Elon Musk’s Tesla snake charger seems slated for release in the near future, as the automatic charging solution would be used to support the company’s coast-to-coast driving/Summon capabilities. With the snake charger, Tesla vehicles will be able to charge without human assistance when traveling across state lines.
Musk mentioned Tesla’s snake charger after he announced the release of the company’s next Full Self-Driving update. In a tweet, the Tesla CEO suggested that the all-electric car maker plans to launch its latest FSD build in a couple of weeks to a limited number of beta testers. The next FSD update will be capable of “zero-intervention” driving as per Musk, bringing Tesla closer to its autonomy goals. Musk’s announcement was in response to an analysis from ARK Invest’s Tasha Keeney about Waymo commercially launching its full driverless service.
News about Tesla’s new FSD update led one Twitter user to ask about coast-to-coast driving and summon capability. Elon Musk replied that driving and summoning across state borders could be possible with the new FSD update, “provided we do our metal gear snake autocoupler.” In a later reply on Twitter, Musk confirmed that Tesla owners will see the company’s automatic snake charger in the future.
Elon Musk talked about Tesla’s automatic snake charger during an interview with Stephen Colbert from The Late Show in 2015. During the interview, Colbert joked that the Tesla snake charger looked “like the thing that jacks into the back of Neo’s head in the Matrix.”
Very little has been said about the Tesla snake charger since Elon Musk’s interview with Stephen Colbert. As such, it has led some to wonder whether Tesla owners would ever see the snake charger at all. Based on his latest tweets, it turns out Musk still has intensions about rolling out Tesla’s automatic snake charger.
-->Musk’s announcement about Tesla’s upcoming FSD update suggests that it is time for the automatic snake charger to be released into the wild–so to speak. It will become more relevant as Tesla gets closer to achieving true autonomy features, allowing the company’s vehicles to perform coast-to-coast driving and summoning.
The necessity for technology like Tesla’s snake charger is one aspect of autonomous driving that most companies’ developing self-driving software haven’t considered. Most companies in the field are hyper-focused on just developing and launching self-driving software, but very few seem to be considering the other aspects involved with the rollout of such a technology.
For instance, it seems like self-driving software developers assume that human operators will still be present to charge or refuel vehicles. The snake charger reveals that Tesla has thought a little deeper about how autonomy would change driver engagement and the infrastructure that supports the ownership of vehicles.
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Waymo driverless taxi drives directly into active LAPD standoff
No injuries occurred, and the passengers inside the vehicle were safely transported to their destination, as per a Waymo representative.
A video posted on social media has shown an occupied Waymo driverless taxi driving directly into the middle of an active LAPD standoff in downtown Los Angeles.
As could be seen in the short video, which was initially posted on Instagram by user Alex Choi, a Waymo driverless taxi drove directly into the middle of an active LAPD standoff in downtown Los Angeles.
The driverless taxi made an unprotected left turn despite what appeared to be a red light, briefly entering a police perimeter. At the time, officers seemed to be giving commands to a prone suspect on the ground, who looked quite surprised at the sudden presence of the driverless vehicle.
People on the sidewalk, including the person who was filming the video, could be heard chuckling at the Waymo’s strange behavior.
The Waymo reportedly cleared the area within seconds. No injuries occurred, and the passengers inside the vehicle were safely transported to their destination, as per a Waymo representative. Still, the video spread across social media, with numerous netizens poking fun at the gaffe.
-->Others also pointed out that such a gaffe would have resulted in widespread controversy had the vehicle involved been a Tesla on FSD. Tesla is constantly under scrutiny, with TSLA shorts and similar groups actively trying to put down the company’s FSD program.
A Tesla on FSD or Robotaxi accidentally driving into an active police standoff would likely cause lawsuits, nonstop media coverage, and calls for a worldwide ban, at the least.
This was one of the reasons why even minor traffic infractions committed by the company’s Robotaxis during their initial rollout in Austin received nationwide media attention. This particular Waymo incident, however, will likely not receive as much coverage.
Tesla Model Y demand in China is through the roof, and new delivery dates show the company has already sold out its allocation of the all-electric crossover for 2025.
The Model Y has been the most popular vehicle in the world in both of the last two years, outpacing incredibly popular vehicles like the Toyota RAV 4. In China, the EV market is substantially more saturated, with more competitors than in any other market.
However, Tesla has been kind to the Chinese market, as it has launched trim levels for the Model Y in the country that are not available anywhere else. Demand has been strong for the Model Y in China; it ranks in the top 5 of all EVs in the country, trailing the BYD Seagull, Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, and the Geely Galaxy Xingyuan.
The other three models ahead of the Model Y are priced substantially lower.
Tesla is still dealing with strong demand for the Model Y, and the company is now pushing delivery dates to early 2026, meaning the vehicle is sold out for the year:
NEWS: New orders for all four Tesla Model Y trims in China are now officially sold out for 2025, as the factory’s remaining production capacity for the year has been fully allocated.
Estimated delivery dates for new orders now show January-February 2026. pic.twitter.com/Dfnu7yY58N
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 1, 2025
Tesla experienced a 9.9 percent year-over-year rise in its China-made EV sales for November, meaning there is some serious potential for the automaker moving into next year despite increased competition.
There have been a lot of questions surrounding how Tesla would perform globally with more competition, but it seems to have a good grasp of various markets because of its vehicles, its charging infrastructure, and its Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite, which has been expanding to more countries as of late.
Tesla Model Y is still China’s best-selling premium EV through October
Tesla holds a dominating lead in the United States with EV registrations, and performs incredibly well in several European countries.
With demand in China looking strong, it will be interesting to see how the company ends the year in terms of global deliveries.
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Tesla Europe rolls out FSD ride-alongs in the Netherlands’ holiday campaign
The festive event series comes amid Tesla’s ongoing push for regulatory approval of FSD across Europe.
Tesla Europe has announced that its “Future Holidays” campaign will feature Full Self-Driving (Supervised) ride-along experiences in the Netherlands.
The festive event series comes amid Tesla’s ongoing push for regulatory approval of FSD across Europe.
The Holiday program was announced by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on X. “Come get in the spirit with us. Featuring Caraoke, FSD Supervised ride-along experiences, holiday light shows with our S3XY lineup & more,” the company wrote in its post on X.
Per the program’s official website, fun activities will include Caraoke sessions and light shows with the S3XY vehicle lineup. It appears that Optimus will also be making an appearance at the events. Tesla even noted that the humanoid robot will be in “full party spirit,” so things might indeed be quite fun.
“This season, we’re introducing you to the fun of the future. Register for our holiday events to meet our robots, see if you can spot the Bot to win prizes, and check out our selection of exclusive merchandise and limited-edition gifts. Discover Tesla activities near you and discover what makes the future so festive,” Tesla wrote on its official website.
-->This announcement aligns with Tesla’s accelerating FSD efforts in Europe, where supervised ride-alongs could help demonstrate the tech to regulators and customers. The Netherlands, with its urban traffic and progressive EV policies, could serve as an ideal and valuable testing ground for FSD.
Tesla is currently hard at work pushing for the rollout of FSD to several European countries. Tesla has received approval to operate 19 FSD test vehicles on Spain’s roads, though this number could increase as the program develops. As per the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), Tesla would be able to operate its FSD fleet on any national route across Spain. Recent job openings also hint at Tesla starting FSD tests in Austria. Apart from this, the company is also holding FSD demonstrations in Germany, France, and Italy.
Waymo driverless taxi drives directly into active LAPD standoff
Tesla Model Y demand in China is through the roof, new delivery dates show
