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Tesla Semi could save lives if used as a military vehicle
The Tesla Semi features several benefits over traditional petrol-powered trucks. It’s faster, quieter, more powerful, and it’s far cheaper to operate. These characteristics give the Semi the potential to change the long-haul industry. But as it turns out, the Semi has the potential to revolutionize the military’s logistics as well, and it will likely save a lot of lives in the process.
As noted in a Breaking Defense report, access to gas during times of conflict comes at a terrible cost. In Afghanistan and Iraq, for example, hundreds of American troops have been slain and thousands more have been wounded over the years while moving supplies. Fuel, which is usually transported through large convoys of trucks, just happens to be very easy targets, and they do tend to get attacked.
Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley, the head of the US Army’s Futures & Concepts Center, noted that the military’s logistics burden gets drastically reduced once the need for gas sees a dramatic reduction. If the military stops employing long convoys of oil trucks during times of conflict, hundreds of lives could quite literally be saved. One way to accomplish this, of course, is through the use of electric trucks, such as the Tesla Semi.
Electric vehicles already present several advantages compared to petrol-powered machines. They’re inherently quiet, making them very difficult to detect. They’re easy to maintain as well, since they have relatively few parts compared to an internal combustion-powered vehicle. EVs can even stay off the grid for extended periods, provided that they are provided a setup that allows them to charge, such as solar panels and a battery storage unit.
“Battery costs have gone down precipitously over the last ten years. Recharge times have dropped, and ranges has grown longer. The trajectory that all of that is on, in the next two years, it’ll be far more efficient to have an electric vehicle than internal combustion, so we’re already, I would argue, late to the need,” he said.
Apart from not needing any gas, electric vehicles like the Semi can also generate power for high-tech combat systems such as sensors, command networks, and even some advanced weaponry. A Tesla Semi outfitted for the army could even be equipped with some batteries to serve as a charging station for other electric army vehicles. Granted, Wesley noted that batteries today may not be energy-dense enough to power heavy equipment like tanks yet, but for light tactical vehicles, EVs are already a good fit for the army’s needs.
Of course, there are still several challenges that need to be addressed before electric vehicles can be deployed for the military. The costs of transitioning the military’s current fleet to EVs is also substantial, and other issues such as charging infrastructure must be ironed out. The supply chains for electric army vehicles must also be secured. Yet considering that an all-electric transportation sector is all but assured today, addressing such challenges may very well be a priority.
The Lt. General’s team is currently producing a white paper that will explore the idea of electric military machines. The study will be submitted to the four-star chief of Army Futures Command, Gen. John “Mike” Murray. For Lt. General Wesley, transitioning the army to EVs may very well be a pertinent goal, considering that the age of the internal combustion engine may be ending.
“Tesla is building large [semitrailer] trucks. UPS and FedEx are starting to buy these vehicles to learn how they move into that area. The entire automotive industry is migrating towards this idea of electrification, and there’s a lot of good reasons for it. And as the entire industry goes to electrification, the supply of internal combustion engine parts is going to go down and therefore prices are going to go up,” he said.
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Tesla FSD and Robotaxis are making people aware how bad human drivers are
These observations really show that Tesla’s focus on autonomy would result in safer roads for everyone.
Tesla FSD and the Robotaxi network are becoming so good in their self-driving performance, they are starting to highlight just how bad humans really are at driving.
This could be seen in several observations from the electric vehicle community.
Robotaxis are better than Uber, actually
Tesla’s Robotaxi service is only available in Austin and the Bay Area for now, but those who have used the service have generally been appreciative of its capabilities and performance. Some Robotaxi customers have observed that the service is simply so much more affordable than Uber, and its driving is actually really good.
One veteran Tesla owner, @BLKMDL3, recently noted that the Robotaxi service has become better than Uber simply because FSD now drives better than some human drivers. Apart from the fact that Robotaxis allow riders to easily sync their phones to the rear display, the vehicles generally provide a significantly more comfortable ride than their manually-driven counterparts from Uber.
FSD is changing the narrative, one ride at a time
It appears that FSD V14 really is something special. The update has received wide acclaim from users since it was released, and the positive reactions are still coming. This was highlighted in a recent post from Tesla owner Travis Nicolette, who shared a recent experience with FSD. As per the Tesla owner, he was quite surprised as his car was able to accomplish a U-turn in a way that exceeded human drivers.
Yet another example of FSD’s smooth and safe driving was showcased in a recent video, which showed a safety monitor of a Bay Area Robotaxi falling asleep in the driver’s seat. In any other car, a driver falling asleep at the wheel could easily result in a grave accident, but thanks to FSD, both the safety monitor and the passengers remained safe.
These observations, if any, really show that Tesla’s focus on autonomy would result in safer roads for everyone. As per the IIHS, there were 40,901 deaths from motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2023. The NHTSA also estimated that in 2017, 91,000 police-reported crashes involved drowsy drivers. These crashes led to an estimated 50,000 people injured and 800 deaths. FSD could lower all these tragic statistics by a notable margin.
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Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in.
Tesla has officially landed approval to operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service in its third U.S. state, as it has landed a regulatory green light from the State of Arizona’s Department of Transportation.
Tesla has been working to expand to new U.S. states after launching in Texas and California earlier this year. Recently, it said it was hoping to land in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, expanding to five new cities in those three states.
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in:
BREAKING: Tesla has officially received approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to launch its Robotaxi service on public roads in the state!
I just confirmed directly with the Arizona DOT that @Tesla applied for a Transportation Network Company permit on Nov 13th.… pic.twitter.com/iKbwfGfiju
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 18, 2025
Tesla has also been working on approvals in Nevada and Florida, and it has also had Robotaxi test mules spotted in Pennsylvania.
The interesting thing about the Arizona approval is the fact that Tesla has not received an approval for any specific city; it appears that it can operate statewide. However, early on, Tesla will likely confine its operation to just one or two cities to keep things safe and controlled.
Over the past few months, Robotaxi mules have been spotted in portions of Phoenix and surrounding cities, such as Scottsdale, as the company has been attempting to cross off all the regulatory Ts that it is confronted with as it attempts to expand the ride-hailing service.
It appears the company will be operating it similarly to how it does in Texas, which differs from its California program. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat, unless the route requires freeway travel. In California, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat. However, this is unconfirmed.
Earlier today, Tesla enabled its Robotaxi app to be utilized for ride-hailing for anyone using the iOS platform.
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Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
A Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor appeared to doze off during a ride in the California Bay Area, almost ironically proving the need for autonomous vehicles.
The instance was captured on camera and posted to Reddit in the r/sanfrancisco subreddit by u/ohmichael. They wrote that they have used Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area in the past and had pleasant experiences.
However, this one was slightly different. They wrote:
“I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.
This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.
I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.
I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too.
Has anyone else seen this happen?”
My Tesla Robotaxi “safety” driver fell asleep
byu/ohmichael insanfrancisco
The driver eventually woke up after prompts from the vehicle, but it is pretty alarming to see someone like this while they’re ultimately responsible for what happens with the ride.
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
They should have probably left the vehicle immediately.
Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area differs from the one that is currently active in Austin, Texas, due to local regulations. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat unless the route requires the highway.
Tesla plans to remove the Safety Monitors in Austin by the end of the year.
Tesla FSD and Robotaxis are making people aware how bad human drivers are
Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
