

News
Nikola Motor says it has started production of the Tre electric semi
Nikola Motor said on Wednesday it has started production of the all-electric Tre, a semi, at its factory in Coolidge, Arizona.
Nikola plans to begin deliveries of the electric semi during the second quarter, according to a presentation the company set up for analysts. Production started just this week, as Nikola launched manufacturing lines for customer vehicles on Monday, it said.
The electric automaker’s shares spiked nearly 10 percent during after-hours trading due to the announcement of the Tre’s start of production.
The Tre is a semi with only about 350 miles of range, but the vehicle is intended for shorter logistics routes. Company projections indicate Nikola could deliver between 300 and 500 units in 2022, with a planned ramp in production for more units in 2023, according to CNBC.
Nikola slumped in 2021 following an indictment of its founder and former CEO Trevor Milton, who was arrested on securities fraud charges last year. Milton misled shareholders prior to the company’s initial public offering. As a result, Milton was relieved of his position and Nikola has cut all ties with its founder, settling all outstanding claims related to his actions, according to the presentation on Wednesday. The company reached a settlement agreement with the SEC last year, agreeing to pay $125 million in fines.
Nikola admits One wasn’t self-propelled in response to Hindenburg
Following the Tre, Nikola plans to manufacture a hydrogen fuel cell semi that packs nearly 500 miles of range, which would be more suitable for longer routes. In 2025, another fuel cell model with up to 900 miles of range is in the works, suitable for the longest logistics routes across the continent. A hydrogen version of the Tre is “on track” to begin shipping in late 2023, Nikola confirmed during its presentation.
Nikola’s lineup of electric semi-trucks will compete with Tesla’s Semi, which was expected to be delivered to PepsiCo. earlier this year. Neither Tesla nor Pepsi have confirmed any deliveries of the Semi yet, although Tesla stated earlier this year it was still battling cell constraints that would delay the development of future products until 2023. Tesla did not indicate which vehicles this would affect specifically, but the Cybertruck was delayed until 2023, per the company’s website.
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News
Tesla Cybercab lead engineer shares optimistic update
The Tesla engineer shared the update following the one-year anniversary of We, Robot.

The principal mechanical design engineer of the Tesla Robotaxi has provided a rather exciting update about the upcoming all-electric autonomous two-seater. The Tesla engineer shared the update following the one-year anniversary of We, Robot, when Elon Musk took the wraps off the Cybercab and the Robovan.
Cybercab, one year in
Tesla has done an excellent job keeping the details of the Cybercab under wraps since its unveiling last year. Apart from brief showcases at Tesla stores and sightings at Gigafactory Texas, the Cybercab’s development has been quite a mystery. In recent weeks, however, drone footage from Giga Texas showed the Cybercab being worked on at the factory’s crash testing facility.
One year is a substantial amount of time, and considering Tesla’s reputation for consistently improving its vehicles well after they are unveiled, developed, and released, expectations were high that the company had also been busy refining the Robotaxi over the past year. This was confirmed by Tesla Cybercab lead engineer Eric E., who noted in a reply on X that the autonomous two-seater has made a lot of progress in the past year.
“It’s sooo good, and way better than it was a year ago as well,” the Tesla engineer wrote in a post on X.
Cybercab expectations
Elon Musk has been very optimistic about the Cybercab, with the CEO previously stating that the vehicle’s production line would likely resemble a high-speed consumer electronics line instead of a conventional automotive assembly line. Other Tesla executives such as VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy and Senior Design Executive Franz von Holzhausen have also shared in interviews that the company is targeting a battery pack under 50 kWh for the vehicle, which should still be able to provide almost 300 miles of real-world range.
Despite its small size, the Cybercab is still very spacious, offering probably the biggest legroom among the company’s current vehicles. Its trunk is also very large enough to fit an enormous amount of cargo. Musk has also mentioned that Tesla should ultimately be able to produce a Cybercab every five seconds.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk may rethink his charity pledge after Peter Thiel’s Bill Gates warning: report
Musk reportedly took Thiel’s suggestion seriously.

Reports have emerged suggesting that Elon Musk might be rethinking his promise to give away most of his fortune. This was reportedly due to his longtime friend Peter Thiel, who told the world’s richest man to withdraw from the Giving Pledge because his wealth could end up “in left-wing nonprofits chosen by Bill Gates.”
Thiel shared the story during a private lecture series in San Francisco in September. As noted in a Reuters report, Musk reportedly took Thiel’s suggestion seriously.
Thiel warned Musk about his fortune going to Gates-backed causes
Thiel said he even ran the math to make his point. By checking actuarial tables, he calculated that if Musk died within a year, his pledge would effectively direct $1.4 billion to Bill Gates. Musk reportedly said, “What am I supposed to do, give it to my children? You know, it would be much worse to give it to Bill Gates.”
Musk signed on to the Giving Pledge in 2012, two years after it was co-founded by Gates and Warren Buffett, as noted in a Daily Beast report. The initiative asks billionaires to donate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes either during their lifetime or through their wills. Gates’ foundation has focused on global health, education, and gender equality, areas Thiel has described as “left-leaning.”
Spokespeople for Thiel, Musk, and Gates have not issued a comment about the matter.
Elon Musk and Bill Gates
Thiel, who co-founded PayPal with Musk in 2000 before launching Palantir and becoming Facebook’s first outside investor, has maintained close ties to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO over the years. Musk, for his part, continues to donate through the Musk Foundation, which funds education, clean energy, and scientific research.
Elon Musk and Bill Gates’ relationship has taken a nosedive in recent years, especially amidst news that the Microsoft co-founder had taken a short bet against Tesla. Musk seemed to have taken Gates’ Tesla short personally, considering that the EV maker is fighting for sustainability, a cause that the Microsoft co-founder has supported.
Gates has also been skeptical of Tesla’s projects such as the Tesla Semi, which Gates noted was not feasible due to the limitations of battery technology. More recently, the two billionaires butted heads when Gates claimed that the cuts initiated by Musk’s DOGE initiative would cost 2 million lives. In a post on X, Musk responded by stating that “Gates is a huge liar.”
News
Tesla axed one of the Model Y’s best features in ‘Standard’ trims: here’s why
Lars Moravy explains why Tesla chose to go with a glass roof in the new Standard trims, despite it not being visible.

Tesla chose to implement a glass roof on the new Model Y ‘Standard’, despite the fact that you won’t be able to see it from the inside.
In the new Model Y ‘Standard’ configuration, one of the biggest changes is the lack of a glass roof, which is one of the more unique features Tesla offers.
How Tesla’s Standard models will help deliveries despite price disappointment
The entire roof of the Model Y’s ‘Premium’ and Performance trims is glass, giving everyone in the car an astounding view of the sky.
However, Tesla chose to cover this up in the new ‘Standard’ trim level. Here’s a look at it:

Credit: ItsKimJava | X
Despite it not being visible from the inside, the roof is still made of glass. It is only visible from the outside. Even if you removed the headliner in the Model Y ‘Standard,’ you would not be able to see the outside, because the glass is opaque:
Fun fact about the Standard Model Y closed glass roof. A Tesla engineer told us that the glass is opaque, so even if you removed the textile lining on the inside, you would not see the outside. 😔 More details to come on our first drive video this Friday. pic.twitter.com/N4uZFlblBB
— Kim Java (@ItsKimJava) October 8, 2025
Tesla’s Vice President of Powertrain, Lars Moravy, commented on the use of glass in the Premium models and how it differs from the glass in the Standard trims:
“All glass is NOT created equal. Remember, the Model Y Premium glass is laminated with silver IR reflective coatings to make it super comfy and reject solar load… the standard is not… plus LOTS of people wanted a closed headliner, always trying to listen (and improve road noise at the same time).”
The decision to cover up the glass while still using it was an efficiency choice. Moravy said Tesla chose to keep the glass for the new Standard models due to “cost, supply chain, and manufacturing efficiency.”
Cost, supply chain and manufacturing efficiency in our factories
— Lars (@larsmoravy) October 9, 2025
Tesla launched the Standard models on Tuesday. The cars were effectively a counter to the loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit.
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