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A Peek into Tesla’s Battery Swap Station at Harris Ranch

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Less than a week after Tesla’s official announcement of its battery swap pilot program, I decided to pit stop at Harris Ranch, CA, site to the first battery swap station, to see if there’s been any new activity since the last pictures were reported.

As I made my way up the I-5 from 200 miles south of Harris Ranch, I had plenty of time to think about the reasons why anyone would use a battery swap station. The cost for a battery swap is designed to mirror the cost of filling up the gas tank on a premium luxury sedan. Obviously this will vary depending on the current price of oil, but the question still remains – is there a situation where it would lead me to pay for instant gratification by receiving a fully charged battery pack versus charging just enough (and for free) to get me to my next destination? Before I could compile a complete mental list, my thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the stench of what is Harris Ranch.

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Having been to Harris Ranch several times before, I instinctively made my way to the Supercharger bays but then quickly remembered that the site to the new battery swapping station was across the street near the Shell gas station. I made my way over only to find a quiet and unbadged building (so I thought) with no signs that this was home to Tesla’s new pilot program.

I asked the Shell gas station employee if they knew of “Tesla’s new battery station” although in the back of my mind I’ve already ruled out any sort of  valuable feedback. But to my surprise, the gas station attendant lit up with enthusiasm and walked me over to the side of the building where Tesla had recently installed their signage.

Tesla Battery Swap Station at Harris Ranch

According to the attendant, the Tesla Motors crew had been around all week testing the battery swap station and will be going live with it during the last week of the year.

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The entry to the battery swap station is a swooping turn adjoining the trash dumps.

Entryway into the Tesla Battery Swap Station at Harris Ranch

The fresh trenching work seen along the ground and leading up to the entry door is a good indicator that power for the battery swap equipment and additional plumbing has been put in place.

Tesla has approximated each battery swap to take on average of 3 minutes through the use of robots and pneumatics.

Battery Swap Station Trenching

Only one car can undergo a battery swap at a time although there are two bay doors seen from the exit area. One of the doors (the narrower and taller one) will likely be used as a service door for loading and storage.

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The overall size of the battery swap station is large and can technically accommodate 6 Supercharger bays. Restrooms are situated in the center of the building and probably the only thing that’s relevant for Tesla owners that are looking to leverage the battery swap service. After all, they’re paying a premium to get in and get out as quickly as possible so any additional services being offered would likely be ignored.

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Makes sense to me.

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Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $1T pay package gets candid synopsis from Jim Cramer

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla’s $1 trillion pay package, which it proposed to Shareholders to vote on November 6 for its CEO Elon Musk has drawn a lot of attention lately.

Among those vocalizing their thoughts and feelings about the incentive program are proxy firms, investment analysts, and retail shareholders.

However, one analyst that always seems to draw some attention, especially when it comes to things related to Tesla and Musk, is Mad Money host Jim Cramer, who routinely puts his opinions out into the public realm when it comes to the company and its CEO.

Last week, Cramer gave a short breakdown of what he thinks the company and its shareholders should do on the social media platform X. He’s gone deeper into the pay package conversation with a candid synopsis of where he stands with it.

Jim Cramer chimes in on Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s pay package

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Cramer is no slouch when it comes to breaking down companies and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

He recognizes Musk and his contributions to Tesla, especially in terms of its prowess as an automaker, an AI play, and a robotics entity. In his more lengthy breakdown of the mentality behind rewarding Musk, he writes:

“Then there’s Musk. He’s using AI to make the best full self-driving car. He’s using it to dominate the Robotaxi game, or at least try. There’s no doubt that he’s got the best self-driving alternative on a price basis…Musk has put AI to the test, and he recognized that if you could develop better and bigger, and stronger batteries, that might be the answer for our energy-starved country…”

This is essentially an echo of what he said last week, which included some of the same ideas. Musk is ultimately the right man for the job, Cramer believes, especially considering the analyst calls him one of the few CEOs who is “actually worth it,” in terms of his potentially massive payday:

“Hate him or like him, man, this guy’s real smart…I think that Musk, who says he needs to be in control so the robots don’t take over, clearly wishes he had two classes of stock so he could be like Mark Zuckerberg, who can do whatever he wants with Meta. I say, even though he didn’t start the company and therefore doesn’t have the two classes, give the man the pay package he wants. Unlike so many other CEOs, he’s actually worth it.”

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Tesla shareholders will vote on the package on November 6, but a handful of proxy firms have already noted that they will be going against it. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis both voted not to offer Musk this pay package.

Musk called them “corporate terrorists” last week during the company’s Q3 Earnings Call.

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Tesla makes a massive change to a Service policy that owners will love

If you have a subscription to Full Self-Driving or Premium Connectivity for 30 days, the date of its expiration is 30 days after you activate the subscription, even if the vehicle was in service.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has decided to update its policy on Subscriptions and Service, and owners are going to love it.

If you have a subscription to Full Self-Driving or Premium Connectivity for 30 days, the date of its expiration is 30 days after you activate the subscription, even if the vehicle was in service.

So, if your car was with Tesla Service for five days, you essentially lost those five days, as your expiration date was not adjusted to reflect the time the vehicle was unusable.

Loaners that Tesla gives owners are usually equipped with perks like Full Self-Driving and Premium Connectivity, so your subscription does not roll over to another vehicle.

Tesla launches new loaner program that owners will love

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However, Tesla has decided to revise that policy in an effort to give owners full access to the subscriptions they paid for. It requires Service visits to be longer than one day.

In a communication to an owner who was having their vehicle serviced, Tesla said:

“A loaner vehicle may be available during your appointment (pending availability) – please check the app closer to your appointment for the latest updates and access details. If your repair requires more than one business day, any active subscriptions or free trials will be extended accordingly.”

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The move is a good one from a customer service standpoint, especially considering the loss of even a few days of a 30-day subscription to something like Full Self-Driving, which costs $99 per month, can be frustrating.

Tesla’s choice to extend the subscription duration for the length of the service visit is a good-faith move that customers will appreciate.

While this adjustment is not directly related to Service, many customers will relate it to that. It’s yet another move Tesla has made in 2025 to make its Service experience better for customers.

It is also offering more options to communicate with Service advisors during and after cars are repaired, which can help streamline the entire visit from start to finish.

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SpaceX reaches incredible Starlink milestone

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has reached an incredible milestone with its Starlink program, officially surpassing 10,000 satellites launched into low Earth orbit since starting the program back in 2019.

Last Sunday, October 19, SpaceX launched its 131st and 132nd Falcon 9 missions of 2025, one from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and the other from Vandenberg, California.

The 10,000th Starlink satellite was aboard the launch from California, which was Starlink 11-19, and held 28 v2 mini optimized satellites.

The achievement was marked by a satellite tracker developed by Jonathan McDowell.

The first Starlink launch was all the way back on May 23, 2019, as SpaceX launched its first 60 satellites from Cape Canaveral using a Falcon 9 rocket.

Of the over 10,000 satellites in orbit, the tracker says 8,608 are operational, as some are intentionally de-orbited after becoming faulty and destroyed in the atmosphere.

SpaceX has truly done some really incredible things during its development of the Starlink program, including launch coverage in a global setting, bringing along millions of active subscribers that use the service for personal and business use, locking up commercial partnerships, and more.

Starlink currently operates in around 150 countries, territories, and markets and is available at least somewhere on all seven continents.

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Additionally, Starlink has over 5 million subscribers worldwide, and 2.7 million have joined the program over the past year. It has revolutionized internet access on commercial aircraft as well, as several high-profile airlines like Qatar and United, among many others, have already installed Starlink on some of their planes to deliver more stable connectivity for passengers and crew.

SpaceX has the approval to launch 12,000 Starlink satellites from the FAA, but it plans to bring over 30,000 to its constellation, giving anyone the ability to have access to high-speed internet.

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