If everything goes as planned and if work on the site progresses at a similar pace as Gigafactory Shanghai and Giga Berlin, Tesla’s upcoming Austin factory could start producing Cybertrucks by the end of next year. If Texas laws remain unchanged, however, the all-electric pickups would have to be shipped beyond state lines first, before they could be brought back for delivery to TX based customers.
Such a detour sounds quite ridiculous, of course, but this scenario could actually happen unless Texas changes a law that prohibits auto manufacturers from selling new vehicles to buyers without the utilization of a franchised dealership. Tesla is one of the few carmakers in the industry that does not use dealerships for its sales, with the company using a direct to customer internet sales model instead.
This potential challenge was related by Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives in a recent comment. According to a report from The Statesman, Ives noted that ultimately, “There are some hoops (Tesla) will have to go through” before it could sell its Texas made vehicles in Texas. That being said, the Wedbush analyst also stated that he does not see much of a problem since Giga Austin’s output will likely be substantial, and thus, the facility will be shipping vehicles to other areas of the United States.
Of course, it is also possible that even prior to the final decision of picking Austin as the site of its next vehicle factory, Tesla and Texas already had a deal that would allow the electric car maker to sell its vehicles directly to customers residing in the state. It’s very difficult to imagine that Tesla and executives such as Elon Musk would be amenable to a direct sales ban, after all, since the company would be producing vehicles in Texas.
This is especially true considering that Texas actively sought out Tesla when the electric car maker was looking to establish a site for its Cybertruck Gigafactory. During a meeting among Travis County officials, Commissioner Jeff Travillion outlined the urgency for the approval of Tesla’s tax breaks, citing the risk of losing such a high profile project to other locations. Among these is Tulsa, Oklahoma, which put up an impressive effort to attract the electric car maker. Elon Musk remarked during the Q2 2020 earnings call that Tulsa will definitely be considered strongly for the company’s next projects.
Tesla has spent much of the past decade to mount an unsuccessful political battle at the state Capitol to urge Texas to change its law and enable direct to customer vehicle sales. These efforts have been unsuccessful so far, amidst a strong defense of the existing law from organizations such as the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, which argue that dealerships help safeguard customers from manufacturers’ potential monopolies.
Jennifer Stevens, a spokeswoman for the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, described the organization’s state for Tesla’s operations in the state. “Tesla has long used an online model for the sale of their vehicles, and nothing in Texas law prevents a Texas consumer from purchasing a Tesla online and having it delivered to them in the state,” Stevens said.
News
Tesla FSD user in China shares insights after months of use: “Not a single safety intervention”
Tesla FSD users in China tend to push the system to its absolute limits.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system appears to be quietly winning over drivers in China. Although its rollout in February 2025 has not been followed by additional notable updates, recent accounts from local drivers suggest that Tesla’s approach to full self-driving may be outperforming its rivals on Chinese roads.
Tesla’s FSD exhibits smooth and cautious performance on real roads
As noted in a post shared by EV watcher @ray4tesla, a driver who has used Tesla’s FSD in China for two months described a well-calibrated, human-like driving experience. The driver also noted that Tesla’s FSD system is very cautious, perhaps even too careful at times.
“On narrow roads, it slows down appropriately; on major roads, it picks up speed. When there are a lot of pedestrians or electric scooters, it’s overly cautious — almost too polite,” the driver wrote.
Even more interestingly, the driver emphasized that despite frequent usage, there has been zero safety interventions since FSD was enabled in the vehicle. “In the two months I’ve been using FSD, I haven’t had even a single safety intervention,” the driver wrote.
Huawei ADS test triggers multiple safety takeovers
The user compared FSD to Huawei’s ADS system, which they tested for about 90 minutes in an Aito M9 SUV. According to the driver, Huawei’s ADS struggled to deliver consistent performance.
“Then I tried the M9 (Huawei ADS) for an hour and a half. When it needed to speed up, it lagged; and on tight, narrow roads, it suddenly accelerated — honestly, it was pretty scary. The acceleration and braking felt jerky, and you could clearly tell it was being driven by a machine (robotic vibe),” the driver wrote.
The user reported four safety interventions with Huawei’s ADS system within just 30 minutes while driving on rough, construction-heavy roads. “In construction zones and on rough roads, there were four safety interventions in just 30 minutes. And if you know what a ‘safety intervention’ means — that’s essentially four near-collisions,” the driver added.
While anecdotal, the account from the Tesla owner is quite significant since FSD users in China tend to push the system to its absolute limits. Since its rollout earlier this year, Tesla drivers in China have been recorded testing FSD on unpaved mountain roads, extremely narrow streets, busy cities, and wooded paths that barely have any road at all, among others.
Elon Musk
Tesla begins expanding Robotaxi access: here’s how you can ride
You can ride in a Tesla Robotaxi by heading to its website and filling out the interest form. The company is hand-picking some of those who have done this to gain access to the fleet.
Tesla has begun expanding Robotaxi access beyond the initial small group it offered rides to in late June, as it launched the driverless platform in Austin, Texas.
The small group of people enjoying the Robotaxi ride-hailing service is now growing, as several Austin-area residents are receiving invitations to test out the platform for themselves.
The first rides took place on June 22, and despite a very small number of very manageable and expected hiccups, Tesla Robotaxi was widely successful with its launch.
Tesla Robotaxi riders tout ‘smooth’ experience in first reviews of driverless service launch
However, Tesla is expanding the availability of the ride-hailing service to those living in Austin and its surrounding areas, hoping to gather more data and provide access to those who will utilize it on a daily basis.
Many of the people Tesla initially invited, including us, are not local to the Austin area.
There are a handful of people who are, but Tesla was evidently looking for more stable data collection, as many of those early invitees headed back to where they live.
The first handful of invitations in the second round of the Robotaxi platform’s Early Access Program are heading out to Austin locals:
I just got a @robotaxi invite! Super excited to go try the service out! pic.twitter.com/n9mN35KKFU
— Ethan McKanna (@ethanmckanna) July 1, 2025
Tesla likely saw an influx of data during the first week, as many traveled far and wide to say they were among the first to test the Robotaxi platform.
Now that the first week and a half of testing is over, Tesla is expanding invites to others. Many of those who have been chosen to gain access to the Robotaxi app and the ride-hailing service state that they simply filled out the interest form on the Robotaxi page of Tesla’s website.
That’s the easiest way you will also gain access, so be sure to fill out that form if you have any interest in riding in Robotaxi.
Tesla will continue to utilize data accumulated from these rides to enable more progress, and eventually, it will lead to even more people being able to hail rides from the driverless platform.
With more success, Tesla will start to phase out some of the Safety Monitors and Supervisors it is using to ensure things run smoothly. CEO Elon Musk said Tesla could start increasing the number of Robotaxis to monitors within the next couple of months.
A Tesla analyst today said that investors should not lose sight of what is truly important in the grand scheme of being a shareholder, and that any near-term drama between CEO Elon Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump should not outshine the progress made by the company.
Gene Munster of Deepwater Management said that Tesla’s progress in autonomy is a much larger influence and a significantly bigger part of the company’s story than any disagreement between political policies.
Munster appeared on CNBC‘s “Closing Bell” yesterday to reiterate this point:
“One thing that is critical for Tesla investors to remember is that what’s going on with the business, with autonomy, the progress that they’re making, albeit early, is much bigger than any feud that is going to happen week-to-week between the President and Elon. So, I understand the reaction, but ultimately, I think that cooler heads will prevail. If they don’t, autonomy is still coming, one way or the other.”
BREAKING: GENE MUNSTER SAYS — $TSLA AUTONOMY IS “MUCH BIGGER” THAN ANY FEUD 👀
He says robotaxis are coming regardless ! pic.twitter.com/ytpPcwUTFy
— TheSonOfWalkley (@TheSonOfWalkley) July 2, 2025
This is a point that other analysts like Dan Ives of Wedbush and Cathie Wood of ARK Invest also made yesterday.
On two occasions over the past month, Musk and President Trump have gotten involved in a very public disagreement over the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which officially passed through the Senate yesterday and is making its way to the House of Representatives.
Musk is upset with the spending in the bill, while President Trump continues to reiterate that the Tesla CEO is only frustrated with the removal of an “EV mandate,” which does not exist federally, nor is it something Musk has expressed any frustration with.
In fact, Musk has pushed back against keeping federal subsidies for EVs, as long as gas and oil subsidies are also removed.
Nevertheless, Ives and Wood both said yesterday that they believe the political hardship between Musk and President Trump will pass because both realize the world is a better place with them on the same team.
Munster’s perspective is that, even though Musk’s feud with President Trump could apply near-term pressure to the stock, the company’s progress in autonomy is an indication that, in the long term, Tesla is set up to succeed.
Tesla launched its Robotaxi platform in Austin on June 22 and is expanding access to more members of the public. Austin residents are now reporting that they have been invited to join the program.
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