One of the most memorable moments in the documentary Revenge of the Electric Car involved then-Jalopnik Editor-in-Chief Ray Wert bluntly dismissing the Tesla Model S as “vaporware.” During the sequence, it was very evident that the idea of Tesla pulling off a vehicle like the Model S seemed to be so farfetched for Wert, that refused to consider the possibility of the car being real.
That scene, in a lot of ways, is symbolic of Tesla’s journey as a whole. For every step that the company took over the years, Tesla has faced countless criticisms and doubt. Yet today, with the company producing its one-millionth electric vehicle, it is becoming more and more evident that critics and naysayers, both to Elon Musk and Tesla as a whole, are steadily losing the narrative. There are now 1 million reasons proving that Tesla is a thriving company, after all, and the number grows by the day.
Elon Musk has stated that starting an electric car company is idiocy squared, mainly due to the sheer amount of work required to thrive in the automotive industry. Couple that with the fact that Musk took over as Tesla’s CEO right in the midst of the US financial crisis, and one could see just how dire the situation was for the electric car maker during its early days. It was dire enough, for one, that its circumstances inspired an actual Tesla Death Watch series from The Truth About Cars, which eventually abandoned the initiative after it became evident that the electric car maker wasn’t going anywhere.
In a way, Tesla attracts a lot of critics because the company and its CEO dreams big without hesitation. With the Model S, Tesla wanted to prove that electric cars could be better than petrol-powered vehicles, period. With the Model 3, the company wanted to show that EVs can be mainstream. These are lofty goals, and they are very difficult to accomplish. It is then no surprise to see why there is so much opposition to the electric car maker. Some of these opposition comes in the form of short-sellers, who are financially incentivized to push TSLA stock down. A look at social media shows a glimpse of just how cruel and tasteless the company’s critics could become.
Yet despite the unwavering ad hominem attacks against Elon Musk, the physical intimidation of company employees testing Autopilot software, and the downright disturbing practice of doxxing Tesla supporters online, the electric car maker has stubbornly refused to stay down. It has fought every day since the days of the original Roadster, and it continues to do so until today, with the production ramp and impending deliveries of the Model Y. And based on the company’s perception, it will likely continue fighting every day for decades to come.
This is one of the reasons why the Tesla story is so compelling. It is difficult to not root for a company that took years to produce its first electric car and is now on track to manufacture about 500,000 vehicles in one year. Tesla, after all, dug deep to produce 20,000 vehicles in 2013, and just last year, the company closed 2019 with just over 410,000 vehicles manufactured. That’s a remarkable growth story, and it doesn’t even include the massive arm that is Tesla Energy, which is now seeing a ramp of its own.
It is not difficult to see why Tesla attracts such passionate support and anger at the same time. The company is different, its mission is ambitious, its CEO is a brazen dreamer, and it does not function like a traditional carmaker. But for Tesla supporters, the company is something that symbolizes something far more. The company represents some degree of optimism, and that is something that is pretty rare these days. Elon Musk and Tesla will likely be polarizing for years to come, but the company has 1 million reasons and counting that prove its naysayers wrong.
Here’s to the next million, and many more to come.
Tesla launched the all-electric, steering wheel-less, and pedal-less Cybercab last night at a quiet and small event in downtown Austin, Texas.
The launch, which marked the beginning of unsupervised ride-hailing for Tesla’s Robotaxi platform with Cybercab, has already caught the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) who has more questions.
NHTSA opened an Audit Query (AQ) into the Cybercab’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) certification that Tesla gave the vehicle. Manufacturers self-certify vehicles much of the time to avoid excessive regulatory delays.
Tesla Cybercab interior, note the lack of steering wheel and pedals. (Credit: @niccruzpatane/X< /a>)
However, the agency needs more information; it said in a summary:
“On September 3, 2026, Tesla began commercial deployment with a small number of its Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas. Tesla notified the Agency that it certified those Cybercab vehicles as compliant with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Tesla also notified the Agency that it plans to gradually expand commercial deployment of the Cybercab to include additional vehicles and locations.”
It also went on to state that the Cybercab lacks traditional automotive controls, which is a groundbreaking move. The process is entirely new to the NHTSA, which gives the agency some leverage to put Tesla’s launch under a microscope:
“The vehicles lack permanently attached, conventional manual controls, such as a brake pedal, gas pedal, steering wheel, and mirrors. NHTSA is opening this AQ to examine the process and technical data on which Tesla relied when certifying the Cybercab and related issues. Among other things, NHTSA will consider the extent to which Tesla’s certification depended on determinations that certain FMVSS are inapplicable to the Cybercab.”
Tesla has added 45 Cybercab units to its fleet of Robotaxi-enabled cars in Austin, according to public documents the company submitted to the State of Texas over the past week. Enabling this level of self-driving is something Tesla has worked toward for many years, and now that it is finally here, it seems more than reasonable that regulatory agencies will have some questions.
Many outlets might try to frame this as a negative, but it is truly an agency looking to gain more information about groundbreaking tech that Tesla has been developing for years.
In an effort to keep riders, pedestrians, and property safe, any and all data accumulated from these first days, weeks, and months of rides will likely be shared with the NHTSA to enable broader rollout strategies across the United States and more in the future.
Featured
Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins
Tesla Asia says Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai this month.
Tesla’s Cybercab is heading to Asia. The official Tesla Asia account posted on X Thursday, inviting Cybercab fans to “Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai.” The post went up within hours of Tesla’s own Cybercab milestone in Texas, where the company said Thursday it had begun offering rides in across Austin.
Exact dates and venues for the Asia tour haven’t been released yet, though Tesla Hong Kong replied to the announcement with “Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong soon,” while Tesla Japan’s response pointed fans to a sign up page for updates. Neither post mentions test rides or a service area, and nothing so far suggests Tesla is launching Robotaxi operations in any of the four cities. Based on how Tesla has run past Cybercab tours, in Europe in late 2024 and at US shopping centers that same December, the Asia stops are almost certainly static displays at Tesla stores or public venues as a means to stimulate buzz for its future driverless ride-hailing service in the big cities.
Cybercab will be on display in Asia this month!
Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai. pic.twitter.com/wGmmEastfX— Tesla Asia (@Tesla_Asia) September 4, 2026
The timing lines up with Tesla’s only prior Cybercab appearance in the region, a booth at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai last November, which Teslarati covered at the time. At that event, Tesla’s regional general manager for Shanghai framed the car as evidence of the company’s broader mission, a message Tesla has since formalized in its Master Plan Part IV, which states that “autonomous vehicles have the capacity to dramatically improve the affordability, availability and safety of transportation while reducing pollution, particularly in our increasingly dense global cities.” The same document is where Tesla lays out its “sustainable abundance” framing for Cybercab and Optimus alike, describing the two as the hardware behind an AI driven push to cut the cost of transportation and labor at scale.
Whether Cybercab actually operates as a robotaxi anywhere in Asia remains an open question, considering China has already pushed an autonomous ride-hailing market that’s run on homegrown players like Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony AI. For now, the four city tour reads as a marketing push timed to Austin’s momentum.
Lifestyle
Tesla Cybertruck targets job site crews with new Tailgate Utility Track and Bed Gear Box accessory
Tesla launched a $350 tailgate track and a $985 lockable Bed Gear Box for Cybertruck.
Tesla’s Cybertruck team added two more items to the Tesla Shop, targeting job site crews and owners who use the truck bed for actual work rather than just showing it off. The official Cybertruck X account posted the Tailgate Utility Track and the Bed Gear Box within minutes of each other, part of a five item batch that also included a reflective jacket, a spray paint hat and an updated reflective tee.
The Tailgate Utility Track runs $350 and turns the folded down tailgate into another mounting surface. It’s a single aluminum track with a T-slot for sliding accessories and two L-track attachment points, plus two load stops included in the box. The pitch is straightforward: strap down oversized cargo, like lumber or a cooler, that hangs off the back of the bed without it sliding out mid-drive. It bolts onto the existing tailgate and works on every Cybertruck trim.
Tailgate Utility Trackhttps://t.co/PCAYXlFBvS pic.twitter.com/sCV2NVxf1W
— Cybertruck (@cybertruck) September 3, 2026
The Bed Gear Box costs $985 and is a different kind of accessory. It’s a lockable aluminum storage box, 55.78 inches long, 19.8 inches wide and 7.79 inches tall, that mounts to the bed’s L-track rails and comes with two internal bins for smaller items. According to Tesla, at just over 57 pounds empty, it’s meant to stay in place rather than come in and out with each trip, giving owners a factory-fit alternative to loose totes for tools, recovery gear or emergency supplies. Tesla’s listing notes that Long Range and Dual Motor AWD Cybertrucks need the L-Tracks accessory installed separately before the Gear Box will mount, since L-tracks come standard only on certain configurations.
Tesla Cybertruck bed gear box accessory
Both accessories lean on the idea Tesla has been building toward since Elon Musk first described the Cybertruck’s third-party attachment strategy at the 2023 shareholder meeting, when he said the truck would ship with mounting points so outside companies, and Tesla itself, could keep adding gear without redesigning the bed. That’s the same L-track backbone underneath the tailgate shield and jumpseats Tesla launched last year, and the off-road armor package that arrived through the same X account in 2025.
Owners looking to round out the rest of the L-track ecosystem, cargo dividers, MOLLE panels, bed racks and similar gear, can find a wider range of options through our Cybertruck accessories collection.
Tesla Cybercab launch catches NHTSA’s attention who wants to know more
Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins
