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Tesla Semi rival Nikola’s $2B patent infringement lawsuit faces huge roadblock
Back in May, Tesla rival Nikola Motors filed a patent infringement case against the electric car maker. Nikola’s lawsuit claimed that the Tesla Semi copied several design elements of the Nikola One, the company’s hydrogen-electric sleeper cab that was unveiled in late 2016. Nikola is asking the courts for $2 billion in damages.
Among the design elements that the Tesla Semi allegedly copied were its wraparound windshield, its mid-entry front door, its front fenders, and the vehicle’s aerodynamic shape. Considering the similarities between the Semi and the Nikola One, the startup noted that it had lost potential customers. The trucking startup also claimed that problems associated with Tesla, such as its “batteries starting fires and its autonomous features causing fatal accidents,” could cause harm to the Nikola brand.
Tesla, for its part, has largely dismissed Nikola’s $2 billion lawsuit. After news of the patent infringement case emerged, a Tesla spokesperson simply noted that “it’s patently obvious there is no merit to (the) lawsuit,” and during the Q1 2018 earnings call, Elon Musk lightly noted that “fate loves irony,” considering that “Nikola is suing Tesla.”
While the legitimacy of Nikola Motors’ lawsuit against the Semi’s design is up for question, a patent granted to Tesla last month could very well be a nail in the coffin of the hydrogen-electric truck-maker’s case. On August 14, the US Patent Office awarded Tesla a pair of design patents for the Tesla Semi. Particularly notable was that the examiner from the US Patent Office actually indicated the Nikola One’s design in the design patents of Tesla’s all-electric trucks. As could be seen in the patent, which could be viewed here, the US Patent Office’s examiner deemed the Tesla Semi’s design as unique.
This is a big blow to Nikola’s case. If Nikola would still prefer to pursue its suit against Tesla, the hydrogen-electric truck startup would have to prove to the courts that the US Patent Examiner committed an error when the Semi and the One’s designs were being compared. Such a feat is very challenging to accomplish.
While the Nikola revealed the One almost a year earlier than the Semi, Tesla has pretty much caught up with the hydrogen-electric truck maker’s progress. Since its unveiling, the Tesla Semi has been racking up thousands of miles of real-world driving data as it travels across multiple states in the US. Over the past month alone, the Tesla Semi has been spotted visiting the facilities of some of its reservation holders such as J.B. Hunt, UPS, and Ruan Transportation Management Systems. Worm Capital analysts who toured Gigafactory 1 also noted that Tesla is preparing to start producing the Semi “earnestly” in 2020.
Nikola, for its part, is preparing to unveil its pre-production Nikola Two hydrogen-electric semi truck and hydrogen filling station next April. The event, which is set to be held in Phoenix, AZ, is expected to be invite-only. Nikola aims to build more than 700 hydrogen stations across the United States by 2028.
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Tesla utilizes its ‘Rave Cave’ for new awesome safety feature
Part of the massive interior overhaul of both the Model 3 “Highland” and Model Y “Juniper” was the addition of interior accent lighting to help bring out the mood of the vehicle, increase the customization of the interior, and to create a unique listening experience.
Tesla is utilizing its ‘Rave Cave’ for an awesome new safety feature that will arrive with the upcoming Spring Update for 2026.
Part of the massive interior overhaul of both the Model 3 “Highland” and Model Y “Juniper” was the addition of interior accent lighting to help bring out the mood of the vehicle, increase the customization of the interior, and to create a unique listening experience.
Tesla added a Sync Lights feature that will strobe the accent strips with the beat of the music.
It is one of the most unique and one of the coolest non-functional features of a Tesla, as it does not improve the driving of the vehicle, but makes it a cool and personal addition to the interior.
However, Tesla is going to take it one step further, as the Rave Cave lights will now be used for blind spot recognition. This feature will be added as the Spring 2026 Update starts to roll out.
A lot of CRAZY new features coming with Tesla’s 2026 Spring Update, including a new FSD app!
– Self-Driving App (AI4 hardware): New app in App Launcher > Self-Driving for one-tap FSD subscriptions, activation guides, and ongoing stats.
– “Hey Grok”: Voice-activated Grok with… https://t.co/ljeYPlq9Qt— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 13, 2026
Tesla writes:
“Accent lights now turn red when an object is in your blind spot and your turn signal is engaged, or when an approaching object is detected while parked.”
This neat new safety feature will now increase the likelihood of a driver, who is operating their Tesla manually, of seeing the blind spot warnings that are currently available on the A pillar and on the center touchscreen.
These new alerts will now warn drivers of cross traffic as they back out of a parking space with little to no visibility of what is coming. It is a great new addition that will only increase the safety of the vehicles, while also utilizing something that is already installed in these specific Model 3 and Model Y units.
The Model 3 and Model Y were the central focus of the Spring 2026 Update, especially considering the fact that the Model S and Model X are basically gone, with only a few hundred units left. Additionally, Tesla included new Immersive Sound and Car Visualization for the Model 3 and Model Y specifically in this new update.
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Tesla parked 50+ Cybercabs outside its Texas Factory with some crash tested
Dozens of Tesla Cybercabs have been spotted at Giga Texas crash testing facility ahead of launch.
Drone footage captured by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer shows over 50 units of Tesla Cybercab at the Austin factory campus, including several units clustered by Tesla’s on-site crash testing facility.
The outbound lot at Gigafactory Texas sits just outside the factory exit and serves as the primary staging area where finished vehicles are held before being loaded onto transport carriers or dispatched for validation testing. On any given day, the lot holds a mix of Model Y and Cybertruck units alongside the growing Tesla Cybercab fleet, as can be seen in the drone footage captured by Joe Tegtmeyer.
Tesla Cybercab fleet spotted at Gigafactory Texas on April 13, 2026 [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)
Tesla Cybercab fleet spotted at Gigafactory Texas [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)
Tesla Cybercab crash test units spotted at Gigafactory Texas [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)
Tesla announced its Spring 2026 software update, and it’s the most feature-dense seasonal release the company has put out. The update covers twelve named changes spanning FSD, voice AI, safety lighting, dashcam storage, and pet display customization, among other things.
The centerpiece for owners with AI4 hardware is a redesigned Self-Driving app. The new interface lets owners subscribe to Full Self-Driving with a single tap and view ongoing FSD usage stats directly in the vehicle.
Grok gets its biggest in-car upgrade yet. The update adds a “Hey Grok” hands-free wake word along with location-based reminders, so a driver can now say “remind me to pick up groceries when I get home” without touching the screen. Grok first arrived in vehicles in July 2025, but each update has pushed it closer to genuine daily utility. Musk framed the broader vision clearly at Davos in January, saying Tesla is “really moving into a future that is based on autonomy.”
On safety, the update introduces enhanced blind spot warning lights that integrate directly with the cabin’s ambient lighting, building on the blind spot door warning that arrived in update 2026.8.
Dog Mode has been renamed Pet Mode and now lets owners choose a dog, cat, or hedgehog icon and add their pet’s name to the display.
Dashcam retention now extends up to 24 hours, up from the previous one-hour rolling loop, with a permanent save option for any clip. Weather maps now show rain and snow with better color differentiation and include the past hour of precipitation data along the route.
Tesla has now established a clear rhythm of two major OTA pushes per year. As with last year’s Spring update, that cycle started taking shape in 2025 with adaptive headlights and trunk customization. The 2025 Holiday Update then added Grok to the vehicle for the first time. This Spring follows that structure: the Holiday update introduces new architecture, and the Spring update broadens it across the fleet.
Two notable features still did not make it. IFTTT automations, which launched in China earlier this year, were held back from this North American release for unknown reasons, and Apple CarPlay remains absent, reportedly still delayed by iOS 26 and Apple Maps compatibility issues.
Below is the full list of feature updates released by Tesla.
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 13, 2026
Tesla utilizes its ‘Rave Cave’ for new awesome safety feature
Tesla parked 50+ Cybercabs outside its Texas Factory with some crash tested
