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.
Elon Musk
NASA’s first human outpost on the Moon starts now – SpaceX on deck
NASA named the rovers, landers, and vendors that will build America’s first Moon Base.
NASA has laid out its most detailed Moon Base plan to date, describing a permanent outpost near the Moon’s south pole that the agency intends to build over the coming decade as a direct stepping stone to Mars. “The Moon Base will be America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, adding that every mission crewed and uncrewed “will be a learning opportunity as we return to the lunar surface, build the infrastructure to stay, and master the skills required to live and operate in one of the most demanding and dangerous environments imaginable.”
The plan is structured in three phases involving both uncrewed and crewed missions to deliver equipment, vehicles, and infrastructure to the surface, with the first three moon base missions targeted to launch before the end of 2026.
Moon Base I, targeting fall 2026, will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to deliver scientific instruments to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge, the same region where Artemis astronauts will land. Moon Base II will send Astrobotic’s Griffin lander carrying more than 1,100 pounds of cargo including Astrolab’s FLIP rover to begin developing mobility systems on the surface. Moon Base III will carry the Lunar Vertex science mission on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lander to study lunar swirls near the south pole, with ESA and Korean science payloads aboard.
On the rover side, NASA awarded Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million to build the first phase of Lunar Terrain Vehicles, with both rovers targeted for deployment to the lunar surface by 2028. Astrolab’s crewed rover weighs roughly 2,000 pounds and can reach over 6 mph. Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus rover can operate autonomously or via remote control at over 9 mph. Blue Origin separately received $188 million with an option worth $280.4 million to deliver cargo landers for rover transport.
NASA also confirmed that MoonFall, a mission deploying four survey drones to scout Artemis landing sites, has selected Firefly Aerospace to build the transport spacecraft, with a 2028 launch target.
SpaceX sits at the center of that commercial layer. SpaceX holds the NASA Human Landing System contract for the Starship-derived lander that will put astronauts on the surface under Artemis IV, currently targeting 2028. Before that can happen, SpaceX must demonstrate in-orbit propellant transfer at scale, a process requiring multiple Starship tanker launches to fuel a single mission. Water ice at the lunar south pole is central to the base’s long-term viability, as it can be converted into drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket fuel, directly reducing dependence on Earth resupply. That resource loop becomes far more practical if Starship can land and be refueled on or near the Moon itself.
Elon Musk has publicly stated that Starship V3, which recently completed its first flight, should be capable enough for initial Mars missions. The Moon Base plan announced Tuesday is the infrastructure layer that connects everything between those two ambitions, and SpaceX is the only American company currently contracted to build the rocket that gets humans to either destination.
A new Tesla patent that has been granted to the company this week has revealed a potential strategy for solving a major issue that could impact both the Full Self-Driving suite and Optimus.
The patent, which is No. 12,636,684, describes a “Lens Cleaning System,” and was submitted by Tesla in May 2025.
The language in the patent details a lens cleaning system that can dispense fluid and wipe it away with a wiper assembly.
Optimus can see you now… 🤖👁️
The patent for @Tesla_Optimus‘s eye structure just dropped. $TSLA pic.twitter.com/Jac4VhDmKH
— SETI Park (@seti_park) May 26, 2026
This would effectively clean any debris that would potentially impact the visibility of the cameras on Tesla automobiles or Optimus’s camera eyes. Perhaps the most pertinent example is through the Full Self-Driving suite, as debris that can accumulate on the vehicle’s exterior cameras can impact the suite’s ability to operate effectively.
This requires a remedy through manual cleaning, but this patent hints that Tesla could be planning to implement this new technology on its upcoming vehicles.
Interestingly, we have started to see it on some Robotaxi vehicles, and it will likely be included in the Cybercab, especially as that vehicle will enable full autonomy.
Back in January, the first Model Y Robotaxi units were spotted with camera washers on the side repeaters, as the video below shows fluid squirting and rinsing off any debris that is limiting visibility.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
This hardware patent does bring up an interesting question for those of us who own Teslas with AI4 and have been told that our cars will one day be capable of full autonomy: Will this washer be available as a retrofit on already-built cars?
Perhaps the “Lens Cleaning System” patent is a good look at one way Tesla plans to combat one of the most obvious issues of autonomy that utilizes a camera-based system. For Optimus, it could be less needed as it could be manually cleaned by owners. For cars, it seems like a bigger necessity, especially as autonomy nears and Tesla gets close to launching a feature-complete FSD suite.
SpaceX’s Starlink product has just gotten its latest airline adoptee, and the move marks the successful partnership of three of the “Big Four” U.S. airlines.
American Airlines announced on Tuesday that it would utilize Starlink in more than 500 narrowbody aircraft beginning in the first quarter of 2027. These include the Airbus aircraft in its fleet, including the new A321XLR and A321neo.
With the new partnership with American Airlines, Starlink is now present on three of the largest airlines in the country: American, United, and Southwest.
Starlink gets its latest airline adoptee for stable and reliable internet access
Starlink’s VP of Enterprise Sales, Jason Fritch, said:
“We are proud to bring Starlink on board American Airlines, delivering fast and reliable internet to passengers and crew. Whether traveling for leisure or business, Starlink enables a fully connected experience gate to gate, making every flight smoother and more enjoyable.”
Additionally, American Airlines Chief Customer Officer, Heather Garboden, said:
“As a premium global airline, we are continuously seeking out world-class partners like Starlink to deliver what our customers need and want. The addition of Starlink solidifies American as a leading airline in keeping passengers connected in flight.”
Starlink has been on a tear over the past year, as it has continued to be adopted by a wide variety of airlines as a more consistent and reliable way to provide WiFi to its passengers. It has already gained a great reputation among residential users, but its biggest commercial application appears to be how it is being used in the air.
American Airlines will adopt Starlink on more than 500 of its narrowbody aircraft beginning in Q1 2027
“As a premium global airline, we are continuously seeking out world-class partners like Starlink to deliver what our customers need and want,” said American Airlines Chief… pic.twitter.com/XY2wflycc0
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) May 26, 2026
The only airline of the Big Four not to adopt Starlink thus far is Delta, which chose to opt for the alternative, which is Amazon Leo. CEO Ed Bastian said to Bloomberg that Delta chose Amazon’s product over Starlink’s because “the opportunities, in terms of the improved bandwidth with a much lower price point than what we’ve ever seen from Starlink, will make a big difference.”
Delta will not start installing Amazon Leo until 2028.
“Of course, we expect Starlink will be warning people that we’re going to go with an inferior product,” Bastian said. “But I’m not too worried about partnering with Amazon.”
NASA’s first human outpost on the Moon starts now – SpaceX on deck
Tesla patent reveals strategy for solving major Full Self-Driving, Optimus issue
