The Tesla Semi was recently spotted near one of the company’s most historic locations — the West Los Angeles Service Center — a site where Elon Musk famously met with early reservation holders of the Tesla Roadster at a time when the company was on the verge of bankruptcy.
According to Mirk_idk, an auto enthusiast on Instagram, he spotted the Tesla Semi just as it was leaving Santa Monica Blvd., the same street as Tesla’s LA Service Center, on May 24 at around 10:30 a.m. local time. The auto enthusiast noted that the Semi appeared to be accompanied by two Model S sedans. There were also two people in the electric long-hauler, one of whom acknowledged him as he snapped a photo of the vehicle.
Just like the Semi’s recent sighting in Sunnyvale, CA, the electric truck was hauling a trailer when it was photographed. Its rear wheels were also equipped with covers that are reminiscent of the Model 3’s Aero Wheels.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjK5inOFv6S/?taken-by=mirks_idk
The Tesla Semi’s latest appearance is particularly noteworthy, considering that Los Angeles is the location of two important Tesla facilities — the LA Service Center and the Tesla Design Center. The Tesla Design Center, the facility where the Semi and the next-generation Roadster were designed, is just 13 miles away from the site of the recent sighting. The LA Service Center, on the other hand, has a more historical significance to the company.
Back in 2008, Tesla, together with Musk’s private space venture, SpaceX, were feeling the effects of a worsening economy. Both companies were a few steps away from folding, and Elon Musk was exhausting his options. Musk ultimately decided to raise the price of the original Roadster to help the company’s funds. The meeting with some of the Roadster’s reservation holders happened at the LA service center.
Part of the fateful meeting was featured in the documentary Revenge of the Electric Car, which featured Tesla during the development days of the Roadster. Musk later described the meeting as “very tough” and that there was anger from some people in the room.
“I cannot understate the degree of grief that I’ve personally gone through, and that many people in Tesla have gone through to make this work. I wish we didn’t have to waste prices. It sucks. I can’t carry Tesla entirely by myself. I just don’t have the resources do it. We can’t sell cars for less than they cost us to produce,” Musk said during the meeting.
Elon Musk unveils the Tesla Semi on November 2017.
As history would show, of course, Musk would eventually pull off the near-impossible after that meeting, ultimately saving both SpaceX and Tesla from going under. Tesla closed its much-needed financing round on Christmas Eve 2008. According to Musk during a Q&A session at the Paris-Sorbonne University in December 2015, the financing round concluded “on the last hour of the last day when it was possible.”
The Tesla Semi is a Class 8 electric truck that is capable of hauling up to 80,000 pounds of cargo. The vehicle is equipped with four Model 3-derived electric motors and is capable of sprinting from 0-60 mph in 5 seconds without any load. With a full 80,000-pound load, the long-hauler can hit highway speeds in 20 seconds. The Semi is expected to start production in 2019.
As the company prepares to begin the manufacture of the electric trucks, Tesla has started utilizing the vehicles for battery pack deliveries between Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, NV to the Fremont CA facility. Multiple sightings of the trucks in the middle of their transport runs have been reported since then.
The Semi has also been spotted on the site of some of its biggest buyers. Earlier this year, the electric truck was sighted in the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in St. Louis, MO. It also made an appearance in Dallas, TX, where it was demoed for PepsiCo employees. The black matte Tesla Semi was sighted on the back of a truck at a highway near Des Moines, IA as well, close to the headquarters of Ruan Transportation Management Systems.
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Tesla celebrates 75k Superchargers, less than 5 months since 70k-stall milestone
Tesla’s 75,000th stall is hosted at the South Hobart Smart Store on Cascade Road, South Hobart, Tasmania.
Tesla has crossed another major charging milestone by officially installing its 75,000th Supercharger stall worldwide. The electric vehicle maker chose South Hobart, Tasmania, as the commemorative location of its 75,000th Supercharger.
Tesla’s 75,000th Supercharger
Tesla’s 75,000th stall is hosted at the South Hobart Smart Store on Cascade Road, South Hobart, TAS 7004, as noted in a techAU report. The location features four next-generation V4 Superchargers, which are built with longer cables that should make it easy even for non-Teslas to use the rapid charger. The site also includes simplified payment options, aligning with Tesla’s push to make V4 stations more accessible to a broader set of drivers.
For Tasmanian EV owners, the installation fills an important regional gap, improving long-distance coverage around Hobart and strengthening the area’s appeal for mainland travelers traveling by electric vehicle. Similar to other commemorative Superchargers, the 70,000th stall is quite special as it is finished in Glacier Blue paint. Tesla’s 50,000th stall, which is in California, is painted a stunning red, and the 60,000th stall, which is in Japan, features unique origami-inspired graphics.
Accelerating Supercharger milestones
The Tesla Supercharger’s pace of expansion shows no signs of slowing. Tesla celebrated its 70,000th stall at a 12-stall site in Burleson, Texas late June 2025. Just eight months earlier, Tesla announced that it had celebrated the buildout of its 60,000th Supercharger, which was built in Enshu Morimachi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Tesla’s Supercharger Network also recently received accolades in the United Kingdom, with the 2025 Zapmap survey naming the rapid charging system as the Best Large EV Charging Network for the second year in a row. Survey respondents praised the Supercharger Network for its ease of use, price, and reliability, which is best-in-class. The fact that the network has also been opened for non-Teslas is just icing on the cake.
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Luminar-Volvo breakdown deepens as lidar maker warns of potential bankruptcy
The automaker stated that Luminar failed to meet contractual obligations.
Luminar’s largest customer, Volvo, has canceled a key five-year contract as the lidar supplier warned investors that it might be forced to file for bankruptcy. The automaker stated that Luminar failed to meet contractual obligations, escalating a dispute already unfolding as Luminar defaults on loans, undergoes layoffs, and works to sell portions of the business.
Volvo pulls back on Luminar
In a statement to TechCrunch, Volvo stated that Luminar’s failure to deliver its contractual obligations was a key driver of the cancellation of the contract. “Volvo Cars has made this decision to limit the company’s supply chain risk exposure and it is a direct result of Luminar’s failure to meet its contractual obligations to Volvo Cars,” Volvo noted in a statement.
The rift marked a notable turn for the two companies, whose relationship dates back several years. Volvo invested in Luminar early and helped push its sensors into production programs, while Luminar’s technology bolstered the credibility of Volvo’s safety-focused autonomous driving plans. Volvo’s partnership also supported Luminar’s 2020 SPAC listing, which briefly made founder Austin Russell one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the industry.
Damaged Volvo relations
The damaged Volvo partnership comes during a critical period for Luminar. The company has defaulted on several loans and warned investors that bankruptcy remains a possibility if restructuring discussions fall through. To conserve cash, Luminar has cut 25% of its workforce and is exploring strategic alternatives, including partial or full asset sales.
One potential buyer is founder Austin Russell, who resigned as CEO in May amid a board-initiated ethics inquiry. The company is also the subject of an ongoing SEC investigation.
Luminar, for its part, also noted in a filing that it had “made a claim against Volvo for significant damages” and “suspended further commitments of Iris” for the carmaker. “The Company is in discussions with Volvo concerning the dispute; however, there can be no assurance that the dispute will be resolved favorably or at all,” the lidar maker stated.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk says he’s open to powering Apple’s Siri with xAI’s Grok
Siri, one of the first intelligent AI assistants in the market, has become widely outdated and outperformed by rivals over the years.
Elon Musk says he’s willing to help Apple overhaul Siri by integrating xAI’s Grok 4.1, igniting widespread excitement and speculations about a potential collaboration between the two tech giants.
Siri, one of the first intelligent AI assistants in the market, has become widely outdated and outperformed by rivals over the years.
Musk open to an Apple collaboration
Musk’s willingness to team up with Apple surfaced after an X user suggested replacing Siri with Grok 4.1 to modernize the AI assistant. The original post criticized Siri’s limitations and urged Apple to adopt a more advanced AI system. “It’s time for Apple to team up with xAI and actually fix Siri. Replace that outdated, painfully dumb assistant with Grok 4.1. Siri deserves to be Superintelligent,” the X user wrote.
Musk quoted the post, responding with, “I’m down.” Musk’s comment quickly attracted a lot of attention among X’s users, many of whom noted that a Grok update to Siri would be appreciated because Apple’s AI assistant has legitimately become terrible in recent years. Others also noted that Grok, together with Apple’s potential integration of Starlink connectivity, would make iPhones even more compelling.
Grok promises major Siri upgrades
The enthusiasm stems largely from Grok 4.1’s technical strengths, which include stronger reasoning and improved creative output. xAI also designed the model to reduce hallucinations, as noted in a Reality Tea report. Supporters believe these improvements could address Apple’s reported challenges developing its own advanced AI systems, giving Siri the upgrade many users have waited years for.
Reactions ranged from humorous to hopeful, with some users joking that Siri would finally “wake up with a personality” if paired with Grok. Siri, after all, was a trailblazer in voice assistants, but it is currently dominated by rivals in terms of features and capabilities. Grok could change that, provided that Apple is willing to collaborate with Elon Musk’s xAI.
Tesla celebrates 75k Superchargers, less than 5 months since 70k-stall milestone
Luminar-Volvo breakdown deepens as lidar maker warns of potential bankruptcy
