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Tesla Semi rival Nikola throws shade, claims $8 billion in pre-orders, 100% reservation refunds

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Tesla Semi rival Nikola Motors recently threw some shade at the Elon Musk-led company, stating that it will be refunding 100% of the reservations placed for its hydrogen-electric trucks and boasting that it had already received over $8 billion worth of pre-orders. Nikola also included what appears to be a pointed statement about Tesla’s finances, stating that it would not use its reservation holders’ money to operate its business.

Nikola’s bold declarations were posted on the company’s official Twitter account. According to the company’s tweets, Nikola customers could now reserve their trucks — the sleeper semi-truck Nikola One and the day cab Nikola Two — at zero cost. The startup also promised that refunds for those who have already placed reservations for their vehicles would be processed within 60 days.

“Great news! All reservations will be refunded 100%, and you won’t lose your place in line. We don’t use your money to operate our business. We want everyone to know we have never used a dollar of deposit money in the history of our company. All deposits will be refunded < 60 days.

“You can now reserve a Nikola One or Two without any deposit at https://nikolamotor.com/motor. With over 8+ billion in pre-order reservations, who needs deposits anyways!”

Nikola’s statements are very bold, considering that the company is yet to start the production of its hydrogen-electric semi trucks. Earlier this year, Nikola announced its plans to build a $1 billion factory in Phoenix, AZ, which will house facilities that would manufacture its offerings, according to a Fortune report. According to Nikola CEO Trevor Milton, the trucking startup will complete the move to the Phoenix, AZ site by October 2018. Production for the Nikola One and the Nikola Two is estimated to begin in 2021.

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Nikola’s hydrogen-electric trucks boast impressive specs. According to the trucking startup, its long-haulers would be able to offer up to 1,000 hp, up to 2,000 ft-lbs of torque, and up to 1,000 miles of range. Unlike the Tesla Semi, however, Nikola’s vehicles are not all-electric. Instead, they would run on hydrogen fuel cells, which, as we noted in a previous report, might give the startup some difficulties when it begins the rollout of its vehicles.

Hydrogen, after all, is usually derived from natural gas. Taking the process back a step or two, natural gas is often the result of fracking, a practice that is quite controversial in terms of its impact on the environment. Fracking, at its worst, can pollute the land and groundwater.

If there’s anything that Nikola can learn from Tesla, it is that producing a vehicle takes a lot of effort and resources. The challenges that Tesla is facing with the production of the Model 3 — a vehicle designed to be simple to build — is a testament to just how complex the manufacturing business really is. Thus, Nikola’s confident Twitter declarations, as well as its seemingly pointed remarks at Tesla, might end up as a case of premature hubris for the trucking startup.

Tesla’s own long-hauler, the Semi, after all, is already testing on public roads. Just last month, Tesla’s Semi prototypes have begun delivering cargo from Gigafactory 1 in Nevada to the Fremont factory in California. Sightings of the long-haulers have also been reported in several places across the country, including St. Louis, MO, Dallas, TX, and more recently, in Des Moines, IA. The production of the Tesla Semi is expected to begin in 2019, giving it a headstart over Nikola’s trucks.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla begins Robotaxi certification push in Arizona: report

Tesla seems serious about expanding its Robotaxi service to several states in the coming months.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has initiated discussions with Arizona transportation regulators to certify its driverless Robotaxi service in the state, as per a recent report from Bloomberg News. The move follows Tesla’s launch of its Robotaxi pilot program in Austin, Texas, as well as CEO Elon Musk’s recent comments about the service’s expansion in the Bay Area.

The Arizona Department of Transportation confirmed to Bloomberg that Tesla has reached out to begin the certification process for autonomous ride-sharing operations in the state. While details remain limited, the outreach suggests that Tesla is serious about expanding its driverless Robotaxi service to several territories in the coming months.

The Arizona development comes as Tesla prepares to expand its service area in Austin this weekend, as per CEO Elon Musk in a post on X. Musk also stated that Tesla is targeting the San Francisco Bay Area as its next major market, with a potential launch “in a month or two,” pending regulatory approvals.

Tesla first launched its autonomous ride-hailing program on June 22 in Austin with a small fleet of Model Y vehicles, accompanied by a Tesla employee in the passenger seat to monitor safety. While still classified as a test, Musk has said the program will expand to about 1,000 vehicles in the coming months. Tesla will later upgrade its Robotaxi fleet with the Cyercab, a two-seater that is designed without a steering wheel.

Sightings of Cybercab castings around the Giga Texas complex suggests that Tesla may be ramping the initial trial production of the self-driving two-seater. Tesla, for its part, has noted in the past that volume production of the Cybercab is expected to start sometime next year.

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In California, Tesla has already applied for a transportation charter-party carrier permit from the state’s Public Utilities Commission. The company is reportedly taking a phased approach to operating in California, with the Robotaxi service starting with pre-arranged rides for employees in vehicles with safety drivers.

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Tesla sets November 6 date for 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting

The automaker announced the date on Thursday in a Form 8-K.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has scheduled its 2025 annual shareholder meeting for November 6, addressing investor concerns that the company was nearing a legal deadline to hold the event. 

The automaker announced the date on Thursday in a Form 8-K submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company also listed a new proposal submission deadline of July 31 for items to be included in the proxy statement.

Tesla’s announcement followed calls from a group of 27 shareholders, including the leaders of large public pension funds, which urged Tesla’s board to formally set the meeting date, as noted in a report from The Wall Street Journal

The group noted that under Texas law, where Tesla is now incorporated, companies must hold annual meetings within 13 months of the last one if requested by shareholders. Tesla’s previous annual shareholder meeting was held on June 13, 2024, which placed the July 13 deadline in focus.

Tesla originally stated in its 2024 annual report that it would file its proxy statement by the end of April. However, an amended filing on April 30 indicated that the Board of Directors had not yet finalized a meeting date, at least at the time.

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The April filing also confirmed that Tesla’s board had formed a special committee to evaluate certain matters related to CEO Elon Musk’s compensation plan. Musk’s CEO performance award remains at the center of a lengthy legal dispute in Delaware, Tesla’s former state of incorporation.

Due to the aftermath of Musk’s legal dispute about his compensation plan in Delaware, he has not been paid for his work at Tesla for several years. Musk, for his part, has noted that he is more concerned about his voting stake in Tesla than his actual salary.

At last year’s annual meeting, TSLA shareholders voted to reapprove Elon Musk’s compensation plan and ratified Tesla’s decision to relocate its legal domicile from Delaware to Texas.

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Grok coming to Tesla vehicles next week “at the latest:” Elon Musk

Grok’s rollout to Tesla vehicles is expected to begin next week at the latest.

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Credit: Tesla China

Elon Musk announced on Thursday that Grok, the large language model developed by his startup xAI, will soon be available in Tesla vehicles. Grok’s rollout to Tesla vehicles is expected to begin next week at the latest, further deepening the ties between the two Elon Musk-led companies.

Tesla–xAI synergy

Musk confirmed the news on X shortly after livestreaming the release of Grok 4, xAI’s latest large language model. “Grok is coming to Tesla vehicles very soon. Next week at the latest,” Musk wrote in a post on social media platform X.

During the livestream, Musk and several members of the xAI team highlighted several upgrades to Grok 4’s voice capabilities and performance metrics, positioning the LLM as competitive with top-tier models from OpenAI and Google.

The in-vehicle integration of Grok marks a new chapter in Tesla’s AI development. While Tesla has long relied on in-house systems for autonomous driving and energy optimization, Grok’s integration would introduce conversational AI directly into its vehicles’ user experience. This integration could potentially improve customer interaction inside Tesla vehicles.

xAI and Tesla’s collaborative footprint

Grok’s upcoming rollout to Tesla vehicles adds to a growing business relationship between Tesla and xAI. Earlier this year, Tesla disclosed that it generated $198.3 million in revenue from commercial, consulting, and support agreements with xAI, as noted in a report from Bloomberg News. A large portion of that amount, however, came from the sale of Megapack energy storage systems to the artificial intelligence startup.

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In July 2023, Musk polled X users about whether Tesla should invest $5 billion in xAI. While no formal investment has been made so far, 68% of poll participants voted yes, and Musk has since stated that the idea would be discussed with Tesla’s board.

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