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Tesla Supercharger ramp hits milestone with 2,000 stations active worldwide

(Credit: Tesla)

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Tesla’s global ramp of its Supercharger Network recently hit another milestone, with the company installing the 2,000th station in its worldwide fast charging network. With its 2,000th site going live, Tesla now operates 18,000 rapid charging stalls across the United States, Europe, and in the Pan Pacific region.

The update comes following the electric car maker’s installation of the UK and Ireland’s 500th Supercharger. Interestingly, the recently built station features Supercharger V2 stalls, which boat 150 KW and are capable of charging a Tesla battery to 80% in about 30-40 minutes. Tesla’s next generation chargers, aptly dubbed Supercharger V3, are capable of charging at 250 kW, allowing vehicles to complete their charging sessions in just 15-20 minutes.

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Tesla currently operates its Supercharger Network in 41 countries, with 29 of them being located in the European region. It has been a long journey for the rapid charging system, with the first station going live in Los Angeles back in 2013. During that time, Tesla only had one vehicle that was compatible with the network, the Model S. Tesla CEO Elon Musk launched the system as a free service for owners of the Model S and Model X, encouraging EV owners to take their vehicles on long trips.

The Supercharger Network’s ramp accelerated across the United States, and it was not long before the system was expanded to European countries. Scandinavia, Central Europe, and the UK saw their first Supercharger stations in 2014 and 2015. The network has been growing since, with Supercharger stations also being built in countries such as China, Japan, Australia, and other areas in the Pan Pacific region.

Tesla notes that more than 1.4 billion miles have been delivered to European drivers alone, with 170 million of those being accounted for by the UK and Ireland. As noted by The Sunday Times in a recent report, Tesla’s Superchargers delivered 60 million miles worth of electricity to customers across the UK and Ireland last year. Tesla fondly noted that such a figure would be enough to travel to the ISS and back 100,000 times.

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The ramp of the Supercharger Network is poised to become even more important in the coming years. With high volume electric cars like the Model 3 and the Model Y becoming more mainstream, the need to have a global rapid charging station increases. After all, Tesla’s Superchargers, which are capable of catering to large numbers of vehicles every day due to their speed and convenience, are pivotal in making electric cars a legitimate and no frills alternative to petrol powered automobiles.

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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Tesla Semi factory receives giant production equipment

The massive machine was transported to the Semi factory using two diesel trucks and a triple trailer.

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Credit: @HinrichsZane/X

Tesla seems determined to kick off the production of the Tesla Semi sometime this year at its Nevada factory.

This was hinted at by the arrival of massive production equipment to the Semi’s manufacturing site near Giga Nevada.

New equipment

What appeared to be a massive stamping machine has been transported to the Giga Texas complex. Spotted by longtime drone operator and Tesla Semi advocate @HinrichsZane, the massive contraption is so large and heavy that a single semi truck and trailer were not enough to move it. Instead, the massive machine was shipped to the Semi factory using two diesel trucks and a triple trailer.

The machine was fully covered in the videos from Nevada, but based on its shape and size, it appears that it is a stamping press for the Class 8 all-electric truck. Tesla is a pioneer in the use of Megacasts in the automotive industry, so it makes sense for the company to use a Giga Press for the Semi’s production as well.

Ambitious goals

The Tesla Semi factory is expected to produce a whopping 50,000 units of the Class 8 all-electric truck annually when it is fully ramped. At that output, the facility would be one of the country’s highest-volume plants for semi trailers, electric or otherwise. In a video posted earlier this year, Dan Priestley, who leads the Semi program at Tesla, stated that the company is looking to achieve volume production over the coming quarters.

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This should allow the Tesla Semi factory to mass produce the vehicle by 2026. Tesla CEO Elon Musk reiterated this timeframe recently, when he responded to a post on social media platform X about Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates being bearish about battery electric semi trucks.  “Tesla Semi will be in volume production next year,” Musk said in his post, which also included a laughing emoji. 

Check out the drone operator’s recent footage of the Tesla Semi factory in the video below.

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Elon Musk argues lidar and radar make self driving cars more dangerous

The CEO is not just stating that using sensors like lidar is unnecessary to achieve self-driving.

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Credit: Tesla/YouTube

Elon Musk is taking a firmer stance in the vision vs lidar debate for autonomous driving. In his more recent comments, the CEO is not just stating that using sensors like lidar is unnecessary to achieve self-driving. 

Musk is stating that using lidar actually makes self-driving cars more dangerous. 

Uber CEO’s comments

During a recent interview, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi shared his thoughts on the autonomy race. As per the CEO, he is still inclined to believe that Waymo’s approach, which requires outfitting cars with equipment such as lidar and radar, is necessary to achieve superhuman levels of safety for self-driving cars. 

“Solid state LiDAR is $500. Why not include lidar as well in order to achieve super human safety. All of our partners are using a combination of camera, radar and LiDAR, and I personally think that’s the right solution, but I could be proven wrong,” the Uber CEO noted.

Elon Musk’s rebuttal

In response to the Uber CEO’s comments, Elon Musk stated that lidar and radar, at least based on Tesla’s experience, actually reduce safety instead of improving it. As per the Tesla CEO, there are times when sensors such as lidar and radar disagree with cameras. This creates sensor ambiguity, which, in turn, creates more risk. Musk then noted that Tesla has seen an improvement in safety once the company focused on a vision only approach. 

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“Lidar and radar reduce safety due to sensor contention. If lidars/radars disagree with cameras, which one wins? This sensor ambiguity causes increased, not decreased, risk. That’s why Waymos can’t drive on highways. We turned off the radars in Teslas to increase safety. Cameras ftw,’ Musk wrote.

Musk’s comments are quite notable as Tesla was able to launch a dedicated Robotaxi pilot in Austin and the Bay Area using its vision-based autonomous systems. The same is true for FSD, which is quickly becoming notably better than humans in driving. 

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Tesla Model Y L sold out for September 2025

This was hinted at in Tesla China’s configurator for the all-electric crossover.

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Credit: Tesla China

It appears that the Tesla Model Y L has been sold out in China for September 2025. This was hinted at in Tesla China’s configurator for the all-electric crossover.

Model Y L deliveries

Since the Model Y L’s official launch earlier this month, Tesla has been pretty consistent in the idea that the extended wheelbase variant of its best-selling vehicle will see its first deliveries sometime in September. This was quite an impressive timeframe for Tesla, considering that the Model Y L has only been launched this August. 

Nevertheless, both Tesla China’s Model Y configurator and comments from company executives have noted that the vehicle will see its first customer deliveries in September. “Tesla cars are fun to drive alone, whether you have children or how many children, this car can meet all your needs. We will deliver in September and wait for you to get in the car,” Tesla China VP Grace Tao wrote on Weibo.

Credit: Tesla China

October 2025 deliveries

A look at Tesla China’s order page as of writing shows that the earliest deliveries for the Model Y L, if ordered today, would be October 2025 instead. This suggests that the six-seat Model Y variant has effectively been sold out for September. This bodes well for the vehicle, and it suggests that it is a variant that may be able to raise Tesla’s sales numbers in China, as well as territories where the Model Y L could be exported.

Rumors of the Model Y L’s strong sales have been abounding. After the vehicle’s launch, industry watchers estimated that Tesla China has received over 35,000 orders for the Model Y L in just one day. Later estimates suggested that the Model Y L’s orders have breached the 50,000 mark.

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