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Tesla Robotaxi gets listed as vehicle “in development” in Q2 update letter
In previous quarters, Tesla’s Update Letters have only listed the words “future product” when referring to upcoming projects that are in development. This changed in the Q2 2022 Update Letter, as Tesla indicated that the next vehicle it would be developing after the Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, and Roadster would be the Robotaxi.
References to Tesla’s Robotaxi have been shared by CEO Elon Musk in the past, though the vehicle that would be used in the service has somewhat been updated over the years. In Elon Musk’s Master Plan Part Deux and in 2019’s Autonomy Day, Musk suggested that Tesla’s Robotaxi service would be comprised of vehicles like the Model 3.
Tesla seemed to double down on this strategy when it launched its Model 3 leasing program. Unlike traditional leasing systems, Model 3s that were under lease were not available for purchase once the lease matured. According to Tesla, this was because it would be using the off-lease vehicles for its autonomous ride-haling network.
More recently, and as the FSD Beta program expanded, Tesla’s strategy for its own Robotaxi fleet appears to have changed. During the Cyber Rodeo at Gigafactory Texas in April, Elon Musk noted that the Robotaxi would be a completely new “futuristic” vehicle. This suggested that Tesla would be designing a dedicated car for its ride-hailing service.
More comments about the upcoming vehicle were shared later during the Q1 2022 earnings call, when CEO Elon Musk provided a few hints about the Robotaxi’s features. According to Musk, Tesla’s Robotaxi will be built around FSD, so it would not even have steering wheels or pedals anymore.
“We’re also working on a new vehicle that I alluded to at the Giga Texas opening, which is a dedicated robotaxi that’s highly optimized for autonomy, meaning it would not have [a] steering wheel or pedals. And there are a number of innovations around it that I think are quite exciting. But it’s trying to achieve the lowest — fully considered — cost-per-mile, cost-per-kilometer, accounting everything. I think it’s gonna be a very powerful product,” Musk said.
Very few details about the Robotaxi have been shared by Tesla apart from Elon Musk’s brief comments on the vehicle. However, considering comments from Tesla executives during the Q2 2022 earnings call, it would definitely seem that the Robotaxi will be built with simplicity and efficiency in mind.
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Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
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Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
Tesla plans to supply over 100 Megapack units to support a large stationary storage project in Japan, making it one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities.
Tesla’s Megapack grid-scale batteries have been selected to back an energy storage project in Japan, coming as the latest of the company’s continued deployment of the hardware.
As detailed in a report from Nikkei this week, Tesla plans to supply 142 Megapack units to support a 548 MWh storage project in Japan, set to become one of the country’s largest energy storage facilities. The project is being overseen by financial firm Orix, and it will be located at a facility Maibara in central Japan’s Shiga prefecture, and it aims to come online in early 2027.
The deal is just the latest of several Megapack deployments over the past few years, as the company continues to ramp production of the units. Tesla currently produces the Megapack at a facility in Lathrop, California, though the company also recently completed construction on its second so-called “Megafactory” in Shanghai China and is expected to begin production in the coming weeks.
READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Megapacks help power battery supplier Panasonic’s Kyoto test site
Tesla’s production of the Megapack has been ramping up at the Lathrop facility since initially opening in 2022, and both this site and the Shanghai Megafactory are aiming to eventually reach a volume production of 10,000 Megapack units per year. The company surpassed its 10,000th Megapack unit produced at Lathrop in November.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call last week, CEO Elon Musk also said that the company is looking to construct a third Megafactory, though he did not disclose where.
Last year, Tesla Energy also had record deployments of its Megapack and Powerwall home batteries with a total of 31.4 GWh of energy products deployed for a 114-percent increase from 2023.
Other recently deployed or announced Megapack projects include a massive 600 MW/1,600 MWh facility in Melbourne, a 75 MW/300 MWh energy storage site in Belgium, and a 228 MW/912 MWh storage project in Chile, along with many others still.
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.
Tesla highlights the Megapack site replacing Hawaii’s last coal plant
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Elon Musk responds to Ontario canceling $100M Starlink deal amid tariff drama
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said, opens new tab on February 3 that he was “ripping up” his province’s CA$100 million agreement with Starlink in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs on Canadian goods.
Elon Musk company SpaceX is set to lose a $100 million deal with the Canadian province of Ontario following a response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply 25 percent tariffs to the country.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service launched by the Musk entity SpaceX, will lose a $100 million deal it had with Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced today.
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts.
Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will…
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) February 3, 2025
Ford said on X today that Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts:
“We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.”
It is a blow to the citizens of the province more than anything, as the Starlink internet constellation has provided people in rural areas across the globe stable and reliable access for several years.
Musk responded in simple terms, stating, “Oh well.”
Oh well https://t.co/1jpMu55T6s
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2025
It seems Musk is less than enthused about the fact that Starlink is being eliminated from the province, but it does not seem like all that big of a blow either.
As previously mentioned, this impacts citizens more than Starlink itself, which has established itself as a main player in reliable internet access. Starlink has signed several contracts with various airlines and maritime companies.
It is also expanding to new territories across the globe on an almost daily basis.
With Mexico already working to avoid the tariff situation with the United States, it will be interesting to see if Canada does the same.
The two have shared a pleasant relationship, but President Trump is putting his foot down in terms of what comes across the border, which could impact Americans in the short term.
Armored Tesla Cybertruck “War Machine” debuts at Defense Expo 2025
Tesla Megapacks chosen for 548 MWh energy storage project in Japan
