Tesla has a knack for making light of a situation. As tensions seem to be high over American Eagle’s latest jeans ad featuring Hollywood it girl Sydney Sweeney, the automaker saw it as a grand opportunity to show off its seat testing.

Tesla builds and does quality control on its own car seats, and they have been built at a factory just down the street from the Fremont Factory for some time. It also performs quality testing in-house.

Elon Musk shares first look at Tesla Model 3 white seats at factory

Outside of the Tesla world, there is a strange controversy going on with Sydney Sweeney and her recent ad for American Eagle, where she describes her “good jeans.” Some see it as a commercial for jeans, others see it as something else, perhaps a political statement of some sort by the clothing maker.

Nevertheless, Tesla is making light of the joke and using it as a chance to show off its in-house seat testing, stating, “Our seats robot also has great jeans.”

Here’s the post:

Our seats robot also has great jeans pic.twitter.com/BCVJEtxbnD

— Tesla (@Tesla) July 30, 2025

Tesla went on to refer to the robot as “Sydney Seatney.”

It is nice to see some companies still have a sense of humor, and as the controversy over a seemingly innocuous ad for a pair of jeans continues to rage on, it will be interesting to see who comes after Tesla for this one. It will obviously draw some attention.

The video here is actually from 2019, and not from recently. The robot and machine used in this testing phase simulate long-term use. This is one of the most crucial testing processes the seats go through during the quality assurance phase.

Tesla Robotaxi is getting another switch-up in fare pricing strategy, marking the second time the company has adjusted how much it will charge riders for a lift in one of its driverless vehicles in Austin.

This time, the change is much different.

Upon the launch of Robotaxi in late June, Tesla was only charging $4.20 per ride, regardless of the length or time spent in the car. It was an ode to previous Tesla humor, and a shoutout to cannabis culture with the comedic charge for a ride throughout South Austin.

Around the time it expanded its geofence into the phallic shape it remains in, Tesla bumped the price per ride up to $6.90, another comedic figure used by CEO Elon Musk throughout the years.

Tesla ups Robotaxi fare price to another comical figure with service area expansion

This was what rides were priced at prior to the latest adjustment, which came with the Robotaxi app update v25.7.10. Now, ride price will depend on length, as Tesla is rolling out what it is calling “Dynamic Pricing,” stating that shorter rides will cost less, and longer rides will cost more.

We received the update to our Robotaxi app late last night:

🚨 Tesla Robotaxi app v25.7.10 now rolling out!

🤖 Tesla will now use Dynamic Pricing, so short rides will now cost less than $6.90
🤖 Minor fixes and improvements pic.twitter.com/WTJeuAX8Fl

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 30, 2025

The update also included bug fixes and minor improvements to the app.

It looks as if hailing a Tesla Robotaxi from one end of the geofence to the other will cost roughly $13.70. The length of the ride is about 11 miles. The same route at about 8:30 this morning with an Uber would cost over $16:

같은 구간 우버는 약 $16.7 으로 나오네요 pic.twitter.com/asS7UWShg1

— Tsla Chan (@Tslachan) July 30, 2025

It was only a matter of time before Tesla launched this Dynamic Pricing model for Robotaxi, as it aims to expand to California in the coming weeks, and it also will broaden the Austin geofence within the next week, according to Musk on last week’s Earnings Call. He said:

“As some may have noted, we have already expanded our service area in Austin. It’s bigger and longer, and it’s going to get even bigger and longer. We are expecting to greatly increase the service area to well in excess of what competitors are doing, hopefully in a week or two.”

The pricing still appears to be more affordable than competing ride-hailing services like Uber. It will be interesting to see if Tesla is able to continue undercutting competitors with the early rollout of Robotaxi, especially as things are moving along quickly, at least according to company executives.

Elon Musk recently clarified a key detail about Tesla’s AI6 chip production deal with South Korean tech giant Samsung. As per Musk, Samsung’s leadership is aware that he would be personally involved in its upcoming factory’s operations.

Such a system, Musk noted, would allow Tesla and Samsung to achieve a real partnership.

Samsung’s AI6 production deal

When Elon Musk confirmed Tesla’s AI6 chip production deal with Samsung, there was one detail that stood out to longtime followers of the electric vehicle maker. As per the CEO, he would personally walk the lines of Samsung’s upcoming facility to ensure that the production of AI6 chips goes according to Tesla’s requirements.

“I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress. And the fab is conveniently located not far from my house,” Musk wrote in a post on X.

Musk’s comments caught a lot of attention, with some X users joking that Samsung has no idea what it signed up for. Musk, after all, is known to have extremely high demands for his employees during production ramps. He is also a leader who is extremely hands-on, as evidenced by his work during the Model 3’s production hell in the Fremont Factory.

Musk issues an assurance

Musk’s leadership style is intense, but it is also known to produce admirable results. That being said, it is also no secret that Musk’s leadership style is not for everyone. Fortunately for Samsung, the Tesla CEO noted that he has set expectations with the South Korean tech giant’s leadership, so they know what to expect when the ramp-up of the AI6 chip’s production actually happens. 

“They do. I had a video call with the chairman and senior leadership of Samsung to go over what a real partnership would be like. Use the strengths of both companies to achieve a great outcome,” Musk wrote in a post. 

While Tesla is already very experienced with mass manufacturing, producing chips at scale is still a new venture for the company. It is a venture that will likely provide benefits for Tesla, however, with noted Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo stating that that partnership could shake up the chip industry’s power balance.