News
Tesla’s near-obsessive efforts to improve efficiency shown in new ventilated seat patent
It is no secret that Tesla’s electric vehicles are among the most efficient in the auto industry. This is shown in the gap between Tesla and its competitors when it comes to battery tech and just how far the company’s vehicles can last between charges.
The Model X, for example, is Tesla’s largest vehicle available today, yet it is far more efficient than competitors from veteran automakers such as the Audi e-tron and the Jaguar I-PACE, both of which are smaller and newer than the Silicon Valley-based company’s flagship crossover. Part of this is likely due to Tesla’s proprietary battery chemistry, as well as the design and components of its vehicles themselves.
Tesla optimizes its vehicles’ efficiency in several ways, from equipping its cars with software that optimizes the battery pack to using materials that simply consume less power. The less power is consumed by the car’s systems, after all, the more power there is that could be used to turn the wheels of the vehicle.
An example of this is described in a recently-published patent titled “Vehicle Seat with Integrated Temperature-Control System.” Tesla notes in its patent that heated seats could easily be very inefficient, as they require heat to travel through multiple layers of material.
“Attempts to provide air ventilation through the seat foam are typically insufficient to remove excess heat and provide a comfortable environment for the occupant. Further, conventional heating systems are bulky, occupy space in the seat which typically requires the seat to be thicker, and are inefficient in heating the seat as the heat typically must travel through multiple layers and heats regions of the seat that the occupant does not contact. Hence, there is a need for an improved temperature-control system for vehicle seats,” Tesla noted.
The electric car maker describes how its ventilated seat patent works as follows.
“The temperature-control system is associated with at least one of a seating portion and a backrest portion of the seat. The temperature control system includes a base layer. The temperature-control system includes an intermediate layer disposed adjacent to the base layer. The intermediate layer allows fluid to flow through it. The temperature-control system includes a cover layer disposed adjacent to the intermediate layer. The temperature-control system also includes at least one heating element disposed between the intermediate layer and the cover layer. The temperature-control system further includes a fluid pump to provide the flow of fluid through the intermediate layer,” the company wrote.
Tesla explains that the design outlined in its patent provides a low-cost, low-noise, power-efficient, and effective way of cooling or heating a vehicle’s seats. The company also explained that its patent could be incorporated in any seat, regardless of size and shape.
Tesla’s patent for its “Vehicle Seat with Integrated Temperature-Control System” could be accessed in full here.
Being a patent application, it is unknown if Tesla has or will utilize the design it described in the recently published document. Yet, regardless of this, it is difficult to not acknowledge the electric car maker’s constant efforts to improve its vehicles’ efficiency. In a way, the publication of this patent comes at a rather appropriate time for Tesla too, as the company is preparing to unveil its next vehicle, a pickup truck, later this year.
Pickup trucks are by tradition not the most efficient cars on the road, and even the Rivian R1T, a vehicle designed from the ground up to be all-electric, requires a massive 180 kWh battery pack to hit 400 miles of range. That’s a range that the Raven Tesla Model S is already approaching with its 100 kWh battery pack.
At this point in the EV race, it’s evident that the efficiency of Tesla’s electric cars is top-notch, and it will likely take a while before competitors can come close. Rivals will come for the company from several fronts, including veteran automakers and young, upstart manufacturers. But by being a moving target, it will likely be a very challenging task to catch up to Tesla. Very few companies out there could be just as dedicated and near-obsessive with improvement and innovation, after all.
Tesla teased its entrance into a new market with a confusing and what appeared to be cryptic message on the social media platform X.
The company has been teasing its entrance into several markets, including Africa, which would be a first, and South America, where it only operates in Chile.
In September, Tesla started creating active job postings for the Colombian market, hinting it would expand its presence in South America and launch in a new country for the first time in two years.
The jobs were related to various roles, including Associate Sales Manager, Advisors in Sales and Delivery, and Service Technicians. These are all roles that would indicate Tesla is planning to launch a wide-scale effort to sell, manage, and repair vehicles in the market.
Last night, Tesla posted its latest hint, a cryptic video that seems to show the outline of Colombia, teasing its closer than ever to market entry:
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) November 12, 2025
This would be the next expansion into a continent where it does not have much of a presence for Tesla. Currently, there are only two Supercharger locations on the entire continent, and they’re both in Chile.
Tesla will obviously need to expand upon this crucial part of the ownership experience to enable a more confident consumer base in South America as a whole. However, it is not impossible, as many other EV charging infrastructures are available, and home charging is always a suitable option for those who have access to it.
Surprisingly, Tesla seems to be more concerned about these middle-market countries as opposed to the larger markets in South America, but that could be by design.
If Tesla were to launch in Brazil initially, it may not be able to handle the uptick in demand, and infrastructure expansion could be more difficult. Brazil may be on its list in the upcoming years, but not as of right now.
News
Tesla expands crucial Supercharging feature for easier access
It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.
Tesla has expanded a crucial Supercharging feature that helps owners identify stall availability at nearby locations.
Tesla said on Tuesday night that its “Live Availability” feature, which shows EV owners how many stalls are available at a Supercharger station, to Google Maps, a third-party app:
Live availability of Superchargers now in Google Maps pic.twitter.com/DJvS83wVxm
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) November 11, 2025
Already offering it in its own vehicles, the Live Availability feature that Teslas have is a helpful feature that helps you choose an appropriate station with plugs that are immediately available.
A number on an icon where the Supercharger is located lets EV drivers know how many stalls are available.
It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.
Essentially, when those drivers needed to charge at a Supercharger that enables non-Tesla EVs to plug in, there was a bit more of a gamble. There was no guarantee that a plug would be available, and with no way to see how many are open, it was a risk.
Tesla adding this feature allows people to have a more convenient and easier-to-use experience if they are in a non-Tesla EV. With the already expansive Supercharger Network being available to so many EV owners, there is more congestion than ever.
This new feature makes the entire experience better for all owners, especially as there is more transparency regarding the availability of plugs at Supercharger stalls.
It will be interesting to see if Tesla is able to expand on this new move, as Apple Maps compatibility is an obvious goal of the company’s in the future, we could imagine. In fact, this is one of the first times an Android Auto feature is available to those owners before it became an option for iOS users.
Apple owners tend to get priority with new features within the Tesla App itself.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Boring Co goes extra hard in Nashville with first rock-crushing TBM
The Boring Company’s machine for the project is now in final testing.
The Boring Company is gearing up to tackle one of its toughest projects yet, a new tunnel system beneath Nashville’s notoriously tough limestone terrain. Unlike the soft-soil conditions of Las Vegas and Austin, the Music City Loop will require a “hard-rock” boring machine capable of drilling through dense, erosion-resistant bedrock.
The Boring Company’s machine for the project is now in final testing.
A boring hard-rock tunneling machine
The Boring Company revealed on X that its new hard-rock TBM can generate up to 4 million pounds of grip force and 1.5 million pounds of maximum thrust load. It also features a 15-filter dust removal system designed to keep operations clean and efficient during excavation even in places where hard rock is present.
Previous Boring Co. projects, including its Loop tunnels in Las Vegas, Austin, and Bastrop, were dug primarily through soft soils. Nashville’s geology, however, poses a different challenge. Boring Company CEO and President Steve Davis mentioned this challenge during the project’s announcement in late July.
“It’s a tough place to tunnel, Nashville. If we were optimizing for the easiest places to tunnel, it would not be here. You have extremely hard rock, like way harder than it should be. It’s an engineering problem that’s fairly easy and straightforward to solve,” Davis said.
Nashville’s limestone terrain
Experts have stated that the city’s subsurface conditions make it one of the more complex tunneling environments in the U.S. The Outer Nashville Basin is composed of cherty Mississippian-age limestone, a strong yet soluble rock that can dissolve over time, creating underground voids and caves, as noted in a report from The Tennessean.
Jakob Walter, the founder and principal engineer of Haushepherd, shared his thoughts on these challenges. “Limestone is generally a stable sedimentary bedrock material with strength parameters that are favorable for tunneling. Limestone is however fairly soluble when compared to other rack materials, and can dissolve over long periods of time when exposed to water.
“Unexpected encounters with these features while tunneling can result in significant construction delays and potential instability of the excavation. In urban locations, structures at the ground surface should also be constantly monitored with robotic total stations or similar surveying equipment to identify any early signs of movement or distress,” he said.
Tesla teases new market entrance with confusing and cryptic message
Tesla expands crucial Supercharging feature for easier access
Elon Musk’s Boring Co goes extra hard in Nashville with first rock-crushing TBM
-
News5 days agoTesla shares rare peek at Semi factory’s interior
-
Elon Musk5 days agoTesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’
-
News4 days agoTesla makes online ordering even easier
-
News4 days agoTesla Model Y Performance set for new market entrance in Q1
-
News5 days agoTesla Cybercab production starts Q2 2026, Elon Musk confirms
-
News5 days agoTesla China expecting full FSD approval in Q1 2026: Elon Musk
-
News6 days agoTesla Model Y Performance is rapidly moving toward customer deliveries
-
News3 days agoTesla is launching a crazy new Rental program with cheap daily rates