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EXCLUSIVE: Tesla Semi lands EPA green light to begin deliveries

Credit: Tesla

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The Tesla Semi has officially landed the green light to be delivered to customers. The EPA confirmed to Teslarati that the Semi has been assessed by the agency and granted a Certificate of Conformity to enter the stream of commerce, something Tesla had not gained from the agency in previous years after announcing imminent deliveries in 2020 and 2021.

In early October, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Semi deliveries would begin on December 1. After the company has claimed this twice in the past two years, some may have been skeptical that the truck would actually arrive in 2022.

However, the EPA granting the Semi a Certificate of Conformity means the vehicle can officially enter the stream of commerce, permission the company had not gained previously.

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The EPA told Teslarati that the 2023 Tesla Semi has officially been granted a Certificate of Conformity, which was given to the manufacturer on September 29. The Certificate is valid until December 31, 2023.

Yesterday, we also reported that various Model S, Model X, and Model 3 trim levels had received Certificates of Conformity from the EPA for the 2023 model years.

Certificates of Conformity are granted by the EPA when a vehicle is confirmed to be conforming to the agency’s emissions and fuel economy requirements. “Every class of heavy-duty engines/vehicles and nonroad engines introduced into commerce in the U. S. must have a Certificate of Conformity, and they are valid for only one model year of production,” the EPA said.

Tesla announced in 2020 and 2021 that it planned to begin volume production and deliveries of the Semi. Battery constraints, parts shortages, and other issues related to the supply chain kept this from happening. Tesla had not previously applied for the Semi to be approved for a Certificate of Conformity based on the EPA’s list of approved heavy-duty vehicles. The EPA updates this list quarterly, and the Semi has never appeared on it. The EPA confirmed to Teslarati that the Semi would be added to the list of conforming heavy-duty vehicles in January 2023.

What the EPA Certification means for the Semi

Tesla has never gained a conformity certification from the EPA for the Semi, which is a significant indicator that the vehicle will begin deliveries soon. Even if Tesla does not deliver the vehicle to PepsiCo. on December 1 as it previously said and PepsiCo. confirmed, the company can officially use the Semi on public roads and deliver it to clients.

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As of right now, the only reason Tesla would not deliver the vehicle to PepsiCo. on December 1 is if the vehicle is not built or there is a delay in the vehicle making it to its destination. With the EPA permissions, Tesla can officially begin deliveries at any point.

In the past, Tesla has said the vehicle would be delivered that year, only to be delayed. Don’t expect another drastic delay from Tesla that would delay deliveries further, as regulatory approval is finally official.

Tesla is expected to make the first deliveries of the Semi to PepsiCo. in Modesto and Sacramento, California facilities.

Teslarati obtained the Certificate of Conformity for the Tesla Semi, which is available below.

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Ptsl2tracshd-001 Watermark (1) by Joey Klender

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.

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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Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million

The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.

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Credit: Starlink/X

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has continued its rapid global expansion, surpassing 9 million active customers just weeks after crossing the 8 million mark. 

The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.

9 million customers

In a post on X, SpaceX stated that Starlink now serves over 9 million active users across 155 countries, territories, and markets. The company reached 8 million customers in early November, meaning it added roughly 1 million subscribers in under seven weeks, or about 21,275 new users on average per day. 

“Starlink is connecting more than 9M active customers with high-speed internet across 155 countries, territories, and many other markets,” Starlink wrote in a post on its official X account. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell also celebrated the milestone on X. “A huge thank you to all of our customers and congrats to the Starlink team for such an incredible product,” she wrote. 

That growth rate reflects both rising demand for broadband in underserved regions and Starlink’s expanding satellite constellation, which now includes more than 9,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet worldwide.

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Starlink’s momentum

Starlink’s momentum has been building up. SpaceX reported 4.6 million Starlink customers in December 2024, followed by 7 million by August 2025, and 8 million customers in November. Independent data also suggests Starlink usage is rising sharply, with Cloudflare reporting that global web traffic from Starlink users more than doubled in 2025, as noted in an Insider report.

Starlink’s momentum is increasingly tied to SpaceX’s broader financial outlook. Elon Musk has said the satellite network is “by far” the company’s largest revenue driver, and reports suggest SpaceX may be positioning itself for an initial public offering as soon as next year, with valuations estimated as high as $1.5 trillion. Musk has also suggested in the past that Starlink could have its own IPO in the future. 

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NVIDIA Director of Robotics: Tesla FSD v14 is the first AI to pass the “Physical Turing Test”

After testing FSD v14, Fan stated that his experience with FSD felt magical at first, but it soon started to feel like a routine.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

NVIDIA Director of Robotics Jim Fan has praised Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14 as the first AI to pass what he described as a “Physical Turing Test.”

After testing FSD v14, Fan stated that his experience with FSD felt magical at first, but it soon started to feel like a routine. And just like smartphones today, removing it now would “actively hurt.”

Jim Fan’s hands-on FSD v14 impressions

Fan, a leading researcher in embodied AI who is currently solving Physical AI at NVIDIA and spearheading the company’s Project GR00T initiative, noted that he actually was late to the Tesla game. He was, however, one of the first to try out FSD v14

“I was very late to own a Tesla but among the earliest to try out FSD v14. It’s perhaps the first time I experience an AI that passes the Physical Turing Test: after a long day at work, you press a button, lay back, and couldn’t tell if a neural net or a human drove you home,” Fan wrote in a post on X. 

Fan added: “Despite knowing exactly how robot learning works, I still find it magical watching the steering wheel turn by itself. First it feels surreal, next it becomes routine. Then, like the smartphone, taking it away actively hurts. This is how humanity gets rewired and glued to god-like technologies.”

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The Physical Turing Test

The original Turing Test was conceived by Alan Turing in 1950, and it was aimed at determining if a machine could exhibit behavior that is equivalent to or indistinguishable from a human. By focusing on text-based conversations, the original Turing Test set a high bar for natural language processing and machine learning. 

This test has been passed by today’s large language models. However, the capability to converse in a humanlike manner is a completely different challenge from performing real-world problem-solving or physical interactions. Thus, Fan introduced the Physical Turing Test, which challenges AI systems to demonstrate intelligence through physical actions.

Based on Fan’s comments, Tesla has demonstrated these intelligent physical actions with FSD v14. Elon Musk agreed with the NVIDIA executive, stating in a post on X that with FSD v14, “you can sense the sentience maturing.” Musk also praised Tesla AI, calling it the best “real-world AI” today.

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Tesla AI team burns the Christmas midnight oil by releasing FSD v14.2.2.1

The update was released just a day after FSD v14.2.2 started rolling out to customers. 

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Credit: Grok

Tesla is burning the midnight oil this Christmas, with the Tesla AI team quietly rolling out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2.2.1 just a day after FSD v14.2.2 started rolling out to customers. 

Tesla owner shares insights on FSD v14.2.2.1

Longtime Tesla owner and FSD tester @BLKMDL3 shared some insights following several drives with FSD v14.2.2.1 in rainy Los Angeles conditions with standing water and faded lane lines. He reported zero steering hesitation or stutter, confident lane changes, and maneuvers executed with precision that evoked the performance of Tesla’s driverless Robotaxis in Austin.

Parking performance impressed, with most spots nailed perfectly, including tight, sharp turns, in single attempts without shaky steering. One minor offset happened only due to another vehicle that was parked over the line, which FSD accommodated by a few extra inches. In rain that typically erases road markings, FSD visualized lanes and turn lines better than humans, positioning itself flawlessly when entering new streets as well.

“Took it up a dark, wet, and twisty canyon road up and down the hill tonight and it went very well as to be expected. Stayed centered in the lane, kept speed well and gives a confidence inspiring steering feel where it handles these curvy roads better than the majority of human drivers,” the Tesla owner wrote in a post on X.

Tesla’s FSD v14.2.2 update

Just a day before FSD v14.2.2.1’s release, Tesla rolled out FSD v14.2.2, which was focused on smoother real-world performance, better obstacle awareness, and precise end-of-trip routing. According to the update’s release notes, FSD v14.2.2 upgrades the vision encoder neural network with higher resolution features, enhancing detection of emergency vehicles, road obstacles, and human gestures.

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New Arrival Options also allowed users to select preferred drop-off styles, such as Parking Lot, Street, Driveway, Parking Garage, or Curbside, with the navigation pin automatically adjusting to the ideal spot. Other refinements include pulling over for emergency vehicles, real-time vision-based detours for blocked roads, improved gate and debris handling, and Speed Profiles for customized driving styles.

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