News/Tesla
Cartwheel’s Yogi robot targets home companionship as Tesla’s factory bots stall
Cartwheel Robotics has unveiled Yogi, a humanoid robot designed for home companionship and light household tasks, marking a shift from factory-focused robotics to personal home assistance. Unlike Tesla's industrial Optimus robot, Yogi emphasizes emotional connection and human-like interaction, potentially positioning home robotics as a more viable market than manufacturing automation. What you should know: Yogi represents a fundamentally different approach to humanoid robotics, prioritizing safety and emotional intelligence over industrial performance. The robot will be built using medical-grade silicone and protective soft materials, making it safe for close human interaction. Features include precision-engineered high-torque actuators with overload protection and a...
read Oct 16, 2025Tesla’s ex-AI chief releases $100 DIY ChatGPT-ish toolkit
AI luminary Andrej Karpathy, former director of AI at Tesla and OpenAI co-founder, has released nanochat—a comprehensive toolkit that lets anyone build their own ChatGPT-like AI assistant for approximately $100. Released on October 13, 2025, this open-source project represents the most accessible path yet for creating a functional large language model (LLM) from scratch. Unlike previous AI-building tools that required extensive technical expertise or substantial financial investment, nanochat provides a complete "full-stack" solution. This means it handles every step of the AI creation process, from initial data processing to deploying a web interface where users can chat with their custom...
read Oct 13, 2025Elon Musk’s own Grok confirms Lucid Air beats Tesla Model S
Lucid Motors used Elon Musk's own AI chatbot Grok to validate claims that its luxury electric vehicles outperform Tesla's offerings, with the AI confirming the 2025 Lucid Air as the best luxury EV option. The marketing stunt highlights intensifying competition in the premium electric vehicle market, where Lucid is positioning itself as a more advanced alternative to Tesla's aging Model S lineup. What happened: Lucid posted a social media video asking three AI chatbots—Grok, ChatGPT, and Copilot—"What's the best luxury EV?" All three AI systems identified the 2025 Lucid Air as the top luxury electric vehicle choice. Grok specifically praised...
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Tesla faces $51M suit after California factory robot injures technician
A Tesla robotics technician has filed a $51 million lawsuit against the automaker and robotics supplier FANUC America, alleging a malfunctioning robot struck him unconscious at the Fremont factory in July 2023. Peter Hinterdobler claims the incident has already cost him over $1 million in medical expenses, with an additional $6 million expected for ongoing treatment, highlighting growing concerns about workplace safety protocols in automated manufacturing environments. What happened: Hinterdobler was helping an engineer disassemble a robot on July 22, 2023, when the machine's arm "suddenly and without warning released with great force," according to the federal complaint filed in...
read Sep 12, 2025Tesla bets on humanoid robots for 80% of its $25T future as EV sales drop 13%
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced a dramatic strategic shift, projecting that 80% of the company's value will come from its Optimus humanoid robots rather than electric vehicles, positioning Tesla as a potential $25 trillion company by 2050. This pivot comes as Tesla's core EV business faces mounting challenges, with global sales dropping 13% in the first half of 2025 and the company's U.S. market share falling to levels not seen since 2017. What you should know: Tesla plans aggressive production scaling for its Optimus robots, targeting 5,000 units this year and up to 1 million annually by decade's end....
read Sep 12, 2025Tesla incorrectly claims xAI means “eXploratory AI” in Musk pay documents
Tesla's latest proxy statement claims that Elon Musk's AI company xAI stands for "eXploratory Artificial Intelligence," but there's no evidence the company has ever publicly used this expansion. The discrepancy raises questions about Tesla's accuracy in documenting Musk's business ventures as it seeks shareholder approval for a compensation package that could make him a trillionaire. The big picture: Tesla's September 5 proxy statement outlined a ten-year compensation plan for Musk tied to aggressive earnings and growth targets that could result in him owning more than a quarter of what would be an $8.5 trillion company. What you should know: Tesla...
read Sep 5, 2025Tesla proposes new $2T pay plan for Musk tied to ambitious milestones
Tesla is asking investors to approve another substantial pay plan for CEO Elon Musk that would grant him over 423 million additional shares across 12 tranches tied to ambitious milestones over the next decade. The proposal would also increase Musk's voting control over the electric vehicle and robotics company, addressing demands he has made publicly since early 2024. What you should know: The compensation structure requires Tesla to nearly double its current market cap to $2 trillion while hitting aggressive operational targets. Musk would receive 1% equity for each half-trillion dollars of market cap growth, plus meeting production and delivery...
read Sep 2, 2025Tesla bets 80% of future value will come from robots, not cars
Tesla has unveiled "Master Plan 4.0," marking a dramatic pivot from its electric vehicle roots toward artificial intelligence and robotics as the company's primary growth engine. The new strategy positions the humanoid Optimus robot at the center of Tesla's future, with CEO Elon Musk expecting approximately 80% of the company's value to eventually come from robotics rather than automotive sales. The big picture: Tesla is fundamentally reimagining itself as an AI and robotics company rather than an electric vehicle manufacturer, betting that humanoid robots will drive exponentially greater value than cars. Key details: The Master Plan 4.0 document prominently features...
read Aug 8, 2025Tesla driver filming at NSA facility with Grok AI sparks security review
A Tesla driver filmed himself using Elon Musk's "unhinged" Grok AI assistant while driving to work at a highly classified NSA facility, inadvertently capturing restricted government property in the process. US Cyber Command is now reviewing the incident after the video, which Musk amplified to over 16 million views on X, showed the driver entering and parking at the NSA's Friendship Annex in Maryland—a sensitive cyber espionage facility where recording is prohibited under federal law. What you should know: The video shows a Tesla driver entering NSA's Friendship Annex, a classified facility in Linthicum, Maryland, while testing Grok's controversial "unhinged...
read Aug 8, 2025Tesla shuts down Dojo supercomputer team, focuses on AI5 and AI6 chips
Tesla has shut down its Dojo supercomputer team and reassigned workers to other projects, with team leader Peter Bannon departing the company. The move reflects CEO Elon Musk's strategic pivot toward consolidating AI chip development rather than dividing resources across multiple custom silicon projects, as the company increasingly relies on external partners like Nvidia and Samsung for its AI computing needs. The big picture: Tesla is streamlining its AI strategy by abandoning its custom Dojo supercomputer in favor of focusing development efforts on its next-generation AI5 and AI6 chips.• Musk explained on X that "it didn't make sense for Tesla...
read Aug 8, 2025Meta leads Big Tech in hiring and retaining AI engineers, reveals study
Meta has emerged as the top performer for hiring and retaining engineering talent among Big Tech companies, according to a new study from venture capital firm SignalFire. The report shows that over the past year, two engineers joined Meta for every one who left, demonstrating the company's ability to both attract top AI talent with competitive compensation packages and scale its workforce effectively across multiple areas. What you should know: SignalFire's headcount report reveals significant disparities in talent acquisition and retention across the tech industry. While AI startups Anthropic and OpenAI are leading in talent growth rates, their relatively small...
read Aug 5, 2025Tesla co-founder uses recycled EV batteries to power AI data centers
JB Straubel, Tesla's co-founder and former chief technology officer, is pioneering a new approach to powering AI data centers using recycled electric vehicle batteries through his company Redwood Materials. This innovative solution addresses the skyrocketing energy demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure while extending the useful life of EV batteries that still retain significant storage capacity. What you should know: Straubel founded Redwood Materials in 2017 with the original mission of creating a closed-loop battery recycling system for electric vehicles. The company has now expanded its focus to repurpose used EV batteries for grid-scale energy storage applications. These "second-life" batteries still...
read Jul 28, 2025Samsung lands $16.5B Tesla AI chip deal through 2033
Samsung has secured a $16.5 billion contract to manufacture Tesla's AI chips through 2033, with production set to take place at Samsung's new Texas fabrication facility. The deal represents a strategic partnership that will see Samsung produce Tesla's next-generation AI6 chips specifically designed for the company's self-driving vehicle technology. What you should know: This massive chip manufacturing agreement solidifies Samsung's role as Tesla's primary AI processor supplier for nearly a decade. The contract was initially spotted in regulatory filings on July 27 for an unnamed consumer tech company before Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, confirmed Tesla as the client on X....
read Jul 25, 2025Asian markets fall as Tesla drops 8% despite Wall Street’s AI gains
Asian markets declined Friday following Wall Street's record-setting session, as gains from Alphabet and AI stocks were offset by Tesla's steep drop. The mixed performance reflects ongoing uncertainty around trade negotiations, with key meetings scheduled between U.S. and Chinese officials as tariff deadlines approach. Market performance: Asian indices mostly retreated despite Wall Street's continued momentum to new highs. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.7% to 41,511.09, though markets found some relief after Trump announced a reduced 15% import tax on Japanese goods instead of the previously threatened 25% rate set for August 1. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.1% to 25,383.07,...
read Jul 14, 2025Tesla shareholders to vote on $2B xAI investment amid concerns
Tesla will hold a shareholder vote on whether Elon Musk's electric vehicle company should invest in his artificial intelligence startup xAI, the billionaire announced Sunday. The proposal comes as Musk continues consolidating resources across his business empire to compete with AI leaders like OpenAI, Meta, and Google, while Tesla shareholders grow increasingly concerned about his divided attention and outside activities. What you should know: Musk has been systematically channeling resources from his other companies into xAI as he builds his AI empire. In March, xAI acquired X (formerly Twitter), which it already used for training data and to distribute its...
read Jun 7, 2025Tesla AI chief Milan Kovac leaves after 9 years leading FSD development
Tesla's VP of AI and Optimus Engineering Milan Kovac announced his departure from the company this week after nine years leading the development of Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology and the Optimus humanoid robot program. The resignation of the Belgian engineer, who was instrumental in Tesla's autonomous driving evolution since 2016, represents another high-profile executive exit as the company consolidates its AI leadership under Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla's director of Autopilot software. What you should know: Kovac cited family obligations as his primary reason for leaving, emphasizing his need to spend more time with family abroad after years away from home. He...
read Apr 18, 2025Tesla’s AI claims fall short of Musk’s bold promises
Despite Elon Musk positioning Tesla as an AI company rather than just an electric vehicle manufacturer, experts question whether the company's massive dataset of driving videos truly gives it the edge needed to achieve autonomous driving. The gap between collecting data and creating reliable self-driving AI highlights a fundamental challenge: real-world driving scenarios are vastly more complex and consequential than the pattern recognition used in language models like ChatGPT, where mistakes are embarrassing but rarely fatal. The big picture: Tesla's autonomous driving aspirations face fundamental technical and methodological challenges that even its extensive real-world driving data may not overcome. While...
read Apr 7, 2025OpenAI’s trademark filing reveals pivot to humanoid robots as market heads toward $38 billion
OpenAI's trademark application reveals a strategic pivot beyond AI language models into robotics and consumer hardware, aligning with Goldman Sachs' prediction that the humanoid robot market could reach $38 billion by 2035. This shift reflects the convergence of artificial intelligence with physical automation, as major tech players race to develop humanoid robots that can perform real-world tasks across industrial and consumer applications. The big picture: OpenAI has quietly expanded its focus beyond language models to include hardware development, particularly humanoid robots, signaling a return to robotics after closing its division in 2021. The company's trademark application with the USPTO lists...
read Mar 28, 2025“Vibe coding” lets non-programmers create apps through AI—but experts remain skeptical
"Vibe coding" has emerged as a cultural phenomenon that democratizes software development through generative AI, allowing non-programmers to create applications by simply describing what they want. Coined by former Tesla AI head and OpenAI founding engineer Andrej Karpathy, this approach has sparked debate about the future of programming skills in an AI-powered world. Understanding the capabilities and limitations of vibe coding reveals important insights about the evolving relationship between humans, code, and artificial intelligence. What it is: Vibe coding enables non-programmers to generate entire applications by prompting AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot to write the code for them....
read Mar 18, 2025Feeling it through: “Vibe coding” is transforming development as AI handles the code
"Vibe coding" is emerging as a controversial approach to software development, championed by AI heavyweight Andrej Karpathy, former Tesla AI chief and OpenAI co-founder. This coding philosophy leverages AI assistants to radically streamline development by minimizing hands-on coding and embracing AI-generated solutions. The technique represents a significant shift in development practices, raising important questions about the balance between AI-augmented productivity and traditional software engineering disciplines as large language models become increasingly capable at code generation. The big picture: Vibe coding represents a development approach where programmers rely heavily on AI to generate code while minimizing their own keyboard interaction. The...
read Feb 8, 2025Beyond big data: How expert AI users could accelerate the path to AGI
What if the path to advanced artificial intelligence isn't through bigger datasets, but through deeper human connections? A provocative new approach suggests that carefully selected experts engaging in sustained, sophisticated dialogues with AI systems could accelerate progress more effectively than traditional large-scale training methods. This article briefly explores how a small group of high-value users, chosen for their interdisciplinary expertise and systematic thinking, might fundamentally reshape our approach to developing artificial general intelligence. Core concept: A proposed paradigm shift suggests that 1,000 high-value users engaging in deep, sustained interactions with AI models could accelerate progress toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)...
read Jan 31, 2025Rivian hopes advanced autonomy and AI will help it best Tesla
Tesla and Rivian are taking divergent paths in autonomous driving technology, with Tesla announcing a June robotaxi launch in Austin while Rivian focuses on consumer-oriented autonomous features and AI integration. Key developments: Tesla and Rivian have revealed contrasting strategies in their approach to autonomous driving and artificial intelligence integration. Tesla plans to launch its robotaxi service in Austin this June, pushing forward with full autonomy Rivian explicitly states it has no intention to compete in the robotaxi space Rivian's autonomous driving roadmap targets hands-free driving by 2025 and eyes-off-road capability by 2026 Rivian's autonomous timeline: The company is taking a...
read Nov 25, 2024Tesla is building an AI teleoperation team for remote vehicle control
Tesla's expanding autonomous technology capabilities now include remote operation of both robotaxis and humanoid robots, marking a significant development in the company's AI and robotics initiatives. Key development: Tesla is establishing a new AI Teleoperation team that will focus on providing remote access capabilities for its robotaxis and humanoid robot systems. The company has posted a job listing seeking a C++ Software Engineer with expertise in Python, 3D graphics, and Unreal engine The position offers competitive compensation, with a salary range of $120,000 to $318,000 This initiative builds upon Tesla's existing autonomous technology portfolio and expands its capabilities in remote...
read Nov 14, 2024Tesla limits advanced AI driving features to newer vehicles
The race to perfect autonomous driving capabilities continues as Tesla rolls out significant software updates, though access to the latest features remains hardware-dependent. Latest deployment details: Tesla has released version 12.5.6.3 of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, introducing end-to-end neural networks for highway driving specifically for vehicles equipped with HW4 (AI4) hardware. The update extends neural network control across highways, city streets, and parking lots for compatible vehicles End-to-end neural networks allow AI to control the vehicle directly from visual input rather than relying on explicitly coded instructions The release was initially planned for October but faced delays before its...
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