News
Tesla signs lease on massive Los Angeles facility near Silicon Beach
Tesla has reportedly signed a lease for a massive 131,000 square feet creative office facility that’s located in an area of Los Angeles best known as Silicon Beach.
Surrounded by the tech hub of Playa Vista where technology giants including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, among a slew of emerging startups that have made Southern California their home, and Venice Beach that has given birth to unicorns like Tinder, The Honest Company, and Snapchat; Tesla’s new location at 4755 Alla Road in Marina Del Rey gives the company presence in one of the hottest real estate markets on the westside.
But it’s not the location’s proximity to Silicon Beach that Tesla finds value in. Rather, the facility’s direct access to state highway 90 and its ample lot size that can support upwards of 400 parked vehicles, likely became the motivating factor for Tesla’s commitment to the $30 million and minimum seven year lease deal. The location could also serve as much needed support for Tesla’s Los Angeles Service Center on Centinela Ave. that has been on double-duty as a delivery center for Model S, Model X, and recent Model 3 deliveries.
Teslarati obtained the following photos of the massive facility on Monday, a day before the new tenant’s official move-in date.
131,000 sqft. facility at 4755 Alla Rd. Marina Del Rey, CA [Teslarati]
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- Tesla Marina Del Rey facility front entrance gate
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- Tesla Marina Del Rey facility along Alla Rd.
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- Tesla Marina Del Rey facility expansive front parking lot
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- Artist rendering of
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- Facility is located next to a public park with tennis courts
Though Tesla did not provide comment on the reported lease agreement, a document filed on September 19, 2017 with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning identify Tesla as the company that requested a “coastal exemption permit” for an illuminated wall sign that reads “TESLA” for the building at 4755 Alla Road.
-->Requested Entitlement: NEW ILLUMINATED WALL SIGN FOR ”TESLA”
COASTAL EXEMPTION PERMIT FOR NEW WALL SIGN, 24 FEET 3 INCHES BY 2 FEET 3 INCHES, REVERSE CHANNEL HALO LIT ILLUMINATION, READING ”TESLA”. SIGN IS APPROXIMATELY 17 FEET FROM FINISHED GRADE.
Applicant: [ Company: TESLA]
The gated main entry to the facility boasts an expansive parking lot that’s large enough to hold at least one-hundred vehicles. In addition, the building has a secured subterranean parking garage with entry on the east end of the building along Alla Road. The north end of the building, where the loading docks reside, is adjacent to a community park that’s separated by a chain-link fence. Presumably, another hundred or more vehicles can park in the lot running the length of the building, as well as behind it.
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- Artist rendering of the facility
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- North end of the building with loading docks.
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- North end of the building
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- Side entrance along Alla Road leading to a subterranean garage.
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- Subterranean parking for 58 vehicles.
According to the building description as seen in past property listings, the facility features a 22′ clear-height ceiling with exposed beams and ideal for creative office space use. It’s not clear what Tesla might be using this facility for, but one could argue that the facility would be best suited for use as a second service and delivery center in Los Angeles. This is especially the case as the company aims to support the thousands of new Model 3 vehicles being purchased and soon delivered to Southern Californians.
News
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
The refreshed Tesla Model 3 has won the DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year 2025 award in the Passenger Car category, beating all traditional and electric rivals.
Judges praised the all-electric sedan’s driving dynamics, value-packed EV tech, and the game-changing addition of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) that went live in New Zealand this September.
Why the Model 3 clinched the crown
DRIVEN admitted they were late to the “Highland” party because the updated sedan arrived in New Zealand as a 2024 model, just before the new Model Y stole the headlines. Yet two things forced a re-evaluation this year.
First, experiencing the new Model Y reminded testers how many big upgrades originated in the Model 3, such as the smoother ride, quieter cabin, ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and stalk-less minimalist interior. Second, and far more importantly, Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
FSD changes everything for Kiwi buyers
The publication called the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version “good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money,” but highlighted that FSD elevates it into another league. “Make no mistake, despite the ‘Supervised’ bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it’s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios,” the review stated.
-->At NZ$11,400, FSD is far from cheap, but Tesla also offers FSD (Supervised) on a $159 monthly subscription, making the tech accessible without the full upfront investment. That’s a game-changer, as it allows users to access the company’s most advanced system without forking over a huge amount of money.
News
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out.
It appears that the Tesla AI team burned the midnight oil, allowing them to release FSD V14.2.1 on Thanksgiving. The update has been reported by Tesla owners with AI4 vehicles, as well as Cybertruck owners.
For the Tesla AI team, at least, it appears that work really does not stop.
FSD V14.2.1
Initial posts about FSD V14.2.1 were shared by Tesla owners on social media platform X. As per the Tesla owners, V14.2.1 appears to be a point update that’s designed to polish the features and capacities that have been available in FSD V14. A look at the release notes for FSD V14.2.1, however, shows that an extra line has been added.
“Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”
Whether this could lead to more drivers being alerted to pay attention to the roads more remains to be seen. This would likely become evident as soon as the first batch of videos from Tesla owners who received V14.21 start sharing their first drive impressions of the update. Despite the update being released on Thanksgiving, it would not be surprising if first impressions videos of FSD V14.2.1 are shared today, just the same.
-->Rapid FSD releases
What is rather interesting and impressive is the fact that FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out. This bodes well for Tesla’s FSD users, especially since CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that the V14.2 series will be for “widespread use.”
FSD V14 has so far received numerous positive reviews from Tesla owners, with numerous drivers noting that the system now drives better than most human drivers because it is cautious, confident, and considerate at the same time. The only question now, really, is if the V14.2 series does make it to the company’s wide FSD fleet, which is still populated by numerous HW3 vehicles.
News
Waymo rider data hints that Tesla’s Cybercab strategy might be the smartest, after all
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota Connected Europe designer Karim Dia Toubajie has highlighted a particular trend that became evident in Waymo’s Q3 2025 occupancy stats. As it turned out, 90% of the trips taken by the driverless taxis carried two or fewer passengers.
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota designer observes a trend
Karim Dia Toubajie, Lead Product Designer (Sustainable Mobility) at Toyota Connected Europe, analyzed Waymo’s latest California Public Utilities Commission filings and posted the results on LinkedIn this week.
“90% of robotaxi trips have 2 or less passengers, so why are we using 5-seater vehicles?” Toubajie asked. He continued: “90% of trips have 2 or less people, 75% of trips have 1 or less people.” He accompanied his comments with a graphic showing Waymo’s occupancy rates, which showed 71% of trips having one passenger, 15% of trips having two passengers, 6% of trips having three passengers, 5% of trips having zero passengers, and only 3% of trips having four passengers.
The data excludes operational trips like depot runs or charging, though Toubajie pointed out that most of the time, Waymo’s massive self-driving taxis are really just transporting 1 or 2 people, at times even no passengers at all. “This means that most of the time, the vehicle being used significantly outweighs the needs of the trip,” the Toyota designer wrote in his post.
-->Cybercab suddenly looks perfectly sized
Toubajie gave a nod to Tesla’s approach. “The Tesla Cybercab announced in 2024, is a 2-seater robotaxi with a 50kWh battery but I still believe this is on the larger side of what’s required for most trips,” he wrote.
With Waymo’s own numbers now proving 90% of demand fits two seats or fewer, the wheel-less, lidar-free Cybercab now looks like the smartest play in the room. The Cybercab is designed to be easy to produce, with CEO Elon Musk commenting that its product line would resemble a consumer electronics factory more than an automotive plant. This means that the Cybercab could saturate the roads quickly once it is deployed.
While the Cybercab will likely take the lion’s share of Tesla’s ride-hailing passengers, the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover would be perfect for the remaining 9% of riders who require larger vehicles. This should be easy to implement for Tesla, as the Model Y and Model 3 are both mass-market vehicles.
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
