News
Tesla Top 5 Week in Review: Model 3, Gigafactory, a brush with the law, and more

The Tesla Model 3 was big news again this week, as Tesla announced a February date for pilot production. Also, no longer will occupied Supercharger stations be so stress-inspiring, as Tesla has an onboard map update that shows Supercharger location availability. With news of a proposed federal import tax a topic of serious discussion, Tesla seemed on the winning side, with its prominent domestic manufacturing. The Gigafactory construction costs rose above $1 billion this week as noted through permits that Tesla filed. And a story emerged in which another Model S driver was detained by police who investigated reports of an abduction, only to quickly ascertain that rear-facing seats were the real culprit. Here are those stories in review.
Tesla to begin pilot production of Model 3 on February 20

Red Tesla Model 3 at the vehicle unveiling event on March 31, 2016 from the company’s Hawthorne, CA Design Center.
As the more affordable all-electric vehicle in the Tesla catalog, the announcement of Model 3 pilot production staring on February 20 brought smiles to a lot of faces. The Model 3 will have a base price of $35,000, and that’s before government tax incentives. The appealing Model 3 price point is just a start: it will offer a range of at least 215 miles. The Model 3 pilot production creates a vehicle that is targeted for demonstration and evaluation, as pilot manufacturing is used to calibrate the assembly line, assess the car against design standards, and confirm quality of outside suppliers’ components. Some Model 3 pilot vehicles will be destined for safety crash tests, while others will generate media visibility. Importantly, strong demand for the Model 3 will push Tesla’s production capabilities, already exceeding 373,000 pre-orders.
Tesla unlocks real-time Supercharger occupancy data on vehicle map
Any Tesla owner will attest to the frustration that happens when you pull up to a Supercharger stall and find that it’s occupied. Knowing what’s happening at Superchargers ahead is newly improved. Tesla owners can now see Supercharger stall availability at a particular moment in time. Owners have already begun to report that data has appeared via the map app in the form of little bars over Supercharger stations that display availability. This is a very important component of Tesla’s overall goal to reduce range anxiety for its customers and to provide the smoothest and easiest vehicle experience of any currently available on the market.
Tesla on the winning end of proposed U.S. import tax
A new study suggests that Tesla would be well-positioned if a proposed federal tax on imports is implemented. Baum & Associates LLC determined that most automakers would need to add thousands of dollars to vehicle sticker prices to compensate for costs incurred with the import tax. Jaguar’s Land Rover would experience the worst case scenario with price increases near to $17,000, as it imports all its vehicles. Companies with significant domestic manufacturing would absorb only the smallest price increases among major automakers, with Ford accruing about $282 per vehicle and General Motors Co. at about $995. With its extensive domestic manufacturing, Tesla is the sole automaker that may be able to keep prices level. The study’s goals were to expose the relative impact of the tax plan on each automaker, according to Alan Baum, founder of Michigan’s Baum & Associates.
Tesla Gigafactory surpasses $1 billion in construction costs: Section D/E addendum filed
Tesla, Inc. has been granted a total of 153 building permits for its Gigafactory to date from the Storey County Community Development Department. In sum, the permits correlate with an estimated $1.03 billion in construction costs. Storey County remitted these permits after receiving $5.58 million in fees from Tesla. Twenty-nine permits are mentioned in an addendum, which total $542.65 million of construction work. Many of the other permits relate to the installation and anchoring of the equipment needed for the factory. Other permits include a nitrogen yard, a thermal energy storage tank, and the Panasonic equipment installed in Section B and C. In addition, the installation and expansion of the contractor accommodation indicated the number of construction workers on site has increased.
Tesla Model S rear-facing child seats lead to false kidnapping report
Tesla Model S owners who have opted for additional, rear-facing seats are aware that their size and location offers a fun and efficient place for youngsters to sit. The Sheriff’s Department in Newhall, California, who responded to reports of an abduction, didn’t have this same background knowledge about the Tesla Model S. It turns out that “it was not a kidnapping,” according to Lt. Rob Hahnlein, who spoke on behalf of the Sheriff’s Deparment, but, rather, an individual assisting a child into a Tesla. “The new Teslas have a weird back seat,” Hahnlein acknowledged, “and when they put the (child) in the back seat it looked like they were putting them in the trunk.” The Sheriff’s Department noted how they are obliged to investigate every kidnapping report until the situation is resolved. They also detained the Tesla driver at gun point with the child observing from the seats in question.
Investor's Corner
Tesla tailwinds could drive momentum-filled finish to 2025: analyst
Tesla is heading toward some momentum to finish out the year, one Wall Street firm believes.

Tesla has some tailwinds that could drive it toward a momentum-filled finish to the year, one Wall Street analyst is predicting.
The tailwinds are joined by some minor risks that have impacted the broader electric vehicle market, but overall, this firm believes Tesla has many catalysts moving forward.
Emmanuel Rosner of Wolfe Research believes that Tesla has plenty of things that could drive the stock upward as we approach the end of the year. With Q3 well underway, Tesla has about five months of catalysts to rely on to erase the roughly 18 percent drop in stock price it has so far this year.
At first glance, it is easy to see the things that would have investors bullish on Tesla for the rest of 2025 and even beyond. Initially, the Robotaxi launch and expansion, which spread to Northern California last night, provide potentially huge tailwinds for the company moving forward.
Along with that, and slightly related, are the advancements in Full Self-Driving that the company has made over the past few months.
This includes the potential launch of the FSD suite in regions like Europe and Australia, where the company believes it will make some progress on regulatory approval in the coming months.
Finally, Wolfe says the company’s Optimus project, which is expected to enter scale production sometime next year, is the third catalyst for Tesla moving forward.
With these three projects in motion, Tesla truly can begin to work on rebounding from a rough 2025 on the market.
Rosner writes:
“This name trades more around the narrative than the numbers. And net-net, we tactically see an improving narrative from here. Tesla has several catalysts coming up w/r/t FSD and Robotaxi, including an expansion of their AV service into several new U.S. markets (San Francisco, Nevada, Arizona, Florida, etc.). The company plans to unlock hands-free/eyes-off autonomy for FSD owners in select U.S. locations by YE25. Supervised FSD in China and Europe is expected to launch over the next ~12 months. And, Optimus is expected to enter scale production in 2026.”
Tesla is currently trading around $310 at around 3:20 p.m. on the East Coast.
News
Two driverless Waymo cars collide at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport
Two Waymo vehicles collided at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in Arizona

Two driverless Waymo cars collided at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on Wednesday, but details are incredibly slim as the accident has barely been mentioned on many social media platforms.
The video of the two Waymo vehicles was shared on Reddit’s r/SelfDrivingCars subreddit by u/HIGH_PRESSURE_TOILET (an interesting username), showing the two Jaguar I-PACE EVs at a standstill.
They were still making contact in the video, with one front driver-side quarter panel still in contact with the other’s front passenger door:
🚨 Waymo accident in Arizona at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix: https://t.co/UjyWvu3ZGF pic.twitter.com/Z5ASKMEuXw
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 30, 2025
There are relatively no details on the matter, but we reached out to Waymo earlier today, and an employee was able to share the following information.
Waymo told Teslarati that the accident occurred at a low speed, which is evident based on the lack of major damage done to either vehicle. Waymo did not reveal a specific speed at which the accident occurred, but they did mention it was a low speed.

The message Waymo’s vehicles showed after the accident in Phoenix. (Credit: Reddit | u/HIGH_PRESSURE_TOILET)
Additionally, there were no passengers inside either vehicle at the time of the crash. The cause of the accident is still unknown, but the company is currently investigating any potential causes and aims to have more answers in the coming days.
This is an expected growing pain of driverless vehicles, as autonomous rides are still in their very early phases. We have seen Waymo vehicles encounter a variety of challenges over the past several years, including getting stuck at construction zones in other cities.
Here’s one example of one nearly driving into a trench:
Waymo self driving car almost drives into a trench at construction site
Waymo is in direct competition with Tesla Robotaxi, which is operating in both Austin, Texas, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Waymo operates in both of these areas.
As Waymo updates us with more details, we will share them here and update the article.
News
Tesla tips off where it wants to expand Robotaxi next
Tesla looks to have its sights on several major cities in the United States to expand Robotaxi operation.

Tesla has tipped off where it wants to expand its Robotaxi ride-hailing platform next, as it has launched rides in the San Francisco Bay Area on Thursday.
Austin, Texas, and the Bay Area of California are the two areas where Tesla is currently operating its ride-hailing service. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat, whereas in California, the rides will operate with someone in the driver’s seat.
This is a regulatory difference, but it is not all bad. California’s geofence for the ride-hailing service is nearly 70 miles long and spans from above San Francisco to the south, all the way down to San Jose.
However, this is not where Tesla is stopping. Expansion is going to occur when Tesla is ready to do so, but it is not being conservative with its expectations.
During last week’s Q2 2025 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he expects half of the U.S. population to have access to Robotaxi by the end of the year:
“As we get the approvals and prove out safety, we will be launching the autonomous ride-hailing across most of the country. I think we will probably have autonomous ride-hailing in probably half the population of the US by the end of the year. That’s at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals. I think we will technically be able to do it. Assuming we have regulatory approvals, it’s probably addressing half the population of the US by the end of the year. We are being very cautious. We do not want to take any chances, so we are going to go cautiously. But the service areas and the number of vehicles in operation will increase at a hyper-exponential rate.”
In order to do this, Tesla will need to expand to additional cities. A recent list of job postings captured by Tesla Yoda on X showed that the automaker is hiring in major metropolitan areas of the U.S. to reach more people.
🚨 Tesla appears to be looking to expand Robotaxi to the following areas, based on job postings:
– Palo Alto, California
– Brooklyn, New York
– Houston, Texas
– Farmer’s Branch, Texas
– Tempe, Arizona
– Henderson, Nevada
– Tampa, Florida
– Clermont, Florida
– Miami, Florida https://t.co/zhf37sNKIu pic.twitter.com/h2bDpbiSMg— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 31, 2025
The cities listed in the job postings are:
- Palo Alto, California
- Brooklyn, New York
- Houston, Texas
- Dallas, Texas
- Tempe, Arizona
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Tampa, Florida
- Orlando, Florida
- Miami, Florida
Accessing markets like New York City, Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami, Tampa, and Orlando will enable Tesla to gain access to more customers. These are also major hotspots for tourism in the United States, where people might be able to get Tesla Robotaxi rides during trips or vacations.
These cities are unconfirmed to be in Tesla’s sites as it has not made any official statements about where it will expand in the future. However, these job postings are a good indication of where it could be looking in order to expand.
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