Connect with us
tesla tesla

News

Tesla Model Y teardown forces Toyota to see an inconvenient truth: report

Image Credit: Tesla Inc.

Published

on

For some time now, it appeared that Toyota would be left behind in the electric vehicle transition. The company did not seem very serious about EVs, and the electric cars that it does release seem half-hearted at best. But as per a recent report, Toyota appears to have changed its stance on electric cars somewhat. They just needed to tear down a Tesla Model Y first. 

There’s something quite remarkable about Teslas. They may look the same over the years, but their internals are changed very frequently. This was certainly the case with the Tesla Model Y. Its earliest iterations are quite different from its latest versions, particularly those that are built in Giga Texas that use both front and rear megacasts and a structural 4680 battery pack. 

As noted in an Automotive News report, Toyota engineers recently conducted a teardown of a Tesla Model Y. The best-selling all-electric crossover did not just show the innovations that Tesla implemented on the vehicle. It also made Toyota realize that if they wanted to catch up in the emerging EV sector, they would have to get very serious about electric cars. 

Beneath the Model Y’s rather unassuming exterior was a car that could be described as a “masterfully simplistic vehicle structure built with an advanced manufacturing prowess,” the motoring publication noted. It was also something that would most likely incite envy among veteran automakers. A Toyota executive who looked over the Model Y’s components reportedly noted that the vehicle was nothing short of a work of art. 

Advertisement

“Taking the skin off the Model Y, it was truly a work of art. It’s unbelievable,” the executive said. 

If there was something that became evident for Toyota’s executives when they tore down the Model Y, it was the fact that the Japanese veteran automaker’s manufacturing expertise has been exceeded — at least when it comes to electric cars. This was evident in the Model Y’s internals, which has been updated over the years to make it better and more cost-effective to build. 

The Model Y’s megacasts, which were made possible by Tesla’s work with companies like IDRA to create Giga Press machines, eliminated numerous parts that make production more complicated. Toyota appears to have gotten its hands on a 4680 Model Y as well, as the publication referenced the all-electric crossover’s battery being part of the vehicle’s structure itself. 

Toyota reportedly estimated that Tesla’s approach, which the company developed over many years of painstaking optimizations, effectively eliminated hundreds of parts and about 220 pounds of weight. Innovations in the Model Y also boosted the Model Y’s battery range and lowered its overall costs. A Toyota executive described Tesla’s approach to the Model Y as a “whole different manufacturing philosophy.”

Advertisement

Another executive reportedly noted that what Toyota needs at this point is something different from what the veteran automaker has been doing so far. “We need a new platform designed as a blank-sheet EV,” the executive said. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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.

Advertisement
Comments

Lifestyle

Tesla Semi hauls fresh Cybercab batch as Robotaxi era takes hold

A Tesla Semi was filmed hauling Cybercab units out of Giga Texas for the first time.

Published

on

By

A Tesla Semi loaded with Cybercab units was recently filmed leaving Gigafactory Texas, marking what appears to be the first documented delivery run of Tesla’s autonomous two-seater. The footage shows multiple Cybercabs secured on a flatbed trailer being hauled by a production Tesla Semi, a truck rated for a gross combination weight of 82,000 lbs. The location is consistent with Giga Texas in Austin, where Cybercab production has been ramping since February 2026.

The sighting follows a wave of Cybercab activity at the Austin facility. In late April, drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer spotted approximately 60 Cybercabs parked in two organized groups in the factory’s outbound lot, the largest concentration observed to date. Units being staged in an outbound lot is a standard pre-delivery step, and the Semi footage is the logical next frame in that sequence.


This is not the first time Tesla has used its own Semi to move Tesla products. When the Semi was unveiled in 2017, Musk noted it would be used for Tesla’s own operations, and over the years Semi prototypes were spotted carrying cargo ranging from concrete weights to Tesla vehicles being delivered to consumers. In 2023, a Semi was photographed transporting a Cybertruck on a trailer ahead of that vehicle’s delivery launch.

The Cybercab itself was first revealed publicly at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, where 20 pre-production units gave attendees rides around the studio lot. Musk stated at the event that Tesla intends to produce the Cybercab before 2027. The first production unit rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026, with Musk posting on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab.”

Tesla’s annual production goal is 2 million Cybercabs per year once multiple factories reach full design capacity, with the company targeting a price under $30,000 per unit. Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.

Continue Reading

Cybertruck

Tesla Cybertruck too safe for even Musk’s biggest critics to ignore

Krassenstein’s decision reveals that superior safety isn’t a partisan issue. For parents prioritizing family protection over personal or political grudges, the Cybertruck has become too safe to ignore.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

The Tesla Cybertruck is an extremely polarizing vehicle because of its potential symbolism as a political stance instead of just a pickup truck — or at least that is what many would want you to believe.

Of course, the Cybertruck is an icon of Tesla culture, and it is one of those things that never has a middle ground: you love it, or you don’t.

But maybe there is an establishment of that “grey area” happening.

In a striking illustration of engineering triumph over political tribalism, prominent Elon Musk critic Brian Krassenstein has purchased a Tesla Cybertruck, openly citing its exceptional safety as the deciding factor for his family.

The announcement on X triggered predictable backlash, yet it underscores a growing reality: the Cybertruck’s safety credentials are proving impossible for even Musk’s fiercest detractors to dismiss.

Krassenstein, who has repeatedly clashed with Musk over issues ranging from content moderation and “wokeness” to public health figures, made no attempt to hide his reservations. In his May 6 post, he acknowledged the coming criticism: “I might get hate for this too but I bought a Cybertruck.”

He stressed that the decision had “nothing to do with Elon or politics,” pointing instead to practical advantages—his existing Tesla charger, eligibility for Full Self-Driving upgrades, a returning-owner discount, and crucially, the vehicle’s strong safety profile.

With gasoline prices hovering near $5 a gallon in some areas, he also highlighted the environmental benefit of switching from a polluting combustion engine.

The numbers, data, and awards validate Krassenstein’s choice.

The 2025 Cybertruck earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) elite Top Safety Pick+ award—the only pickup truck to achieve this highest rating. It delivered “Good” scores across every crashworthiness category, including the challenging updated moderate overlap front crash test, while excelling in crash avoidance and mitigation systems.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) awarded it a perfect 5-star overall rating, with top marks in frontal, side, and rollover categories. No other pickup truck holds both distinctions simultaneously.

Tesla Cybertruck crash test rating situation revealed by NHTSA, IIHS

Beyond lab results, the Cybertruck’s stainless-steel exoskeleton and ultra-rigid structure have demonstrated remarkable real-world resilience. Owners have reported surviving high-speed collisions with minimal cabin intrusion.

In one widely discussed incident, a Cybertruck endured a 70 mph sideswipe on the interstate; the driver reported barely feeling the impact while the other vehicle was heavily damaged.

Tesla’s crash demonstrations and independent analyses consistently show how the vehicle’s design prioritizes occupant protection through a fortified passenger cell rather than traditional crumple zones, giving families superior safeguarding in many common crash scenarios.

The online pile-on following Krassenstein’s post focused on aesthetics, politics, and perceived hypocrisy rather than the data. Critics called the angular truck “ugly” or accused him of selling out.

Yet his purchase highlights an inconvenient truth for polarized discourse: when objective safety metrics—IIHS awards, NHTSA ratings, and documented crash performance—point decisively toward one vehicle, even Musk’s biggest critics are forced to confront its merits.

Krassenstein’s decision reveals that superior safety isn’t a partisan issue. For parents prioritizing family protection over personal or political grudges, the Cybertruck has become too safe to ignore.

Continue Reading

News

SpaceXAI signs agreement with Anthropic for massive AI supercomputer access

Published

on

Credit: SpaceX

SpaceXAI announced today that it had signed an agreement with Anthropic to give the company access to its Colossus 1 data center in Memphis, Tennessee.

It is a monumental deal as Anthropic will gain access to all of the compute at the plant, delivering more than 300 megawatts of power and over 220,000 NVIDIA GPUs within the month.

Anthropic’s Claude AI account on X announced the partnership:

We’ve agreed to a partnership with SpaceX that will substantially increase our compute capacity. This, along with our other recent compute deals, means that we’ve been able to increase our usage limits for Claude Code and the Claude API.”

The company is also:

  • Doubling Claude Code’s 5-hour rate limits for Pro, Max, and Team plans;
  • Removing the peak hours limit reduction on Claude Code for Pro and Max plans; and
  • Substantially raising its API rate limits for Opus models.

SpaceX also published its own release on the new agreement, noting that it is “the only organization with the launch cadence, mass-to-orbit economics, and constellation operations experience to make orbital compute a near-term engineering program rather than a research concept.”

CEO Elon Musk also commented on the partnership and shed light on intense meetings he had with senior members of Anthropic last week, stating, “nobody set on my evil detector.”

This has turned the argument that SpaceX is as much an AI company as a space exploration company into a very valid argument:

SpaceX is following in Tesla’s footsteps in a way nobody expected

Nevertheless, this is an incredibly valuable and important move in the grand scheme of things. AI scaling is fundamentally bottlenecked by compute, and demand for Claude has surged, bringing terrestrial power grids, land, and cooling operations hitting limits everywhere.

Anthropic has been aggressively signing multiple large-scale deals to be competitive in the space, including:

  • Up to 5GW with Amazon
  • 5GW with Google and Broadcom
  • Strategic $30b Azure deal with Microsoft/NVIDIA
  • $50b U.S. infrastructure investment with Fluidstack

Access to Colossus 1 gives Anthropic immediate relief on NVIDIA GPU capacity. For SpaceXAI, it turns its rapid buildout into revenue. It also showcases its ability to deliver at world-leading speed and scale.

Most importantly, it plants the seed that its much larger vision, orbital AI compute, is totally viable.

Starlink V3 satellites could enable SpaceX’s orbital computing plans: Musk

Within the month, Anthropic will begin using 100 percent of Colossus 1’s compute, directly expanding capacity for Claude Pro and Max subscribers and the API. This means fewer limits, faster responses, and support for heavier workloads.

In the long term, meaning 2026 and beyond, there will be a continued rollout of other multi-GW deals Anthropic has signed, and an early exploration of orbital compute with SpaceXAI.

Continue Reading