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Tesla Semi gets closer to production amid test drive event for reservation holder

(Photo: TCI/Twitter)

Published

7 years ago

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If Elon Musk’s initial timeframe for the Tesla Semi is accurate, initial production for the all-electric long-hauler should begin sometime this year. While Tesla has been tight-lipped about where the vehicle would be manufactured, the company appears to be showing confidence that the Semi is getting closer to production. Take, for one, the test drive events that Tesla has been holding with some of the Semi’s reservation holders.

On Wednesday, truck leasing company TCI Transportation shared a post on its official Twitter account. The company noted that they were visited by the Tesla Semi, and that some of its employees were even given test drives on the vehicle. Images from the event show TCI’s employees inspecting the all-electric long-hauler, and everyone in the event sharing a meal together.

TCI Transportation is not one of the companies that announced reservations for the Tesla Semi immediately after the vehicle was unveiled. Instead, the truck leasing company posted about its electric truck order last April, stating that they have ordered 50 units of the Tesla Semi. In its announcement, TCI noted that co-Presidents Ryan and Andrew Flynn were able to take the Semi out for a spin.

Tesla Semi visits TCI Transportation. (Photo: TCI Transportation/Twitter)

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Perhaps interestingly, TCI’s recent post about the Tesla Semi saw the truck leasing company describe the all-electric long-hauler as a “new Tesla Semi Tractor Prototype,” a curious way of describing the vehicle. In its announcement last year, TCI simply called the vehicle as the “new Tesla Electric Semi truck.” While this difference could simply be a matter of simple syntax, the Semi’s new description from the leasing firm invokes the idea that the electric truck has probably been improved to a degree over the past year.

Tesla, after all, has been doing real-world tests using the Semi’s silver test mule. Not long after the vehicle was unveiled, the Semi had been spotted doing cargo runs or running routes across the United States — and it has not really stopped since. Even the matte black Semi prototype, which was recently wrapped in a stunning red color, has been spotted several times testing on America’s roads.

Through these tests, Tesla continues to refine the electric long-hauler, ensuring that the truck is at its best iteration possible when it enters production. Elon Musk already teased some of these improvements in the past. For example, Tesla initially announced two range options for the Semi — a 300-mile short range variant and a 500-mile long range version. In later statements though, Musk stated that the long-range variant of the Semi would have closer to 600 miles of range per charge.

When the Tesla Semi was initially unveiled, the vehicle attracted a notable amount of skepticism from some established players in the legacy trucking market. Daimler Trucks CEO Martin Daum, for one, infamously even joked that the specs Elon Musk quoted for the Semi suggest that the vehicle defies the laws of physics. In a more recent statement, though, Daum was far less dismissive. While the Daimler Trucks CEO still maintained that Tesla would have challenges breaching the trucking market, Daum nonetheless admitted that Tesla has shown that it has the determination to move forward.

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“They’re fun; it’s an interesting market. We take every competitor seriously; Tesla has proved they really have the tenacity to really go through huge losses to capture the market. But trucking is a difficult business. They will learn the hard way; trucking is not like passenger cars where one size fits all. There’s a lot of variety in trucking… the United States is a highly competitive market, so as I said, they’re fun,” Daum said.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Investor's Corner

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

Published

1 hour ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: Lucid

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.

Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”

Twork said:

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Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.

Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.

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Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.

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Tesla owner attempts resale of Model S Signature Edition for over $260k

Published

5 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: Tesla

A Tesla owner who purchased a Model S Signature Edition, one of the final 250 units of the all-electric flagship vehicle that the company discontinued earlier this year, is attempting to sell the car despite a no-resale clause that prohibits reselling for the first year.

The car is being sold by J&S Autohaus in Ewing, New Jersey, and is priced at $260,490, well above the $159,420 that Tesla sold it for earlier this year.

To those who do not know, the Model S Signature was a highly exclusive, limited-run farewell variant of the Model S Plaid that was produced this year to mark the end of production of both the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s two flagship vehicles.

Limited to just 250 units with invite-only sales, it serves as a collector’s item celebrating the legacy of the Model S, which helped pioneer Tesla’s electric vehicle success since its 2012 launch.

It bundles top-tier performance with bespoke cosmetic and luxury upgrades, plus Tesla’s Luxe Package. Here’s what the Model S Signature has over the typical Model S Plaid:

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  • Exclusive Exterior – Unique Garnet Red Paint, matching door handles, gold Tesla “T” badges upfront, gold Plaid and Signature badging at the rear.
  • Premium Interior – White Alcantara upholstery with gold piping/accents, gold Plaid seat badges, Signature-marked door sills, individually numbered dashboard plaque, gold puddle lights, special interior lighting sequence, and a custom Signature key fob.
  • Performance Upgrades – Carbon-ceramic brakes with gold calipers
  • Bundled Luxe Package – Full Self-Driving (Supervised), four years of Premium Connectivity, free lifetime Supercharging
  • Performance Metrics – ~1,020 horsepower, sub-2-second 0-60 MPH, ~390-mile range

Tesla quickly introduced a No Resale Agreement for the Signature Editions of the Model S and Model X, which would penalize the seller for “the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.”

The company continues:

“If you sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of your Model S or Model X, the remainder of the Recommended Maintenance, Wheel and Tire Protection Plan, and Windshield Protection Plan will transfer automatically to the buyer. The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S or Model X is transferred.”

Tesla will likely come after the seller, especially as it has been about two months since Tesla launched deliveries.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Early Impressions: new features and early performance

Published

8 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.5 yesterday, and about fifty miles of driving on the new version has given me enough time to highlight what seems to be strong about the release and what is not.

Additionally, Tesla has added a few new features with this specific update, which we’ll highlight as well.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Performance

The new update is business as usual. Things seem to be running completely normal and necessary, but there are a few things that we’ve seemed to pick up on based on our own experience with v14.3.5, as well as what other users are seeing.

Initially, it seems to be more aware of its surroundings, making moves that are incredibly courteous to other drives and operating just a tad more reserved than what the suite might have done previously.

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We had two instances where it showed this, the first being FSD needing to pass a Flagger Force vehicle that was placing down signage for the day. Their work truck was right at the front corner of a right-hand turn; typically where most cars travel when they take that turn.

FSD v14.3.5 recognized this, slowed down, and took the turn wide with no issues:

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Additionally, v14.3.5 backed up for a semi truck that was making a wide turn onto a road my car was on. This is not new, but it seemed to be backing up for courtesy; it didn’t seem completely necessary, but it might have put some peace of mind in the truck driver’s head:

X user Mike P, also a Pennsylvania native like myself, shared three clips of his Tesla running v14.3.5 performing similar maneuvers. He said:

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“FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.”

Check it out here:

It seems like Speed Profiles are still in need of some tweaking; I am adjusting what Speed Profile I’m in frequently, constantly changing it to get it to travel at the correct speed. This was an issue for me on v14.3.4. It seems like they’re just a little inconsistent.

Terrible Parking

Parking attempts on v14.3.5 were not good. There are quite a few people who have said this:

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David Moss, the Tesla owner who has taken multiple coast-to-coast drives without any interventions, also has had some issues with parking early on with v14.3.5:

New Features

Tesla has added the ability to open Camera Preview at any time. Previously, it was only available in Park. Here’s what that feature looks like in action:

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Check back later this week for a longer review of what we’ve noticed on Full Self-Driving v14.3.5.

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