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Tesla’s Giga Texas completely solves the Cybertruck’s ‘Cowboy Problem’
Yesterday, Elon Musk posted a cryptic tweet asking the Twitterverse about the possibility of Tesla establishing a Giga Texas facility. The response was overwhelmingly positive, despite some Tesla supporters questioning the rationale behind the notion of investing in a state that has been practically hostile to the company. Yet Tesla’s upcoming lineup of vehicles, particularly its Cybertruck, the addition of Giga Texas to the company’s growing list of factories may very well be a godsend. It could, for one, address the Cybertruck’s “Cowboy Problem” in Texas.
Texas is a large market for pickup trucks. Pickups are so popular in the Lone Star state that the automotive auctioneering firm Mecum did not even bother including sedans and other cars in its auction in Houston last year. Texas accounts for about one of every six pickups sold in the United States. Considering that trucks are among the most popular vehicles in the country, this number is very substantial. This is a goldmine that disruptive all-electric companies like Tesla can tap into, provided their vehicles are embraced by consumers.
In a recent article, author David Freedman noted that real truck buyers primarily worship a vehicle’s specs and utility when considering their next purchase. This is the reason why workhorses such as the Ford F-150 have become such a juggernaut in the United States auto market, and in Texas in particular. Former GM executive Tony Posawatz, who was behind the Chevy Volt, highlighted this in a statement. “Truck buyers are more sophisticated than car buyers in what they’re looking for. They look at their truck as a tool,” he said.
Tesla and its Cybertruck team appear to be fully aware of this, as evidenced by the vehicle’s features and specs, many of which seemed to have been included following CEO Elon Musk’s brainstorming session with his followers on Twitter. From hauling capacity to sheer unadulterated power, the Cybertruck has it all. The vehicle even offers a range of over 500 miles per charge in its sub-$70,000 configuration, something that is yet to be matched by other upcoming EV truck makers like Rivian. The Cybertruck is designed to take an immense amount of punishment without flinching as well, thanks to its stainless steel exoskeleton.
Its controversial looks aside, the Cybertruck objectively has the features and specs that can make it a massive disruptor in the EV segment. Yet there are psychological barriers that work against the vehicle’s favor, and one of them may very well be Tesla’s reputation as a California-bred, Silicon Valley-based company that makes sleek, futuristic cars. Simply put, Tesla does not have the reputation of a car maker that can produce tough vehicles for work. Ford, GM, and other veteran automakers do, and they could be counting on this for their own upcoming electric trucks.
Gabriel Smart of Planet Ford in Houston, which primarily sells trucks, describes the automaker’s pitch for its F-150. “When someone comes in for a Ford truck, it’s because that’s what their buddy drives, it’s what their dad drives, it’s what their granddad drives. So that’s what they want to drive, too,” he said. Tesla, then, has a challenge ahead of it. The company would not only have to buck the stereotypes of electric vehicles with the Cybertruck; it would also have to prove to dedicated truck buyers that its all-electric pickup is a serious alternative to tried and tested vehicles such as the F-150.
One of the ways that the company can do this is to simply make the Cybertruck as the de facto electric vehicle of Texas by producing the truck right in the state itself. If Giga Texas does pan out, and if the facility ends up producing vehicles like the Cybertruck, it would be very difficult for Texas’ regulators and truck buyers to not support the vehicle. The Cybertruck is already compelling enough with its specs, features, and price alone. Add the fact that it is built using American labor at the heart of pickup country, and the vehicle may very well become the symbol of the US’ next-generation of trucking. This, ultimately, solves any possible “Cowboy Problem” Tesla may have with its all-electric pickup, and it may open up the state to more of the company’s vehicles as well.
Elon Musk noted during the fourth-quarter earnings call that the demand for the Cybertruck has been impressive so far, with the company getting enough orders to correspond to several years’ worth of production. “I have never seen actually such a level of demand as this — we’ve never seen anything like it basically. I think we will make as many as we can sell for many years. So — as many — we’ll sell as many as we can make, it’s going to be pretty nuts,” Musk said. And this is all before the Cybertruck can even tap into the heart of the US’ pickup market.
The Cybertruck is expected to enter the market next year. Tesla plans to start with the tri-motor AWD and dual motor AWD. The $39,990 single motor RWD Cybertruck, which undercuts competitors such as the Rivian R1T, is expected to start production in late 2022.
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Tesla exec hints at a wild fix for Robotaxi’s biggest weather problem
Tesla VP Lars Moravy says focused lasers could keep robotaxi cameras clear instead of wipers.
Tesla may one day use lasers instead of wiper blades to keep its robotaxi cameras clear. Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, floated the idea in a new episode of Jay Leno’s Garage released Monday, where he and design chief Franz von Holzhausen walked Leno through the Model Y L.
“If you fire them in a focused area, you can clean the sheet of water and create a barrier,” Moravy said. “When you think about autonomy, it might be a good solution to only clean the area where the camera is.” He added that clearing an entire windshield would take too many lasers to be practical.
🚨 Jay Leno has released a new episode breaking down the Model Y L. You can watch it here: https://t.co/umMp85UEaB — TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 9, 2026
The comment brings back one of Tesla’s stranger patents. The company filed for “Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies” in May 2019, and the U.S. Patent Office granted it in September 2021. An updated divisional version was granted on March 31, 2026. The system detects debris on the glass, identifies what it is, and pulses the laser at a calibrated rate so the beam never penetrates deeper than the glass itself. The filing names windshields, side windows, camera lenses and solar panels as possible targets.
Lasers were once rumored for the Cybertruck, which appeared at its November 2019 unveiling with no wipers at all. Tesla eventually settled on a single oversized blade, and Elon Musk admitted the wiper was the part of the truck that troubled him the most. That production line is now scheduled to shut down around mid 2027 to make room for more Cybercab output.
What has changed since then is who is in the vehicle. A privately owned car has a driver who can notice a smeared windshield and do something about it. A Cybercab heading to its next pickup has nobody on board to check. Tesla has been chipping away at that problem with conventional hardware. Model Y Robotaxis in Austin were spotted with washers on their side repeater cameras in January, and a lens cleaning patent granted in May describes a fluid and wiper assembly for vehicle cameras and Optimus’ eyes. A laser would remove the fluid and the blades, both of which need regular replacement across a fleet.
The same episode gave Leno his first ride on Full Self-Driving (Supervised). The Model Y L pulled over on its own when an ambulance approached with its sirens on. “We got it on self-driving mode! I’m not touching anything,” Leno said. Moravy and von Holzhausen also explained that owners remain responsible while using FSD (Supervised), while Tesla takes responsibility for Robotaxi rides because it acts as the operator. Tesla launched the Model Y L in the U.S. in July at $61,990.
Moravy gave no timeline, and he described the laser setup as something Tesla is considering rather than a confirmed feature. The fleet it would serve keeps getting bigger, though. Tesla launched unsupervised Robotaxi service in San Antonio on Monday, its eighth city, and expanded its Austin service area to roughly 443 square miles on the same day. Several of those markets, including Houston, Miami and Tampa, see heavy seasonal rain.
Tesla launched unsupervised Robotaxi service in San Antonio, Texas, on November 9, 2026, with the first rides beginning at 5 a.m. local time.
The company’s official Robotaxi account on X posted the announcement just after midnight, sharing a map that outlines a large operational zone covering much of the city. The geofence is roughly 274 to 275 square miles, making it Tesla’s largest day-one Robotaxi service area to date.
🚨 Tesla just announced that Robotaxi is available in San Antonio, TX
First rides at 5am local time! https://t.co/azck6NlD8H
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 9, 2026
The zone centers on downtown, covers nearly everything inside Loop 410, and extends north to Loop 1604 between Interstate 10 and U.S. 281, with further reach west past State Highway 151, east beyond I-35, and south toward I-37. This area encompasses about one million residents and hundreds of thousands of jobs.
San Antonio International Airport lies inside the geofence, though Tesla is not currently offering airport pickups or drop-offs. This hopefully will happen soon, as ride-sharing to and from the airport can be expensive.
The launch makes San Antonio Tesla’s eighth unsupervised Robotaxi city and its fifth in Texas, joining Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth. Florida markets in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa are also live.
🚨 Here’s every active geofence, by size (not including the Bay Area geofence):
• Austin: 435 sq mi (first ride Jun 22, 2025) · Cybercabs live, expanded today • San Antonio: ~275 sq mi (first ride Nov 9, 2026) • Houston: 254 sq mi (Apr 18, 2026) • Fort Worth: 143 sq mi (Nov 2, 2026) • Dallas: 81 sq mi (Apr 18, 2026) • Miami: 31 sq mi (Jul 3, 2026) • Orlando: 26 sq mi (Jul 21, 2026) • Tampa: 24 sq mi (Jul 21, 2026)
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 9, 2026
Service uses modified Model Y vehicles operating without a safety driver in the vehicle, consistent with recent unsupervised expansions. Cybercab two-seaters remain limited primarily to Austin for now. It’s worth noting that Dept. of Transportation officials in Texas have already ok’d the Cybercab’s operation in Austin, and one official called it “a tangible example of how quickly our transportation system is evolving.”
San Antonio was previously listed among near-term targets in Tesla’s October 2026 Robotaxi safety materials, alongside Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Jacksonville. The rapid Texas rollout follows Fort Worth’s unsupervised debut on November 2 and builds on Austin’s original launch in June 2025.
The 274-square-mile debut remains substantially larger than Waymo’s local footprint and marks continued progress in Tesla’s unsupervised autonomy efforts after starting the year with no such rides. The company has stated ambitions for broader 24/7 operations by the end of 2026 as vehicle counts and software reliability improve.
Tesla has started to perform earthworks engineering on the roughly 3,000-acre site in Fort Bend County, Texas, advancing the massive $10 billion Project Crystal Sun plan to build a vertically integrated solar manufacturing complex.
Flyover drone footage from S.E. Robinson, Jr. released this morning shows the location under development. Tesla has crews on site performing large clearings, but you can also see equipment staging areas, the use of an existing homestead, and active leveling across a substantial portion of the property.
Tesla has started construction on Project Crystal Sun, its $10B vertically integrated solar factory near Houston, Texas.
The plant will make everything from silicon ingots and wafers to finished cells and panels, with operations targeted for Q1 2029.
@SERobinsonJr with a great flyover of the facility:
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 9, 2026
Public filings first submitted in July under Texas’s Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act describe a plant that would manufacture the full solar chain: everything from silicon ingots, wafers, coated cells, and finished modules.
Tesla projects 9,712 permanent jobs by 2033, ramping from roughly 1,900 positions in the first year of operations, plus a peak of about 1,147 construction jobs. Construction is targeted for 2026–2028, with commercial production beginning in the first quarter of 2029. An accompanying economic analysis estimates the project could add roughly $107 billion to Texas GDP over several decades.
Local incentives have cleared major hurdles. Lamar Consolidated Independent School District unanimously approved school-tax limitations in September, and Fort Bend County commissioners approved a package of abatements and related agreements in late October that could extend equipment tax breaks for as long as 35 years.
Tesla had previously indicated it was evaluating a competing out-of-state location.
The effort fits broader statements by Musk that Tesla and SpaceX are each working toward 100 gigawatts of annual U.S. solar manufacturing capacity. If built as described, Project Crystal Sun would stand as one of the largest domestic attempts to create a fully integrated solar supply chain on American soil.
While Tesla has not issued a formal groundbreaking announcement, the visible site preparation and high-profile social media activity represent a concrete step forward for a project that has moved from confidential filings to active earthworks in a matter of months.
Tesla exec hints at a wild fix for Robotaxi’s biggest weather problem
Tesla Robotaxi enters its newest city, reaching San Antonio
