News
Man Versus Musk film has ties to Tesla Energy competitors
Update: EQT declined to comment.
Some new information about the Man Versus Musk film has come to light showing ties to one of Tesla’s competitors, EQT-owned Cypress Creek Renewables. Our friends at Tesmanian reported this new find.
On Saturday, we reported on a tip from one of our readers who found an ad on Backstage offering to pay influencers $100 to read from a script that smeared Tesla, Elon Musk, and autonomous driving.
@compulyze found that the same website promoting the casting for Man Versus Musk is a subsidiary of a firm owning a competing solar and battery storage energy company in Texas @compulyze also pointed out that the filmmaker, Jordan Skopp and Charlie Schulman, who is supporting Skopp, have very little experience in the industry yet Backstage verified them regardless.
The initial casting call is offering $100 to influencers for reading from a script that smears Elon Musk, Tesla, and autonomous driving. In the script, each of the influencers is to introduce themselves as Jordan Skopp and bring up the dangers of distracted driving and then go on to bash Elon Musk.
Tesmanian noted that in February, Backstage was bought by Cast & Crew which describes itself as a provider of software and services to the entertainment industry. Cast & Crew was previously bought by EQT, a Swedish investment firm in 2018. EQT has over EUR 71 billion in assets across 27 active funds. In October 2021, EQT acquired Cypress Creek Renewables, an integrated solar and storage company.
In June 2022, Cypress Creek announced that it was closing the funding for a solar and storage project in Texas. Tesmanian added that the project would include an 80MWh battery energy storage system using Tesla Megapacks but oddly, there was no mention of Tesla or its products in the press release.
Teslarati reached out to EQT, Backstage, and Cypress Creek for a comment and we’ll update you when or if they respond.
My 2.5¢
I have to admit, I can be naive at times. In my reporting of the film, I said that I thought the filmmaker wanted to do good and probably saw themselves as doing good. I was being sickeningly optimistic. And many of our readers called me out on that. You’re right.
The idea of campaigning against distracted driving is good. Too many drivers aren’t paying attention behind the wheel and I know I’ve been in a few tangles with them as a pedestrian trying to cross at a crosswalk.
To be quite frank, I didn’t want to come out and bash the filmmaker as that isn’t professional. But I will say this. These influencers participating for the $100 should be aware that they are reading from a script, using their face and likeness to promote misinformation and an outright smear against Tesla and Elon Musk. They could, sadly, get caught up in any legal battles if those come. And that is where Skopp and his team are very, very wrong.
Note: Johnna is a Tesla shareholder and supports its mission.
Your feedback is important. If you have any comments, or concerns, or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter at @JohnnaCrider1.
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Tesla has given its biggest hint that Full Self-Driving in Europe is imminent, as a new feature seems to show that the company is preparing for frequent border crossings.
Tesla owner and influencer BLKMDL3, also known as Zack, recently took his Tesla to the border of California and Mexico at Tijuana, and at the international crossing, Full Self-Driving showed an interesting message: “Upcoming country border — FSD (Supervised) will become unavailable.”
FSD now shows a new message when approaching an international border crossing.
Stayed engaged the whole way as we crossed the border and worked great in Mexico! pic.twitter.com/bDzyLnyq0g
— Zack (@BLKMDL3) January 26, 2026
Due to regulatory approvals, once a Tesla operating on Full Self-Driving enters a new country, it is required to comply with the laws and regulations that are applicable to that territory. Even if legal, it seems Tesla will shut off FSD temporarily, confirming it is in a location where operation is approved.
This is something that will be extremely important in Europe, as crossing borders there is like crossing states in the U.S.; it’s pretty frequent compared to life in America, Canada, and Mexico.
Tesla has been working to get FSD approved in Europe for several years, and it has been getting close to being able to offer it to owners on the continent. However, it is still working through a lot of the red tape that is necessary for European regulators to approve use of the system on their continent.
This feature seems to be one that would be extremely useful in Europe, considering the fact that crossing borders into other countries is much more frequent than here in the U.S., and would cater to an area where approvals would differ.
Tesla has been testing FSD in Spain, France, England, and other European countries, and plans to continue expanding this effort. European owners have been fighting for a very long time to utilize the functionality, but the red tape has been the biggest bottleneck in the process.
Tesla Europe builds momentum with expanding FSD demos and regional launches
Tesla operates Full Self-Driving in the United States, China, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship V3 gets launch date update from Elon Musk
The first flight of Starship Version 3 and its new Raptor V3 engines could happen as early as March.
Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX’s next Starship launch, Flight 12, is expected in about six weeks. This suggests that the first flight of Starship Version 3 and its new Raptor V3 engines could happen as early as March.
In a post on X, Elon Musk stated that the next Starship launch is in six weeks. He accompanied his announcement with a photo that seemed to have been taken when Starship’s upper stage was just about to separate from the Super Heavy Booster. Musk did not state whether SpaceX will attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster during the upcoming flight.
The upcoming flight will mark the debut of Starship V3. The upgraded design includes the new Raptor V3 engine, which is expected to have nearly twice the thrust of the original Raptor 1, at a fraction of the cost and with significantly reduced weight. The Starship V3 platform is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability.
The Starship V3 Flight 12 launch timeline comes as SpaceX pursues an aggressive development cadence for the fully reusable launch system. Previous iterations of Starship have racked up a mixed but notable string of test flights, including multiple integrated flight tests in 2025.
Interestingly enough, SpaceX has teased an aggressive timeframe for Starship V3’s first flight. Way back in late November, SpaceX noted on X that it will be aiming to launch Starship V3’s maiden flight in the first quarter of 2026. This was despite setbacks like a structural anomaly on the first V3 booster during ground testing.
“Starship’s twelfth flight test remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026,” the company wrote in its post on X.
News
Tesla China rolls out Model 3 insurance subsidy through February
Eligible customers purchasing a Model 3 by February 28 can receive an insurance subsidy worth RMB 8,000 (about $1,150).
Tesla has rolled out a new insurance subsidy for Model 3 buyers in China, adding another incentive as the automaker steps up promotions in the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
Eligible customers purchasing a Model 3 by February 28 can receive an insurance subsidy worth RMB 8,000 (about $1,150).
A limited-time subsidy
The insurance subsidy, which was announced by Tesla China on Weibo, applies to the Model 3 RWD, Long Range RWD, and Long Range AWD variants. Tesla stated that the offer is available to buyers who complete their purchase on or before February 28, as noted in a CNEV Post report. The starting prices for these variants are RMB 235,500, RMB 259,500, and RMB 285,500, respectively.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance, which starts at RMB 339,500, is excluded from the subsidy. The company has previously used insurance incentives at the beginning of the year to address softer seasonal demand in China’s auto market. The program is typically phased out as sales conditions stabilize over the year.
China’s electric vehicle market
The insurance subsidy followed Tesla’s launch of a 7-year low-interest financing plan in China on January 6, which is aimed at improving vehicle affordability amid changing policy conditions. After Tesla introduced the financing program, several automakers, such as Xiaomi, Li Auto, Xpeng, and Voyah, introduced similar long-term financing options.
China’s electric vehicle market has faced additional headwinds entering 2026. Buyers of new energy vehicles are now subject to a 5% purchase tax, compared with the previous full exemption. At the same time, vehicle trade-in subsidies in several cities are expected to expire in mid-November.
Tesla’s overall sales in China declined in 2025, with deliveries totaling 625,698 vehicles, down 4.78% year-over-year. Model 3 deliveries increased 13.33% to 200,361 units, while Model Y deliveries, which were hampered by the changeover to the new Model Y in the first quarter, fell 11.45% to 425,337 units.
Tesla gives its biggest hint that Full Self-Driving in Europe is imminent
SpaceX Starship V3 gets launch date update from Elon Musk
