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Tesla’s Elon Musk details Cybertruck design adjustments with Joe Rogan

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils futuristic Cybertruck in Los Angeles, Nov. 21, 2019 (Photo: Teslarati)

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk broke down some of the modifications that Tesla made to the design of the Cybertruck during his third podcast appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience. Musk indicated in November that Tesla would be redesigning the Cybertruck slightly, giving some “small improvements” to the initial design after some concerns over the size of the vehicle.

Tesla Cybertruck

Tesla unveiled its Cybertruck in November 2019 with a futuristic, Cyberpunk-themed event at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Musk, along with Tesla’s Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, unveiled the truck on stage, displaying its polarizing design and effectively indestructible steel exoskeleton.

Combined with bulletproof glass, the Cybertruck is the ultimate apocalypse vehicle, but there were some interested in the all-electric pickup size. Concerns over whether the vehicle would fit in a residential garage or in regular parking spaces were of major importance to some pre-orderers. In fact, a Supercharging site in Los Angeles actually gave design blueprints for Cybertruck-specific charging spaces that would be capable of fitting the massive truck.

Tesla finally finalized the design of the Cybertruck recently. During the Q4 2020 Earnings Call, Musk said that the company was finished making revisions to the design.

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Musk stated:

“So we finished almost all of the Cybertruck engineering. So we’re no longer iterating at the design center level or design level. We’ve got the designs fixed.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils futuristic Cybertruck in Los Angeles, Nov. 21, 2019 (Photo: Teslarati)

Musk: Cybertruck has around 3% size reduction

New design photographs never were released by Tesla or Musk, but in the latest episode of the Joe Rogan Podcast, Musk detailed some of the changes that were made.

He told Rogan:

“That’s pretty much what it [the Cybertruck] will look like, with very small differences. You know, we adjusted the size a few percent. Like around 3% or smaller. You don’t want it to be a couple of inches too big for the tunnel.”

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Rogan then asked if the revisions were based on the Boring Company’s tunnel, which Musk took Jay Leno through on an episode of MSNBC’s “Jay Leno’s Garage.” Musk said that the Cybertruck’s fit in the Hawthorne tunnel was “pretty snug,” which could have ultimately led to the revisions.

Tesla Cybertruck makes a tight squeeze through Boring Company tunnel

Cybertruck Production

Musk confirmed to Rogan that the production of the Cybertruck would have limited production at the end of 2021, and volume production “hopefully next year.” Musk indicated on the company’s recently-held Q4 2020 Earnings Call that the Cybertruck could be subjected to some delays.

He said:

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“If we get lucky, we’ll be able to do a few deliveries toward the end of this year, but I expect volume production to be in 2022.”

Rogan’s full podcast with Elon Musk is available here.

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

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Tesla Supercharger left offline as Swedish court backs union strike

The completed Supercharger has been stalled for nearly two years amid Tesla’s conflict with the IF Metall union in Sweden.

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Credit: NicklasNilsso14/X

Tesla’s Supercharger station in Ljungby, Sweden will remain without power after a Swedish administrative court rejected the company’s appeal to force a grid connection to the site. The completed Supercharger has been stalled for nearly two years amid Tesla’s conflict with the IF Metall union in Sweden.

The court ruled that the ongoing union strike against Tesla Sweden is valid grounds for the Supercharger’s connection delay, as noted in an Allt Om Elbil report. 

The Ljungby Supercharger was one of the first charging stations that were denied grid access after IF Metall launched its strike against Tesla Sweden in late 2023. Electricians at local grid operator Ljungby Energinät were pulled into a sympathy strike by the Seko union, preventing the site’s connection.

Tesla reported both Ljungby Energinät and Gävle Energi Elnät AB to the Swedish Energy Market Inspectorate, arguing that grid operators failed to meet their legal obligation to provide connection to the location within a reasonable time frame.

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The regulator ruled that the strike represented a valid exception under Swedish law, however, citing constitutional protections for industrial actions.

Tesla responded by appealing to the Administrative Court in Linköping, claiming it had the right to connection within a reasonable period, generally no more than two years. Tesla Sweden also argued that the country’s Electricity Act conflicts with EU law. The court rejected those arguments.

“The Administrative Court today finds that granting the company’s request in practice applies to the same thing as the blockade and that it would mean that the blockade would be ineffective. 

“Such a decision would contradict the principle that labor market conflicts should be resolved to the greatest extent possible by the labor market parties, not by the state. The industrial action is also constitutionally protected,” Chief Councilor Ronny Idstrand stated.

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The court also concluded that the Electricity Act does not conflict with EU regulations and that special reasons justified the extended delay.

While the ruling was unanimous, Tesla Sweden may appeal the decision to a higher administrative court.

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Tesla China exports 50,644 vehicles in January, up sharply YoY

The figure also places Tesla China second among new energy vehicle exporters for the month, behind BYD.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla China exported 50,644 vehicles in January, as per data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

This marks a notable increase both year-on-year and month-on-month for the American EV maker’s Giga Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y. The figure also places Tesla China second among new energy vehicle exporters for the month, behind BYD.

The CPCA’s national passenger car market analysis report indicated that total New Energy Vehicle exports reached 286,000 units in January, up 103.6% from a year earlier. Battery electric vehicles accounted for 65% of those exports.

Within that total, Tesla China shipped 50,644 vehicles overseas. By comparison, exports of Giga Shanghai-built Model 3 and Model Y units totaled 29,535 units in January last year and just 3,328 units in December. 

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This suggests that Tesla China’s January 2026 exports were roughly 1.7 times higher than the same month a year ago and more than 15 times higher than December’s level, as noted in a TechWeb report.

BYD still led the January 2026 export rankings with 96,859 new energy passenger vehicles shipped overseas, though it should be noted that the automaker operates at least nine major production facilities in China, far outnumering Tesla. Overall, BYD’s factories in China have a domestic production capacity for up to 5.82 million units annually as of 2024.

Tesla China followed in second place, ahead of Geely, Chery, Leapmotor, SAIC Motor, and SAIC-GM-Wuling, each of which exported significant volumes during the month. Overall, new energy vehicles accounted for nearly half of China’s total passenger vehicle exports in January, hinting at strong overseas demand for electric cars produced in the country.

China remains one of Tesla China’s most important markets. Despite mostly competing with just two vehicles, both of which are premium priced, Tesla China is still proving quite competitive in the domestic electric vehicle market.

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Tesla adds a new feature to Navigation in preparation for a new vehicle

After CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that the Semi’s mass production processes were scheduled for later this year, the company has been making various preparations as it nears manufacturing.

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Credit: Uber

Tesla has added a new feature to its Navigation and Supercharger Map in preparation for a new vehicle to hit the road: the Semi.

After CEO Elon Musk announced earlier this week that the Semi’s mass production processes were scheduled for later this year, the company has been making various preparations as it nears manufacturing.

Elon Musk confirms Tesla Semi will enter high-volume production this year

One of those changes has been the newly-released information regarding trim levels, as well as reports that Tesla has started to reach out to customers regarding pricing information for those trims.

Now, Tesla has made an additional bit of information available to the public in the form of locations of Megachargers, the infrastructure that will be responsible for charging the Semi and other all-electric Class 8 vehicles that hit the road.

Tesla made the announcement on the social media platform X:

Although it is a minor development, it is a major indication that Tesla is preparing for the Semi to head toward mass production, something the company has been hinting at for several years.

Nevertheless, this, along with the other information that was released this week, points toward a significant stride in Tesla’s progress in the Semi project.

Now that the company has also worked toward completion of the dedicated manufacturing plant in Sparks, Nevada, there are more signs than ever that the vehicle is finally ready to be built and delivered to customers outside of the pilot program that has been in operation for several years.

For now, the Megachargers are going to be situated on the West Coast, with a heavy emphasis on routes like I-5 and I-10. This strategy prioritizes major highways and logistics hubs where freight traffic is heaviest, ensuring coverage for both cross-country and regional hauls.

California and Texas are slated to have the most initially, with 17 and 19 sites, respectively. As the program continues to grow, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Washington, New York, and Nevada will have Megacharger locations as well.

For now, the Megachargers are available in Lathrop, California, and Sparks, Nevada, both of which have ties to Tesla. The former is the location of the Megafactory, and Sparks is where both the Tesla Gigafactory and Semifactory are located.

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