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Emeryville mayor cancels Tesla factory tour; cites Elon Musk & Twitter
Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover has brought a lot of changes to the platform, and some are taking it well, but others are not. Mayor John Bauters of Emeryville, California, said that he was canceling his Tesla Fremont factory tour and cited Elon Musk and Twitter as his reasons.
The mayor, also chairman of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District board of directors, planned to tour the factory on December 13, 2022, and address Tesla’s concerns about permitting timelines.
On Wednesday, Elon Musk said Twitter would temporarily remove any accounts involved in deception and also participated in a Q&A on Twitter Spaces. On Monday, Twitter suspended several verified accounts for impersonating him and said that those impersonating other handles without clearly labeling the account as a parody would also be suspended.
Citing Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover and censorship of free speech, the mayor canceled his tour of the factory. He shared screenshots of what looks to be his letter to Tesla in a tweet with the caption,
“Your time is more valuable than anything a billionaire can buy. Respect your time. Respect your values. Respect yourself.”
https://twitter.com/JohnBauters/status/1590747962074099713
“Companies like Tesla are important community stakeholders to both Alameda County and Bay Area Air Quality Management District,” he wrote in his letter.
He added that while permitting timelines was important, so were other things.
“Tesla’s owner, Elon Musk, recently acquired Twitter, a social media platform used by millions of people for social and political discourse. In the brief time since acquiring the company for $44 billion, he has used it to censor free speech, distort social discourse with disinformation, and institute new policies that have undermined other businesses, major political leaders, and everyday people who are vulnerable to online or personal harassment, misinformation or opportunistic actors.”
The mayor added that these actions increase the time officials spend publicly correcting disinformation and addressing inaccurate information and listed how it harms the community.
“Acts like these increase the time local officials like me spend publicly correcting disinformation, addressing or responding to inaccurate information, and supporting the smaller businesses and community members harmed by inadequate controls. They also widen the growing social divide in this country and are antithetical to the values and goals of both the Air District’s Board of Directors and the people of Alameda County, whom I represent in my capacity on the Board.”
Mayor Bauters said that he will use the time he had planned for the Tesla factory tour to build the community. “Please understand that this decision is in no way a reflection of you, your professionalism, or the underlying request to speak with the elected leader of the agency Board that oversees Tesla’s permitting process,” he said.
Teslarati reached out to Mayor Bauters for a comment. When or if he responds, we’ll update here.
Disclosure: Johnna is a $TSLA shareholder and believes in Tesla’s mission.
Your feedback is essential. 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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Elon Musk says he’s open to powering Apple’s Siri with xAI’s Grok
Siri, one of the first intelligent AI assistants in the market, has become widely outdated and outperformed by rivals over the years.
Elon Musk says he’s willing to help Apple overhaul Siri by integrating xAI’s Grok 4.1, igniting widespread excitement and speculations about a potential collaboration between the two tech giants.
Siri, one of the first intelligent AI assistants in the market, has become widely outdated and outperformed by rivals over the years.
Musk open to an Apple collaboration
Musk’s willingness to team up with Apple surfaced after an X user suggested replacing Siri with Grok 4.1 to modernize the AI assistant. The original post criticized Siri’s limitations and urged Apple to adopt a more advanced AI system. “It’s time for Apple to team up with xAI and actually fix Siri. Replace that outdated, painfully dumb assistant with Grok 4.1. Siri deserves to be Superintelligent,” the X user wrote.
Musk quoted the post, responding with, “I’m down.” Musk’s comment quickly attracted a lot of attention among X’s users, many of whom noted that a Grok update to Siri would be appreciated because Apple’s AI assistant has legitimately become terrible in recent years. Others also noted that Grok, together with Apple’s potential integration of Starlink connectivity, would make iPhones even more compelling.
Grok promises major Siri upgrades
The enthusiasm stems largely from Grok 4.1’s technical strengths, which include stronger reasoning and improved creative output. xAI also designed the model to reduce hallucinations, as noted in a Reality Tea report. Supporters believe these improvements could address Apple’s reported challenges developing its own advanced AI systems, giving Siri the upgrade many users have waited years for.
Reactions ranged from humorous to hopeful, with some users joking that Siri would finally “wake up with a personality” if paired with Grok. Siri, after all, was a trailblazer in voice assistants, but it is currently dominated by rivals in terms of features and capabilities. Grok could change that, provided that Apple is willing to collaborate with Elon Musk’s xAI.
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Tesla’s top-rated Supercharger Network becomes Stellantis’ new key EV asset
The rollout begins in North America early next year before expanding to Japan and South Korea in 2027.
Stellantis will adopt Tesla’s North American Charging System (NACS) across select battery-electric vehicles starting in 2026, giving customers access to more than 28,000 Tesla Superchargers across five countries.
The rollout begins in North America early next year before expanding to Japan and South Korea in 2027, significantly boosting public fast-charging access for Jeep, Dodge, and other Stellantis brands. The move marks one of Stellantis’ largest infrastructure expansions to date.
Stellantis unlocks NACS access
Beginning in early 2026, Stellantis BEVs, including models like the Jeep Wagoneer S and Dodge Charger Daytona, will gain access to Tesla’s Supercharger network across North America. The integration will extend to Japan and South Korea in 2027, with the 2026 Jeep Recon and additional next-generation BEVs joining the list as compatibility expands. Stellantis stated that details on adapters and network onboarding for current models will be released closer to launch, as noted in a press release.
The company emphasizes that adopting NACS aligns with a broader strategy to give customers greater freedom of choice when charging, especially as infrastructure availability becomes a deciding factor for EV buyers. With access to thousands of high-speed stations, Stellantis aims to reduce range anxiety and improve long-distance travel convenience across its global portfolio.
Tesla Supercharger network proves its value
Stellantis’ move also comes as Tesla’s Supercharger system continues to earn top rankings for reliability and user experience. In the 2025 Zapmap survey, drawn from nearly 4,000 BEV drivers across the UK, Tesla Superchargers were named the Best Large EV Charging Network for the second year in a row. The study measured reliability, ease of use, and payment experience across the country’s public charging landscape.
Tesla’s UK network now includes 1,115 open Supercharger devices at 97 public locations, representing roughly 54% of its total footprint and marking a 40% increase in public availability since late 2024. Zapmap highlighted the Supercharger network’s consistently lower pricing compared to other rapid and ultra-rapid providers, alongside its strong uptime and streamlined user experience. These performance metrics further reinforce the value of Stellantis’ decision to integrate NACS across major markets.
News
Tesla FSD and Robotaxis are making people aware how bad human drivers are
These observations really show that Tesla’s focus on autonomy would result in safer roads for everyone.
Tesla FSD and the Robotaxi network are becoming so good in their self-driving performance, they are starting to highlight just how bad humans really are at driving.
This could be seen in several observations from the electric vehicle community.
Robotaxis are better than Uber, actually
Tesla’s Robotaxi service is only available in Austin and the Bay Area for now, but those who have used the service have generally been appreciative of its capabilities and performance. Some Robotaxi customers have observed that the service is simply so much more affordable than Uber, and its driving is actually really good.
One veteran Tesla owner, @BLKMDL3, recently noted that the Robotaxi service has become better than Uber simply because FSD now drives better than some human drivers. Apart from the fact that Robotaxis allow riders to easily sync their phones to the rear display, the vehicles generally provide a significantly more comfortable ride than their manually-driven counterparts from Uber.
FSD is changing the narrative, one ride at a time
It appears that FSD V14 really is something special. The update has received wide acclaim from users since it was released, and the positive reactions are still coming. This was highlighted in a recent post from Tesla owner Travis Nicolette, who shared a recent experience with FSD. As per the Tesla owner, he was quite surprised as his car was able to accomplish a U-turn in a way that exceeded human drivers.
Yet another example of FSD’s smooth and safe driving was showcased in a recent video, which showed a safety monitor of a Bay Area Robotaxi falling asleep in the driver’s seat. In any other car, a driver falling asleep at the wheel could easily result in a grave accident, but thanks to FSD, both the safety monitor and the passengers remained safe.
These observations, if any, really show that Tesla’s focus on autonomy would result in safer roads for everyone. As per the IIHS, there were 40,901 deaths from motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2023. The NHTSA also estimated that in 2017, 91,000 police-reported crashes involved drowsy drivers. These crashes led to an estimated 50,000 people injured and 800 deaths. FSD could lower all these tragic statistics by a notable margin.