

News
U.S. Supreme Court to hear challenge on California emission rule waiver
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a challenge from fuel companies against California’s ability to create its own emissions rules, in a case that could set a major precedent for how states handle making their own standards in efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions through electric vehicle (EV) adoption.
After the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted California an exemption from federal air pollution laws in 2022, effectively letting the state set its own vehicle emissions rules, the U.S. Supreme Court last week agreed to listen to a bid from a Valero Energy subsidiary and other fuel groups to challenge the exemption (via Reuters).
Valero’s Diamond Alternative Energy and other associated fuel business lobby groups argue that the waiver oversteps the power of the EPA under the Clean Air Act, under which the federal rules are set. The groups also argued that such a decision would lower demand for their liquid fuels, ultimately inflicting harm on their bottom line.
RELATED: U.S. Congressman urges President Biden to end EV transition goals
In the appeal, the groups also said that California was overstepping its power, acting as a “junior-varsity EPA” by making regulatory decisions to combat climate change and force the adoption of EVs upon consumersβchoices the group says the state does not have the right to make.
The decision also comes after the EPA was backed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in April, with the court throwing out a legal challenge against the waiver from a group of 17 Republican-run states. In that appeal, backers also argued that California’s ability to set its own emissions rules gave the state unconstitutional regulatory power, which they said isn’t available to other states.
The waiver has long been a point of contention, originally dating back to a 2013 decision to offer California the waiver. In 2019, the Trump administration rescinded that waiver, before the EPA was given power to reinstate it under the Biden administration in 2022.
California has also been a leader in pushing EV adoption through massive incentives, and an official ruling later in 2022 to ban the sale of new gas cars beginning in 2035. That ruling has since been followed by a handful of other states, including New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington.
Last year, California’s battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales also made up around one-third of all U.S. BEV sales, as led by Tesla.
Passed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the California ban also includes a gradual phase-out of gas vehicles set to begin in 2026, for which the state also required an EPA waiver. California has gained over 75 separate waivers since 1967, through which it has been able to lodge increasingly strict rules surrounding vehicle emissions performance and EV sales.
In February, the EPA actually loosened federal standards requiring automakers to sell a certain ratio of EVs by 2032. Previously, the agency required that automakers make 60 percent of sales come from BEVs and plugin hybrids by 2030, increasing that to 68 percent by 2032. Now, the agency mandates that manufacturers make 50 percent of their overall sales either plugin hybrids or BEVs by 2030.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
California’s proposed 2035 EV sales mandate faces scrutiny at EPA hearing


Elon Musk
Tesla releases cryptic teaser for something massive and it’s coming this week
On Sunday morning, Tesla released a nine-second teaser video of what appears to be either a vehicle wheel, fan, or some sort of propeller, but there are no real clues as to what it could be exactly.

Tesla has released a cryptic teaser for something massive, and it will release details on it this week. With many different projects in the works, there is a lot of speculation going on about what it could potentially be, but we have a few ideas.
On Sunday morning, Tesla released a nine-second teaser video of what appears to be either a vehicle wheel, fan, or some sort of propeller, but there are no real clues as to what it could be exactly.
It then ends with “10/7,” meaning it will announce something on October 7, which is this Tuesday:
β Tesla (@Tesla) October 5, 2025
Given that Tesla has been working on a handful of pretty notable projects that are set for unveiling at the end of this year, and there are some clues that seem to point in their direction with this short teaser video.
There are two projects that come to mind almost immediately: the Tesla Roadster is one, and the “E41” or affordable model is the other. Here’s what we know about both:
Tesla Roadster Demo Event
Tesla said earlier this year that it would have a demo event for the Roadster to unveil some new technologies and show off what it has been working on over the past few years.
There have been a lot of crazy things in the works for the Roadster, including a SpaceX package that would use cold-gas thrusters for an insane 1.1-second 0-60 MPH acceleration rate. This package was also supposed to help it hover, something CEO Elon Musk has teased for the past few years.
The Roadster was ready for release earlier this year, but after Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and VP of Powertrain Lars Moravy showed Musk what they had come up with, he wanted more.
Moravy said on theΒ Ride the Lightning podcast earlier this year:
“What we had come up with exceeded what we originally planned. So, Elon was like, ‘Wow, great. Let’s do more!'”
The Roadster event was coined as “the most epic demo,” and since it was planned for the end of 2025, it is totally feasible to believe this could be it.
Tesla ‘E41’ Affordable Model
Some believe the teaser could be the official launch of Tesla’s affordable model, which Musk said earlier this year is simply a stripped down Model Y.
There have been some sightings of this vehicle in the past few weeks, including one on Friday that showed the vehicle completely uncovered for the first time:
π¨ It looks like the new affordable Tesla Model Y was spotted near Giga Texas
Model Y body with the Model 3 fascia, no glass roof, and looks as if there is a front bumper camera!
Should be coming soon! https://t.co/UAXQMHjM23 pic.twitter.com/9lC5te9GnW
β TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 3, 2025
The launch of the affordable model makes sense, especially from a timing perspective. With the $7,500 EV tax credit officially coming to a close on September 30, many are wondering how Tesla will spark growth in its deliveries. A more affordable EV would be the perfect response, and it is something that Tesla has been working on for some time.
Other Potential Ideas
There are some pretty interesting ideas as to what the teaser could be apart from the Roadster or affordable model. Some believe it could be a cooling fan for a GPU cluster, which would make sense considering Tesla’s prowess in data.
Grok also made an interesting guess, stating it could be a propeller for a secret air taxi Tesla is developing. This seems sort of our of left field.
We do know Tesla hosted a handful of influencers at Gigafactory Texas this past week, so whatever the company showed them is likely what will be unveiled on Tuesday.
News
Tesla Optimus is learning martial arts in new video teasing capabilities
For the past few months, Tesla has been refining its capabilities and making some serious progress on what Optimus is capable of. This morning, Musk released a new video showing Optimus learning Kung Fu, perhaps its most impressive feat yet.

Tesla Optimus is learning martial arts, a new video released by CEO Elon Musk shows, a crazy development and advancement in the robotics project the company has been working on for a few years.
Optimus has been a major focus of Tesla for the past several years, especially as Musk has said he believes it will be the biggest product of all time and could be the biggest contributor to the company’s valuation.
For the past few months, Tesla has been refining its capabilities and making some serious progress on what Optimus is capable of. This morning, Musk released a new video showing Optimus learning Kung Fu, perhaps its most impressive feat yet:
Tesla Optimus learning Kung Fu pic.twitter.com/ziEuiiKWn7
β Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2025
The video shows Optimus working with a Kung Fu teacher, known as a Shifu, going through what appears to be some sort of routine of combinations. It’s quite impressive to see the fluidity of the movements and Optimus’s ability to keep up with Shifu.
Tesla has been “working hard” to scale Optimus production, Musk said last week, a project that has obviously confronted both AI and manufacturing teams with a variety of challenges.
The plan is to have an annual production run-rate of one million units by 2030, and there were plans to build 5,000 units this year.
Musk still believes Optimus will make up roughly 80 percent of Tesla’s value. In January, he said it would be “overwhelmingly the value of the company.”
Tesla plans to launch the Gen 3 version of Optimus soon, and although a video of a new-look prototype was released by Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, the company’s frontman stated that this was not what the next-generation prototype would look like.
Elon Musk confirms Tesla has never shown Optimus V3 design yet
This video seems to show there is still significant progress being made on the Optimus project, and it will be perhaps one of the most impressive humanoid robots available to consumers in the coming years.
Elon Musk
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 gets new release date, Elon Musk details
“Last minute bug cropped up with V14. Released is pushed to Monday, but that gives us time to add a few more features.”

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving version 14 has gotten a new release date after new details from CEO Elon Musk opened up some new perspectives on the suite.
Originally slated for an “early wide release” of v14 this past week, then a launch of v14.1 and v14.2 this week and next week, respectively, delays arose after Tesla’s Autopilot team found some issues within the software.
Tesla FSD V14 set for early wide release next week: Elon Musk
Musk detailed on X this morning that a “last minute bug” appeared before release, which has now pushed FSD v14’s release back to this Monday:
Last minute bug cropped up with V14. Released is pushed to Monday, but that gives us time to add a few more features.
β Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2025
Musk also said the delay would give Tesla the ability to “add a few more features,” which seems like an added advantage, although he did not provide any additional details on what these features could be.
In classic Musk fashion, he has teased the capabilities of this version of the FSD suite since it became public knowledge that Tesla was working on it. He said that it is the second most important update for the AI/Autopilot team since FSD v12.
V14 will have a parameter count that is ten times what previous iterations were, which should provide more accuracy and a more human-like operation.
π¨ Tesla is making “significant improvements” in FSD software and plans to increase parameter count by roughly 10x from what people are currently experiencing pic.twitter.com/r974W6ToGi
β TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 23, 2025
Musk has said v14 “feels alive” and has used the word “sentient” to describe its performance. The goal with the new FSD rollouts is to eliminate as many interventions as possible, making it as close to human driving as possible.
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Tesla FSD V14 set for early wide release next week: Elon Musk
-
News1 week ago
Elon Musk gives update on Tesla Optimus progress
-
News1 week ago
Tesla has a new first with its Supercharger network
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla job postings seem to show next surprise market entry
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla makes a big change to reflect new IRS EV tax credit rules
-
Investor's Corner1 week ago
Tesla gets new Street-high price target with high hopes for autonomy domination
-
Lifestyle1 week ago
500-mile test proves why Tesla Model Y still humiliates rivals in Europe
-
News7 days ago
Tesla Giga Berlin’s water consumption has achieved the unthinkable