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Tesla Gigafactory UK rumors spark anew as minister backs Somerset site
Speculations that Tesla’s next dedicated production facility may be located in the United Kingdom have emerged once more after the UK Minister of State for Business recently noted that the government is considering a site that would be able to “sustain an excellent Gigafactory.” The area in question is dubbed “Gravity,” a 635-acre “smart campus” in Somerset currently under development.
While addressing Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger in the House of Commons, Minister of State for Business Kwasi Kwarteng noted that he believes that Somerset has the “manufacturing skill and competence to be able to sustain an excellent Gigafactory.” Kwarteng also noted the government is “considering and looking” at the site.
The minister added that the “remarkable” Gravity location is arguably “one of the best sites in the United Kingdom” that “should be considered for the very important future of car manufacturing and battery manufacturing.” Kwarteng also emphasized the UK government’s pledge to support the development of battery and electric vehicle manufacturing projects in the country.
Rumors of a potential Tesla Gigafactory UK in Somerset initially emerged last summer amid reports that the government was seeking a 4 million sq ft (91-acre) site for the electric vehicle maker. Gravity was among the locations reportedly attempting to secure a contract with Tesla. However, updates on the potential Gigafactory UK site eventually became dormant, though reports emerged last month that a letter addressed to Tesla CEO Elon Musk had been sent to the Gravity site.
While the idea of a Tesla Gigafactory UK remains to be speculation, for now, the 635-acre Gravity site in Somerset does have several strategic advantages. The site is only one of a handful of locations in Britain that is large enough to host a Tesla facility, for one, and it features a direct link road to Junction 23 of the M5. Purpose-built onsite freight and passenger rail terminals are also present in the location.
As noted in a Somerset Live report, experts from the UK have remarked that a Tesla plant in Britain could be a “smart move” for the electric car maker considering the country’s aggressive sustainability goals. The Faraday Institution, the UK’s independent institute for electrochemical energy storage research and skills development, has estimated that Britain would likely need one Gigafactory by 2022, two Gigafactories by 2025, and eight Gigafactories by 2040 to meet the country’s demand for EVs and battery-based products.
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Tesla debuts hands-free Grok AI with update 2025.26: What you need to know
All new Tesla vehicles delivered on or after July 12, 2025, will include Grok AI out of the box

Tesla has begun rolling out Grok, an in-car conversational AI assistant developed by xAI, to eligible vehicles starting July 12. The feature marks the most direct integration yet between Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup and Tesla’s consumer product lineup, offering drivers hands-free access to a chat-style companion while on the road.
Grok comes pre-installed on new vehicles
According to Tesla’s FAQ page for the feature, all new vehicles delivered on or after July 12, 2025, will include Grok AI out of the box. Owners of older vehicles may gain access through an over-the-air update, provided their vehicle meets a few hardware and software requirements.
Specifically, Grok is currently only supported on Tesla models equipped with an AMD infotainment processor and running vehicle software version 2025.26 and higher. Compatible models include the Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, and Cybertruck. A Premium Connectivity subscription or active Wi-Fi connection is also required.
Tesla notes that additional vehicle compatibility may arrive in future software updates.
Grok’s features and limitations for now
Drivers can engage with Grok using the App Launcher or by pressing and holding the voice command button on the steering wheel. Grok is designed to answer questions and hold conversations using natural language, offering responses tailored to its chosen personality—ranging from “Storyteller” to the more eccentric “Unhinged.”
For fun, Tesla posted a demonstration of Grok likely running on “Unhinged” talking about what it would do to Optimus when they are on a date, much to the shock of the humanoid robot’s official social media account.
It should be noted, however, that Grok cannot currently issue commands to the vehicle itself, at least for now. Traditional voice commands for tasks like climate control, navigation, or media remain separate from Grok as of writing.
The feature is being released in Beta and does not require a Grok account or xAI subscription to activate, although that policy may change over time.
Grok privacy and in-car experience
Tesla emphasizes that interactions with Grok are securely processed by xAI and not linked to a user’s Tesla account or vehicle. Conversations remain anonymous unless a user signs into Grok separately to sync their history across devices.
Tesla has also begun promoting Grok directly on its official vehicle webpages, showcasing the feature as part of its in-car experience, further highlighting the company’s increasing focus on AI and infotainment features on its all-electric vehicles.
News
Tesla cleared in Canada EV rebate investigation
Tesla has been cleared in an investigation into the company’s staggering number of EV rebate claims in Canada in January.

Canadian officials have cleared Tesla following an investigation into a large number of claims submitted to the country’s electric vehicle (EV) rebates earlier this year.
Transport Canada has ruled that there was no evidence of fraud after Tesla submitted 8,653 EV rebate claims for the country’s Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) program, as detailed in a report on Friday from The Globe and Mail. Despite the huge number of claims, Canadian authorities have found that the figure represented vehicles that had been delivered prior to the submission deadline for the program.
According to Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland, the claims “were determined to legitimately represent cars sold before January 12,” which was the final day for OEMs to submit these claims before the government suspended the program.
Upon initial reporting of the Tesla claims submitted in January, it was estimated that they were valued at around $43 million. In March, Freeland and Transport Canada opened the investigation into Tesla, noting that they would be freezing the rebate payments until the claims were found to be valid.
READ MORE ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES: EVs getting cleaner more quickly than expected in Europe: study
Huw Williams, Canadian Automobile Dealers Association Public Affairs Director, accepted the results of the investigation, while also questioning how Tesla knew to submit the claims that weekend, just before the program ran out.
“I think there’s a larger question as to how Tesla knew to run those through on that weekend,” Williams said. “It doesn’t appear to me that we have an investigation into any communication between Transport Canada and Tesla, between officials who may have shared information inappropriately.”
Tesla sales have been down in Canada for the first half of this year, amidst turmoil between the country and the Trump administration’s tariffs. Although Elon Musk has since stepped back from his role with the administration, a number of companies and officials in Canada were calling for a boycott of Tesla’s vehicles earlier this year, due in part to his association with Trump.
News
Tesla Semis to get 18 new Megachargers at this PepsiCo plant
PepsiCo is set to add more Tesla Semi Megachargers, this time at a facility in North Carolina.

Tesla partner PepsiCo is set to build new Semi charging stations at one of its manufacturing sites, as revealed in new permitting plans shared this week.
On Friday, Tesla charging station scout MarcoRP shared plans on X for 18 Semi Megacharging stalls at PepsiCo’s facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, coming as the latest update plans for the company’s increasingly electrified fleet. The stalls are set to be built side by side, along with three Tesla Megapack grid-scale battery systems.
The plans also note the faster charging speeds for the chargers, which can charge the Class 8 Semi at speeds of up to 1MW. Tesla says that the speed can charge the Semi back to roughly 70 percent in around 30 minutes.
You can see the site plans for the PepsiCo North Carolina Megacharger below.

Credit: PepsiCo (via MarcoRPi1 on X)

Credit: PepsiCo (via MarcoRPi1 on X)
READ MORE ON THE TESLA SEMI: Tesla to build Semi Megacharger station in Southern California
PepsiCo’s Tesla Semi fleet, other Megachargers, and initial tests and deliveries
PepsiCo was the first external customer to take delivery of Tesla’s Semis back in 2023, starting with just an initial order of 15. Since then, the company has continued to expand the fleet, recently taking delivery of an additional 50 units in California. The PepsiCo fleet was up to around 86 units as of last year, according to statements from Semi Senior Manager Dan Priestley.
Additionally, the company has similar Megachargers at its facilities in Modesto, Sacramento, and Fresno, California, and Tesla also submitted plans for approval to build 12 new Megacharging stalls in Los Angeles County.
Over the past couple of years, Tesla has also been delivering the electric Class 8 units to a number of other companies for pilot programs, and Priestley shared some results from PepsiCo’s initial Semi tests last year. Notably, the executive spoke with a handful of PepsiCo workers who said they really liked the Semi and wouldn’t plan on going back to diesel trucks.
The company is also nearing completion of a higher-volume Semi plant at its Gigafactory in Nevada, which is expected to eventually have an annual production capacity of 50,000 Semi units.
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