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Tesla’s 2023 in review: NACS adoption, Cybertruck launch and more

Credit: @sarahalfar3/X

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Another busy year is coming to an end, closing yet another chapter in Tesla’s journey to advance sustainability. As we prepare for what’s expected to be an eventful 2024, it’s also worth looking back on Tesla’s year in 2023 to highlight some of the company’s many major developments.

Some of Tesla’s important accomplishments in 2023 included the launch of the highly anticipated Cybertruck and the redesigned Model 3 “Highland,” as well as the widespread adoption of the automaker’s charging hardware across the North American auto industry.

Other important developments not highlighted in the list below included Tesla’s industry-rocking price cuts early in the year, and the company’s increasing production of giant Megapack batteries.

The year was a little quiet in Solar and Powerwall deployment and Semi production, though what Tesla lacked in these areas, the company arguably made up for with several other crucial developments.

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Below you can see a list of some of Tesla’s most notable stories in 2023.

Tesla announced Gigafactory Mexico

At its Investor Day event earlier this year, Tesla officially announced plans to build a new Gigafactory in Mexico to help build its next-generation EV platform. Set to be constructed in the state of Nuevo León, Tesla recently gained federal land use permits, allowing it to begin construction on the site.

Tesla detailed its Master Plan part three

In April, Tesla shared its Master Plan part three, detailing the company’s proposal for a path to reaching a sustainable global energy economy. The plan followed the Tesla Master Plan parts one and two, which were shared by the company in 2006 and 2016, respectively.

Ford adopted North American Charging Standard (NACS), others followed

In a Spaces call on X in May, Ford CEO Jim Farley spoke with Elon Musk and officially announced the legacy automaker’s plans to adopt Tesla’s charging hardware, dubbed the North American Charging Standard (NACS). The news meant that Ford EVs would someday gain access to the Supercharger network, marking the first step in Tesla’s plans to open the charging network to all EVs.

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Since then, every startup and major automaker has followed suit, with the exception of Chrysler-Dodge parent company, Stellantis.

Tesla began producing Dojo supercomputer

Tesla began production of the Dojo supercomputer in July, after the project was originally unveiled during AI day in 2021. The supercomputing cluster is expected to be able to process large streams of data to perform advanced AI and machine learning computations, and it’s projected to become one of the top supercomputers worldwide in the coming months, offering applications from the Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta and beyond.

Elon Musk live streamed FSD beta v12, later rolling early versions out to employees

Speaking of the FSD beta, Musk in August shared a live stream of the then-upcoming FSD version 12, which the CEO has touted as an important key to unlocking full autonomous driving. More recently, Musk confirmed that the FSD beta v12 was starting to roll out to employees, and it has been confirmed to be hitting over 15,000 employee-owned vehicles ahead of a wider release to the public.

Tesla’s FSD beta program also reached 500 million cumulative miles driven in October, representing a massive amount of real-time data for the automaker’s AI to learn from.

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Tesla launched the redesigned Model 3 “Highland”

After several months of speculation that Tesla would be releasing a redesigned version of its popular Model 3 sedan, the automaker held a premiere event in Norway in late August, officially launching the refreshed “Highland” design. Initial customer deliveries of the redesigned Model 3 have since been rolling out across much of Europe, Asia, and other markets like Australia and New Zealand.

While the Model 3 Highland isn’t yet available in North American markets, it’s widely expected to be launched in early 2024.

Continued developments to Tesla’s Optimus program

While there weren’t any breakout news stories or an official release for Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot, the company did highlight its continued developments for the product. Tesla has been ramping up hiring for the Optimus team, featuring videos showing off how the robot can now sort objects autonomously, perform yoga poses, dance and more.

More recently, Musk predicted that Optimus will be able to thread a needle in just a year, and manufacturing expert Sandy Munro says he expects that the humanoid robot will begin being used in Tesla’s factories as soon as 2024.

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Tesla launched BP Supercharger partnership

In the first deal of its kind, Tesla sold $100 million worth of Supercharging equipment to BP (formerly British Petroleum) in October, paving the way for future commercial deals that could result in a major revenue stream in the future — especially as Tesla’s NACS takes shape as the charging standard in the next few years.

Tesla launched Cybertruck with delivery event

Last but certainly not least, Tesla held the Cybertruck delivery event late last month, after initially unveiling the vehicle over four years ago in November 2019. Initial deliveries of Tesla’s “Foundation Series” launch edition Cybertrucks have been going out to employees throughout this month, and many reservation holders have been invited to place their own orders for the vehicle.

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Elon Musk to discuss Tesla, SpaceX future plans in company talks

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What are your thoughts? Did I miss anything important that Tesla did in 2023? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving shows stunning maneuver in Europe to silence skeptics

In a striking demonstration of autonomous driving prowess, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system recently showcased its capabilities on the narrow rural roads of the Netherlands. Captured in two in-car videos, the system encountered scenarios that would challenge even the most experienced human drivers.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Full Self-Driving, fresh on the heels of its approval for operation on European roads for the first time, showed off a stunning maneuver that will certainly silence any skeptics on the continent.

Fresh off its approval in the Netherlands, Full Self-Driving is working toward a significant expansion into more parts of Europe.

In a striking demonstration of autonomous driving prowess, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system recently showcased its capabilities on the narrow rural roads of the Netherlands. Captured in two in-car videos, the system encountered scenarios that would challenge even the most experienced human drivers.

In the first clip, a wide tractor occupied more than half the lane on a tight two-way road. Rather than braking abruptly or forcing a collision risk, FSD smoothly edged the vehicle onto the adjacent bike path—using the extra space with precision—before seamlessly returning to the lane once clear.

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The second clip was equally demanding: while overtaking a group of cyclists, an oncoming car approached at speed.

FSD maintained a safe, minimal buffer to the cyclists while timing the pass perfectly, avoiding any swerve or hesitation that could unsettle passengers or other road users.

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This maneuver highlights FSD’s advanced spatial reasoning and predictive planning. On roads often under three meters wide, with no room for error, the system calculated available clearance in real time, incorporated shoulder and path geometry, and executed a controlled deviation without compromising safety.

It treated the bike path as a legitimate extension of navigable space, something many drivers might hesitate to do, while respecting Dutch road norms and cyclist priority.

Such feats align closely with a growing library of impressive FSD maneuvers documented on camera worldwide.

In urban Amsterdam, for instance, FSD has navigated the world’s densest cyclist environments, weaving through hundreds of unpredictable bike movements on canal-side streets with tram tracks and pedestrians.

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One uncut drive showed it yielding smoothly at crossings, overtaking where needed, and even handling a near-perfect auto-park in a tight residential spot, demonstrating the same low-speed precision seen in the rural clips.

Teslas using FSD have tackled turbo roundabouts in the Netherlands, complex multi-lane circles notorious for geometry challenges, merging confidently while yielding to traffic. Similar clips depict smooth handling of construction zones, emergency vehicle pull-overs, and gated parking barriers, where the car stops precisely, waits for clearance, and proceeds without driver input.

Collectively, these examples illustrate FSD’s evolution toward handling the unpredictable.

The rural Netherlands maneuvers aren’t isolated. Instead, they reflect a pattern of spatial awareness, cyclist deference, and traffic anticipation seen from city streets to highways.

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As FSD continues refining through real-world data, videos like this one are certainly building a compelling case for its readiness on Europe’s varied roads.

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Tesla utilizes its ‘Rave Cave’ for new awesome safety feature

Part of the massive interior overhaul of both the Model 3 “Highland” and Model Y “Juniper” was the addition of interior accent lighting to help bring out the mood of the vehicle, increase the customization of the interior, and to create a unique listening experience.

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Credit: Tesla | X

Tesla is utilizing its ‘Rave Cave’ for an awesome new safety feature that will arrive with the upcoming Spring Update for 2026.

Part of the massive interior overhaul of both the Model 3 “Highland” and Model Y “Juniper” was the addition of interior accent lighting to help bring out the mood of the vehicle, increase the customization of the interior, and to create a unique listening experience.

Tesla added a Sync Lights feature that will strobe the accent strips with the beat of the music.

It is one of the most unique and one of the coolest non-functional features of a Tesla, as it does not improve the driving of the vehicle, but makes it a cool and personal addition to the interior.

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However, Tesla is going to take it one step further, as the Rave Cave lights will now be used for blind spot recognition. This feature will be added as the Spring 2026 Update starts to roll out.

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Tesla writes:

“Accent lights now turn red when an object is in your blind spot and your turn signal is engaged, or when an approaching object is detected while parked.”

This neat new safety feature will now increase the likelihood of a driver, who is operating their Tesla manually, of seeing the blind spot warnings that are currently available on the A pillar and on the center touchscreen.

These new alerts will now warn drivers of cross traffic as they back out of a parking space with little to no visibility of what is coming. It is a great new addition that will only increase the safety of the vehicles, while also utilizing something that is already installed in these specific Model 3 and Model Y units.

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The Model 3 and Model Y were the central focus of the Spring 2026 Update, especially considering the fact that the Model S and Model X are basically gone, with only a few hundred units left. Additionally, Tesla included new Immersive Sound and Car Visualization for the Model 3 and Model Y specifically in this new update.

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Tesla parked 50+ Cybercabs outside its Texas Factory with some crash tested

Dozens of Tesla Cybercabs have been spotted at Giga Texas crash testing facility ahead of launch.

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Tesla Cybercab fleet spotted at Gigafactory Texas [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)
Tesla Cybercab fleet spotted at Gigafactory Texas on April 13, 2026 [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)

Drone footage captured by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer shows over 50 units of Tesla Cybercab at the Austin factory campus, including several units clustered by Tesla’s on-site crash testing facility.

The outbound lot at Gigafactory Texas sits just outside the factory exit and serves as the primary staging area where finished vehicles are held before being loaded onto transport carriers or dispatched for validation testing. On any given day, the lot holds a mix of Model Y and Cybertruck units alongside the growing Tesla Cybercab fleet, as can be seen in the drone footage captured by Joe Tegtmeyer.

Tesla Cybercab fleet spotted at Gigafactory Texas [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)

Tesla Cybercab fleet spotted at Gigafactory Texas on April 13, 2026 [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)

Roughly 50 Cybercab units are visible across the campus, parked in tight organized rows. Most of the units visible still carry steering wheels and pedals, temporary additions Tesla included to satisfy current safety regulations while the vehicles accumulate real-world data ahead of full regulatory approval for a steering wheel-free design.

Tesla Cybercab fleet spotted at Gigafactory Texas [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)

Tesla Cybercab fleet spotted at Gigafactory Texas [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)

Tesla operates dedicated Crash Labs at both its Giga Texas and Fremont facilities that are purpose-built for controlled structural crash tests. Historically, automakers begin intensive crash testing roughly one to two months before volume production kicks off. The Cybertruck followed almost exactly that pattern. The Cybercab appears to be on the same track facility that we first saw back in October 2025.

Tesla Cybercab crash test units spotted at Gigafactory Texas [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)

Tesla Cybercab crash test units spotted at Gigafactory Texas [Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer)

The first production Cybercab rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026. Volume production is now targeted for April. Musk previously wrote on X that “the early production rate will be agonizingly slow, but eventually end up being insanely fast,” and separately stated Tesla is targeting at least 2 million Cybercab units per year. Commercial robotaxi service in Austin is targeted for late 2026.

 

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