When Tesla first struck a deal with Aptera in early 2023 to give the company its North American Charging Standard (NACS), it seemed like it would be one of the only companies to do so. The partnership granted Aptera the ability to use Tesla Superchargers when its vehicles finally hit the road, a major advantage for a startup with such a small size.
But several months later, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ford CEO Jim Farley announced they would be hopping on a public conference call known as a “Twitter Spaces,” where the two announced the Detroit-based automaker would also adopt the NACS connector in 2024, offering Ford EV drivers the opportunity to access Tesla Superchargers across North America.
Tesla to open 12,000 Superchargers to Ford across U.S. and Canada
Then GM did it.
Then Rivian.
And Volvo/Polestar.
And Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Fisker, Honda, Acura, Jaguar, Hyundai, Kia, BMW, and Toyota/Lexus all followed.
While these companies are either seasoned in their EV efforts or not, there is one thing they all have in common: they lack an in-house charging network for their drivers. For years, these companies have chosen to opt into third-party connectors run by companies like ChargePoint, Volta, Electrify America, and others.
Good morning! @RateYourCharge EA, EVgo, and Tesla Supercharger update from Stamford, CT.
Can you tell that that NY area makes me angry? ? pic.twitter.com/wXEHKG2CSe
— Kyle Conner (@itskyleconner) October 21, 2023
Tesla is the only car company in the U.S. to operate an expansive network of its own chargers, and it has a reputation for having well-maintained and operational stalls that are rarely under the weather in terms of their ability to function.
Other manufacturers understand Tesla’s prowess with its charging infrastructure, but two large companies still have yet to adopt the NACS: Volkswagen and Stellantis.
Volkswagen was once a formidable ally of Tesla’s, but that goes back to prior management. Herbert Diess had the helm at VW for years and worked hard to push the German automaker to relevance in the EV sector. His approach ruffled the feathers of many at VW Group, and ultimately, Diess left to pursue other things.
Stellantis has several brands under its umbrella, including Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo, to name a few. It has also opted not to adopt Tesla’s NACS port for reasons not known. However, it said it is mulling a switch, which Toyota also said it would do, and it eventually made the jump.
It seems unlikely any car companies out there would not want to take advantage of such an expansive charging network for its vehicles. In past articles, I have stated that Tesla’s biggest advantage, in my opinion, is the charging network. Giving up this advantage will help competitors catch up to Tesla, and consumers might be prone to buy other EVs because they can access the network regardless of the car they drive.
However you feel about Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk, the company’s mission has always been to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy, and this move is one that truly seems to make many believe that it is more focused on helping sustainability succeed than itself as a company.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
Cybertruck
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:
Tesla’s new Cybertruck offering has had its delivery date pushed back once again. This is now the second time, and deliveries for the newest orders are now pushed well into 2027.
According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:
🚨 Tesla has updated the $59,990 Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD’s estimated delivery date to April 2027.
First deliveries are still slated for June, but if you order it now, you’ll be waiting over a year.
Demand appears to be off the charts for the new Cybertruck and consumers are… pic.twitter.com/raDCCeC0zP
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 26, 2026
Just three days ago, the initial delivery date of June 2026 was pushed back to early Fall, and now, that date has officially moved to April 2027.
The fact that Tesla has had to push back deliveries once again proves one of two things: either Tesla has slow production plans for the new Cybertruck trim, or demand is off the charts.
Judging by how Tesla is already planning to raise the price based on demand in just a few days, it seems like the company knows it is giving a tremendous deal on this spec of Cybertruck, and units are moving quickly.
That points more toward demand and not necessarily to slower production plans, but it is not confirmed.
Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says
Tesla is set to hike the price on March 1, so tomorrow will be the final day to grab the new Cybertruck trim for just $59,990.
It features:
- Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
- Powered tonneau cover
- Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
- Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
- Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
- Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
- 6’ x 4’ composite bed
- Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
- Powered frunk
Interestingly, the price offering is fairly close to what Tesla unveiled back in late 2019.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt
Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
Elon Musk has clarified when SpaceX will first attempt to catch Starship’s upper stage with its launch tower. The CEO’s update provides the clearest teaser yet for the spacecraft’s recovery roadmap.
Musk shared the details in recent posts on X. In his initial post, Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
“Starship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability,” Musk wrote.
In a follow-up post, Musk addressed when SpaceX would attempt to catch the upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms.
“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk clarified.
His remarks suggest that SpaceX is deliberately reducing risk before attempting a tower catch of Starship’s upper stage. Such a milestone would mark a major step towards the full reuse of the Starship system.
SpaceX is currently targeting the first Starship V3 flight of 2026 this coming March. The spacecraft’s V3 iteration is widely viewed as a key milestone in SpaceX’s long-term strategy to make Starship fully reusable.
Starship V3 features a number of key upgrades over its previous iterations. The vehicle is equipped with SpaceX’s Raptor V3 engines, which are designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight.
The V3 design is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale the spacecraft’s production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars.
News
Tesla FSD (Supervised) could be approved in the Netherlands next month: Musk
Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that Full Self-Driving (FSD) could receive regulatory approval in the Netherlands as soon as March 20, potentially marking a major step forward for Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance rollout in Europe.
Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin, noting that the date was provided by local authorities.
“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told,” Musk stated.
“Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive.”
Tesla’s FSD system relies on vision-based neural networks trained on real-world driving data, allowing vehicles to navigate using cameras and AI rather than traditional sensor-heavy solutions.
The performance of FSD Supervised has so far been impressive. As per Tesla’s safety report, Full Self-Driving Supervised has already traveled 8.3 billion miles. So far, vehicles operating with FSD Supervised engaged recorded one major collision every 5,300,676 miles.
In comparison, Teslas driven manually with Active Safety systems recorded one major collision every 2,175,763 miles, while Teslas driven manually without Active Safety recorded one major collision every 855,132 miles. The U.S. average during the same period was one major collision every 660,164 miles.
If approval is granted on March 20, the Netherlands could become the first European market to greenlight Tesla’s latest supervised FSD (Supervised) software under updated regulatory frameworks. Tesla has been working to secure expanded FSD access across Europe, where regulatory standards differ significantly from those in the United States. Approval in the Netherlands would likely serve as a foundation for broader EU adoption, though additional country-level clearances may still be required.
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt
