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Elon Musk’s Tesla Semi update means that the battery that changes everything is ready
In a recent email to his employees, Elon Musk announced that the Tesla Semi will be entering volume production soon. Together with recent updates from Tesla’s battery partner in China about the rollout of a million-mile battery, it appears that the battery that can change everything for the electric car maker, and its fight for sustainability as a whole, is finally ready.
It is no secret that the Tesla Semi has experienced delays. When the vehicle was unveiled, Elon Musk estimated that initial deliveries could begin around late 2019. This was eventually moved to sometime in 2020, and later, to around 2021. These delays attracted the usual blend of criticism from skeptics, but Musk explained that a key reason behind the Semi’s updated rollout dates is the vehicles’ batteries.
Simply put, Musk previously stated that Tesla could not produce the Semi in volume unless the company has the capability to manufacture enough cells for such a large vehicle. Based on Musk’s recent email, it appears that Tesla has overcome this challenge, and the company is now capable of ramping the production of its Class 8 truck.
This is particularly interesting considering that Tesla’s battery partner for its Made-in-China Model 3, Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), has recently announced that its million-mile battery is ready for production as well. As indicated by BBC, previous reports have indicated that this specific battery was co-developed with Tesla, and it will be used for vehicles produced in the automaker’s Gigafactory Shanghai facility.
This all bodes well for the company’s long-term strategy and endgame. Batteries are the backbone for Tesla’s products, both electric vehicle and energy storage devices. And so far, Tesla is one of the very few companies that is really pushing the envelope on battery tech. This was hinted at by President of Automotive Jerome Guillen, who previously noted in an interview that Tesla’s battery cells are never static.
What is rather interesting is that Tesla has placed the pieces for this battery endgame years ago. Even before it could prove that premium, well-designed electric vehicles are a viable business, Tesla pushed the idea of establishing a Gigafactory in Nevada that will be dedicated to the mass-production of battery cells. Four years ago, the company funded the work of a group of scientists led for the past 24 years by Jeff Dahn, a pioneer in lithium-ion battery development as well. These, as well as a number of other key pieces, seem to be coming together now, or at least in the near future.
Being the most valuable automaker by market cap or having TSLA stock go past $1,000 per share was never Tesla’s endgame. They’re amazing milestones, but the company and its executives have been pretty open about the fact that Tesla’s main focus is on accelerating the world’s transition to sustainability. With the company’s most ambitious, disruptive battery seemingly on the horizon, it appears that the winds are about to shift very soon for Tesla, and it will not be very favorable for fossil fuels at all.
H/T Whole Mars Blog
News
Tesla arson suspect pleads guilty, faces up to 70 years in prison
The update was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.
A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty to federal arson charges tied to a March 2025 attack on a Tesla Collision Center in Nevada.
The update was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.
According to court documents, on March 18, 2025, Paul Hyon Kim spray-painted the word “RESIST” on the front entrance of the Tesla Collision Center before damaging the facility and multiple vehicles.
Federal prosecutors stated that Kim used a PA-15 multi-caliber firearm equipped with a .300 BLACKOUT upper receiver and a 7.62mm silencer to shoot out surveillance cameras. He then fired multiple rounds into Tesla vehicles on the property.
Authorities stated that Kim later threw three Molotov cocktails into three separate Tesla vehicles. Two of the devices exploded and ignited the vehicles, while a third did not detonate. In total, five Tesla vehicles were damaged in the incident.
Kim pleaded guilty to two counts of arson of property used in interstate commerce, one count of attempted arson of property used in interstate commerce, and one count of unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm classified as a destructive device.
The mandatory minimum sentence for the charges is five years in federal prison, though the total maximum statutory penalty is 70 years, as per a release from the United States Attorney’s Office of the District of Nevada.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 27, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey. A federal judge will determine the final sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, with assistance from the Clark County Fire Department.
Elon Musk
SpaceX pursues 5G-level connectivity with Starlink Mobile V2 expansion
SpaceX noted that the upcoming Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current first-generation system.
SpaceX has previewed a major upgrade to Starlink Mobile, outlining next-generation satellites that aim to deliver significantly higher capacity and full 5G-level connectivity directly to mobile phones.
The update comes as Starlink rebrands its Direct-to-Cell service to Starlink Mobile, positioning the platform as a scalable satellite-to-mobile solution that’s integrated with global telecom partners.
SpaceX noted that the upcoming Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current first-generation system. The company also noted that the new V2 satellites are designed to provide significantly higher throughput capability compared to its current iteration.
“The next generation of Starlink Mobile satellites – V2 – will deliver full cellular coverage to places never thought possible via the highest performing satellite-to-mobile network ever built.
“Driven by custom SpaceX-designed silicon and phased array antennas, the satellites will support thousands of spatial beams and higher bandwidth capability, enabling around 20x the throughput capability as compared to a first-generation satellite,” SpaceX wrote in its official Starlink Mobile page.
Thanks to the higher bandwidth of Starlink Mobile, users should be able to stream, browse the internet, use high-speed apps, and enjoy voice services comparable to terrestrial cellular networks.
In most environments, Starlink says the upgraded system will enable full 5G cellular connectivity with a user experience similar to existing ground-based networks.
The satellites function as “cell towers in space,” using advanced phased-array antennas and laser interlinks to integrate with terrestrial infrastructure in a roaming-like architecture.
“Starlink Mobile works with existing LTE phones wherever you can see the sky. The satellites have an antenna that acts like a cellphone tower in space, the most advanced phased array antennas in the world that connect seamlessly over lasers to any point in the globe, allowing network integration similar to a standard roaming partner,” SpaceX wrote.
Starlink Mobile currently operates with approximately 650 satellites in low-Earth orbit and is active across more than 32 countries, representing over 1.7 billion people through partnerships with mobile network operators. Starlink Mobile’s current partnerships span North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, allowing reciprocal access across participating nations.
News
Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles
The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles.
The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.
Tesla has long emphasized that large-scale real-world data is central to improving its neural network-based approach to autonomy. Each mile driven with FSD (Supervised) engaged contributes additional edge cases and scenario training for the system.

The milestone also brings Tesla closer to a benchmark previously outlined by CEO Elon Musk. Musk has stated that roughly 10 billion miles of training data may be needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving at scale, citing the “long tail” of rare but complex driving situations that must be learned through experience.
The growth curve of FSD Supervised’s cumulative miles over the past five years has been notable.
As noted in data shared by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt, annual FSD (Supervised) miles have increased from roughly 6 million in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and 4.25 billion in 2025. In just the first 50 days of 2026, Tesla owners logged another 1 billion miles.
At the current pace, the fleet is trending towards hitting about 10 billion FSD Supervised miles this year. The increase has been driven by Tesla’s growing vehicle fleet, periodic free trials, and expanding Robotaxi operations, among others.
With the fleet now past 8.4 billion cumulative miles, Tesla’s supervised system is approaching that threshold, even as regulatory approval for fully unsupervised deployment remains subject to further validation and oversight.