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Nikola unveils five new zero-emissions vehicles at Nikola World 2019 event

Nikola Motor unveils 5 new products at Nikola World 2019 event. | Credit: Dacia Ferris/Teslarati

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Nikola Motors unveiled its Nikola Two and Nikola Tre hydrogen-electric semi trucks along with three other new emissions-free transportation products at its Nikola World 2019 event. The company’s core mission is to rid the transportation industry of its reliance on diesel fuel, and their primary path to that future is via advanced hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Trevor Milton, CEO and founder of Nikola, kicked off the event by arriving onstage with the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales. Annheuser-Busch has ordered 800 trucks from Nikola as part of the iconic beer brewing company’s sustainability mission. “I cannot wait to see your truck pull a load of Budweiser,” Ingrid De Ryck, VP of Procurement and Sustainability for Annheuser exclaimed later in the evening’s presentation.

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Nikola is arguably best known for its upcoming zero emission semi trucks; however, the Arizona-based startup has been simultaneously developing products for both the military and outdoor adventure crowd.

The first new product unveiled at Nikola World 2019 was the Nikola Reckless, a military all-terrain vehicle designed for superior performance and stealth thanks to its minuscule sound and heat signature. High-end specs are an expected given for this type of tailored vehicle, of which the Reckless undoubtedly has, but an additional perk described in the company’s presentation was the ATV’s 13” Infotainment screen which can be completely submerged without being damaged. The Reckless is also modular to enable a broad-range of military applications. “We believe all military vehicles will transform to battery electric and hydrogen fuel cells in the future,” Andrew Christian, NP of Business Development and Defense at Nikola’s Powersports division stated during the presentation.

The second product unveiled at Nikola’s event extended the company’s coined hashtag ‘#emissionsgameover’ beyond land transporatation. The Nikola Water Adventure Vehicle (WAV) is an all-electric jet-ski styled personal watercraft featuring an innovative platform. In comparison to electric vehicle “skateboard” architectures, the Nikola WAV will have a “wakeboard” architecture from which other watercraft can be developed.

The Nikola WAV, all-electric watercraft. | Credit: Nikola
The Nikola Reckless military all-terrain vehicle. | Credit: Nikola

The final product presented before the main semi truck attractions took stage was a redesigned version of the Nikola NZT Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV). NZT stands for “Net Zero Toll”, meaning the vehicle leaves zero footprint wherever it’s used. The flagship Powersports vehicle is meant to change its entire relative industry towards an emissions-free, near noise-pollution-free-direction.

Finally, the Nikola Two and Europe-bound Nikola Tre Class 8 semi trucks were unveiled, all rolling out onto the stage and floor, respectively. Two Nikola Two big rigs were debuted – one red, one in “Storm Trooper” white. “This is 800V of real…I’ve been preparing for this moment my whole life,” Milton stated prior to the Nikola Two roll out. The trucks at the event were hydrogen electric versions. Once in production, however, battery-only electric versions of the two semis will also be available for purchase.

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Nikola Motor CEO Trevor Milton has a candid moment before unveiling the Nikola Two at the Nikola World 2019 event. | Photo: Dacia Ferris/Teslarati
The Nikola Two hydrogen electric semi truck unveiled at the Nikola World 2019 event. | Photo: Dacia Ferris/Teslarati

The second day of Nikola World 2019 will have breakout sessions providing more details on the products revealed along with a demo track where the Nikola Two will be on display. Test ride-alongs will also be given for the NZT on a closed course track.

Follow @Teslarati for more behind-the-scenes coverage of day two of Nikola World 2019.

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Watch the full live streamed Nikola World 2019 event below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Dc8J3iSLw4

Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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Tesla’s AI Chief just hinted at something big for FSD v14 lite owners

Tesla’s AI chief suggests the newest FSD v14 Lite build may finally go wide release.

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Tesla’s head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, noted on Sunday that the newest FSD v14 Lite build rolling out to Hardware 3 cars is likely the version that goes to wide release, the strongest signal yet that Tesla is near to closing out an early access phase that Hardware 3 owners have waited more than a year for.

Elluswamy made the comment in response to an extensive review from Tesla owner Zack, known on X as @BLKMDL3, who tested software version 2026.20.6.10 and detailed the changes in a lengthy post. “FSD v14 Lite (for Tesla AI3 hardware vehicles) review.

The update restarts a rollout that had stalled after its initial release. Tesla began pushing FSD v14 Lite to Hardware 3 early access drivers on June 29, bringing driving behavior learned on the newer Hardware 4 computer down to the more limited chip that has powered Tesla vehicles built between 2019 and early 2023. That release, as we covered in detail, gave roughly 4 million HW3 vehicles their first meaningful update since being frozen on version 12.6 in early 2025.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ Release Notes: new capabilities and features

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The latest build adds features that bring Hardware 3 closer in line with what Hardware 4 owners already have. FSD can now start directly from park without a brake pedal confirmation, a change Zack called a small but meaningful quality of life improvement. The interface also picks up the blue “P” park icon, approaching destination alerts, and a dedicated Self-Driving app with streak tracking, all details previously exclusive to the AI4 branch of v14, as outlined in Tesla’s original release notes.

The stakes around Hardware 3 go beyond software polish. Tesla sold the Full Self-Driving package for years on the promise that every vehicle equipped with it had the hardware needed to eventually drive itself without supervision. That promise broke down during Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings call, when Musk acknowledged HW3 cars could not run unsupervised FSD, prompting Tesla to offer trade-in discounts and hardware retrofits alongside the Lite software track.

Tesla confirmed HW3 can’t do Unsupervised FSD but there’s more to the story

Tesla has continued to frame v14 Lite as the primary path forward for the HW3 fleet, telling owners in April that international markets would follow the U.S. rollout once regulatory approvals came through. For now, HW3 owners in the early access group are the only ones running the new build. A broader rollout would mark the second major software delivery to the legacy fleet since Tesla first released FSD v14 to Hardware 4 vehicles, and the first sign since June that the Lite program is still moving rather than stuck in early access limbo.

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Elon Musk sends first warning to SpaceX short sellers

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Credit: Grok

In a pointed message on X, Elon Musk warned that firms maintaining significant short positions in SpaceX over time face “very low” survival probability.

The statement comes amid post-IPO volatility for the rocket company, now trading under the ticker $SPCX.

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Five weeks after what was described as the largest IPO in history, the stock had fallen roughly 30% from its peak above $2.6 trillion, briefly surpassing Microsoft and Amazon in market value. Short sellers celebrated gains of about $8.7 billion, but Musk’s reply underscores his long-term conviction.

The warning directly echoes a detailed bullish analysis arguing that Starship’s cost reductions could unlock a multi-trillion-dollar space economy. Projects ranging from solar power beamed from orbit and asteroid mining to orbital data centers and Mars terraforming were projected to create over $100 trillion in new market capitalization.

In this vision, SpaceX acts as the essential infrastructure provider, akin to AWS for cloud computing, capturing monopoly-like revenues from launches, crew transport, and data traffic across a rapidly expanding frontier.

This is far from the first time Musk has targeted short sellers. With Tesla, he has repeatedly framed persistent bears as destined for major losses. In July 2024, Musk declared that once Tesla achieves full autonomy and volume production of Optimus robots, “anyone still holding a short position will be obliterated. Even Gates,” referencing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ reported short bets.

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Elon Musk reveals what Tesla stock surge could do to Bill Gates

Earlier, in 2018, he taunted shorts that they had “about three weeks before their short position explodes,” a remark followed by sharp stock gains. Musk has also called short selling “value destroying” and once suggested it “should be illegal,” viewing it as betting against innovation and progress.

Critics often dismiss Musk’s optimism as hype, especially when near-term metrics like quarterly deliveries or stock fluctuations disappoint.

Yet his pattern remains consistent: framing short positions against his companies as fundamentally misjudging exponential technological leaps. For SpaceX shorts, the message is clear: betting against multi-planetary ambitions and the infrastructure monopoly they enable carries existential risk for the firms involved.

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As Musk and supporters see it, the space economy’s upside dwarfs Earth-bound valuation models, making today’s dips temporary in a decades-long ascent.

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Tesla reveals first vehicle model to receive Starlink integration

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Tesla has evidently revealed which of its vehicle models will be the first to receive Starlink integration: the Cybercab.

Tesla’s Santana Row showroom now has a full-fledged display of the Cybercab, with an extensive bit of information hung around an exhibit that seems to reveal the vehicle’s newest feature: an integrated Starlink antenna that will enable secure and reliable internet access during trips.

Credit: @Starscream_SJC | X

Cybercab is geared toward autonomous ride-hailing for one or two passengers. The production units rolling off the lines at Gigafactory Texas are built without steering wheels or pedals, meaning when public rides begin, passengers will not need to interact with a human being or control the vehicle in any way outside of what appears on the center screen for their entertainment during the ride.

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Along the display, Tesla wrote this message about Cybercab:

“Cybercab is built for autonomy. It has no steering wheel, no side mirrors, and no pedals. It goes where you tell it to go and how you want it to, so you can relax along the way. It is hyper aware and responsive to your surroundings, monitoring other drivers, responding to emergency vehicles, utilizing its expertise in the rarest scenarios to help keep you safe.”

Tesla has been teasing a potential Starlink integration for quite some time now. In December, the company hinted at potential Starlink internet terminal integration within its vehicles in a patent that described a vehicle roof assembly with integrated radio frequency (RF) transparency.

Tesla hints at Starlink integration with recent patent

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The company wrote in its patent application that a new roof design built with materials that differ from the standard metallic or glass elements used in today’s cars would allow it to integrate modern vehicular technologies, in particular, ones that require radio frequency transmission and reception.

Tesla suggested high-strength polymer blends, like Polycarbonate, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene, or Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate.

This is the first time we’ve seen Tesla officially confirm the Starlink integration into the Cybercab. It’s not much of a surprise considering the company’s intention behind the Cybercab, which is to make travel autonomous.

Productivity will now be at a maximum during a work-related commute, while the center screen could be utilized for Netflix or potentially even live TV for those who are heading to dinner or to a fun activity.

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