RAM has promised big things for its upcoming electric pickup truck, the RAM 1500 REV, though specifications have yet to be released.
Superior range, payload, towing, and charge time; that was the message from RAM when it revealed the name of its first production electric truck, the RAM 1500 REV. This message was echoed in RAM’s Super Bowl commercial that poked fun at “Premature Electrification” (PE) concerns. But without releasing the specifications of its upcoming truck, it remains unclear if the historic American truck can achieve its new herculean task.
RAM has yet to release any information about the RAM 1500 REV, other than its design and release date of “late 2024,” shown in its first-ever Super Bowl commercial. However, looking at the current competition, you can get a good idea of what specs RAM is aiming for.
One of the most critical factors a consumer will look at when buying an EV is the vehicle’s range, so it is no wonder RAM is promising to lead in the category. To achieve this and upset the current range leader in electric pickups, the Rivian R1T, the RAM 1500 REV would need to be able to go more than 328 miles on a single charge; no small task for Stellantis’ first EV in the United States.
Second, if the REV is going to have a superior payload, it will need to put up numbers almost equal to the current gas variant RAM. The Ford F150 Lightning leads electric trucks, having a payload of 2,235 pounds, while the gas-powered RAM 1500 has capacity for only 100 pounds more.
Towing, a massive challenge for any electric truck, could be a particularly difficult challenge for Stellantis engineers if their truck is to be a leader in the segment. While the Ford and Rivian trucks have towing capacities of 10,000 and 11,000 pounds, neither has been able to do so while towing for any considerable distance, a concern that is even addressed in RAM’s own Super Bowl ad. From the testing done by various sources on both the Lightning and the R1T, anything more than 100-120 miles of range while towing could make the 1500 REV a leader in its class.
As if these three tasks weren’t enough, RAM is promising to be a new leader in charge time, a crown that will certainly need to be battled for thanks to Ford’s impressive 30-40 minute 10-80% charge time.
This leads us to the question; are these achievements remotely possible? There are a couple of reasons to believe they are.
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- Credit: RAM Trucks
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- Credit: RAM Trucks
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- Credit: RAM Trucks
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- Credit: RAM Trucks
First, suppose RAM can build its first EV on an 800/900-volt architecture. In that case, the drivetrain’s efficiency and charging time could improve dramatically, allowing the 1500 REV to hit many of the targets listed above. This is especially the case compared to the 400-volt architecture used within the current electric trucks on the market.
Second, if RAM can source higher efficiency motors, it may be able to circumvent issues of range, though it may face problems regarding power to move over 11,000 pounds when towing.
Third and potentially the most likely, RAM could opt to fit a gargantuan battery into its first electric truck. With a massive battery pack of over 150 kWh, the 1500 REV would benefit from increased range and increased power thanks to the battery’s ability to meet higher power needs. Though, with such a massive pack, the RAM 1500 REV would suffer in the weight department, potentially decreasing its payload and towing capabilities.
Whether RAM achieves its design goals or not, the added competition in the electric vehicle market is always welcome. Though RAM isn’t introducing its first EV as quickly as many would have hoped, with such high goals, it may be worth waiting for. Though with competition on the horizon, Stellantis will need to work quickly if it hopes not to be left behind.
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!
Elon Musk
Elon Musk and Tesla AI Director share insights after empty driver seat Robotaxi rides
The executives’ unoccupied tests hint at the rapid progress of Tesla’s unsupervised Robotaxi efforts.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and AI Director Ashok Elluswamy celebrated Christmas Eve by sharing personal experiences with Robotaxi vehicles that had no safety monitor or occupant in the driver’s seat. Musk described the system’s “perfect driving” around Austin, while Elluswamy posted video from the back seat, calling it “an amazing experience.”
The executives’ unoccupied tests hint at the rapid progress of Tesla’s unsupervised Robotaxi efforts.
Elon and Ashok’s firsthand Robotaxi insights
Prior to Musk and the Tesla AI Director’s posts, sightings of unmanned Teslas navigating public roads were widely shared on social media. One such vehicle was spotted in Austin, Texas, which Elon Musk acknowleged by stating that “Testing is underway with no occupants in the car.”
Based on his Christmas Eve post, Musk seemed to have tested an unmanned Tesla himself. “A Tesla with no safety monitor in the car and me sitting in the passenger seat took me all around Austin on Sunday with perfect driving,” Musk wrote in his post.
Elluswamy responded with a 2-minute video showing himself in the rear of an unmanned Tesla. The video featured the vehicle’s empty front seats, as well as its smooth handling through real-world traffic. He captioned his video with the words, “It’s an amazing experience!”
Towards Unsupervised operations
During an xAI Hackathon earlier this month, Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla owed be removing Safety Monitors from its Robotaxis in Austin in just three weeks. “Unsupervised is pretty much solved at this point. So there will be Tesla Robotaxis operating in Austin with no one in them. Not even anyone in the passenger seat in about three weeks,” he said. Musk echoed similar estimates at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting and the Q3 2025 earnings call.
Considering the insights that were posted Musk and Elluswamy, it does appear that Tesla is working hard towards operating its Robotaxis with no safety monitors. This is quite impressive considering that the service was launched just earlier this year.
Elon Musk
Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million
The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has continued its rapid global expansion, surpassing 9 million active customers just weeks after crossing the 8 million mark.
The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.
9 million customers
In a post on X, SpaceX stated that Starlink now serves over 9 million active users across 155 countries, territories, and markets. The company reached 8 million customers in early November, meaning it added roughly 1 million subscribers in under seven weeks, or about 21,275 new users on average per day.
“Starlink is connecting more than 9M active customers with high-speed internet across 155 countries, territories, and many other markets,” Starlink wrote in a post on its official X account. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell also celebrated the milestone on X. “A huge thank you to all of our customers and congrats to the Starlink team for such an incredible product,” she wrote.
That growth rate reflects both rising demand for broadband in underserved regions and Starlink’s expanding satellite constellation, which now includes more than 9,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet worldwide.
Starlink’s momentum
Starlink’s momentum has been building up. SpaceX reported 4.6 million Starlink customers in December 2024, followed by 7 million by August 2025, and 8 million customers in November. Independent data also suggests Starlink usage is rising sharply, with Cloudflare reporting that global web traffic from Starlink users more than doubled in 2025, as noted in an Insider report.
Starlink’s momentum is increasingly tied to SpaceX’s broader financial outlook. Elon Musk has said the satellite network is “by far” the company’s largest revenue driver, and reports suggest SpaceX may be positioning itself for an initial public offering as soon as next year, with valuations estimated as high as $1.5 trillion. Musk has also suggested in the past that Starlink could have its own IPO in the future.
News
NVIDIA Director of Robotics: Tesla FSD v14 is the first AI to pass the “Physical Turing Test”
After testing FSD v14, Fan stated that his experience with FSD felt magical at first, but it soon started to feel like a routine.
NVIDIA Director of Robotics Jim Fan has praised Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14 as the first AI to pass what he described as a “Physical Turing Test.”
After testing FSD v14, Fan stated that his experience with FSD felt magical at first, but it soon started to feel like a routine. And just like smartphones today, removing it now would “actively hurt.”
Jim Fan’s hands-on FSD v14 impressions
Fan, a leading researcher in embodied AI who is currently solving Physical AI at NVIDIA and spearheading the company’s Project GR00T initiative, noted that he actually was late to the Tesla game. He was, however, one of the first to try out FSD v14.
“I was very late to own a Tesla but among the earliest to try out FSD v14. It’s perhaps the first time I experience an AI that passes the Physical Turing Test: after a long day at work, you press a button, lay back, and couldn’t tell if a neural net or a human drove you home,” Fan wrote in a post on X.
Fan added: “Despite knowing exactly how robot learning works, I still find it magical watching the steering wheel turn by itself. First it feels surreal, next it becomes routine. Then, like the smartphone, taking it away actively hurts. This is how humanity gets rewired and glued to god-like technologies.”
The Physical Turing Test
The original Turing Test was conceived by Alan Turing in 1950, and it was aimed at determining if a machine could exhibit behavior that is equivalent to or indistinguishable from a human. By focusing on text-based conversations, the original Turing Test set a high bar for natural language processing and machine learning.
This test has been passed by today’s large language models. However, the capability to converse in a humanlike manner is a completely different challenge from performing real-world problem-solving or physical interactions. Thus, Fan introduced the Physical Turing Test, which challenges AI systems to demonstrate intelligence through physical actions.
Based on Fan’s comments, Tesla has demonstrated these intelligent physical actions with FSD v14. Elon Musk agreed with the NVIDIA executive, stating in a post on X that with FSD v14, “you can sense the sentience maturing.” Musk also praised Tesla AI, calling it the best “real-world AI” today.
Elon Musk and Tesla AI Director share insights after empty driver seat Robotaxi rides
Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million
