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Tesla’s largest V3 Supercharger facility is coming to Santa Monica

Credit: 3lectric/Instagram

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Tesla is planning to launch the world’s largest V3 Supercharging station in Santa Monica, California. Documents from Santa Monica’s Planning Commission reveal a 62 stall Supercharging station, comprised completely of Tesla’s super-fast V3 chargers and an owner lounge, is planned for the area of 1401 and 1421-1425 Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. The Planning Commission will vote on Wednesday, March 3rd.

Currently a series of abandoned and empty parking lots in the midst of several gas-powered car lots, the two empty plots of land could soon become one of Tesla’s largest Supercharging stations in the world. According to the City of Santa Monica Planning Commission, Tesla has applied for the approval of a Conditional Use Permit, which the City Commission will vote to approve the construction and subsequent operation of a 62 stall “recharging facility with solar canopies, restrooms, and support equipment split between two project sites.”

It will be the largest V3 Supercharging station in the world, but it will not have as many stalls as the 72 stall Shanghai Supercharging station in China. However, these Superchargers are only V2, meaning peak rates of 150 kW trail the possible 250 kW rates that could be available to owners in Santa Monica. The largest current V3 Supercharging station in the world is located in Firebaugh, California, and offers 56 stalls, all V3.

1401 Santa Monica Boulevard

The lot located at 1401 Santa Monica Boulevard will contain the bulk of the Supercharger stalls: 36 of them to be exact. Powered by several Tesla solar panel canopies, four rows of Supercharger stalls will be available on this lot. With a majority of the spaces being a standard 9-foot width, some are as wide as 12 feet, which could hint toward the introduction of more Cybertruck-focused parking spaces as new Supercharging lots are built.

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The plans for the 36 Stall Supercharger lot at 1401 Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. (Santa Monica Planning Commission)

According to documents, this lot will be powered by a Tesla Megapack with a power rating of 1264.5 kW and an energy rating of 2,529 kWh. Along with the 36 V3 Superchargers, a bathroom facility will be located in this lot, giving owners an indoor lavatory

1421-1425 Santa Monica Boulevard

The second lot, located to the right of 1401 Santa Monica Boulevard, will house 26 additional V3 Superchargers, according to another document. Several of the spaces in this lot are also various widths, making way for the possibility of Cybertruck-specific parking spaces as Tesla continues to expand its Supercharger fleet.

According to the City of Santa Monica’s March 3rd Meeting Agenda, the possible Supercharger facility’s vote is one of two issues that will be discussed. The other is concerning an unrelated matter. However, the meeting will be available to watch in a live stream located here, tomorrow at 5:30 PM PST.

A summary of the project is available below.

Tesla V3 Superchargers at 1401 and 1421-1425 Santa Monica Blvd. by Joey Klender on Scribd

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H/t: @DriveTeslaCa

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Cybercab stands to gain from new Trump autonomy rules

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Credit: Teslarati

Tesla Cybercab stands to gain from new rules that the Trump Administration is aiming to enforce on autonomous vehicles. On Thursday, NHTSA, under the Trump Administration’s U.S. Department of Transportation, commenced rulemaking on the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).

This effort aims to eliminate the mandate for manual brake pedals in vehicles that are designed to be driven exclusively by automated driving systems. This would impact the Tesla Cybercab, which the company has stated would operate without a steering wheel or pedals.

Tesla Cybercab launch is imminent after latest sighting at Giga Texas

The Trump Administration is looking to revise FMVSS No. 135, which requires standard braking systems on light-duty vehicles.

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Currently, the regulation requires light-duty cars to use traditional manual braking systems that allow operators to slow the vehicle. With the advent of self-driving in the U.S., these regulations need updating, and these are the changes that could come to FMVSS No. 135:

  • Removes requirements for hand- or foot-operated brake controls for vehicles designed never to be operated by a human. Existing rules still apply to AVs that retain manual controls.
  • All subject vehicles must still meet the same stopping distance performance criteria via alternative testing procedures.
  • While this update ensures AVs can physically stop when commanded, NHTSA is separately developing safety performance requirements for AVs in real-world driving scenarios.
  • NHTSA will continue to use its broad defect enforcement authority to investigate unsafe ADS behavior and oversee recalls.

As autonomy becomes a greater part of passenger travel, these types of rule adjustments will be more than reasonable. It will give manufacturers the ability to self-certify their vehicles and avoid any red tape that could ultimately delay the deployment of these vehicles.

Administrators are also incredibly excited about the opportunity to play a role in the advancement of self-driving vehicles.

“We are at the cusp of the greatest technological revolution in vehicle technology since the innovation of the Model T,” NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison said. “If we want America to lead the way, we have to reimagine our regulatory framework. That’s why under Secretary Sean Duffy’s AV Framework, NHTSA is tearing down pointless barriers to innovative designs while strengthening the fundamental safety requirements that matter and holding AV developers accountable for safe performance.”

The Cybercab entered mass production at Gigafactory Texas in April. Tesla ultimately plans to push the vehicle into its Robotaxi fleet, potentially when frameworks like these are established.

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Tesla plans production boost at Giga Berlin following rebound in Europe

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Credit: Andre Thierig | X

Tesla plans to boost production at its Gigafactory Berlin plant in Germany following a sharp rebound in sales and demand in Europe after a softer 2025.

The plans put Tesla in a better position to compete with strengthening companies in Europe and potentially other markets; demand indicators show Tesla is much better off than in 2025.

Last year was a tough year for Tesla in terms of overall demand in Europe. The company produced over 200,000 vehicles at the German plant last year, a soft figure compared to the 375,000 vehicles Tesla lists as its current capacity at the factory.

Tesla’s overall European sales dropped significantly last year due to a variety of factors. However, sales are rebounding, and demand is strong once again, and only getting stronger. Tesla is now planning to bump production of Model Y vehicles at Giga Berlin upward by about 20 percent. It will also bring 1,000 new jobs to the plant.

Tesla confirmed the details of its planned production expansion in Germany this morning. It is a strategy to keep up with strengthening demand.

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In Q1, Tesla saw a record 61,000 vehicles produced at Giga Berlin. European registrations rebounded sharply, with Model Y seeing 117 percent increases in March 2026 compared to last year. Germany alone saw stark increases, with a quadrupling in registrations to 9,252 units.

This trend continued in other key European markets, including France, Denmark and Sweden. Tesla registrations were up over 46 percent in some of these markets, and Model Y continued its trend as a top BEV in the market.

Demand has been recovering strongly in 2026, giving Tesla a reason to expand production efforts at the factory. These increases signal management’s confidence in sustained or growing European pull for Berlin-built vehicles.

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Tesla and driver sued by family of woman killed in Texas crash: what we know

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Credit: CNBC

Tesla is being sued by the family of the woman who was killed in a Texas crash involving a Model 3. The driver, who is also being sued, claimed the vehicle was operating on Autopilot mode, but Tesla executives have come out challenging that claim, stating that the driver of the vehicle overrode the system.

The lawsuit was filed by 76-year-old Martha Avila’s daughter and her husband, who allege a “design defect” involving a Tesla and a failure to warn. The suit alleges negligence against Tesla and the driver, Michael Butler.

Butler “stated he was operating with an automated driving assistance system engaged at the time of the crash,” the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. He showed no signs of intoxication and was cooperative, the Sheriff’s Office said, according to NBC News.

Just after reports of the crash and numerous headlines that immediately blamed Tesla’s Autopilot suite, both Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Head of AI Ashok Elluswamy challenged that. Musk said the crash made “no sense” given that Tesla Autopilot and Full Self-Driving do not travel at the speeds the door cameras captured the car traveling at, which Tesla says was 73 MPH.

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Tesla finally clarifies fatal Texas crash, confirms driver manually overrode acceleration

Elluswamy also revealed that Tesla data showed Butler overrode the system by pressing the accelerator to 100%, and that the pedal was compressed fully even after the car had crashed. Tesla has not released this data to the public, likely because it is communicating with agencies like the NHTSA on an investigation.

The suit uses a Washington Post analysis of government data that “identified at least 17 fatal incidents linked to Tesla Autopilot.”

This is far from the first time an accident has been blamed on Autopilot. A fatal crash in Texas was blamed on Autopilot several years ago, but when Tesla released data to the NTSB, which was investigating the crash, Autopilot was not available where the crash occurred, and Autosteer was never enabled, meaning the car was manually controlled at the time of the accident.

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More information on the accident will be released as Tesla works with agencies to find the cause of the crash. From personal experience, it is hard to imagine Tesla Autopilot or FSD operating in this manner. It drives sometimes too cautiously in residential areas in parking lots, at least in my experience. Speeding happens, but at this rate in this type of area, it is hard to believe.

We look forward to more details being released with time.

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