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Tesla top 5: Week in review, January 28

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It’s been a week in which we’ve seen Wall Street traders sheepishly admitting that their doom-and-gloom forecasts about Tesla stocks were just a bit off. The Model 3, with its important new target audience, was highlighted as one of the key stories to watch for 2017. Elon’s been tweeting again, this time about his newest idea to build a tunnel beneath LA’s notorious traffic bottlenecks. Also, Musk’s endorsement of Tillerson for Secretary of State did cause a few raised eyebrows, but his rationale did make sense. And Tesla is back in the courts, this time to sue a former exec for allegedly stealing proprietary information.

Trump effect takes hold of Tesla’s (TSLA) stock price

Tesla stock has been on the rise, making gains since the Q4 earnings report came in. Morgan Stanley automotive analyst Adam Jonas upgraded Tesla’s target price, citing “overlapping interest” with Trump in creating technology and manufacturing jobs. We at Teslarati conceded the “Trump effect” but also credited Tesla’s vivacious performance and surplus cash on hand as making a difference in 2017 Tesla stock projections. So, too, is Tesla’s ability to sell carbon credits to other automakers as well as improvements in their automotive production.

Why is this significant?

Tesla’s Model 3 will be big news in 2017 and why you should care

All along, Elon Musk has reiterated that his plan for Tesla has only started with selling luxury cars like the Model S sedan and Model X SUV. Ultimately, the long term goal has been to draw upon resulting revenue to develop an upscale but much more affordable car. Enter the Model 3 at a starting price of $35,000. Its sale is more than just another model that will broaden Tesla’s appeal: selling the Model 3 will mean introducing sustainable transport to a larger segment of the population and slowing climate change through decentralized energy generation.

Why is this significant?

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Elon Musk plans to dig a tunnel from SpaceX to likely LAX airport

Elon Musk's tunnel will connect SpaceX with nearby LAX airport

Elon Musk’s tunnel will connect SpaceX with nearby LAX airport

In December, Musk tweeted that “traffic is driving me nuts.” The result? He announced that he intended to open “The Boring Company,” which would build a tunnel boring machine as part of a traffic deterrent alternative. This week, Musk said it’s on the verge of happening: he is serious about his tunnel, and “exciting progress” has been made on tunnel plans. His most recent update, announced via Twitter, were that there is a “plan to start digging in a month or so.” The tunnel is project to begin in Hawthorne, California at the intersection of Crenshaw and the 105 Freeway, five minutes from LAX— oh, yeah, and conveniently located, Musk adds, “across from my desk at SpaceX.”

Why is this significant?

Why Musk is supporting former Exxon Mobil CEO for Secretary of State

Controversial Rex Tillerson received narrow approval as Secretary of State this week. Musk’s response? “Rex is an exceptionally competent executive, understands geopolitics and knows how to win for his team. His team is now the USA. I share The Economist’s opinion that he should be given the benefit of the doubt unless his actions prove otherwise.”  Musk rationalized his stance on Tillerson’s support for a carbon tax. “This is what is really needed to move the needle,” he added, because a carbon tax is the “best tool for fighting climate change.”

Why is this significant?

Ex-Tesla Director of Autopilot Software sued over accusations of stealing proprietary info

Tesla is in the courts again, with a recent series of court filings saying that a former employee who left to set up a rival business has stolen company secrets and lured away key staff. Sterling Anderson, who came on board with Tesla in 2014 as a senior product manager working on the Model X SUV and later became director of the Autopilot team, may have broken his contractual agreement with Tesla. Enticing staff moves away from Tesla and to Anderson’s new car company with working title “Aurora,” among other things, breaches a clause that prohibits any headhunting prior to a 12 month embargo.

Why is this significant?

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Carolyn Fortuna is a writer and researcher with a Ph.D. in education from the University of Rhode Island. She brings a social justice perspective to environmental issues. Please follow me on Twitter and Facebook and Google+

Elon Musk

Tesla’s next-gen Optimus prototype with Grok revealed

The video shows a new Optimus prototype answering questions and taking some very robotic steps, evidently revealing that the next-generation version is in its early stages of development.

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Tesla’s next-generation Optimus robot with AI assistant Grok has been revealed in a new video shared on X.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff last night, and it appears the frontman gave Benioff an exclusive look at some upcoming technology.

Tesla talks Semi ramp, Optimus, Robotaxi rollout, FSD with Wall Street firm

The video shows a new Optimus prototype answering questions and taking some very robotic steps, evidently revealing that the next-generation version is in its early stages of development. It features Grok for some additional utility, as it answered questions Benioff asked in the short video.

Here’s what was uploaded to X:

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It appears that there are several big changes to this next-generation version of Optimus, some of which have been discussed by Musk and Tesla in the past.

The first is purely cosmetic, but the gold color that Optimus is wearing in this is a new and fresh look that we have not seen before.

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Perhaps the most interesting change that is evident here is the hands, which are much more detailed than past versions of Optimus:

However, we’re not too sure that these are what will be released with the next-gen Optimus, because they don’t appear to be functional, and they are more reminiscent of mannequin hands than anything.

The hands on Optimus have been a significant part of the program, as they are among the most crucial pieces of equipment on a robot. It needs to be able to perform both delicate and more imposing tasks. Tesla has aimed for Optimus to be able to thread needles or play the piano.

It was one of the most discussed improvements the company mentioned in past comments regarding how it planned to improve from Gen 2 to this next version.

Musk mentioned regarding Optimus:

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“Next-generation Optimus hand, which we have in prototype form, has actuators that have moved to the forearm, just like humans, and they operate the fingers through cables, just like human hands.”

Within Optimus lies a significant opportunity for Tesla to gain considerable strength in terms of market share and valuation.

If Tesla can efficiently develop and deploy the humanoid robot over the next several years, the company stands to gain, as companies will utilize it for tasks that require tedious labor.

Musk recently said Optimus will be a major contributor to Tesla’s valuation moving forward. He believes it will make up roughly 80 percent of the company’s value.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk to provide more details for Master Plan Part IV

Musk stated that he would be adding specifics to the plan in a later update.

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Credit: xAI/X

Tesla CEO Elon Musk will be adding more specifics to the recently-released Master Plan Part IV. Musk shared the update on social media platform X amidst conversations about the general nature of the Master Plan Part IV. 

In a conversation on X, Musk responded to a post from Tesla retail shareholder and bull Dave Lee, who observed that the currently released Master Plan Part IV could really just be the introduction to the real plan due to its absence of specifics.

Elon Musk responded, stating that he would be adding specifics to the plan in a later update. “Fair enough. Will add more specifics,” Musk wrote in his post.

Tesla has been following Elon Musk’s Master Plans for decades. The first Master Plan, released in 2006, outlined the company’s path from the original Tesla Roadster to the Model 3, as well as the first steps for Tesla Energy. Master Plan Part Deux, released in 2016, covered the ramp of Tesla Energy, the expansion of Tesla’s vehicle lineup, and the rollout of a Robotaxi service.

Master Plan Part 3 was more ambitious as it was generally an in-depth proposal for achieving a global sustainable entry economy by transitioning to electricity-powered vehicles, homes, and industry, which will, in turn, be powered by renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Master Plan Part 3 also included a five-step plan to accomplish this, allowing the world to transition to a fully electrified future. 

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Master Plan Part IV, which was released a few days ago, focused on automation and artificial intelligence to achieve sustainable abundance. But while the first two Master Plans were very clear and specific and Master Plan Part 3 was very in-depth, Master Plan Part IV was quite general and vague in comparison. It was easy to tell that Optimus would play a big role in the pursuit of sustainable abundance, but apart from that, there were no specifics as to how Tesla intended to achieve its goals.

Fortunately, these specifics would be discussed by Musk in a later update to the plan.

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Tesla just had its best wholesale month this year in China

Tesla China’s wholesale figures include both vehicles that are sold domestically and exported abroad.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla China just had its best wholesale month this 2025 so far. In August, the electric vehicle maker sold 83,192 vehicles wholesale, a 22.55% increase compared to July 2025’s 67,886 units.

Tesla China’s wholesale figures are still down year-over-year, but the company’s momentum seems notable, especially with the arrival of the Model Y L.

August 2025 figures

As noted in a CNEV Post report, August 2025’s 83,192 wholesale figures are 4.04% less than the 86,697 units that were sold in the same period last year. It is, however, a 22.55% improvement from the previous month. From January to August, Tesla China sold 515,552 units wholesale, a 12.24% year-over-year decrease. 

It should be noted that Tesla China’s wholesale figures include both vehicles that are sold domestically and exported abroad. With this in mind, August’s results bode well for Tesla China, as it suggests that Gigafactory Shanghai is now hitting its pace with both its domestic deliveries and its exports. Giga Shanghai serves as Tesla’s primary vehicle export hub.

Model Y L factor

Tesla had a challenging first quarter this year, thanks in part to the changeover to the Model Y across the Fremont factory, Giga Texas, Giga Shanghai, and Giga Berlin-Brandenburg. This changeover resulted in low sales in the first quarter. Political controversies surrounding Elon Musk and violence against Tesla stores and vehicles in the first and second quarters in the United States and Europe did not help much either.

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This Q3, however, Tesla seems to be hitting its stride, especially in China. The launch of the new Model Y L has allowed Tesla to compete in the six-seat, large SUV segment, a market that was previously closed to the standard Model Y. Reports have suggested that Tesla China has been seeing a lot of demand for the Model Y L, which should help the company achieve higher sales this quarter and the remaining months of the year.

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