News
Tesla Giga Berlin update: cranes, excavation, foundation work, internet, and more
Construction crews at Tesla’s Giga Berlin property in Brandenburg, Germany, are moving swiftly and efficiently to complete the large-scale project by its target completion date. An update of the Giga Berlin site courtesy of @gigafactory_4 on Twitter shows a variety of new tasks underway. These include new excavation, the buildout of new foundations and a fourth crane, as well as internet access.
New photographs were taken on June 22, showing the updates on the property that Tesla officially purchased in January. Overall, Gigafactory Berlin appears to be ramping nicely as Tesla plans to begin producing the Model Y crossover in July 2021.
A Fourth Tower Crane Appears Along with New Excavation Projects
A fourth tower crane has been spotted on the site, which will be used to efficiently lift and move heavy materials while maintaining a small footprint on the site. Tower cranes take up very little room and can move sizable objects quickly.
A new excavation project has also appeared on the site at the forefront of the photo below. Tesla’s contracted crews finished the general excavation of the facility in late March and early April.
- Credit: Twitter | Gigafactory_4
- Credit: Twitter | Gigafactory_4
New Gravel Roads for Construction Vehicles
New gravel roads appeared on the area as well, hinting that projects across the entire property will commence soon. Initially, there was only one gravel road that allowed vehicles to gain access to Giga Berlin. Still, more are being put in every week to enable heavy vehicles to navigate across the site efficiently.
- Credit: Twitter | Gigafactory_4
- Credit: Twitter | Gigafactory_4
New Foundational Work
There are a series of new foundations set where a portion of the main facility will stand. In late May, Tesla received preliminary approval to begin foundation work from the German government, with the first portions being installed in early June. Load tests were performed in mid-May to determine the strength of the grounds. Several front loaders are currently working on this portion of the site, moving dirt and digging holes where the foundations are going to be installed.
- Credit: Twitter | Gigafactory_4
- Credit: Twitter | Gigafactory_4
Internet access for containers
Satellite dishes were spotted on top of the construction containers where supervisors and project managers will oversee the entire project. This addition could expedite communication between project managers and Tesla or could allow engineers to efficiently design parts of the future facility. Either way, it is an advantage to have internet access in the vicinity of the property for a variety of reasons.

Tesla plans to begin building 500,000 vehicles annually at Giga Berlin starting next year. The Model Y will be first on the list, and the company also plans to build a world-class paint facility at the site, which is expected to completely abolish the company’s issues with build quality. Elon Musk has said that paint is a weakness of Tesla, but Giga Berlin will be the first step in improving the color quality of its vehicles.
News
Tesla to improve one of its best features, coding shows
According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.
Tesla is looking to upgrade its Matrix Headlights, a unique and high-tech feature that is available on several of its vehicles. The headlights aim to maximize visibility for Tesla drivers while being considerate of oncoming traffic.
The Matrix Headlights Tesla offers utilize dimming of individual light pixels to ensure that visibility stays high for those behind the wheel, while also being considerate of other cars by decreasing the brightness in areas where other cars are traveling.
Here’s what they look like in action:
- Credit: u/ObjectiveScratch | Reddit
- Credit: u/ObjectiveScratch | Reddit
As you can see, the Matrix headlight system intentionally dims the area where oncoming cars would be impacted by high beams. This keeps visibility at a maximum for everyone on the road, including those who could be hit with bright lights in their eyes.
There are still a handful of complaints from owners, however, but Tesla appears to be looking to resolve these with the coming updates in a Software Version that is currently labeled 2026.2.xxx. The coding was spotted by X user BERKANT:
🚨 Tesla is quietly upgrading Matrix headlights.
Software https://t.co/pXEklQiXSq reveals a hidden feature:
matrix_two_stage_reflection_dip
This is a major step beyond current adaptive high beams.
What it means:
• The car detects highly reflective objects
Road signs,… pic.twitter.com/m5UpQJFA2n— BERKANT (@Tesla_NL_TR) February 24, 2026
According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.
Finally, the new system will prevent the high beams from glaring back at the driver. The system is made to dim when it recognizes oncoming cars, but not necessarily objects that could produce glaring issues back at the driver.
Tesla’s revolutionary Matrix headlights are coming to the U.S.
This upgrade is software-focused, so there will not need to be any physical changes or upgrades made to Tesla vehicles that utilize the Matrix headlights currently.
Elon Musk
xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to allow Grok to be used in classified military systems.
Previously, Anthropic’s Claude had been the only AI system approved for the most sensitive military work, but a dispute over usage safeguards has reportedly prompted the Pentagon to broaden its options, as noted in a report from Axios.
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
The publication reported that xAI agreed to the Pentagon’s requirement that its technology be usable for “all lawful purposes,” a standard Anthropic has reportedly resisted due to alleged ethical restrictions tied to mass surveillance and autonomous weapons use.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in what sources expect to be a tense meeting, with the publication hinting that the Pentagon could designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” if the company does not lift its safeguards.
Axios stated that replacing Claude fully might be technically challenging even if xAI or other alternative AI systems take its place. That being said, other AI systems are already in use by the DoD.
Grok already operates in the Pentagon’s unclassified systems alongside Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google is reportedly close to an agreement that will result in Gemini being used for classified use, while OpenAI’s progress toward classified deployment is described as slower but still feasible.
The publication noted that the Pentagon continues talks with several AI companies as it prepares for potential changes in classified AI sourcing.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk denies Starlink’s price cuts are due to Amazon Kuiper
“This has nothing to do with Kuiper, we’re just trying to make Starlink more affordable to a broader audience,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
Elon Musk has pushed back on claims that Starlink’s recent price reductions are tied to Amazon’s Kuiper project.
In a post on X, Musk responded directly to a report suggesting that Starlink was cutting prices and offering free hardware to partners ahead of a planned IPO and increased competition from Kuiper.
“This has nothing to do with Kuiper, we’re just trying to make Starlink more affordable to a broader audience,” Musk wrote in a post on X. “The lower the cost, the more Starlink can be used by people who don’t have much money, especially in the developing world.”
The speculation originated from a post summarizing a report from The Information, which ran with the headline “SpaceX’s Starlink Makes Land Grab as Amazon Threat Looms.” The report stated that SpaceX is aggressively cutting prices and giving free hardware to distribution partners, which was interpreted as a reaction to Amazon’s Kuiper’s upcoming rollout and possible IPO.
In a way, Musk’s comments could be quite accurate considering Starlink’s current scale. The constellation currently has more than 9,700 satellites in operation today, making it by far the largest satellite broadband network in operation. It has also managed to grow its user base to 10 million active customers across more than 150 countries worldwide.
Amazon’s Kuiper, by comparison, has launched approximately 211 satellites to date, as per data from SatelliteMap.Space, some of which were launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Starlink surpassed that number in early January 2020, during the early buildout of its first-generation network.
Lower pricing also aligns with Starlink’s broader expansion strategy. SpaceX continues to deploy satellites at a rapid pace using Falcon 9, and future launches aboard Starship are expected to significantly accelerate the constellation’s growth. A larger network improves capacity and global coverage, which can support a broader customer base.
In that context, price reductions can be viewed as a way to match expanding supply with growing demand. Musk’s companies have historically used aggressive pricing strategies to drive adoption at scale, particularly when vertical integration allows costs to decline over time.







