

News
Tesla's hiring ramp in 2019 bucks traditional auto trends as TSLA continues to soar
Tesla short sellers have been choking on over $2 billion in losses as Tesla share prices set record highs recently, even hitting over CEO Elon Musk’s once-take-private price of $420 per share on Monday morning. As the year closes, one can only wonder why Tesla continues to grow despite doubts from the company’s most dedicated critics. Over this time, Tesla has also engaged in a hiring ramp that increased its employee count significantly.
Thinknum Alternative Data finance editor Jon Marino zeroed in on how Tesla job postings are related to Tesla stock’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) soaring prices. Marino noted that the electric car maker’s job postings have increased 125% since the start of the second half of 2019. During the same timeframe, TSLA stock soared by as much as 75%.
“Musk has added more staffers to his manufacturing group in 2019 already, in part driven by 97% more postings since the year began. Across Tesla job posting categories, there are a handful of groups seeing more job postings since the year began, like supply chain, as well,” he wrote.
Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai and Gigafactory 4 in Brandenburg, Germany have the potential to add even more employees to the company as well. Aside from the role these facilities will play in spreading Tesla’s presence in the biggest automotive markets in the globe, they will also create new jobs. For example, Tesla is looking to hire more frontline workers for its Gigafactory 3 facility that aims to produce 250,000 and eventually 500,000 vehicles per year. Meanwhile, Tesla’s Gigafactory 4 will hire 3,000 workers to start and may later increase to 8,000 employees for the upcoming factory.
Tesla can be considered a trendsetter in the automotive industry. Beyond its amazing mission to achieve sustainable energy, it has been defying what has been happening to the rest of the automotive industry. As Tesla expands and hires more people, other American carmakers have slashed their workforces at a pace fastest since the recession about a decade ago. During the first half of 2019, car manufacturers have cut almost 22,000 jobs.
Tesla’s products are also well-loved by the market. In fact, the Model 3 is the best-selling electric vehicle in the United States this year and even bucked the EV sales slump in China, the world’s largest electric car market. Its products also redefine conventions, as evidenced by the Cybertruck. The polarizing design of the futuristic electric pickup truck has gained all kinds of opinion from all directions, but no one can deny how it almost instantaneously made autophiles go head over heels with it as the 250,000 preorders clearly suggest.
With everything in the pipeline, Tesla has not hit the ceiling. With new funding from Chinese banks to support its Gigafactory 3 in China, the smooth-sailing negotiations for the Gigafactory 4 in Germany, and the much-awaited Model Y and Cybertruck, one can only expect that more TSLA skeptics will be converted in the near future.
Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.
News
Tesla China sales rise 48% quarter over quarter in August
The automaker sold 57,152 vehicles locally, as per data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Tesla China’s retail sales showed a rebound in August, rising 48.1% compared to May, the second month of the previous quarter, and 41% compared to July 2025.
The automaker sold 57,152 vehicles locally, as per data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), while Giga Shanghai sold 83,192 units wholesale during the month.
Tesla’s wholesale deliveries
August 2025 marked Tesla China’s best wholesale month of 2025 so far. Giga Shanghai recorded 83,192 wholesale units in August, up 22.6% from July’s 67,886 units. Of these, 24,304 were Model 3 sedans and 58,888 were Model Ys, with 26,040 vehicles exported.
The Model Y remained Tesla’s standout product in China, accounting for 69% of local sales and ranking as the country’s second best-selling vehicle. The brand itself was ninth among all automakers in August, which is impressive considering the company’s BEV-only lineup.
Balancing growth against year-over-year declines
While August showed strong sequential gains, Tesla’s sales in China remain 10% lower compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date, Tesla is also down 7% against 2024 levels. That being said, over the past three months, sales have grown 12.6% compared to March through May, highlighting improved momentum in the second half of the year, as per industry estimates.
A notable portion of this momentum could very well be attributed to the introduction of the Tesla Model Y L, an extended wheelbase six-seat version of the Model Y, which also happens to be the company’s best-selling vehicle. The Model Y L’s domestic deliveries in China are already starting, so it would be interesting to see where the company’s results are in the final month of the third quarter.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk confirms Tesla has never shown Optimus V3 design yet
Optimus is a cornerstone of the company’s pursuit towards sustainable abundance.

Elon Musk has clarified that the next iteration of Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus V3, has yet to be revealed publicly. His comments were posted on social media platform on X as Tesla enthusiasts discussed recent images of Optimus V2 and V2.5.
Musk’s comment followed a recent video shared by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, which showed Musk demonstrating an updated Optimus prototype equipped with Grok AI.
Updated Optimus V2
The short video posted by Benioff showed a gold-colored Optimus unit answering questions through Tesla’s Grok AI assistant and taking tentative steps. The addition of Grok suggests Tesla is seeking to integrate conversational AI directly into Optimus, expanding its potential applications beyond mechanical movement to include workplace and consumer interaction.
The Optimus in the video was quite different from the V2 units that have been showcased by the company in the past. Its hands looked more human (though they appeared to be mannequin placeholders) and its body was painted gold. In a follow-up post, the official Tesla Optimus account teased the updated design with functional hands with the caption “I’ve been working on my figure.”
Future versions
It was then no surprise that some in the Tesla community had the impression that the refined version of the prototype featured in the new images was Optimus V3. With its more advanced hands, forearms, and sleek new paint job, after all, the unit could very well be a whole new evolution of the humanoid robot. As per Musk, however, this was not the case.
In a response to an X user who compared the progress of Optimus to Starship’s Raptor V1, V2, and V3 engines, the CEO clarified that Tesla has not shown Optimus V3 yet. He also noted that the new images of the humanoid robot were of Optimus V2.5. “We haven’t shown Optimus V3 yet. It is sublime. The second two images are V2 and V2.5,” Musk wrote in his response.
Optimus plays a huge role in Tesla’s future, with the robot expected to be a high-volume product that is a cornerstone of the company’s pursuit towards sustainable abundance. Elon Musk’s 2025 pay package also directly involves Optimus, with one of his targets being the delivery of 1 million Optimus robots.
Elon Musk
SpaceX to expand Central Texas facility with $8M Bastrop project
Bastrop is already the site of several Elon Musk-led ventures.

SpaceX is set to expand its presence in Central Texas with an $8 million project to enlarge its Bastrop facility, as per state filings.
The 80,000-square-foot addition, which is scheduled to begin construction on September 24 and wrap in early January 2026, was registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and initially reported by My San Antonio.
New investment
Bastrop is already the site of several Elon Musk-led ventures. The upcoming expansion will extend SpaceX’s office at 858 FM 1209, near Starlink’s operations and The Boring Company’s facilities. Just down the road, X is housed in the Hyperloop Plaza at 865 FM 1209.
SpaceX’s expansion reflects a steady buildup of resources in Bastrop since the private space firm established its presence in the area. The addition was praised by Tesla Governor Greg Abbott, who wrote on X that the expansion will “bring more jobs, innovations and will strengthen Starlink’s impact worldwide.”
State support
In March, Gov. Greg Abbott announced a $17.3 million state grant to SpaceX for an “expansion of their semiconductor research and development (R&D) and advanced packaging facility in Bastrop.” The project is expected to create more than 400 new jobs and generate over $280 million in capital investment.
Following the grant award, the Texas Governor also noted that SpaceX’s facility would be growing by 1 million square feet across three years to boost its Starlink program. SpaceX’s Starlink division is among the company’s fastest-growing segments, with the satellite internet system connecting over 6 million users and counting worldwide.
Recent reports have also indicated that Starlink has struck a deal with EchoStar to acquire 50 MHz of exclusive S-band spectrum in the United States and global Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) licenses. This should pave the way for Starlink to provide 5G coverage worldwide, even in remote areas.
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