Connect with us

News

Flight Instructor Captures Stunning Tesla Gigafactory Photos

Josh McDonald of Reno Nevada has provided Teslarati with exclusive recent photos of the Tesla GigaFactory taken from his personal airplane, a 1946 Cessna 140.

Published

on

Tesla Gigafactory Feb 2016 [Source: Josh McDonald]

Active civil air patrol for the U.S. Air Force Josh McDonald runs a private flight school Nevada Tailwheel in nearby Reno. In addition to teaching others how to fly, Josh also performs aerial photography using his 1946 Cessna 140 equipped with a GoPro camera.

Josh shares with Teslarati stunning new aerial photos he captured of the Tesla Gigafactory while on a routine flight through the area. Josh a Tesla fan tells us, “I am a electric car fan and I’m planning on putting a deposit down for the Model 3 next month.”

Check out these amazing photos of the Gigafactory and its surrounding area.

DCIM100GOPRO

Tesla Gigafactory Feb 2016 [Source: Josh McDonald]

Elon Musk told investors at the 4th quarter earnings call earlier this month that production of Tesla Powerwall and Powerpack battery systems has already begun at the Gigafactory. Best of all, those products are already profitable and are expected to become more so as volume increases.

One of the most astonishing things about the Gigafactory is that, despite being one of the largest manufacturing facilities on earth, it is expected to be net zero and have no carbon emissions, according to technology chief JB Straubel. Net zero means that the building will create more electricity than it uses over a 12 month period.

DCIM100GOPRO

Tesla Gigafactory Feb 2016 [Source: Josh McDonald]

Straubel told a students at the University of Nevada in November, “[F]rom the get-go, from the first concept of this factory, we wanted to make it a net zero facility. So…the most visible thing we are doing is covering the entire site with solar power. The whole roof of the Gigafactory was designed from the beginning with solar in mind.

“We kept all of the mechanical equipment off the roof. We didn’t put extra…penetrations through the roof that we didn’t need to and it’s a very, very clean surface that we can completely cover in solar. But that’s not enough solar, though. So we have also gone to the surrounding hillsides that we can’t use for other functions and we’re adding solar to those.”

Advertisement
-->

You can see what look to be access roads leading to a plateau in the hills around the Gigafactory in these photos. Presumably, that is one of the areas where additional solar panels may go.

 

"I write about technology and the coming zero emissions revolution."

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla FSD successfully completes full coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions

Tesla community members celebrated the milestone on X, and the feat earned praise from some of the electric vehicle maker’s executives.

Published

on

Credit: Grok Imagine

A Tesla owner has successfully completed a full coast-to-coast drive across the United States on Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised. The trip was accomplished with zero interventions.

Tesla community members celebrated the milestone on X, and the feat earned praise from some of the electric vehicle maker’s executives. 

FSD Coast-to-Coast

The coast-to-coast feat was accomplished by Tesla owner Davis Moss, who drives a stealth gray Model 3 with AI4 hardware. Based on data from the FSD database and a community tracker, the last 10,638.8 miles Moss drove in his Model 3 were completed using FSD 100% of the time. His vehicle is equipped with FSD v14.2.1.25, which was installed 12 days ago.

As per Moss in a celebratory post on X, his Model 3 was able to complete a full coast-to-coast drive across the United States in 2 days and 20 hours. His trip started at the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles, CA, and it ended in Myrtle Beach, SC. Overall, his trip spanned 2,732.4 miles. 

“This was accomplished with Tesla FSD V14.2 with absolutely 0 disengagements of any kind even for all parking including at Tesla Superchargers,” Moss stated in his post. He also added in later comments that there were zero close calls during the trip.

Advertisement
-->

Tesla community celebrates 

The FSD milestone trip was widely lauded by members of the Tesla community, especially since a coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions has been cited by Elon Musk as a target since October 2016, when Autopilot 2.0 was unveiled. At the time, Musk initially estimated that a coast-to-coast drive across the United States should be possible by the end of 2017. Considering Moss’ feat in his Model 3, it appears that Elon Musk’s estimate was not impossible at all. It was just late.

Musk himself celebrated the milestone on X, and so did Tesla VP of AI Software Ashok Elluswamy, who wrote “World’s first fully autonomous coast-to-coast drive, done with Tesla self-driving v14. Congrats and thank you @DavidMoss!” in a post on X. The official Tesla North America account also celebrated the feat, writing “First Tesla to drive itself from coast to coast w/ FSD Supervised. 0 interventions, all FSD” on X.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk: Tesla Model Y is world’s best-selling car for 3rd year in a row

The Model Y has now established an impressive streak that would otherwise have been impossible before Tesla. 

Published

on

Credit: Grok Imagine

Elon Musk has announced that the Tesla Model Y has become the world’s best-selling car by volume for the third consecutive year, capping 2025 with another dominant performance. 

The Model Y has now established an impressive streak that would otherwise have been impossible before Tesla. 

Three years in a row

Musk posted on X: “Tesla Model Y is now officially the world’s best-selling car for the third year in a row!” The CEO’s comment echoed an update that Tesla included in its 2025 recap, which highlighted, among other things, the Model Y’s incredible streak. 

The Model Y has held the title since 2023, outperforming traditional leaders like the Toyota RAV4 and Corolla thanks to its bang-for-the-buck nature and its stellar combination of practicality, performance, and tech. The Model Y is also lauded as one of the safest vehicles on the road, making it an ideal choice for families in key markets such as China. 

An impressive 2025

The Model Y’s sales feat in 2025 is especially impressive considering the introduction of the vehicle’s new variant. Tesla’s changeover to the new Model Y across its global factories resulted in sales being paused for some time in the first quarter. As per Tesla’s Q1 2025 vehicle delivery and production report, “the changeover of Model Y lines across all four of our factories led to the loss of several weeks of production in Q1.” 

Advertisement
-->

This suggests that the Model Y’s sales remained strong in 2025 to the point where it could still claim the title of the world’s best-selling vehicle by volume, even with its sales being throttled during the first quarter of the year. It would then be interesting to see just how far the Model Y can go in 2026, especially considering the rollout of new variants like the six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y L, the affordable Model Y Standard, and the top-tier Model Y Performance. 

Continue Reading

News

Tesla shares epic 2025 recap video, confirms start of Cybercab production

The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla has released an epic year-in-review video for 2025, recapping some of its major achievements from refreshed models to autonomy breakthroughs and production ramps. 

The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development while looking ahead to an even bigger 2026.

Tesla’s 2025 highlights recap

Tesla has had a busy 2025, as highlighted in the recap video. The video opened with Elon Musk explaining the company’s pursuit of sustainable abundance. A number of milestones were then highlighted, such as the rollout of FSD v14, Optimus’ numerous demos, the opening of the Tesla Diner in Hollywood, LA, the completion of the world’s first autonomous car delivery, and the launch of the Robotaxi network in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tesla also highlighted several of its accomplishments over the year. As per the company, the Model Y was the year’s best-selling vehicle globally again, and Teslas became more affordable than ever thanks to the Model 3 and Model Y Standard. Other key models were also rolled out, such as the refreshed Model S and X, as well as the new Model Y, the new Model Y Performance, and the six-seat, extended wheelbase Model Y L. 

The Megablock was also unveiled during the year, and the Supercharger Network grew by 18%. Over 1 million Powerwalls were also installed during the year, and the Cybertruck became the first EV truck to get both an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and an NHTSA 5-Star safety rating. 

Advertisement
-->

Cybercab production confirmed

Interestingly enough, Tesla also confirmed in its 2025 recap video that the production of the Cybercab has started. This bodes well for the vehicle, as it could result in the vehicle really being mass-produced in the first half of 2026. Elon Musk confirmed during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting that Cybercab production should earnestly start around April 2026

Musk has also noted that the Cybercab will be Tesla’s highest-volume vehicle yet, with the company aiming for an annual production rate of about 2 million units. “If you’ve seen the design of the Cybercab line, it doesn’t look like a normal car manufacturing line,” Musk said earlier this year. “It looks like a really high-speed consumer electronics line. In fact, the line will move so fast that actually people can’t even get close to it.”

Continue Reading