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Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants Toyota to join ‘NACS coalition’
Tesla CEO Elon Musk wants Toyota to join the coalition of automakers that have already adopted the company’s charging connector, known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS).
Over the past several weeks, numerous automakers and charging companies have already committed to adopting the NACS connector.
The moves were started by Ford, which was the first major automaker to announce it would transition all of its EVs to be compatible with Tesla Superchargers starting in 2025 without an adapter. Starting next year, Ford EVs will be able to use 12,000 Supercharger locations across North America, but they will need an adapter. In 2025, the adapter will no longer be necessary.
General Motors announced a nearly identical partnership with Tesla soon after, and numerous charging companies, including ChargePoint, Blink, and Kempower, said they would also utilize NACS.
“Given recent announcements by Tesla, GM, and Ford, we are clearly witnessing the continued evolution of the EV charging industry as technologies advance and industry stakeholders come together and evaluate best practices,” Blink said in a statement.
It is likely that more major automakers will announce the same strategy soon, although NACS has not been made a standard by CharIN, the governing body that focuses on the electrification of all forms of transportation.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is encouraging Toyota to be the next, as noted in response to an article regarding the Japanese automaker’s bZ4X EV, which had a “painfully slow” charging experience, according to Business Insider.
“They should join the NACS coalition!” Musk said.
They should join the NACS coalition!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 14, 2023
Of course, NACS would not help the vehicle charge faster, but with the connector, it would open the possibility for the vehicle to charge at more locations, perhaps making the travel experience during longer trips less of a hassle.
Toyota has been noted as an automaker that has lagged in the adoption of EVs, instead opting for hybrid powertrains.
This week, Toyota announced it would produce solid-state batteries with high performance in an effort to increase and improve driving range. The efforts are being brought forth to decrease EV production costs.
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News
Tesla Robotaxi makes major expansion with official public app launch
Tesla officially announced on early Thursday morning that its Robotaxi suite is officially public, launching its separate Robotaxi app to iOS users for the first time, allowing them to test out the driverless ride-hailing platform.

Tesla has made a major expansion with its Robotaxi platform, marking its official public launch of the app for iOS users.
Tesla has had an active Robotaxi program for two and a half months now, launching it for the first time in Austin, Texas, in late June.
It was not a public beta, as the company extended invitations to a select group of relevant influencers and media in the space, aiming to keep things relatively private until confidence in its performance was established.
Over the past ten weeks, Tesla has expanded its fleet size, its geofence, and its list of invitees on several occasions. However, it was still not offering rides to anyone on the street. That has changed.
Tesla officially announced on early Thursday morning that its Robotaxi suite is officially public, launching its separate Robotaxi app to iOS users for the first time, allowing them to test out the driverless ride-hailing platform:
🚨 Tesla has announced that the Robotaxi app is now available to all iOS users, with Android access coming soon! pic.twitter.com/3wN6Ssg0aa
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 4, 2025
Once you download the app, you will be put on a waitlist to enter the company’s list of riders. It seems that the earlier you download and join, the sooner you will be able to test one of the company’s driverless Model Y vehicles in the city.
The expansion of the app marks a major achievement for Tesla in the sense that the company is confident to begin allowing more riders to utilize the platform. It may also be looking for a more local consumer base, as many users of the app do not reside in Austin. Tesla may hope to attract more daily users who would utilize Robotaxi for their commute to work, rides to dinner and social events, and other regular uses.
In its nearly three months of operation, Tesla has expanded the Robotaxi geofence in Austin on three occasions, with the most recent bringing the Service Area to 190 square miles.
Tesla Robotaxi geofence expansion enters Plaid Mode and includes a surprise
The most recent growth included new territories, including Giga Texas, the company’s manufacturing facility, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and freeway driving for the first time.
Freeways are where Tesla has taken a slightly different approach, as it will be moving the safety monitor to the driver’s seat for those trips for the time being.
Elon Musk
Tesla’s next-gen Optimus prototype with Grok revealed
The video shows a new Optimus prototype answering questions and taking some very robotic steps, evidently revealing that the next-generation version is in its early stages of development.

Tesla’s next-generation Optimus robot with AI assistant Grok has been revealed in a new video shared on X.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff last night, and it appears the frontman gave Benioff an exclusive look at some upcoming technology.
Tesla talks Semi ramp, Optimus, Robotaxi rollout, FSD with Wall Street firm
The video shows a new Optimus prototype answering questions and taking some very robotic steps, evidently revealing that the next-generation version is in its early stages of development. It features Grok for some additional utility, as it answered questions Benioff asked in the short video.
Here’s what was uploaded to X:
Crazy look at Tesla Optimus from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who was hanging out with Elon Musk yesterday!
Love this gold color on you @Tesla_Optimus https://t.co/NGgDqVVf1g pic.twitter.com/q8286aBNKy
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 3, 2025
It appears that there are several big changes to this next-generation version of Optimus, some of which have been discussed by Musk and Tesla in the past.
The first is purely cosmetic, but the gold color that Optimus is wearing in this is a new and fresh look that we have not seen before.
Perhaps the most interesting change that is evident here is the hands, which are much more detailed than past versions of Optimus:
However, we’re not too sure that these are what will be released with the next-gen Optimus, because they don’t appear to be functional, and they are more reminiscent of mannequin hands than anything.
The hands on Optimus have been a significant part of the program, as they are among the most crucial pieces of equipment on a robot. It needs to be able to perform both delicate and more imposing tasks. Tesla has aimed for Optimus to be able to thread needles or play the piano.
It was one of the most discussed improvements the company mentioned in past comments regarding how it planned to improve from Gen 2 to this next version.
Musk mentioned regarding Optimus:
“Next-generation Optimus hand, which we have in prototype form, has actuators that have moved to the forearm, just like humans, and they operate the fingers through cables, just like human hands.”
Within Optimus lies a significant opportunity for Tesla to gain considerable strength in terms of market share and valuation.
If Tesla can efficiently develop and deploy the humanoid robot over the next several years, the company stands to gain, as companies will utilize it for tasks that require tedious labor.
Musk recently said Optimus will be a major contributor to Tesla’s valuation moving forward. He believes it will make up roughly 80 percent of the company’s value.
Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk to provide more details for Master Plan Part IV
Musk stated that he would be adding specifics to the plan in a later update.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk will be adding more specifics to the recently-released Master Plan Part IV. Musk shared the update on social media platform X amidst conversations about the general nature of the Master Plan Part IV.
In a conversation on X, Musk responded to a post from Tesla retail shareholder and bull Dave Lee, who observed that the currently released Master Plan Part IV could really just be the introduction to the real plan due to its absence of specifics.
Elon Musk responded, stating that he would be adding specifics to the plan in a later update. “Fair enough. Will add more specifics,” Musk wrote in his post.
Tesla has been following Elon Musk’s Master Plans for decades. The first Master Plan, released in 2006, outlined the company’s path from the original Tesla Roadster to the Model 3, as well as the first steps for Tesla Energy. Master Plan Part Deux, released in 2016, covered the ramp of Tesla Energy, the expansion of Tesla’s vehicle lineup, and the rollout of a Robotaxi service.
Master Plan Part 3 was more ambitious as it was generally an in-depth proposal for achieving a global sustainable entry economy by transitioning to electricity-powered vehicles, homes, and industry, which will, in turn, be powered by renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Master Plan Part 3 also included a five-step plan to accomplish this, allowing the world to transition to a fully electrified future.
Master Plan Part IV, which was released a few days ago, focused on automation and artificial intelligence to achieve sustainable abundance. But while the first two Master Plans were very clear and specific and Master Plan Part 3 was very in-depth, Master Plan Part IV was quite general and vague in comparison. It was easy to tell that Optimus would play a big role in the pursuit of sustainable abundance, but apart from that, there were no specifics as to how Tesla intended to achieve its goals.
Fortunately, these specifics would be discussed by Musk in a later update to the plan.
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