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SF Motors set sights on EV mass production with latest R&D testing facility

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Santa Clara based electric vehicle startup SF Motors is opening up a new full-scale R&D center in Silicon Valley. SF Motors was founded in January 2016 after a large investment from Sokon Motors, a large Chinese automotive company. The company’s new 130,000 sqft research and development facility will be located in Milpitas, CA, roughly 6 miles away from SF’s headquarters.

The new facility, which is expected to be completed in Q4 ’18, will be capable of “small batch” manufacturing and development of manufacturing processes. The company is focusing on battery, powertrain, and autonomous vehicle development at the facility.

“Adding to our existing R&D labs, this new facility will conduct extensive design validation testing and small-scale manufacturing necessary to ensure a smooth transition to mass production of our batteries and electric powertrains, which are key components of our vehicles,” said SF Motors CTO Yifan Tang.

Yifan Tang joined SF Motors in February 2017. He was previously the technical lead on Facebook’s high-altitude long-range aircraft aimed at beaming internet across the globe. Before Facebook, Tang was VP of Drivetrain Engineering at Lucid Motors for three years and Principal Motor Technologist at Tesla for five years. During his time at Tesla Tang designed the motors for the Roadster, Model S, Mercedes B-Class/Toyota Rav4, and the prototype Model X AWD. Tang has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from The Ohio State University and 35 U.S. patents.

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In October 2017 SF Motors acquired Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard’s battery module startup evINIT for $33M. Eberhard is now Chief Strategy Officer at SF Motors and the former CEO of evINIT, Mike Miskovsky, is Chief Development Officer. Eberhard served as the CEO of Tesla in its early years until late 2007.

Closing the loop from R&D to Manufacturing

SF Motors’ CTO Yifan Tang tells Teslarati that the new facility will help “close the loop from R&D to manufacturing,” and help accelerate the company to mass production. Tang describes the new facility as a key part of SF Motors strategy as they push forward to mass production.

According to SF Motors, the company is already prepping manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and China. SF Motors purchased a 675,000 sqft plant in Indiana from AM General in November 2017. The company also has a massive factory in Chongqing, China, with nearly 8.4M sqft of manufacturing space that’s capable of producing 200,000 vehicles per year.

SF Motors’ new R&D Facility in Milpitas, California (Photo: Loopnet/McCarthy Creekside
Industrial Center)

SF’s Tang emphasized that the company’s abilities to produce small-batch trial production at their R&D facility will differentiate itself from other automotive manufacturers. The company plans to also produce battery cells at the facility and will test different cell configurations, modules, and battery pack sizes.

SF plans to produce a wide range of vehicles, and the ability to tweak cell chemistry along with module configurations will allow them to produce battery packs that are optimized for cost efficiency and performance.

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The new R&D facility will house roughly 100 employees, but its proximity to the company’s headquarters allows the company to shift employees back and forth. “Drawing on our global business model and decades of manufacturing experience, locating this facility near our Silicon Valley headquarters will strategically ensure quality and efficiency as we prepare to bring our intelligent EVs to market,” Tang said in a press release.

SF Motors plans to start trial production of their vehicles at the end of this year.

Update at 10:35 am PT: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that SF Motors was a subsidiary of Sokon Motors. Sokon Motors was a large initial investor in SF Motors, but does not wholely own the company. 

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Christian Prenzler is currently the VP of Business Development at Teslarati, leading strategic partnerships, content development, email newsletters, and subscription programs. Additionally, Christian thoroughly enjoys investigating pivotal moments in the emerging mobility sector and sharing these stories with Teslarati's readers. He has been closely following and writing on Tesla and disruptive technology for over seven years. You can contact Christian here: christian@teslarati.com

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk: Tesla could be first to build AGI in humanoid form

Musk’s statement was shared in a post on social media platform X.  

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Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk predicted that Tesla could become one of the developers of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) in humanoid form. Musk’s statement was shared in a post on social media platform X.  

In his post, Musk stated that “Tesla will be one of the companies to make AGI and probably the first to make it in humanoid/atom-shaping form.”

The comment comes as Tesla expands development of its Optimus humanoid robot.

During Tesla’s Q4 earnings report, Elon Musk stated that production of the Model S and Model X would be phased out at its Fremont, California, facility. The vehicles’ production line will then be converted to a pilot line for Optimus. Tesla is looking to produce 1 million units of the humanoid robots annually to start.

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Musk has previously stated that Optimus could eventually function as a von Neumann probe. The concept, proposed by mathematician John von Neumann, describes a machine capable of replicating itself using planetary resources and sending those replicas to other worlds.

Optimus would likely only be able to achieve this potential if it manages to achieve Artificial General Intelligence.

Other leaders in the AI sector have also expressed strong expectations about AGI’s potential. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, recently spoke about the technology at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, as noted in a Benzinga report.

“It’s going to be something like ten times the impact of the Industrial Revolution, but happening at ten times the speed,” Hassabis said.

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Elon Musk’s recent comments about Tesla producing a product with AGI could hint at further collaboration among his companies. So far, Tesla is actively pursuing autonomous driving, but it is xAI that is pursuing AGI with its Grok program.

Considering that Elon Musk mentioned a Tesla humanoid product with AGI, it appears that an Optimus robot running xAI’s AI models could become a reality.

xAI had recently merged with SpaceX, though reports suggest that Elon Musk is also considering an even bigger merger for all his companies, including Tesla.

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Tesla influencers argue company’s polarizing Full Self-Driving transfer decision

Tesla maintains it will honor transfers for orders with initial delivery windows before the deadline and offers full deposit refunds otherwise, citing longstanding fine print that the program is “subject to change at any time.”

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Tesla’s decision to tighten its Full Self-Driving (FSD) transfer promotion has ignited fierce debate among owners and enthusiasts.

The company quietly updated its terms in late February 2026, changing the eligibility from “order by March 31, 2026” to “take delivery by March 31, 2026.”

What began as a flexible incentive to boost sales, allowing buyers to transfer their paid FSD (Supervised) to a new vehicle, now excludes many, particularly Cybertruck owners facing delivery delays into summer or later.

Tesla maintains it will honor transfers for orders with initial delivery windows before the deadline and offers full deposit refunds otherwise, citing longstanding fine print that the program is “subject to change at any time.”

The reversal has polarized the Tesla community, with accusations of a “bait-and-switch” clashing against defenses of corporate pragmatism. Many owners who placed orders under the original wording feel betrayed, especially as production backlogs and new unsupervised FSD rollout complicate timelines.

However, Tesla has allowed them to cancel their orders and receive a refund.

Critics of the decision argue that the change disadvantages loyal customers who helped fund FSD development, calling it poor communication and a revenue grab as Tesla pivots toward subscriptions.

Popular influencers have amplified the divide. Whole Mars Catalog struck a measured but firm tone, acknowledging the original “order by” language but emphasizing Tesla’s right to adjust terms. He has continued to defend Tesla in this particular issue:

He criticized extreme backlash as “dramatization” and “spoiled kids,” noting the unsupervised FSD era and broader sales challenges make blanket transfers financially risky. Whole Mars advocated for polite outreach to CEO Elon Musk over the issue.

In a contrasting perspective, Dirty TesLA voiced sharper frustration, posting that blocking transfers feels “crazy” and distancing himself from “people that want to worship a corporation and say they can do no wrong.” His stance resonated with owners who view the policy flip as disrespectful to early adopters.

Popular Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt captured the frustration felt by thousands. In a widely shared thread viewed over 700,000 times, Merritt detailed how pre-change Cybertruck orders now risk losing FSD eligibility unless their initial delivery window falls before March 31.

The controversy underscores deeper tensions—between Tesla’s need for revenue discipline and owners’ expectations of goodwill. As FSD evolves toward unsupervised capability, the community remains split: some see the change as necessary business, others as a broken promise. Whether Tesla reconsiders under pressure or holds firm remains to be seen, but it does not appear they are planning to budge.

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Tesla Semi’s latest adoptee will likely encourage more of the same

Public visibility matters. When shoppers see a trusted name like Ralph’s running clean, high-tech trucks on public roads, skepticism fades. Competitors such as Albertsons, which pre-ordered Semis years ago, and other chains chasing ESG targets now have proof that electric autonomy works in real-world grocery fleets.

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Credit: X | ChargePozitive

The latest adoptee of the Tesla Semi will likely encourage more businesses in the same realm to adopt the all-electric Class 8 truck, as a new company utilizing the Semi has been spotted in Southern California.

A sleek, futuristic Tesla Semi truck branded for Ralph’s Supermarkets was spotted cruising a Los Angeles highway in a viral 13-second dashcam video posted March 2, by X user ChargePozitive.

This sighting confirms Kroger’s March 2025 partnership with Tesla to deploy up to 500 autonomous electric Semis.

While the initial announcement targeted Midwest supply chains, the California appearance under the Ralph’s banner shows the program expanding to Kroger’s West Coast operations. Ralph’s, a staple for millions of Southern California shoppers, is now hauling groceries with the Semi, which has zero tailpipe emissions and claims up to 500 miles of range per charge.

Tesla Semi pricing revealed after company uncovers trim levels

The timing could not be better for sustainable logistics. Traditional trucking accounts for a massive share of retail emissions, but Tesla’s Semi slashes fuel and maintenance costs while leveraging full autonomy to ease driver shortages and improve safety.

Tesla’s expanding Megacharger network, including new sites along major freight corridors and partnerships like the recently-announced one with Pilot Travel Centers, is removing range anxiety and making nationwide scaling realistic. There’s still a long way to go, but things are moving in the right direction.

Public visibility matters. When shoppers see a trusted name like Ralph’s running clean, high-tech trucks on public roads, skepticism fades. Competitors such as Albertsons, which pre-ordered Semis years ago, and other chains chasing ESG targets now have proof that electric autonomy works in real-world grocery fleets.

PepsiCo’s successful pilots already demonstrated viability, and Ralph’s sighting adds retail credibility.

As Tesla ramps high-volume Semi production through 2026, this isn’t an isolated curiosity. Instead, it’s a catalyst. More grocers adopting the platform will accelerate industry-wide decarbonization, cut operating expenses, and deliver tangible environmental wins.

The future of sustainable supply chains is already on the highway, and Ralph’s just made it impossible to ignore.

Moving forward, Tesla hopes to expand the Semi program into other regions, including Europe, which CEO Elon Musk recently said is a total possibility next year.

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