Tesla has made a public statement regarding claims by the Los Angeles Times regarding a recently concluded defamation suit against Elon Musk.
Elon Musk is no stranger to the courtroom, but luckily, he has recently been able to conclude a three-year defamation suit against him, with the plaintiff signing a “998” agreement, admitting defeat, and allowing Elon Musk to leave essentially without penalty. However, following the conclusion of this lawsuit, the LA Times published an article claiming Musk “elected to settle,” which has resulted in Tesla issuing an official statement on the matter.
The LA Times article titled “Musk said he’d never settle an unjust legal case against him. He just settled this one” was published yesterday and quickly gained traction, particularly within the community of those who are critical of Elon Musk. In the Times’ tweet regarding the article, it claimed that Elon Musk had been forced to accept defeat in the aforementioned defamation suit, resulting in a response from the Tesla Twitter account and a Community Note below its Tweet.
This article is biased and misleading. Mr. Hothi accepted a “998” offer under California law. These offers are used to shift the cost of litigation to the losing party. If Mr. Hothi had not accepted it, he could have been on the hook for significant legal costs when he eventually…
— Tesla (@Tesla) May 1, 2023
As noted by the official statement from Tesla, the plaintiff, Randeep Hothi, had signed the 998 agreement, which according to California law, “allow[s] judgment to be taken or an award to be entered in accordance with the terms and conditions stated at that time.” In this case, according to the automaker, the 998 involved Hothi agreeing that he “expressly denied any liability by Mr. Musk.”
The defamation case that the 998 agreement settles is regarding an email written by Elon Musk in 2019. In which the Tesla CEO alleged that Hothi “almost killed” a Tesla security guard. Hothi, at the time, was deeply involved in tracking Tesla production at the Tesla Fremont facility, which he hoped would prove that the Model 3 could not be built with such a limited staff and use of automation.
It should be noted that, despite signing the 998 agreement, Hothi’s lawyers took the news of the agreement as a win, going as far as commenting to the LA Times, “We welcome Musk’s belated acknowledgment that this case was just.”
The LA Times and Hothi’s lawyers are referring to a tweet from Elon Musk, published in 2022, in which he stated he would not back down from an unjust lawsuit.
My commitment:
– We will never seek victory in a just case against us, even if we will probably win.
– We will never surrender/settle an unjust case against us, even if we will probably lose.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 20, 2022
It remains unclear if Tesla or Elon Musk plans to retaliate legally regarding the statements made by the LA Times or Hothi’s lawyers. However, with the three-year court battle finally over, it’s unlikely that either side is looking to jump back into litigation.
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Tesla FSD (Supervised) could be approved in the Netherlands next month: Musk
Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that Full Self-Driving (FSD) could receive regulatory approval in the Netherlands as soon as March 20, potentially marking a major step forward for Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance rollout in Europe.
Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin, noting that the date was provided by local authorities.
“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told,” Musk stated.
“Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive.”
Tesla’s FSD system relies on vision-based neural networks trained on real-world driving data, allowing vehicles to navigate using cameras and AI rather than traditional sensor-heavy solutions.
The performance of FSD Supervised has so far been impressive. As per Tesla’s safety report, Full Self-Driving Supervised has already traveled 8.3 billion miles. So far, vehicles operating with FSD Supervised engaged recorded one major collision every 5,300,676 miles.
In comparison, Teslas driven manually with Active Safety systems recorded one major collision every 2,175,763 miles, while Teslas driven manually without Active Safety recorded one major collision every 855,132 miles. The U.S. average during the same period was one major collision every 660,164 miles.
If approval is granted on March 20, the Netherlands could become the first European market to greenlight Tesla’s latest supervised FSD (Supervised) software under updated regulatory frameworks. Tesla has been working to secure expanded FSD access across Europe, where regulatory standards differ significantly from those in the United States. Approval in the Netherlands would likely serve as a foundation for broader EU adoption, though additional country-level clearances may still be required.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk estimates Tesla Semi could reach Europe next year
“We’ve got the Tesla Semi coming out, the heavy truck, and that’ll be going to Europe hopefully next year,” Musk said.
Tesla is preparing to expand its all-electric Semi truck program to Europe, with CEO Elon Musk indicating that the Class 8 vehicle could arrive in the region 2027.
Musk shared his update during an interview about Giga Berlin with plant manager André Thierig, which was posted on X by the official Tesla Manufacturing account.
“We’ve got the Tesla Semi coming out, the heavy truck, and that’ll be going to Europe hopefully next year,” he said.
Tesla has already begun limited production and customer deployments of the Tesla Semi in the United States, with the company working to scale output through the Semi factory near Giga Nevada. Considering Musk’s comments, it appears that a European rollout would be the next phase of the vehicle’s expansion beyond North America.
Musk’s use of the word “hopefully” leaves room for flexibility, but the remark signals that Europe is next in Tesla’s commercial expansion plans.
Musk has consistently argued that electrification should extend beyond passenger vehicles. During the same interview, he reiterated his view that “all ground transport should be electric,” adding that ships, and eventually aircraft, would follow.
The Semi plays a central role in that strategy. Heavy-duty freight remains one of the most emissions-intensive segments of road transport, and European regulators have increasingly pushed for lower-emission commercial fleets.
Tesla recently refreshed the Semi lineup on its official website, listing two variants: Standard and Long Range. The Standard trim offers up to 325 miles of range with an energy consumption rating of 1.7 kWh per mile, while the Long Range version provides up to 500 miles, which should be more than ample for European routes.
Elon Musk
Tesla Cybercab coming next to Giga Berlin, Optimus possibly after
“From a next major product standpoint, I think most likely is the Tesla Cybercab,” Musk said.
Tesla could add the Cybercab and Optimus humanoid robot to the production lineup at Giga Berlin, as per recent comments from CEO Elon Musk.
During a recent interview with Giga Berlin plant manager André Thierig, Musk identified the Cybercab as the most likely next major product for the German factory, with Optimus potentially following after.
“From a next major product standpoint, I think most likely is the Tesla Cybercab,” Musk said. He added that there are also “possibilities of Tesla Optimus” being produced in the facility.
Tesla has already begun production of the Cybercab in Giga Texas, with volume production expected to ramp this year. Based on Musk’s comments, it appears that if conditions align in Europe, Giga Berlin could eventually join that effort.
The CEO’s comments about Optimus coming to Gigafactory Berlin are quite unsurprising too considering that Musk has mentioned in the past that the humanoid robot will likely be Tesla’s highest volume product in the long run.
Giga Berlin will likely be able to produce mass volumes of Optimus, as the Model S and Model X lines being converted to an Optimus line in the Fremont Factory are already expected to produce 1 million units of the humanoid robot annually.
Apart from his comments about the Cybercab and Optimus, Elon Musk also confirmed that Giga Berlin has started ramping battery cell production and will continue expanding Model Y output, particularly as supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) gains regulatory approvals in Europe.
Taken together, the remarks suggest Berlin’s role could evolve beyond vehicle assembly into a broader multi-product manufacturing hub, not just a regional Model Y plant.