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Tesla’s Elon Musk responds to JPMorgan suit with “final warning” — for a 1-Star Yelp review

Credit: @Gf4Tesla/Twitter

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Last week, reports emerged that JPMorgan, one of the United States’ biggest banks, has sued Tesla for $162 million over stock warrants that are linked to CEO Elon Musk’s “funding secured” tweet from August 2018. The lawsuit seems to have been taken in stride by the Tesla CEO, who responded to the litigation in a way that is very much in character. 

As noted in a recent report from The Wall Street Journal, Elon Musk and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon have been clashing behind closed doors for years. Citing individuals familiar with the matter, the news outlet noted that the two executives have actually tried to patch things up in the past, but such attempts have been unsuccessful. The WSJ‘s sources further stated that JP Morgan decided some time ago that it is better off without Tesla. 

What is quite interesting with the whole situation was the fact that JPMorgan opted to fight Tesla in public, which is something that banks typically avoid, especially on clients that are as prolific as the EV maker. Tesla, after all, recently achieved a market cap of $1 trillion, effectively making it one of the largest businesses by valuation in the United States. 

JPMorgan, however, maintained in its lawsuit that it had no choice but to seek legal action against Tesla. “We have provided Tesla multiple opportunities to fulfill its contractual obligations, so it is unfortunate that they have forced this issue into litigation,” the bank stated. 

Elon Musk responded to JPMorgan’s legal action by personally providing a “final warning” to the bank. Based on Musk’s statement to the WSJ, Tesla would strongly prefer it if JPMorgan would withdraw its lawsuit. But in classic Elon Musk fashion, the CEO noted that he would do something substantial if the bank does not heed his warning — he would leave a one-star review of JPMorgan on Yelp. 

“If JPM doesn’t withdraw their lawsuit, I will give them a one-star review on Yelp. This is my final warning!” Musk noted. In a later tweet, Musk added that he gave a “serious” response since JPMorgan’s allegations were equally “serious.”

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While the CEO was evidently in a joking mood when he responded to the WSJ about JPMorgan’s lawsuit against Tesla, the EV maker and Musk himself have both been distancing themselves from the bank for some time now. Public records revealed that JPMorgan’s investment bankers have not worked on any Tesla offering or transaction since 2016. Even when the bank worked on Tesla’s initial public offering in 2010, it was typically ranked behind other banks such as Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. 

Perhaps the icing on the cake was the fact that JPMorgan’s Chase consumer bank was initially hesitant to be an early backer of Tesla. According to the WSJ‘s sources, this was because Chase was concerned about the long-term value of electric vehicle batteries. Chase executives did eventually approach Musk about a potential agreement to make the bank a primary lander to Tesla buyers, but by this time, the CEO reportedly declined.  

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to tips@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025

Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.

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Credit: Tesla Asia/X

The refreshed Tesla Model 3 has won the DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year 2025 award in the Passenger Car category, beating all traditional and electric rivals. 

Judges praised the all-electric sedan’s driving dynamics, value-packed EV tech, and the game-changing addition of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) that went live in New Zealand this September.

Why the Model 3 clinched the crown

DRIVEN admitted they were late to the “Highland” party because the updated sedan arrived in New Zealand as a 2024 model, just before the new Model Y stole the headlines. Yet two things forced a re-evaluation this year.

First, experiencing the new Model Y reminded testers how many big upgrades originated in the Model 3, such as the smoother ride, quieter cabin, ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and stalk-less minimalist interior. Second, and far more importantly, Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.

FSD changes everything for Kiwi buyers

The publication called the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version “good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money,” but highlighted that FSD elevates it into another league. “Make no mistake, despite the ‘Supervised’ bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it’s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios,” the review stated.

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At NZ$11,400, FSD is far from cheap, but Tesla also offers FSD (Supervised) on a $159 monthly subscription, making the tech accessible without the full upfront investment. That’s a game-changer, as it allows users to access the company’s most advanced system without forking over a huge amount of money.

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Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck

FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

It appears that the Tesla AI team burned the midnight oil, allowing them to release FSD V14.2.1 on Thanksgiving. The update has been reported by Tesla owners with AI4 vehicles, as well as Cybertruck owners. 

For the Tesla AI team, at least, it appears that work really does not stop.

FSD V14.2.1

Initial posts about FSD V14.2.1 were shared by Tesla owners on social media platform X. As per the Tesla owners, V14.2.1 appears to be a point update that’s designed to polish the features and capacities that have been available in FSD V14. A look at the release notes for FSD V14.2.1, however, shows that an extra line has been added. 

“Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”

Whether this could lead to more drivers being alerted to pay attention to the roads more remains to be seen. This would likely become evident as soon as the first batch of videos from Tesla owners who received V14.21 start sharing their first drive impressions of the update. Despite the update being released on Thanksgiving, it would not be surprising if first impressions videos of FSD V14.2.1 are shared today, just the same.

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Rapid FSD releases

What is rather interesting and impressive is the fact that FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out. This bodes well for Tesla’s FSD users, especially since CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that the V14.2 series will be for “widespread use.” 

FSD V14 has so far received numerous positive reviews from Tesla owners, with numerous drivers noting that the system now drives better than most human drivers because it is cautious, confident, and considerate at the same time. The only question now, really, is if the V14.2 series does make it to the company’s wide FSD fleet, which is still populated by numerous HW3 vehicles. 

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Waymo rider data hints that Tesla’s Cybercab strategy might be the smartest, after all

These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.

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Credit: wudapig/Reddit

Toyota Connected Europe designer Karim Dia Toubajie has highlighted a particular trend that became evident in Waymo’s Q3 2025 occupancy stats. As it turned out, 90% of the trips taken by the driverless taxis carried two or fewer passengers. 

These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.

Toyota designer observes a trend

Karim Dia Toubajie, Lead Product Designer (Sustainable Mobility) at Toyota Connected Europe, analyzed Waymo’s latest California Public Utilities Commission filings and posted the results on LinkedIn this week.

“90% of robotaxi trips have 2 or less passengers, so why are we using 5-seater vehicles?” Toubajie asked. He continued: “90% of trips have 2 or less people, 75% of trips have 1 or less people.” He accompanied his comments with a graphic showing Waymo’s occupancy rates, which showed 71% of trips having one passenger, 15% of trips having two passengers, 6% of trips having three passengers, 5% of trips having zero passengers, and only 3% of trips having four passengers.

The data excludes operational trips like depot runs or charging, though Toubajie pointed out that most of the time, Waymo’s massive self-driving taxis are really just transporting 1 or 2 people, at times even no passengers at all. “This means that most of the time, the vehicle being used significantly outweighs the needs of the trip,” the Toyota designer wrote in his post.

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Cybercab suddenly looks perfectly sized

Toubajie gave a nod to Tesla’s approach. “The Tesla Cybercab announced in 2024, is a 2-seater robotaxi with a 50kWh battery but I still believe this is on the larger side of what’s required for most trips,” he wrote.

With Waymo’s own numbers now proving 90% of demand fits two seats or fewer, the wheel-less, lidar-free Cybercab now looks like the smartest play in the room. The Cybercab is designed to be easy to produce, with CEO Elon Musk commenting that its product line would resemble a consumer electronics factory more than an automotive plant. This means that the Cybercab could saturate the roads quickly once it is deployed.

While the Cybercab will likely take the lion’s share of Tesla’s ride-hailing passengers, the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover would be perfect for the remaining  9% of riders who require larger vehicles. This should be easy to implement for Tesla, as the Model Y and Model 3 are both mass-market vehicles. 

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