News
Tesla Tequila is Elon Musk’s latest proof that advertising isn’t necessary
Tesla makes cars, big batteries, solar panels, and now tequila. But the few hours that the most recent product on that list was available shows that advertising isn’t needed to create brand loyalty or a strong consumer base. Instead, Tesla creates a great series of electric cars and sustainable energy systems. Pair that with an innovative CEO that people believe in, and you can sell basically anything: Just ask Tesla, or the Boring Company, for that matter.
After years of teasing a high-quality, agave-based liquor known as tequila that would dawn the electric car company’s name, Tesla Tequila finally hit the shelves after two and a half years of anticipation. It didn’t last long, though, as the $250 + tax bottle of booze that was shaped like a lightning bolt wasn’t available for more than a few hours. A company that has never made tequila, or any drinks for that matter, and spends 99.999999% of its time trying to figure out the world’s transition to sustainable energy sold out of its first batch in a relatively short period of time.
Tesla Tequila sold out in just a few hours, no advertising needed.
Not knowing the quality of the booze they were buying, nor whether it would be available again, Tesla fans flocked to the company’s shop and bought up to two bottles per person. Disappearing in a few hours, Tesla hasn’t stated whether a second batch will become available. But if you didn’t get one, bottles are still being sold on eBay for more than they were originally worth. But don’t expect it to have tequila inside.
Tesla has managed to sell a product that isn’t a car or a battery, all by Elon Musk making an April Fool’s joke two years ago. It is the latest testament to the company’s strange and unorthodox advertising campaign. The thing is: it’s only strange if it doesn’t work. And besides, that money is going toward product development, which is more important to the company’s future, anyway.
But it did work, and it isn’t the first time. In January 2018, Musk’s Boring Company sold 20,000 Flamethrowers for $500 apiece. Selling out in a few days, Musk vowed on the Joe Rogan Experience that they’ll never make more of them and that it was a horrible idea. “You shouldn’t buy one. I said, ‘Don’t buy this Flamethrower. Don’t buy it.”
But people bought it, and they bought them quickly. It isn’t a secret why, either. Flamethrowers are cool, they were limited edition, and they were something that was thought up by Musk, and fans wanted every part of it.
But on a more serious note, the same thing is going on with Tesla’s actual products. While the company has a concerted effort to create a massive volume of electric cars and energy storage systems, Tesla is working on expanding its production capabilities to keep up with demand. The Tesla Tequila and the Flamethrower are novelty items. However, these cars will keep the Earth free of fossil fuels and massive batteries that will keep energy available for outage occurrences.
The automaker is opening new production facilities in the United States and Europe and trying to solve the challenges that come with manufacturing. It turns out that electric cars are gaining momentum over their gas-powered counterparts, and Tesla didn’t need to buy any airtime or cool social media ads to convince people to drive their cars.
It all comes down to creating a product that people believe in. If you can build a solid base of customers who believe in the mission, you can sell anything. Advertising isn’t necessary, and Elon Musk and Tesla have recognized that.
News
Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles
The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles.
The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.
Tesla has long emphasized that large-scale real-world data is central to improving its neural network-based approach to autonomy. Each mile driven with FSD (Supervised) engaged contributes additional edge cases and scenario training for the system.
The milestone also brings Tesla closer to a benchmark previously outlined by CEO Elon Musk. Musk has stated that roughly 10 billion miles of training data may be needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving at scale, citing the “long tail” of rare but complex driving situations that must be learned through experience.
The growth curve of FSD Supervised’s cumulative miles over the past five years has been notable.
As noted in data shared by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt, annual FSD (Supervised) miles have increased from roughly 6 million in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and 4.25 billion in 2025. In just the first 50 days of 2026, Tesla owners logged another 1 billion miles.
At the current pace, the fleet is trending towards hitting about 10 billion FSD Supervised miles this year. The increase has been driven by Tesla’s growing vehicle fleet, periodic free trials, and expanding Robotaxi operations, among others.
With the fleet now past 8.4 billion cumulative miles, Tesla’s supervised system is approaching that threshold, even as regulatory approval for fully unsupervised deployment remains subject to further validation and oversight.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk fires back after Wikipedia co-founder claims neutrality and dubs Grokipedia “ridiculous”
Musk’s response to Wales’ comments, which were posted on social media platform X, was short and direct: “Famous last words.”
Elon Musk fired back at Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales after the longtime online encyclopedia leader dismissed xAI’s new AI-powered alternative, Grokipedia, as a “ridiculous” idea that is bound to fail.
Musk’s response to Wales’ comments, which were posted on social media platform X, was short and direct: “Famous last words.”
Wales made the comments while answering questions about Wikipedia’s neutrality. According to Wales, Wikipedia prides itself on neutrality.
“One of our core values at Wikipedia is neutrality. A neutral point of view is non-negotiable. It’s in the community, unquestioned… The idea that we’ve become somehow ‘Wokepidea’ is just not true,” Wales said.
When asked about potential competition from Grokipedia, Wales downplayed the situation. “There is no competition. I don’t know if anyone uses Grokipedia. I think it is a ridiculous idea that will never work,” Wales wrote.
After Grokipedia went live, Larry Sanger, also a co-founder of Wikipedia, wrote on X that his initial impression of the AI-powered Wikipedia alternative was “very OK.”
“My initial impression, looking at my own article and poking around here and there, is that Grokipedia is very OK. The jury’s still out as to whether it’s actually better than Wikipedia. But at this point I would have to say ‘maybe!’” Sanger stated.
Musk responded to Sanger’s assessment by saying it was “accurate.” In a separate post, he added that even in its V0.1 form, Grokipedia was already better than Wikipedia.
During a past appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show, Sanger argued that Wikipedia has drifted from its original vision, citing concerns about how its “Reliable sources/Perennial sources” framework categorizes publications by perceived credibility. As per Sanger, Wikipedia’s “Reliable sources/Perennial sources” list leans heavily left, with conservative publications getting effectively blacklisted in favor of their more liberal counterparts.
As of writing, Grokipedia has reportedly surpassed 80% of English Wikipedia’s article count.
News
Tesla Sweden appeals after grid company refuses to restore existing Supercharger due to union strike
The charging site was previously functioning before it was temporarily disconnected in April last year for electrical safety reasons.
Tesla Sweden is seeking regulatory intervention after a Swedish power grid company refused to reconnect an already operational Supercharger station in Åre due to ongoing union sympathy actions.
The charging site was previously functioning before it was temporarily disconnected in April last year for electrical safety reasons. A temporary construction power cabinet supplying the station had fallen over, described by Tesla as occurring “under unclear circumstances.” The power was then cut at the request of Tesla’s installation contractor to allow safe repair work.
While the safety issue was resolved, the station has not been brought back online. Stefan Sedin, CEO of Jämtkraft elnät, told Dagens Arbete (DA) that power will not be restored to the existing Supercharger station as long as the electric vehicle maker’s union issues are ongoing.
“One of our installers noticed that the construction power had been backed up and was on the ground. We asked Tesla to fix the system, and their installation company in turn asked us to cut the power so that they could do the work safely.
“When everything was restored, the question arose: ‘Wait a minute, can we reconnect the station to the electricity grid? Or what does the notice actually say?’ We consulted with our employer organization, who were clear that as long as sympathy measures are in place, we cannot reconnect this facility,” Sedin said.
The union’s sympathy actions, which began in March 2024, apply to work involving “planning, preparation, new connections, grid expansion, service, maintenance and repairs” of Tesla’s charging infrastructure in Sweden.
Tesla Sweden has argued that reconnecting an existing facility is not equivalent to establishing a new grid connection. In a filing to the Swedish Energy Market Inspectorate, the company stated that reconnecting the installation “is therefore not covered by the sympathy measures and cannot therefore constitute a reason for not reconnecting the facility to the electricity grid.”
Sedin, for his part, noted that Tesla’s issue with the Supercharger is quite unique. And while Jämtkraft elnät itself has no issue with Tesla, its actions are based on the unions’ sympathy measures against the electric vehicle maker.
“This is absolutely the first time that I have been involved in matters relating to union conflicts or sympathy measures. That is why we have relied entirely on the assessment of our employer organization. This is not something that we have made any decisions about ourselves at all.
“It is not that Jämtkraft elnät has a conflict with Tesla, but our actions are based on these sympathy measures. Should it turn out that we have made an incorrect assessment, we will correct ourselves. It is no more difficult than that for us,” the executive said.
Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles
Elon Musk fires back after Wikipedia co-founder claims neutrality and dubs Grokipedia “ridiculous”
