 3 owners asking when v14 Lite will come out, what they should expect, and whether it is worth it to upgrade the self-driving computer or buy a new car altogether.

It is hard not to feel for them; Tesla CEO Elon Musk said at the company’s 2019 Autonomy Day that all vehicles produced at the time, including Hardware 3 cars, had “all the hardware necessary, compute and otherwise, for Full Self-Driving.”

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Musk also said in March of that year that, “Anyone who purchased Full Self-Driving will get FSD computer upgrade for free.”

However, during the Q1 2026 Earnings Call, Musk admitted that Hardware 3 vehicles would not be capable of FSD, as “It has only 1/8th the memory bandwidth of Hardware 4, and memory bandwidth is one of the key elements needed for unsupervised FSD.”

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Tesla has made some effort to remedy these Hardware 3 owners by offering:

  • Discounted trade-ins toward AI4 cars
  • Hardware retrofits, which would replace the self-driving computer and upgrade all cameras
  • Full Self-Driving v14 Lite

The issue is that many of these owners were led to believe their cars would be capable of unsupervised self-driving. Now, they’re left scrambling for options, and while there are several, they will all require more money out of their pockets.

Expectations for Tesla v14 Lite for Hardware 3 Owners

The big differences between the AI4 v14 and v14 Lite for Hardware 3 owners will stem primarily from hardware constraints. Tesla developed v14 Lite with an optimized frame of mind; the v14 neural nets are toned down to run on an HW3 computer.

Tesla v14 will use the same behavior, but its limits will be hardware-related, especially given that the cameras on HW3 vehicles are lower-resolution.

Tesla reveals its plans for Hardware 3 owners who are eager for updates

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This will result in potentially more edge cases due to the lower quality perception and less long-range detection, but reaction time and overall confidence should be more refined.

There should also be a handful of additional features that are available on AI4 cars, such as:

  • Starting Full Self-Driving from Park
  • Auto Shift
  • Streaks
  • Speed Profiles
  • Improved Dynamics, like Pulling Over for Emergency Vehicles

Tesla plans to release v14 Lite this month, but we are all familiar with how the company can be with timelines. Additionally, if v14 Lite has not proven to be ready for a wide release, Tesla will slam the brakes on the rollout.

We would anticipate that Tesla is testing v14 Lite internally, and likely has been for several months.

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Elon Musk

SpaceXAI just launched into your kitchen with their new app

SpaceXAI just powered its first consumer app and it predicts what you want to buy.

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SpaceXAI just made its first move into consumer AI, and it involves your grocery cart. On June 3, 2026, Gopuff and SpaceXAI announced the launch of Go, a Grok-powered shopping assistant built directly into the Gopuff app that predicts what you need before you even start searching for it.

Gopuff is an instant delivery platform that operates more than 400 micro-fulfillment centers across the U.S., delivering everyday essentials, snacks, drinks, and household items in as little as 15 minutes. It is not a restaurant delivery app or a marketplace. It owns its inventory, controls its warehouses, and handles its own logistics, which means it has built one of the most detailed consumer behavior datasets in retail over its 13-year history.

Go combines SpaceXAI’s advanced reasoning, voice, and image generation models with Gopuff’s dataset of hundreds of millions of orders and real-time cultural signals from X to prepare a suggested cart the moment a customer opens the app. It learns each shopper’s habits and automatically builds a personalized cart based on time of day, location, order history, and real-time indicators. Returning customers can check out with a single tap.


Rather than searching for specific items, users can describe a situation like a game-day party or the desire for a healthy breakfast and Go will assemble a cart automatically. It can also predict when shoppers are running low on items like coffee or paper towels and have them packed and delivered in under 15 minutes. Grok voice integration lets users talk to the app in plain conversational language and check out completely hands-free.

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Gopuff co-founder and co-CEO Yakir Gola said: “Today, we believe the greatest friction left in commerce is not delivery or instantaneous access to the essentials customers need. It’s the moment before: the thinking, the deciding, the remembering. We’re combining Gopuff’s demand intelligence with xAI’s frontier reasoning to create an everyday shopping experience that feels like a true extension of you.”

Why SpaceX just made a $60 billion bet on AI coding ahead of historic IPO

The timing carries context beyond the product launch. SpaceXAI was formed after SpaceX completed an all-stock merger with Elon Musk’s xAI earlier this year, folding one of the most advanced AI labs in the world into the same corporate structure as the company preparing what could be the largest IPO in history. SpaceXAI is dipping into consumer-focused AI just as it prepares for its public debut, and while Musk has openly discussed building an everything app, this launch uses Grok to power another company’s product rather than launching a standalone consumer platform. Every consumer-facing deployment of Grok ahead of the IPO roadshow adds tangible evidence that SpaceXAI is not just an infrastructure play but a direct competitor in the AI application layer where OpenAI and Google are already fighting for dominance.

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Tesla adds new Supercharger feature for a better idea of what to expect

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has introduced an enhanced visualization in its Supercharger navigation system, building directly on the Site Maps feature rolled out a few months ago.

This latest software update adds detailed 3D icons that represent specific vehicle models parked at charging stalls, offering drivers a more precise view of site occupancy and layout.

The Site Maps debuted in Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update, providing 3D overviews of select Supercharger locations with real-time stall availability.

Tesla supplements Holiday Update by sneaking in new Full Self-Driving version

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Drivers could see which spots were open, occupied, or out of service when navigating to supported stations.

Now, the system takes this capability further by rendering accurate representations of Tesla vehicles, including distinctions between models such as the Model 3, Model Y, Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck. These icons appear as lifelike 3D renderings, complete with recognizable shapes and proportions that match the actual cars charging at the site:

This refinement improves the user experience during road trips and daily charging stops. As drivers approach a Supercharger, the navigation display now shows not just generic occupied markers but identifiable vehicle types plugged into each stall.

Blue indicators highlight active charging sessions, while other visual cues denote availability or maintenance status. The feature integrates seamlessly with the existing map interface, allowing quick assessment of the best available spot based on vehicle size and positioning.

Tesla continues to expand the availability of these detailed Site Maps across its global network. Initially piloted at a limited number of locations, the rollout has progressed steadily, with more stations gaining support in recent software versions.

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Owners benefit from better planning, as the system helps identify compatible stalls and reduces uncertainty upon arrival. The update reflects Tesla’s ongoing commitment to refining its navigation and charging ecosystem through iterative software improvements.

In addition to model-specific icons, the enhanced maps maintain all prior functionalities, such as integration with nearby amenities and energy usage predictions. This ensures a comprehensive tool for efficient Supercharging.

As Tesla’s fleet grows and the network scales, such features play a key role in optimizing the overall ownership experience. Future updates may extend similar visualizations to additional sites and incorporate even more data points for drivers.

With this piggyback enhancement, Tesla demonstrates how small but thoughtful additions can elevate an already useful tool, making Supercharger visits smoother and more informed for its customers. The company is expected to broaden the feature’s reach in upcoming releases, further solidifying its leadership in EV charging infrastructure.

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