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OPINION: Tesla Vandalism lawsuit should be the first of many

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Credit: CBS Colorado

The filing of a lawsuit by a Tesla owner who had his vehicle vandalized by a brainwashed member of what is being called the “Tesla Takeover” movement should be the first of many.

For the past few months, we have seen so many instances of intimidation by those who oppose Tesla, CEO Elon Musk, and President Donald Trump. These occurrences have been incredibly frequent and have varied in terms of their severity. It’s been as arbitrary as keying a car, and as violent as gunshots and Molotov cocktails being shot and thrown at showrooms.

The side of the perpetrators seems to be under the impression that President Trump and Musk are punishing those who have differing viewpoints as if their very livelihoods are under attack. The problem is, although government spending and some government programs are being modified or eliminated, there is no specific group being targeted, which is a big reason the use of the word “Nazi” has been baffling to me over the past few months.

That other side will have you believe there is a right-wing force that has taken over the government and aims to violate the rights of everyone who is unlike them. Ironically, it is precisely what the “protestors” are doing. Don’t agree with us? Okay. We’ll damage your vehicle.

Although the Trump administration and the FBI have set up specific measures to investigate instances of vandalism and hopefully eliminate it altogether, things have not truly calmed down. In fact, it seems it is getting worse.

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However, a lawsuit filed by a victim of one of these senseless attacks has set a new precedent: damage my car, you will find yourself in a lawsuit:

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In actuality, this might be the best strategy for minimizing the instances of vandalism we have seen over the past several months. Nothing seems to be working, and the attackers, who appear to be of all shapes, sizes, and ages, only seem to be doing it more often, despite being caught on camera by Sentry Mode.

The suit that was filed against Rafael Hernandez, who keyed a Model X at DFW Airport, seeks $1m in damages. While it is unlikely he will be awarded that significant sum, what Hernandez ends up paying could be significantly more than just the amount of repairing the scratch.

This all funnels down to one specific point: Tesla drivers are simply that, people who drove to buy and drive a Tesla. Driving a car is not a political statement; it is, in many ways, simply a choice of convenience. People choose EVs for many reasons, with home charging, performance, and look being several of them.

Ask 100 Tesla owners why they bought the car, and I’m sure many would not say, “Because I love Elon Musk and agree with everything that comes out of his mouth.”

I am an Elon Musk fan, but I don’t agree with everything he has done or will do. I don’t agree with everything my parents, my friends, or my family do. I am not a loyalist to anyone except myself. This is where I find the vandalism to be so distasteful.

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If Toyota’s CEO came out and said things that were controversial, for example, “We’re not transitioning to EVs because we don’t feel it’s the right time with demand,” something that was stated a few years ago as a part of their strategy, do you think Tesla owners were keying Toyotas? No.

Support brands that line up with your ideologies. Avoid ones that don’t. People of all ages do this peacefully. If you want to hurt a brand, don’t give them or their customers your money. Keying a Tesla might result in both with this initial lawsuit.

The point is, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about this. Vandalism is not the right way. Not only are you disrupting someone’s life who has nothing to do with Tesla, but now you’re putting yourself in the line of fire for a particularly substantial sum of money. Additionally, you’re not winning over any fans with this type of reaction. Nobody said “I now see their point since they keyed my car, I agree with them.”

I am hopeful that this lawsuit will encourage Tesla to go after the violent vandals who have attacked its stores. I am hopeful that this lawsuit will encourage Tesla owners to go after the violent vandals who have had their cars damaged by senseless people who have differing political views.

Perhaps this is the move that will start to bring down the frequency of these attacks.

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Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Elon Musk

Tesla owners show off improvements with new Full Self-Driving v14 rollout

Some of the big things that Tesla faced head-on with the development and release of v14 were navigating in parking garages and handling parking after arriving at a destination.

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Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

Tesla owners with access to the company’s Full Self-Driving new version, v14, which rolled out on Tuesday morning, are showcasing some of the very impressive improvements that have arrived.

CEO Elon Musk called v14 “sentient” a few weeks ahead of its rollout, claiming the newest iteration of the company’s Full Self-Driving platform would be the most accurate to date.

Tesla FSD (Supervised) V14.1 with Robotaxi-style dropoffs is here

It was obvious this narrative had Tesla owners keeping their expectations high, as there were very evidently things that needed to be improved upon that were present in v13. I wrote about several improvements I was hoping to see, and based on the release notes for v14, Tesla did have these things in the works already.

Some of the big things that Tesla faced head-on with the development and release of v14 were navigating in parking garages and handling parking after arriving at a destination.

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Tesla said it was working to increase the capabilities of Summon within parking garages, as many owners believe that is where it would be the most beneficial.

While that does not appear to be part of this initial v14 rollout, it does seem Tesla is focused on improving the suite’s ability to navigate through these garages, including stopping for a ticket to enter the facility, finding a spot, and parking in an appropriate space.

It was evident this was a huge improvement based on one example from an owner who received v14:

If you look closely, you will even see the car shift slightly to the right when it arrives at the ticketing station, making it easier for the driver to hand over their ticket and payment. It then moves back out to the right when leaving to return to the center of the lane. It’s very intuitive.

Additionally, it appears to be more accurate when parking, thanks to improvements that enable owners to select the type of parking upon arrival at a destination.

In the v14.1 release notes, Tesla said that it has added “Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.”

One owner chose to navigate home and chose a garage to park in. Full Self-Driving performed it without any issues:

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These are just two evident improvements so far, and there are likely many more on the way. The changes and fixes will be tracked by anyone with access to FSD v14 in the coming weeks.

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Elon Musk teases previously unknown Tesla Optimus capability

Elon Musk revealed over the weekend that the humanoid robot should be able to utilize Tesla’s dataset for Full Self-Driving (FSD) to operate cars not manufactured by Tesla.

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Credit: @heydave7/X

Elon Musk revealed a new capability that Tesla Optimus should have, and it is one that will surely surprise many people, as it falls outside the CEO’s scope of his several companies.

Tesla Optimus is likely going to be the biggest product the company ever develops, and Musk has even predicted that it could make up about 80 percent of the company’s value in the coming years.

Teasing the potential to eliminate any trivial and monotonous tasks from human life, Optimus surely has its appeal.

However, Musk revealed over the weekend that the humanoid robot should be able to utilize Tesla’s dataset for Full Self-Driving (FSD) to operate cars not manufactured by Tesla:

FSD would essentially translate from operation in Tesla vehicles from a driverless perspective to Optimus, allowing FSD to basically be present in any vehicle ever made. Optimus could be similar to a personal chauffeur, as well as an assistant.

Optimus has significant hype behind it, as Tesla has been meticulously refining its capabilities. Along with Musk’s and other executives’ comments about its potential, it’s clear that there is genuine excitement internally.

This past weekend, the company continued to stoke hype behind Optimus by showing a new video of the humanoid robot learning Kung Fu and training with a teacher:

Tesla plans to launch its Gen 3 version of Optimus in the coming months, and although we saw a new-look robot just last month, thanks to a video from Salesforce CEO and Musk’s friend Marc Benioff, we have been told that this was not a look at the company’s new iteration.

Instead, Gen 3’s true design remains a mystery for the general public, but with the improvements between the first two iterations already displayed, we are sure the newest version will be something special.

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Elon Musk’s xAI becomes Memphis’ 2nd largest taxpayer in just one year: report

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is reshaping Memphis’s economic landscape.

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Credit: xAI

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is reshaping Memphis’s economic landscape. In just twelve months, the company has become the city and county’s second largest taxpayer.

The update was related in a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Memphis’ second-largest taxpayer

xAI is currently transforming a defunct Mississippi power plant into a crucial hub for AI, supplying electricity to its Colossus supercomputer cluster and its successor, Colossus 2. Together, the Colossi supercomputers will host more than half a million Nvidia chips that would be used for the development and improvement of Grok, xAI’s large language model. 

The buildout has injected billions into the region, making xAI one of Memphis’s most significant private investors and a symbol of the city’s high-tech aspirations. Bill Dunavant III, a Memphis businessman who sits on the board of directors of the city’s chamber of commerce, highlighted xAI’s contribution to the city’s economy in a comment to the WSJ

“In one year, xAI has become the second largest taxpayer in the city and county after FedEx,” he said. A spokesman for the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce has also stated that xAI has demonstrated “substantial economic commitment to our region, without any tax incentives.”

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Not without controversy

Despite the economic boost, xAI’s footprint has drawn scrutiny. The company’s natural-gas-powered turbines are expected to consume a substantial amount of water and electricity. Critics have also expressed worries about pollution and increased utility costs, though others see Musk’s wastewater recycling plans and cleanup initiatives as meaningful offsets.

As per the WSJ, xAI’s positioning in the market may be quite different than what Musk is typically used to, considering that the CEO tends to become a first mover in key industries, such as the EV segment with Tesla and private spaceflight with SpaceX. With xAI, however, he is catching up to competitors, the most notable of which is a company he co-founded, OpenAI, and its ubiquitous large language model, ChatGPT.

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