News
Tesla’s million mile battery: Veteran auto’s ‘fake it till you make it’ strategy is perfectly fine
It is no secret that Tesla is actively pursuing a million-mile battery. With such an innovation, Tesla hopes to make its electric cars outlast gasoline-powered vehicles several times over, while ensuring that its energy storage devices are capable of lasting literal decades while being actively deployed. But if recent news is any indication, it appears that Tesla is not the only company that is closing in on a million-mile battery.
During a recent online investor conference, GM Executive Vice President Doug Parks stated that the veteran American automaker is also working on a million mile battery solution. Beyond this, Parks suggested that GM is “almost there” in developing a battery that’s far above the Ultium batteries that were announced last March. Unfortunately, the GM executive did not specify a solid timeline for the introduction of its own million mile battery, only stating that multiple teams were working on it.
GM’s rather sudden announcement of its million-mile battery echoes the company’s overall strategy with its electric vehicle program. Back in March, the automaker unveiled a sweeping electric vehicle strategy that will involve $20 billion in investments and about 20 EVs for practically every market. But despite the grandiose plans and announcements, the veteran automaker did not really disclose a lot of concrete details about its EV push, such as pricing, specifications, and timing.
GM’s approach to electric vehicles almost seems like a “fake it till you make it” strategy. Back in March, there was a lot of talk about Tesla’s upcoming Battery and Powertrain Day, which was speculated to involve discussions and announcements about the company’s next-generation of electric vehicles and energy solutions. GM’s “EV Day” seemed to be a response to this. In the same light, the previous weeks have involved updates about the impending release of Tesla’s million mile battery, an innovation that is apparently “almost there” in GM.
While this may at times feel like veteran automakers like GM are simply following Tesla’s EV playbook, it must be noted that every step made by legacy carmakers towards electric vehicles is a step towards the wider adoption of sustainable transport. Thus, despite the fact that GM’s EV strategies today are more smoke and mirrors and concept vehicles, the American automaker’s focus on electric cars is still admirable. This is a pretty big point for GM, considering that it is the very company that practically stopped the first coming of the modern electric car with its controversial cancellation of the EV1.
Besides, it is difficult to deny that legacy automakers such as GM are making an effort towards electrification now. Despite the fact that leaked production plans accessed by Reuters indicated that GM and Ford only intend to produce 320,000 EVs in 2026 for the North American market, the company is still investing heavily in EVs. For its Ultium batteries, for example, GM has stated that it is working with Korean firm LG Chem to find ways to reduce costs and improve overall performance. Adam Kwiatkowski, executive chief engineer of GM’s electric propulsion systems, noted that the automaker and LG Chem are also looking at investments in mines, hedging metals prices, and potential partnerships with metal refiners.
The next few years will definitely be one for the record books, as Tesla enters its next phase with its million mile battery and Plaid powertrain, and legacy automakers such as GM take a serious stance on electric vehicles. It’s easy to forget, after all, that less than a decade ago, the pervading narrative in the auto industry was that electric cars are still intended to be stuck as niche products, glorified golf cars for the wealthy and not much more.
The landscape today is very different, and there’s no bigger symbol of this change than GM’s own Hummer EV, a vehicle that’s the spiritual successor of the gas-guzzling monster SUV that pretty much killed the EV1. Other vehicles like the Tesla Cybertruck, which is expected to break the stereotypes of EVs as vehicles that cannot be used for real work and utility, further shows the steady trend forward for electric cars.
Tesla is a leader in the electric vehicle movement. That much is sure. But the company itself has noted that it cannot transition the world towards sustainability on its own. For true sustainability to happen, other companies, legacy carmakers like GM included, have to go all-in on the EV movement as well. One can only hope that this time, announcements such as GM’s million mile battery initiative are more on the “make it” side than on the “fake it” side.
H/T @ajtourville.
A Tesla upfitter has offered to take over Cybertruck lines from the company in a last-ditch effort to save the all-electric pickup from being completely canceled in the middle of 2027.
Unplugged Performance, the Hawthorne, California-based Tesla aftermarket specialist, has publicly offered to take over Cybertruck production from Tesla, funding the effort “through a consortium of investors.”
An open offer to Tesla: We fully support putting Cybercab first, and we’d be glad to take the Cybertruck line off your hands.
We’d fund it with a consortium of investors and run it at no cost to Tesla’s floor space, headcount, or focus. All of that goes to Cybercab. Cybercab gets first call on battery cells too. We’ll wait our turn.
Tesla gains incremental profit: a license fee, plus FSD and Robotaxi network revenues on every vehicle built.
We’d build the Cybertruck, a three-row CyberSUV, and an unmanned CyberCargo hauler. More autonomous miles, across every surface of this planet and beyond.
Worth a conversation?— UP (@UnpluggedTesla) November 10, 2026
The proposal comes as Tesla prioritizes its Cybercab Robotaxi program and prepares to wind down Cybertruck assembly at Gigafactory Texas around mid-2027.
Founded in 2013 by Ben Schaffer and located adjacent to Tesla’s Design Studio and SpaceX, Unplugged Performance has become a leading provider of premium upgrades for Tesla vehicles, including extensive Cybertruck packages under its UP INVINCIBLE line.
Through its UP.FIT division, the company has also developed purpose-built police and fleet versions of the Cybertruck, including deliveries to agencies such as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
In an X post on Tuesday, Unplugged said:
“An open offer to Tesla: We fully support putting Cybercab first, and we’d be glad to take the Cybertruck line off your hands. We’d fund it with a consortium of investors and run it at no cost to Tesla’s floor space, headcount, or focus. All of that goes to Cybercab. Cybercab gets first call on battery cells too. We’ll wait our turn. Tesla gains incremental profit: a license fee, plus FSD and Robotaxi network revenues on every vehicle built. We’d build the Cybertruck, a three-row CyberSUV, and an unmanned CyberCargo hauler. More autonomous miles, across every surface of this planet and beyond. Worth a conversation?”
The arrangement would free Tesla resources and manufacturing capacity for Cybercab while allowing continued production of the stainless-steel pickup and expanded variants. Unplugged Performance indicated it would wait for battery cells after Cybercab needs are met and would generate ongoing revenue for Tesla through licensing and software/network services on the vehicles it produces.
Following strong initial interest, Unplugged Performance posted a follow-up inviting potential investors and strategic partners to email cyber@unpluggedperformance.com. The company clarified that the outreach is solely to gauge interest and does not constitute an offer to sell securities or acceptance of funds at this stage.
The proposal arrives shortly after Elon Musk indicated that Cybertruck production in Texas would be phased out by roughly the middle of 2027 to expand Cybercab output.
Whether Tesla engages with the offer remains to be seen, but the public overture highlights both the aftermarket specialist’s deep experience with the Cybertruck platform and the growing focus on autonomy within Tesla’s manufacturing plans.
Elon Musk said the Tesla Cybercab will perform “a majority of all passenger miles” where it is allowed to operate and that point is “obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.”
Musk used the point to double down on the company’s decision to ax the cult-favorite Cybertruck, as its production space will be removed and transitioned into additional Cybercab lines. The move has catalyzed a polarizing conversation on whether its right or wrong.
Whatever side you are on — it’s happening.
Dodge ended the Viper.
Audi retired the R8.
Mitsubishi said goodbye to the Lancer Evo.
Ford bid farewell to the Bronco (at one point).
Chevrolet sunset the Camaro.Tesla is ending the Cybertruck. I’m pissed. I’m upset.
Fans of those five automakers mentioned did the same thing. It happens. It sucks. I don’t like it.
But I still love Tesla. I love my Model Y. I hoped to be in a Cybertruck in a little under two years.
I won’t be. But I still won’t put my family in anything else. Too safe. Too advanced. Too much better than everything else.
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2026
Regardless, Musk seems to be getting to the point that he is done talking about the choice. At some point, you have to think that this was truly a difficult decision for him and the company as well, and this is not something he took lightly. In fact, he’s probably a little bit disappointed with it, too.
But the point remains that the Cybertruck is gone. Musk’s focus is purely on developing an autonomous platform that the world will utilize for transportation, and he’s telling you that anyone “with eyes and a brain” can see it:
@PalmerLuckey @carlhancock Cybercab will do a majority of all passenger miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.
Obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2026
Tesla is betting that all of its passengers in the future will be okay with not owning their own personal cars and will be fine with ride-hailing for the rest of their lives. Every dinner, every errand, every trip to the airport and transportation thereafter, will all be operated by ride-sharing, and in Tesla’s perfect world, it will happen in a Cybercab.
As of now, Cybercab is only active in Austin, but it has been spotted all over the country with a driver behind the wheel in those prototypes. In Austin, the car has no steering wheel or pedals for people to control the vehicle.
The Cybertruck dilemma is one that has truly come across the entire Tesla community and while it seems to be a great idea to keep it because people love it, the business side of things is steering Musk and Tesla in another direction.
Tesla has slimmed its Cybertruck offerings to offer only its most expensive trim: the Cyberbeast.
After announcing that the Cybertruck would no longer be produced and the company would wind down manufacturing sometime in the middle of 2027, Tesla started to eliminate some of the configurations offered to customers.
Tesla has stopped taking orders for the Cybertruck Premium AWD.
The Cyberbeast is now the only trim you can order, and its price went up $7,500 to $109,990.
Estimated deliveries have also slipped to March–June 2027 as the Giga Texas line heads toward its mid-2027 wind-down. https://t.co/o28epA0ZQl
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 10, 2026
Now, only one remains: the $109,990 Cyberbeast. This is truly what seems like Tesla’s last effort to deter any remaining orders from coming in: eliminate the cheap trims and leave only the high-dollar vehicle within the lineup of Cybertruck options.
Those who want to take advantage of this last-ditch opportunity to own Tesla’s symbolic pickup have to pay to play.
Tesla says the reason for the wind down is truly because of Cybercab and its importance to the future.
Despite cries for Tesla to continue production of the pickup, Musk says it is too difficult to ramp a high-volume line instead of ending the truck altogether. He also says Cybercab is what will take passengers around for the “majority of all miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.”
@PalmerLuckey @carlhancock Cybercab will do a majority of all passenger miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.
Obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2026
Tesla is going all in on autonomy, and that’s never been a secret. But the commitment to a two-door, two-seat Cybercab truly limits people from having options for labor or hobbies. It also limits people from having their entire family in a single car.
Parents with even a single child will be required to take multiple vehicles if Cybercab is truly the only option Tesla plans to have.
Elon Musk keeps justifying Tesla Cybertruck’s cancelation, but it’s confusing
Tesla has stated the Robovan will also be in production eventually, but it still does not seem like the most ideal vehicle to own. It seems like it is geared more toward commercial uses, but Tesla might have something in the pipeline for families.
Tesla upfitter offers to keep Cybertruck alive
Elon Musk says Tesla Cybercab future is ‘obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain’
