A Tesla owner recently shared a theory on factors that might have led up to the fatal Model X accident near Mountain View, CA, on March 23. Driving on the same stretch of road on Autopilot, the Tesla owner observed that there were deviations on the street’s markings and repair cuts — things which might have caused the electric car’s sensors to misread the highway’s lanes.
The 36-second clip was uploaded and shared on YouTube by Privater, who included annotations to the video highlighting his observations. At the 0:05-second mark on the clip, the Tesla owner noted that the markings on the road deviated from their original line due to the beginning of a repair cut. Further into the street (0:12 into the clip), Privater noted that the repair cuts in the road became very prominent. This could have confused Autopilot into thinking that it was a lane, especially under the direct glare of the sun.
As the barrier where the fatal Model X accident took place in came into view (0:23 into the video), Privater noted that the section of the road leading up to the crash cushion was marked by solid white lines. As could be seen in the Tesla owner’s clip, the lines were almost wide enough to be a lane, which could have also been misread by Autopilot.
The Tesla owner noted that he had been driving on the same stretch of road on Autopilot for almost two years. During that time, Privater stated that his car had misread the road marks and nearly collided with the crash cushion once or twice. He described his experiences as a response to a comment on his YouTube video.
A Tesla owner suggests a possible explanation for the fatal Model X accident on March 23, 2018. [Credit: Privater/YouTube]
“On the video, my car is on Autopilot. I drive the same section for nearly two years, (and) 99.9% of (the) time, I’m on Autopilot. However, this kind of error only happened to me once or twice. It’s scary enough for me to keep high alert on this intersection,” he wrote.
In an update to its first statement about the fatal Model X accident, Tesla confirmed that the ill-fated electric SUV was on Autopilot when it collided with the highway barrier. According to Tesla, the Model X driver had received several visual warnings and one audible hands-on warning earlier during the drive. The ill-fated electric SUV’s driver had also not placed his hands on the steering wheel for 6 seconds before the fatal accident. Overall, the Model X driver had about 5 seconds and 150 meters of unobstructed view to steer the car away from the highway divider before the collision occurred.
In a statement to Reuters, NTSB spokesman Chris O’Neil expressed the agency’s disagreement about the Elon Musk-led company’s decision to release information about the investigation to the public.
“The agency needs the cooperation of Tesla to decode the data the vehicle recorded. In each of our investigations involving a Tesla vehicle, Tesla has been extremely cooperative on assisting with the vehicle data. However, the NTSB is unhappy with the release of investigative information by Tesla,” O’Neil said.
As we noted in a previous report, the Model X crash was so severe because a crash attenuator, a highway safety device designed to absorb the impact of a colliding vehicle, had not been repaired by CalTrans since a 2010 Toyota Prius smashed into the safety device 11 days before the Tesla accident. In a statement to ABC7 News, Caltrans stated that the standard timeline for a crash attenuator’s repair is 7 days or 5 business days after an accident. The safety device’s repairs were delayed, however, due to storms in the area.
Watch Privater’s Autopilot drive-by in the video below.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk teases previously unknown Tesla Optimus capability
Elon Musk revealed over the weekend that the humanoid robot should be able to utilize Tesla’s dataset for Full Self-Driving (FSD) to operate cars not manufactured by Tesla.
Elon Musk revealed a new capability that Tesla Optimus should have, and it is one that will surely surprise many people, as it falls outside the CEO’s scope of his several companies.
Tesla Optimus is likely going to be the biggest product the company ever develops, and Musk has even predicted that it could make up about 80 percent of the company’s value in the coming years.
Teasing the potential to eliminate any trivial and monotonous tasks from human life, Optimus surely has its appeal.
However, Musk revealed over the weekend that the humanoid robot should be able to utilize Tesla’s dataset for Full Self-Driving (FSD) to operate cars not manufactured by Tesla:
Probably
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 5, 2025
FSD would essentially translate from operation in Tesla vehicles from a driverless perspective to Optimus, allowing FSD to basically be present in any vehicle ever made. Optimus could be similar to a personal chauffeur, as well as an assistant.
Optimus has significant hype behind it, as Tesla has been meticulously refining its capabilities. Along with Musk’s and other executives’ comments about its potential, it’s clear that there is genuine excitement internally.
This past weekend, the company continued to stoke hype behind Optimus by showing a new video of the humanoid robot learning Kung Fu and training with a teacher:
🚨 Some have wondered if this is ‘staged’ or if Optimus is teleoperated here
Elon Musk said this is completely AI https://t.co/N69uDD6OVM
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 4, 2025
Tesla plans to launch its Gen 3 version of Optimus in the coming months, and although we saw a new-look robot just last month, thanks to a video from Salesforce CEO and Musk’s friend Marc Benioff, we have been told that this was not a look at the company’s new iteration.
Instead, Gen 3’s true design remains a mystery for the general public, but with the improvements between the first two iterations already displayed, we are sure the newest version will be something special.
Investor's Corner
Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirms bullish view on Tesla after record Q3 deliveries
The firm reiterated its Overweight rating and $355 price target.
Cantor Fitzgerald is maintaining its bullish outlook on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) following the company’s record-breaking third quarter of 2025.
The firm reiterated its Overweight rating and $355 price target, citing strong delivery results driven by a rush of consumer purchases ahead of the end of the federal tax credit on September 30.
On Tesla’s vehicle deliveries in Q3 2025
During the third quarter of 2025, Tesla delivered a total of 497,099 vehicles, significantly beating analyst expectations of 443,079 vehicles. As per Cantor Fitzgerald, this was likely affected by customers rushing at the end of Q3 to purchase an EV due to the end of the federal tax credit, as noted in an Investing.com report.
“On 10/2, TSLA pre-announced that it delivered 497,099 vehicles in 3Q25 (its highest quarterly delivery in company history), significantly above Company consensus of 443,079, and above 384,122 in 2Q25. This was due primarily to a ‘push forward effect’ from consumers who rushed to purchase or lease EVs ahead of the $7,500 EV tax credit expiring on 9/30,” the firm wrote in its note.
A bright spot in Tesla Energy
Cantor Fitzgerald also highlighted that while Tesla’s full-year production and deliveries would likely fall short of 2024’s 1.8 million total, Tesla’s energy storage business remains a bright spot in the company’s results.
“Tesla also announced that it had deployed 12.5 GWh of energy storage products in 3Q25, its highest in company history vs. our estimate/Visible Alpha consensus of 11.5/10.9 GWh (and vs. ~6.9 GWh in 3Q24). Tesla’s Energy Storage has now deployed more products YTD than all of last year, which is encouraging. We expect Energy Storage revenue to surpass $12B this year, and to account for ~15% of total revenue,” the firm stated.
Tesla’s strong Q3 results have helped lift its market capitalization to $1.47 trillion as of writing. The company also teased a new product reveal on X set for October 7, which the firm stated could serve as another near-term catalyst.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI becomes Memphis’ 2nd largest taxpayer in just one year: report
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is reshaping Memphis’s economic landscape.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is reshaping Memphis’s economic landscape. In just twelve months, the company has become the city and county’s second largest taxpayer.
The update was related in a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Memphis’ second-largest taxpayer
xAI is currently transforming a defunct Mississippi power plant into a crucial hub for AI, supplying electricity to its Colossus supercomputer cluster and its successor, Colossus 2. Together, the Colossi supercomputers will host more than half a million Nvidia chips that would be used for the development and improvement of Grok, xAI’s large language model.
The buildout has injected billions into the region, making xAI one of Memphis’s most significant private investors and a symbol of the city’s high-tech aspirations. Bill Dunavant III, a Memphis businessman who sits on the board of directors of the city’s chamber of commerce, highlighted xAI’s contribution to the city’s economy in a comment to the WSJ.
“In one year, xAI has become the second largest taxpayer in the city and county after FedEx,” he said. A spokesman for the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce has also stated that xAI has demonstrated “substantial economic commitment to our region, without any tax incentives.”
Not without controversy
Despite the economic boost, xAI’s footprint has drawn scrutiny. The company’s natural-gas-powered turbines are expected to consume a substantial amount of water and electricity. Critics have also expressed worries about pollution and increased utility costs, though others see Musk’s wastewater recycling plans and cleanup initiatives as meaningful offsets.
As per the WSJ, xAI’s positioning in the market may be quite different than what Musk is typically used to, considering that the CEO tends to become a first mover in key industries, such as the EV segment with Tesla and private spaceflight with SpaceX. With xAI, however, he is catching up to competitors, the most notable of which is a company he co-founded, OpenAI, and its ubiquitous large language model, ChatGPT.
Elon Musk teases previously unknown Tesla Optimus capability
Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirms bullish view on Tesla after record Q3 deliveries
Elon Musk’s xAI becomes Memphis’ 2nd largest taxpayer in just one year: report
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