News
Tesla Cybertruck is in the crosshairs of many but Elon Musk isn’t worried
There is a point to be argued that the attention attracted by the Tesla Cybertruck is a double-edged sword. Granted, the vehicle has captured the interest of both the EV and traditional auto community primarily due to its stark XY design, but with this comes a ton of scrutiny from all sides. And in the months since its unveiling, the Cybertruck has received a healthy dose of scrutiny.
Critics pointing out negatives about Tesla’s upcoming vehicles is nothing new, and in the Cybertruck’s case, some of these were unfounded. Yet there were valid concerns about the vehicle. The truck is massive, for example, to the point where AR simulations of the vehicle indicated that it would not fit in an average 20×20 garage in the United States. Others, interestingly enough, questioned the vehicle’s capabilities as a legitimate off-roader due to its weight.
In true Tesla fashion, the electric car maker appears to have taken it upon itself to make sure that it addresses these criticisms. Elon Musk, for one, noted in a recent Twitter post that the Cybertruck’s production version would be about 3% smaller than the vehicle featured at the unveiling. Such a reduction will likely not affect the spaciousness or utility of the all-electric pickup, but it will enable the Cybertruck to fit in conventional garages.
This automatically opens up a whole new market for the Cybertruck. Following its unveiling, members of the Tesla community who were fortunate enough to experience a test ride in the vehicle noted that the Cybertruck is incredibly large. Thus, it did not take long before reservation holders indicated that they would likely keep the truck outside their garage due to its size. With a 3% reduction in size, this does not have to be the case.
Adjustments to the Cybertruck’s window sill height also makes the vehicle less intimidating for both passengers and drivers. With a lower window sill height, the Cybertruck will feel less like a vehicle that’s essentially swallowing its occupants. For territories beyond the US where large trucks are not as common, this particular detail would likely be appreciated by potential buyers.
Apart from adjustments to its size, Elon Musk mentioned that the Cybertruck’s air suspension system would be completely different from those used in the Model S and Model X. This suggests that unlike the two flagships, both of which are designed for the city, the Cybertruck’s suspension is intended to be used under rough and tough conditions. Musk said as much, stating that the Cybertruck is being designed to dominate in events like the Baja 1000, an off-road racing series where the auto industry’s best trucks compete against each other.
Just recently, truck enthusiasts from The Fast Lane Car YouTube channel expressed their doubts about the Cybertruck’s off-road capability due to the vehicle’s “monstrous” weight and lack of low-speed gearing. The hosts even mentioned the vehicle’s ground clearance. This is quite surprising as the Cybertruck’s 16″ ground clearance dwarfs that of popular trucks like the Ford F-150 Raptor, matching monster trucks like the Hummer H1, a military vehicle that’s pretty much just converted for civilian use.
One thing that critics are prone to forget is the fact that Tesla never remains in one place. Yes, the Cybertruck may be a bit too large when it was unveiled, but this does not mean that its size could not be reduced. The vehicle may look heavy and daunting, but perhaps it would be lighter than expected when it gets to production thanks to better battery technology. And with suspension improvements hinted at by Elon Musk, the Cybertruck could very well set the standard for all-electric off-road vehicles for years to come.
It is easy to dismiss Tesla’s efforts because of the company’s lack of experience compared to veterans in the auto industry. But underestimating Tesla is a grave mistake. One just needs to look at the premium midsize sedan market to see this point. Prior to the Model 3, for example, the BMW 3-Series seemed like a wall that could not be broken. As it turned out, even established cars like the BMW M3 could be bested, and later, even dominated. With this in mind, popular off-roaders today are best advised not to underestimate the Cybertruck.
Elon Musk has acknowledged that early discussions with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) could bring the company into his ambitious Terafab semiconductor project, signaling a possible partnership with the world’s leading contract chipmaker.
Musk confirmed that early talks are underway, but as of right now, they are “just discussions.” There is no confirmation of a deal nor dismissal of the possibility of one, leaving open the prospect of one of the largest advanced-chip collaborations under discussion in the U.S.
@wholemars Just discussions, but something may come of it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2026
The report that speculated on potential discussions between Terafab and TSMC comes from Tim Culpan, who outlined a few ways the collaboration could operate. One is TSMC using the project as an “anchor customer” for future facilities in Texas, potentially contributing process expertise, operational know-how, or capacity while Terafab provides capital, long-term purchase commitments, or both.
Tesla and SpaceX jointly developed the Terafab project, with Intel already participating on the tech side. Elon Musk announced the project in March, and it intends to produce more than one terawatt of AI compute capacity annually once fully built.
Company statements place the first phase at approximately $16.8 billion in cost, with later filings pointing to a total that could reach well into the tens of billions across multiple stages.
Intel joined the effort in April 2026 and is expected to supply its 14A manufacturing process for the full-scale plant.
Musk has said existing suppliers, including Samsung and TSMC, remain important for near-term needs; Tesla already has production arrangements with Samsung for AI5 and AI6 chips, but that future demand from Optimus robots, Cybercab vehicles, and planned space-based data centers will eventually exceed what the global industry can currently deliver.
Terafab is positioned as the long-term answer to that projected shortfall, and Tesla did something similar during COVID to avoid a chip shortage. This is just a much larger-scale solution.
If the partnership were to materialize, it would add TSMC’s industry-leading strategies to a project that already combines Tesla’s and SpaceX’s capital and offtake with Intel’s process technology. For now, the only public confirmation is Musk’s brief acknowledgement that conversations are occurring.
Tesla’s early strategy for charging units operating within its Robotaxi fleet reveals that the company surely has not lost any of that scrappy DNA that took it from an unlikely success story to the most valuable carmaker in the world.
An observer at a Tesla Supercharger in Austin spotted ten total Robotaxi vehicles arrive: one Cybercab and nine Model Y units. A Tesla employee was waiting at the lot and allowed each unit to park itself; every car that arrived had nobody in it.
Tesla wins FCC approval for wireless Cybercab charging system
The Tesla employee would walk around and plug each car in, adjusting the parking if needed:
So look at what I found. This is how Tesla charges unsupervised robotaxis at a public supercharger. Here is a driverless Cybercab showing up with no one in it. There are 9 other Model Ys that showed up too. A Tesla employee is walking around and plugging each of them in. She also moves the cars if they are not positioned well enough to charge. I love this process. One person charges multiple robotaxis at once
— Abhimanyu Yadav (@WorldlyReviewer) October 3, 2026
It’s a very interesting strategy, but extremely understandable at this early point in the Robotaxi program. It’s only been out for about 15 months, and Cybercab just entered the fleet in early September.
On top of that, Tesla is still working tirelessly on its wireless charging apparatus, and a new patent was just published regarding that product last week.
However, this is just another example of how Tesla still has plenty of that scrappy DNA leftover from the “production hell” days, when CEO Elon Musk slept on the floor of the factory, employees were working crazy hours, Tesla was building Sprung Structures to build cars in, and the company was tiptoeing on the brink of bankruptcy.
@Teslarati Sheer magnitude of the entire production system is hard to appreciate. Almost every element of production is >75% automated. Only wire harnesses & general assembly, which are <10% of production costs, are primarily manual.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 12, 2020
For now, Tesla is utilizing a simple system for recharging its ride-hailing vehicles, and that is a Tesla employee doing it manually until another solution presents itself. Sure, it’s not the most high-tech thing, and it certainly is not what people might have expected at this point in time, but it works, and it’s keeping the entire suite running.
Tesla is expanding its Robotaxi service hours by pushing the time back by one hour, keeping the ride-hailing service operational until 11 p.m., one hour later than previously.
CEO Elon Musk confirmed the change and offered a specific reason the expansion has been gradual: the system still needs to reliably avoid small pets that are difficult to see after dark, as they commonly blend into the color of the road, especially when they’re grey.
The latest adjustment restores only a fraction of the operating window the service once held. When paid Robotaxi rides began in Austin on June 22, 2025, vehicles ran from 6 a.m. to midnight.
In September 2025, Tesla lengthened the day to a 2 a.m. close, producing a 20-hour window that stayed in place for most of the following year. By early August of this year, the cutoff had already been pulled back; an August 26 update formalized hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. across Austin and several other markets.
The October move to 11 p.m. therefore leaves the Austin day one hour shorter than the original launch schedule and three hours shorter than the 2025 peak.
Musk addressed the constraint directly after the announcement. “The main thing we’re trying to solve is making sure that we don’t run over pets when they’re hard to see at night,” he wrote. “Literally trying to avoid grey kittens on grey tarmac in the dark.”
Robotaxi operating hours moved from 10pm to 11pm.
The main thing we’re trying to solve is making sure that we don’t run over pets when they’re hard to see at night. Literally trying to avoid grey kittens on grey tarmac in the dark.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2026
The example points to a low-contrast perception problem in which a small animal can blend into the road surface under limited lighting.
Tesla’s vehicles rely on cameras and neural-network processing rather than lidar; Musk has previously argued that advanced vision software can extract useful information even in low light by analyzing photon counts, but the pet-detection case remains the stated limiter in later hours.
The modest schedule change arrives alongside faster growth in the purpose-built Cybercab fleet. Texas registration data tracked by observers showed the Austin Cybercab count rising sharply in recent weeks, reaching 169 vehicles after more than 100 were added in a short span.
Tesla has indicated that a broader shift toward 24-hour operation is tied to the upcoming FSD v15 software release expected this month on Robotaxi vehicles. Until that capability is validated for the edge cases Musk described, the company continues to add service time incrementally rather than jumping straight to overnight coverage.
The one-hour extension gives Austin riders a later option for evening trips while the underlying detection work continues.
Elon Musk teases TSMC as potential Terafab partner
Tesla reveals early Robotaxi charging strategy, showing scrappy DNA
