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Nissan pushes for more new EVs, higher sales goals in renewed strategy

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Nissan has announced it will introduce 19 fully electric vehicles by 2030 instead of 15 in a renewed push towards electrification.

Unlike its other Japanese rivals, Nissan has already seen the possible sales success of electric vehicles globally. The automaker’s first EV, the Leaf, was a dominant force in the EV market for years. Now, as the Japanese automaker looks to double down on its electrification strategy, it announced that it has increased the number of fully electric vehicles it will introduce and how much of its sales they will represent.

Nissan now states that it will introduce 19 new full EVs by 2030 globally, up from the 15 the automaker previously announced. Nissan will also be introducing eight new hybridized models for a total of 27 electrified offerings globally. Nissan did not break down the new EV models by region.

Along with these new models, Nissan laid out an aggressive set of sales goals for different regions. Most significant is Europe, where Nissan plans to sell 98% electrified vehicles by 2026, up from 75% in the company’s previous plan. In its home market of Japan, Nissan will aim to sell 58% electrified vehicles during the same timeline, up from 55%, while in the United States, the company will aim for 40% electrified sales. Strangely, Nissan will now only aim for 35% electrified sales in China by 2026, down from the 40% it previously aimed for.

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Globally, the automaker will aim for 44% electrified sales by 2026 and 55% by 2030.

To achieve these new goals, Nissan listed some manufacturing changes, particularly in the United States, that will ensure it can keep up with demand. The brand already produces EVs at its Smyrna, Tennessee plant but will be boosting production in conjunction with its Decherd, Tennessee plant, which will be producing electric drivetrains.

Nissan did not address a significant change in battery production but is publically looking for a second supplier alongside its current deal with its subsidiary brand, Envision AESC.

This renewed electrification push is likely spurred by Nissan’s rejuvenated alliance with Renault, pitting the two automakers as near equals in the partnership, helping both focus on electrification. Most recently, Nissan invested in Renault’s EV unit, nicknamed Ampere, which could allow more EV models to be made in the coming years.

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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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SpaceX adjusts Starship Flight 13 test launch target date once again

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has updated its target for the thirteenth integrated flight test of Starship, aiming for as early as Thursday, July 23. The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. CT from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas.

The target flight was initially rescheduled for today, but SpaceX pushed it back again.

This latest adjustment follows an aborted attempt earlier in the week and reflects the iterative, rapid-development approach that has defined the Starship program. With the vehicle already stacked and ground teams making final preparations, the mission represents another step toward proving the full reusability of the world’s most powerful rocket system.

The original launch attempt on July 16 was scrubbed at T-0 when several Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster failed to ignite properly. The automatic abort system triggered just as the engines began their startup sequence, preventing liftoff.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed that some engines did not start as expected, prompting the decision to replace two Raptors on Booster 20 to ensure reliability. The issue occurred despite a successful full-duration static fire earlier, highlighting the complexities of coordinating 33 engines under flight conditions.

This cautious approach underscores SpaceX’s commitment to safety amid an aggressive test cadence.

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SpaceX comes with a slew of changes for Starship Flight 13

Flight 13 builds directly on the lessons from Flight 12 in May 2026. The Super Heavy booster’s primary goals include a successful liftoff, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and controlled splashdown in the Gulf of America.

Hardware and software modifications address the off-nominal flip and boostback burn problems from the prior flight, where propellant slosh and engine relight issues led to an uncontrolled impact.

For the Starship upper stage, objectives include deploying 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites, the first real payload of this type, performing a single Raptor engine relight in space, and executing a controlled entry, descent, and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Propulsion upgrades aim to improve engine-out capability after one vacuum Raptor was lost on Flight 12.

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Additional test elements focus on heat shield performance. Six satellites carry cameras to image the tiles during flight, while white-painted tiles and upgraded attachments on flaps and the aft skirt will gather data for future reusability.

The FAA completed its mishap investigation into Flight 12 earlier this month, clearing the regulatory path.

This suborbital mission, the second with V3 vehicles, advances Starship toward operational missions, including potential crewed flights and support for NASA’s Artemis program. Success would mark significant progress in rapid reusability and satellite deployment from the massive system.

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Elon Musk debunks $52 billion SpaceX-NVIDIA GPU deal

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Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk dismissed reports claiming SpaceX had placed a massive order for NVIDIA GPUs worth $52 billion. The denial came hours after Taiwanese media, citing unnamed industry sources, reported that SpaceX planned to acquire approximately 13,000 AI server racks, equating to roughly 1 million GB300 GPUs, from Foxconn.

Each rack was estimated at around $4 million, with deliveries potentially starting in late 2025.

The story suggested this would mark SpaceX’s first major foray into Foxconn-manufactured NVIDIA hardware, breaking from suppliers like Supermicro and Dell. Musk responded bluntly on X:

Despite the denial, the rumored scale aligns with SpaceX’s explosive growth in AI infrastructure. NVIDIA’s GB300 (successor to the GB200 NVL) racks deliver unprecedented performance for large-scale training and inference. A $52 billion commitment would dwarf most corporate AI budgets and provide the compute muscle needed for frontier models.

SpaceX already operates gigawatt-scale terrestrial clusters like Colossus in Memphis, Tennessee, and has monetized them aggressively through leasing deals.

SpaceX’s newest Starmind will make earth data centers obsolete

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Major customers include Anthropic (paying ~$1.25 billion monthly for 220,000+ GPUs), Google (~$920 million monthly for 110,000 GPUs), and Reflection AI. These arrangements are projected to generate tens of billions in annual revenue, far outpacing traditional SpaceX businesses.

Such an investment would fuel internal AI efforts, particularly Grok models under the integrated SpaceXAI division, while supporting ambitious orbital data center plans. SpaceX envisions launching thousands of AI-optimized satellites powered by solar energy and cooled in space, bypassing terrestrial power and land constraints.

This “Starmind” constellation could position the company as a leader in space-based computing.

SpaceX as an Emerging AI Powerhouse

Once primarily known for reusable rockets and Starlink satellite internet, SpaceX has transformed into a multifaceted AI player.

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The 2026 acquisition of xAI integrated Grok development directly into the company. Starlink’s low-latency global network complements massive compute clusters, enabling efficient data flow for training and serving AI models.

Musk has long argued that AI scaling demands solutions beyond Earth, citing things like real estate and electricity limits on the ground.

While the Foxconn deal may not be in the cards, SpaceX’s trajectory is continuing on the path of blending aerospace engineering with hyperscale AI to dominate both launches and intelligence infrastructure.

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Elon Musk sheds details on Tesla FSD’s upcoming improvements

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Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk shed more details on the upcoming improvements to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite, specifically one that the CEO mentioned last week, which should help owners see fewer interventions.

Last week, Musk hinted that one major improvement that Tesla planned to roll out to Full Self-Driving users was the car’s ability “to remember your specific interventions and match each person’s individual preferences.”

Elon Musk says your Tesla will start to learn your individual preferences

This small bit of detail was linked to a post from Tesla community member Whole Mars, who said that FSD’s tendency to exit the carpool lane, a feature that owners can turn on but at times the car will disregard.

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It sounds like, based on Musk’s two responses since that original post, it is safe to say the things FSD will start to remember are wide-ranging. However, it seems the biggest differences will be noticed with parking performance, which Musk continues to mention.

Highway Lane Preferences

The initial post Musk mentioned, with these new remembered preferences soon to arrive for Tesla owners everywhere, was the Carpool/Express Lane.

Tesla has a setting in the FSD menu that lets drivers enable HOV Lane travel. However, the car won’t always stay in that suggested or preferred lane.

Some owners have also complained of left lane camping, an illegal maneuver in at least some states. Cruising in the passing lane has resulted in tickets for some, as it is illegal in over 30 states in the U.S.

Tesla did not confirm if these preferences would also be included in new FSD behaviors, but it would certainly help move the company toward fewer interventions.

Parking Preferences

This seems to be the real focus of the entire operation, as Musk stated several weeks ago that parking was overwhelmingly the most frequent reason for interventions.

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The major issue with parking is not necessarily the parking “performance,” as FSD is generally good at parking. It definitely has its issues; we’ve recorded plenty of them, including this one as recent as last week:

However, the changes coming are more about preferences, meaning where you park and how your car enters the spot, either pulling in or backing in. Owners have also reported that pulling into the correct driveway is a relatively rare thing for FSD, something else that needs to be confronted.

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Musk basically confirmed that all of these things would be part of Tesla’s plan to address driver preferences with FSD:

It’s obvious there is something big coming with FSD, and the company’s focus seems to be eliminating any intervention that would be related to preferences. This is probably the biggest bottleneck between Tesla and being fully autonomous. Critical interventions do occur, but they are much less frequent.

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The only time a driver should be taking over is because of a critical intervention; this seems to be the goal of Tesla right now.

This all seems to be a priority as Tesla continues to move closer to the prospect of unsupervised driving.

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