Tesla CEO Elon Musk and US President Joe Biden may not necessarily be close, but the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) appears to have encouraged the electric vehicle maker to finally release one of its most-delayed products today — the Tesla Semi. It’s a bit amusing, but the Tesla Semi does seem like a good fit for the IRA’s incentives.
The Tesla Semi was unveiled in late 2017, and while the EV maker never really stopped testing its prototypes since then, the Class 8 all-electric truck’s actual deliveries were pushed back several times. Part of this was due to Tesla’s battery constraints, which continue to limit the company’s vehicle production across the globe.
Tesla is the world’s most prolific electric vehicle maker, but the company’s existing battery supplies cannot support its planned aggressive ramp in the coming years. And the Tesla Semi, with its massive battery pack, simply seemed like an impractical vehicle to ramp at this stage.
Elon Musk suggested as much in the past, with the CEO explaining that while thadhe Semi uses about five times the battery capacity of Tesla’s regular EVs, it doesn’t really sell for five times as much. But as per a Bloomberg News report, things seemed to have changed when US Senator Joe Manchin and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer revealed that they reached an agreement on legislation that would enact sections of Biden’s climate agenda.
Among these are incentives for electric vehicles. But while the incentives for passenger cars caught a lot of headlines, commercial electric vehicles like the Tesla Semi could qualify for a much more robust and notable incentive — one that could go as high as $40,000 per truck. Despite Elon Musk speaking out against EV incentives, Tesla did end up announcing the first deliveries of the Semi this coming December.
If the qualifying incentives for the Semi were among the reasons behind Tesla’s decision to ramp the vehicle at this stage, then it would suggest that the price of the all-electric Class 8 truck would likely be released at an adjusted price point. The Tesla Semi is already more expensive than its diesel-powered counterparts to begin with, even with its initial listed price of $150,000 to $180,000. But if Tesla ends up raising the vehicle’s price even more, then incentives that go as high as $40,000 would definitely make the Semi more palatable to potential buyers.
Perhaps the most ironic factor in the whole situation involves Musk and Biden’s relationship. The US President has made it clear that he prefers union-based legacy automakers like General Motors as America’s flag-bearers in the EV revolution, so much so that he once named GM CEO Mary Barra as a leader in the electric car transition. Elon Musk, for his part, has also criticized Biden’s tendency to ignore Tesla in the past. But considering the Semi’s potential incentives from the IRA, then perhaps Biden will end up helping Musk and Tesla after all.
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Investor's Corner
Tesla welcomes Chipotle President Jack Hartung to its Board of Directors
Tesla announced the addition of its new director in a post on social media platform X.

Tesla has welcomed Chipotle president Jack Hartung to its Board of Directors. Hartung will officially start his tenure at the electric vehicle maker on June 1, 2025.
Tesla announced the addition of its new director in a post on social media platform X.
Jack Hartung’s Role
With Hartung’s addition, the Tesla Board will now have nine members. It’s been a while since the company added a new director. Prior to Hartung, the last addition to the Tesla Board was Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia back in 2022. As noted in a Reuters report, Hartung will serve on the Tesla Board’s audit committee. He will also retire from his position as president and chief strategy officer at Chipotle, and transition into a senior advisor’s role at the restaurant chain, next month.
Hartung has had a long career in the Mexican grill, joining Chipotle in 2002. He held several positions in the company, most recently serving as Chipotle’s President and Chief Strategy Officer. Tesla highlighted Hartung’s accomplishments in a post on its official account on X.
“Over the past 20+ years under Jack’s financial leadership, Chipotle has seen significant growth with over 3,700 restaurants today across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Jack was named ‘CFO of the Year’ by Orange County Business Journal and Best CFO in the restaurant category by Institutional Investor,” Tesla wrote in its post on X.
Tesla Board and Musk
Tesla is a controversial company with a controversial CEO, so it is no surprise that the Board of Directors tend to get flak as well. Two weeks ago, for example, Tesla Board Chair Robyn Denholm slammed The Wall Street Journal for publishing an article alleging that company directors had considered a search for a potential successor to Elon Musk. Denholm herself has also been criticized for offloading her TSLA shares.
More recently, news emerged suggesting that the Tesla Board of Directors had formed a special committee aimed at exploring a new pay package for CEO Elon Musk. The committee is reportedly comprised of Tesla board Chair Robyn Denholm and independent director Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, and they would be exploring alternative compensation methods for Musk’s contributions to the company.
News
Tesla posts FSD demonstrations in Australia and France
Tesla is expected to roll out a robotaxi service that uses FSD Unsupervised in Austin, Texas sometime next month.

Tesla definitely seems determined to prove that its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system is capable of operating safely anywhere. This was highlighted by the company in a couple of videos posted on social media platform X, which showed the self-driving system in action in Australia and France.
Tesla is expected to roll out a robotaxi service that uses FSD Unsupervised in Austin, Texas sometime next month.
New FSD Unsupervised Demonstrations
To start off Tesla’s recent demonstrations, the Tesla AI Team posted a video of FSD Supervised being tested in Melbourne, Australia. The video was nearly two minutes long, and it featured FSD navigating the city’s busy inner streets. FSD handled the drive without any issues, even performing Australia’s infamous hook turn at one time. The demonstration was received warmly by the EV community, especially since FSD accomplished all this while operating an RHD vehicle.
Another FSD demonstration, this time posted by the official Tesla Europe & Middle East X account, featured the Supervised self-driving system navigating France’s complicated Arc de Triomphe. The area is challenging, considering that it’s one of the largest roundabouts in the country. FSD Supervised, however, expertly handled the roundabout, pausing for cars as needed and maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles.
Tesla did place a disclaimer on its recent test videos, stating that “FSD (Supervised) engineering test drive in a prototype vehicle driven by a safety driver. For demonstration purposes only. FSD (Supervised) is a hands-on feature that requires driver control of the vehicle and attention on the road at all times. Future activation and use subject to development and regulatory approval.”
FSD Unsupervised
Tesla is not yet rolling out FSD Unsupervised to consumer vehicles. The company, however, has been using the system to transport cars from the Fremont Factory and Giga Texas’ production lines to their respective staging areas. In Giga Texas, freshly produced Model Y units drive completely driverless for 1.4 miles before reaching its staging lot. The Cybertrucks, on the other hand, navigate a Boring Company tunnel on their way to their staging area.
Tesla is planning on releasing a dedicated robotaxi service using Model Y vehicles equipped with FSD Unsupervised in Austin, Texas this June. Previous reports also suggest that Tesla is hard at work preparing for the rollout of its robotaxi service, with the company reportedly testing 300 vehicles around Austin over the past months. Tesla has reportedly also conducted safety tests and training sessions with Austin’s first responders from the fire department and police as part of its robotaxi service preparations.
News
United Airlines debuts Starlink Wi-Fi on Detroit flight
United’s first passenger flight with Starlink Wi-Fi just landed in Detroit. Mainline flights to follow by year-end.

United Airlines debuted Starlink Wi-Fi on its first passenger flight to Detroit, marking a milestone in in-flight connectivity with SpaceX’s satellite internet.
On Thursday, the morning flight from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport introduced high-speed, gate-to-gate Starlink internet for United Airlines passengers. The Starlink-equipped United Embraer E-175, tail number UA5717, departed at 7:35 a.m. for Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
United announced the rollout on X, stating, “That lightning-fast Wi-Fi we told you about? It’s here. Our first customers just found out what it’s like to break the Wi-Fi barrier and stream, scroll, shop, and game just like at home with Starlink. And it’s FREE for MileagePlus members. Rolling out across our fleet now.”
The service leverages Starlink’s 7,000+ low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to deliver broadband globally, including in remote areas. United is the only major U.S. airline currently offering Starlink. The airline plans to expand the service across its two-cabin regional fleet and introduce it on mainline flights by year-end.
Sean Cudahy from The Points Guy tested Starlink’s Wi-Fi pre-launch, praising its ease and reliability. “I ran a speed test, and it clocked the Wi-Fi at 217 Mbps of download speed, and 26.8 Mbps of upload speed,” Cudahy shared, noting its suitability for long flights.
Beyond aviation, SpaceX is pitching Starlink as a GPS alternative, emphasizing its potential for Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) services. This dual capability underscores Starlink’s versatility.
In a letter to the FCC, SpaceX wrote, “One opportunity stands out as a particularly ripe, low-hanging fruit: facilitating the rapid deployment of next-generation low-Earth orbit (‘LEO’) satellite constellations that can deliver PNT as a service alongside high-speed, low-latency broadband and ubiquitous mobile connectivity.”
As SpaceX expands Starlink’s applications, from aviation to navigation, United’s adoption signals a broader shift toward satellite-driven connectivity on long flights. With plans to equip more aircraft, United and Starlink are redefining in-flight internet, promising seamless digital access at 30,000 feet.
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