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Tesla Cybertruck gets seal of approval from tough 'Shark Tank' judge Mr. Wonderful
The Tesla Cybertruck continues to grow on more and more people. Since its unveiling, auto experts and actual truck owners have come to defend the vehicle, dubbing the all-electric pickup as a bold move in function and form. The Cybertruck has indeed impressed its own fair share of Tesla critics, including, as it turned out, Shark Tank judge Kevin O’Leary, better known by his tongue-in-cheek nickname Mr. Wonderful.
Kevin O’Leary has not always been a fan of Tesla, particularly its stock, at one point even admitting that he hated TSLA. He has since changed his stance on the electric car maker, even investing in Tesla himself after seeing the capability of the company to attract the best and most driven talents available. Yet, despite this, O’Leary is still as sharp and critical as ever. In true Mr. Wonderful style, O’Leary is never one to hesitate when calling out something he deems as a failure.
One could recall a Shark Tank episode from 2016 involving aspiring entrepreneur Allison DeVane, whose idea for her business, Teaspressa, failed to get a positive response from any of the sharks. Shark Tank judge Lori Greiner was quick to console the contestant, saying “Don’t look at this as a failure.” O’Leary promptly countered, saying “Look at this as a failure.” His statement was met with much disdain from fellow Shark Tank judges and viewers alike, with fellow shark Mark Cuban telling O’Leary to “shut up.” Fans of the show also stated that it seemed all too easy for Mr. Wonderful to kick someone that was already down.
O’Leary has always been a direct and somewhat brash critic. In the case of the Tesla Cybertruck, Mr. Wonderful will likely be one of the first to say that the vehicle has no chance in the market. Yet, in a recent conversation with noted YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, O’Leary admitted that he actually placed a reservation for the upcoming all-electric pickup. He is even getting the tri-motor AWD variant so that he gets maximum range and power for long trips. Discussing his reservation, O’Leary stated that the Cybertruck is not really a pickup truck in the traditional sense of the word.
“It’s not a pickup truck. It’s some kind of other thing, but it’s grown on me. That Elon guy, he kind of steps ahead. He kind of reminds me of Steve Jobs in a way. I used to work for Steve in educational software and I’d always say to him ‘Steve, what about the research.’ He said ‘Screw the research.’ People don’t know what they want until I tell them.’ And I said, ‘You arrogant prick. How can you say that?’ And he was 100% right. That was it. He was not an easy guy to work for, I gotta tell you. And I’m trying to be nice,” O’Leary said.
O’Leary’s statements about market research are true. Tesla and Elon Musk did not do traditional market research for the Cybertruck, which is among the reasons why the vehicle in itself is so radical. Despite this, the vehicle is also a culmination of exchanges between Elon Musk and the online community, with both parties brainstorming features and capabilities that are most important in an all-electric pickup. As Mr. Wonderful said, people like the legendary Steve Jobs and Elon Musk are steps ahead. For visionaries such as these, market research may not be a very useful tool at all.
Watch Mr. Wonderful and MKBHD’s conversation in the video below.
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Tesla Robotaxi’s biggest rival sends latest statement with big expansion
The new expanded geofence now covers a broader region of Austin and its metropolitan areas, extended south to Manchaca and north beyond US-183.
Tesla Robotaxi’s biggest rival sent its latest statement earlier this month by making a big expansion to its geofence, pushing the limits up by over 50 percent and nearing Tesla’s size.
Waymo announced earlier this month that it was expanding its geofence in Austin by slightly over 50 percent, now servicing an area of 140 square miles, over the previous 90 square miles that it has been operating in since July 2025.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shades Waymo: ‘Never really had a chance’
The new expanded geofence now covers a broader region of Austin and its metropolitan areas, extended south to Manchaca and north beyond US-183.
These rides are fully driverless, which sets them apart from Tesla slightly. Tesla operates its Robotaxi program in Austin with a Safety Monitor in the passenger’s seat on local roads and in the driver’s seat for highway routes.
It has also tested fully driverless Robotaxi services internally in recent weeks, hoping to remove Safety Monitors in the near future, after hoping to do so by the end of 2025.
Tesla Robotaxi service area vs. Waymo’s new expansion in Austin, TX. pic.twitter.com/7cnaeiduKY
— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) January 13, 2026
Although Waymo’s geofence has expanded considerably, it still falls short of Tesla’s by roughly 31 square miles, as the company’s expansion back in late 2025 put it up to roughly 171 square miles.
There are several differences between the two operations apart from the size of the geofence and the fact that Waymo is able to operate autonomously.
Waymo emphasizes mature, fully autonomous operations in a denser but smaller area, while Tesla focuses on more extensive coverage and fleet scaling potential, especially with the potential release of Cybercab and a recently reached milestone of 200 Robotaxis in its fleet across Austin and the Bay Area.
However, the two companies are striving to achieve the same goal, which is expanding the availability of driverless ride-sharing options across the United States, starting with large cities like Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area. Waymo also operates in other cities, like Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix, and Atlanta, among others.
Tesla is working to expand to more cities as well, and is hoping to launch in Miami, Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Dallas.
Elon Musk
Tesla automotive will be forgotten, but not in a bad way: investor
It’s no secret that Tesla’s automotive division has been its shining star for some time. For years, analysts and investors have focused on the next big project or vehicle release, quarterly delivery frames, and progress in self-driving cars. These have been the big categories of focus, but that will all change soon.
Entrepreneur and Angel investor Jason Calacanis believes that Tesla will one day be only a shade of how it is recognized now, as its automotive side will essentially be forgotten, but not in a bad way.
It’s no secret that Tesla’s automotive division has been its shining star for some time. For years, analysts and investors have focused on the next big project or vehicle release, quarterly delivery frames, and progress in self-driving cars. These have been the big categories of focus, but that will all change soon.
I subscribed to Tesla Full Self-Driving after four free months: here’s why
Eventually, and even now, the focus has been on real-world AI and Robotics, both through the Full Self-Driving and autonomy projects that Tesla has been working on, as well as the Optimus program, which is what Calacanis believes will be the big disruptor of the company’s automotive division.
On the All-In podcast, Calcanis revealed he had visited Tesla’s Optimus lab earlier this month, where he was able to review the Optimus Gen 3 prototype and watch teams of engineers chip away at developing what CEO Elon Musk has said will be the big product that will drive the company even further into the next few decades.
Calacanis said:
“Nobody will remember that Tesla ever made a car. They will only remember the Optimus.”
He added that Musk “is going to make a billion of those.”
Musk has stated this point himself, too. He at one point said that he predicted that “Optimus will be the biggest product of all-time by far. Nothing will even be close. I think it’ll be 10 times bigger than the next biggest product ever made.”
He has also indicated that he believes 80 percent of Tesla’s value will be Optimus.
Optimus aims to totally revolutionize the way people live, and Musk has said that working will be optional due to its presence. Tesla’s hopes for Optimus truly show a crystal clear image of the future and what could be possible with humanoid robots and AI.
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Tesla Robotaxi fleet reaches new milestone that should expel common complaint
There have been many complaints in the eight months that the Robotaxi program has been active about ride availability, with many stating that they have been confronted with excessive wait times for a ride, as the fleet was very small at the beginning of its operation.
Tesla Robotaxi is active in both the Bay Area of California and Austin, Texas, and the fleet has reached a new milestone that should expel a common complaint: lack of availability.
It has now been confirmed by Robotaxi Tracker that the fleet of Tesla’s ride-sharing vehicles has reached 200, with 158 of those being available in the Bay Area and 42 more in Austin. Despite the program first launching in Texas, the company has more vehicles available in California.
The California area of operation is much larger than it is in Texas, and the vehicle fleet is larger because Tesla operates it differently; Safety Monitors sit in the driver’s seat in California while FSD navigates. In Texas, Safety Monitors sit in the passenger’s seat, but will switch seats when routing takes them on the highway.
Tesla has also started testing rides without any Safety Monitors internally.
Tesla Robotaxi goes driverless as Musk confirms Safety Monitor removal testing
This new milestone confronts a common complaint of Robotaxi riders in Austin and the Bay, which is vehicle availability.
There have been many complaints in the eight months that the Robotaxi program has been active about ride availability, with many stating that they have been confronted with excessive wait times for a ride, as the fleet was very small at the beginning of its operation.
I attempted to take a @robotaxi ride today from multiple different locations and time of day (from 9:00 AM to about 3:00 PM in Austin but never could do so.
I always got a “High Service Demand” message … I really hope @Tesla is about to go unsupervised and greatly plus up the… pic.twitter.com/IOUQlaqPU2
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) November 26, 2025
With that being said, there have been some who have said wait times have improved significantly, especially in the Bay, where the fleet is much larger.
Robotaxi wait times here in Silicon Valley used to be around 15 minutes for me.
Over the past few days, they’ve been consistently under five minutes, and with scaling through the end of this year, they should drop to under two minutes. pic.twitter.com/Kbskt6lUiR
— Alternate Jones (@AlternateJones) January 6, 2026
Tesla’s approach to the Robotaxi fleet has been to prioritize safety while also gathering its footing as a ride-hailing platform.
Of course, there have been and still will be growing pains, but overall, things have gone smoothly, as there have been no major incidents that would derail the company’s ability to continue developing an effective mode of transportation for people in various cities in the U.S.
Tesla plans to expand Robotaxi to more cities this year, including Miami, Las Vegas, and Houston, among several others.
Tesla Robotaxi’s biggest rival sends latest statement with big expansion
Tesla automotive will be forgotten, but not in a bad way: investor
