Connect with us

News

Tesla formally drops NDAs with FSD Beta 10.2 rollout

Credit: Tesla Daily/YouTube

Published

on

The FSD Beta 10.2 rollout is here, and the gloves seem to be off. As noted by members of the FSD Beta group, Tesla has formally discontinued the program’s nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), just as stated by Elon Musk in his recent appearance at the 2021 Code Conference. 

Elon Musk confirmed the removal of NDAs for FSD Beta testers on Twitter. In a post responding to a longtime member of the FSD Beta test group, the CEO joked that the program’s NDAs would be available in perforated rolls. This all but confirmed that the FSD Beta program’s NDAs are gone, and they would likely not be coming back. 

The FSD Beta program’s NDA may seem like something that is standard, but it has caught the attention of critics nonetheless. Media outlet VICE published an expose of sorts into Tesla’s initial FSD Beta program, arguing that its nondisclosure agreement allowed the company to protect itself from critics. The publication further suggested that Tesla’s NDA encouraged FSD Beta testers to only share positive reviews of the advanced driver-assist system’s performance. 

Such a sentiment was not necessarily accurate, as videos of FSD Beta’s failures have littered video-sharing platforms like YouTube since the program began a year ago. Some of these videos exclusively show how FSD Beta still makes mistakes. Some even feature FSD Beta failures that seem to be largely caused by drivers not using the advanced driver-assist system correctly. These videos remain open for viewing today. 

That being said, Musk was asked about why Tesla required NDAs for its FSD Beta testers during his segment at the 2021 Code Conference. Musk’s response was direct, with the CEO stating that it would probably be better if the FSD Beta program had no NDA to begin with since most participants seem to be ignoring it anyway. “Yeah, I don’t know why there’s an NDA. We probably don’t need it. I feel like we’ll just be ignoring it anyway, so I don’t think it matters,” Musk said.

Advertisement

As it turned out, Musk was definitely not joking. Longtime and new FSD Beta testers who just received the 10.2 update have noted that no NDA could be seen in the company’s documentation for the program this time around. This is quite encouraging for Tesla’s FSD rollout as a whole, as it suggests that the company has reached a point where it is confident enough to release its driver-assist system to a new group of owners who could fully share their experiences with the world with practically very little restrictions. 

Watch a recent FSD Beta 10.2 drive in the video below.

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.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations

Published

on

tesla diner
Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.

The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:

On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.

Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.

Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand

Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings

Published

on

A red Tesla Roadster driving around a turn
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.

Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to BloombergShares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.

Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.

However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.

S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.

Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue

Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.

Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.

At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla door handle saga gets its latest chapter and a big change is coming

Published

on

Credit: Tesla | Model 3 Owner's Manual

Tesla’s long-standing saga regarding its door handles and a manual release has entered its latest chapter, and as a result, a big change is coming.

On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied Tesla’s petition that was seeking a defect investigation into roughly 180,000 Model 3 vehicles for an issue involving the emergency mechanical door release.

NHTSA said that Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect in the door handles or their emergency releases. Instead, the agency determined that it would rather solve the issue of the lack of labeling or location of emergency mechanical door releases and the federal safety rules that govern them.

Essentially, the NHTSA wants to create and enforce rules that would require automakers to make emergency door latch releases more clearly labeled in a car. Despite a Tesla having manual door releases on all four passenger doors, many people do not know they exist or how they work.

Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix

In recent times, Tesla has faced some criticism involving its door handles, specifically because some occupants have reported that they are unable to exit their vehicles after losing power. The door handles on a Tesla are electronically operated, but in the event that the 12V battery dies, there is a manual release that can be used.

The NHTSA only identified a single complaint involving the mechanical door releases: a 2022 Model 3 owner said the release was concealed and unlabeled after the vehicle lost power after a front-end collision. It has also already started to create a separate rulemaking process to make emergency door-egress systems more obvious.

It should be noted that all Teslas have mechanical emergency door releases, but they are placed in various locations as the vehicles have aged and been redesigned from year to year. Refer to the safety manual for your vehicle if you have any confusion about where the emergency releases are and how they work.

Continue Reading