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Elon Musk shares details on Tesla Model Y redesign, battery cell production in Giga Berlin

(Credit: Tobias Lindh/YouTube)

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One of the most notable moments in Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s visit to the Gigafactory Berlin complex was an impromptu interview with several members of the media. Musk discussed numerous topics in his 9-minute interview, from the quick buildout of Giga Berlin, the upcoming facility’s next-generation paint shop, and why it is pertinent for the German electric vehicle factory to be constructed as soon as possible. But beyond this, Musk also shared details about a couple of pertinent initiatives that will be rolled out in Gigafactory Berlin: the Model Y redesign and local battery cell production. 

Based on Musk’s comments, it appears that Giga Berlin is poised to be Tesla’s most advanced factory yet. After candidly admitting that the vehicles from the German plant will likely have better paint than those produced in the United States, Musk noted that the Made-in-Germany Model Y will also be undergoing a radical redesign. Musk stated that some of these updates to the Model Y will be discussed during Battery Day. Following is Musk’s statement as transcribed by Tesla bull and enthusiast James Stephenson. 

“Like I was saying, you know, we build the factory and then also there’s a bunch of innovative stuff that we will be doing here that we will tell you about in the future… It’s not just a copy of the Model Y. It’s actually a radical redesign of the core technology of building a car. And some of this, when I do Battery Day in September, I’ll be talking about what we are going to be doing here in Berlin. But it will be the first time there’s going to be a transformation in the core structural design of the vehicle. It’s quite, quite a big thing,” Musk remarked. 

Apart from providing new details about the Model Y redesign, Musk also confirmed that Tesla is looking to produce battery cells in the Gigafactory Berlin complex. The Tesla CEO shared this detail while explaining why there is such a rush to get Giga Berlin online as soon as possible. According to Musk, it is pertinent to move fast because of Tesla’s mission, which is to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy. Ultimately, Musk noted that for the sake of the climate, companies like Tesla must move as fast as they can. 

“I believe in speed. And I think also, well, to be serious for a second, I think it’s very important for our climate that we move quickly. It matters. I think it’s very important that we accelerate the transition to sustainable energy and that we move as quickly as possible. So this is the reason for the sense of urgency… And I’ve been saying this for a long time. It’s good to see some companies like VW taking this seriously now, but still only a very small percentage of cars that are made are electric. 

“And then I think we will probably do more than cars here. I think we will provably be building some battery cells here. I think that’ll be good for stationary storage of wind and solar. Essentially, the three elements that are necessary for a sustainable energy future are energy generation, energy storage, and electric transportation — electric cars, and eventually, electric aircraft. Ironically, everything will go electric except rockets,” Musk said. 

Interestingly enough, initial plans for Gigafactory Berlin actually had large areas of the site allotted for a battery cell facility. With this in mind, it appears that Tesla has been pondering local battery cell production for Giga Berlin for some time now. Perhaps the bigger question now is if the company will be utilizing a partner for the Berlin site, similar to its strategy with Panasonic in Gigafactory Nevada, or if Tesla will operate its own custom battery cell lines, similar to the “Roadrunner” project in Fremont.

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Watch Elon Musk’s full interview at Gigafactory Berlin in the video below.

H/T James Stephenson.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Starlink launches Communities Program for passive income through internet sharing

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(Credit: Starlink | X)

Starlink is launching a new beta path for ordinary property owners and local operators to turn a single Starlink kit into a small shared-access business for passive income.

Under the Starlink for Communities program, a host installs one dish and router setup in a location with nearby demand: an apartment complex, campground, rural crossroads, or event site. Neighbors or local users can buy short-term passes rather than full individual subscriptions, giving the Starlink provider a potential path to passive income.

Hour, day, and week passes cover one device. A month pass covers up to four. Starlink handles account creation, payments, access controls, and the satellite link itself. The host’s role is mainly placement, power, and basic upkeep, with earnings tied to each paid connection.

The model echoes the passive-income vision long attached to Tesla’s Robotaxi plans, and it seems like it’s something Musk has hinted toward in the past as he believes AI will make the need to work relatively optional. In both cases, the platform owns the hard parts of matching, billing, and network management, while an individual supplies a physical asset that sits idle much of the time.

A Starlink host’s dish can serve multiple nearby users without each household buying and installing its own terminal. A Tesla owner, under the stated Robotaxi concept, would leave a vehicle enrolled in the fleet during unused hours so the car generates rides while the owner is at work or asleep.

Both arrangements convert under-utilized hardware into a revenue stream. They also let the company scale coverage or capacity without owning every endpoint.

Differences are practical. A Starlink kit is a fixed, relatively low-cost terminal whose main constraint is local congestion and line-of-sight. A Tesla Robotaxi is a mobile, high-value vehicle whose earnings depend on demand density, utilization rates, insurance, cleaning, and charging.

Starlink’s program is already accepting host applications in multiple countries and describes the revenue split as ongoing. Tesla’s owner-network version remains more aspirational.

The company currently operates a limited company-controlled robotaxi service in select areas and has solicited interest from fleet buyers for Cybercab vehicles, while private Full Self-Driving owners have not yet been able to dispatch their own cars for paid rides at scale.

Tesla primes Cybercabs for 4K streaming and high bandwidth gaming with Starlink integration

Starlink is a satellite broadband service operated by SpaceX that uses a constellation of low-Earth-orbit satellites to deliver internet to locations where terrestrial broadband is slow, expensive, or absent. It has grown to millions of subscribers worldwide by selling direct residential, mobile, and enterprise terminals, and have become widely available at a wide array at retail locations like Target and Best Buy.

The Communities program extends that reach by letting hosts resell short bursts of capacity to people nearby, while also providing high-speed internet access to those who are simply around a Starlink user.

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Tesla just made its headlights even better through a software update

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Credit: @jojje167 on X

Tesla just upgraded its headlights through a software update, making them even better without any physical or hardware upgrade.

Tesla’s latest software update is quietly improving nighttime driving for a small number of owners. Version 2026.38 includes a new capability called Dynamic Headlight Leveling.

The feature automatically adjusts the aim of the low beams in response to driving conditions and nearby traffic, with the goal of giving the driver more usable light on the road while reducing glare for oncoming vehicles and traffic ahead.

Unlike Tesla’s matrix high-beam system, which selectively dims individual LED segments to create shadows around other cars, Dynamic Headlight Leveling physically tilts the low-beam projectors. Internal motors respond to changes in vehicle pitch.

When the car accelerates hard, climbs a steep grade, or carries extra weight in the rear, the headlights can otherwise point higher than intended. The software counters that movement in real time so the beam stays aimed at the road surface rather than into the eyes of other drivers.

Early indications reveal the update is reaching a limited set of vehicles, including certain Model 3 and Cybertruck examples in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. The rollout does not appear tied to a single hardware revision, and Tesla has not published a broader schedule. It is simply a common waiting game until your car receives it.

The change arrives against a backdrop of wider complaints about headlight glare. Some earlier Model 3 and Model Y vehicles were the subject of an NHTSA recall related to excessive low-beam glare; the software adjustment offers a potential mitigation for cars equipped with the necessary leveling hardware. It does not replace adaptive high beams where those are already available, nor does it alter the basic low-beam pattern itself.

Instead, it keeps an existing beam pointed where it is most useful.

For drivers who have received the update, the system requires no new settings or user input. The headlights simply respond as road conditions and traffic change. As the feature reaches more vehicles, it adds another example of Tesla using over-the-air software to refine existing hardware rather than waiting for a new model year. Nighttime visibility and reduced glare for others are the practical results owners are expected to notice first.

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Tesla teases “Halloween Mode” update with Optimus rising from a graveyard

Tesla’s Halloween teaser hides a covered vehicle and an Optimus hand rising from the ground.

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Tesla has started teasing a Halloween software update for its vehicles, with  a short clip on X that reads, “Halloween is coming.” The clip opens on a glowing pumpkin before pulling back to the car’s center touchscreen, where the usual parked visualization has been replaced by a graveyard scene, and the vehicle draped with a white sheet so it reads as a cartoon ghost.

The second detail is a robotic hand clawing its way out of the dirt like a zombie, which looks to be the hand of Tesla’s latest Optimus V3 humanoid robot. While Tesla still has not formally shown Optimus Gen 3 walking around in service, renders pulled from Tesla’s Android app last month gave the clearest look yet, including far more refined hands that Tesla has said carry 22 degrees of freedom. The hand has been the hardest part of the program. Musk has called it the majority of the robot’s engineering difficulty, and Tesla’s patents describe a design driven by tendons with the actuators moved into the forearm.

Tesla Optimus V3 hand and arm details revealed in new patents

Optimus also has a Halloween track record. Last October the robot handed out candy in Times Square, and a costumed “zombie” Optimus shuffled around the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on Halloween night.

On the software side, Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update expanded Santa Mode with a Santa sleigh, snowmen, snow effects, and a festive lock chime, so it wouldn’t be too far fetched if we saw something similar but themed for a  Halloween Mode.

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