News
Ford CEO gives nod to Tesla Model 3 in F-150 Lightning announcement
Ford CEO Jim Farley may have thrown some shade towards Tesla in the past, but the automotive veteran seemed to have adopted a much friendlier stance as of late. In a statement about Ford’s next EV, the F-150 Lightning, Farley gave a nod to several key vehicles that paved the way for the all-electric truck. One of the vehicles that the CEO mentioned was none other than the Tesla Model 3.
“Every so often, a new vehicle comes along that disrupts the status quo and changes the game … Model T, Mustang, Prius, Model 3. Now comes the F-150 Lightning. America’s favorite vehicle for nearly half a century is going digital and fully electric. F-150 Lightning can power your home during an outage; it’s even quicker than the original F-150 Lightning performance truck, and it will constantly improve through over-the-air updates,” Farley said.
America’s number one truck has been electrified for the future — and we can’t wait to show it off on May 19. #F150Lightning pic.twitter.com/qxjOjaFD5C
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) May 10, 2021
Farley’s comments come on the heels of his recent tweets about Elon Musk’s projects, where he congratulated the SpaceX CEO for successfully launching and landing Starship SN15. Musk appreciated the Ford CEO’s commendation, and in a later post, Farley remarked that he is “so respectful of SpaceX and Elon’s vision.”
Thanks Jim
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2021
Farley’s friendlier stance on vehicles like the Model 3 would likely be received well by the electric vehicle community. With more carmakers jumping into the electric vehicle game, after all, tribalism tends to ensue. This happened recently when several Ford executives, including Farley himself, piled on against Tesla during the height of the controversy surrounding a tragic Model S crash in Texas last month.
Interestingly enough, things were actually quite friendly between Ford and Tesla prior to the legacy automaker’s shift in tone last month. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was particularly supportive of the Mach-E when it was unveiled, and Farley equally acknowledged his counterpart when Musk mentioned how Tesla and Ford were the only carmakers that never went bankrupt. With this in mind, it was quite great to see the Ford CEO shifting once more to a less aggressive stance towards a competitor.
Respect…. https://t.co/jJDsCvf0AY
— Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) March 5, 2021
After all, the Ford F-150 Lightning, named after the iconic high-powered V8 F-150s from 1993-95 and 1999-2004, is shaping up to be one amazing vehicle. While Ford has not revealed the full details of the truck to date, some information about the upcoming vehicle has been mentioned by the company. As per Ford, the Lightning will have a dual motor setup that would produce more torque and more horsepower than any existing F-150. It will also have the quickest acceleration.
But more importantly, Ford has emphasized that the F-150 Lightning would be a capable work truck and a legitimate extension of its growth strategy for the iconic F Series, the company’s most lucrative product line. This should allow the Ford F-150 Lightning to meet other all-electric trucks head-on in the market, such as the Tesla Cybertruck, which starts below $40,000, and later on, the all-electric Chevy Silverado, its longstanding rival in the pickup truck market.
The Ford F-150 Lightning will debut on May 19 at 9:30 p.m. ET on social media platforms, as well as at Times Square in New York and on the Las Vegas Strip.
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Tesla Cybercab is using a unique strategy for picking up the correct rider, which is a crucial part of ride-hailing to ensure people end up in the right place and are charged the correct price.
Cybercab will utilize an RGB strip in its front light bar that will illuminate in a variety of different colors to mark itself.
This identifying mark will also appear in the Robotaxi app, giving riders in the same location a notable distinction in an effort to avoid any confusion regarding who should get in each vehicle.
🚨 Tesla is using different light bar colors to help riders understand which vehicle is theirs
Pretty cool strategy pic.twitter.com/eGMpEMeRpc
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 27, 2026
Other ride-hailing services use similar strategies: Lyft and Uber rides are recognizable through driver identity, vehicle type and color, as well as license plate. Waymo will display the rider’s initials on top of the vehicle, letting them know that the specific vehicle for them has arrived.
Tesla’s strategy is unique and interesting, but there are some flaws. Cybercab’s main purpose is aimed toward being an autonomous ride for all, including those who have disabilities like being blind or even color blind.
Tesla will likely have something in the pipeline for those who cannot see colors or have limited vision. There will definitely be multiple ways to identify which vehicle is the one that “you” specifically ordered.
Cybercab is set to start giving public rides next Thursday, September 3, in Austin, as it announced a dedicated event last week and invited many members of the Tesla community.
Additionally, members of the public will be invited as well. Tesla has been offering employee rides in Cybercab for nearly two months.
Tesla has said goodbye to one customization option for its vehicles: the wrap service it launched several years ago.
After launching an in-house wrap service in August 2020 for the first time in China. In the U.S., it launched in October 2023. Tesla continued to expand the program and adjust it with better pricing and fewer options for the Cybertruck.
By December 2023, it was giving owners of the Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck the opportunity to give their vehicle a fresh look with a vinyl wrap.
Tesla revamps in-house vinyl wrap service with better pricing
It was only available in five locations: Costa Mesa, Oceanside, Santa Clara, West Covina, all in California, and Seattle, Washington.
However, Tesla made some big adjustments to its shop, and the wrap service is officially gone:
Tesla has made a LOT of changes to its online shop recently — price increases, price cuts, new options, and several products being removed entirely.
Some of the biggest increases are wheel covers. 👀
📈 PRICE INCREASES
• 2017-2023 | Model 3 Aero Wheel Cover — Style: Refresh…— Phoenix Self-Driving 🐦🔥 (@PhoenixFSD) August 25, 2026
Wraps are very popular across the Tesla lineup, especially since the company offers relatively few colors. Many choose to wrap their Teslas with interesting colors, patterns, or even finishes, turning their cars from glossy to satin or matte.
However, Tesla’s wrap service was so limited geographically that it never really had a chance to get off the ground or compete with local shops. Every area in the United States is now overflowing with detailing shops, mobile detailers, and other automotive specialists, many of whom perform wrap services.
Tesla’s service was confined to the Pacific time zone and only spanned across two states. It was never going to be something Tesla was a major competitor in, nor was it going to disrupt the wrapping industry. Now that the program has ended, it seems pretty ideal to believe it was always going to be a short-term thing.
Along with the wrap service, Tesla removed several other products, but nothing too crazy. The Model 3 Door Pocket and Cupholder Liners, the Model S 19″ Magnetite Wheel and Winter Tire Package, Model X/Y Ski/Snowboard Carrier for Hitch Rack, Tesla’s Electric Summer Party Tee, and the Electric Summer Tee were the other items the company totally eliminated from its online shop.
News
Tesla Robotaxi fleet gets a brain upgrade ahead of Cybercab launch event
Tesla’s Robotaxi service now runs longer hours nationwide as its unsupervised fleet quietly grows larger.
Tesla’s Robotaxi service just got easier to catch, with the company’s official Robotaxi account noting that rides are now available from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, across its operating footprint. The account also said its unsupervised fleet is “a lot bigger” than before, though without specifics. The bigger change is what Tesla says upgraded intelligence in vehicle distribution and routing is what’s actually cutting wait times, not a new Full Self-Driving version.
While Tesla did not name the team behind the upgrade, the language points to its AI and fleet software group rather than the driving stack itself. Vehicle distribution and routing in Robotaxi has functioned mostly as a dispatch problem with the software deciding which idle car goes to which rider, and how far it has to travel to get there. “Upgraded intelligence” suggests a smarter version of that dispatch logic, likely using demand forecasting to position idle cars near where riders are about to request them rather than reacting once a request comes in. Tesla’s AI division has built similar prediction systems for other parts of the business, including the neural networks that power FSD itself, so applying that same approach to fleet logistics would be a natural extension rather than a new discipline for the team.
Robotaxi now runs 6am to 10pm, 7 days/week
Unsupervised fleet is a lot bigger
Also, upgraded intelligence in vehicle distribution & routing means you wait less pic.twitter.com/UFZ4bqg2dZ
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) August 26, 2026
Tesla is also about a week away from a separate robotaxi milestone. The company plans to launch Cybercab, its purpose built two seat robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals, in Austin on September 3. Cybercab has been giving employees rides on public and private roads for weeks, and the September event is expected to fold those vehicles into the existing Robotaxi fleet within days of the launch.
Thank you so much @Tesla for inviting us to the Cybercab launch in Austin! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/F1rAR8zd5O
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 22, 2026
Austin previously ran Robotaxi from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. as of last September, a schedule set before the service expanded into Dallas, Houston, Miami, Tampa, Orlando and the Bay Area. Wednesday’s post did not specify whether that extended overnight window still applies in Austin specifically or whether 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. is now the standard across every market. Tesla’s post, visible on its official Robotaxi account, framed the change simply as fewer riders waiting around for a car.
Whether the wider hours hold once Cybercab enters the fleet next week is the next thing worth watching. Tesla has tended to expand Robotaxi in increments, first geofence, then hours, then fleet size, and each step so far has arrived without much advance notice.
Tesla Cybercab uses a unique strategy for picking up the right rider
Tesla ends in-house wrap service that always seemed like a short-term program
