The rumors of a potential Tesla Phone have been clarified by company CEO Elon Musk, who appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast on Monday.
Of the many rumors circulating about Tesla, what it will develop and what it could potential dip its toe into next, a phone is among the most popular.
It is no wonder, either. If you were to search “Tesla Phone” on YouTube, you will get a variety of videos that state Musk has personally guaranteed a phone:
To be frank, I get a lot of questions about a phone from older Tesla fans who read Teslarati. I am always baffled to receive questions about it because it was never truly discussed on any level by Musk or Tesla as a whole.
However, it does not mean the rumors do not exist. However, on an episode of Joe Rogan Experience from Monday, Musk definitively ended the rumors.
Musk said:
“Tesla is in a better position to create a new phone, that’s not Android or iPhone than maybe any company in the world. But, it’s not something we want to do, unless we have to or something.”
Rogan asked for an instance that would require Tesla to make a phone:
“If Apple and Google/Android started doing really bad things, like censorship of apps or being like gatekeepers, in a bad way, then I guess we’d make a phone.”
Elon Musk when asked by Joe Rogan in new interview if @Tesla is going to make a phone: “No we’re not doing a phone. We could do a phone; but it’s not something we want to do unless we have to.” pic.twitter.com/m5QoWzVl0i
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 4, 2024
It seems more or less of a cryptic message, but it seems pretty clear that Tesla and Musk do not see the need for innovation in terms of personal communication devices.
Tesla, as an automaker, revolutionized how cars operate. Identifying a need for change in terms of the way cars were powered and even how they look are basic premises of what Tesla stands for in terms of cars.
With energy, Tesla has created new solutions for residential and commercial battery storage systems.
Other Musk projects, like SpaceX and Neuralink, aimed to break boundaries in space travel and health. X is a social media platform that is far from typical. There is a common theme with Musk projects, and it aims to fix something that is broken.
Apple, Samsung, and other manufacturers largely take care of smartphones. They are easy to operate, and people, generally, are happy with the type of phone they have. There is no true need for innovation in smartphones. They are not broken like other things that Musk’s companies have aimed to solve.
So, no, don’t expect a Tesla phone to hit the market anytime soon.
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Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk hits back at drug use claims, calls publications ‘hypocrites’
Elon Musk showed a clean drug test, dispelling any rumors of drug use that came from unfounded reports from two large media outlets.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to a report from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, as both publications claimed he was abusing drugs while being involved with President Trump on both the campaign trail and while he was active within the administration after the election.
A bombshell report from the New York Times, published in late May, stated that Musk was regularly using things like ketamine, ecstasy, and psychedelic mushrooms, and also stimulants like Adderall, during his time within the Trump administration.
The reports cited inside sources who claimed the Tesla and SpaceX frontman was using substances during his time with the government.
However, Musk published the results of a recent drug test performed at Fastest Labs of South Austin. They showed ‘Negative’ results across the board:
lol pic.twitter.com/pMe3YfXFxS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2025
Musk was not done there.
He went on to say the New York Times “lies as easy as breathing. It’s normal for them.” He also said both the Times and Wall Street Journal reporters should also publish their own drug test results, stating, “They won’t, because those hypocrites are guilty as sin.”
Great idea. I hereby challenge the NYT and WSJ to take drug tests and publish the results!
They won’t, because those hypocrites are guilty as sin. https://t.co/Z6kf6sj2mS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2025
Musk said years ago that he received ketamine prescriptions from doctors to treat depression. He said he had it “years ago and said so on X, so this is not even news.” He also said that ketamine “helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven’t taken it since then.”
Tesla fans and Musk enthusiasts have joked for days now that, if Musk were to be on drugs, other CEOs should also do them, considering his persistence on work-related projects, long hours, and commitment to his job.
If Elon is on any drugs, I want what he’s having 🤣 pic.twitter.com/dRIuikDyym
— Adam Lowisz 🇺🇸🇵🇱🇪🇺🇬🇧🇺🇦 (@AdamLowisz) June 17, 2025
Musk has now proven that there has been no drug use with this test, and it seems as if the reports could have some sort of legal impact, although he has not said he will take any action.
News
Tesla’s Grok integration will be more realistic with this cool feature
Tesla is preparing Grok for its first integration into vehicles, but it’s making it more robust than ever, firmware shows.
Tesla has not yet integrated the AI assistant Grok into its vehicles, but when it does, it will be even more realistic with a new feature that firmware coding shows.
CEO Elon Musk teased a few months back that Grok would be making its way into vehicles in the near future. The implementation has not yet occurred, but we are confident it will be rolling out soon, especially as Tesla has its sights set on a near-term rollout of the Robotaxi platform.
Tesla’s vehicles expected to get Grok voice assistant—but when?
Grok will enable AI assistance for drivers who are both manually operating Tesla vehicles or using the company’s Full Self-Driving suite. It has been widely popular and extremely useful for users on X, Musk’s social media platform.
However, Tesla hacker green has revealed through firmware that the company is planning to roll out Grok into vehicles with personalities, giving it an even more realistic tone that is totally customizable and catered to whatever the driver wants.
There are also a handful of kids’ versions that will do things like tell stories or play trivia:
In-car grok also got new language tutor personality.
(other personalities:
argumentative
assistant
conspiracy
doctor
kids_story
kids_trivia_game
meditation
motivation
romantic
sexy
storyteller
therapist
unhinged)— green (@greentheonly) June 16, 2025
The true capabilities of Grok are nearly limitless. Back in January, Musk said on a livestream on X that, “You’ll be able to talk to your Tesla and ask for anything.”
Grok appears to only be available on AMD-based vehicles, according to other things green found in the firmware. This means that Intel-based Teslas, which are usually older models, will not enable Grok support for right now.
News
Tesla dominates Cars.com’s Made in America Index with clean sweep
Tesla continues to dominate Cars.com’s Made in America Index with a clean sweep of the Top 4 spots.
Tesla has dominated the Cars.com Made-in-America Index with a clean sweep of the top four spots. All four Tesla vehicles that were eligible for the analysis placed in the top four.
The Model 3 overtook the Model Y for first place this year. The all-electric crossover was first in 2024, but the Model 3 managed to overtake its sibling vehicle to claim the top spot in 2025. The Model Y took second, while the Model S took third, and the Model X took fourth.
This is an improvement from last year, as the Model Y took first, but the Model S and Model X placed fourth and ninth, respectively. The Model 3 was not in the Top 10 in 2024.
🚨 BREAKING: https://t.co/PXZ0g1qn0E’s American-made Index for 2025 is here, and Tesla has swept the TOP FOUR spots with the Model 3 and Model Y leading the way.
The Model S and Model X follow. pic.twitter.com/7PRepTHPBe
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 17, 2025
“Tesla continues to lead, claiming the top four spots and showcasing its commitment to domestic production. About 25% of the more than 400 vehicles on sale in the U.S. made this year’s AMI, and whether a vehicle is No. 1 or No.99, it contributes to the U.S. economy,” Patrick Masterson, lead researcher for the program, said.
More than 400 vehicles were analyzed for this year’s study, with Cars.com officially ranking 117 of them. There were two other EVs in the Top 10, as the Kia EV6 took sixth place, and the Volkswagen ID.4 finished in tenth.
This year’s study reflected major geographic and strategic shifts across the automotive industry. Of the 117 vehicles ranked in the program, they were produced at 36 domestic factories, leaving only 11 total factories that did not yield a car on the list. There are 47 assembly plants in operation in the U.S.
However, there still has not been a vehicle to quite reach the 100 percent domestic parts content, something that is extremely elusive. Masterson says the global supply chain is still extremely crucial to even the most American-built cars on the market.
The average domestic parts content of the Top 10 cars was 83.4 percent in 2006, but that number has shrunk to 70.3 percent in this year’s rankings.
Some might wonder where cars like the Tesla Cybertruck or Rivian R1T are on the list. However, these vehicles did not qualify because the study only considers cars under a gross weight of 8,500 pounds.
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