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Tesla shares glimpse of a streamlined Model 3 paint shop with udder-like robots
A day after dropping a bombshell announcement about its possible privatization, Tesla is back to its candid, humorous ways on social media, with the electric car company uploading a rather strange video featuring a paint applicator robot for the Model 3 — a machine that looks uncannily similar to a cow’s udder. Topping the post off was the perfect caption — a series of emojis including a cow and a robot.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmOZ5C0BOgB/?taken-by=teslamotors
Tesla’s recent upload stands as a lighthearted contrast to the seriousness surrounding the company and its bid to go private. Elon Musk surprised the markets on Tuesday by announcing that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share, and that funding has been secured. The market reacted strongly to the news, pushing the company’s stock up 11% before the day’s trading ended. Musk’s announcement also triggered a wave of new doubts from the company’s critics, some of whom alleged that the privatization bid went under Tesla’s board of directors, or that Musk might have broken the law by revealing his plan on Twitter.
Amidst all the tension presently surrounding the company, fun, harmless social media posts such as the Model 3’s udder-style paint applicator are a reminder of Tesla’s fun nature. Elon Musk is never one to hesitate when it comes to having some fun, even at his own expense, and this personality extends to his companies. Stuffing a sports car on a rocket and sending it to space, naming a boring company as literally The Boring Company — these are trademarks of Musk’s character, and it is something that Tesla has lost a bit over the past few months.
Tesla is the only one among Musk’s companies that is publicly traded. It is also the one that gets scrutinized the most. SpaceX launches might attract sensational headlines from mainstream media every so often, but they are nothing compared to the negative coverage that Tesla draws. This is something that Elon Musk has continuously battled over the past few months, and unfortunately for the CEO, there were numerous times when he lost control of the narrative. In a letter to employees explaining why he is considering taking Tesla private, Musk mentioned that a departure from the public markets would likely create a setup where “there are no perverse incentives for people to try to harm what (the company is) trying to achieve” — a statement seemingly directed at the company’s critics and short-sellers.
-->In a way, Tesla’s fun upload featuring its robot udder Model 3 paint applicator is not just the company showing its more playful side. It is also Tesla’s way of showing that its paint shop — one of the sources of bottlenecks in the Model 3 production in Q2 — is working well. The Model 3’s production has quite literally passed through manufacturing hell since the vehicle started rolling off the assembly line last year. Elon Musk even noted in a previous interview that the whole ordeal had left him with permanent mental “scar” tissue.
One of the sources of these bottlenecks is the company’s paint shop. Several reports published in Q2 alleged that Tesla’s paint shop was contributing to the “sluggish” pace of Model 3 production due to improper cleaning, maintenance, and insufficient training for new employees. Reports about the company’s paint shop also alleged that Tesla’s employees were worried about their health due to the fumes from the paint the company is using. Tesla denied these reports, stating that its paint shop is regularly monitored and maintained, and that it is continually improving the training of its staff.
In the Q2 2018 earnings call, Elon Musk specifically mentioned the paint shop as one of the areas where Tesla is looking to improve. While discussing the systems it would employ in its upcoming factories such as Gigafactory 3 in China; Musk stated that Tesla is in the process of the figuring out how to make the paint shop a lot simpler.
“I think we can be a lot more efficient with CapEx, and that would include at least a factory module and pack production, body shop, paint shop and general assembly. We’re also figuring out how to make the paint shop a lot simpler and general assembly a lot simpler,” Musk said.
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News
Waymo driverless taxi drives directly into active LAPD standoff
No injuries occurred, and the passengers inside the vehicle were safely transported to their destination, as per a Waymo representative.
A video posted on social media has shown an occupied Waymo driverless taxi driving directly into the middle of an active LAPD standoff in downtown Los Angeles.
As could be seen in the short video, which was initially posted on Instagram by user Alex Choi, a Waymo driverless taxi drove directly into the middle of an active LAPD standoff in downtown Los Angeles.
The driverless taxi made an unprotected left turn despite what appeared to be a red light, briefly entering a police perimeter. At the time, officers seemed to be giving commands to a prone suspect on the ground, who looked quite surprised at the sudden presence of the driverless vehicle.
People on the sidewalk, including the person who was filming the video, could be heard chuckling at the Waymo’s strange behavior.
The Waymo reportedly cleared the area within seconds. No injuries occurred, and the passengers inside the vehicle were safely transported to their destination, as per a Waymo representative. Still, the video spread across social media, with numerous netizens poking fun at the gaffe.
-->Others also pointed out that such a gaffe would have resulted in widespread controversy had the vehicle involved been a Tesla on FSD. Tesla is constantly under scrutiny, with TSLA shorts and similar groups actively trying to put down the company’s FSD program.
A Tesla on FSD or Robotaxi accidentally driving into an active police standoff would likely cause lawsuits, nonstop media coverage, and calls for a worldwide ban, at the least.
This was one of the reasons why even minor traffic infractions committed by the company’s Robotaxis during their initial rollout in Austin received nationwide media attention. This particular Waymo incident, however, will likely not receive as much coverage.
Tesla Model Y demand in China is through the roof, and new delivery dates show the company has already sold out its allocation of the all-electric crossover for 2025.
The Model Y has been the most popular vehicle in the world in both of the last two years, outpacing incredibly popular vehicles like the Toyota RAV 4. In China, the EV market is substantially more saturated, with more competitors than in any other market.
However, Tesla has been kind to the Chinese market, as it has launched trim levels for the Model Y in the country that are not available anywhere else. Demand has been strong for the Model Y in China; it ranks in the top 5 of all EVs in the country, trailing the BYD Seagull, Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, and the Geely Galaxy Xingyuan.
The other three models ahead of the Model Y are priced substantially lower.
Tesla is still dealing with strong demand for the Model Y, and the company is now pushing delivery dates to early 2026, meaning the vehicle is sold out for the year:
NEWS: New orders for all four Tesla Model Y trims in China are now officially sold out for 2025, as the factory’s remaining production capacity for the year has been fully allocated.
Estimated delivery dates for new orders now show January-February 2026. pic.twitter.com/Dfnu7yY58N
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 1, 2025
Tesla experienced a 9.9 percent year-over-year rise in its China-made EV sales for November, meaning there is some serious potential for the automaker moving into next year despite increased competition.
There have been a lot of questions surrounding how Tesla would perform globally with more competition, but it seems to have a good grasp of various markets because of its vehicles, its charging infrastructure, and its Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite, which has been expanding to more countries as of late.
Tesla Model Y is still China’s best-selling premium EV through October
Tesla holds a dominating lead in the United States with EV registrations, and performs incredibly well in several European countries.
With demand in China looking strong, it will be interesting to see how the company ends the year in terms of global deliveries.
News
Tesla Europe rolls out FSD ride-alongs in the Netherlands’ holiday campaign
The festive event series comes amid Tesla’s ongoing push for regulatory approval of FSD across Europe.
Tesla Europe has announced that its “Future Holidays” campaign will feature Full Self-Driving (Supervised) ride-along experiences in the Netherlands.
The festive event series comes amid Tesla’s ongoing push for regulatory approval of FSD across Europe.
The Holiday program was announced by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on X. “Come get in the spirit with us. Featuring Caraoke, FSD Supervised ride-along experiences, holiday light shows with our S3XY lineup & more,” the company wrote in its post on X.
Per the program’s official website, fun activities will include Caraoke sessions and light shows with the S3XY vehicle lineup. It appears that Optimus will also be making an appearance at the events. Tesla even noted that the humanoid robot will be in “full party spirit,” so things might indeed be quite fun.
“This season, we’re introducing you to the fun of the future. Register for our holiday events to meet our robots, see if you can spot the Bot to win prizes, and check out our selection of exclusive merchandise and limited-edition gifts. Discover Tesla activities near you and discover what makes the future so festive,” Tesla wrote on its official website.
-->This announcement aligns with Tesla’s accelerating FSD efforts in Europe, where supervised ride-alongs could help demonstrate the tech to regulators and customers. The Netherlands, with its urban traffic and progressive EV policies, could serve as an ideal and valuable testing ground for FSD.
Tesla is currently hard at work pushing for the rollout of FSD to several European countries. Tesla has received approval to operate 19 FSD test vehicles on Spain’s roads, though this number could increase as the program develops. As per the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), Tesla would be able to operate its FSD fleet on any national route across Spain. Recent job openings also hint at Tesla starting FSD tests in Austria. Apart from this, the company is also holding FSD demonstrations in Germany, France, and Italy.
Waymo driverless taxi drives directly into active LAPD standoff
Tesla Model Y demand in China is through the roof, new delivery dates show
