A Tesla Megapack is powering a large housing factory completely off-grid in Patterson, California, with energy from a large array of on-site, PVGraf solar panels. The factory isn’t connected to the local power grid, and this is the first time a Tesla Megapack has been deployed and running completely off-grid. The system has been operating without any issues since November.
S2A Modular, a tech company that manufactures modular homes, tiny houses, and more that run on direct-current (DC) power, owns the Tesla Megapack, and its president and cofounder, John Rowland, granted Teslarati an exclusive interview. The company is also in the business of addressing housing for the homeless as well as making luxury homes and single-family homes.
John Rowland, S2A Modular’s president, and cofounder, granted Teslarati an exclusive interview. He shared with Teslarati that the company has 35 facilities, with five currently under construction and Tesla Megapacks on order. The first one in Patterson, California, is completely off the grid, and John has been working with Tesla to monitor its progress.
The delivery and installation of the Tesla Megapack, John explained, was “very smooth.” All of the infrastructure was in place, and it only took a couple of days to install the battery.
John told Teslarati that the reason why he went with Tesla is that he is a huge fan of both Tesla and Elon Musk. Initially, he had planned to buy the Tesla PowerPacks but by the time the factory came to fruition, Tesla Megapacks were available. As a homebuilder, he wanted to build homes that run on batteries. John said that engineered and built the second off-grid Tesla-powered home in North America.
“When I built that home, I decided I wanted to scale and build homes that were meant to run on batteries because this is how that house was engineered and built. It was the lowest voltage, lowest amperage home on the planet.”
John realized that in order to scale, he would need a factory and wanted to take the same approach that he has taken to engineering and building the homes and “engineer and build a factory that was made to run off-grid.
The hundred thousand-square-foot factory has no gas, or propane, only graphene solar panels, and a Tesla Megapack. “And no connection to the electrical grid.”
John pointed out that he has had a good relationship with Tesla since 2015, and once the Megapacks were available, he ordered one for each of the facilities.
“We’ve got the first one in Patterson, California, and it’s been up and running a little over a month now. And it’s running like a champ. The whole factory’s powered off-grid, and it’s a huge success, so we’re looking to carry it over to our next facilities.”
John and his team and Tesla are monitoring the battery three times a day since it is completely off-grid. At first, there was a little hesitation on Tesla’s part for installing a completely off-grid Megapack, but John was able to win them over, and things are going smoothly.
“This is the first time that a Megapack was programmed to run off-grid. They’re set to take a trickle charge from the grid 24/7, and it took some convincing to get Tesla to allow us to do it this way. At first, they said, ‘you’re a couple of years ahead of us,’ but they finally agreed to allow us to do it, and now they’re using it as beta. They’re monitoring it just like we are.”
“One of Tesla’s head engineers that we work with told us that when we powered it up, it would take four days for our solar to charge the battery fully. We did it in seven and a half hours.”
John explained that the solar panels his company uses are made with specially manufactured graphene solar panels. “They’re the only company in the world using graphene, and they have 20 worldwide patents on it. At S2A, we paid and file our own UL( Underwriter Labs) to have our own UL-rated panel produced.”
When asked about feedback, John explained that he talks to Tesla’s engineers regularly and provides updates on the battery’s performance.
“It’s quite to our surprise It’s a 1.4-megawatt battery, and we’re able to keep it about 90% even with all of our equipment running. It’s really working better than our expectations.”
One thing John wasn’t expecting was the surplus of energy. He actually plans to connect the Megapack to the grid next year so that he can discharge the excess power and help take some of the burdens away from the local grid.
“Our inverters are shutting off every day because we’re producing more power than we can use. Our factory is actually net-positive, and we will start contributing back to the grid next year.”
“We’ve got the battery set right now–when it reaches 97% capacity, the inverter shuts down and stops producing power. We’ve been monitoring it three times a day, and it’s been shutting off every day. Even with the factory running at full speed, we still produce excess energy.”
John added that he also purchased the Tesla Semi and plans to use them to deliver homes to customers.
Disclosure: Johnna is a $TSLA shareholder and believes in Tesla’s mission.
Your feedback is welcome. If you have any comments or concerns or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter at @JohnnaCrider1.
Teslarati is now on TikTok. Follow us for interactive news & more. Teslarati is now on TikTok. Follow us for interactive news & more. You can also follow Teslarati on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Tesla has scaled back driver monitoring to be less naggy with the latest version of the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite, which is version 14.3.3.
The latest version is already earning praise from owners, who are reporting that the suite is far less invasive when it comes to keeping drivers from taking their eyes off the road. The first to mention it was notable Tesla community member on X known as Zack, or BLKMDL3.
14.3.3 nags less too https://t.co/IuiWzuYO6O
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2026
Musk confirmed that v14.3.3 was made to nag drivers significantly less, something that Tesla has worked toward in the past and has said with previous versions that it is less likely to push drivers to look ahead, at least after looking away for a few seconds.
This refinement aligns with Tesla’s ongoing push toward unsupervised FSD. The update also brings faster Actual Smart Summon (now up to 8 mph), reliable “Hey Grok” voice commands, richer visualizations, smoother Mad Max acceleration, and an intervention streak counter that rewards consistent use. Reviewers describe the drive as more human-like and confident, with fewer twitches or unnecessary maneuvers.
Musk has repeatedly signaled this direction. In late 2025, he stated that FSD would allow phone use “depending on context of surrounding traffic,” noting safety data would justify relaxing rules so drivers could text in low-risk scenarios like stop-and-go traffic.
We tested this, and even still, the cell phone monitoring really seems to be less active in terms of alerting drivers:
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.2.1 texting and driving: we tested it
Earlier, ahead of v14, Musk promised the system would “nag the driver much less” once safety metrics improved.
In 2023, he confirmed the steering wheel torque nag would be “gradually reduced, proportionate to improved safety,” shifting reliance to the cabin camera. Subsequent updates like v13.2.9 and v12.4 further loosened monitoring, cracking down on workarounds while easing legitimate distractions.
These steps reflect Tesla’s data-driven approach: FSD’s safety record—reportedly averaging millions of miles per crash—now outpaces human drivers in many scenarios, giving the company confidence to dial back interventions. Reduced nags improve usability and trust, encouraging more drivers to rely on the system rather than disengaging out of frustration.
However, there are certainly still some concerns. In many states, it is illegal to handle a cell phone in any way, requiring the use of hands-free devices. In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to use your cell phone at stop lights, which is definitely a step further than using it while the car is actively in motion.
v14.3.3 represents tangible progress. Making FSD less adversarial and more seamless is definitely a step forward, but drivers need to be aware of the dangers of distracted driving. FSD is extremely capable, but it is in no way fully autonomous, nor does its performance warrant owners to take their attention off the road.
Tesla has officially expanded its Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite in Europe once again, as it will now be offered to customer vehicles in Lithuania, marking a significant milestone as the second European Union country to offer the system.
Tesla confirmed FSD’s rollout in Lithuania this morning:
FSD Supervised now rolling out to Teslas in Lithuania 🇱🇹!
Making European roads safer, one by one pic.twitter.com/Uuj0bNG7pP
— Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa (@teslaeurope) May 20, 2026
Tesla showed several clips of Full Self-Driving navigation in Lithuania to mark the announcement, while Lithuanian Transport Minister Juras Taminskas highlighted the system’s potential to assist with lane-keeping, speed adjustment, and traffic tasks on longer drives, while emphasizing that drivers must stay alert and ready to intervene.
Just a few weeks ago, Tesla officially entered Europe with Full Self-Driving in the Netherlands. The expansion of FSD on the continent is now officially underway.
Full Self-Driving’s European Journey
Europe has long posed one of the toughest regulatory challenges for Tesla’s autonomy ambitions due to stringent safety standards under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) framework, particularly UN Regulation 171 for Driver Control Assistance Systems.
The Netherlands’ RDW authority granted the pioneering approval after over 18 months of rigorous testing, including 1.6 million kilometers on European roads and extensive data submissions.
This approval enables mutual recognition across the EU, allowing other member states to adopt it nationally without full re-testing. Lithuania quickly leveraged this mechanism, becoming the second adopter. Tesla positions FSD Supervised as a tool to incrementally improve road safety, with the company claiming it reduces incidents when used properly.
Bottlenecks slowing broader European deployment include fragmented national regulations, varying levels of regulatory skepticism, and requirements for robust driver monitoring. Some EU officials have raised concerns about performance in adverse conditions like icy roads or speeding scenarios, alongside frustrations over Tesla’s public advocacy approach.
Additional hurdles involve data privacy, liability frameworks, and the need for EU-wide harmonization. While countries like Belgium appear to be fast-tracking adoption, larger markets such as Germany, France, and Italy are expected to follow in the coming months, with potential EU-wide progress targeted for later in 2026.
Tesla Full Self-Driving Across the World
As of May, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is available in approximately ten countries.
In North America, it has been live for years in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Asia-Pacific additions include Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, while China utilizes what Tesla calls “City Autopilot.” In Europe, the Netherlands and now Lithuania join the list, with more countries mulling the possibility of also approving FSD.
Tesla offers FSD via monthly subscriptions (around €99 in Europe) or one-time purchases (with deadlines approaching in many markets), shifting toward recurring revenue models. Today is the final day Europeans will be able to purchase the suite outright.
This expansion underscores Tesla’s push for global autonomy, starting with supervised and building toward greater capabilities. With Lithuania now online, momentum is building across Europe, though regulatory caution will continue shaping the pace. Owners in approved regions report smoother highway and urban driving, but the system remains Level 2, which requires human oversight.
Elon Musk
Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises
Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.
Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.
Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.
Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15
India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.
First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.
The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.
Tesla scales back driver monitoring with latest Full Self-Driving release
Tesla Full Self-Driving expands in Europe, entering its second country
