News
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.
-
Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
-
Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
-
This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
-
Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
-
Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
Tesla unlocks in-car web conferencing to extend Google Meet, Teams and beyond
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
