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Tesla’s first-ever Semi ‘Megacharger’ to be installed at Frito-Lay’s Modesto plant

(Credit: Joseph Mathew via Jeff Nisewanger)

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Tesla’s first-ever ‘Megacharger’ for the all-electric Semi will be installed at Frito-Lay’s Modesto, California plant, according to documents.

After being unveiled in November 2017, Tesla received hundreds of pre-orders for the Semi, its first all-electric commercial vehicle. Frito-Lay was one of the first, as its parent company, PepsiCo, reserved 100 Tesla Semis on December 12th, 2017.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Frito-Lay would be receiving 15 Tesla Semis before the end of 2021. It was a massive announcement because Tesla has delayed the Semi project on several occasions due to battery constraints. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced last year to company employees in a leaked email that it was time to begin “volume production” of the Semi. However, nothing really ever came of it because the demand for Tesla’s passenger vehicles was through the roof. Instead, the automaker chose to focus on ramping up the production of the Model 3 and Model Y and expanding its production footprint to Europe and Texas.

Now, documents reveal that Frito-Lay is planning for the imminent delivery of the Tesla Semi units. @MarcoRPTesla uncovered several planning documents that indicate Frito-Lay will install the first-ever Tesla Semi Megacharger at its Modesto, California, plant. According to the documents, Frito-Lay is also plotting out some space for designated parking areas for the Tesla Semi.

It was first reported on Saturday, May 22nd, by DriveTeslaCanada that Frito-Lay would be installing the first Megacharger on-site at the Modesto facility.

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The Megacharger was first announced at the Semi’s unveiling event in late 2017. Musk said that Tesla would implement a worldwide network of Megachargers that would be solar-powered and would provide 400 miles of range in only 30 minutes of charging. This would be accomplished due to an output of over one megawatt. Due to the excessive output of energy, Tesla also filed a patent in late 2019 for a liquid-cooled charging connector, similar to those used in Tesla’s V3 Superchargers.

Tesla confirmed during the Q1 2021 Earnings Call that Semi production would begin later this year. After announcing that production would begin in late 2020, Tesla pushed back the anticipated start dates of production due to battery worries. “Demand is no problem, but near-term cell supply makes it hard to scale Semi,” Musk said in March 2021. “This limitation will be less onerous next year.”

The CEO also commented on the demand during the Q3 2020 Earnings Call, where he said:

“We need to solve the cell constraint before ramping Semi to significant volume. That’s the only real constraint on Semi’s progress.”

Because of the looming installation of the first-ever Megacharger, it appears that the Tesla Semi will make its way to Frito-Lay as expected later this year.

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What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, or be sure to email me at joey@teslarati.com or on Twitter @KlenderJoey.

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 Insurance officially expands to new U.S. state

Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.

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Credit: Tesla Insurance

Tesla Insurance has officially expanded to a new U.S. state, its thirteenth since its launch in 2019.

Tesla has confirmed that its in-house Insurance program has officially made its way to Florida, just two months after the company filed to update its Private Passenger Auto program in the state. It had tried to offer its insurance program to drivers in the state back in 2022, but its launch did not happen.

Instead, Tesla refiled the paperwork back in mid-October, which essentially was the move toward initiating the offering this month.

Tesla’s in-house Insurance program first launched back in late 2019, offering a new way to insure the vehicles that was potentially less expensive and could alleviate a lot of the issues people had with claims, as the company could assess and repair the damage itself.

It has expanded to new states since 2019, but Florida presents a particularly interesting challenge for Tesla, as the company’s entry into the state is particularly noteworthy given its unique insurance landscape, characterized by high premiums due to frequent natural disasters, dense traffic, and a no-fault system.

Tesla partners with Lemonade for new insurance program

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Annual average premiums for Florida drivers hover around $4,000 per year, well above the national average. Tesla’s insurance program could disrupt this, especially for EV enthusiasts. The state’s growing EV adoption, fueled by incentives and infrastructure development, aligns perfectly with Tesla’s ecosystem.

Moreover, there are more ways to have cars repaired, and features like comprehensive coverage for battery damage and roadside assistance tailored to EVs address those common painpoints that owners have.

However, there are some challenges that still remain. Florida’s susceptibility to hurricanes raises questions about how Tesla will handle claims during disasters.

Looking ahead, Tesla’s expansion of its insurance program signals the company’s ambition to continue vertically integrating its services, including coverage of its vehicles. Reducing dependency on third-party insurers only makes things simpler for the company’s automotive division, as well as for its customers.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving gets sparkling review from South Korean politician

“Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasn’t as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about.”

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Credit: Soyoung Lee | X

Tesla Full Self-Driving got its first sparkling review from South Korean politician Lee So-young, a member of the country’s National Assembly, earlier this week.

Lee is a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee in South Korea and is a proponent of sustainable technologies and their applications in both residential and commercial settings. For the first time, Lee was able to utilize Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology as it launched in the country in late November.

Her thoughts on the suite were complimentary to the suite, stating that “it drives just as well as most people do,” and that “it already feels like a completed technology.”

Her translated post says:

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“Finally, today I got to experience Tesla FSD in Seoul. Thanks to the Model S sponsored by JiDal Papa^^, I’m truly grateful to Papa. The route was from the National Assembly -> Mangwon Market -> Hongik University -> back to the National Assembly. Having already ridden in an unmanned robotaxi, the novelty wasn’t as strong for me, but it drives just as well as most people do. It already feels like a completed technology, which gives me a lot to think about. Once it actually spreads into widespread use, I feel like our daily lives are going to change a lot. Even I, with my license gathering dust in a drawer, don’t see much reason to learn to drive a manual anymore.”

Tesla Full Self-Driving officially landed in South Korea in late November, with the initial launch being one of Tesla’s most recent, v14.1.4.

It marked the seventh country in which Tesla was able to enable the driver assistance suite, following the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand.

It is important to see politicians and figures in power try new technologies, especially ones that are widely popular in other regions of the world and could potentially revolutionize how people travel globally.

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Tesla dispels reports of ‘sales suspension’ in California

“This was a “consumer protection” order about the use of the term “Autopilot” in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.

Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has dispelled reports that it is facing a thirty-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued a penalty to the company after a judge ruled it “misled consumers about its driver-assistance technology.”

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the California DMV was planning to adopt the penalty but decided to put it on ice for ninety days, giving Tesla an opportunity to “come into compliance.”

Tesla enters interesting situation with Full Self-Driving in California

Tesla responded to the report on Tuesday evening, after it came out, stating that this was a “consumer protection” order that was brought up over its use of the term “Autopilot.”

The company said “not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem,” yet a judge and the DMV determined it was, so they want to apply the penalty if Tesla doesn’t oblige.

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However, Tesla said that its sales operations in California “will continue uninterrupted.”

It confirmed this in an X post on Tuesday night:

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The report and the decision by the DMV and Judge involved sparked outrage from the Tesla community, who stated that it should do its best to get out of California.

One X post said California “didn’t deserve” what Tesla had done for it in terms of employment, engineering, and innovation.

Tesla has used Autopilot and Full Self-Driving for years, but it did add the term “(Supervised)” to the end of the FSD suite earlier this year, potentially aiming to protect itself from instances like this one.

This is the first primary dispute over the terminology of Full Self-Driving, but it has undergone some scrutiny at the federal level, as some government officials have claimed the suite has “deceptive” naming. Previous Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was vocally critical of the use of the name “Full Self-Driving,” as well as “Autopilot.”

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