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Tesla Store in Santa Monica sells for a whopping $5,200 per sqft.

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Hundreds line up in front of the Tesla store in Santa Monica on March 31, 2016 to place a deposit for the Model 3

Model 3 reservation hopefuls that lined up on the day of Model 3 Mania in front of the manufacturer’s Santa Monica showroom are well acquainted with the tiny boutique-like space that bears the name to arguably one of the world’s most talked about brands – Tesla. Nestled amongst narrow two-story Art Deco buildings lies Tesla’s 3,000 square foot storefront on famed Third Street Promenade – a local hotspot for Los Angeleans and tourists alike.

The real estate purchased for $2.75 million, or $917 per square foot, in 2006 by Tigris Group, an entity registered in Pinecrest, Florida, was just sold for a whopping $15.6 million. That represents a near 570% gain with a single square foot priced at $5,200 for Tesla’s current landlord. The Real Deal reports that New York-based KLM Equities and Harlington Realty closed on the purchase of Tesla’s storefront late last month, according to a release from CBRE. According to CRBE’s Timothy Bower, there were multiple bids on the property due to popularity of the location which doesn’t often see real estate turnovers. Bower tells The Real Deal, “The real estate on the Third Street Promenade trades infrequently. When it does, it is in high demand. Sometimes these deals don’t even get to market. The moment we released this offering, we had a lot of interest in it.”

Tesla Showroom in Santa Monica [Source: Sharon VanderKaay | creative commons]

Tesla Showroom in Santa Monica [Source: Sharon VanderKaay | creative commons]

Though Tesla Motors will have a new landlord, the Silicon Valley automaker doesn’t have any plans on leaving and will keep its existing lease agreement, as is. In terms of a fallback plan for the real estate buyer, “It was an investment deal and as long as Tesla’s lease is in place, the property will be in its present form,” said Bower. “If they don’t stay, way down road, there is potential to redevelop. The evolution of the area is a two-story retail format, so that’s certainly a possibility in the future.”

The $5,200 per square foot price may seem exorbitant, but it’s not uncommon for storefronts lining the famed beachside attraction. Just a few doors down is Apple’s ubiquitous glass-front showroom which sold in 2014 to an affiliate of KLM for $100 million, or $5,700 a square foot.

By comparison, stores along the prestigious shopping streets in Beverly Hills demand almost four times as much. The Bijan store on Rodeo Drive recently sold for $122 million, or $19,405 a square foot.

KLM also owns the famed Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and various storefronts in nearby Venice.

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Tesla FSD (Supervised) v14.2.2 starts rolling out

The update focuses on smoother real-world performance, better obstacle awareness, and precise end-of-trip routing, among other improvements.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla has started rolling out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2.2, bringing further refinements to its most advanced driver-assist system. The new FSD update focuses on smoother real-world performance, better obstacle awareness, and precise end-of-trip routing, among other improvements.

Key FSD v14.2.2 improvements

As noted by Not a Tesla App, FSD v14.2.2 upgrades the vision encoder neural network with higher resolution features, enhancing detection of emergency vehicles, road obstacles, and human gestures. New Arrival Options let users select preferred drop-off styles, such as Parking Lot, Street, Driveway, Parking Garage, or Curbside, with the navigation pin automatically adjusting to the user’s ideal spot for precision.

Other additions include pulling over for emergency vehicles, real-time vision-based detours for blocked roads, improved gate and debris handling, and extreme Speed Profiles for customized driving styles. Reliability gains cover fault recovery, residue alerts on the windshield, and automatic narrow-field camera washing for new 2026 Model Y units.

FSD v14.2.2 also boosts unprotected turns, lane changes, cut-ins, and school bus scenarios, among other things. Tesla also noted that users’ FSD statistics will be saved under Controls > Autopilot, which should help drivers easily view how much they are using FSD in their daily drives.  

Key FSD v14.2.2 release notes

Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2.2 includes:

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  • Upgraded the neural network vision encoder, leveraging higher resolution features to further improve scenarios like handling emergency vehicles, obstacles on the road, and human gestures.
  • Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.
  • Added handling to pull over or yield for emergency vehicles (e.g. police cars, fire trucks, ambulances).
  • Added navigation and routing into the vision-based neural network for real-time handling of blocked roads and detours.
  • Added additional Speed Profile to further customize driving style preference.
  • Improved handling for static and dynamic gates.
  • Improved offsetting for road debris (e.g. tires, tree branches, boxes).
  • Improve handling of several scenarios, including unprotected turns, lane changes, vehicle cut-ins, and school buses.
  • Improved FSD’s ability to manage system faults and recover smoothly from degraded operation for enhanced reliability.
  • Added alerting for residue build-up on interior windshield that may impact front camera visibility. If affected, visit Service for cleaning!
  • Added automatic narrow field washing to provide rapid and efficient front camera self-cleaning, and optimize aerodynamics wash at higher vehicle speed.
  • Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity. 

Upcoming Improvements:

  • Overall smoothness and sentience.
  • Parking spot selection and parking quality.
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Tesla is not sparing any expense in ensuring the Cybercab is safe

Images shared by the longtime watcher showed 16 Cybercab prototypes parked near Giga Texas’ dedicated crash test facility.

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Credit: @JoeTegtmeyer/X

The Tesla Cybercab could very well be the safest taxi on the road when it is released and deployed for public use. This was, at least, hinted at by the intensive safety tests that Tesla seems to be putting the autonomous two-seater through at its Giga Texas crash test facility. 

Intensive crash tests

As per recent images from longtime Giga Texas watcher and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer, Tesla seems to be very busy crash testing Cybercab units. Images shared by the longtime watcher showed 16 Cybercab prototypes parked near Giga Texas’ dedicated crash test facility just before the holidays. 

Tegtmeyer’s aerial photos showed the prototypes clustered outside the factory’s testing building. Some uncovered Cybercabs showed notable damage and one even had its airbags engaged. With Cybercab production expected to start in about 130 days, it appears that Tesla is very busy ensuring that its autonomous two-seater ends up becoming the safest taxi on public roads. 

Prioritizing safety

With no human driver controls, the Cybercab demands exceptional active and passive safety systems to protect occupants in any scenario. Considering Tesla’s reputation, it is then understandable that the company seems to be sparing no expense in ensuring that the Cybercab is as safe as possible.

Tesla’s focus on safety was recently highlighted when the Cybertruck achieved a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). This was a notable victory for the Cybertruck as critics have long claimed that the vehicle will be one of, if not the, most unsafe truck on the road due to its appearance. The vehicle’s Top Safety Pick+ rating, if any, simply proved that Tesla never neglects to make its cars as safe as possible, and that definitely includes the Cybercab.

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Tesla’s Elon Musk gives timeframe for FSD’s release in UAE

Provided that Musk’s timeframe proves accurate, FSD would be able to start saturating the Middle East, starting with the UAE, next year. 

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated on Monday that Full Self-Driving (Supervised) could launch in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as soon as January 2026. 

Provided that Musk’s timeframe proves accurate, FSD would be able to start saturating the Middle East, starting with the UAE, next year. 

Musk’s estimate

In a post on X, UAE-based political analyst Ahmed Sharif Al Amiri asked Musk when FSD would arrive in the country, quoting an earlier post where the CEO encouraged users to try out FSD for themselves. Musk responded directly to the analyst’s inquiry. 

“Hopefully, next month,” Musk wrote. The exchange attracted a lot of attention, with numerous X users sharing their excitement at the idea of FSD being brought to a new country. FSD (Supervised), after all, would likely allow hands-off highway driving, urban navigation, and parking under driver oversight in traffic-heavy cities such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Musk’s comments about FSD’s arrival in the UAE were posted following his visit to the Middle Eastern country. Over the weekend, images were shared online of Musk meeting with UAE Defense Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and Dubai Crown Prince HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed. Musk also posted a supportive message about the country, posting “UAE rocks!” on X.

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FSD recognition

FSD has been getting quite a lot of support from foreign media outlets. FSD (Supervised) earned high marks from Germany’s largest car magazine, Auto Bild, during a test in Berlin’s challenging urban environment. The demonstration highlighted the system’s ability to handle dense traffic, construction sites, pedestrian crossings, and narrow streets with smooth, confident decision-making.

Journalist Robin Hornig was particularly struck by FSD’s superior perception and tireless attention, stating: “Tesla FSD Supervised sees more than I do. It doesn’t get distracted and never gets tired. I like to think I’m a good driver, but I can’t match this system’s all-around vision. It’s at its best when both work together: my experience and the Tesla’s constant attention.” Only one intervention was needed when the system misread a route, showcasing its maturity while relying on vision-only sensors and over-the-air learning.

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