Tesla emerged as one of the most recognized automakers at MotorTrend’s 2026 Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) Innovator Awards.

As could be seen in a press release from the publication, two key Tesla employees were honored for their work on AI, autonomy, and vehicle software. MotorTrend’s SDV Awards were presented during CES 2026 in Las Vegas.

Tesla leaders and engineers recognized

The fourth annual SDV Innovator Awards celebrate pioneers and experts who are pushing the automotive industry deeper into software-driven development. Among the most notable honorees for this year was Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Vice President of AI Software, who received a Pioneer Award for his role in advancing artificial intelligence and autonomy across the company’s vehicle lineup.

Tesla also secured recognition in the Expert category, with Lawson Fulton, a staff Autopilot machine learning engineer, honored for his contributions to Tesla’s driver-assistance and autonomous systems.

Tesla’s software-first strategy

While automakers like General Motors, Ford, and Rivian also received recognition, Tesla’s multiple awards stood out given the company’s outsized role in popularizing software-defined vehicles over the past decade. From frequent OTA updates to its data-driven approach to autonomy, Tesla has consistently treated vehicles as evolving software platforms rather than static products.

This has made Tesla’s vehicles very unique in their respective sectors, as they are arguably the only cars that objectively get better over time. This is especially true for vehicles that are loaded with the company’s Full Self-Driving system, which are getting progressively more intelligent and autonomous over time. The majority of Tesla’s updates to its vehicles are free as well, which is very much appreciated by customers worldwide.

Tesla China has reached another manufacturing milestone at Gigafactory Shanghai, rolling out the facility’s 5 millionth locally produced drive unit. 

The milestone was celebrated by the company in a post on its official Weibo account. In its post, the Giga Shanghai team could be seen posing with the 5 millionth drive unit.

Giga Shanghai’s major benchmark

The milestone drive unit was produced at Gigafactory Shanghai, which produces the Model Y and the Model 3. In a release, Tesla China noted that its three-in-one integrated electric drive system combines the motor, gearbox, and inverter into a single compact assembly. This forms a powerful “heart” for the company’s electric cars.

Tesla China also noted that its drive units’ integrated design improves energy conversion efficiency while reducing overall weight and complexity, benefits that translate into stronger performance, improved handling, and longer service life for its vehicles.

The new milestone builds on earlier achievements at the same site. In July 2024, Tesla announced that its 10 millionth electric drive system globally had rolled off the line at the Shanghai plant, making it the first self-produced Tesla component to reach that volume. 

More recently, the factory also produced its 4 millionth China-made vehicle, a Model Y L. The factory has also continued hitting global production milestones, rolling out Tesla’s 9 millionth EV worldwide late last year, with the landmark vehicle being a Tesla Model Y.

Tesla China’s role

Construction of Giga Shanghai began in January 2019, with production starting by the end of that year. This made it the first wholly foreign-owned automotive manufacturing project in China. The facility began delivering Model 3 vehicles locally in early 2020 and added Model Y production in 2021. The plant is now capable of producing about 1 million vehicles annually.

Throughout 2025, Giga Shanghai delivered 851,732 vehicles, representing a 7.08% year-on-year decline, according to data compiled by CNEVPost. Even so, recent months showed renewed momentum. 

In December alone, Tesla China recorded wholesale sales of 97,171 vehicles, including domestic deliveries and exports, making it the company’s second-best monthly total on record, per data from the China Passenger Car Association. Retail sales during December reached roughly 94,000 units, up about 13% year over year.

Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) just got a price target boost from its biggest bear, Gordon Johnson of GLJ Research, who raised his expected trading level to one that is 95 percent lower than its current trading level.

Johnson pushed his Tesla price target from $19.05 to $25.28 on Wednesday, while maintaining the ‘Sell’ rating that has been present on the stock for a long time. GLJ has largely been recognized as the biggest skeptic of Elon Musk’s company, being particularly critical of the automotive side of things.

Tesla has routinely been called out by Johnson for negative delivery growth, what he calls “weakening demand,” and price cuts that have occurred in past years, all pointing to them as desperate measures to sell its cars.

Johnson has also said that Tesla is extremely overvalued and is too reliant on regulatory credits for profitability. Other analysts on the bullish side recognize Tesla as a company that is bigger than just its automotive side.

Many believe it is a leader in autonomous driving, like Dan Ives of Wedbush, who believes Tesla will have a widely successful 2026, especially if it can come through on its targets and schedules for Robotaxi and Cybercab.

Justifying the price target this week, Johnson said that the revised valuation is based on “reality rather than narrative.” Tesla has been noted by other analysts and financial experts as a stock that trades on narrative, something Johnson obviously disagrees with.

Dan Nathan, a notorious skeptic of the stock, turned bullish late last year, recognizing the company’s shares trade on “technicals and sentiment.” He said, “From a trading perspective, it looks very interesting.”

Tesla bear turns bullish for two reasons as stock continues boost

Johnson has remained very consistent with this sentiment regarding Tesla and his beliefs regarding its true valuation, and has never shied away from putting his true thoughts out there.

Tesla shares closed at $431.40 today, about 95 percent above where Johnson’s new price target lies.