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The Boring Company cleverly lays bricks on Elon Musk’s ‘Monty Python’ watchtower

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The Boring Company continues to set the stage for its tunnel opening party this coming Tuesday, with the startup’s projects in Hawthorne showing progress. Elon Musk’s Monty Python-style watchtower, for one, has started taking shape, with bricks now being overlaid on the structure’s metal framework.

The tall, rather imposing structure has its roots from one of Elon Musk’s more playful Twitter sessions. Last month, Musk lightly announced on Twitter that The Boring Company would be constructing a watchtower made of Boring Bricks on its Los Angles site, where a person dressed as a knight would be tasked to “yell insults at people in a French accent” to passers-by. A job listing for a “Watchtower Guard” was posted in The Boring Company’s official website soon after. A picture featuring several knight-clad individuals applying for the post was shared by the tunneling startup on Twitter as well. 

The Boring Company lays bricks on its ‘Monty Python’ watchtower. (Photo: Pauline Acalin/Teslarati)

Photos taken earlier this month by Teslarati photographer Pauline Acalin revealed that the initial phases of the watchtower’s construction were underway. The images, which were taken on December 4, showed that the structure’s metal framework was nearly complete. During that time, there were no Boring Bricks overlaid on the multi-story framework. Returning to the site this Friday, Pauline has found that The Boring Company is now laying some bricks on the watchtower — and it is doing so in an incredibly clever way.

As could be seen in Pauline’s recent photographs, the Boring Company is laying large pre-made sections of Boring Bricks on the watchtower’s metal framework. Using this system, the tunneling startup is able to cover large sections of the watchtower framework quickly and efficiently. With such a system in place, it would not be surprising if The Boring Company actually finishes its watchtower on time for the startup’s Hawthorne test tunnel opening party this coming December 18.

The Boring Company lays bricks on its ‘Monty Python’ watchtower. (Photo: Pauline Acalin/Teslarati)

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The construction of a watchtower made up of bricks stems from Elon Musk’s unabashed love for pop culture. Musk has openly expressed his love for the 1975 comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which is still widely regarded as one of the funniest films ever made. In one of the movie’s most memorable sequences, a sharp-tongued and interestingly articulate French guard played by actor John Cleese mercilessly taunted King Arthur by hurling multiple (and incredibly creative) insults from the top of a castle wall.

Elon Musk openly admits that he is a nerd at heart, previously expressing his interest in otherwise nerdy topics such as role-playing games and lately, Japanese animation. Musk’s love of pop culture and his nerdy tendencies are reflected in his companies. Tesla’s electric cars, for one, are loaded with features and Easter Eggs that are brimming with movie references. There’s the James Bond Lotus Easter Egg, Mad Max mode for Navigate on Autopilot, and a volume setting that goes all the way up to 11 — a reference to This is Spinal Tap. With this in mind, a Monty Python-style watchtower for The Boring Company can be described as classic Elon Musk.

The Boring Company’s opening party for its Hawthorne test tunnel was initially scheduled to be held on December 10. In a recent announcement, though, Musk stated that the event would be moved to December 18 instead.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla buyers are buying for Full Self-Driving and not for the car, data shows

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) showed a record attach rate at delivery for new vehicles in the third quarter of 2026.

75 percent of new vehicle deliveries in North America included a subscription to FSD software, up from 55 percent in the prior quarter, a 20-percentage-point sequential gain in the company’s most mature market.

Tesla Q3 2026 Earnings results: in-line revenues, slight beat on EPS

Tesla shed light on the Q3 Shareholder Deck that 75 percent of new deliveries came with an FSD subscription:

“FSD (Supervised)⁴ attach rate continued to grow, reaching over 75% of new vehicle deliveries in North America – our most mature market – a nearly twenty percentage point sequential increase. We believe that FSD is driving demand in markets where it is available, and we continue to work with regulators to get it approved in other markets. “

The higher attach rate accompanied strong growth in the overall FSD consumer base, as active subscriptions rose to 1.75 million, a 67 percent year-over-year increase. For the first time, more than half of paid customers are on the monthly subscription, which is priced at $99 per month in the U.S.

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The transition to subscriptions has accelerated since Tesla discontinued the one-time purchase option in most markets earlier this year. The recurring model improves revenue visibility and margins compared with large upfront payments. With three-quarters of North American deliveries now including FSD, the software is now an evidently large contributor to Tesla’s economics and ancillary revenue.

Geographic expansion remains important for further gains. FSD is now available in nine countries in the EU, and more than 100,000 customers have driven over 160 million kilometers. Tesla is pursuing broader EU-wide approval, with a related vote expected in December. Similar progress in additional markets could support higher attach rates beyond North America.

These results came as Tesla had a strong quarterly delivery performance of 486,532 vehicles in the quarter, which came with its largest passenger-vehicle backlog in four years. Battery supply continued to limit volume, but the company has pointed to FSD as a clear difference-maker that is helping sustain demand. As supervised capabilities improve, the attach rate will likely continue to improve.

At face value, it is a key measure of how Tesla is converting sales into autonomy progress.

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Tesla Cybercab gets a for sale date at last

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Credit: Tesla

Update: 10/22 10:51a – Para 1 consumers changed to “customers” for accuracy.

Tesla Cybercab units finally got a definitive date for when they will be able to be purchased by customers, ending speculation regarding whether the fully autonomous vehicle would be available in the near term.

During Tesla’s third-quarter 2026 earnings call on October 21, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy said the company is aiming to begin delivering its purpose-built Cybercab robotaxi to customers before year-end.

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“We’re trying to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of this year, 2026,” Moravy said. He added that production is underway on the line at Gigafactory Texas, but “all of those are currently going to our own internal Robotaxi fleet.”

Moravy explained that as operations scale, Tesla will “mainly deliver fully designed autonomous vehicles to our customers,” with the Cybercab as the first such vehicle. Initial customer deliveries will start small while the company gains experience with delivery logistics, ownership models, fleet management, and operating autonomous vehicles outside its direct control.

CEO Elon Musk reinforced the limited nature of private sales, describing the Cybercab primarily as a “transport-as-a-service” offering rather than a personal ownership vehicle like the Model 3, Model Y, or upcoming Roadster. “The vast majority of the Cybercab stuff will be Tesla-owned and transport-as-a-service,” Musk said.

The Cybercab is a two-seater vehicle developed by Tesla without a steering wheel or pedals. It relies completely on Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite and has been in production since February. Early units have been put in Tesla’s Robotaxi service as of early September, when the company launched rides to the public. Tesla previously indicated it would aim to sell Cybercabs for about $30,000.

Unsupervised Full Self-Driving is expected to ship to consumer cars during Q2 2027, Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Head of AI, indicated during the call. Early buyers or fleet operators may receive vehicles whose autonomous operation remains geographically restricted due to lagging regulatory agencies. There are some hurdles that remain ahead of Cybercab deliveries.

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Tesla Q3 2026 Earnings results: in-line revenues, slight beat on EPS

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Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported its earnings for the third quarter of 2026, marking a reasonable performance on the various financial metrics. Tesla still plans to hold a call that will field investor questions at 5:30 p.m. ET, 4:30 p.m. CT.

Here’s where Earnings came in:

  • Total Revenues: $28.046 reported vs. $28.34B expected
  • Non-GAAP EPS: $0.48 reported vs. $0.45 expected
  • Operating Margin: 2.6 % reported vs. 2.5% expected
  • Operating Income: $718M reported vs. $721M expected
  • Free Cash Flow: $1.531B reported vs. ~-$4.51B expected

Major Takeaways

Full Self-Driving (Supervised)

“FSD (Supervised)⁴ attach rate continued to grow, reaching over 75% of new vehicle deliveries in North America – our most mature market – a nearly twenty percentage point sequential increase. We believe that FSD is driving demand in markets where it is available, and we continue to work with regulators to get it approved in other markets.”

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Tesla Semi

“We began volume production of Tesla Semi, our Class 8 heavy-duty truck. The top variant can go 500 miles at full 82,000 lbs gross combination weight while achieving an efficiency of 1.7 kWh/mile. That efficiency allows the Tesla Semi to use a third of the energy used by a comparable diesel truck to haul the same payload. In a transportation market where energy is one of the largest components of total cost per mile, this will provide a meaningful advantage to Tesla Semi operators.”

SI Compute

“We plan to reach 400 MW of SI training compute by the end of the year, supporting the development of both vehicle and humanoid robot autonomy software. Additionally, we continued construction for the Austin Fab, where we plan to start commissioning equipment in 2027.”

Robotaxi

“We began deployment of Cybercab into our Robotaxi fleet in Austin. We reached nearly two million cumulative unsupervised miles for our Robotaxi service as of the end of the quarter. Operating hours in Austin are now 6am to midnight, and we expect to reduce wait times via increased fleet supply and improvement of Robotaxi orchestration algorithms. Grok is available in Cybercab with access to Grok Bot and Connectors, which allows users to manage their inbox, calendars, files, chats and tasks – all hands free via voice command – making Cybercab a mode of transport, a productivity space and, with our entertainment options, a second living room.”

Interested in ordering a Tesla? Use my referral code for three free months of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) here.

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