Tesla owners may soon have HBOGo, HBO Now, Comedy Central, Twitch, Crunchyroll, and a number of other streaming apps in their in-car entertainment system. Tesla owner and hacker @greentheonly spotted the unused assets in the carmaker’s operating system and he’s predicting that these streaming apps may roll out in an upcoming software update, perhaps sooner rather than later.
Aside from the streaming apps mentioned above, the links also include video game streaming platforms Twitch and Mixer, and there are also Chinese video streaming services such as Tencent, YouKu, and iQiyi. Green also spotted Monty Python, which already pops up as an Easter Egg with V10 provided that Tesla owners rename their vehicles after characters in the iconic comedy franchise.
As Tesla continues to bolster its roster of games and video streaming apps, the electric car maker is creating an ecosystem for in-car entertainment that will only scale into the future. Beyond the benefit of creating an additional revenue stream from a ‘Premium Connectivity’ subscription plan, having popular consumer services easily accessible will emphasize an unparalleled level of in-car entertainment experience.
Just realized something pic.twitter.com/aHxpRyv24g
— green (@greentheonly) December 10, 2019
With the release of more streaming services for Tesla’s in-car entertainment, users will likely consume more data on the go, and this is where Tesla’s new “Premium Connectivity” service becomes pertinent. While it will set back customers roughly $10 a month, Premium Connectivity allows access to popular in-car features such as video streaming, Caraoke, music streaming, and internet browser even when Wi-Fi is not available. Tesla has started emailing customers about their in-car data subscription. Premium Connectivity expiration warnings via Software Menu have also been reported on vehicles’ displays.
In a previous statement, managing director at Wedbush Securities and Tesla analyst Dan Ives said that the electric carmaker is bringing the infotainment center into a whole new level, putting the company miles ahead of other manufacturers. “Consumers are used to the technologies they see in their smartphone, they see in their living room, but yet they go into their automobile and they have a flashback to 1988. They want the technology that they see in 2019 in their car,” Ives said in an interview
During an earnings call, Elon Musk admitted that Tesla has not really thought of a way to monetize in-car entertainment. Nevertheless, Brian Moody of Autotrader said that this might not be the case in the future, especially when infotainment systems will likely become one of the biggest factors in the economics of automakers. “As the driver becomes less necessary, there will be more options for in-car purchases and partnering with outside vendors so that you can buy stuff from inside the car, probably even buy stuff for the car from inside the car,” Moody said.
As we see Tesla add more features and services to its in-car entertainment system, the brand will have the opportunity to explore the possibilities of using their vehicles as a platform to deliver services that consumers are willing to spend on. As Will Kaufman of Edmunds suggests, “If Tesla gets to the point where they’re moving millions of units annually, their control over their platform gives them leverage.” And that only means one thing for Tesla — more $$$ to attain its ambitious goals.
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Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.
The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.
The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.
Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.
The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.
The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.
Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI, creator of Grok and Grokipedia, celebrates its third birthday
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has marked its third anniversary. The update was shared in a post from the xAI Memphis account on social media platform X.
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
As per xAI, it has built three massive data centers in the city, launched a coherent cluster of 330,000 GBs, created over 3,000 jobs, and paid over $30 million in taxes to local communities.
xAI’s Memphis operation has become a key part of the company’s infrastructure as the company works to train and deploy its Grok artificial intelligence models. Elon Musk has been quite optimistic about Grok’s potential, noting in the past that the large language model might have a shot at achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI).
xAI’s Memphis’ crown jewel is its Colossus supercomputer cluster. The project was announced in 2024 and has since become the home of one of the world’s largest AI compute facilities. The first phase of Colossus reached its initial 100,000 GPU operational milestone in just 122 days, or just about four months.
Industry figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have praised the facility, noting that projects of similar scale typically take two to four years to complete.
xAI has cited Memphis’ central location, skilled workforce, and industrial infrastructure as key reasons for selecting the city as the home of its AI training operations. The company has also emphasized plans to expand the site further as it scales compute capacity for Grok and future AI models.
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Tesla Sweden’s Megapack Supercharger near Arlanda continues to aggravate IF Metall union
The charging site, located in Arlandastad outside Stockholm, appears to be operating despite ongoing union blockade measures tied to Tesla’s labor dispute in the country.
Tesla Sweden’s Megapack-powered Supercharger station near Arlanda Airport has continued to aggravate Swedish labor union IF Metall. The charging site, located in Arlandastad outside Stockholm, appears to be operating despite ongoing union blockade measures tied to Tesla’s labor dispute in the country.
Comments about the site were shared by IF Metall representatives in remarks to Swedish publication CarUp.
The Arlandastad location includes eight Tesla Superchargers powered by a Megapack battery system. Unlike traditional charging stations that rely on direct grid connections, the site uses a large battery installation to store electricity and power the chargers.
According to the Swedish publication, the setup allowed the station to come online despite sympathy measures from Sweden’s electricians’ union, which has attempted to prevent companies from cooperating with Tesla as part of the broader labor conflict.
IF Metall press manager Jesper Pettersson indicated that the union was not aware that the Superchargers had already been connected and activated.
“We do not know the details around this. But it is further proof of how Tesla systematically finds loopholes to circumvent the sympathy measures through active strikebreaking. Every time this happens it gives us reason to sharpen our conflict measures,” Pettersson said.
Union representatives also noted that the Megapack appears to be charged using electrical cables routed through nearby terrain, though the exact power source remains under review.
The Megapack-powered site has then prompted questions from Swedish labor unions about how electricity is being supplied to the system.
IF Metall has submitted a report to Sweden’s Energy Market Inspectorate asking the regulator to review whether the electricity supply arrangement complies with national regulations. The Megapack is reportedly charged using electricity from a local company, though the provider has not been publicly identified.
Peter Lydell, an ombudsman at IF Metall, previously stated that Swedish law limits electricity trading to companies with proper authorization.
“The legislation states that only companies that engage in electricity trading may supply electricity to other parties. You may not supply electricity without a permit, then you are engaging in illegal electricity trading. That is why we have reported this…
“This is about a company that helps Tesla circumvent the conflict measures that exist. It is clear that it is troublesome and it can also have consequences,” Lydell said.
IF Metall and Tesla Sweden’s conflict has been going on for over two years now.
Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
Elon Musk’s xAI, creator of Grok and Grokipedia, celebrates its third birthday
