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Elon Musk’s warm reception in China is a wake-up call to Tesla’s skeptics
A couple of days after holding the groundbreaking ceremony of Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, Elon Musk met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing. Li, widely regarded as China’s #2 after President Xi Jinping, spoke candidly with Musk, discussing his optimism about Gigafactory 3 and the innovations that Tesla can bring to the table by producing its electric cars in the Asian economic superpower.
Tesla’s skeptics would best be worried at this point. Musk, after all, continually faces a barrage of criticism — some warranted, most unwarranted — from the United States’ mainstream media and groups of individuals who stand to gain from the company’s decline. This is particularly notable in platforms such as Twitter, which sees daily debates between the TSLA community, who support Musk and his ventures, and the TSLAQ group, who oppose the serial tech entrepreneur. In the United States, at least, Tesla is a widely polarizing company, and Elon Musk is a favorite target for those who oppose his work and what he stands for.
This does not seem to be the case in China. During his talk with the Chinese Premier, Musk openly noted that the country’s speed of development and efficiency are impressive. As pointed out in a China Government Network report, Musk said that “Tesla will strive to build the Shanghai factory into the world’s most advanced factories.” When asked by Li what Musk meant by “most advanced,” the CEO noted that the description would be true for both Gigafactory 3 itself and the vehicles that it would manufacture. Musk further noted that he is hoping to make the Shanghai Gigafactory a global example of a facility that functions almost like a “living being.” Later on, the Chinese premier welcomed Musk’s ideas, even comparing the Tesla CEO to the late Steve Jobs, who revolutionized the mobile industry with the iPhone.
“If you do have this idea, then we can issue you a ‘Chinese Green Card.’ Your idea is similar to Apple’s founder Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs is inspired by the oriental Zen culture originated from China and optimized the interface of Apple’s mobile phone,” Li said.
After breaking ground in Shanghai, Tesla CEO @elonmusk had a meeting with China's Premier Li Keqiang at Tower of Violet Light (中南海紫光阁) in Beijing China 🇨🇳 . $TSLA #Tesla #China #TeslaChina pic.twitter.com/CHREQXcEyM
— vincent (@vincent13031925) January 9, 2019
It should be noted that Elon Musk and the Chinese Premier held a meeting at the Tower of Violet Light in Beijing — a place usually reserved for the country’s most distinguished guests. In a way, it is no exaggeration to state that Musk received a welcome worthy of a foreign dignitary by the Chinese government. Considering that Musk is a foreign automaker CEO, such warm reception does indicate the country’s open support for Tesla and Gigafactory 3.
In a way, Tesla’s presence in Shanghai is beneficial to the country. China, after all, is aggressively pushing the adoption of renewable energy, and among its initiatives is a significant shift towards electric mobility. In this light, having well-known and daring innovators such as Elon Musk on the country’s side would help China reach its ambitious goals, one of which is to sell 7 million electric or hybrid vehicles annually by 2025. In a statement to Xinhua News, Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association described Elon Musk and the Gigafactory 3’s effect on the Chinese EV industry.
“Tesla’s China production will have a ‘catfish effect’ in the country’s auto industry, pushing domestic carmakers to speed up their technological upgrading,” Cui said.
That said, the United States media has recently begun adopting a somewhat friendlier stance on Musk and Tesla. While there is still a healthy stream of negative articles about the company and its CEO, some notable personalities from mainstream media such as CNBC’s Becky Quick appear to be turning a new page. During a segment featuring fellow CNBC host Phil LeBeau in Gigafactory 1, for one, Quick admitted that she does tend to “short-change” Elon Musk.
“We tend to kinda short-change Elon Musk with all the things he’s done with the Gigafactory, Tesla, the rockets, The Boring Company. Seeing it in action gives you a slightly different perspective, I would guess,” she said.
“I hope to make the @Tesla Shanghai factory a global example.” #Tesla CEO @elonmusk said, “I love China very much and I am willing to come here more.”
"If you do have this idea, we can issue you a 'China Green Card'." Premier Li Keqiang said. $TSLA https://t.co/pm8KWlqiyH pic.twitter.com/T43uIBkQ6X— vincent (@vincent13031925) January 10, 2019
Fox Business‘ Stuart Varney, one of Musk’s more vocal critics in the past, has also taken a friendlier stance on the Tesla and SpaceX CEO. Addressing his audience, Varney noted that it is now time to “re-evaluate” Elon Musk.
“I think it’s time for a re-evaluation. I think it’s time to look at the man’s achievements, rather than his public image. Like him or not, Elon Musk is surely the prime example of a brilliant entrepreneur. He makes state-of-the-art electric cars. He had the vision. A lot of people talk about their “vision,” but he went out and did it. You’ve heard of SpaceX. That’s an Elon Musk company. He had a vision for reusable rockets, and he went out and did that, too… That’s an achievement.
“You’ve heard of the Boring Company… This is Musk’s contribution to future mass transit. The point is, he did it. He just offered a tour of the tunnel he’s already built in southern California. It’s not just talk. In the age of social media, we tend to fixate on the negatives. It’s easy to pour scorn on someone who behaves like Elon Musk. But step back, and look at what he has actually done: He’s in the car business, the space business, the mass transit business. He’s got a product in all three industries. That is tangible success. Give the man credit.”
There is little doubt that Elon Musk is one of the world’s most notable innovators today. If the reception he received during Gigafactory 3’s groundbreaking is any indication, it appears that he is well-supported in China. It remains to be seen if this same reception would be extended in the country Musk currently calls his home.
As for Musk’s skeptics, this might be a very bad time to bet against the man.
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Tesla FSD successfully completes full coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions
Tesla community members celebrated the milestone on X, and the feat earned praise from some of the electric vehicle maker’s executives.
A Tesla owner has successfully completed a full coast-to-coast drive across the United States on Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised. The trip was accomplished with zero interventions.
Tesla community members celebrated the milestone on X, and the feat earned praise from some of the electric vehicle maker’s executives.
FSD Coast-to-Coast
The coast-to-coast feat was accomplished by Tesla owner Davis Moss, who drives a stealth gray Model 3 with AI4 hardware. Based on data from the FSD database and a community tracker, the last 10,638.8 miles Moss drove in his Model 3 were completed using FSD 100% of the time. His vehicle is equipped with FSD v14.2.1.25, which was installed 12 days ago.
As per Moss in a celebratory post on X, his Model 3 was able to complete a full coast-to-coast drive across the United States in 2 days and 20 hours. His trip started at the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles, CA, and it ended in Myrtle Beach, SC. Overall, his trip spanned 2,732.4 miles.
“This was accomplished with Tesla FSD V14.2 with absolutely 0 disengagements of any kind even for all parking including at Tesla Superchargers,” Moss stated in his post. He also added in later comments that there were zero close calls during the trip.
Tesla community celebrates
The FSD milestone trip was widely lauded by members of the Tesla community, especially since a coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions has been cited by Elon Musk as a target since October 2016, when Autopilot 2.0 was unveiled. At the time, Musk initially estimated that a coast-to-coast drive across the United States should be possible by the end of 2017. Considering Moss’ feat in his Model 3, it appears that Elon Musk’s estimate was not impossible at all. It was just late.
Musk himself celebrated the milestone on X, and so did Tesla VP of AI Software Ashok Elluswamy, who wrote “World’s first fully autonomous coast-to-coast drive, done with Tesla self-driving v14. Congrats and thank you @DavidMoss!” in a post on X. The official Tesla North America account also celebrated the feat, writing “First Tesla to drive itself from coast to coast w/ FSD Supervised. 0 interventions, all FSD” on X.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk: Tesla Model Y is world’s best-selling car for 3rd year in a row
The Model Y has now established an impressive streak that would otherwise have been impossible before Tesla.
Elon Musk has announced that the Tesla Model Y has become the world’s best-selling car by volume for the third consecutive year, capping 2025 with another dominant performance.
The Model Y has now established an impressive streak that would otherwise have been impossible before Tesla.
Three years in a row
Musk posted on X: “Tesla Model Y is now officially the world’s best-selling car for the third year in a row!” The CEO’s comment echoed an update that Tesla included in its 2025 recap, which highlighted, among other things, the Model Y’s incredible streak.
The Model Y has held the title since 2023, outperforming traditional leaders like the Toyota RAV4 and Corolla thanks to its bang-for-the-buck nature and its stellar combination of practicality, performance, and tech. The Model Y is also lauded as one of the safest vehicles on the road, making it an ideal choice for families in key markets such as China.
An impressive 2025
The Model Y’s sales feat in 2025 is especially impressive considering the introduction of the vehicle’s new variant. Tesla’s changeover to the new Model Y across its global factories resulted in sales being paused for some time in the first quarter. As per Tesla’s Q1 2025 vehicle delivery and production report, “the changeover of Model Y lines across all four of our factories led to the loss of several weeks of production in Q1.”
This suggests that the Model Y’s sales remained strong in 2025 to the point where it could still claim the title of the world’s best-selling vehicle by volume, even with its sales being throttled during the first quarter of the year. It would then be interesting to see just how far the Model Y can go in 2026, especially considering the rollout of new variants like the six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y L, the affordable Model Y Standard, and the top-tier Model Y Performance.
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Tesla shares epic 2025 recap video, confirms start of Cybercab production
The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development.
Tesla has released an epic year-in-review video for 2025, recapping some of its major achievements from refreshed models to autonomy breakthroughs and production ramps.
The cinematic montage, posted by the official Tesla account on X, celebrated the company’s progress in EVs, energy, and Robotaxi development while looking ahead to an even bigger 2026.
Tesla’s 2025 highlights recap
Tesla has had a busy 2025, as highlighted in the recap video. The video opened with Elon Musk explaining the company’s pursuit of sustainable abundance. A number of milestones were then highlighted, such as the rollout of FSD v14, Optimus’ numerous demos, the opening of the Tesla Diner in Hollywood, LA, the completion of the world’s first autonomous car delivery, and the launch of the Robotaxi network in Austin and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tesla also highlighted several of its accomplishments over the year. As per the company, the Model Y was the year’s best-selling vehicle globally again, and Teslas became more affordable than ever thanks to the Model 3 and Model Y Standard. Other key models were also rolled out, such as the refreshed Model S and X, as well as the new Model Y, the new Model Y Performance, and the six-seat, extended wheelbase Model Y L.
The Megablock was also unveiled during the year, and the Supercharger Network grew by 18%. Over 1 million Powerwalls were also installed during the year, and the Cybertruck became the first EV truck to get both an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award and an NHTSA 5-Star safety rating.
Cybercab production confirmed
Interestingly enough, Tesla also confirmed in its 2025 recap video that the production of the Cybercab has started. This bodes well for the vehicle, as it could result in the vehicle really being mass-produced in the first half of 2026. Elon Musk confirmed during the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting that Cybercab production should earnestly start around April 2026.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab will be Tesla’s highest-volume vehicle yet, with the company aiming for an annual production rate of about 2 million units. “If you’ve seen the design of the Cybercab line, it doesn’t look like a normal car manufacturing line,” Musk said earlier this year. “It looks like a really high-speed consumer electronics line. In fact, the line will move so fast that actually people can’t even get close to it.”
Tesla FSD successfully completes full coast-to-coast drive with zero interventions
Elon Musk: Tesla Model Y is world’s best-selling car for 3rd year in a row
