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Tesla patent reveals Semi truck seat suspension in the works for added safety
Tesla has submitted a patent that would improve its Semi-truck’s centered seat design by utilizing a suspension system on the architecture of the driver’s seat to add additional safety to the operator of the vehicle.
The patent notes that scissor-lift designs are commonly used in large vehicle seats, like in a semi-truck. This design includes pivoting legs that cross each other, allowing seats to be adjustable. However, this architecture has some drawbacks, especially when an accident occurs. In the event of a collision, the “all belts to seat” (ABTS) development “requires the frame of the seat to withstand the expected loads of the occupant and distribute them to the vehicle body. However, the scissor-leg designs were not originally intended for ABTS solutions and are not efficient at distributing the loads,” the patent states. The intention is to make the seat safer and more comfortable, an idea that could save drivers of the Semi in the long run.
“For a driver, adjusting the height of the seat can be important in ensuring a safe driving position. For a passenger, height adjustment can provide increased comfort. Truck seats with scissor-lift designs can be raised or lowered using an airbag positioned underneath the seat, with the scissor legs being more, or less, extended based on the state of inflation.”
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- Tesla’s proposed suspension seat design. (Credit: U.S. Patent Office)
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- Tesla’s suspension seat at lowest setting. (Credit: U.S. Patent Office)
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- Tesla’s suspension seat at highest setting. (Credit: U.S. Patent Office)
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- Tesla’s seat suspension system. (Credit: U.S. Patent Office)
Tesla’s proposed suspension seat design. (Credit: U.S. Patent Office)
Safety and comfort are of the utmost importance to truck drivers, as many of them are traveling across the country in the Semi they are operating. Many drivers work at a rate of pay that depends on the number of miles they travel in a given shift. This can attribute to long periods of time behind the wheel, making it important for the driver to feel comfortable and safe at all times. According to the Federal Highway Administration, truck drivers can travel between 45,000 and 100,000 miles a year. This makes it pertinent for truck-makers to design vehicles that are comfortable enough to allow extended driving sessions.
The design Tesla is proposing would increase safety in the event of a crash, while also benefiting drivers of different heights. When adjusting the height of the seat, the driver is inflating or deflating an airbag to either raise or lower their positioning. Depending on the inflation of this airbag, the spring force can change, and this can cause differing results in the event of an accident.
“Many seats feature suspension for the comfort of the occupant. In truck seats with a scissor-lift design, the airbag also serves as a spring to provide suspension, and a damper can be added to absorb shock. However, because the airbag is also used to control the seat height, ride characteristics are affected by the height adjustment,” Tesla states in the patent’s background.
Tesla plans to include this suspension system by having a “multi-post architecture” that would couple sleeves to sets of lift links. They also plan to modify the height adjustment system that would coincide with the seat’s suspension.
“The height adjustment system comprises a four-bar linkage. The height adjustment system is positioned on top of the suspension system. The vehicle seat further includes a plate riding on the suspension system, the sleeves are coupled to the plate, and respective first ends of the pairs of lift links are pivotally coupled to the plate. The multi-post architecture includes posts coupled to a plate configured for fore/aft adjustment on a track,” Tesla wrote.
Overall, Tesla seems to be designing its Semi to be the safest tractor-trailer on the road, hands down. Safety is a priority for the company to begin with, but the development of new methods to create a safer driving experience stands strong and firm with concepts outlined in by the company in these recent patent applications.
The Semi has been ordered by multiple companies that are looking for a more environmentally-friendly logistics option. It will begin a limited production sometime in 2020.
The full text of Tesla’s suspension seat design could be accessed here.
SpaceX is preparing for the 13th integrated flight test of its Starship system, with a targeted launch as early as Thursday, July 16. The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. CT from Starbase in South Texas.
This comes roughly seven weeks after Flight 12 on May 22, underscoring the company’s accelerating pace in its rapid development campaign. The mission will use the latest Starship and Super Heavy V3 vehicles equipped with Raptor 3 engines. Booster 20 will attempt a controlled boostback burn, followed by a splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while Ship 40 will follow a suborbital trajectory.
Starship’s thirteenth flight test is preparing to launch as early as Thursday, July 16 → https://t.co/Rp7VwBzpWx pic.twitter.com/jdpFlQUEpF
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 11, 2026
Key objectives for Flight 13 will include demonstrating reliable stage separation, engine performance under various conditions, and controlled reentry.
A major milestone for Flight 13 is the first deployment of 20 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. These satellites feature advanced laser links for inter-satellite communication, deployable solar arrays, and onboard cameras, six of which will capture imagery of Starship’s heat shield during flight.
Several heat shield tiles on Ship 40 will be painted white to serve as imaging targets, while additional experiments test upgraded tiles on aft flaps, modified attachments on the aft skirt, and load-sensing tiles to measure stresses. The upper stage will also attempt a single Raptor engine relight in space before a targeted splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
These tests build directly on lessons from Flight 12, which introduced the V3 configuration but encountered issues including a booster flip anomaly during boostback and an engine-out event on the ship. Hardware and software modifications on Booster 20 and Ship 40 aim to improve engine relight reliability, startup sequencing, and overall robustness.
Next Starship launch aiming for Thursday https://t.co/SajPPd4pdb
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2026
The short interval between Flights 12 and 13 highlights SpaceX’s iterative approach. Elon Musk has repeatedly emphasized that Starship launches will become “incredibly common” in the coming years.
The company envisions scaling to rates as high as one launch per hour within 4-5 years, potentially enabling thousands of flights annually. Such cadence is essential for Starship’s goals: establishing orbital refueling for lunar and Mars missions, deploying massive satellite constellations, and making life multiplanetary.
With each flight, Starship edges closer to full reusability and operational maturity. Success on July 16 would mark another step toward routine access to space and the ambitious vision of humanity becoming a spacefaring civilization.
Tesla shared a striking video showcasing the decommissioning of the original Model S and Model X assembly line at its Fremont Factory in Northern California. Completed in just 46 days, the teardown involved heavy machinery dismantling concrete pits, removing robotic arms and conveyors, and clearing the space for new production.
The post, captioned “End of an era,” captured both the end of a historic chapter and Tesla’s aggressive pivot toward its next major initiative, Optimus.
End of an era: Decommissioning the original Model S & X assembly line in just 46 days pic.twitter.com/kGEdfhl62h
— Tesla Manufacturing (@gigafactories) July 10, 2026
The decision to retire the Model S and Model X originated during Tesla’s Q4 2025 Earnings Call in late January 2026. CEO Elon Musk announced that production of the company’s flagship sedan and SUV would wind down by the end of Q2 2026, describing it as bringing the programs to an “honorable discharge.”
Custom orders ceased around early April 2026, with the final vehicles rolling off the line in early May. A special signature delivery ceremony on May 20 marked the emotional close for these vehicles, which had defined Tesla’s early success and luxury EV segment since the Model S launch in 2012.
The primary reason for tearing down the lines was to repurpose the valuable factory floor space for high-volume production of Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot. Musk had indicated on Earnings Calls that the Fremont S/X line would be replaced by a dedicated Optimus manufacturing line targeting a capacity of one million units per year.
This move aligns with Tesla’s broader strategic shift from traditional vehicle manufacturing toward robotics and artificial intelligence, leveraging the company’s expertise in autonomy, AI training, and high-volume production.
Optimus, Tesla’s general-purpose humanoid robot, is designed to perform repetitive or dangerous tasks in factories, warehouses, and eventually homes. Powered by Tesla’s AI and Neural Networks, it aims to be a versatile, affordable platform. Production of Optimus Gen 3 is already underway in limited form at Fremont, with full-scale output on the converted line expected to begin in late July or August.
Tesla is targeting rapid scaling, with internal ambitions pointing toward tens or even hundreds of thousands of units annually by the end of 2026.
Longer-term, Tesla is constructing a much larger second-generation Optimus facility at Giga Texas, with potential capacity reaching millions of units per year. The company views Optimus as a transformative product that could eventually surpass its automotive business in scale and value, enabling widespread deployment of useful robots across industries. CEO Elon Musk has even predicted it would be the most popular product of all-time.
As one era closes at Fremont, another is rapidly taking shape.
Elon Musk posted a candid admission on his social media platform X on June 9, declaring that he had been “clearly wrong” about Anthropic. The statement marked a notable reversal from his earlier skepticism toward the AI company.
In September, Musk had written, “Winning was never in the set of possible outcomes for Anthropic,” reflecting his view at the time that the startup had lacked the foundation or even the trajectory to succeed in what is an incredibly intense race for advanced artificial intelligence.
Musk’s latest post came amid discussion of Anthropic’s reliance on external compute resources. He praised the company’s progress, stating that Anthropic is “obviously currently the leader in AI” and that “no company has released a model as good as Mythos/Fable,” with expectations of a strong follow-up in Mythos 2.
The tone shifted dramatically from dismissal to acknowledgement of superior performance.
I was clearly wrong about Anthropic. They are obviously currently the leader in AI. No company has released a model as good as Mythos/Fable and they will undoubtedly have Mythos 2 ready soon.
And I would never cut them off in a way that hurt them badly, even as a competitor.…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 9, 2026
The context of Musk’s comments added significance. Anthropic has been operating under a recent compute deal with SpaceXAI, Musk’s AI infrastructure-focused venture. The pair entered a short-term GPU lease agreement initiated in May, providing Anthropic access to critical computing power for training and deploying its frontier models.
SpaceXAI signs agreement with Anthropic for massive AI supercomputer access
Some observers had speculated that Musk could leverage this dependency to disadvantage a rival. Musk directly addressed the possibility, writing, “I would never cut them off in a way that hurt them badly, even as a competitor. That’s not my style.”
To support his commitment to ethical competition, Musk referenced concrete examples from his other companies. Tesla famously open-sourced its entire portfolio of electric vehicle patents in 2014. The move was designed to accelerate the global adoption of sustainable transportation technology rather than protect proprietary advantages.
Tesla also made its Supercharger network available to competing electric vehicle manufacturers, transforming what could have remained an exclusive charging ecosystem into a shared infrastructure that benefits the broader industry and reduces barriers for EV adoption.
Musk further pointed to SpaceX’s practices, noting that the company launches satellites for competing commercial systems “with no increase in price or use of unfair terms.” He extended the principle to his social platform, observing that “even my worst enemies attack me on this platform,” underscoring preference for open discourse over retaliation.
These examples have illustrated Musk’s long-standing philosophy that long-term technological progress is best served by open competition and infrastructure sharing rather than leveraging market power to stifle rivals. In the fast-evolving AI sector, where compute resources and model capabilities determine leadership, Musk’s stance suggests a willingness to compete on innovation and performance alone.
Musk’s admission arrives as SpaceXAI itself advances its own frontier models while maintaining business relationships across the ecosystem. By publicly correcting his earlier assessment and reaffirming principles of fair play, Musk highlights a model of competition that prioritizes advancement of the field over short-term tactical advantages.
SpaceX reveals Starship Flight 13 launch date
Tesla shows rapid teardown of Model S and X lines, paving the way for Optimus at Fremont
