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Tesla terminates employee and FSD Beta tester who shared drives on YouTube

Credit: AI Addict/YouTube

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A Tesla employee and FSD Beta tester has been terminated over what the company states is a conflict of interest. The employee in question, Jon Bernal, is also the owner of the AI Addict YouTube channel, which features both casual and stress tests of Full Self-Driving Beta in real-world situations. 

Over the past year, Bernal shared numerous videos of FSD Beta in action, and being one of the system’s users who typically pushes the advanced driver-assist system to its limits, some of his videos featured flaws and shortcomings in Full Self-Driving Beta’s capabilities. This included a rather dramatic video of FSD Beta 9 in downtown San Francisco, which featured several mistakes in the system’s maneuvers, as well as an actual accident involving FSD Beta 10.10 in downtown San Jose, which featured Bernal’s Model 3 hitting a traffic bollard

Following his termination from the company, Tesla opted to cut off Bernal’s access to FSD Beta. This, according to the former employee, was despite the fact that he has not encountered any safety strikes while using the system. Bernal’s 2021 Tesla Model 3 is still equipped with the company’s Full Self-Driving suite, however, which was given to him as a free perk when he purchased the vehicle as an employee. Tesla’s FSD suite is currently offered as a $12,000 option, though it was priced at $8,000 when Bernal took delivery of his Model 3 in December 2020. 

Bernal started his employment at Tesla in August 2020, working as a data annotation specialist in an office in San Mateo, California. As per records shared by the former employee to CNBC, he was later moved into the role of advanced driver assistance systems test operator. He was terminated from the company on the second week of February 2022. Prior to his dismissal, Bernal stated that managers verbally informed him that he “broke Tesla policy” and that his AI Addict YouTube channel was a “conflict of interest.” 

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While Bernal did previously admit in the comments section of one of his YouTube videos that he was a Tesla employee, the AI Addict channel does not prominently indicate or disclose that its host works for the EV maker. That being said, Bernal maintains that he has been transparent about his YouTube channel, even with his colleagues at Tesla. He also maintains that he has never disclosed anything in his videos that the company has not rolled out to the public. 

“The FSD Beta releases I was demonstrating were end-user consumer products,” the former Tesla employee said. 

While he cannot use his personal Model 3 for FSD Beta videos today, the former employee noted that he has attained access to other Teslas with FSD Beta. As such, Bernal noted that he should be able to continue his independent research and reviews. One such video has already been uploaded on the AI Addict YouTube channel, where Bernal briefly discussed his departure from Tesla before taking FSD Beta in his typical stress tests. 

Despite his experiences with the EV maker, Bernal has noted that he still cares a lot about the company and what it is attempting to accomplish with products like Autopilot and FSD Beta. “I still care about Tesla, vehicle safety, and finding and fixing bugs,” he said. 

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Bernal’s latest video, which includes his thoughts on his departure from Tesla, could be viewed below.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@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 reveals first vehicle model to receive Starlink integration

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Tesla has evidently revealed which of its vehicle models will be the first to receive Starlink integration: the Cybercab.

Tesla’s Santana Row showroom now has a full-fledged display of the Cybercab, with an extensive bit of information hung around an exhibit that seems to reveal the vehicle’s newest feature: an integrated Starlink antenna that will enable secure and reliable internet access during trips.

Credit: @Starscream_SJC | X

Cybercab is geared toward autonomous ride-hailing for one or two passengers. The production units rolling off the lines at Gigafactory Texas are built without steering wheels or pedals, meaning when public rides begin, passengers will not need to interact with a human being or control the vehicle in any way outside of what appears on the center screen for their entertainment during the ride.

Along the display, Tesla wrote this message about Cybercab:

“Cybercab is built for autonomy. It has no steering wheel, no side mirrors, and no pedals. It goes where you tell it to go and how you want it to, so you can relax along the way. It is hyper aware and responsive to your surroundings, monitoring other drivers, responding to emergency vehicles, utilizing its expertise in the rarest scenarios to help keep you safe.”

Tesla has been teasing a potential Starlink integration for quite some time now. In December, the company hinted at potential Starlink internet terminal integration within its vehicles in a patent that described a vehicle roof assembly with integrated radio frequency (RF) transparency.

Tesla hints at Starlink integration with recent patent

The company wrote in its patent application that a new roof design built with materials that differ from the standard metallic or glass elements used in today’s cars would allow it to integrate modern vehicular technologies, in particular, ones that require radio frequency transmission and reception.

Tesla suggested high-strength polymer blends, like Polycarbonate, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, or Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate.

This is the first time we’ve seen Tesla officially confirm the Starlink integration into the Cybercab. It’s not much of a surprise considering the company’s intention behind the Cybercab, which is to make travel autonomous.

Productivity will now be at a maximum during a work-related commute, while the center screen could be utilized for Netflix or potentially even live TV for those who are heading to dinner or to a fun activity.

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SpaceX adjusts Starship Flight 13 test launch target date once again

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has updated its target for the thirteenth integrated flight test of Starship, aiming for as early as Thursday, July 23. The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. CT from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas.

The target flight was initially rescheduled for today, but SpaceX pushed it back again.

This latest adjustment follows an aborted attempt earlier in the week and reflects the iterative, rapid-development approach that has defined the Starship program. With the vehicle already stacked and ground teams making final preparations, the mission represents another step toward proving the full reusability of the world’s most powerful rocket system.

The original launch attempt on July 16 was scrubbed at T-0 when several Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster failed to ignite properly. The automatic abort system triggered just as the engines began their startup sequence, preventing liftoff.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed that some engines did not start as expected, prompting the decision to replace two Raptors on Booster 20 to ensure reliability. The issue occurred despite a successful full-duration static fire earlier, highlighting the complexities of coordinating 33 engines under flight conditions.

This cautious approach underscores SpaceX’s commitment to safety amid an aggressive test cadence.

SpaceX comes with a slew of changes for Starship Flight 13

Flight 13 builds directly on the lessons from Flight 12 in May 2026. The Super Heavy booster’s primary goals include a successful liftoff, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and controlled splashdown in the Gulf of America.

Hardware and software modifications address the off-nominal flip and boostback burn problems from the prior flight, where propellant slosh and engine relight issues led to an uncontrolled impact.

For the Starship upper stage, objectives include deploying 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites, the first real payload of this type, performing a single Raptor engine relight in space, and executing a controlled entry, descent, and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Propulsion upgrades aim to improve engine-out capability after one vacuum Raptor was lost on Flight 12.

Additional test elements focus on heat shield performance. Six satellites carry cameras to image the tiles during flight, while white-painted tiles and upgraded attachments on flaps and the aft skirt will gather data for future reusability.

The FAA completed its mishap investigation into Flight 12 earlier this month, clearing the regulatory path.

This suborbital mission, the second with V3 vehicles, advances Starship toward operational missions, including potential crewed flights and support for NASA’s Artemis program. Success would mark significant progress in rapid reusability and satellite deployment from the massive system.

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Elon Musk debunks $52 billion SpaceX-NVIDIA GPU deal

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Credit: SpaceX

Elon Musk dismissed reports claiming SpaceX had placed a massive order for NVIDIA GPUs worth $52 billion. The denial came hours after Taiwanese media, citing unnamed industry sources, reported that SpaceX planned to acquire approximately 13,000 AI server racks, equating to roughly 1 million GB300 GPUs, from Foxconn.

Each rack was estimated at around $4 million, with deliveries potentially starting in late 2025.

The story suggested this would mark SpaceX’s first major foray into Foxconn-manufactured NVIDIA hardware, breaking from suppliers like Supermicro and Dell. Musk responded bluntly on X:

Despite the denial, the rumored scale aligns with SpaceX’s explosive growth in AI infrastructure. NVIDIA’s GB300 (successor to the GB200 NVL) racks deliver unprecedented performance for large-scale training and inference. A $52 billion commitment would dwarf most corporate AI budgets and provide the compute muscle needed for frontier models.

SpaceX already operates gigawatt-scale terrestrial clusters like Colossus in Memphis, Tennessee, and has monetized them aggressively through leasing deals.

SpaceX’s newest Starmind will make earth data centers obsolete

Major customers include Anthropic (paying ~$1.25 billion monthly for 220,000+ GPUs), Google (~$920 million monthly for 110,000 GPUs), and Reflection AI. These arrangements are projected to generate tens of billions in annual revenue, far outpacing traditional SpaceX businesses.

Such an investment would fuel internal AI efforts, particularly Grok models under the integrated SpaceXAI division, while supporting ambitious orbital data center plans. SpaceX envisions launching thousands of AI-optimized satellites powered by solar energy and cooled in space, bypassing terrestrial power and land constraints.

This “Starmind” constellation could position the company as a leader in space-based computing.

SpaceX as an Emerging AI Powerhouse

Once primarily known for reusable rockets and Starlink satellite internet, SpaceX has transformed into a multifaceted AI player.

The 2026 acquisition of xAI integrated Grok development directly into the company. Starlink’s low-latency global network complements massive compute clusters, enabling efficient data flow for training and serving AI models.

Musk has long argued that AI scaling demands solutions beyond Earth, citing things like real estate and electricity limits on the ground.

While the Foxconn deal may not be in the cards, SpaceX’s trajectory is continuing on the path of blending aerospace engineering with hyperscale AI to dominate both launches and intelligence infrastructure.

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