Since Tesla delivered the first units of its all-electric Semi to Frito-Lay facilities in Modesto, California, in December 2022, any instance of one breaking down on the side of the road has been photographed and highly publicized. However, Teslarati has been told that at least some of the “breakdowns” are caused by a glitch within a software switch, and drivers are pulling over voluntarily as a precaution because the dash screens will flicker and sometimes shut off.
Since December, there have been at least eight instances of Tesla Semi vehicles breaking down. Some attributed it to a loss of range from carrying a load of products, as weight and hauling affect how far an EV can go.
Others suspected it was a mechanical issue, as the Semi is still a relatively young product that has been in development for some time but has only been used in real-world applications by a company that is not Tesla for a few months.
Tesla Semi developers reflect on first deliveries: ‘Out the door. For the world.’
While these are a possibility, they would be expected. Vehicles break down all the time for various reasons, including mechanical failures, and people often run out of gas in combustion engine vehicles and/or range in EVs.
Tesla Semi drivers are experiencing dash issues
At least some of the Semi breakdowns can be attributed to a glitch with a software switch, Teslarati has learned. How many of the breakdowns can be attributed to this issue is unknown, but more than one has been described as having this problem.
According to a source close to the operation in Modesto, drivers are pulling over their Semis as a precaution, as the glitch is causing the dash screens and lights on those screens to flicker and sometimes shut off. “They don’t know what to do,” said the person who did not want to be identified. “So they just pull over, and then they are towed.”
Drivers and others involved in the logistics portion of the operation at Frito-Lay that use the Tesla Semi have stated that the screens will not operate properly. Drivers are pulling over as the screens hold valuable information, such as speed, range, camera views surrounding the truck, suspension information, trailer hitch controls, and more.
Tesla Semi interior (Credit: Tesla)
Without the screens being operational, drivers run into issues that can affect how their jobs are performed, including important safety metrics like speed.
The vehicles are then towed to what we were told is a “secret location” in Lathrop, California, for inspection and repair.
A tow truck driver that has been responsible for transporting the Semis to Lathrop said they had towed at least four units to that location thus far.
Why This Isn’t So Bad
The Semi has only been in Frito-Lay’s hands for about four months, and it is an extremely early project that is still a very limited operation. Frito-Lay expects to have only fifteen Tesla Semis in Modesto this year, so the vehicle is not taking over the entire fleet. In fact, Frito-Lay has adopted various sustainable technologies from several companies to make the Modesto plant more environmentally friendly.
The issues, if completely software-related, can be fixed by Tesla engineers. While the Semi is much different than its passenger vehicles, Tesla has a reputation for having some of the best software in the EV industry. There would likely be much more concern if these breakdowns could be attributed to a part failure or range depletion.
Tesla already displayed the Semi’s capabilities with a full load during the unveiling event in December, showing the all-electric class 8 truck traveling 500 miles on a single charge. We were not told about or made aware of any hardware failures or breakdowns that were caused by parts failures.
Tesla Semi completes 500-mile journey weighing in at 81,000 pounds
The problems with the Semi are likely expected by both Tesla and Frito-Lay as it is still an early-stage vehicle that is being rolled out in a very limited fashion.
Frito-Lay/PepsiCo. did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
What’s Next
Tesla is still moving forward with its plans to expand Semi production in Nevada, as earlier this year, it announced it would build a $3.5 billion expansion to Giga Nevada.
As for Frito-Lay and PepsiCo’s facility in Modesto, there is no indication that they will let a few early issues with the Semi ruin their fleet. In fact, the facility is set to have Megachargers installed at its plant in Fresno, California.
As far as we know, the Semi is still operating daily. Yesterday, it was spotted in Sacramento.
The big picture is that vehicles break down, and new vehicles sometimes have issues that need to be ironed out. It doesn’t mean the project is a failure or that the Semi is doomed to be a dud. It’s the growing pains of the Semi operation.
Disclosure: Joey Klender is a TSLA Shareholder.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
Elon Musk clapped back at France’s decision to withhold the approval for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised system, projecting a clear and blunt message to French Transport Minister Phillippe Tabarot, after he publicly rejected the technology in its current form.
Tabarot outlines several concerns with Tesla Full Self-Driving in a detailed video statement, where he said, “The safety trade-offs are not yet sufficient to authorize it as it currently stands,” he said. He emphasized that FSD is not a true self-driving system and that the driver remains fully responsible.
Key issues Tabarot also brought up included allowing speeding when surrounding traffic exceeds limits and what he believes are insufficient guarantees of driver attention during complex urban maneuvers such as lane changes, intersections, and roundabouts.
Delaying the approval of FSD in France will cost lives
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 22, 2026
While acknowledging technological progress and France’s support for autonomous innovation, Tabarot stressed that deployment must prioritize road safety. He noted ongoing technical discussions with Tesla, the Netherlands, and other European partners, with further ecosystem meetings planned for the fall.
Musk’s rebuke highlights the human cost of regulatory caution. Tesla’s latest safety reports provide compelling data supporting accelerated adoption. In the most recent 12-month period, vehicles using FSD (Supervised) recorded one major collision per approximately 5.1 million miles driven, dramatically better than the U.S. national average of one crash per 698,000 miles.
Even Tesla vehicles driven manually with active safety features outperform the average by a wide margin. These figures come from billions of real-world miles of telemetry, showing FSD vehicles involved in far fewer incidents than both manual Teslas and the broader U.S. fleet.
Critics argue Tesla’s comparisons require careful scrutiny regarding reporting thresholds and fleet demographics, yet the data consistently positions FSD as a potential lifesaver. With road fatalities remaining a leading cause of death worldwide, Musk contends that proven safer technology should not face prolonged bureaucratic hurdles.
France’s measured approach reflects the broader European regulatory caution, which many, especially Musk, have been critical of in the past. However, as autonomous systems from Tesla and competitors like Waymo demonstrate superior safety in independent studies, pressure is mounting for harmonized approvals.
Musk’s warning carries the belief that every month of delay may equate to avoidable tragedies on European roads.
In a striking revelation that underscores the lucrative crossover between Big Tech and space exploration, Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, disclosed a massive $94.1 billion equity stake in SpaceX following the rocket company’s blockbuster initial public offering earlier this year.
The disclosure came in Alphabet’s quarterly filing, marking the first time the long-held private investment has been publicly valued at market prices. Google was an early backer, investing alongside Fidelity in 2015 with roughly $500-900 million at a time when SpaceX was valued around $12 billion.
That bet has delivered extraordinary returns, roughly a hundredfold, transforming a strategic play on satellite internet and launch capabilities into one of Alphabet’s largest assets.
Google, $GOOGL, has said they hold $94 billion in SpaceX, $SPCX, shares after IPO.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) July 23, 2026
Of the total holding, approximately $80 billion remains subject to short-term post-IPO lockup restrictions, preventing near-term sales. An additional $14.1 billion faces longer-term restrictions, extending into the third quarter of 2027. This structure limits immediate liquidity but protects against market volatility as SpaceX transitions into public trading.
The SpaceX position contributed significantly to gains in Alphabet’s broader investment portfolio, which also includes a major stake in AI leader Anthropic. Combined, these holdings helped drive nearly $100 billion in investment gains during the second quarter, providing a substantial boost to net income amid ongoing AI spending pressures.
Analysts view the disclosure as validation of Alphabet’s venture strategy beyond its core search and cloud businesses. The investment aligns with deeper ties, including reported multi-billion-dollar deals for AI computing capacity on SpaceX infrastructure. As SpaceX advances Starship flights, Starlink expansion, and ambitious Mars goals under Elon Musk, Google’s stake positions it to benefit from the commercialization of space.
For Alphabet, the windfall highlights how patient, forward-looking bets in transformative sectors can yield outsized rewards. While lockups temper short-term impact, the holding cements SpaceX as a cornerstone of Alphabet’s diversified portfolio in an era where aerospace, AI, and connectivity increasingly intersect. Investors will watch closely as restrictions lift and SpaceX’s public performance unfolds.
In early 2026, Tesla made a bold strategic pivot: it largely eliminated the option to purchase Full Self-Driving (FSD) software outright and shifted to a subscription-only model. The change, effective around mid-February, ended the one-time fee that had previously ranged as high as $15,000 and later dropped to $8,000. Instead, customers would access FSD (Supervised) for $99 per month in the U.S.
At the time, skeptics questioned whether locking customers into recurring payments would hurt adoption or alienate buyers who preferred ownership of the feature. Tesla bet that a lower barrier to entry, seamless integration at purchase, and the ability to cancel at any time would drive higher uptake.
The results from Q2 2026 speak for themselves: the decision has been a resounding success, delivering the largest quarterly growth in FSD subscriptions in the company’s history.
Tesla FSD subscriptions went up 56% in Q2 2026 to 1.48 million, an increase of 200,000 from Q1 2026.
Tesla added more FSD subscribers in Q2 than in any quarter in its history. pic.twitter.com/jTciTD2JqW
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 22, 2026
According to Tesla’s Q2 shareholder update, active FSD subscriptions reached 1.48 million globally by the end of June 2026. That represents a 56 percent increase year-over-year and a 15.6 percent jump from the prior quarter. Tesla added roughly 200,000 new subscriptions in the period alone—the biggest single-quarter gain on record.
North America led the charge, with more than 55 percent of new vehicle deliveries including an FSD subscription at the time of purchase, a record attach rate for the region.
Tesla explicitly noted that “more customers [are] opting for subscription at the time of vehicle purchase,” crediting the model shift and prominent placement of the option in the ordering process. Subscriptions now contribute meaningfully to ancillary revenue, helping offset pressure elsewhere in the business.
The financial upside is substantial: At $99 per month, 1.48 million active subscriptions generate approximately $146.5 million in monthly recurring revenue. Over a full year, that equates to roughly $1.76 billion in annualized recurring revenue (ARR) from FSD subscriptions alone, assuming steady retention and no major pricing changes.
These figures represent pure, high-margin software revenue. Unlike vehicle sales, which carry production costs, warranty obligations, and supply-chain risks, FSD subscriptions flow largely to the bottom line once the software is developed and deployed over-the-air.
Tesla does not break out exact FSD subscription revenue in its filings (it sits within “Services and Other”), but the category grew 50 percent year-over-year in Q2, with executives highlighting subscriptions as a key driver.
The subscription model offers several structural advantages. It lowers the upfront cost of a new Tesla, potentially broadening the buyer pool and supporting vehicle demand, especially important amid fluctuating EV market conditions. It creates a predictable revenue stream that compounds as the fleet grows and more owners try (and stick with) the software.
Legacy one-time purchasers still exist, but new growth is overwhelmingly subscription-based following the February cutoff.
Early data also suggests improving retention and satisfaction, as well. Tesla has rolled out iterative FSD updates, including v14 features, and expanded availability to additional markets. Recent regulatory approvals in parts of Europe have further boosted interest, with owners in newly enabled countries eager to activate the software they had been waiting for.
FSD is still supervised; regulatory hurdles for true unsupervised autonomy persist in many regions, including the United States, and competition in advanced driver-assistance systems is intensifying. Yet the Q2 numbers validate Tesla’s bet: by removing the large upfront commitment and making FSD accessible via subscription, the company has accelerated adoption faster than many anticipated.
What began as a controversial switch-up has become a clear win. With nearly 1.5 million subscribers, record attach rates, and nearly $1.8 billion in potential annual recurring revenue already in view, Tesla’s FSD business is transitioning from a promised future to a tangible, fast-growing profit engine.
If the momentum continues, and especially if unsupervised capabilities unlock robotaxi opportunities, the subscription flywheel could become one of the most valuable assets in Tesla’s portfolio.
Elon Musk claps back at France’s Tesla Full Self-Driving approval delay
Google’s massive stake in SpaceX will shock you
