News
Tesla Model Y rigid wiring is a step towards Elon Musk’s ‘Alien Dreadnought’ factory
The Tesla Model Y’s wiring seems to hint that little by little, the electric car maker is still moving towards a production line that is so automated, it is worthy of being dubbed an “Alien Dreadnought” factory. The most recent hint of this came in a video from auto teardown expert Sandy Munro, who is currently engaged in a thorough analysis and teardown of the Tesla Model Y.
Munro’s Model Y teardown has reached a point where the auto veteran is now looking into the all-electric crossover’s wiring system. Much to his pleasant surprise, Munro found that some of the Model Y’s wiring has become very different from those found in an early-production Model 3 he tore down and studied back in 2018. One of the key differences could be found in the wiring that connects the Model Y’s charge port to its battery pack.
As noted by Sandy Munro in his video, the heavy cables that connect the Model Y’s charge port to its battery pack are fitted inside a metal pipe. The auto veteran noted that this strategy has several advantages. By using a metal pipe, Tesla can ensure that the Model Y’s wiring is always a perfect fit during the vehicle’s assembly. The system also saves up space and weight compared to traditional cables, such as those found in the early-production Model 3.
This novel wiring system echoes a lot of the discussions in a previous Tesla patent published back in late 2018. In that particular patent, Tesla discussed how flexible wires are not optimized for production processes that are heavily reliant on automated machinery. Tesla’s patent then suggested the use of rigid cables, which could be easily picked up and installed by machines with very little margin or error. Interestingly enough, the Model Y’s wiring system that Munro recently discovered seemed to be quite similar to the structural cabling design that Tesla described in its patent.
The fact that the Model Y’s wiring seems to be optimized for automated production lines bodes well for Tesla. Elon Musk has always envisioned that Tesla factories will eventually run with minimal human staff, as robots would dominate the manufacturing line. Prior to the Model 3 ramp, for one, Musk described his vision for a factory that was so automated, Tesla’s internal name for it was the “Alien Dreadnought,” a reference to the hyper-advanced extraterrestrial ships in science fiction.
The pursuit for the Alien Dreadnought factory eventually had to take a step back during the Model 3 ramp, after the vehicle’s hyper-automated lines ended up performing less effectively than a production line that employs both humans and machines. Elon Musk, for his part, later admitted that he overreached with the Model 3’s automation. The CEO even remarked later that ultimately, he learned that “humans are underrated.”
If Munro’s discoveries on the Model Y’s wiring are any indication, it appears that Tesla is still making a lot of headway in optimizing its vehicles for automated production and assembly. The Model Y’s rigid wiring may be a simple change from the Model 3, but it goes a long way in proving that little by little, Tesla is still focused on improving its vehicles, from one iteration to the next.
Watch Sandy Munro’s latest feature on the Tesla Model Y in the video below.
Investor's Corner
Tesla gets tip of the hat from major Wall Street firm on self-driving prowess
“Tesla is at the forefront of autonomous driving, supported by a camera-only approach that is technically harder but much cheaper than the multi-sensor systems widely used in the industry. This strategy should allow Tesla to scale more profitably compared to Robotaxi competitors, helped by a growing data engine from its existing fleet,” BoA wrote.
Tesla received a tip of the hat from major Wall Street firm Bank of America on Wednesday, as it reinitiated coverage on Tesla shares with a bullish stance that comes with a ‘Buy’ rating and a $460 price target.
In a new note that marks a sharp reversal from its neutral position earlier in 2025, the bank declared Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology the “leading consumer autonomy solution.”
Analysts highlighted Tesla’s camera-only architecture, known as Tesla Vision, as a strategic masterstroke. While technically more challenging than the multi-sensor setups favored by rivals, the vision-based approach is dramatically cheaper to produce and maintain.
This cost edge, combined with Tesla’s rapidly expanding real-world data engine, positions the company to scale robotaxis far more profitably than competitors, BofA argues in the new note:
“Tesla is at the forefront of autonomous driving, supported by a camera-only approach that is technically harder but much cheaper than the multi-sensor systems widely used in the industry. This strategy should allow Tesla to scale more profitably compared to Robotaxi competitors, helped by a growing data engine from its existing fleet.”
The bank now attributes roughly 52% of Tesla’s total valuation to its Robotaxi ambitions. It also flagged meaningful upside from the Optimus humanoid robot program and the fast-growing energy storage business, suggesting the auto segment’s recent headwinds, including expired incentives, are being eclipsed by these higher-margin opportunities.
Tesla’s own data underscores exactly why Wall Street is waking up to FSD’s potential. According to Tesla’s official safety reporting page, the FSD Supervised fleet has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles driven.
Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles
That total ballooned from just 6 million miles in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and a staggering 4.25 billion in 2025 alone. In the first 50 days of 2026, owners added another 1 billion miles — averaging more than 20 million miles per day.
This avalanche of real-world, camera-captured footage, much of it on complex city streets, gives Tesla an unmatched training dataset. Every mile feeds its neural networks, accelerating improvement cycles that lidar-dependent rivals simply cannot match at scale.
Tesla owners themselves will tell you the suite gets better with every release, bringing new features and improvements to its self-driving project.
The $460 target implies roughly 15 percent upside from recent trading levels around $400. While regulatory and safety hurdles remain, BofA’s endorsement signals growing institutional conviction that Tesla’s data advantage is not hype; it’s a tangible moat already delivering billions of miles of proof.
News
Tesla to discuss expansion of Samsung AI6 production plans: report
Tesla has reportedly requested an additional 24,000 wafers per month, which would bring total production capacity to around 40,000 wafers if finalized.
Tesla is reportedly discussing an expansion of its next-generation AI chip supply deal with Samsung Electronics.
As per a report from Korean industry outlet The Elec, Tesla purchasing executives are reportedly scheduled to meet Samsung officials this week to negotiate additional production volume for the company’s upcoming AI6 chip.
Industry sources cited in the report stated that Tesla is pushing to increase the production volume of its AI6 chip, which will be manufactured using Samsung’s 2-nanometer process.
Tesla previously signed a long-term foundry agreement with Samsung covering AI6 production through December 31, 2033. The deal was reportedly valued at about 22.8 trillion won (roughly $16–17 billion).
Under the existing agreement, Tesla secured approximately 16,000 wafers per month from the facility. The company has reportedly requested an additional 24,000 wafers per month, which would bring total production capacity to around 40,000 wafers if finalized.
Tesla purchasing executives are expected to discuss detailed supply terms during their visit to Samsung this week.
The AI6 chip is expected to support several Tesla technologies. Industry sources stated that the chip could be used for the company’s Full Self-Driving system, the Optimus humanoid robot, and Tesla’s internal AI data centers.
The report also indicated that AI6 clusters could replace the role previously planned for Tesla’s Dojo AI supercomputer. Instead of a single system, multiple AI6 chips would be combined into server-level clusters.
Tesla’s semiconductor collaboration with Samsung dates back several years. Samsung participated in the design of Tesla’s HW3 (AI3) chip and manufactured it using a 14-nanometer process. The HW4 chip currently used in Tesla vehicles was also produced by Samsung using a 5-nanometer node.
Tesla previously planned to split production of its AI5 chip between Samsung and TSMC. However, the company reportedly chose Samsung as the primary partner for the newer AI6 chip.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk: Tesla could be first to build AGI in humanoid form
Musk’s statement was shared in a post on social media platform X.
Elon Musk predicted that Tesla could become one of the developers of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) in humanoid form. Musk’s statement was shared in a post on social media platform X.
In his post, Musk stated that “Tesla will be one of the companies to make AGI and probably the first to make it in humanoid/atom-shaping form.”
The comment comes as Tesla expands development of its Optimus humanoid robot.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings report, Elon Musk stated that production of the Model S and Model X would be phased out at its Fremont, California, facility. The vehicles’ production line will then be converted to a pilot line for Optimus. Tesla is looking to produce 1 million units of the humanoid robots annually to start.
Musk has previously stated that Optimus could eventually function as a von Neumann probe. The concept, proposed by mathematician John von Neumann, describes a machine capable of replicating itself using planetary resources and sending those replicas to other worlds.
Optimus would likely only be able to achieve this potential if it manages to achieve Artificial General Intelligence.
Other leaders in the AI sector have also expressed strong expectations about AGI’s potential. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, recently spoke about the technology at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, as noted in a Benzinga report.
“It’s going to be something like ten times the impact of the Industrial Revolution, but happening at ten times the speed,” Hassabis said.
Elon Musk’s recent comments about Tesla producing a product with AGI could hint at further collaboration among his companies. So far, Tesla is actively pursuing autonomous driving, but it is xAI that is pursuing AGI with its Grok program.
Considering that Elon Musk mentioned a Tesla humanoid product with AGI, it appears that an Optimus robot running xAI’s AI models could become a reality.
xAI had recently merged with SpaceX, though reports suggest that Elon Musk is also considering an even bigger merger for all his companies, including Tesla.
Tesla gets tip of the hat from major Wall Street firm on self-driving prowess
Tesla to discuss expansion of Samsung AI6 production plans: report
