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Tesla’s next ‘big unveil’ after Model Y will be its battery growth story
Tesla’s 2020 is bound to be a historic year, for more reasons than initially expected. Unlike 2017 and 2019, which were marked by impressive product unveiling events for the Semi, next-gen Roadster, Model Y, and Cybertruck, 2020 is poised to be a year where Tesla simply optimizes its operations to such a point that the company becomes sustainably profitable.
Save for 2018, Tesla has adopted the practice of unveiling new vehicles and energy products in a steady stream. This will not be the case this year, since Elon Musk himself has noted following the Cybertruck’s unveiling event that Tesla will not be holding formal vehicle launches for a while. The Model S Plaid is expected to be rolled out later this year, but the vehicle’s launch could be similar to that of the Raven Model S and X — subtle and simple.
Unlike previous years, Tesla will likely not be focusing too much on the rollout of an upcoming vehicle after initial Model Y deliveries are conducted. With the all-electric crossover being manufactured and delivered to customers, Tesla will likely end up focusing its resources on strengthening its core technology, particularly its batteries. This will partly be due to the arrival of three vehicles that are set to be released soon: the Tesla Semi, the next-gen Roadster, and the Cybertruck.
Part of the reason behind the Model Y’s quicker than expected production ramp is due to the vehicle’s similarity to the Model 3. The two midsize EVs share 75% of their parts, which meant that their production process is not too different from each other. Tesla learned a hard lesson with the Model X and the Model S by over-designing the SUV and making it far too different compared to its sedan sibling, which resulted in massive production delays. This lesson appears to have been learned and adopted for the Model Y ramp.
But Tesla’s next three vehicles are not quite as simple as the Model Y in terms of their battery tech and production processes. While the Model Y will likely use the same battery packs as its Model 3 sibling, the Semi, Cybertruck, and new Roadster do not. In fact, due to their specs and features, each of these new vehicles will likely be equipped with batteries that hold Tesla’s best and latest innovations, and they be built on platforms that are new and specifically designed for each vehicle.
The Semi, for example, is a Class 8 long-hauler that has a range of 300-500 miles per charge. Its capability to haul 80,000 pounds of weight on the road is no joke, and the vehicle’s near-sports car performance suggests that the Semi requires a very large battery pack. Tesla has not revealed the size of the batteries in the two Semi prototypes that are undergoing real-world testing today, but speculations from the EV community go as high as 1 MWh due to the truck’s weight. With better battery efficiency, optimized software, and higher energy density in its cells, Tesla may be able to achieve the Semi’s long-range targets without necessarily using as many batteries as a small fleet of Model 3s.
The Cybertruck is not as large as the Semi, but it seems to require some notable battery improvements as well due to its price and specs. A top-tier Cybertruck costs below $70,000, and for that price, Tesla is offering over 500 miles of range per charge. Considering that the all-electric pickup truck is not exactly as sleek as the Model S in terms of aerodynamics, achieving such a range will likely require the all-electric pickup to have a pretty hefty battery. Batteries are usually considered as one of the most expensive parts of an EV, so it would be interesting to see just how low Tesla can push its battery prices down to make a behemoth of an EV go over 500 miles at a sub-$70,000 price.
The next-gen Roadster may only be seeing a production rate of about 10,000 per year, according to Elon Musk, but the vehicle still requires improvements in its batteries to become a definitive “hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars.” This is because the Roadster was announced with a 200-kWh battery pack that provides 620 miles of range. Tesla was at a different place when it announced the next-gen Roadster’s specs. Hence, it would not be a stretch to speculate that the production version of the all-electric supercar will either have a slightly smaller but more energy-dense battery that still provides 620 miles of range, or a 200 kWh battery pack that offers far beyond 1,000 km in one charge.
Tesla’s growth story is usually tied to the company’s release of one best-selling electric vehicle after another. But this year, after the Model Y, Tesla’s growth story will become more of a battery-driven narrative. The company’s battery tech will ultimately determine whether or not the Semi, Cybertruck, and new Roadster will be a success. But if Tesla’s batteries are up for the task, the company’s disruption of the auto industry will likely end up accelerating even more.
What’s pretty interesting to note is that all these potential battery-related breakthroughs also apply towards Tesla’s Energy business, which is rarely even considered by Wall Street when analysts evaluate the company. Every battery-related milestone that is rolled out to the company’s vehicles is also introduced to its energy storage devices. With this in mind, it is not too farfetched to speculate that this year may also end up becoming a renaissance of sorts for Tesla Energy. Part of this push could involve the introduction of slightly smaller but more energy-dense residential batteries and a line of cheaper energy storage units that are just as good as the company’s current products.
This sounds like another disruption in the making.
A new report from Reuters claims that a transport authority in Sweden is pushing back against the approval of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite because it will travel over speed limits.
The report says the Swedish Transport Administration (TRV) recommends the European Union votes against FSD’s approval. TRV believes it should not be approved until Tesla disables FSD’s ability to speed.
TRV sent a letter to the European Union’s Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV), which is set to meet on June 30 to discuss the potential approval of the Tesla FSD suite in the country. Tesla, which has received various approvals in Europe over the past two months, has not provided a comment.
Teslas operating on FSD do travel over the speed limit, depending on the Speed Profile that is chosen. Drivers have the ability to disengage FSD at any point; Tesla specifically states that those supervising the suite are responsible for its actions.
Let’s cut to the chase: humans operating any vehicle speed almost daily in the United States. Realistically, speed limits in the U.S. are more frequently treated as speed minimums. However, other countries are different, and driving behaviors are less aggressive.
TRV believes that “allowing automated systems to systematically exceed legal speed limits…risks undermining both the legal framework and the expected safety benefits of vehicle automation,” the report stated. It’s surprising that Tesla has not received this claim from other countries previously.
This could be a good argument to bring Max Speed back, the setting that previously allowed the driver to choose the absolute fastest the car would travel.
This would still put the responsibility of supervision in the hands of the driver. It would allow the driver to choose whether the car would travel over the speed limit or not, acknowledging that they set the speed, and if they get pulled over, there would be no ability to argue it.
However, it does not seem as if this is something Tesla will do, especially considering many U.S. drivers have requested the feature in an effort to eliminate speeding or at least tone it down. The company has not shown any interest in bringing it back.
Tesla has approvals for FSD in Europe in Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Tesla is going to let you guide Full Self-Driving with Grok in 3 months, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X.
The response from Musk, which revealed Tesla plans to allow drivers to effectively control the car and its navigation more explicitly using Grok, puts the feature for about September.
A Tesla owner said that Full Self-Driving is great, but owners should be able to “converse with Grok like we can with an Uber driver.” She then used examples like, “Grok, turn right here,” and “Drop us off right here, we’ll walk due to traffic,” and finally,” Drop at entrance first, then park far away.”
Coincidentally, the final piece of dialogue would also mean features like Banish are potentially on the way soon.
This functionality will be there in about 3 months or so
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 18, 2026
Banish is also referred to as “Reverse Summon,” and would enable the car to self-park while dropping occupants off at their destination.
This would be a great way to improve the overall experience while supervising FSD. Navigation is already a major painpoint that many owners complain about. Manual overrides when a maneuver is requested or canceled (like using the turn signal stalk to override a navigation route), do not always work.
The feature could be especially useful in street parking scenarios in a city, where spots are sometimes tough to come by. Many of us who grab dinner in a more populated area will park a street or two over from wherever we’re going, because sometimes you know that’s the best you will get. If a driver using FSD could say, “Hey Grok, turn right here on Queen St. and park in that open spot on the right,” it could save a lot of confusion FSD might have on its own.
Musk teased that a similar feature was “coming” back in February:
Tesla Full Self-Driving set to get an awesome new feature, Elon Musk says
It is certainly surprising that Tesla is doing it at this point. The company’s more recent moves have been more evident of taking control and inputs away from humans and putting them in the AI’s hands more frequently. The biggest example of this was taking away Max Speed in AI4 cars, giving us Speed Profiles, and not having any input on the fastest speed the car will travel.
Of course, giving navigation preferences to Grok is availble already in Teslas, but not at the drop of a hat. Instead, you can suggest a certain route at the beginning of your drive.
Here’s an example of that from December:
🚨🏈 I am taking my parents and Fiancee to the @Ravens game next weekend and asked @Grok to help me route my @Tesla through a specific neighborhood to reach the correct Lot we will park in.
This is a great example of the new @grok nav integration with the Tesla Holiday Update: pic.twitter.com/rPp4I7q8Yv
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) December 13, 2025
Finally, the original post that Musk responded to mentioned a parking preference after dropping off the occupants, which describes the Banish feature that Tesla has teased for years.
We’re not sure if Musk was responding more to the ability to guide the car with Grok, or whether he also was including Banish in the three-month prediction timeframe.
A close-up image of a Cybercab engineering vehicle in Peabody, Massachusetts, reveals a compact triangular side repeater camera housing equipped with an integrated washer mechanism.
This seemingly small hardware addition could prove to be one of the most critical components for achieving reliable, unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) — not just for the dedicated Robotaxi but potentially for existing AI4-equipped vehicles as well.
The washer system’s importance cannot be overstated in Tesla’s vision-only autonomy approach. Cameras are the sole sensory input for the neural networks powering FSD, constantly interpreting the environment for safe navigation. In real-world conditions, however, lenses quickly accumulate rain, snow, mud, dust, or road spray.
Many of us Tesla owners, especially those who deal with any sort of winter weather at all, know the all-too-common alert that pops up when cameras are obstructed:
Even brief obstructions can drop perception confidence, trigger safety disengagements, or force the vehicle to pull over, although these are relatively rare. Instead, most of the time, the camera will need a wipe from the owner next time they stop the car.
But unlike human drivers who can manually clear their view, a Robotaxi operating 24/7 without a steering wheel or mirrors must maintain pristine vision autonomously. The Cybercab’s side repeater washer delivers targeted cleaning bursts precisely where needed for merging, lane changes, and blind-spot monitoring — functions that demand uninterrupted visibility from the external cameras:
And this is how the side camera and washer look like on a Cybercab. This is from an Engineering vehicle in Peabody MA. pic.twitter.com/Re8VknpmLM
— Tobias Goebel (Unsupervised) (@tpgoebel) June 17, 2026
This hardware directly tackles a known pain point in current FSD deployments. Owners frequently report camera-related alerts during inclement weather, which is understandable, but needs to be solved for a true autonomous experience.
For a production Robotaxi fleet aiming for high utilization and minimal downtime, robust washer systems represent a foundational reliability upgrade; essentially, they’re a must-have. Early sightings suggest the design may extend to rear cameras as well, creating a comprehensive cleaning architecture that keeps the entire vision suite operational in harsh environments.
Without it, even the most advanced neural nets struggle when their “eyes” are compromised.
What Does This Mean for AI4 Cars?
This Cybercab detail raises timely questions for AI4 cars already on the road. While Hardware 4 delivers superior compute and camera resolution compared to earlier versions, production models typically lack dedicated side and rear washers. Tesla has included them on Model Y robotaxis that it is using in the fleet:
Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature not available on typical Model Ys
As Tesla refines unsupervised FSD for broader release, the gap in environmental resilience becomes evident. Software improvements can help mitigate issues, but they cannot fully replace physical cleaning in heavy rain or muddy conditions. Analysts and owners increasingly speculate that AI4 vehicles may eventually require similar washer retrofits — or a future AI4.5 variant — to match the Cybercab’s all-weather readiness and support the same level of autonomy.
As testing progresses, the Cybercab’s washer mechanism highlights Tesla’s pragmatic focus on real-world robustness. It may well become the hardware piece that determines how quickly and reliably FSD scales from prototypes to everyday vehicles.
Tesla faces Full Self-Driving pushback in EU over ‘speeding’
Tesla teases greater Grok FSD integration and ‘Banish’ feature ‘in about 3 months’
