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Tesla proposes $3.8 million donation for roads near lithium refinery

(Credit: Tesla)

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Tesla proposed a $3.8 million donation to improve roads near its lithium refinery in Robstown. 

Tesla’s donation will improve County Roads 30, 79, and 81. Nueces County commissioners will discuss the proposal at their next regularly scheduled meeting this week. One of the commissioners, John Marez, explained that the approval process is complicated. 

“That’s why it does have to go through the commissioner’s court to be able to review and accept the agreement. It will help the roads directly tied into their proposed plan or property they currently own in Nueces County,” he told a local news outlet. 

Marez elaborated that Tesla’s $3.8 million donation would go towards widening roads and pavement improvements. The roads Tesla aims to improve lead to its Corpus Christi lithium refinery. Most of the donation will ensure the roads accommodate the heavy-duty equipment and vehicles passing through to Tesla’s lithium refinery

The Nueces County commissioner saw Tesla’s donation in a positive light, commenting that he expects the proposal will be well-received by the other commissioners. 

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“We feel the road improvements are needed,” Marez said. “And maybe something we typically couldn’t afford, but also provides the guidelines they need to meet their needs as far as vehicles coming to and from their facility. I believe in the end it’s a win-win project.”

Tesla broke ground on its $375 million lithium refinery in Corpus Christi last month. The facility is located southwest of Robstown but within the Robstown Independent School District (ISD). Robstown ISD will generate tax revenue from Tesla’s lithium facility. 

“For lithium, our Corpus Christi Lithium refinery breaks ground this May. Our goal is to start commissioning portions of the facility before the end of the year,” Andrew Baglino explained in the Q1 2023 earnings call. 

“The refinery uses the sulfate-free spodumene refining process with reduced process costs, no acid or caustic reagents, lower embodied energy. It actually produces a beneficial byproduct that can be repurposed in construction materials. We discussed all of these concepts on Battery Day,” Baglino said. 

Tesla aims to start operations at the lithium refinery by the end of the year. The company estimates that the lithium facility will have a capacity of 50 GWh annually. 

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Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla gets major upgrade that Apple users will absolutely love

Tesla is unloading a new feature for iPhone users that they will absolutely love.

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Credit: Tesla Inc.

Tesla is giving its owners who use iPhones and the iOS platform a major upgrade that will make the vehicles more compatible with the current capabilities of Apple devices.

Much to the chagrin of Android users, Apple iPhone users who own Teslas are usually the first to get new features.

However, Tesla is rolling out a new feature to iPhone users that will only be available to them, as Live Update compatibility is now rolling out.

Live Updates on the iPhone allow users to track the progress of tasks while using other apps. For example, uploading a post on X can be tracked while using an internet browser, as the Dynamic Island, the small display near the speaker on an iPhone, will show progress.

Tesla will now do this for Supercharging, a new update shows. The Dynamic Island is not the only thing that will monitor the progress of Supercharging, though. Updates will also be visible on the lock screen and as a drop-down notification:

You will need iOS 17.2 or newer to use this feature.

The Supercharging updates will show the current State of Charge (SoC), time remaining, and price of the current session. These notifications will make the charging process easier when you’re not inside your Tesla, as many Superchargers are located in retail settings.

You’ll be able to monitor the price and time remaining with a quick glance at your phone.

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Tesla rolls out new crucial safety feature aimed at saving children

Tesla has been working on this child detection feature for several years.

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla is finally rolling out a new, crucial safety feature that is aimed at saving children from being left in the car.

Over the past few months, we have reported on a feature Tesla was planning to roll out in its vehicles that would help keep children out of hot cars unattended.

Tesla set to roll out new child safety and navigation features, coding shows

The company has been working on a solution to this problem for several years, as it has been working on an ultrawave sensor that would detect heartbeats instead of movement, as cameras would.

Now, Tesla is implementing the feature in its vehicles with Software Update 2025.14.12, calling it “Child Left Alone Detection.”

The release notes, via Not a Tesla App, show that the vehicle and the Tesla app will both make various attempts to alert the driver of a child in the car:

“If an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will flash the exterior indicator lights, play an alert tone, and send a notification to your Tesla app. This will repeat at regular intervals until you return to your vehicle. Cabin data is processed locally and is not transmitted to Tesla.

This feature is enabled by default. To disable, go to Controls > Safety > Child Left Alone Detection.”

Tesla later said that the feature is currently rolling out to mid-2023 and later Model 3 vehicles in Europe initially, while other models and regions will receive the update in the coming months.

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Tesla Semi frames stack up in Nevada as production nears

Tesla Semi frames are being spotted outside of the Nevada production facility ahead of initial high-volume manufacturing.

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Credit: Zanegler | X

Tesla is moving closer to the initial production of the Semi later this year, and outside of its dedicated factory in Nevada, which will be responsible for building the all-electric truck, frames, and other parts of the vehicle, are beginning to stack up.

The Semi production facility is located on the same property as Gigafactory Nevada, and is moving closer to completion as the construction crews on site have already enclosed walls.

Now, production is moving even closer as parts of the Semi were spotted outside of the Semi production facility in Nevada. The images were captured by Zanegler, a Tesla Semi enthusiast and Giga Nevada tracker:

The Semi is already used by a handful of companies, including U.S. Foods, Frito-Lay, and PepsiCo. However, the vehicle is not up for public use quite yet, as Tesla is working with various companies to carry out pilot testing of the Semi to see how it performs during regional runs.

Tesla Semi fleet from Frito-Lay gets more charging at Bakersfield factory

The results have been very encouraging, with the Semi even completing a 1,000-mile run in a single day two years ago.

Now, Tesla is truly focusing on the launch of the factory, which will put production into full swing moving into 2026. Earlier this year, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, gave an update on the Semi and the company’s current timeline for the product:

“So, we just closed out the Semi factory roof of walls last week in Reno, a schedule, which is great with the weather. In Reno, you never know what’s going to happen. But we’re prepping for mechanical installation of all the equipment in the coming months.

The first builds of the high volumes in design come late this year in 2025 and begin ramping early in 2026. But as we’ve said before, the Semi is a TCO, no-brainer. I think it’s really similar to Optimus. It’s going to be set by how much people pay and it has the total cost of ownership, it’s much, much cheaper than any other transportation you could have.”

Tesla also started ordering parts for the Semi and Cybercab after the tariff situation between the U.S. and China was alleviated.

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