

News
Pirelli launches new ‘High-Load’ tire for EVs, and Lucid is first in line to try
Italian tire maker Pirelli is launching its new “high load” tire specific for Hybrid and all-electric vehicles and SUVs. The high load tire will sport an “HL” marking on its sidewall as an indicator that it will have the ability to handle more weight, a necessity for electric cars due to their excessive mass because of heavy battery cells. The Lucid Air will be the first car to utilize the new Pirelli HL tire.
“Pirelli presents its very first high load index tyre: a new type of tyre dedicated primarily to electric or hybrid cars and SUVs,” the company announced in a press release on Thursday. “Made to support the weight of new vehicles equipped with batteries, the tyre is perfect for heavier vehicles, such as electric cars. It is designed to provide low rolling resistance as well as a high level of driving comfort.”
Credit: Pirelli
The new Pirelli rubber is specifically designed to support 20% more weight than a standard tire, and 6-9% more weight than an extra load XL tire that is the same size.
As the automotive industry continues to evolve thanks to the rapid growth of the electric vehicle sector, OEMs and automotive manufacturers alike are not the only ones who are being forced to adjust. Suppliers in every aspect of an automobile, including glass companies and tire manufacturers, are now catering their products to the specifications of electric cars. While the concept of a vehicle remains the same, the difference in powertrain contributes several changes, one of the most notable being weight. This is a central focus of Pirelli’s last few years of product development, and the new HL tires are what the company’s team of engineers came up with.
“The search for cutting-edge technical solutions has always been at the very heart of Pirelli’s business,” Senior Vice President of R&D and Cyber, Pierangelo Misani, said. “The attention we devote to all new forms of sustainable mobility now leads us to technology that is capable of anticipating the future demands of car manufacturers for their new electric and hybrid vehicles, which increasingly require specialised performance from tyres.”
Credit: Pirelli
With the new tire ready to hit the streets, the Lucid Air will be the first EV to utilize Pirelli’s advanced build, and the company says it was “joint developed with the car manufacturer, to fully meet the required performance standards.”
“Lucid Air represents a technological breakthrough in terms of efficiency and performance. The new Pirelli HL tyres are integral to achieving such benchmarks,” Lucid Senior Vice President of Product and Chief Engineer Eric Bach, said.
Investor's Corner
Two Tesla bulls share differing insights on Elon Musk, the Board, and politics
Two noted Tesla bulls have shared differing views on the recent activities of CEO Elon Musk and the company’s leadership.

Two noted Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) bulls have shared differing views on the recent activities of CEO Elon Musk and the company’s leadership.
While Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called on Tesla’s board to take concrete steps to ensure Musk remains focused on the EV maker, longtime Tesla supporter Cathie Wood of Ark Invest reaffirmed her confidence in the CEO and the company’s leadership.
Ives warns of distraction risk amid crucial growth phase
In a recent note, Ives stated that Tesla is at a critical point in its history, as the company is transitioning from an EV maker towards an entity that is more focused on autonomous driving and robotics. He then noted that the Board of Directors should “act now” and establish formal boundaries around Musk’s political activities, which could be a headwind on TSLA stock.
Ives laid out a three-point plan that he believes could ensure that the electric vehicle maker is led with proper leadership until the end of the decade. First off, the analyst noted that a new “incentive-driven pay package for Musk as CEO that increases his ownership of Tesla up to ~25% voting power” is necessary. He also stated that the Board should establish clear guidelines for how much time Musk must devote to Tesla operations in order to receive his compensation, and a dedicated oversight committee must be formed to monitor the CEO’s political activities.
Ives, however, highlighted that Tesla should move forward with Musk at its helm. “We urge the Board to act now and move the Tesla story forward with Musk as CEO,” he wrote, reiterating its Outperform rating on Tesla stock and $500 per share price target.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to Ives’ suggestions with a brief comment on X. “Shut up, Dan,” Musk wrote.
Cathie Wood reiterates trust in Musk and Tesla board
Meanwhile, Ark Investment Management founder Cathie Wood expressed little concern over Musk’s latest controversies. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Wood said, “We do trust the board and the board’s instincts here and we stay out of politics.” She also noted that Ark has navigated Musk-related headlines since it first invested in Tesla.
Wood also pointed to Musk’s recent move to oversee Tesla’s sales operations in the U.S. and Europe as evidence of his renewed focus in the electric vehicle maker. “When he puts his mind on something, he usually gets the job done,” she said. “So I think he’s much less distracted now than he was, let’s say, in the White House 24/7,” she said.
TSLA stock is down roughly 25% year-to-date but has gained about 19% over the past 12 months, as noted in a StocksTwits report.
News
Tesla China achieves this year’s second highest domestic sales in June
The figure represents Tesla’s second-best performance in 2025 so far.

Domestic sales for Tesla China reached 61,484 units in June, marking a sharp recovery from recent months and positioning the company for a stronger finish to the second quarter. The figure represents Tesla’s second-best performance in 2025 so far, trailing only March, when the company delivered 74,127 vehicles domestically.
A strong comeback for Tesla China
According to data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), Tesla sold a total of 71,599 cars wholesale in June 2025. This means that Tesla’s domestic sales last month rose 59.3% compared to May’s 38,588 units and increased 3.75% year-over-year from 59,261 units in June 2024, as noted in a CNEV Post report.
The rebound ends a two-month streak of year-over-year declines and helped lift Tesla’s Q2 retail total in China to 128,803 units, though that still marks an 11.7% drop from the same period last year. For context, Tesla China sold 263,410 vehicles domestically, down 5.36% year-over-year, in the first six months of 2025.
Tesla’s stronger domestic showing in June came as the company scaled back its export output from Giga Shanghai. The factory exported 10,115 vehicles last month, down 56.2% from May and 13.9% from a year earlier. For the first half of 2025, Tesla China’s total exports reached 101,064 units, down 31.85% compared to the same period in 2024.
Tesla China’s 2025 performance
June saw continued growth across China’s broader new energy vehicle (NEV) market, with retail sales reaching 1.11 million units, up 29.7% year-over-year. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 661,000 of those sales. Tesla’s NEV market share for June was then 5.53%, down from 6.92% a year earlier but an improvement over May’s 3.78%.
The Model Y continues to be Tesla China’s primary driver of sales, with the vehicle’s wholesale figures reaching 51,253 units in June, up 16.6% from a year ago and nearly 30% from May. Wholesale numbers for the Model Y totaled 214,034 units in the first six months of the year. The Model 3, in comparison, saw wholesale volumes reach 150,440 units in the first six months of the year.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk confirms Grok 4 launch on July 9 with livestream event
The rollout will be accompanied by a livestream at 8 p.m. Pacific Time.

Elon Musk has officially confirmed that Grok 4, the latest version of xAI’s large language model, will launch on July 9. The rollout will be accompanied by a livestream at 8 p.m. Pacific Time, hosted on xAI’s official account on X.
xAI goes straight to Grok 4
Back in May, leaks indicated that xAI was getting ready to ship Grok 3.5. Considering Musk’s recent comments, however, it appears that the artificial intelligence startup would be focusing on the large language model’s fourth iteration instead. As noted in a Financial Express report, users on X have sighted references to Grok 4 in the lead up to the update’s launch, such as “grok-4-prod-mimic” and “Grok 4 Code.”
Musk’s Grok 4 announcement comes as AI competition intensifies between major players including OpenAI, Google, and xAI. With Musk’s Colossus supercomputer fully operational in Memphis, xAI appears to be accelerating its AI product roadmap.
Musk pushes Grok toward political neutrality
Grok 4’s launch also follows a recent controversy involving political bias, as noted in a CNN report. Last week, Grok responded to a user on X stating that political violence in the U.S. since 2016 had come more from the political right than the left. The chatbot noted in a later reply that its answer was based on information from sources like Reuters, the Journal of Democracy, and University of Maryland studies.
Musk stated that Grok’s response was a “major fail.” “Major fail, as this is objectively false. Grok is parroting legacy media. Working on it,” he wrote in a post on X. By the end of June, Musk noted that he was “grinding all night with the xAI team” and that they were making “good progress.” He also stated that the model “Will be called Grok 4. Release just after July 4th. Needs one more big run for a specialized coding model.”
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