News
Tesla Giga Nevada exceeds 6.5K Powerwall per week, on target to make 442 Megapacks in Q3
A recent meeting with Tesla employees has revealed that Gigafactory Nevada is hitting its stride in the production of the company’s battery storage products like the Powerwall and Megapack. The Powerwall and Megapack are invaluable components of Tesla Energy, which Elon Musk believes could eventually be larger than the company’s electric vehicle business.
Gigafactory Nevada underwent leadership changes this year, with former Vice President of Gigafactory Operations Chris Lister leaving this summer. Taking his place is Hrushikesh “Hrushi” Sagar, who was promoted to oversee Giga Nevada. Sagar, who is also overseeing the Fremont Factory, will be reporting directly to CEO Elon Musk.
On Thursday, Sagar held a meeting with hundreds of Gigafactory employees. During the meeting, whose audio and documents were shared with CNBC, Sagar and other Tesla executives talked about management changes, factory milestones, and some ambitious goals for Tesla’s facilities.
Supporting an EV Ramp
Gigafactory Nevada does not produce vehicles, unlike Giga Shanghai, Giga Berlin, and Giga Texas. Instead, the facility is tasked with the production of 2170 batteries and powertrains that are used in the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y crossover. Gigafactory Nevada also produces key Tesla Energy products such as the Powerwall, a battery for residential customers, and the Megapack, a battery that’s designed for commercial use.
Sagar noted that the Fremont Factory has been on a roll, producing 134,000 vehicles in the second quarter of 2022. He added that Fremont is now able to produce 12,000 vehicles per week, and the factory is looking to increase this to 14,000 cars per week. Giga Nevada, on the other hand, produced 283,473 powertrains in Q2 2022, allowing the facility to “feed” the company’s vehicle production facilities.
Sagar clarified that while he does not plan to spend most of his time in Giga Nevada, he does plan to work closely with key people in the facility, such as Energy Leader Matt Reddick, and Site Leader Eric Montgomery, who noted during the meeting that August 2022 was Giga Nevada’s second-best month of production, coming second only to October 2021. Montgomery also noted that Giga Nevada has to achieve a steady output of 8,800 high voltage battery packs per week to support the company’s aggressive vehicle production plans.
Powerwalls and Megapacks
Powerwall production in Gigafactory Nevada is hitting its stride, with the facility exceeding 6,500 units of the residential battery system per week. Montgomery noted that Giga Nevada produced 37,600 Powerwalls in Q2 2022, and this is poised to increase by 22% in Q3 2022. Reddick, for his part, noted that Tesla is on target to produce 442 Megapack batteries for the third quarter. If successful, this would represent an 85% growth in Megapack production compared to the previous quarter.
During the meeting, questions were asked about the potential location of the company’s next Gigafactory. While Sagar noted that he is not at liberty to reveal confidential information about Tesla’s plans, he noted that the company has some candidates for the next Gigafactory’s location. “I have some idea on the candidates but I don’t think I’m at liberty right now to disclose those candidates because of the confidentiality around some of those things. There is an exciting future for North America and all around the Americas,” Sagar said.
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News
Tesla utilizes its ‘Rave Cave’ for new awesome safety feature
Part of the massive interior overhaul of both the Model 3 “Highland” and Model Y “Juniper” was the addition of interior accent lighting to help bring out the mood of the vehicle, increase the customization of the interior, and to create a unique listening experience.
Tesla is utilizing its ‘Rave Cave’ for an awesome new safety feature that will arrive with the upcoming Spring Update for 2026.
Part of the massive interior overhaul of both the Model 3 “Highland” and Model Y “Juniper” was the addition of interior accent lighting to help bring out the mood of the vehicle, increase the customization of the interior, and to create a unique listening experience.
Tesla added a Sync Lights feature that will strobe the accent strips with the beat of the music.
It is one of the most unique and one of the coolest non-functional features of a Tesla, as it does not improve the driving of the vehicle, but makes it a cool and personal addition to the interior.
However, Tesla is going to take it one step further, as the Rave Cave lights will now be used for blind spot recognition. This feature will be added as the Spring 2026 Update starts to roll out.
A lot of CRAZY new features coming with Tesla’s 2026 Spring Update, including a new FSD app!
– Self-Driving App (AI4 hardware): New app in App Launcher > Self-Driving for one-tap FSD subscriptions, activation guides, and ongoing stats.
– “Hey Grok”: Voice-activated Grok with… https://t.co/ljeYPlq9Qt— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 13, 2026
Tesla writes:
“Accent lights now turn red when an object is in your blind spot and your turn signal is engaged, or when an approaching object is detected while parked.”
This neat new safety feature will now increase the likelihood of a driver, who is operating their Tesla manually, of seeing the blind spot warnings that are currently available on the A pillar and on the center touchscreen.
These new alerts will now warn drivers of cross traffic as they back out of a parking space with little to no visibility of what is coming. It is a great new addition that will only increase the safety of the vehicles, while also utilizing something that is already installed in these specific Model 3 and Model Y units.
The Model 3 and Model Y were the central focus of the Spring 2026 Update, especially considering the fact that the Model S and Model X are basically gone, with only a few hundred units left. Additionally, Tesla included new Immersive Sound and Car Visualization for the Model 3 and Model Y specifically in this new update.
News
Tesla parked 50+ Cybercabs outside its Texas Factory with some crash tested
Dozens of Tesla Cybercabs have been spotted at Giga Texas crash testing facility ahead of launch.
Drone footage captured by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer shows over 50 units of Tesla Cybercab at the Austin factory campus, including several units clustered by Tesla’s on-site crash testing facility.
The outbound lot at Gigafactory Texas sits just outside the factory exit and serves as the primary staging area where finished vehicles are held before being loaded onto transport carriers or dispatched for validation testing. On any given day, the lot holds a mix of Model Y and Cybertruck units alongside the growing Tesla Cybercab fleet, as can be seen in the drone footage captured by Joe Tegtmeyer.
Roughly 50 Cybercab units are visible across the campus, parked in tight organized rows. Most of the units visible still carry steering wheels and pedals, temporary additions Tesla included to satisfy current safety regulations while the vehicles accumulate real-world data ahead of full regulatory approval for a steering wheel-free design. Tesla operates dedicated Crash Labs at both its Giga Texas and Fremont facilities that are purpose-built for controlled structural crash tests. Historically, automakers begin intensive crash testing roughly one to two months before volume production kicks off. The Cybertruck followed almost exactly that pattern. The Cybercab appears to be on the same track facility that we first saw back in October 2025. The first production Cybercab rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026. Volume production is now targeted for April. Musk previously wrote on X that “the early production rate will be agonizingly slow, but eventually end up being insanely fast,” and separately stated Tesla is targeting at least 2 million Cybercab units per year. Commercial robotaxi service in Austin is targeted for late 2026.
Firmware
Tesla 2026 Spring Update drops 12 new features owners have been waiting for
Tesla announced its Spring 2026 software update, and it’s the most feature-dense seasonal release the company has put out. The update covers twelve named changes spanning FSD, voice AI, safety lighting, dashcam storage, and pet display customization, among other things.
The centerpiece for owners with AI4 hardware is a redesigned Self-Driving app. The new interface lets owners subscribe to Full Self-Driving with a single tap and view ongoing FSD usage stats directly in the vehicle.
Grok gets its biggest in-car upgrade yet. The update adds a “Hey Grok” hands-free wake word along with location-based reminders, so a driver can now say “remind me to pick up groceries when I get home” without touching the screen. Grok first arrived in vehicles in July 2025, but each update has pushed it closer to genuine daily utility. Musk framed the broader vision clearly at Davos in January, saying Tesla is “really moving into a future that is based on autonomy.”
On safety, the update introduces enhanced blind spot warning lights that integrate directly with the cabin’s ambient lighting, building on the blind spot door warning that arrived in update 2026.8.
Dog Mode has been renamed Pet Mode and now lets owners choose a dog, cat, or hedgehog icon and add their pet’s name to the display.
Dashcam retention now extends up to 24 hours, up from the previous one-hour rolling loop, with a permanent save option for any clip. Weather maps now show rain and snow with better color differentiation and include the past hour of precipitation data along the route.
Tesla has now established a clear rhythm of two major OTA pushes per year. As with last year’s Spring update, that cycle started taking shape in 2025 with adaptive headlights and trunk customization. The 2025 Holiday Update then added Grok to the vehicle for the first time. This Spring follows that structure: the Holiday update introduces new architecture, and the Spring update broadens it across the fleet.
Two notable features still did not make it. IFTTT automations, which launched in China earlier this year, were held back from this North American release for unknown reasons, and Apple CarPlay remains absent, reportedly still delayed by iOS 26 and Apple Maps compatibility issues.
Below is the full list of feature updates released by Tesla.
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 13, 2026





