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Tesla Semi competitor Nikola Motor promotes custom OS, 3-yr production estimate
As it continues the development of its first hydrogen-electric truck, Tesla Semi rival Nikola Motor posted an update on the software development for its vehicles. In a post on Twitter, Nikola noted that its custom operating system has reached a point where it could be cold booted in seconds. The hydrogen-electric truck startup also provided what appears to be a brief update on its software’s rollout. In its post, Nikola mentioned that its software still has three years of optimization left before it enters production.
How awesome is Nikola's operating system and instrument cluster? We can cold boot the infotainment system and instrument cluster in less than 8 seconds from start! And we have 3 years optimization left before production!
— Nikola Corporation (@nikolamotor) February 3, 2019
While Nikola is yet to release details about the upcoming custom OS for its hydrogen-electric trucks, the company has teased a number of features centered around its software nonetheless. Among these is the Digital Cockpit, which allows drivers to control most of the trucks’ functions and through a center 21″ touchscreen, as well as a feature called Surround Vision, which gives operators a virtual aerial view of the area surrounding the truck in real time. This feature is made possible by using a suite of cameras, radar, sonar, and computing software, allowing truck drivers to fully cover their blind spots while driving. Nikola also notes that its vehicles are equipped with the necessary hardware to enable full autonomous safety and convenience features.
That said, Nikola does have quite a lot of work to do before it could market its hydrogen-electric trucks as a viable alternative to diesel and all-electric long-haulers like the Tesla Semi, which is expected to begin initial production sometime this year. Nevertheless, the hydrogen-electric truck startup has ambitious plans for its vehicles’ hydrogen refueling network, with the company aiming to set up an estimated 820 refilling stations operating across the United States by 2028.
The emergence of zero-emissions vehicles like the Nikola One and the Tesla Semi could herald the start of a new era for the trucking market. Considering their capabilities, vehicles like Nikola One could replace long-range diesel trucks, and all-electric units like the Tesla Semi could easily dominate the market for shorter-range routes. This particular point appears to be evident for Nikola Motor CEO Trevor Milton, who recently took to LinkedIn to invite former Tesla employees who were affected by the electric car maker’s recent round of layoffs, which affected 7% of the company’s workforce.
In his post, Milton noted that his invitation to former Tesla employees is not in any way throwing shade at the electric car maker. The Nikola CEO also stated that the hydrogen-electric truck maker has “large cash reserves” to support hundreds of new employees. Following is Milton’s LinkedIn invitation.
“Forward this on to all Tesla workers. Anyone who was affected by the #tesla layoffs, please let me know and I’ll try to get you in front of our HR to be reviewed. We have hired as many as fit our positions from the #faraday and #gm layoffs so this is not a bash on Tesla. We are hiring hundreds of positions and have large cash reserves with a great company culture. See our glass door. I am taking time out of my crazy schedule to try to help in these situations.
“I feel for everyone that goes through that especially with financial obligations. If #tesla could they would keep everyone but it’s the result in growing in a competitive market. I hope I can help all those affected. Please DM me directly WITH your resume attached. I don’t have time to email asking for it so please include it and I’ll try to help as much as I can. You can also email joe.pike@nikolamotor.com if you want direct contact to HR.”
Nikola is currently preparing for Nikola World 2019, a two-day event in April that would feature the unveiling of the pre-production models of its hydrogen-electric trucks. The hydrogen-electric truck startup is also planning to unveil a 2.3-megawatt H2 fueling station that serves as a model for Nikola’s upcoming network of refilling stations at the upcoming event.
News
Anti-Tesla union leader ditches X, urges use of Threads instead
Tesla Sweden and IF Metall have been engaged in a bitter dispute for over two years now.
Marie Nilsson, chair of Sweden’s IF Metall union and a prominent critic of Tesla, has left X and is urging audiences to follow the union on Meta’s Threads instead.
Tesla Sweden and IF Metall have been engaged in a bitter dispute for over two years now.
Anti-Tesla union leader exits X
In a comment to Dagens Arbete (DA), Nilsson noted that her exit from X is not formally tied to IF Metall’s long-running labor dispute with Tesla Sweden. Still, she stated that her departure is affected by changes to the platform under Elon Musk’s leadership.
“We have stayed because many journalists pick up news there. But as more and more people have left X, we have felt that the standard has now been reached on that platform,” she said.
Jesper Pettersson, press officer at IF Metall, highlighted that the union’s departure from X is only indirectly linked to Tesla Sweden and Elon Musk. “Indirectly it does, since there is a lot of evidence that his ownership has caused the change in the platform to be so significant.
“We have nevertheless assessed that the platform had value for reaching journalists, politicians and other opinion leaders. But it is a microscopic proportion of the public and our members who are there, and now that value has decreased,” Petterson added.
IF Metall sees Threads as an X alternative
After leaving X, IF Metall has begun using Threads, Meta’s alternative to the social media platform. The union described the move as experimental, noting that it is still evaluating how effective the platform will be for outreach and visibility.
Pettersson acknowledged that Meta also does not operate under Sweden’s collective bargaining model, but said the union sees little alternative if it wants to remain visible online.
“In a perfect world, all large international companies would be supporters of the Swedish model when they come here. But unfortunately, the reality is not like that. If we are to be visible at all in this social media world, we have to play by the rules of the game. The alternative would be to become completely invisible, and that would not benefit our members,” he said.
Despite many recent rumors and various reports, Elon Musk confirmed today that SpaceX is not developing a phone based on Starlink, not once, but twice.
Today’s report from Reuters cited people familiar with the matter and stated internal discussions have seen SpaceX executives mulling the idea of building a mobile device that would connect directly to the Starlink satellite constellation.
Musk did state in late January that SpaceX developing a phone was “not out of the question at some point.” However, He also said it would have to be a major difference from current phones, and would be optimized “purely for running max performance/watt neural nets.”
Not out of the question at some point. It would be a very different device than current phones. Optimized purely for running max performance/watt neural nets.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2026
While Musk said it was not out of the question “at some point,” that does not mean it is currently a project SpaceX is working on. The CEO reaffirmed this point twice on X this afternoon.
Musk said, “Reuters lies relentlessly,” in one post. In the next, he explicitly stated, “We are not developing a phone.”
Reuters lies relentlessly
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2026
We are not developing a phone
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2026
Musk has basically always maintained that SpaceX has too many things going on, denying that a phone would be in the realm of upcoming projects. There are too many things in the works for Musk’s space exploration company, most notably the recent merger with xAI.
SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise
A Starlink phone would be an excellent idea, especially considering that SpaceX operates 9,500 satellites, serving over 9 million users worldwide. 650 of those satellites are dedicated to the company’s direct-to-device initiative, which provides cellular coverage on a global scale.
Nevertheless, there is the potential that the Starlink phone eventually become a project SpaceX works on. However, it is not currently in the scope of what the company needs to develop, so things are more focused on that as of right now.
Tesla has added a notable improvement to its Dashcam feature after complaints from owners have pushed the company to make a drastic change.
Perhaps one of the biggest frustrations that Tesla owners have communicated regarding the Dashcam feature is the lack of ability to retain any more than 60 minutes of driving footage before it is overwritten.
It does not matter what size USB jump drive is plugged into the vehicle. 60 minutes is all it will hold until new footage takes over the old. This can cause some issues, especially if you were saving an impressive clip of Full Self-Driving or an incident on the road, which could be lost if new footage was recorded.
This has now been changed, as Tesla has shown in the Release Notes for an upcoming Software Update in China. It will likely expand to the U.S. market in the coming weeks, and was first noticed by NotaTeslaApp.
The release notes state:
“Dashcam Dynamic Recording Duration – The dashcam dynamically adjusts the recording duration based on the available storage capacity of the connected USB drive. For example, with a 128 GB USB drive, the maximum recording duration is approximately 3 hours; with a 1 TB or larger USB drive, it can reach up to 24 hours. This ensures that as much video as possible is retained for review before it gets overwritten.”
Tesla Adds Dynamic Recording
Instead of having a 60-minute cap, the new system will now go off the memory in the USB drive. This means with:
- 128 GB Jump Drive – Up to Three Hours of Rolling Footage
- 1TB Jump Drive – Up to 24 Hours of Rolling Footage
This is dependent on the amount of storage available on the jump drive, meaning that if there are other things saved on it, it will take away from the amount of footage that can be retained.
While the feature is just now making its way to employees in China, it will likely be at least several weeks before it makes its way to the U.S., but owners should definitely expect it in the coming months.
It will be a welcome feature, especially as there will now be more customization to the number of clips and their duration that can be stored.
Anti-Tesla union leader ditches X, urges use of Threads instead
Elon Musk confirms SpaceX is not developing a phone
