Amidst the multiple fires that have forced an estimated 150,000 people to evacuate, caused fatalities and burned down a significant amount of property, Elon Musk, Tesla and others have shared a few of the relief efforts the company has undertaken.
Musk noted that the companies are utilizing the Cybertruck and Starlink to aid both authorities and evacuees, while others have shared their experiences using the company’s products to keep the lights on, evacuate and more.
Here are a few of the relief efforts Tesla and Musk have put in place, as well as experiences from some of the company’s customers.
Some Tesla Cybertruck deliveries paused to prioritize relief efforts, Starlink offers free service
On Sunday, Musk said on X that some Cybertruck orders would be delayed due to the company using them for relief efforts, in addition to a few other measures the company has announced in the past few days in efforts to help those affected by the fires. The CEO wrote the following message in the afternoon:
Apologies to those expecting Cybertruck deliveries in California over the next few days.
We need to use those trucks as mobile base stations to provide power to Starlink Internet terminals in areas of LA without connectivity.
A new truck will be delivered end of week.
In a follow-up post, Musk added:
We are going to position Cybertrucks with Starlinks and free WiFi in a grid pattern in the areas that most need it in the greater LA/Malibu area
After the posts, multiple users reached out to Teslarati requesting some of these support Cybertrucks in Pasadena. We asked Musk if it would be possible for victims to request help in certain areas, in addition to those he mentioned previously, though he hasn’t yet responded to whether this area will be covered at the time of writing.
Hey @elonmusk, we’ve gotten a few folks in Pasadena who are in need as well.
Is there a way you or @Tesla could set up a way for victims to request help in certain areas of LA? 🙏 https://t.co/2WkaChSfmW
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 12, 2025
In an email that was sent to Starlink customers last week that was seen by Teslarati, SpaceX announced that it was temporarily providing one month of free Starlink service to customers, writing that it was being proactively added to accounts without requiring anything from the consumer. Musk followed up and echoed the sentiment on Wednesday.
“SpaceX will provide free Starlink terminals to affected areas in LA tomorrow morning,” he he wrote.
Tesla donates Cybertrucks to be used as battery banks in Altadena
Along with deploying Cybertrucks equipped with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet over the weekend and SpaceX making the service free, Tesla also donated some of the electric trucks to be used to power buildings for authorities involved in fighting the fire, as was highlighted on Saturday. In a post on Instagram, the Altadena Mountain Rescue account shared photos of a few Cybertrucks in a parking lot, saying that they were being used as battery banks amid outages.
The account writes:
A donation of Cyber Trucks from Tesla Motors to be utilized as battery banks at the station until power is restored to the station.
This will greatly help the team to power radios, computers and lights as we work into the dark.
Credit: Altadena Mountain Rescue | Instagram
Tesla also outlined the Altadena Cybertrucks and a wide range of other things it’s doing in a post on X on Sunday, including mobile Megapack charging stations and Powerwalls for Starlink:
Summary of efforts Tesla has done to support employees & communities impacted by the LA fires
Impacted employees (home lost or destroyed by fires) We’re covering housing accommodations & supporting employees with transportation & meals.
Superchargers
All our Supercharger sites are back online, except Pasadena Supercharger, which was in the middle of the fire.
Megapack Chargers (MPCs)
2 units deployed Friday 1/10 to relieve congestion in Thousand Oaks for evacuation & families losing power due to Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).
1 unit deployed Saturday 1/11 in Altadena at the Sheriff’s Station for first responder support, providing power & Starlink connectivity. It’s located within their closed perimeter with utility power currently down.
2 mobile switchgear units with step down transformers that enable an MPC to support powering up 208V buildings (vs only 480V) & more utility than charging up EVs.
2 units in San Bernadino
We’re also working on deploying units in the Palisades directly
Mobile Powerwall Units (MPUs)
Deployed with support from 3rd party non-profits in Altadena & Topenga Canyon with Starlink & power for devices & fridges.
Cybertrucks (all with Starlinks installed)
3 Cybertrucks are now located at Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in Altadena (+ bed filled with water & snacks) 2 in Pasadena 3 in Zuma Beach & Malibu
Mobile Superchargers powered by Megapacks deployed at Thousand Oaks, CA – West Hillcrest Drive Supercharger.
- Up to 16 stalls at 250kW
- Free Wi-Fi for anyone through Starlink
- Charging available for all EVs
- We’re monitoring where else they’re safe to deploy and helpful.

Credit: Tesla | X
MegapackCharger deployed at Altadena Sheriff’s Station for power & connectivity
Credit: Tesla | X
MPUs in Topenga Canyon + team installing them
Credit: Tesla | X Credit: Tesla | X
Cybertrucks at Altadena Sheriff’s Station
Credit: Tesla | X
READ MORE ON TESLA CYBERTRUCK CLIMATE DISASTER RELIEF: Tesla Cybertruck owners share insights after Hurricane Helene encounter
Tesla forgives Autopilot and FSD Supervised strikes in California for those evacuating
On Thursday, Tesla’s North America account on X also posted about one of the company’s relief initiatives, officially announcing that it would forgive all Autopilot and Supervised Full-Self Driving (FSD) strikes in the state of California to help aid those evacuating.
“To support people evacuating from the fires in the LA area, all Autopilot & FSD Supervised strikes are being forgiven in the state of California,” Tesla wrote in the post.
One Tesla owner shares Cybertruck Powershare experience
Along with Tesla’s fire relief efforts, one Cybertruck owner has shared an experience using the electric vehicle (EV) to keep a household powered during outages using Powershare—not unlike how it was used by the Altadena Mountain Rescue team.
In the post on the Cybertruck Owner’s Club forum on Wednesday, the user located in Orange County described using the Cybertruck’s Powershare to keep his household with electricity, saying that he had used about 25 miles of range from the EV about six hours into using it. As can be seen in the user’s screenshot of the Tesla app, the vehicle shows 202 miles of range remaining, saying that it still has over a day’s worth of energy.
Credit: MilliM | Cybertruck Owner’s Club
What are your thoughts? Were you or someone you know affected by the fires and used one or more of Tesla’s products to help with evacuation or power outages? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
FEMA deploys Starlink in North Carolina for disaster relief operations
Need accessories for your Tesla? Check out the Teslarati Marketplace:
Elon Musk
Tesla stock: Morgan Stanley says eVTOL is calling Elon Musk for new chapter
Could Tesla dive into the eVTOL market? Morgan Stanley takes a look.

Tesla shares are up nearly 20 percent in the past month, but that is not stopping the only trillion-dollar automaker from attracting all types of new potential sectors to disrupt, at least from an investor and analyst perspective.
Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas is not one to shy away from some ideas that many investors would consider far-fetched. In a recent note, Jonas brought up some interesting discussion regarding Tesla’s potential in the eVTOL industry, and how he believes CEO Elon Musk’s answer was not convincing enough to put it off altogether.
Tesla’s Elon Musk says electric planes would be ‘fun problem to work on’
Musk said that Tesla was “stretched pretty thin” when a question regarding a plane being developed came up. Jonas said:
“In our opinion, that’s a decidedly different type of answer. Is Tesla an aviation/defense-tech company in auto/consumer clothing?”
Musk has been pretty clear about things that Tesla won’t do. Although he has not unequivocally denied aviation equipment, including planes and drones, as he has with things like motorcycles, it does not seem like something that is on Musk’s mind.
Instead, he has focused the vast majority of his time at Tesla on vehicle autonomy, AI, and robotics, things he sees as the future.
Tesla and China, Robotics, Pricing
Morgan Stanley’s note also discussed Tesla’s prowess in its various areas of expertise, how it will keep up with Chinese competitors, as there are several, and the race for affordable EVs in the country.
Tesla is the U.S.’s key to keeping up with China
“In our view, Tesla’s expertise in manufacturing, data collection, robotics/ physical AI, energy, supply chain, and infrastructure are more critical than ever before to put the US on an even footing with China in embodied AI,” Jonas writes.
It is no secret that Tesla is the leader in revolutionizing things. To generalize, the company has truly dipped its finger in all the various pies, but it is also looked at as a leader in tech, which is where Chinese companies truly have an advantage.
Robotics and the ‘Humanoid Olympics’
Jonas mentioned China’s recent showcasing of robots running half marathons and competing in combat sports as “gamification of robotic innovation.”
Tesla could be at the forefront of the effort to launch something similar, as the analyst predicts the U.S. version could be called “Humanoid Ninja Warrior.”
Pricing
Tesla is set to launch affordable models before the end of Q2, leaving this month for the company to release some details.
While the pricing of those models remains in limbo with the $7,500 tax credit likely disappearing at the end of 2024, companies in China have been able to tap incredibly aggressive pricing models. Jonas, for example, brings up the BYD Seagull, which is priced at just about $8,000.
Tesla can tap into an incredibly broader market if it can manage to bring pricing to even below $30,000, which is where many hope the affordable models end up.
During the Q3 2024 Earnings Call, Musk said that $30,000 is where it would be with the tax credit:
“Yeah. It will be like with incentive. So, 30K, which is kind of a key threshold.”
News
Tesla dominates in Norway with 213% sales jump from ’24
Tesla dominated in Norway, and although it lags behind other OEMs for the year, the Model Y is the best-selling model in the country by a long shot.

Tesla has recorded a dominating performance in the Norwegian market as the company outpaced other automakers for the month of May.
The company walked away with 19 percent of the total EV sales for the month, with a vast majority of those coming from the Model Y, which accounted for 2,344 of the 2,598 sales Tesla had for the month.
As a whole, Tesla outpaced Volkswagen by just over 300 units as the German company continues to have a tremendous year across Europe in terms of EVs.
For Tesla, however, it was a tremendous month, especially compared to past years, and as it continues to experience a reduction in sales in the European market, this was an outlier.
A Strong Month
Tesla’s performance in Norway in May was incredibly strong, including growth from the same month last year and quarter-over-quarter improvements.
Tesla sold just 830 units in Norway last May, meaning last month was a 213 percent increase compared to the same month last year.
🚨Tesla is dominating in Norway:
– It has 19.4% of the EV segment.
– Model Y was the best-selling vehicle in Norway in May.
– Best month for Tesla in 2024 in Norway
– 213% increase compared to May ’24BOOM! https://t.co/X84yYNNXAb pic.twitter.com/8RWr4ukfHE
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 2, 2025
For the year so far, Tesla has sold 7,600 units in Norway, trailing only Volkswagen, which has had a very strong year in Europe thus far. VW holds 19.5 percent of the total market share for the year in terms of EVs; Tesla has 13.7 percent.
However, the Model Y is still the best-selling EV in the country, and it is not particularly close. With 6,201 sales, it leads the Toyota BZ4X and the Volkswagen ID.4, which have 3,703 and 3,073 sales, respectively.
Tesla has combated weak sales figures in Europe this year, some of which are due to the Model Y changeover across all of the company’s global production facilities. CEO Elon Musk has said that he does not believe demand is an issue for Tesla at all, but instead, Europe is just a weak market.
Figures via EU-EVs
Elon Musk
Elon Musk responds to Tesla Supercharger shutdown on NJ Turnpike
Elon Musk says the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s decision to decommission 64 Tesla Superchargers ” sounds like corruption.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to Tesla being required to decommission and shut down over 60 Superchargers on the New Jersey Turnpike, a move that was announced late last week.
We reported late last week that Tesla was being required to decommission 64 Superchargers on the New Jersey Turnpike as the governing body of the toll road had chosen a sole, third-party company to provide EV charging solutions. This decision requires Tesla to eliminate its current Superchargers on the Turnpike, one of the country’s heaviest-traveled roads.
Tesla to lose 64 Superchargers on New Jersey Turnpike in controversial decision
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) requested that Tesla shut down the 64 charging stalls as a result of its new partnership, something that many are confused by, considering the company’s Superchargers are accessible to many different car companies and not only Teslas.
Additionally, Tesla’s Supercharger Network has gained a reputation for being one of the most reliable, with an incredibly high rate of upkeep.
With these details being known, the NJTA is still choosing to go with another supplier, not even allowing Tesla to keep its already-built Superchargers active, something that would be widely beneficial to EV drivers as a whole.
Musk believes the move is a sign of corruption:
Sounds like corruption
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 30, 2025
While there is no explicit evidence that this is being done as a retaliatory response to Musk or Tesla specifically, it does seem extremely odd that the NJTA is not allowing the company to keep already-built and active Superchargers available to EV drivers.
Tesla has prepared for this decision for several years already, as it knew this was a possibility. It built 116 other charging piles near the Turnpike, giving drivers access to reliable charging piles.
It would not be a surprise if there was some sort of political motivation behind the removal of Tesla Superchargers on the Turnpike. Politicians have already shown that they are willing to be very vocal about their distaste for Musk and Tesla.
Minnesota Governor and former Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz has been very up front about his disdain for the company and its CEO, especially as Musk took a stab at the Federal level with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla posts Optimus’ most impressive video demonstration yet
-
News2 days ago
Tesla to lose 64 Superchargers on New Jersey Turnpike in controversial decision
-
News2 weeks ago
Neuralink Blindsight human trials expected to start in the UAE
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Tesla’s Elon Musk confirms he’ll stay CEO for at least five more years
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Elon Musk just revealed more about Tesla’s June Robotaxi launch
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla China registrations bounce back to 11.1k vehicles in May’s 2nd full week
-
News1 week ago
Tesla’s new Model S and X spotted, but they leave a lot to be desired
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Tesla Robotaxi deemed a total failure by media — even though it hasn’t been released