News
EXCLUSIVE: Tesla Cybertruck battery packs to be built at Fremont Factory
Tesla plans to start building battery packs for the upcoming Cybertruck on a new cell manufacturing line in the Fremont factory, people with knowledge of the project told Teslarati.
In August, we reported that Tesla had filed to build a new battery manufacturing equipment line on the second floor of the Fremont factory. This filing, which was submitted to the City of Fremont on August 30, relates to the module portion of the line, Tesla said.
Tesla described the project as “CTA Battery B-Build,” the filing shows.
Credit: City of Fremont
Tesla is ultimately planning to build the Cybertruck in Austin at Gigafactory Texas. However, battery cells and cell pack manufacturing are not yet ready to take off at the new Tesla plant, which is located just outside Austin. Tesla applied to build a battery and cathode manufacturing building at Gigafactory Texas earlier this year, and while the project has been started, it likely will not be ready for the Cybertruck’s projected launch in mid-2023.
With an extensive order log that features over 1 million total reservations, Tesla is preparing for Cybertruck manufacturing by building the battery packs at a plant that is already operational. The Fremont facility, the only Tesla plant manufacturing all four vehicles the company builds, was ultimately chosen for the task of kicking off Cybertruck pack manufacturing, Teslarati confirmed with sources familiar with the matter.
Cybertruck Battery Pack Manufacturing will start in Fremont
Sources familiar with the matter told Teslarati the second-floor manufacturing line that Tesla filed to build in August will manufacture the Cybertruck packs. Tesla will take the 4680 battery cells produced at the Kato Road facility or another previously utilized cell design manufactured at Gigafactory Nevada and put them into modules and packs that are manufactured on the new Fremont battery line.
Currently, the line is being completed by construction crews on site, who are making daily progress. Additionally, Tesla engineers are installing automation equipment to produce the Cybertruck battery packs.
Tesla did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Kicking Cybertruck Module Production into “Plaid Mode”
Tesla is also working hard to kick off Cybertruck pack production as time is extremely limited. Tesla has a series of vehicles, referred to as “carriers,” which transport batteries throughout the factory. The company recently ordered around 300 new carriers for the factory as cell and battery pack manufacturing is set to ramp drastically.
The sources also said the Cybertruck battery pack line is currently being tested with Tesla’s automation equipment. Tesla is working to ramp the line quickly as Cybertruck vehicle manufacturing is planned for next year at Gigafactory Texas.
2023: The Year of the Tesla Cybertruck?
Tesla is set to build the Cybertruck at Gigafactory Texas. After unveiling the all-electric pickup in 2019, Tesla has delayed initial production on several occasions due to supply chain issues and other challenges.
“In 2022, supply chain will continue to be the fundamental limiter of output across all factories,” Musk said during Tesla’s Q4 and 2021 Full Year Earnings Call in January. So the chip shortage, while better than last year, is still an issue. And, yeah, so that’s — there are multiple supply chain challenges.”
Musk went on to say that the challenges would delay the launch of any new products in 2022. “We will, however, do a lot of engineering and tooling, what not to create those vehicles: Cybertruck, Semi, Roadster, Optimus, and be ready to bring those to production hopefully next year. That is most likely.”
Although Tesla is planning to begin deliveries of the Semi on December 1, all other projects have been effectively delayed until next year, but preparation to launch those projects is evidently a priority within the factories.
4680 cells are not constrained but are they going into the Cybertruck?
Tesla’s Vice President of Powertrain Drew Baglino detailed earlier this year that the company was not constrained in terms of 4680 battery cell availability.
“So throughout 2021, we focused on growing cell supply alongside our in-house 4680 effort to provide us flexibility and insurance as we attempt to grow as fast as possible,” Baglino said on the Q4 and Full Year 2021 Earnings Call in January. “4680 cells are not a constraint to our 2022 volume plans based on the information we have.”
What Baglino said next on the call likely indicates what Tesla was preparing the Cybertruck for: pack manufacturing at Fremont, shipping the packs to Texas, and then installing them into vehicles:
“But we are making meaningful progress of the ramp curve in Kato. We’re building 4680 structural packs every day, which are being assembled into vehicles in Texas. I was driving one yesterday and the day before. And we believe our first 4680 vehicles will be delivered this quarter.”
The Kato Road facility has supported Tesla’s 4680 cell needs thus far. The 4680 packs were installed on some Gigafactory Texas-built Model Ys, and were reviewed by Munro Live earlier this year. Fremont will likely support Cybertruck pack manufacturing for some time, utilizing cells from Kato Road and from suppliers like Panasonic when they ultimately being manufacturing the battery for Tesla.
As Cybertruck manufacturing ramps up into late 2023, 2024, and beyond, packs will then be at Fremont and Gigafactory Texas, which would likely entirely support Cybertruck production.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla made a dramatic change to the Online Design Studio to show its plans for Full Self-Driving, a major part of the company’s plans moving forward, as CEO Elon Musk has been extremely clear on the direction moving forward.
With Tesla taking a stand and removing the ability to purchase Full Self-Driving outright next month, it is already taking steps to initiate that with owners and potential buyers.
On Thursday night, the company updated its Online Design Studio to reflect that in a new move that now lists the three purchase options that are currently available: Monthly Subscription, One-Time Purchase, or Add Later:
🚨 Check out the change Tesla made to its Online Design Studio:
It now lists the Monthly Subscription as an option for Full Self-Driving
It also shows the outright purchase option as expiring on February 14 pic.twitter.com/pM6Svmyy8d
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
This change replaces the former option for purchasing Full Self-Driving at the time of purchase, which was a simple and single box to purchase the suite outright. Subscriptions were activated through the vehicle exclusively.
However, with Musk announcing that Tesla would soon remove the outright purchase option, it is clearer than ever that the Subscription plan is where the company is headed.
The removal of the outright purchase option has been a polarizing topic among the Tesla community, especially considering that there are many people who are concerned about potential price increases or have been saving to purchase it for $8,000.
This would bring an end to the ability to pay for it once and never have to pay for it again. With the Subscription strategy, things are definitely going to change, and if people are paying for their cars monthly, it will essentially add $100 per month to their payment, pricing some people out. The price will increase as well, as Musk said on Thursday, as it improves in functionality.
I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve.
The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD). https://t.co/YDKhXN3aaG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, 2026
Those skeptics have grown concerned that this will actually lower the take rate of Full Self-Driving. While it is understandable that FSD would increase in price as the capabilities improve, there are arguments for a tiered system that would allow owners to pay for features that they appreciate and can afford, which would help with data accumulation for the company.
Musk’s new compensation package also would require Tesla to have 10 million active FSD subscriptions, but people are not sure if this will move the needle in the correct direction. If Tesla can potentially offer a cheaper alternative that is not quite unsupervised, things could improve in terms of the number of owners who pay for it.
News
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end with no interventions.
A Tesla Model S has completed the first-ever full Cannonball Run using Full Self-Driving (FSD), traveling from Los Angeles to New York with zero interventions. The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end, fulfilling a long-discussed benchmark for autonomy.
A full FSD Cannonball Run
As per a report from The Drive, a 2024 Tesla Model S with AI4 and FSD v14.2.2.3 completed the 3,081-mile trip from Redondo Beach in Los Angeles to midtown Manhattan in New York City. The drive was completed by Alex Roy, a former automotive journalist and investor, along with a small team of autonomy experts.
Roy said FSD handled all driving tasks for the entirety of the route, including highway cruising, lane changes, navigation, and adverse weather conditions. The trip took a total of 58 hours and 22 minutes at an average speed of 64 mph, and about 10 hours were spent charging the vehicle. In later comments, Roy noted that he and his team cleaned out the Model S’ cameras during their stops to keep FSD’s performance optimal.
History made
The historic trip was quite impressive, considering that the journey was in the middle of winter. This meant that FSD didn’t just deal with other cars on the road. The vehicle also had to handle extreme cold, snow, ice, slush, and rain.
As per Roy in a post on X, FSD performed so well during the trip that the journey would have been completed faster if the Model S did not have people onboard. “Elon Musk was right. Once an autonomous vehicle is mature, most human input is error. A comedy of human errors added hours and hundreds of miles, but FSD stunned us with its consistent and comfortable behavior,” Roy wrote in a post on X.
Roy’s comments are quite notable as he has previously attempted Cannonball Runs using FSD on December 2024 and February 2025. Neither were zero intervention drives.
Elon Musk
Tesla removes Autopilot as standard, receives criticism online
The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders.
Tesla removed its basic Autopilot package as a standard feature in the United States. The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders, and shifts the company’s strategy towards paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
Tesla removes Autopilot
As per observations from the electric vehicle community on social media, Tesla no longer lists Autopilot as standard in its vehicles in the U.S. This suggests that features such as lane-centering and Autosteer have been removed as standard equipment. Previously, most Tesla vehicles came with Autopilot by default, which offers Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer.
The change resulted in backlash from some Tesla owners and EV observers, particularly as competing automakers, including mainstream players like Toyota, offer features like lane-centering as standard on many models, including budget vehicles.
That being said, the removal of Autopilot suggests that Tesla is concentrating its autonomy roadmap around FSD subscriptions rather than bundled driver-assistance features. It would be interesting to see how Tesla manages its vehicles’ standard safety features, as it seems out of character for Tesla to make its cars less safe over time.
Musk announces FSD price increases
Following the Autopilot changes, Elon Musk stated on X that Tesla is planning to raise subscription prices for FSD as its capabilities improve. In a post on X, Musk stated that the current $99-per-month price for supervised FSD would increase over time, especially as the system itself becomes more robust.
“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (Unsupervised FSD),” Musk wrote.
At the time of his recent post, Tesla still offers FSD as a one-time purchase for $8,000, but Elon Musk has confirmed that this option will be discontinued on February 14, leaving subscriptions as the only way to access the system.
Tesla makes big Full Self-Driving change to reflect future plans
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
