Connect with us
The-Boring-Company-San-Antonio-Loop The-Boring-Company-San-Antonio-Loop

News

Tesla’s Giga Texas ‘Cybertunnel’ is starting to look like a Cybertruck

(Credit: The Boring Company)

Published

on

Tesla is nearing completion of a special Cybertruck Easter Egg at its Gigafactory in Texas, and while crews appear to be just shy of finishing the structure in time for the new year, the project is looking much more like a Cybertruck.

Earlier this month, drone pilot and Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer spotted a Cybertruck-shaped exit taking form at The Boring Company’s so-called “Cybertunnel,” after initially breaking ground on the tunnel back in March. Now, Tesla has added what looks like metal paneling around the outside of the exit to match the Cybertruck’s unique stainless steel exterior, and ultimately signaling that the company is nearing completion of the tunnel that will eventually see vehicles pass through before going out for delivery.

Tegtmeyer and others also note that Tesla even built a replica of the Cybertruck’s headlights into the structure, which may even be set to include actual lighting elements upon completion. Some have also pointed to the signs to the left of the tunnel, indicating that it is designed for vehicles to drive through and prohibiting pedestrian traffic and the use of scooters or other non-automotive mobility devices.

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Earlier this month, before Tesla added the metal panels and just as it was putting initial structures up:

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

READ MORE ON TESLA’S GIGA TEXAS: Tesla is ramping its Cybercab testing sessions at Giga Texas

Last month, Tesla began painting the interior of the Cybertunnel, signifying that the larger parts of construction had been completed. The tunnel runs around 1,000 feet under the 130 highway to the plant’s West end-of-line facility, and Elon Musk has said in the past that it will eventually be used to transport Cybertrucks and other vehicles ahead of being delivered.

Tesla regularly has construction projects going on all around Giga Texas, and in recent months the company has also been spotted testing its two-seat, autonomous vehicle, the Cybercab, at the Austin facility. Earlier this year, the company also constructed a huge supercomputing cluster, dubbed “Cortex,” which also includes massive cooling towers that can be seen in many of Tegtmeyer’s videos.

Advertisement

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Texas A&M considers Boring Company’s ‘Aggie Loop’ proposal

Need accessories for your Tesla? Check out the Teslarati Marketplace:

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk says this essential Tesla Robotaxi feature will be here soon

Tesla will work to solve automatic parking at available Supercharger stalls with future updates.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk reiterated that one feature, which is ultimately an essential part of the operation of the Tesla Robotaxi platform, will be here soon.

Tesla released a new video of its longest Full Self-Driving demo yesterday, showing off a zero-intervention drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The drive is roughly seven hours and 360 miles long, and not a single need for the driver to touch the wheel was recorded.

Tesla flexes its most impressive and longest Full Self-Driving demo yet

There was one question that was brought up by an owner that brings up an interesting point. Tesla still needs to solve the vehicle’s ability to pull into Superchargers automatically, something that does not currently have a high success rate, at least for the owner who got a response from CEO Elon Musk.

Musk assured him that a Tesla’s ability to pull into open parking spaces at Superchargers would be more reliable with future software updates. Owners can see how many and which exact stalls are available before traveling to a Supercharger, so Teslas should be able to identify these stalls and pull in automatically:

Advertisement

This is a small part of what will be imperative for the charging experience when Robotaxi launches in the coming years. Tesla plans to enable customer-owned cars to potentially enter the Robotaxi fleet and become an autonomous ride-sharing vehicle by next year.

However, it still needs to figure out autonomous charging. There are two parts to that process: pulling into the spot and charging without human need to connect the Supercharger to the vehicle.

Tesla used to consider a robotic snake-arm charger for this, but it has talked about induction charging more recently. Wireless charging seems to be the route that Tesla plans to go, but it might take some time to resolve the energy loss issue and make it an efficient charging method.

Advertisement

Tesla flexes Robotaxi wireless charging — autonomy from top to bottom

Tesla has said its wireless charging efficiency is “well above 90 percent.”

Nevertheless, Tesla is still working toward figuring out all of the edge cases of Robotaxi operation. Figuring out charging without the need of a human is just one part of the puzzle it still has yet to solve, but with its improvements over the past few years, there’s no doubt Tesla will find the missing piece.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla Superchargers get massive nod in new study showing reliability

It showed Tesla Superchargers had the highest score on the 1,000-point scale with 709. They also had the highest reliability, as respondents reported they only had failed charging visits at Tesla Superchargers four percent of the time.

Published

on

tesla supercharger
Credit: Tesla

Tesla Superchargers got a massive nod in a new study that showed reliability across EV charging suppliers as electric car ownership in the United States continues to grow.

J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study aims to find the most (and least) reliable charging suppliers for EV owners.

While charging has become much more popular over the past few years, thanks to the increase in sales of electric vehicles, they are still not quite as plentiful as gas pumps for combustion engine cars.

Tesla is rolling out a new ‘Supercharger queue’ in an effort to end one issue

For this fact alone, it is imperative that EV charging companies offer a fast and reliable product that will enable confidence and peace of mind for car owners. There are quite a few companies out there, but Tesla has the most expansive charging network, not only in the U.S., but globally.

Advertisement

It also has the most reliable chargers, a fact that was reiterated in this year’s J.D. Power study, which was released today.

It showed Tesla Superchargers had the highest score on the 1,000-point scale with 709. They also had the highest reliability, as respondents reported they only had failed charging visits at Tesla Superchargers four percent of the time. This beat out Electrify America at six percent, Red E at 10 percent, and EVgo and 12 percent.

Advertisement

These companies were the only ones to report failed charging visits below the average.

Tesla’s 709 score on the 1,000-point scale was a 22-point drop from last year, but the study said that most of the complaints came from non-Tesla owners.

Many non-Tesla EVs now have access to the company’s Supercharging Network, and the complaints came from those drivers as they stated the process and payment were not as streamlined for them.

Brent Gruber, Executive Director of the EV practice at J.D. Power, said:

“Tesla has facilitated an experience for its owners by creating an optimal technical environment that makes the charging process very easy to use and complete payments. That process isn’t quite as streamlined for non-Tesla owners.”

Advertisement

This likely came from the increased per-kilowatt-hour rate that non-Tesla owners are required to pay for having access to the company’s massive charging network.

For Tesla owners, reliability is not much of a concern. Apart from vandalism, it is pretty rare that a Supercharger stall is out of service, but, of course, it happens.

The important thing to note is that this study continues to show Tesla’s focus on keeping its charging network up and running, especially now that non-Tesla owners are able to utilize them.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Deutsche Bank boosts Tesla (TSLA) stake by 20.8% to over $2.6 billion

The German banking giant now owns 10,076,461 Tesla shares.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla China

Deutsche Bank AG has significantly increased its position in Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), boosting its stake by 20.8% in the first quarter. 

The German banking giant now owns 10,076,461 Tesla shares, an additional 1,733,531 shares compared to the previous quarter, valued at roughly $2.61 billion. 

A top holding

As noted in a report from MarketBeat, Tesla now represents about 1% of Deutsche Bank’s overall investment portfolio, making it the firm’s 13th-largest holding. This also means that Deutsche Bank now owns 0.31% of the electric vehicle maker, at least as of its most recent SEC filing.

Tesla shares are typically volatile, and they are still being traded actively, with an average trading volume of 104.7 million. As of writing, Tesla has a market capitalization of around $1.11 trillion, making it the biggest automaker in the world by far.

Institutional investors

Deutsche Bank is not the only firm that has been increasing its stake in TSLA. Charles Schwab Investment Management raised its Tesla holdings by 4.9% in Q1, resulting in the firm now controlling over 18.17 million shares worth $4.71 billion. Evolution Wealth Advisors also increased its Tesla stake by 85.7% to over 13,000 shares.

Advertisement

Overall, institutional support for Tesla remains robust, with 66.2% of the company’s stock held by hedge funds and other large investors.

TSLA stock has been seeing some momentum as of late, amidst reports that the electric vehicle maker is making progress in several of its key initiatives. Tesla’s Robotaxi business in Austin and the Bay Area is expanding well, and Elon Musk recently announced that FSD V14 should be released soon to consumers. Tesla China is also expected to launch the Model Y L, a six-seat extended wheelbase version of its best-selling car, before the end of the third quarter.

Continue Reading

Trending