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Tesla Semi begins production cargo runs from Gigafactory 1 to Fremont factory

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed the first photo of a Tesla Semi, with a trailer full of battery packs in tow, that’s on its way to complete the first production cargo trip for the company. The news follows our recent report that a Tesla Semi was spotted traveling between the company’s Fremont, Calif. factory and Gigafactory facility in Sparks, Nevada.

“First production cargo trip of the Tesla Semi heavy-duty truck, carrying battery packs from the Gigafactory in the Nevada mountains to the car factory in California,” said Musk in his Instagram post.

A silver Tesla Semi, the company’s 500-mile all-electric long-range hauler – the same version that was recently spotted doing a tire-shredding acceleration run – and shorter range electric truck in Matte Black, can be seen in Musk’s photo. The all-electric trucks are framed by the unmistakable Nevada mountains surrounding the Gigafactory.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgCJlKbFckb/

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With a distance spanning just over 250 miles (400 km) between Tesla’s Nevada-based battery facility and its Fremont factory, both the long-range and shorter range Tesla Semi can presumably travel the entire length without needing to recharge.

Considering the over 4,000 feet total elevation drop from Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 and its California factory, Tesla Semi’s regenerative braking system would recapture loss energy on descents and result in a range increase in certain areas of the journey.

RELATED: Tesla Semi’s battery pack and overall weight explored

Today’s reveal by Musk validates a statement made by Tesla’s VP of Truck programs Jerome Guillen when he revealed that the company would become its own Tesla Semi customers by using the vehicles to transport components between its facilities.

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“Tesla will be the first customer for its own truck. So we will use our own trucks to carry cargo in the US between our different facilities. We have (an) assembly factory in California, we have a battery factory in Nevada, so we’ll use our truck to carry things in between,” said Guillen when speaking at a summit in The Netherlands late last year.

Production of the Tesla Semi is expected to take place sometime in 2019. The company is working with its largest customers on the design and build out of its ultra-high powered Megacharger, The Tesla Semi charging stations will be installed at key locations that are frequently traveled by fleet operators and spaced close enough together so that Tesla Semi drivers have enough range to return back to their loading docks without needing to recharge.

PepsiCo, one of the largest Tesla Semi customers to date having ordered 100 trucks, noted that an agreement to share charging facilities for the Semi would help the electric truck service a wider area.

“We have a lot of in-house capability around energy and engineering, and certainly, Tesla brings their expertise to the table on energy and charging,” said PepsiCo executive Mike O‘Connell.

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Other high-profile companies such as UPS, UAE-based Bee’ah and Norway’s Postal Service, among many smaller operations, have committed to reducing their operations environmental impact by either replacing or augmenting their fleet with Tesla Semi trucks.

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Tesla stock gets latest synopsis from Jim Cramer: ‘It’s actually a robotics company’

“Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session,” Cramer said.

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Credit: Tesla Optimus/X

Tesla stock (NASDAQ: TSLA) got its latest synopsis from Wall Street analyst Jim Cramer, who finally realized something that many fans of the company have known all along: it’s not a car company. Instead, it’s a robotics company.

In a recent note that was released after Tesla reported Earnings in late January, Cramer seemed to recognize that the underwhelming financials and overall performance of the automotive division were not representative of the current state of affairs.

Instead, we’re seeing a company transition itself away from its early identity, essentially evolving like a caterpillar into a butterfly.

The narrative of the Earnings Call was simple: We’re not a car company, at least not from a birds-eye view. We’re an AI and Robotics company, and we are transitioning to this quicker than most people realize.

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Tesla stock gets another analysis from Jim Cramer, and investors will like it

Tesla’s Q4 Earnings Call featured plenty of analysis from CEO Elon Musk and others, and some of the more minor details of the call were even indicative of a company that is moving toward AI instead of its cars. For example, the Model S and Model X will be no more after Q2, as Musk said that they serve relatively no purpose for the future.

Instead, Tesla is shifting its focus to the vehicles catered for autonomy and its Robotaxi and self-driving efforts.

Cramer recognizes this:

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“…we got results from Tesla, which actually beat numbers, but nobody cares about the numbers here, as electric vehicles are the past. And according to CEO Elon Musk, the future of this company comes down to Cybercabs and humanoid robots. Stock fell more than 3% the next day. That may be because their capital expenditures budget was higher than expected, or maybe people wanted more details from the new businesses. At this point, I think Musk acolytes might be more excited about SpaceX, which is planning to come public later this year.”

He continued, highlighting the company’s true transition away from vehicles to its Cybercab, Optimus, and AI ambitions:

“I know it’s hard to believe how quickly this market can change its attitude. Last night, I heard a disastrous car company speak. Turns out it’s actually a robotics and Cybercab company, and I want to buy, buy, buy. Yes, Tesla’s the paper that turned into scissors in one session. I didn’t like it as a car company. Boy, I love it as a Cybercab and humanoid robot juggernaut. Call me a buyer and give me five robots while I’m at it.”

Cramer’s narrative seems to fit that of the most bullish Tesla investors. Anyone who is labeled a “permabull” has been echoing a similar sentiment over the past several years: Tesla is not a car company any longer.

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Instead, the true focus is on the future and the potential that AI and Robotics bring to the company. It is truly difficult to put Tesla shares in the same group as companies like Ford, General Motors, and others.

Tesla shares are down less than half a percent at the time of publishing, trading at $423.69.

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SpaceX secures win as US labor board drops oversight case

The NLRB confirmed that it no longer has jurisdiction over SpaceX.

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX scored a legal victory after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decided to dismiss a case which accused the company of terminating engineers who were involved in an open letter against founder Elon Musk. 

The NLRB confirmed that it no longer has jurisdiction over SpaceX. The update was initially shared by Bloomberg News, which cited a letter about the matter it reportedly reviewed.

In a letter to the former employees’ lawyers, the labor board stated that the affected employees were under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board (NMB), not the NLRB. As a result, the labor board stated that it was dismissing the case.

As per Danielle Pierce, a regional director of the agency, “the National Labor Relations Board lacks jurisdiction over the Employer and, therefore, I am dismissing your charge.”

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The NMB typically oversees airlines and railroads. The NLRB, on the other hand, covers most private-sector employers, as well as manufacturers such as Boeing. 

The former SpaceX engineers have argued that the private space company did not belong under the NMB’s jurisdiction because SpaceX only offers services to “hand-picked customers.” 

In an opinion, however, the NMB stated that SpaceX was under its jurisdiction because “space transport includes air travel” to get to outer space. The mediation board also noted that anyone can contact SpaceX to secure its services.

SpaceX had previously challenged the NLRB’s authority in court, arguing that the agency’s structure was unconstitutional. Jennifer Abruzzo, the NLRB general counsel under former United States President Joe Biden, rejected SpaceX’s claims. Following Abruzzo’s termination under the Trump administration, however, SpaceX asked the labor board to reconsider its arguments. 

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SpaceX is not the only company that has challenged the constitutionality of the NLRB. Since SpaceX filed its legal challenge against the agency in 2024, other high-profile companies have followed suit. These include Amazon, which has filed similar cases that are now pending.

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Tesla accuses IG Metall member of secretly recording Giga Berlin meeting

The union has denied the electric vehicle maker’s allegations.

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Credit: Tesla Manufacturing/X

Police seized the computer of an IG Metall member at Tesla Giga Berlin on Tuesday amid allegations that a works council meeting was secretly recorded. 

The union has denied the electric vehicle maker’s allegations.

In a post on X, Gigafactory Berlin plant manager André Thierig stated that an external union representative from IG Metall attended a works council meeting and allegedly recorded the session. Thierig described the event as “truly beyond words.”

“What has happened today at Giga Berlin is truly beyond words! An external union representative from IG Metall attended a works council meeting. For unknown reasons he recorded the internal meeting and was caught in action! We obviously called police and filed a criminal complaint!” Thierig wrote in his post on X.

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Police later confirmed to local news outlet rbb24 that officers did seize a computer belonging to an IG Metall member at the Giga Berlin site on Tuesday afternoon. Tesla stated that employees had contacted authorities after discovering the alleged recording.

IG Metall denied Tesla’s accusations, arguing that its representative did not record the meeting. The union alleged that Tesla’s claim was simply a tactic ahead of upcoming works council elections.

The next works council election at Giga Berlin is scheduled for March 2 to 4, 2026. The facility’s management had confirmed the dates to local news outlets. The official announcement marks the start of the election process and campaign period.

Approximately 11,000 employees are eligible to participate in the vote.

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The previous works council election at the plant took place in 2024, and it was triggered by a notable increase in workforce size. Under German labor law, regular works council elections must be held every four years between March 1 and May 31.

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