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Tesla and Arevon team up on 172-Megapack solar plus project

One of Tesla’s largest Megapack sites, the Arevon Eland solar project is supported by an impressive 1.2GWh of Megapacks.

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Tesla Megapack
Credit: Tesla

Tesla and partner Arevon have completed the second phase of an energy storage site in Southern California, as highlighted in a short video shared this week.

On Monday, Tesla’s Megapack account on X posted a brief video on the Kern County, California “Eland” storage site, which was recently expanded to offer 300MW/1.2GWh of Megapacks supporting 758MW of solar. The so-called “Eland Solar-plus-Storage Project” site now features 172 Megapack units and 1.36 million solar panels, which the companies have previously said is roughly enough to power 200,000 homes annually.

In the video, Tesla also notes that the facility has site-level controls to regulate power output, “providing a firm resource to the grid,” and supporting the Los Angeles climate goal of reaching 100-percent renewable electricity by 2035. You can check out the clip below.

READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapack project in California housed in former steam plant

Arevon announced the official start of operations for Eland 1 in December with 150MW/600 MWh, and the Eland 2 phase has effectively doubled this. The company also appears to be on track for its targeted opening of Eland 2 in Q1 this year, though it’s not clear at the time of writing if Arevon has yet announced a start of operations for the second phase.

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Last February, Arevon announced that it secured a $1.1 billion financial commitment for the remaining parts of the Eland 2 Solar-plus-Storage project, together with Eland 1 becoming one of the largest solar-plus-storage installations in the U.S. The projects also include a long-term purchase agreement from the Southern California Public Power Authority, which plans to facilitate contracts for the LA Department of Water and Power and Glendale Water and Power.

Tesla’s grid-scale Megapack batteries can store and deploy generated energy to the electrical grid, especially during periods of peak power usage, high demand, or outages. Coupled with solar or other energy sources in these kinds of solar-plus-storage sites, Tesla’s Megapacks can help support renewable energy for long periods of time, or at least add stability to the grid.

Over the past couple of years, Tesla has been deploying large-scale Megapack projects in markets around the world, as backed by an initial production facility in Lathrop, California. This “Megafactory” aims to eventually produce 10,000 Megapack units, or 40 GWh, per year, and it has been ramping up production since late 2022.

In November, the Lathrop Megafactory officially produced its 10,000th Megapack, and Tesla also started production at a second Megapack plant in Shanghai, China last month, after starting construction on the site last May. The Shanghai Megafactory is also expected to have a volume annual production of 10,000 units per year.

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Additionally, Tesla has teased plans for a third Megafactory, though it has yet to disclose where such a facility would be built.

Tesla’s massive Megapack site near Melbourne is almost ready

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Tesla Roadster unveiling gets pushed again, but new event details emerge

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Credit: Dan Burkland

Tesla has reportedly pushed the unveiling of the Roadster once again, but there are also evidently new details about the event that the company plans to show off.

The Information reported this morning that Tesla will now unveil, for the second time, the next-generation Roadster in August, a further delay from the multiple timeline that the company had previously stated.

The report has not been confirmed or denied by Tesla at any capacity.

It also states the unveiling event will take place in Texas, the same place that Tesla executives revealed in May would be the place of manufacture for the company’s highly-anticipated supercar, which boasts a top speed of over 250 MPH and 650 miles of range, according to its website.

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Tesla is also expected to showcase the SpaceX package, which will be used for faster acceleration and potentially hovering capabilities, at the unveiling event, the report states. Musk has always planned for this to happen, but now it seems it is more realistic than ever

The Roadster has had its unveiling date and manufacturing date pushed back on many occasions. It was set to start production in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic crippled supply chain operations, forcing Tesla to push its timeline back considerably.

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However, COVID has been over for some time, and Tesla has still not managed to successfully schedule and execute an unveiling event, which is something fans and enthusiasts, as well as those who have put down a $50,000 deposit, have been waiting for.

The vehicle was close to completion last year, but Musk truly wanted Lars Moravy and Franz von Holzhausen to push the limits of the Roadster. In July of last year, Moravy said:

“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind-blowing; We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on, and he got a little excited.”

It is important to note two things: Tesla has not confirmed these details, and the company has regularly pushed these dates back. Until Tesla sends out formal invitations with a concrete date, taking any unveiling event reports with a grain of salt is a good idea.

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Tesla Model 3 has a tasty Supercharging incentive, but it’s ending soon

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is offering a tasty Supercharging incentive on certain Model 3 trims, but the company has officially put a concrete end date on it, so those interested should act fast.

Tesla is offering Free Supercharging for One Year on the Model 3 Premium and Performance trims, the top two offerings of the all-electric sedan. There are three trims of the Model 3 that will have the Free Supercharging offer attached:

  • Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive – $42,490
  • Premium All-Wheel-Drive – $47,490
  • Performance – $54,990

Tesla has now announced that this offer will expire on June 15, giving potential buyers about ten days to take advantage of the incentive.

This could be an additional incentive for car buyers to transition to electric vehicles. Many states are showing gas prices well over $4 per gallon, with the national average currently sitting at $4.22, according to AAA.

Tesla Model 3 wins Edmunds’ Best EV of 2026 award

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A free year of Supercharging miles would allow people to charge and travel for free, other than routine maintenance, which is already incredibly cheap compared to a gas car.

At Tesla Superchargers, peak rates, meaning prices between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., average between $0.45 and $0.60. One year of driving at an average of 12,000 miles would cost between $1,000 and $1,500 at $0.50 per kWh. It’s a pretty good deal.

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Supercharging prices have also increased recently:

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Tesla has used Free Supercharging to move units in the past, and it’s a great strategy for those who plan to use the car for longer commutes, cross-country drives, or do not have reliable access to home charging.

It should be noted that Tesla recommends that Supercharging be used at a minimum to preserve the life of the battery, as fast-charging is more stressful on the cells.

However, some people might not have an option, so the Free Supercharging incentive could truly be a great reason for many people to charge their cars.

The Supercharging incentive is short-term, and it is pretty rare that Tesla utilizes it, so once this offer is gone, we probably will not see it on the Model 3 for some time.

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Ferrari CEO’s self-driving stance echoes Elon Musk’s — sort of

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Credit: Tesla | Ferrari

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna revealed that the Italian automaker’s future will not involve self-driving, a point that echoes that of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s — sort of.

You might be thinking, “Are you insane? Musk has been so incredibly hellbent on delivering self-driving vehicles to the public, so much so that he has even hinted that Tesla won’t need the ever-popular and widely-requested Model Y L in the U.S.

However, when it comes to electric supercars with high-performance specs and lofty price tags, Vigna’s stance is exactly what Musk wants for Tesla’s own hypercar project, the Tesla Roadster.

In a new interview with Australian media outlet Drive, Vigna made it clear that Ferrari’s ambitions for the future do not involve autonomy, simply because the company’s cars are not designed for anything but manual, spirited driving.

He said:

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“We will not make fully autonomous cars — loud and clear. We want the people to have fun, not the [computer] chips. We want to have a steering wheel and a man or a woman behind the steering wheel. Otherwise, why do you buy a Ferrari?”

This seems to be a reasonable assertion. Ferraris are not made for daily commutes, cross-country road trips, or bumper-to-bumper traffic. They’re made for fast, spirited driving, and many of their buyers will only put a few thousand miles on them throughout their lifetime. True, exciting, fun driving is meant to be done manually.

That is not to say Full Self-Driving or other semi-autonomous suites are not “fun,” but they are meant to take the stress out of driving. They are made for the daily commutes, the rush hour traffic, and the parking lots and garages. It’s made to take the stress out of driving.

Tesla Full Self-Driving attempts 150-mile stress test: the good and the bad

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Musk had stated in an interview in early 2026 that the Roadster would also be geared toward fun, manually-controlled driving. On the Moonshots podcast with Peter Diamandis, Musk said about the Roadster:

“This is not a…safety is not the main goal. If you buy a Ferrari, safety is not the number one goal. I say, if safety is your number one goal, do not buy the Roadster…We’ll aspire not to kill anyone in this car. It’ll be the best of the last of the human-driven cars. The best of the last.”

There are cars out there that simply are meant to be driven by humans, and Ferraris and Roadsters are a few of them. Ferrari has no true advantage in developing self-driving; their cars sell at low volumes with high price tags, and their performance specs and engineering are all geared toward spirited driving.

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