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Tesla’s invite-only Giga Fest at Gigafactory Texas draws concerns from local citizens
Tesla’s Giga Fest at Gigafactory Texas, an invite-only event, drew a handful of concerns from local citizens over noise complaints from fireworks testing and concerns regarding a lack of public engagement from the automaker as it nears the official opening of the factory.
The April 7th event is now an invite-only event, according to a meeting with Travis County Commissioners Court members yesterday. Judge Andy Brown confirmed with another member of the court the event would be invite-only. “We’re currently working through that invite list, and the invites have not been sent out yet but they will be pretty soon,” the person said.
Previously, it was thought that Tesla would allow prospective attendees to apply for tickets, as it did with Giga Fest at Gigafactory Berlin. However, it seems Tesla will be handling all 15,000 invitations at its own discretion.
Yesterday was an opportunity for members of the public to come forward and voice concerns regarding the April 7th Giga Fest, which will be 30 percent inside the factory and 70 percent on the outdoor grounds, according to Travis County documents. While the court unanimously approved Tesla’s application, which was submitted in February by the automaker, one concern was brought forward by a man named Paul, who has worked on the Colorado River Conservancy Project for “almost a full year.” Paul stated he represented the Environmental Justice Organization based in East Austin.
Tesla Giga Fest at Giga Texas: Attendance figures, time, other details revealed
“It’s a small item, right,” Paul said. “The granting of a mass gathering permit so that Tesla can have a grand opening celebration. I don’t see it that way,” he said. “I see it as an opportunity for us and for you all to do two things.”
Paul, whose last name is DiFiore, according to Bloomberg, went on to detail the lack of community engagement on the project this far, and requested the Commissioner’s Court to “apply pressure on the company to please slow down.”
“Take this analogy: I just moved to a new neighborhood in Austin, and that is Commissioner [Brigid] Shea’s Precinct,” they said. “My partner and I made cookies and made notes and took it to our neighbors and they were reciprocated with thoughtful items and how to if I need tree trimming to let [neighbors] next door know, and we shake hands. What if I moved to the neighborhood and said nothing to anyone for two years? What if I spent every day doing landscaping work and tearing down trees and building stuff and throwing dust all over my neighbors’ houses, and how about re-routing my driveway and discharging polluted water into our neighborhood creek and blocking the street with massive trucks?”
Shea responded, stating Paul’s comments were appreciated, agreeing that Tesla should do more community outreach. “I do think that there is a need for more community outreach and communication and for the Tesla folks listening, I think that you have lots of opportunities to meet more with the community and really form a powerful partnership. So I would really encourage you to do that,” Shea said. “But I am not willing to turn down this permit for this big event they have planned for a while.”
Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer/YouTube
Shea also stated that emails from residents of the neighborhood adjacent to the site had complained about fireworks testing for the event. One resident, who lives in a house furthest away from the Gigafactory Texas facility, said they thought “a bomb went off, a plane went down, or something exploded.”
The Court said it would contact Tesla for more specific plans for fireworks to prepare for potential weather issues and fallout, which would protect residents from potential hazards. “If they were to do a firework show, there would have to be stand-by units and we’d coordinate with the Austin Fire Department in this situation.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla has added the 15th automaker to the growing list of companies whose EVs can utilize the Supercharger Network this year, as BMW is the latest company to gain access to the largest charging infrastructure in the world.
BMW became the 15th company in 2025 to gain Tesla Supercharger access, after the company confirmed to its EV owners that they could use any of the more than 25,000 Supercharging stalls in North America.
Welcome @BMW owners.
Download the Tesla app to charge → https://t.co/vnu0NHA7Ab
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) December 10, 2025
Newer BMW all-electric cars, like the i4, i5, i7, and iX, are able to utilize Tesla’s V3 and V4 Superchargers. These are the exact model years, via the BMW Blog:
- i4: 2022-2026 model years
- i5: 2024-2025 model years
- 2026 i5 (eDrive40 and xDrive40) after software update in Spring 2026
- i7: 2023-2026 model years
- iX: 2022-2025 model years
- 2026 iX (all versions) after software update in Spring 2026
With the expansion of the companies that gained access in 2025 to the Tesla Supercharger Network, a vast majority of non-Tesla EVs are able to use the charging stalls to gain range in their cars.
So far in 2025, Tesla has enabled Supercharger access to:
- Audi
- BMW
- Genesis
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Jaguar Land Rover
- Kia
- Lucid
- Mercedes-Benz
- Nissan
- Polestar
- Subaru
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
- Volvo
Drivers with BMW EVs who wish to charge at Tesla Superchargers must use an NACS-to-CCS1 adapter. In Q2 2026, BMW plans to release its official adapter, but there are third-party options available in the meantime.
They will also have to use the Tesla App to enable Supercharging access to determine rates and availability. It is a relatively seamless process.
News
Tesla adds new feature that will be great for crowded parking situations
This is the most recent iteration of the app and was priming owners for the slowly-released Holiday Update.
Tesla has added a new feature that will be great for crowded parking lots, congested parking garages, or other confusing times when you cannot seem to pinpoint where your car went.
Tesla has added a new Vehicle Locator feature to the Tesla App with App Update v4.51.5.
This is the most recent iteration of the app and was priming owners for the slowly-released Holiday Update.
While there are several new features, which we will reveal later in this article, perhaps one of the coolest is that of the Vehicle Locator, which will now point you in the direction of your car using a directional arrow on the home screen. This is similar to what Apple uses to find devices:
Interesting. The location arrow in the Tesla app now points to your car when you’re nearby. pic.twitter.com/b0yjmwwzxN
— Whole Mars Catalog (@wholemars) December 7, 2025
In real time, the arrow gives an accurate depiction of which direction you should walk in to find your car. This seems extremely helpful in large parking lots or unfamiliar shopping centers.
Getting to your car after a sporting event is an event all in itself; this feature will undoubtedly help with it:
The nice little touch that Tesla have put in the app – continuous tracking of your vehicle location relative to you.
There’s people reporting dizziness testing this.
To those I say… try spinning your phone instead. 😉 pic.twitter.com/BAYmJ3mzzD
— Some UK Tesla Guy (UnSupervised…) (@SomeUKTeslaGuy) December 8, 2025
Tesla’s previous app versions revealed the address at which you could locate your car, which was great if you parked on the street in a city setting. It was also possible to use the map within the app to locate your car.
However, this new feature gives a more definitive location for your car and helps with the navigation to it, instead of potentially walking randomly.
It also reveals the distance you are from your car, which is a big plus.
Along with this new addition, Tesla added Photobooth features, Dog Mode Live Activity, Custom Wraps and Tints for Colorizer, and Dashcam Clip details.
🚨 Tesla App v4.51.5 looks to be preparing for the Holiday Update pic.twitter.com/ztts8poV82
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 8, 2025
All in all, this App update was pretty robust.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shaded Waymo in a post on X on Wednesday, stating the company “never really had a chance” and that it “will be obvious in hindsight.”
Tesla and Waymo are the two primary contributors to the self-driving efforts in the United States, with both operating driverless ride-hailing services in the country. Tesla does have a Safety Monitor present in its vehicles in Austin, Texas, and someone in the driver’s seat in its Bay Area operation.
Musk says the Austin operation will be completely void of any Safety Monitors by the end of the year.
🚨 Tesla vs. Waymo Geofence in Austin https://t.co/A6ffPtp5xv pic.twitter.com/mrnL0YNSn4
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 10, 2025
With the two companies being the main members of the driverless movement in the U.S., there is certainly a rivalry. The two have sparred back and forth with their geofences, or service areas, in both Austin and the Bay Area.
While that is a metric for comparison now, ultimately, it will not matter in the coming years, as the two companies will likely operate in a similar fashion.
Waymo has geared its business toward larger cities, and Tesla has said that its self-driving efforts will expand to every single one of its vehicles in any location globally. This is where the true difference between the two lies, along with the fact that Tesla uses its own vehicles, while Waymo has several models in its lineup from different manufacturers.
The two also have different ideas on how to solve self-driving, as Tesla uses a vision-only approach. Waymo relies on several things, including LiDAR, which Musk once called “a fool’s errand.”
This is where Tesla sets itself apart from the competition, and Musk highlighted the company’s position against Waymo.
Jeff Dean, the Chief Scientist for Google DeepMind, said on X:
“I don’t think Tesla has anywhere near the volume of rider-only autonomous miles that Waymo has (96M for Waymo, as of today). The safety data is quite compelling for Waymo, as well.”
Musk replied:
“Waymo never really had a chance against Tesla. This will be obvious in hindsight.”
Waymo never really had a chance against Tesla. This will be obvious in hindsight.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2025
Tesla stands to have a much larger fleet of vehicles in the coming years if it chooses to activate Robotaxi services with all passenger vehicles. A simple Over-the-Air update will activate this capability, while Waymo would likely be confined to the vehicles it commissions as Robotaxis.
Tesla adds 15th automaker to Supercharger access in 2025
Tesla adds new feature that will be great for crowded parking situations
