News
Tesla Motors is no longer a startup, reassures shareholders
Covering the news with Tesla Motors is always an interesting exercise, to put it mildly. The electric lifestyle Californian startup releases a steady flow of news covering the automotive industry, making incursions in the energy world, ruffling feathers with automotive lobby groups, and showing weary companies the ways of things to come. The last shareholder meeting gives us a rundown on what is happening at Tesla.
A lot of electric miles
Congratulations to the Teslarati, you have driven more than 344 million miles with no fatalities. The accidents, which the press was more than willing to spin a negative twist on, were not Tesla’s direct fault. But more to the point, this moves the status of our beloved trendsetter from startup to a fully fledged established company. In many ways, Tesla Motors is giving us a glimpse of how future companies will operate. They will require strong and far-reaching visions, answer real needs, with a business model that goes beyond the simplistic bottom line philosophy we’ve endured until now.
More than one Gigafactory
The gigafactory story we wrote a few months ago was picked up by mainstream news and shed evidence that Tesla was always much more than a carmaker. If one gigafactory is good, many are even better. With the company’s current production capacity constraints, due to its low supply of lithium-ion battery cells, Elon Musk hinted at more than one Gigafactory. Can you see utilities fretting over this one? Not only will Tesla Motors worry battery makers worldwide, but will give utilities more gray hair than they anticipated with more battery factories tied to the grid with alternative energy.
As far as Panasonic’s jitters, Tesla still believes it can bring down the costs of its lithium-ion cells by 30-percent cost, which Musk said Panasonic agrees with. The target is still 500,000 electric vehicles (EV) by 2020.
Did anyone catch the real news? Elon Musk said Tesla would able to change anode and cathode material quickly in the Gigafactory, instead of continuing the same lithium-ion chemistry.
Model S price… decrease
Now don’t get your hopes too high, the price decrease won’t be much, about $5,000, but enough to bring the Model S below $100,000. Still, this warrant kudos from a company who has only been producing its first ever designed car from the grounds up for a few short years, outselling any other cars in its category.
Roadster gets an upgrade!
By far my favorite news, my favorite car, the Roadster will get an upgrade this year. Unfortunately, its replacement is still uncertain, but would nonetheless be based on the next-generation III platform
Musk stays at the helm, for now
We’ve always felt Elon Musk would stay a few more years at the helm of Tesla Motors before retiring as Chairman and focusing on SpaceX. It makes the most sense, as Tesla is now a well establish company, spanning many industries. The next challenge is Space X. He said he would continue as CEO for at least four or five more years, at least through a volume production of the third-generation car.
Model X, mid-2015, third generation following
As far as the company’s third car, the Model X will be available during the second quarter of 2015. The other good news is that the third generation is still targeted at around $35,000 with a 200-mile range. We can expect it to be available around the late 2016.
Toyota needs Tesla, not the other way around
One of the debates I’ve enjoyed over the years was whether Toyota needs Tesla or the other way around. Even though Tesla reached the end of its business venture with the Toyota RAV4 EV drivetrain, Musk revealed Toyota was coming back for more. Even though Toyota insists on hydrogen fuel cell technology, the company is still interested in using Tesla’s electric powertrain for a high volume deal . Don’t bet on this happening any time time soon. Tesla has a hard time keeping up with production . He did mention we should hear more in about two years, once production constraints had eased.
Model E?
So long Model E. Despite Ford’s public recognition, Tesla Motors feels the company would sue for using it. The company is looking at other names and Musk said: “I think we’ve got something that might be…good, might work out pretty well”.
We wanted to offer Model T, for the Teslarati, but we feel Ford again might not like this… So how about Model Cev for cool EV, or Model B, simply for Beautiful?
News
Tesla Supercharger network delivers record 6.7 TWh in 2025
The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network had its biggest year ever in 2025, delivering a record 6.7 TWh of electricity to vehicles worldwide.
To celebrate its busy year, the official @TeslaCharging account shared an infographic showing the Supercharger Network’s growth from near-zero in 2012 to this year’s impressive milestone.
Record 6.7 TWh delivered in 2025
The bar chart shows steady Supercharger energy delivery increases since 2012. Based on the graphic, the Supercharger Network started small in the mid-2010s and accelerated sharply after 2019, when the Model 3 was going mainstream.
Each year from 2020 onward showed significantly more energy delivery, with 2025’s four quarters combining for the highest total yet at 6.7 TWh.
This energy powered millions of charging sessions across Tesla’s growing fleet of vehicles worldwide. The network now exceeds 75,000 stalls globally, and it supports even non-Tesla vehicles across several key markets. This makes the Supercharger Network loved not just by Tesla owners but EV drivers as a whole.
Resilience after Supercharger team changes
2025’s record energy delivery comes despite earlier 2024 layoffs on the Supercharger team, which sparked concerns about the system’s expansion pace. Max de Zegher, Tesla Director of Charging North America, also highlighted that “Outside China, Superchargers delivered more energy than all other fast chargers combined.”
Longtime Tesla owner and FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog noted the achievement as proof of continued momentum post-layoffs. At the time of the Supercharger team’s layoffs in 2024, numerous critics were claiming that Elon Musk was halting the network’s expansion altogether, and that the team only remained because the adults in the room convinced the juvenile CEO to relent.
Such a scenario, at least based on the graphic posted by the Tesla Charging team on X, seems highly implausible.
News
Tesla targets production increase at Giga Berlin in 2026
Plant manager André Thierig confirmed the facility’s stable outlook to the DPA, noting that Giga Berlin implemented no layoffs or shutdowns amid challenging market conditions.
Tesla is looking positively toward 2026 with plans for further growth at its Grünheide factory in Germany, following steady quarterly increases throughout 2025.
Plant manager André Thierig confirmed the facility’s stable outlook to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), noting that Giga Berlin implemented no layoffs or shutdowns despite challenging market conditions.
Giga Berlin’s steady progress
Thierig stated that Giga Berlin’s production actually rose in every quarter of 2025 as planned, stating: “This gives us a positive outlook for the new year, and we expect further growth.” The factory currently supplies over 30 markets, with Canada recently being added due to cost advantages.
Giga Berlin’s expansion is still underway, with the first partial approval for capacity growth being secured. Preparations for a second partial approval are underway, though the implementation of more production capacity would still depend on decisions from Tesla’s US leadership.
Over the year, updates to Giga Berlin’s infrastructure were also initiated. These include the relocation of the Fangschleuse train station and the construction of a new road. Tesla is also planning to start battery cell production in Germany starting 2027, targeting up to 8 GWh annually.
Resilience amid market challenges
Despite a 48% drop in German registrations, Tesla maintained Giga Berlin’s stability. Thierig highlighted this, stating that “We were able to secure jobs here and were never affected by production shutdowns or job cuts like other industrial sites in Germany.”
Thierig also spoke positively towards the German government’s plans to support households, especially those with low and middle incomes, in the purchase and leasing of electric vehicles this 2026. “In our opinion, it is important that the announcement is implemented very quickly so that consumers really know exactly what is coming and when,” the Giga Berlin manager noted.
Giga Berlin currently employs around 11,000 workers, and it produces about 5,000 Model Y vehicles per week, as noted in an Ecomento report. The facility produces the Model Y Premium variants, the Model Y Standard, and the Model Y Performance.
News
Tesla revamped Semi spotted, insane 1.2 MW charging video releases
These developments highlight Tesla’s ongoing refinements to the vehicle’s design and infrastructure.
Tesla is gearing up for high-volume Semi production in 2026, with the Class 8 all-electric truck’s revamped variant being spotted in the wild recently. Official footage from Tesla also showed the Semi achieving an impressive 1.2 MW charging rate on a charger.
These developments highlight Tesla’s ongoing refinements to the vehicle’s design and infrastructure.
Revamped Tesla Semi sighting
Tesla Semi advocate @HinrichsZane, who has been chronicling the progress of the vehicle’s Nevada factory, recently captured exclusive drone footage of the refreshed Class 8 truck at a Megacharger stall near Giga Nevada. The white unit features a full-width front light bar similar to the Model Y and the Cybercab, shorter side windows, a cleared fairing area likely for an additional camera, and diamond plate traction strips on the steps.
Overall, the revamped Semi looks ready for production and release. The sighting marks one of the first real-life views of the Class 8 all-electric truck’s updated design, with most improvements, such as potential 4680 cells and enhanced internals, being hidden from view.
1.2 MW charging speed and a new connector
The official Tesla Semi account on X also shared an official video of Tesla engineers hitting 1.2 MW sustained charging on a Megacharger, demonstrating the vehicle’s capability for extremely rapid charging. Tesla Semi program lead Dan Priestley confirmed in a later post on X that the test occurred at a dedicated site, noting that chargers at the Semi factory in Nevada are also 1.2 MW capable.
The short video featured a revamped design for the Semi’s charging port, which seems more sleek and akin to the NACS port found in Tesla’s other vehicles. It also showed the Tesla engineers cheering as the vehicle achieved 1.2 MW during its charging session. Dan Priestley explained the Semi’s updated charging plug in a post on X.
“The connector on the prior Semi was an early version (v2.4) of MCS. Not ‘proprietary’ as anyone could have used it. We couldn’t wait for final design to have >1MW capability, so we ran with what had been developed thus far. New Semi has latest MCS that is set to be standard,” the executive wrote in a post on X.
Check out the Tesla Semi’s sighting at the Nevada factory in the video below.
Tesla Supercharger network delivers record 6.7 TWh in 2025
Tesla targets production increase at Giga Berlin in 2026
