Recent rumors have emerged that point to the idea of a Tesla Gigafactory being established in the United Kingdom. This is a bit surprising considering that the company is already in the process of building Gigafactory Berlin, which is located nearby in Germany. Yet in the grand scheme of things, establishing a dedicated facility in the UK actually makes a lot of sense. It could even be a stroke of minor genius.
The rumors of a potential Gigafactory UK initially emerged after European news agency AM-Online posted a report stating that the UK’s Department of International Trade (DIT) was on the hunt for a 4 million sq ft plot of land that would be utilized as a space to build an R&D center and manufacturing plant for Tesla. A DIT spokesperson initially related the information to local publication Property Week, which reports on commercial and residential real estate news in the area.
Even more interestingly, avid Tesla critics who were prone to following the flight paths of Elon Musk’s private plane have noted that the CEO had landed at the Luton Airport on Wednesday. The purpose of Musk’s visit remains unknown, of course, though his presence in the country added fuel to the rumors of a potential Tesla facility hosted in the United Kingdom.
In a way, a dedicated Tesla facility in the UK makes perfect sense, especially considering that the country uses vehicles that are Right Hand Drive (RHD). Over the years, Tesla has started vehicle deliveries in the UK later compared to other countries due to this reason. The Model 3 is a perfect example, with the UK only receiving the all-electric sedan in mid-2019, far later than countries that are Left Hand Drive.
The UK is not the only country that follows RHD. Thus, if Tesla could make RHD-only vehicles from a dedicated UK plant, it would allow the company to ramp and roll out electric cars faster to countries that are Right Hand Drive. The size of the facility would probably not even need to be as expansive as Gigafactory Shanghai or Gigafactory Berlin, as the facility would only be making vehicles of a specific variation.
Tesla’s vehicle business may not be the only reason behind Musk’s recent visit to the United Kingdom as well. A ramp of Tesla Energy in the country may also be a key reason behind the CEO’s recent trip. Just last month, after all, reports revealed that Tesla had applied to become an electricity generator in the UK. In its application to the UK’s Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, Tesla requested for a license that would allow it to generate electricity to supply “any premises” in Great Britain.
With this in mind, it appears that Tesla’s rumored Gigafactory UK might actually be allotted for the ramp of Tesla Energy in the country. Such a facility would benefit the company if it intends to become a key player in the UK’s utility sector, and it complements Gigafactory Berlin very well. With a facility in Berlin producing vehicles and a factory in the UK focusing on the energy side of the company’s business, Tesla would be able to adopt an aggressive two-pronged ramp in the European region.
While addressing investors and analysts at the first quarter earnings call, Elon Musk stated that the next Gigafactory would be announced within the next three months or so. When the CEO stated this, it was widely assumed that Musk was referring to the Cybertruck Gigafactory, which will be established in the United States. But perhaps Musk was referring to more than one Gigafactory announcement. Or perhaps the Cybertruck facility is not considered a Gigafactory anymore due to its speculated “Terafactory” moniker. If that’s the case, then perhaps Gigafactory UK may very well be feasible.
Elon Musk
Tesla’s Elon Musk: 10 billion miles needed for safe Unsupervised FSD
As per the CEO, roughly 10 billion miles of training data are required due to reality’s “super long tail of complexity.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has provided an updated estimate for the training data needed to achieve truly safe unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD).
As per the CEO, roughly 10 billion miles of training data are required due to reality’s “super long tail of complexity.”
10 billion miles of training data
Musk comment came as a reply to Apple and Rivian alum Paul Beisel, who posted an analysis on X about the gap between tech demonstrations and real-world products. In his post, Beisel highlighted Tesla’s data-driven lead in autonomy, and he also argued that it would not be easy for rivals to become a legitimate competitor to FSD quickly.
“The notion that someone can ‘catch up’ to this problem primarily through simulation and limited on-road exposure strikes me as deeply naive. This is not a demo problem. It is a scale, data, and iteration problem— and Tesla is already far, far down that road while others are just getting started,” Beisel wrote.
Musk responded to Beisel’s post, stating that “Roughly 10 billion miles of training data is needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving. Reality has a super long tail of complexity.” This is quite interesting considering that in his Master Plan Part Deux, Elon Musk estimated that worldwide regulatory approval for autonomous driving would require around 6 billion miles.
FSD’s total training miles
As 2025 came to a close, Tesla community members observed that FSD was already nearing 7 billion miles driven, with over 2.5 billion miles being from inner city roads. The 7-billion-mile mark was passed just a few days later. This suggests that Tesla is likely the company today with the most training data for its autonomous driving program.
The difficulties of achieving autonomy were referenced by Elon Musk recently, when he commented on Nvidia’s Alpamayo program. As per Musk, “they will find that it’s easy to get to 99% and then super hard to solve the long tail of the distribution.” These sentiments were echoed by Tesla VP for AI software Ashok Elluswamy, who also noted on X that “the long tail is sooo long, that most people can’t grasp it.”
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Tesla earns top honors at MotorTrend’s SDV Innovator Awards
MotorTrend’s SDV Awards were presented during CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
Tesla emerged as one of the most recognized automakers at MotorTrend’s 2026 Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) Innovator Awards.
As could be seen in a press release from the publication, two key Tesla employees were honored for their work on AI, autonomy, and vehicle software. MotorTrend’s SDV Awards were presented during CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
Tesla leaders and engineers recognized
The fourth annual SDV Innovator Awards celebrate pioneers and experts who are pushing the automotive industry deeper into software-driven development. Among the most notable honorees for this year was Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Vice President of AI Software, who received a Pioneer Award for his role in advancing artificial intelligence and autonomy across the company’s vehicle lineup.
Tesla also secured recognition in the Expert category, with Lawson Fulton, a staff Autopilot machine learning engineer, honored for his contributions to Tesla’s driver-assistance and autonomous systems.
Tesla’s software-first strategy
While automakers like General Motors, Ford, and Rivian also received recognition, Tesla’s multiple awards stood out given the company’s outsized role in popularizing software-defined vehicles over the past decade. From frequent OTA updates to its data-driven approach to autonomy, Tesla has consistently treated vehicles as evolving software platforms rather than static products.
This has made Tesla’s vehicles very unique in their respective sectors, as they are arguably the only cars that objectively get better over time. This is especially true for vehicles that are loaded with the company’s Full Self-Driving system, which are getting progressively more intelligent and autonomous over time. The majority of Tesla’s updates to its vehicles are free as well, which is very much appreciated by customers worldwide.
Elon Musk
Judge clears path for Elon Musk’s OpenAI lawsuit to go before a jury
The decision maintains Musk’s claims that OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure violated early assurances made to him as a co-founder.
A U.S. judge has ruled that Elon Musk’s lawsuit accusing OpenAI of abandoning its founding nonprofit mission can proceed to a jury trial.
The decision maintains Musk’s claims that OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure violated early assurances made to him as a co-founder. These claims are directly opposed by OpenAI.
Judge says disputed facts warrant a trial
At a hearing in Oakland, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated that there was “plenty of evidence” suggesting that OpenAI leaders had promised that the organization’s original nonprofit structure would be maintained. She ruled that those disputed facts should be evaluated by a jury at a trial in March rather than decided by the court at this stage, as noted in a Reuters report.
Musk helped co-found OpenAI in 2015 but left the organization in 2018. In his lawsuit, he argued that he contributed roughly $38 million, or about 60% of OpenAI’s early funding, based on assurances that the company would remain a nonprofit dedicated to the public benefit. He is seeking unspecified monetary damages tied to what he describes as “ill-gotten gains.”
OpenAI, however, has repeatedly rejected Musk’s allegations. The company has stated that Musk’s claims were baseless and part of a pattern of harassment.
Rivalries and Microsoft ties
The case unfolds against the backdrop of intensifying competition in generative artificial intelligence. Musk now runs xAI, whose Grok chatbot competes directly with OpenAI’s flagship ChatGPT. OpenAI has argued that Musk is a frustrated commercial rival who is simply attempting to slow down a market leader.
The lawsuit also names Microsoft as a defendant, citing its multibillion-dollar partnerships with OpenAI. Microsoft has urged the court to dismiss the claims against it, arguing there is no evidence it aided or abetted any alleged misconduct. Lawyers for OpenAI have also pushed for the case to be thrown out, claiming that Musk failed to show sufficient factual basis for claims such as fraud and breach of contract.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers, however, declined to end the case at this stage, noting that a jury would also need to consider whether Musk filed the lawsuit within the applicable statute of limitations. Still, the dispute between Elon Musk and OpenAI is now headed for a high-profile jury trial in the coming months.
Tesla’s Elon Musk: 10 billion miles needed for safe Unsupervised FSD
Tesla earns top honors at MotorTrend’s SDV Innovator Awards
