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Tesla Cybertruck will equip 800v architecture for faster charging times, better margins

Credit: Jeff Roberts @peterdog15 | X

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Tesla Cybertruck will equip an 800-volt architecture when it begins deliveries on November 30, an announcement that is still fresh from the company’s Earnings Call earlier this week.

For EV newbies, the 800-volt architecture may not be much of a head-turner. However, to those who have been following the industry at all, 800v architectures are the way of the future for the EV industry, especially as more electric cars are on the road, charging times continue to be a concern to some, and heavier all-electric cars are becoming more available throughout the various automakers.

On Wednesday, Tesla confirmed what many believed for a long time: the Cybertruck would equip an 800-volt architecture.

What are the strengths of an 800-volt architecture? It comes down to charging times, efficiency, margins, and weight, all things that are important to the company and its products, as well as its financial status.

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Tesla Cybertruck and Semi are candidates for 800-volt architecture

From a macro standpoint, Tesla’s financials are still strong. But Musk and Co. were not shy about warning investors and analysts about the upcoming economic headwinds it would encounter.

It’s a market-wide issue and not just a Tesla issue. As Tesla plans to launch the Cybertruck, interest rates are high, discouraging consumers from wanting to finance anything. Additionally, Musk confirmed it may take 18 months for the Cybertruck to be a positive cash flow contributor to Tesla’s financials.

The 800-volt architecture will improve margins on the vehicle instead of other EV architectures that may have been considered. It said explicitly in its Q3 Shareholder Deck:

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“For very heavy vehicles, a high voltage powertrain architecture brings notable cost savings, which is why Cybertruck will adopt an 800-volt architecture.”

From a cost perspective, 800-volt architectures are void of as much copper throughout the vehicle, which reduces weight. Weight reductions improve performance and range.

Earlier today, we reported on the Cybertruck VIN Decoder, which was released by the NHTSA. It revealed the Cybertruck has two weight classifications:

“…the vehicle’s gross weight has two classes: G, which would be between 8,001 and 9,000 pounds, and H, which is between 9,001 and 10,000 pounds.”

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800-volt architectures have greater efficiency because they allow electricity to move from the battery to the wheels with a lower current. This ultimately reduces the amount of power that is lost to heat, and higher voltage – lower current architectures can move the same amount of power with thinner wires, which relates to the reduction in copper that was mentioned previously.

800-volt architectures are big for the future of EVs, even outside of Teslas. Tesla EVs are far from the first cars on the market to equip an 800-volt architecture, as the Porsche Taycan had an 800v build back in 2018 when the German company unveiled the specs for its introductory EV.

Faster charging is the biggest advantage, as they can handle greater outputs from Superchargers. The V4 Supercharger from Tesla, for example, has a 350 kW output, enabled by increased amperage and current ratings.

This will keep EV owners at the Superchargers for less time, making charging more efficient and allowing more people to access chargers by decreasing congestion.

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I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at . You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at .

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla wins another award critics will absolutely despise

Tesla earned an overall score of 49 percent, up 6 percentage points from the previous year, widening its lead over second-place Ford (45 percent, up 2 points) to a commanding 4-percentage-point gap. The company also excelled in the Fossil Free & Environment category with a 50 percent score, reflecting strong progress in reducing emissions and decarbonizing operations.

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla just won another award that critics will absolutely despise, as it has been recognized once again as the company with the most sustainable supply chain.

Tesla has once again proven its critics wrong, securing the number one spot on the 2026 Lead the Charge Auto Supply Chain Leaderboard for the second consecutive year, Lead the Charge rankings show.

This independent ranking, produced by a coalition of environmental, human rights, and investor groups including the Sierra Club, Transport & Environment, and others, evaluates 18 major automakers on their efforts to build equitable, sustainable, and fossil-free supply chains for electric vehicles.

Tesla earned an overall score of 49 percent, up 6 percentage points from the previous year, widening its lead over second-place Ford (45 percent, up 2 points) to a commanding 4-percentage-point gap. The company also excelled in the Fossil Free & Environment category with a 50 percent score, reflecting strong progress in reducing emissions and decarbonizing operations.

Perhaps the most impressive achievement came in the batteries subsection, where Tesla posted a massive +20-point jump to reach 51 percent, becoming the first automaker ever to surpass 50 percent in this critical area.

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Tesla achieved this milestone through transparency, fully disclosing Scope 3 emissions breakdowns for battery cell production and key materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite.

The company also requires suppliers to conduct due diligence aligned with OECD guidelines on responsible sourcing, which it has mentioned in past Impact Reports.

While Tesla leads comfortably in climate and environmental performance, it scores 48 percent in human rights and responsible sourcing, slightly behind Ford’s 49 percent.

The company made notable gains in workers’ rights remedies, but has room to improve on issues like Indigenous Peoples’ rights.

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Overall, the leaderboard highlights that a core group of leaders, Tesla, Ford, Volvo, Mercedes, and Volkswagen, are advancing twice as fast as their peers, proving that cleaner, more ethical EV supply chains are not just possible but already underway.

For Tesla detractors who claim EVs aren’t truly green or that the company cuts corners, this recognition from sustainability-focused NGOs delivers a powerful rebuttal.

Tesla’s vertical integration, direct supplier contracts, low-carbon material agreements (like its North American aluminum deal with emissions under 2kg CO₂e per kg), and raw materials reporting continue to set the industry standard.

As the world races toward electrification, Tesla isn’t just building cars; it’s building a more responsible future.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving likely to expand to yet another Asian country

“We are aiming for implementation in 2026. [We are] doing everything in our power [to achieve this],” Richi Hashimoto, president of Tesla’s Japanese subsidiary, said.

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Credit: Tesla Asia | X

Tesla Full Self-Driving is likely to expand to yet another Asian country, as one country seems primed for the suite to head to it for the first time.

The launch of Full Self-Driving in yet another country this year would be a major breakthrough for Tesla as it continues to expand the driver-assistance program across the world. Bureaucratic red tape has held up a lot of its efforts, but things are looking up in some regions.

Tesla is poised to transform Japan’s roads with Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology by 2026.

Richi Hashimoto, president of Tesla’s Japanese subsidiary, announced the ambitious timeline, building on successful employee test drives that began in 2025 and earned positive media reviews. Test drives, initially limited to the Model 3 since August 2025, expanded to the Model Y on March 5.

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Once regulators approve, Over-the-Air (OTA) software updates could activate FSD across roughly 40,000 Teslas already on Japanese roads. Japan’s orderly traffic and strict safety culture make it an ideal testing ground for autonomous driving.

Hashimoto said:

“We are aiming for implementation in 2026. [We are] doing everything in our power [to achieve this].”

The push aligns with Hashimoto’s leadership, which has been credited for Tesla’s sales turnaround.

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In 2025, Tesla delivered a record 10,600 vehicles in Japan — a nearly 90% jump from the prior year and the first time exceeding 10,000 units annually.

The strategy shifted from online-only sales to adding 29 physical showrooms in high-traffic malls, plus staff training and attractive financing offers launched in January 2026. Tesla also plans to expand its Supercharger network to over 1,000 points by 2027, boosting accessibility.

This Japanese momentum reflects Tesla’s broader international expansion. In Europe, Giga Berlin produced more than 200,000 vehicles in 2025 despite a temporary halt, supplying over 30 markets with plans for sequential production growth in 2026 and battery cell manufacturing by 2027.

While regional EV sales faced headwinds, the factory remains a cornerstone for Model Y deliveries across the continent.

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In Asia, Giga Shanghai continues to be recognized as Tesla’s powerhouse. China, the company’s largest market, saw January 2026 deliveries from the plant rise 9 percent year-over-year to 69,129 units, with affordable new models expected later this year.

FSD advancements, already progressing in the U.S. and South Korea, are slated for Europe and further Asian rollout, complementing plans to expand Cybercab and Optimus to new markets as well.

With OTA-enabled autonomy on the horizon and retail strategies paying dividends, Tesla is strengthening its footprint from Tokyo showrooms to Berlin assembly lines and Shanghai exports. As Hashimoto continues to push Tesla forward in Japan, the company’s global vision for sustainable, self-driving mobility gains traction across Europe and Asia.

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Tesla ships out update that brings massive change to two big features

“This change only updates the name of certain features and text in your vehicle,” the company wrote in Release Notes for the update, “and does not change the way your features behave.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has shipped out an update for its vehicles that was caused specifically by a California lawsuit that threatened the company’s ability to sell cars because of how it named its driver assistance suite.

Tesla shipped out Software Update 2026.2.9 starting last week; we received it already, and it only brings a few minor changes, mostly related to how things are referenced.

“This change only updates the name of certain features and text in your vehicle,” the company wrote in Release Notes for the update, “and does not change the way your features behave.”

The following changes came to Tesla vehicles in the update:

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  • Navigate on Autopilot has now been renamed to Navigate on Autosteer
  • FSD Computer has been renamed to AI Computer

Tesla faced a 30-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles stated the company had to come into compliance regarding the marketing of its automated driving features.

The agency confirmed on February 18 that it had taken a “corrective action” to resolve the issue. That corrective action was renaming certain parts of its ADAS.

Tesla discontinued its standalone Autopilot offering in January and ramped up the marketing of Full Self-Driving Supervised. Tesla had said on X that the issue with naming “was a ‘consumer protection’ order about the use of the term ‘Autopilot’ in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.”

It is now compliant with the wishes of the California DMV, and we’re all dealing with it now.

This was the first primary dispute over the terminology of Full Self-Driving, but it has undergone some scrutiny at the federal level, as some government officials have claimed the suite has “deceptive” names. Previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was one of those federal-level employees who had an issue with the names “Autopilot” and “Full Self-Driving.”

Tesla sued the California DMV over the ruling last week.

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