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The Tesla Semi will shake the trucking industry to its roots
Elon Musk’s new Master Plan calls for an expansion of its vehicles into other categories, including buses and heavy duty trucks, both of which will unveiled in about a year. Undoubtedly, carbon emissions worldwide would fall precipitously if the general automobile consumer transitioned to a tailpipe-free electric Tesla, but that’s not what Elon Musk is after. His goal is a full frontal assault on carbon emissions of all kinds including a Tesla Semi. His objective is for nothing less than a world that no longer uses fossil fuels to power its transportation system, even on a commercial scale.
Looking back at the Volkswagen diesel scandal and why it was significant, beyond morality, diesel engines especially heavy-duty diesel trucks spew emissions on another level. To make the problem worse, passenger cars normally have a useful life of around 200,000 miles. Diesel powered tractors can be on the road for a decade or more, spewing out toxins for millions of miles before they are replaced. The pollution control systems on older trucks are rudimentary at best.
In Southern California, the pollution from drayage trucks that haul shipping containers from ports to inland distribution centers is so bad, it has sparked a number of plans to replace them with electric versions. One solution proposed by Siemens calls for equipping trucks with pantographs so they can draw electricity from overhead wires along their routes.
Former Tesla executive Ian Wright sold his stock in Tesla Motors when Elon Musk came on board. Wright wanted to attack the challenges of truck pollution rather than build some silly sports car. He has since created his own company called Wrightspeed that focuses on cleaning up the emissions from heavy duty garbage trucks. He has invented a new form of hybrid powertrain that uses a small gas turbine to recharge the batteries. The turbine is so clean, it doesn’t even need a catalytic converter to meet California’s stringent emissions rules.
The problem with electric trucks today is that the batteries need to be so large and heavy they would take up much of the space available for hauling freight. Not only that, they would be prohibitively expensive. The Wrightspeed system is a compromise that attempts to strike a balance between cost and range. It has attracted international attention and the company has recently signed a contract to re-power a fleet of diesel buses in New Zealand.
The allure of electric trucks has created an opportunity for hucksters and charlatans. Earlier this year, a Florida company calling itself Oakridge Global Energy Solutions said it had developed a battery for Freedom Trucking of Minneapolis that would haul an 80,000 lb. load 400 miles. That claim turned out to be vaporware.
Another entrant into the heavy truck sweepstakes is a company calling itself Nikola Motors — a rather obvious attempt to somehow conflate what it is doing with the work of Tesla Motors. It says its Nikola One tractor will have 2,000 horsepower. 3,700 lb-ft of torque, a 325 kWh battery, 6 wheel drive with torque vectoring and 1,200 miles of range. It relies on an onboard natural gas turbine to keep the battery charged while driving.
The design concept for the Nikola One is visually appealing and the company says it has 7,000 pre-orders for the truck worth a total of $2.3 billion. Of course, it currently has no factory, no battery factory, and little corporate infrastructure other than its website.
We can assume the Tesla Semi will not have a range extender engine of any type. How Tesla will make an electric tractor that can haul heavy loads long distances that is cost competitive remains unclear. But if Elon says that’s what Tesla will do, we can be pretty sure it will — eventually.
JB Straubel says he and Elon talked about electric airplanes long before they decided to build automobiles. And ocean going cargo vessels are some of the worst polluters on the face of the planet. Musk probably has a plan for them, too. Look for those ideas to be part of Master Plan Numero Tres.
Tesla’s new Full Self-Driving pricing strategy will eliminate one recurring complaint that many owners have had in the past: FSD transfers.
In the past, if a Tesla owner purchased the Full Self-Driving suite outright, the company did not allow them to transfer the purchase to a new vehicle, essentially requiring them to buy it all over again, which could obviously get pretty pricey.
This was until Q3 2023, when Tesla allowed a one-time amnesty to transfer Full Self-Driving to a new vehicle, and then again last year.
Tesla is now allowing it to happen again ahead of the February 14th deadline.
The program has given people the opportunity to upgrade to new vehicles with newer Hardware and AI versions, especially those with Hardware 3 who wish to transfer to AI4, without feeling the drastic cost impact of having to buy the $8,000 suite outright on several occasions.
Now, that issue will never be presented again.
Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on X that the Full Self-Driving suite would only be available in a subscription platform, which is the other purchase option it currently offers for FSD use, priced at just $99 per month.
Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk
Having it available in a subscription-only platform boasts several advantages, including the potential for a tiered system that would potentially offer less expensive options, a pay-per-mile platform, and even coupling the program with other benefits, like Supercharging and vehicle protection programs.
While none of that is confirmed and is purely speculative, the one thing that does appear to be a major advantage is that this will completely eliminate any questions about transferring the Full Self-Driving suite to a new vehicle. This has been a particular point of contention for owners, and it is now completely eliminated, as everyone, apart from those who have purchased the suite on their current vehicle.
Now, everyone will pay month-to-month, and it could make things much easier for those who want to try the suite, justifying it from a financial perspective.
The important thing to note is that Tesla would benefit from a higher take rate, as more drivers using it would result in more data, which would help the company reach its recently-revealed 10 billion-mile threshold to reach an Unsupervised level. It does not cost Tesla anything to run FSD, only to develop it. If it could slice the price significantly, more people would buy it, and more data would be made available.
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Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominates U.S. EV market in 2025
The figures were detailed in Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report.
Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y continued to overwhelmingly dominate the United States’ electric vehicle market in 2025. New sales data showed that Tesla’s two mass market cars maintained a commanding segment share, with the Model 3 posting year-to-date growth and the Model Y remaining resilient despite factory shutdowns tied to its refresh.
The figures were detailed in Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report.
Model 3 and Model Y are still dominant
According to the report, Tesla delivered an estimated 192,440 Model 3 sedans in the United States in 2025, representing a 1.3% year-to-date increase compared to 2024. The Model 3 alone accounted for 15.9% of all U.S. EV sales, making it one of the highest-volume electric vehicles in the country.
The Model Y was even more dominant. U.S. deliveries of the all-electric crossover reached 357,528 units in 2025, a 4.0% year-to-date decline from the prior year. It should be noted, however, that the drop came during a year that included production shutdowns at Tesla’s Fremont Factory and Gigafactory Texas as the company transitioned to the new Model Y. Even with those disruptions, the Model Y captured an overwhelming 39.5% share of the market, far surpassing any single competitor.
Combined, the Model 3 and Model Y represented more than half of all EVs sold in the United States during 2025, highlighting Tesla’s iron grip on the country’s mass-market EV segment.
Tesla’s challenges in 2025
Tesla’s sustained performance came amid a year of elevated public and political controversy surrounding Elon Musk, whose political activities in the first half of the year ended up fueling a narrative that the CEO’s actions are damaging the automaker’s consumer appeal. However, U.S. sales data suggest that demand for Tesla’s core vehicles has remained remarkably resilient.
Based on Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report, Tesla’s most expensive offerings such as the Tesla Cybertruck, Model S, and Model X, all saw steep declines in 2025. This suggests that mainstream EV buyers might have had a price issue with Tesla’s more expensive offerings, not an Elon Musk issue.
Ultimately, despite broader EV market softness, with total U.S. EV sales slipping about 2% year-to-date, Tesla still accounted for 58.9% of all EV deliveries in 2025, according to the report. This means that out of every ten EVs sold in the United States in 2025, more than half of them were Teslas.
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Tesla Model 3 and Model Y earn Euro NCAP Best in Class safety awards
“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.
Tesla won dual categories in the Euro NCAP Best in Class awards, with the Model 3 being named the safest Large Family Car and the Model Y being recognized as the safest Small SUV.
The feat was highlighted by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on its official account on social media platform X.
Model 3 and Model Y lead their respective segments
As per a press release from the Euro NCAP, the organization’s Best in Class designation is based on a weighted assessment of four key areas: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Vulnerable Road User, and Safety Assist. Only vehicles that achieved a 5-star Euro NCAP rating and were evaluated with standard safety equipment are eligible for the award.
Euro NCAP noted that the updated Tesla Model 3 performed particularly well in Child Occupant protection, while its Safety Assist score reflected Tesla’s ongoing improvements to driver-assistance systems. The Model Y similarly stood out in Child Occupant protection and Safety Assist, reinforcing Tesla’s dual-category win.
“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.
Euro NCAP leadership shares insights
Euro NCAP Secretary General Dr. Michiel van Ratingen said the organization’s Best in Class awards are designed to help consumers identify the safest vehicles over the past year.
Van Ratingen noted that 2025 was Euro NCAP’s busiest year to date, with more vehicles tested than ever before, amid a growing variety of electric cars and increasingly sophisticated safety systems. While the Mercedes-Benz CLA ultimately earned the title of Best Performer of 2025, he emphasized that Tesla finished only fractionally behind in the overall rankings.
“It was a close-run competition,” van Ratingen said. “Tesla was only fractionally behind, and new entrants like firefly and Leapmotor show how global competition continues to grow, which can only be a good thing for consumers who value safety as much as style, practicality, driving performance, and running costs from their next car.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving pricing strategy eliminates one recurring complaint
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominates U.S. EV market in 2025
