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Tesla owners unite in Austria for epic Black Mountain meetup
Tesla owners from eight countries took electric vehicles to new heights as they drove to the top of the highest mountain in Austria. The Großglockner or ‘black mountain’ towers 3,798 meters above the surrounding mountains. According to legends, a black crystal concentrates the energy of the mountain and is hidden somewhere inside the Glockner.
Today with @TeslaClubAT we climbed the highest mountain in Austria with 60 Teslas from 8 countries 🇺🇸🇸🇪🇫🇮🇳🇴🇨🇭🇩🇪🇦🇹 and 🇺🇦
Supporting Peace, Love & Tesla @elonmusk #silencerallye @Tesla pic.twitter.com/DlnPgtxFR4— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) July 3, 2022
The Tesla Owners Club of Austria brought together 60 Tesla vehicles with owners from eight nations to share a powerful message. “Let’s work hard to preserve this and all other treasures on this planet,” they shared on Twitter.
The message is a symbol of peace. The club president of Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley represented the United States which had just celebrated its 246th Independence Day. The Tesla owners came together to support peace, love, and Tesla.
Austria is such an amazing, beautiful and S3XY country. It was a great honor to show it to 60 tesla drivers from 8 nations. Let’s work hard to preserve this and all other treasures on this planet 💪✌️🇦🇹😍 @elonmusk @teslaclubfin @OwnersWest @TeslaClubNorway @teslaownersSV pic.twitter.com/QjDtwmaWnH
— Tesla Club Austria (@TeslaClubAT) July 4, 2022
I reached out to the Tesla Owners Club of Austria and asked them to share how the experience was for them. They told me,
“I almost cried because in this time of crisis everywhere it felt so good to experience so much fun and love together with the Tesla community. We had 60 Teslas from 8 nations (including one team from Ukraine and club presidents from Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Silicon Valley), perfect weather, and great fun.”
“The Großglockner is the highest mountain in Austria and there are 300.000 cars every year driving the world-famous road. We wanted to show that you can do that without emissions, sexy and silent. You get so much energy back during regenerative braking while driving down so that was no problem at all charging all the 60 cars. And you get so many good feelings back when you participate in such events.”
Why They Chose The Peace Sign
It’s about building something new at events. The Tesla Owners Club of Austria participated in the Silence Rallye and chose the peace sign for a reason. The Rallye, they told me, is the club’s largest annual event.
“It is our biggest event and we organize it every year in a different region in Austria. There are fun competitions, amazing road trips, and good food for three days. This year we tried to bring some Sound of Music Style into it with a special VIP tour through Salzburg city and the Vintage Party. Großglockner is also in the Salzburg area so it was a Must that we had to climb this mountain.”
“We always try to build something new at our bigger events. After a Tesla Logo and a heart shape, it just felt right to do this sign. The theme of this Silence Rallye was Sound of Music because we visited Salzburg. We organized a vintage disco with Dresscode. Some people came as hippies so setting up the peace sign on one of the highest mountains in the Alps was a perfect way, to sum up, our Rallye.”
Supporting Ukraine
There was one team from Ukraine and the club wanted to show support. They also raised donations and helped Tesla drivers from Ukraine that were traveling to safer locations. The majority of the teams were from Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. Several club presidents from West Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Silicon Valley were also there.
John Stringer, the president of the Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley told me that the Austria club spent an extensive amount of time mapping out each car to get it perfect. He added,
“It was super cool to meet the owners of Austria and be able to take a Sound of Music tour and take 60 Teslas to the highest peak in Austria.”
The Tesla Semi was spotted mounted with ground truth validation equipment as the company nears its looming launch. The Semi is Tesla’s Class 8 all-electric truck, and has been utilized in its earlier stages by many companies like PepsiCo. and Frito-Lay, who have been using it in a pilot program.
The Semi was spotted in Sunnyvale, California, and sports a typical ground truth validation unit that Tesla routinely uses on its vehicles. Ground truth validation is essentially the process of training supervised algorithms to ensure they can perform reliably. Tesla typically performs this on vehicles that are being released soon:
Spotted the new semi adorned with ground truthing equipment. Haven’t seen anyone post this so figured I’d share.
The future is autonomous!!@SawyerMerritt @wholemars pic.twitter.com/qkPDHPUQZ6
— Danny (@dannywinner1) June 21, 2026
The Semi being spotted with this type of validation rig is important because it means the company is working on solidifying a Full Self-Driving model for its commercial vehicle offering. This would be a massive development for not only Tesla but also the logistics industry as a whole.
There are strict regulations on driving hours for commercial truck drivers, and autonomy is a way to potentially combat these issues. FSD is already a widely effective way that owners of typical passenger vehicles take stress out of travel. Even launching a semi-autonomous platform for truck drivers to use to increase safety, reduce fatigue, and increase productivity would be a huge development.
Tesla Semi gets strange-but-understandable comparison from Jay Leno
The Semi has already proven to be an ideal solution for companies that use commercial logistics. It has increased efficiency and reduced operating costs for many companies that have been able to use it in pilot programs.
There are expected to be some bumps along the way. Tesla saw some challenges with FSD on the Cybertruck, as it had never had a vehicle with cameras at that height, so some of the features with FSD were not immediately available. Just a week ago, Tesla launched Actually Smart Summon (ASS) for Cybertruck, nearly three years after the vehicle was first delivered to customers.
President Donald Trump unveiled an upgraded Boeing 747-8 at Joint Base Andrews on June 19, 2026, describing the Qatar-gifted aircraft as an interim Air Force One equipped with advanced communications systems, including Starlink, Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite internet service.
The plane, valued at around $400 million and modified for presidential use, serves as a bridge until the delayed VC-25B replacements arrive. Trump highlighted its luxury features and new technology during remarks to service members.
Trump stated:
“We have communication equipment up there that nobody’s ever seen before. It’s the highest level and, uh, including Starlink. My friend Elon is going to be very happy, but, uh, Starlink and we have, uh, four or five different sets of double and triple communications like people haven’t seen.”
He added:
“And it represents what can happen with hard work, innovation, and aggressive timelines because we did this quickly and yet there’s never been communication like is on this plane.”
🚨 President Trump confirmed today that the new Air Force One is equipped with Starlink:
“We have communication equipment up there that nobody’s ever seen before, it’s the highest level and including Starlink…my friend Elon is going to be very happy.” pic.twitter.com/IhkDmtr5hL
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 20, 2026
The aircraft features a redesigned red, white, and blue livery and has been outfitted with Starlink satellite connectivity alongside other secure systems.
Trump praised the plane’s uniqueness, calling it among the world’s most luxurious. The gift from Qatar and subsequent modifications have drawn attention, with the jet positioned as a solution for presidential travel. It is expected to support operations, including potential ceremonial roles such as Fourth of July flyovers.
The event marked the formal introduction of the converted jet, which will help maintain capabilities while the primary Air Force One fleet undergoes modernization. Defense observers note the inclusion of commercial satellite technology like Starlink as part of efforts to ensure resilient communications, crucial to keep the country running as the President is in the sky.
President Trump’s comments underscored appreciation for rapid upgrades and innovation in equipping the aircraft. The plane remains a U.S. government asset and is slated for eventual transfer related to presidential library purposes after its service.
Tesla just gave what is perhaps its biggest signal yet that the launch of the Cybercab, its autonomous ride-hailing-geared car, is imminent.
The Cybercab has been spotted outside of Gigafactory Texas in massive numbers over the past few days, with hundreds of units being stored on property just days after the vehicle received a Certificate of Conformity from the EPA.
Today, things were a bit different.
Cybercabs spotted on Giga Texas property today had an addition: a Cybercab decal on the side, reminiscent of the “Robotaxi” ones that were placed on Model Ys just as the company launched its ride-sharing platform about a year ago.
Giga Texas drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer noticed the change today:
Tesla Cybercabs are now getting “Cybercab” logos on the side of them!
Tesla did the same with Model Ys that were given “Robotaxi” logos: https://t.co/DanANtw1m7 pic.twitter.com/FqOhH0S9Ks
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 19, 2026
Tesla could be signaling that the Cybercab is preparing to enter the Robotaxi fleet in the coming weeks or months with this move. It seems more symbolic than anything; Tesla is ready to throw Cybercabs in the ride-hailing platform just as it did with Model Ys last year.
The addition of the Certificate of Conformity awarded to the Cybercab is another major factor working to Tesla’s advantage. The company now has permission from the EPA to allow the vehicle to operate on public roads and enter the chain of commerce. It’s officially street legal.
Tesla Cybercab specs revealed: range, curb weight, range ratings, and more
The big question that remains is whether Tesla will be able to operate the car without a safety monitor, especially considering it plans to put the car out there without a steering wheel or pedals. With the Cybercab only having a seating capacity of two, it is hard to believe Tesla will even consider putting a Safety Monitor in the car.
It did recently self-certify as Level 4 and has the ability to operate driverless vehicles in the State of Texas under a law that took effect on May 28. You can read more about that here:
Tesla’s Robotaxi dreams just took a massive step toward reality
We’d imagine Cybercabs will be on the roads as soon as July, but August will likely be a better estimate of when the car will be entered into the Cybercab fleet. It all depends at where Tesla is, as they’ve truly prioritized safety with the rollout of the Robotaxi platform.
Tesla Semi spotted with ground truth validation equipment as launch looms
President Trump touts new Air Force One with Musk technology
