Connect with us
Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm says Tesla could produce 100 Semi trucks this year. Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm says Tesla could produce 100 Semi trucks this year.

News

Tesla Semi battery pack and thermal management system revealed following initial deliveries

Credit: Tesla

Published

on

Pictures of the Tesla Semi internals have been posted online, showing each of the vehicle’s subsystems, only a month after the Semi’s first deliveries to Pepsi and Frito-Lay in December.

The Tesla Semi reveal event was a fantastic ceremony to watch, not only because of the truck’s incredible design but its extraordinary technical prowess compared to other electric and diesel semis currently on the market. Now, each of the Tesla Semi’s intricate subsystems have been shown in pictures uploaded to Twitter.

The pictures posted by @greentheonly on Twitter are some of the most in-depth x-ray diagrams of the truck seen since its launch and are some of the best images showing how the truck operates.

Along with the impressive technical images, the Twitter user posted a mock VIN plate for the commercial vehicle, highlighting specifications such as gross vehicle weight, tire size, and tire pressure.

Advertisement

These images were posted only a month after the vehicle’s launch and just weeks after the first trucks were spotted on public roads. The trucks delivered to Pepsi and Frito-Lay are already working to provide products on the west coast of the United States, with more routes planned for the future as the automaker continues to deliver in the new year.

Tesla has not announced other customers who will be receiving trucks in 2023, nor have the upcoming customers announced their intention to buy/take delivery of them. And due to this lack of clarity, estimates of Semi orders range from a couple hundred to thousands of vehicles.

As more and more automakers, including Mercedes, Volvo Trucks, and Nikola, continue to expand electric semi offerings, the market’s acceptance of the technology and investment in them are likely to continue to rise. Hopefully, with this continued adoption, the way the products we love get delivered to us can continue to improve and become more sustainable.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

Will is an auto enthusiast, a gear head, and an EV enthusiast above all. From racing, to industry data, to the most advanced EV tech on earth, he now covers it at Teslarati.

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla hiring Body Fit Technicians for Cybercab’s end of line

As per Tesla’s Careers website, Body Fit Technicians for the Cybercab focus on precision body fitment work, including alignment, gap and flush adjustments.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla/X

Tesla has posted job openings for Body Fit Technicians for the Cybercab’s end-of-line assembly, an apparent indication that preparations for the vehicle’s initial production are accelerating at Giga Texas. 

Body Fit Technicians for Cybercab line

As per Tesla’s Careers website, Body Fit Technicians for the Cybercab focus on precision body fitment work, including alignment, gap and flush adjustments, and certification of body assemblies to specification standards. 

Employees selected for the role will collaborate with engineering and quality teams to diagnose and correct fitment and performance issues and handle detailed inspections, among other tasks.

The listing noted that candidates should be experienced with automotive body fit techniques and comfortable with physically demanding tasks such as lifting, bending, walking, and using both hand and power tools. The position is based in Austin, Texas, where Tesla’s main Cybercab production infrastructure is being built.

Cybercab poised for April production

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently reiterated that the Cybercab is still expected to start initial production this coming April. So far, numerous Cybercab test units have been spotted across the United States, and recent posts from the official Tesla Robotaxi account have revealed that winter tests in Alaska for the autonomous two-seater are underway. 

While April has been confirmed as the date for the Cybercab’s initial production, Elon Musk has also set expectations about the vehicle’s volumes in its initial months. As per the CEO, the Cybercab’s production will follow a typical S-curve, which means that early production rates for the vehicle will be very limited. 

“Initial production is always very slow and follows an S-curve. The speed of production ramp is inversely proportionate to how many new parts and steps there are. For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production rate will be agonizingly slow, but eventually end up being insanely fast,” Musk wrote in a post on X.

Continue Reading

News

Swedish unions consider police report over Tesla Megapack Supercharger

The Tesla Megapack Supercharger opened shortly before Christmas in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla Charging/X

Swedish labor unions are considering whether to file a police report related to a newly opened Tesla Megapack Supercharger near Stockholm, citing questions about how electricity is supplied to the site. The matter has also been referred to Sweden’s energy regulator.

Tesla Megapack Supercharger

The Tesla Megapack Supercharger opened shortly before Christmas in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm. Unlike traditional charging stations, the site is powered by an on-site Megapack battery rather than a direct grid connection. Typical grid connections for Tesla charging sites in Sweden have seen challenges for nearly two years due to union blockades.

Swedish labor union IF Metall has submitted a report to the Energy Market Inspectorate, asking the authority to assess whether electricity supplied to the battery system meets regulatory requirements, as noted in a report from Dagens Arbete (DA). The Tesla Megapack on the site is charged using electricity supplied by a local company, though the specific provider has not been publicly identified.

Peter Lydell, an ombudsman at IF Metall, issued a comment about the Tesla Megapack Supercharger. “The legislation states that only companies that engage in electricity trading may supply electricity to other parties. You may not supply electricity without a permit, then you are engaging in illegal electricity trading. That is why we have reported this… This is about a company that helps Tesla circumvent the conflict measures that exist. It is clear that it is troublesome and it can also have consequences,” Lydell said.

Police report under consideration

The Swedish Electricians’ Association has also examined the Tesla Megapack Supercharger and documented its power setup. As per materials submitted to the Energy Market Inspectorate, electrical cables were reportedly routed from a property located approximately 500 meters from the charging site.

Tomas Jansson, ombudsman and deputy head of negotiations at the Swedish Electricians’ Association, stated that the union was assessing whether to file a police report related to the Tesla Megapack Supercharger. He also confirmed that the electricians’ union was coordinating with IF Metall about the matter. “We have a close collaboration with IF Metall, and we are currently investigating this. We support IF Metall in their fight for fair conditions at Tesla,” Jansson said.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla HW4.5 spotted in new Model Y, triggers speculation

Owners taking delivery of recent Model Y builds have identified components labeled “AP45.”

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Hardware 4.5 computer appears to have surfaced in newly delivered Model Y vehicles, prompting fresh speculation about an interim upgrade ahead of the company’s upcoming AI5 chip.

Owners taking delivery of recent Model Y builds have identified components labeled “AP45,” suggesting Tesla may have quietly started rolling out revised autonomy hardware.

Hardware 4.5 appears in new Model Y units

The potential Hardware 4.5 sighting was first reported by Model Y owner @Eric5un, who shared details of a Fremont-built 2026 Model Y AWD Premium delivered this January. As per the Model Y owner, the vehicle includes a new front camera housing and a 16-inch center display, along with an Autopilot computer labeled “AP45” and part number 2261336-02-A.

The Tesla owner later explained that he confirmed the part number by briefly pulling down the upper carpet liner below the Model Y’s glovebox. Other owners soon reported similar findings. One Model Y Performance owner noted that their December build also appeared to include Hardware 4.5, while another owner of an Austin-built Model Y Performance reported spotting the same “AP45” hardware.

These sightings suggest that Tesla may already be installing revised FSD computers in its new Model Y batches, despite the company not yet making any formal announcements about Hardware 4.5.

What Hardware 4.5 could represent

Clues about Hardware 4.5 have surfaced previously in Tesla’s Electronic Parts Catalog. As reported by NotATeslaApp, the catalog has listed a component described as “CAR COMPUTER – LEFT HAND DRIVE – PROVISIONED – HARDWARE 4.5.” The component, which features the part number 2261336-S2-A, is priced at $2,300.00.

Longtime Tesla hacker @greentheonly has noted that Tesla software has contained references to a possible three-SoC architecture for some time. Previous generations of Tesla’s FSD computer, including Hardware 3 and Hardware 4, use a dual-SoC design for redundancy. A three-SoC layout could allow for higher inference throughput and improved fault tolerance.

Such an architecture could also serve as a bridge to AI5, Tesla’s next-generation autonomy chip expected to enter production later in 2026. As Tesla’s neural networks grow larger and more computationally demanding, Hardware 4.5 may provide additional headroom for vehicles built before AI5 becomes widely available.

Advertisement
Continue Reading