Energy
Tesla Top 5 Week in Review: Competition, Power, and Model 3 Stir the Tesla Brand
This week in the news, we examined the claim that the Dodge Demon may surpass the Tesla Model S P100D as the world’s fastest 0-60 production car. The Model S also was featured for its resale value, as a new survey indicates that the Model S has a much higher second owner value than originally thought. The Tesla board of directors composition may change, if pressure from an investor group led by the California State Teachers’ Retirement System has anything to do with it. Lithium-ion battery technology made the headlines, with Panasonic envisioning improvements that may translate into longer range and increased safety. Finally, information about the final unveiling event of the Tesla Model 3 made potential buyers happy. Here are those stories and more in this week’s edition of the Teslarati week in review.
Dodge “Demon” looks to dethrone Tesla’s title for “quickest production car” in the world
The Challenger SRT Demon will enter the automotive market with 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet of torque, according to sources inside Fiat Chrysler automobiles. The car will reportedly be the world’s fastest 0-60 production car — in 2.3 seconds — and from 0-30 m.p.h. — 1 second. Will the Demon eclipse the Tesla Model S P100D, which Motor Trend Magazine deemed the quickest production car in the world after a 2.28 second run to 60 miles per hour? Dodge Demon testing at a sticky drag strip isn’t really comparable to the Tesla Model S P100D record that was earned on a public road, is it? Only time will tell.
Survey ranks used Tesla Model S as #1 in retained value and fastest selling among peers
Survey results released by Autolist suggest that the Model S sells an average of 5% faster than its peer group as well as fastest overall among the best selling vehicles from three companies. The Model S also soared in prices relative to listing price expectations. Some months were 5% over expectations, while the best performing Ford and GMs struggled to top 1%. Affordability for the Model S as contained within the survey results vacillated depending on region, with Maryland providing the most reasonable used Model S costs at 7.2% below the national average.
Investor group urges Tesla to seek board members independent of Elon Musk
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System has led a coalition of concerned investors in a move to pressure Tesla CEO Elon Musk to diversify the Tesla board. With the majority of Tesla board members having personal or professional ties to Musk, the suggestion is that independence or objectivity might become compromised. The managers who have expressed concern control a combined $721 billion in assets. They have also advocated for annual, rather than staggered three year director elections. “Directors should be held to a higher standard of independence given the conflicts of interest that permeate this board,” the letter to Tesla director Antonio Gracias said. “A thoroughly independent board would provide a critical check on possible dysfunctional group dynamics, such as groupthink.”
Tesla partner Panasonic says 30% energy density increase in lithium-ion batteries possible
Recent comments by Panasonic indicate that, while Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) represent revolutionary technology when applied to today’s electric vehicles, future progress must continue. LIBs at the present are near to a theoretical maximum energy density. Because drivers are demanding longer ranges and quicker charging times, more R&D is needed to improve the current state of LIB technology. “We think the existing technology can still extend the energy density of LIBs by 20% to 30%,” Panasonic’s President Kazuhiro Tsuga said. “But there is a trade-off between energy density and safety. So, if you look for even more density, you have to think about additional safety technology as well. Solid-state batteries are one [possible] answer.”
Tesla Model 3 final unveiling event will take place in July
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the Tesla Model 3 will have a third reveal in July, 2017 in anticipation of initial deliveries late this year. The July event will give potential buyers the opportunity to see the Model 3 up in real configurations; the April, 2016 first unveiling didn’t permit media photographs. With many sightings of the Model 3 in and around the Palo Alto company headquarters, the anticipation around the Model 3 is at an all-time high. One aspect of the Model 3 that has everyone buzzing is Musk’s statement that the “real steering controls and system” for the Model 3 feel “like a spaceship.” We can’t wait to see for ourselves! Eventual production plans are to incrementally increase Model 3 production in 2018 with eventual annual production of 500,00 units.
Elon Musk
Google just picked SpaceX for its first step into orbital AI
Google will launch its first Project Suncatcher AI satellite on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare next week.
Google is about to put its own AI chips into orbit for the first time, and it is paying SpaceX to get them there.
The company said Thursday that the first in-orbit test of Project Suncatcher, its research effort to find out whether space can host large-scale AI computing, will fly next week on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission.
The satellite, called MVP, is about the size of a refrigerator and carries four of Google’s Tensor Processing Units, the same chips Google runs in its ground data centers. Google originally planned to launch two custom satellites in 2027, but chose to move faster by integrating its chips into a satellite.
MVP’s solar panels supply about one kilowatt of power, and Google will run Gemini models on the TPUs only in bursts of roughly 15 minutes before the chips shut down so the radiators can shed heat. In a blog post, Google said its Trillium TPUs survived vibration testing that mimicked sustained launch loads of up to 10g, with individual components seeing 50 to 100g, and handled a radiation dose greater than a five year mission would deliver.
SpaceX and Google mull massive partnership on Musk’s orbital data dream: report
Next week’s flight, slated for October 1, follows a relationship that became public in May, when Teslarati reported that Google was in talks with SpaceX for a launch deal tied to orbital data centers. Google also holds a stake of roughly 6% in SpaceX.
The two companies are chasing the same idea from very different starting points. SpaceX’s own orbital compute program is built around the AI1 satellite, a roughly 70 meter structure derived from Starlink V3 hardware that is designed for 150 kW of peak compute, about 150 times the power MVP will draw. Elon Musk has brushed off concerns about crowding orbit with those satellites, and SpaceX is building its Gigasat factory in Bastrop, Texas, to produce them, targeting an annualized rate of about 1 GW of space compute by the end of 2027.
Musk also posted on X on Thursday that “the amount of compute in space will obviously round up to 100% of all compute.”
Google has been more cautious in public. Its research estimates that launch prices need to fall below about $200 per kilogram before an orbital data center can compete with a ground facility on energy cost, a threshold the company believes could be reached around the mid 2030s. The Suncatcher team has said it expects the effort to remain a project rather than a product for years, which leaves the first real test of its hardware riding on a rocket from the company with the most aggressive timeline in the field.
Energy
Tesla Semi factory is getting a celebration nobody expected
Tesla will inaugurate its Nevada Semi factory September 24, five months after production quietly began ramping.
Tesla says it will officially inaugurate its new Semi factory in Nevada next month. The Tesla Semi account posted the announcement on X, sharing a graphic titled “Semi Rollout” with a date of September 24. No further details were given about the format of the event or who would attend.
While Tesla’s dedicated Semi plant in Sparks, adjacent to Gigafactory Nevada, opened back in April, with the first trucks rolling off the high volume line on April 29, the timing for the factory inauguration comes at a surprise. The ribbon cutting event five months into production is a break from how Tesla has usually handled its other factories, where the first truck or car off the line typically served as the milestone moment.
Inauguration of new Semi factory in Nevada next month pic.twitter.com/a8kAlxrOOn
— Tesla Semi (@tesla_semi) August 24, 2026
The 1.7 million square foot factory was built as part of a $3.6 billion expansion Tesla announced in early 2023, and it shares a site with the battery cell lines that feed the Semi’s structural pack, a decision meant to remove the supply bottleneck that delayed the truck for years. The plant is designed for 50,000 trucks a year at full ramp. Semi program director Dan Priestley has said production “is now ramping” rather than claiming it has reached scale.
Nine years passed between the Semi’s 2017 unveiling and this stage of production, with the truck slipping from an original 2019 target through hand built pilot units for PepsiCo and a slow build out of the Nevada plant. An inauguration event now gives Tesla a stage to talk up that ramp and reset expectations for how many trucks it can begin delivering at scale.
The September date also lines up with the Semi’s next milestone. Tesla confirmed the truck is heading to Europe with a full unveiling at the IAA Transportation trade show in Hannover, Germany, running September 15 through 20. Between the Nevada event and the Hannover reveal, Tesla has roughly a week and a half in September to make the case that the Semi is now a truck being built and sold on two continents rather than tested in a handful of fleets.
Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
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