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Tesla Semi tire inflation patent paves way for pickup truck, Model Y & X’s off-road abilities
During Tesla’s third-quarter earnings call, Elon Musk noted that the company continues to make headway on its future vehicles. Musk noted that he had already approved the production of the Model Y prototype, while pointing out that the company is making progress on the next-generation Roadster and the Tesla Semi. Musk reiterated his enthusiasm about the Tesla pickup truck as well, which he admits is a vehicle he is most excited about.
Some of the improvements to the Tesla Semi appear to have been teased in one of the company’s recently-published patent applications. The patent, which was published on October 18, 2018, and titled “Automatic Tire Inflation System with Thru-Hub Air Feed,” outlined a system enabling Tesla’s vehicles to inflate or deflate their tires as necessary. While several vehicles today already have Automatic Tire Inflation Systems, Tesla’s patent application notes that conventional ATIS have much room for improvement.
“These prior solutions had a number of shortcomings. With some prior art techniques, air was fed through hollow drive axles to a fitting located on the end thereof. The fitting was then coupled to the air inlets of the tires. To couple the air into the hollow drive axles, a rotatingly attached fitting coupled air from an air storage to the inside of the hollow axles. This fitting was subject to leakage of contaminants. These contaminants interfered with the operation of the ATIS and eventually caused the ATIS to fail.”
Diagrams of Tesla’s Automatic Tire Inflation System. [Credit: US Patent Office]
Tesla’s ATIS patent involves a system that features valves, a rotary air seal, and bearings, to avoid contamination. With such a system in place, Tesla notes that the wheels of its vehicles would likely last longer, and tires would require even less maintenance.
“In order to overcome the shortcomings described above among other shortcomings, an Automatic Tire Inflation System (ATIS) for use with a vehicle according to a first described embodiment includes a controller, valves controlled by the controller, the valves having an air supply inlet, and a plurality of air outlets. Further, the ATIS includes, for at least one drive axle having inner bearings and outer bearings, a channel formed in a spindle, first hosing coupling a valve of the valves controlled by the controller to the channel formed in the spindle, a channel formed in a hub, a rotary air seal residing between the inner bearings and the outer bearings and coupling the channel formed in the spindle to the channel formed in the hub, and second hosing coupling the channel formed in the hub to at least one wheel.
“Thus, as compared to the prior ATIS systems, the ATIS of the first embodiment, significantly reduces contamination in the ATIS air stream. Reduction in contamination extends the life of the ATIS, extends spindle life, extends hub life, and extends serviced wheel/tire lives and extends maintenance intervals.”
While the diagrams in the patent application suggest that Tesla’s upcoming ATIS would be used for the Semi, the applications for the automatic tire inflation system for the company’s other, upcoming vehicles are notable. Having the capability to automatically inflate tires depending on the terrain, after all, would allow Tesla to start giving its vehicles some form of off-road capability. Under-inflated tires are key to off-road driving, since they are capable of flexing more, allowing vehicles to “crawl” over rocks and other sharp, irregular terrain. Under-inflated tires also have a wider contact path, allowing vehicles to gain more traction in terrain like deep sand or soft snow.
For now, Tesla’s vehicles are optimized for city and interstate driving, and while there are accounts of the Model X being taken off-road (EV YouTuber Bjorn Nyland’s extreme driving test sessions come to mind), the company’s electric cars are yet to have features that are specifically geared towards off-road driving. With an ATIS system, Tesla’s upcoming vehicles such as the Tesla pickup truck, and even the company’s SUVs like the Model Y and a future iteration of the Model X, could have the ability to explore areas beyond paved roads. Such capabilities would likely be invaluable, considering that legendary vehicles like the Ford F-150 and the Chevy Blazer established their legacies by proving themselves capable in areas where neither asphalt nor concrete is present.
Tesla’s full patent for its Automatic Tire Inflation system could be accessed here.
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Tesla gamifies Supercharging with new ‘Charging Passport’
It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.
Tesla is gamifying its Supercharging experience by offering a new “Charging Passport,” hoping to add a new layer to the ownership experience.
While it is not part of the Holiday Update, it is rolling out around the same time and offers a handful of cool new features.
Tesla’s Charging Passport will be available within the smartphone app and will give a yearly summary of your charging experience, helping encapsulate your travel for that year.
It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.
Tesla has just introduced “Charging Passport,” a new yearly summary of your charging.
• Charging badges: Iconic Charging badge (for visiting places like the Tesla Diner, Oasis Supercharger, etc), Explorer badge, green saver badge, etc.
• Total unique Superchargers visited
•… pic.twitter.com/c1DHTWXpj7— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 8, 2025
Tesla will include the following metrics within the new Charging Passport option within the Tesla app:
- Charging badges: Iconic charging badges for visiting places like the Tesla Diner, Oasis Supercharger, etc., Explorer Badge, and more
- Total Unique Superchargers Visited
- Total Charging Sessions
- Total Miles Added during Charging Sessions
- Top Charging Day
- Longest Trip
- Favorite Charging Locations
This will give people a unique way to see their travels throughout the year, and although it is not necessarily something that is needed or adds any genuine value, it is something that many owners will like to look back on. After all, things like Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay have been a great way for people to see what music they listened to throughout the year.
This is essentially Tesla’s version of that.
With a handful of unique Superchargers already active, Tesla is also building some new ones, like a UFO-inspired location in New Mexico, near Roswell.
Tesla is building a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country
News
Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced
“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention.”
Tesla has launched its coolest gift idea ever, just a few weeks after it was announced.
Tesla is now giving owners the opportunity to gift Full Self-Driving for one month to friends or family through a new gifting program that was suggested to the company last month.
The program will enable people to send a fellow Tesla owner one month of the company’s semi-autonomous driving software, helping them to experience the Full Self-Driving suite and potentially help Tesla gain them as a subscriber of the program, or even an outright purchase.
Tesla is going to allow owners to purchase an FSD Subscription for another owner for different month options
You’ll be able to gift FSD to someone! https://t.co/V29dhf5URj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 3, 2025
Tesla has officially launched the program on its Shop. Sending one month of Full Self-Driving costs $112:
“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention. All sales are final. Can only be purchased and redeemed in the U.S. This gift card is valued at $112.00 and is intended to cover the price of one month of FSD (Supervised), including up to 13% sales tax. It is not guaranteed to cover the full monthly price if pricing or tax rates change. This gift card can be stored in Tesla Wallet and redeemed toward FSD (Supervised) or any other Tesla product or service that accepts gift card payments.”
Tesla has done a great job of expanding Full Self-Driving access over the past few years, especially by offering things like the Subscription program, free trials through referrals, and now this gift card program.
Gifting Full Self-Driving is another iteration of Tesla’s “butts in seats” strategy, which is its belief that it can flip consumers to its vehicles and products by simply letting people experience them.
There is also a reason behind pushing Full Self-Driving so hard, and it has to do with CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package. One tranche requires Musk to achieve a certain number of active paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
More people who try the suite are likely to pay for it over the long term.
News
Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale
Tesla said recently it plans to launch Robotaxi in Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Dallas.
Tesla has expanded Robotaxi app access once again, but this time, it’s on a much broader scale as the company is offering the opportunity for those outside of North America to download the app.
Tesla Robotaxi is the company’s early-stage ride-hailing platform that is active in Texas, California, and Arizona, with more expansion within the United States planned for the near future.
Tesla said recently it plans to launch Robotaxi in Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Dallas.
The platform has massive potential, and Tesla is leaning on it to be a major contributor to even more disruption in the passenger transportation industry. So far, it has driven over 550,000 miles in total, with the vast majority of this coming from the Bay Area and Austin.
First Look at Tesla’s Robotaxi App: features, design, and more
However, Tesla is focusing primarily on rapid expansion, but most of this is reliant on the company’s ability to gain regulatory permission to operate the platform in various regions. The expansion plans go well outside of the U.S., as the company expanded the ability to download the app to more regions this past weekend.
So far, these are the areas it is available to download in:
- Japan
- Thailand
- Hong Kong
- South Korea
- Australia
- Taiwan
- Macau
- New Zealand
- Mexico
- U.S.
- Canada
Right now, while Tesla is focusing primarily on expansion, it is also working on other goals that have to do with making it more widely available to customers who want to grab a ride from a driverless vehicle.
One of the biggest goals it has is to eliminate safety monitors from its vehicles, which it currently utilizes in Austin in the passenger’s seat and in the driver’s seat in the Bay Area.
A few weeks ago, Tesla started implementing a new in-cabin data-sharing system, which will help support teams assist riders without anyone in the front of the car.
Tesla takes a step towards removal of Robotaxi service’s safety drivers
As Robotaxi expands into more regions, Tesla stands to gain tremendously through the deployment of the Full Self-Driving suite for personal cars, as well as driverless Robotaxis for those who are just hailing rides.
Things have gone well for Tesla in the early stages of the Robotaxi program, but expansion will truly be the test of how things operate going forward. Navigating local traffic laws and gaining approval from a regulatory standpoint will be the biggest hurdle to jump.
Tesla gamifies Supercharging with new ‘Charging Passport’
Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced
