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Tesla’s ‘Big Green’ Semi truck gets a shoutout from Kimbal Musk

[Credit: Kimbal Musk/Instagram]

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The Tesla Semi recently got a shoutout from someone who is part of Elon Musk’s most intimate circle — Kimbal Musk. In a recent post on his Instagram page, Kimbal dubbed the electric long-hauler as a “Big Green” Tesla Semi, referencing his nonprofit organization aimed at building Learning Gardens for schools across the United States.

Quite interestingly, Kimbal Musk’s projects, such as Big Green and Square Roots, could benefit from using the Tesla Semi. Big Green, for one, is involved with building interactive, modular gardens where young American students can learn about real food and healthy eating habits. Considering Kimbal Musk’s goal of building 100,000 Learning Gardens across the US, having an electric truck that can haul materials would be a good idea.

The Tesla Semi is also a perfect match for Kimbal’s Square Roots farming project. Square Roots involves converting old shipping crates into advanced, climate-controlled indoor farms that can yield more than 50 pounds of organic, non-GMO, pesticide-free greens each week. So far, Square Roots is only operating its shipping container-farms in Brooklyn, NY, but it’s not too difficult to see a future where the farming startup’s indoor farms can be transported and set up in other key US cities.

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Since being unveiled last November, the Tesla Semi has been sighted numerous times across the United States. Back in March, Elon Musk announced in his social media pages that Tesla would start using the all-electric trucks as transport vehicles to haul battery packs from Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, NV to the Fremont factory in CA. The two Tesla Semi prototypes have also been spotted conducting transport runs between Tesla’s headquarters in Palo Alto, CA and Fremont.

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During its unveiling back in November, Elon Musk outlined several of the Semi’s impressive specs. Just like Tesla’s other vehicles, the Semi is capable of quick acceleration, thanks to its four Model 3-derived electric motors that produce instant torque. From a dead stop, the Semi is capable of sprinting from 0-60 mph in just 5 seconds, compared to about 15 seconds on a similar Class 8 diesel truck. With a full 80,000-pound load, the Semi can hit 60 mph in 20 seconds. On average, diesel-powered Class 8 trailers hit highway speeds in about a minute.

The Tesla Semi is capable of climbing 5% grades at a steady 65 mph, unlike diesel trucks that max out at 45 mph on 5% grades. Lastly, thanks to an upcoming network of Megachargers, the Semi will be capable of charging up to 400 miles of range in just 30 minutes.

The interior of the Tesla Semi as spotted during the 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting. [Credit: TeslaModel11/Reddit]

During Tesla’s Q1 2018 earnings call, both Elon Musk and CTO JB Straubel noted that the production version of the Semi’s long-range variant would likely have almost 600 miles of range per charge. These statements, of course, stand in stark contrast to criticisms from Tesla’s competitors, especially Daimler AG head of trucks Martin Daum, who threw shade at Tesla earlier this year by suggesting that the Semi’s rated specs, if accurate, defy the laws of physics. According to Straubel, much of competitors’ criticisms come from a misunderstanding of Tesla’s battery technology.

“There’s a fundamental misunderstanding, I think, of what the current technology in our existing products can actually do. Maybe that’s just a misunderstanding of the current status of the technology versus others in the industry. If they’re benchmarking sort of the best battery pack they can buy from a supplier, and then mapping that with what the Semi could do, it doesn’t solve,” Straubel said.

While Tesla is not actively pushing sales for the Semi, Straubel noted during the first-quarter earnings call that the all-electric long-hauler has roughly 2,000 reservations to date. Production of the Tesla Semi is expected to begin in 2019.  

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla scrambles after Musk sidekick exit, CEO takes over sales

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly overseeing sales in North America and Europe, Bloomberg reports.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla scrambled its executives around following the exit of CEO Elon Musk’s sidekick last week, Omead Afshar. Afshar was relieved of his duties as Head of Sales for both North America and Europe.

Bloomberg is reporting that Musk is now overseeing both regions for sales, according to sources familiar with the matter. Afshar left the company last week, likely due to slow sales in both markets, ending a seven-year term with the electric automaker.

Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports

Afshar was promoted to the role late last year as Musk was becoming more involved in the road to the White House with President Donald Trump.

Afshar, whose LinkedIn account stated he was working within the “Office of the CEO,” was known as Musk’s right-hand man for years.

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Additionally, Tom Zhu, currently the Senior Vice President of Automotive at Tesla, will oversee sales in Asia, according to the report.

It is a scramble by Tesla to get the company’s proven executives over the pain points the automaker has found halfway through the year. Sales are looking to be close to the 1.8 million vehicles the company delivered in both of the past two years.

Tesla is pivoting to pay more attention to the struggling automotive sales that it has felt over the past six months. Although it is still performing well and is the best-selling EV maker by a long way, it is struggling to find growth despite redesigning its vehicles and launching new tech and improvements within them.

The company is also looking to focus more on its deployment of autonomous tech, especially as it recently launched its Robotaxi platform in Austin just over a week ago.

Tesla officially launches Robotaxi service with no driver

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However, while this is the long-term catalyst for Tesla, sales still need some work, and it appears the company’s strategy is to put its biggest guns on its biggest problems.

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Tesla upgrades Model 3 and Model Y in China, hikes price for long-range sedan

Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles).

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla has rolled out a series of quiet upgrades to its Model 3 and Model Y in China, enhancing range and performance for long-range variants. The updates come with a price hike for the Model 3 Long Range All-Wheel Drive, which now costs RMB 285,500 (about $39,300), up RMB 10,000 ($1,400) from the previous price.

Model 3 gets acceleration boost, extended range

Tesla’s long-range Model 3 now comes with a higher CLTC-rated range of 753 km (468 miles), up from 713 km (443 miles), and a faster 0–100 km/h acceleration time of 3.8 seconds, down from 4.4 seconds. These changes suggest that Tesla has bundled the previously optional Acceleration Boost for the Model 3, once priced at RMB 14,100 ($1,968), as a standard feature.

Delivery wait times for the long-range Model 3 have also been shortened, from 3–5 weeks to just 1–3 weeks, as per CNEV Post. No changes were made to the entry-level RWD or Performance versions, which retain their RMB 235,500 and RMB 339,500 price points, respectively. Wait times for those trims also remain at 1–3 weeks and 8–10 weeks.

Model Y range increases, pricing holds steady

The Model Y Long Range has also seen its CLTC-rated range increase from 719 km (447 miles) to 750 km (466 miles), though its price remains unchanged at RMB 313,500 ($43,759). The model maintains a 0–100 km/h time of 4.3 seconds.

Tesla also updated delivery times for the Model Y lineup. The Long Range variant now shows a wait time of 1–3 weeks, an improvement from the previous 3–5 weeks. The entry-level RWD version maintained its starting price of RMB 263,500, though its delivery window is now shorter at 2–4 weeks.

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Tesla continues to offer several purchase incentives in China, including an RMB 8,000 discount for select paint options, an RMB 8,000 insurance subsidy, and five years of interest-free financing for eligible variants.

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Tesla China registrations hit 20.7k in final week of June, highest in Q2

The final week of June stands as the second-highest of 2025 and the best-performing week of the quarter.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla China recorded 20,680 domestic insurance registrations during the week of June 23–29, marking its highest weekly total in the second quarter of 2025. 

The figure represents a 49.3% increase from the previous week and a 46.7% improvement year-over-year, suggesting growing domestic momentum for the electric vehicle maker in Q2’s final weeks.

Q2 closes with a boost despite year-on-year dip

The strong week helped lift Tesla’s performance for the quarter, though Q2 totals remain down 4.6% quarter-over-quarter and 10.9% year-over-year, according to industry watchers. Despite these declines, the last week of June stands as the second-highest of 2025 and the best-performing week of the quarter. 

As per industry watchers, Tesla China delivered 15,210 New Model Y units last week, the highest weekly tally since the vehicle’s launch. The Model 3 followed with 5,470 deliveries during the same period. Tesla’s full June and Q2 sales data for China are expected to be released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) in the coming days.

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https://twitter.com/Tslachan/status/1939955521970147756

Tesla China and minor Model 3 and Model Y updates

Tesla manufactures the Model 3 and Model Y at its Shanghai facility, which provides vehicles to both domestic and international markets. In May, the automaker reported 38,588 retail sales in China, down 30.1% year-over-year but up 34.3% from April. Exports from Shanghai totaled 23,074 units in May, a 32.9% improvement from the previous year but down 22.4% month-over-month, as noted in a CNEV Post report.

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Earlier this week, Tesla introduced minor updates to the long-range versions of the Model 3 and Model Y in China. The refreshed Model 3 saw a modest price increase, while pricing for the updated Model Y Long Range variant remained unchanged. These adjustments come as Tesla continues refining its China lineup amid shifting local demand and increased competition from domestic brands.

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