Connect with us

News

Tesla Cybertruck hits alleged speed bump for approval in Israel

Credit: Tesla

Published

on

The Tesla Cybertruck has arrived in Israel, and the country’s Ministry of Transportation is moving to halt the acceptance of the all-electric pickup at licensing garages near its ports.

The Cybertruck is currently available in North America, but some units are overseas on behalf of Tesla, which is showing the pickup off in Asia and Europe.

It appears that someone has potentially purchased the vehicle and had it shipped to Israel, but just because it’s there does not mean it will be allowed to operate on public roads.

The single Tesla Cybertruck unit has made its way to the country, but it is hitting speed bumps as the Ministry is communicating with licensing institutes because of a specific detail that the automaker marketed for it: its resistance to gunfire.

Although the Cybertruck is not bulletproof, Tesla has flexed the vehicle’s 1.9mm-thick stainless steel super alloy, which is capable of stopping some rounds. Tesla promoted content on its YouTube channel and during the vehicle’s delivery event last November that showed its ability to essentially resist gunfire as it keeps bullets from penetrating the exoskeleton and making their way into the cabin:

Tesla posts behind the scenes footage of Cybertruck’s “bullet test” demo

This has evidently caused some concern for the Israeli Ministry of Transportation.

According to a report from Israeli tech blog CTech, the transportation ministry has communicated with inspection authorities that the Cybertruck needs to be inspected before a special permit is given that would allow it to be driven on roads:

“State procedures require that personally imported vehicles undergo a formal inspection at a licensing garage after leaving the port. However, the Ministry of Transportation has objections in the specific case of the Tesla Cybertruck due to its resistance to gunfire. Currently, a special permit is required to drive a bulletproof vehicle, and the Ministry has chosen not to grant this permit until the inspection is completed.”

The Ministry also gave this statement:

Advertisement

“Regarding the Tesla Cybertruck, if the importer turns to you to perform initial standardization and registration, we ask that you not accept it until further notice. This is at the request of the Ministry of Transportation’s management until we clarify the issue of protection against gunfire.”

Before the pickup even made its way into customer hands, CEO Elon Musk talked about “Al Capone-style” bulletproof testing on the Cybertruck after a unit with a significant number of bullet holes was spotted on the road. Musk said an entire drum magazine of Tommy gun ammo was shot at the pickup.

“No bullets penetrated into the passenger compartment,” Musk added.

That Cybertruck was on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

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

Advertisement
Comments

News

Swedish unions consider police report over Tesla Megapack Supercharger

The Tesla Megapack Supercharger opened shortly before Christmas in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Charging/X

Swedish labor unions are considering whether to file a police report related to a newly opened Tesla Megapack Supercharger near Stockholm, citing questions about how electricity is supplied to the site. The matter has also been referred to Sweden’s energy regulator.

Tesla Megapack Supercharger

The Tesla Megapack Supercharger opened shortly before Christmas in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm. Unlike traditional charging stations, the site is powered by an on-site Megapack battery rather than a direct grid connection. Typical grid connections for Tesla charging sites in Sweden have seen challenges for nearly two years due to union blockades.

Swedish labor union IF Metall has submitted a report to the Energy Market Inspectorate, asking the authority to assess whether electricity supplied to the battery system meets regulatory requirements, as noted in a report from Dagens Arbete (DA). The Tesla Megapack on the site is charged using electricity supplied by a local company, though the specific provider has not been publicly identified.

Peter Lydell, an ombudsman at IF Metall, issued a comment about the Tesla Megapack Supercharger. “The legislation states that only companies that engage in electricity trading may supply electricity to other parties. You may not supply electricity without a permit, then you are engaging in illegal electricity trading. That is why we have reported this… This is about a company that helps Tesla circumvent the conflict measures that exist. It is clear that it is troublesome and it can also have consequences,” Lydell said.

Police report under consideration

The Swedish Electricians’ Association has also examined the Tesla Megapack Supercharger and documented its power setup. As per materials submitted to the Energy Market Inspectorate, electrical cables were reportedly routed from a property located approximately 500 meters from the charging site.

Tomas Jansson, ombudsman and deputy head of negotiations at the Swedish Electricians’ Association, stated that the union was assessing whether to file a police report related to the Tesla Megapack Supercharger. He also confirmed that the electricians’ union was coordinating with IF Metall about the matter. “We have a close collaboration with IF Metall, and we are currently investigating this. We support IF Metall in their fight for fair conditions at Tesla,” Jansson said.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla HW4.5 spotted in new Model Y, triggers speculation

Owners taking delivery of recent Model Y builds have identified components labeled “AP45.”

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Hardware 4.5 computer appears to have surfaced in newly delivered Model Y vehicles, prompting fresh speculation about an interim upgrade ahead of the company’s upcoming AI5 chip.

Owners taking delivery of recent Model Y builds have identified components labeled “AP45,” suggesting Tesla may have quietly started rolling out revised autonomy hardware.

Hardware 4.5 appears in new Model Y units

The potential Hardware 4.5 sighting was first reported by Model Y owner @Eric5un, who shared details of a Fremont-built 2026 Model Y AWD Premium delivered this January. As per the Model Y owner, the vehicle includes a new front camera housing and a 16-inch center display, along with an Autopilot computer labeled “AP45” and part number 2261336-02-A.

The Tesla owner later explained that he confirmed the part number by briefly pulling down the upper carpet liner below the Model Y’s glovebox. Other owners soon reported similar findings. One Model Y Performance owner noted that their December build also appeared to include Hardware 4.5, while another owner of an Austin-built Model Y Performance reported spotting the same “AP45” hardware.

These sightings suggest that Tesla may already be installing revised FSD computers in its new Model Y batches, despite the company not yet making any formal announcements about Hardware 4.5.

What Hardware 4.5 could represent

Clues about Hardware 4.5 have surfaced previously in Tesla’s Electronic Parts Catalog. As reported by NotATeslaApp, the catalog has listed a component described as “CAR COMPUTER – LEFT HAND DRIVE – PROVISIONED – HARDWARE 4.5.” The component, which features the part number 2261336-S2-A, is priced at $2,300.00.

Longtime Tesla hacker @greentheonly has noted that Tesla software has contained references to a possible three-SoC architecture for some time. Previous generations of Tesla’s FSD computer, including Hardware 3 and Hardware 4, use a dual-SoC design for redundancy. A three-SoC layout could allow for higher inference throughput and improved fault tolerance.

Such an architecture could also serve as a bridge to AI5, Tesla’s next-generation autonomy chip expected to enter production later in 2026. As Tesla’s neural networks grow larger and more computationally demanding, Hardware 4.5 may provide additional headroom for vehicles built before AI5 becomes widely available.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s Grokipedia is getting cited by OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Some responses generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT have recently referenced information from Grokipedia.

Published

on

UK Government, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Some responses generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT have recently referenced information from Grokipedia, an AI-generated encyclopedia developed by rival xAI, which was founded by Elon Musk. The citations appeared across a limited set of queries.

Reports about the matter were initially reported by The Guardian

Grokipedia references in ChatGPT

Grokipedia launched in October as part of xAI’s effort to build an alternative to Wikipedia, which has become less centrist over the years. Unlike Wikipedia, which is moderated and edited by humans, Grokipedia is purely AI-powered, allowing it to approach topics with as little bias as possible, at least in theory. This model has also allowed Grokipedia to grow its article base quickly, with recent reports indicating that it has created over 6 million articles, more than 80% of English Wikipedia. 

The Guardian reported that ChatGPT cited Grokipedia nine times across responses to more than a dozen user questions during its tests. As per the publication, the Grokipedia citations did not appear when ChatGPT was asked about high-profile or widely documented topics. Instead, Grokipedia was referenced in responses to more obscure historical or biographical claims. The pattern suggested selective use rather than broad reliance on the source, at least for now.

Broader Grokipedia use

The Guardian also noted that Grokipedia citations were not exclusive to ChatGPT. Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude reportedly showed similar references to Grokipedia in some responses, highlighting a broader issue around how large language models identify and weigh publicly available information.

In a statement to The Guardian, an OpenAI spokesperson stated that ChatGPT “aims to draw from a broad range of publicly available sources and viewpoints.” “We apply safety filters to reduce the risk of surfacing links associated with high-severity harms, and ChatGPT clearly shows which sources informed a response through citations,” the spokesperson stated.

Anthropic, for its part, did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. As for xAI, the artificial intelligence startup simply responded with a short comment that stated, “Legacy media lies.”

Continue Reading