Simon of EVwire.com

EV geek researcher @theevwire. Former @Teslarati. DMs open for tips. Feel free to reach out, even to just say hi. I don't bite.

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Big changes to announce. I’ve ended my tenure at Teslarati and will be instead joining Jaan (@theevuniverse) at EVwire!

8.3 years. 7,940+ articles, or about 31%, of Teslarati’s entire 25,000-ish archive.

Trained several writers, including Joey, who is now Senior Reporter.

That’s not bad for my time with the company, I guess.

But now, I’m excited to help scale EVwire. I’ve never been in this position before, but I’m absolutely pumped AF.

Super grateful for Jaan for believing in my ideas for Tesla news (thanks for the brainstorming sessions!). Can’t wait to see how far we can take EVwire in the years to come! ⚡️👊⚡️

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Tesla’s Megapacks are almost sold out for 2027, Musk said on the Q3 earnings call.

Tesla deployed 13.7 GWh of energy storage in Q3, its second-best quarter of deployments. Energy gross margins rose from 20.4% to 33.1%, though CFO Vaibhav Taneja said that jump was primarily driven by tariff refunds and warranty true-downs.

Taneja credited extreme demand from data centers and said Tesla expects pricing and margins to keep improving.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/MQX8z4HDyh

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Tesla expects its Austin Terafab research lab to produce its first test chip around May or June 2027, with useful chips at volume targeted for Q3 2028.

Musk said Tesla will begin commissioning machinery at the lab in the first half of 2027. He said the project will need “tens of billions” in capital through early 2028, and “north of $100 billion” long term.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/Re6NG8efoB

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Tesla plans to launch Cybercab rides in Dallas next month, and it’s aiming for 24/7 Robotaxi service by the end of 2026.

Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP for AI Software, said Cybercab launched in Austin first only because Tesla wanted to “swarm” the city with the vehicles.

The same software will scale to other cities alongside the Model Y Robotaxis. Musk said the Austin Cybercab fleet has grown tenfold since launch about a month ago.

Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP for Vehicle Engineering, said Tesla is aiming to get Cybercabs to customers by the end of 2026. Musk said most Cybercabs will be Tesla-owned and offered as transport as a service.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/Q0fFvVJoHk

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Tesla’s Q3 2026 earnings call covered FSD approvals, a 5 million vehicle target and Optimus timing. Here’s the full transcript.

Musk said Europe-wide FSD approval could come “maybe within a few months,” and that he’d “be surprised if it takes longer than Q1.”

Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja said the company now has more than 1.7 million paid FSD customers globally, and for the first time more than 50% are on subscriptions.

Musk also reiterated a target of 5 million vehicles a year by around 2030. He expects Optimus deliveries to outside companies around the end of next year.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/pc9bP9U2TR

[Jaan of EVwire.com ⚡ @TheEVuniverse]

jeesh what a sorry try at a hit piece.
Naturally, this is ranking up ridiculous engagement on reddit and stuff because, you know.

facepalm of the day:

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Waymo is bringing its robotaxi service to Spain, starting with the Region of Madrid, and it’s targeting first riders in 2027.

Waymo’s electric Jaguar I-PACE vehicles will begin appearing on the region’s streets in the coming days. As in other markets, the company is starting with manual driving, then moving to technical validation with trained local autonomous specialists behind the wheel.

Waymo says data from more than 400 million fully autonomous kilometers (about 249 million miles) shows 95% fewer crashes involving serious injury or worse than human drivers in the cities it serves.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/WzNCj8xLTl

[Jaan of EVwire.com ⚡ @TheEVuniverse]

More info we gathered from the Top Gear, MotorTrend and Hagerty videos on the Roadster: https://t.co/pN5NYf5wgo

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Tesla is hiring a Semi Business Development Manager in London, a sign that the Semi is heading to the UK.

The full-time role focuses on winning and supporting Semi fleet customers. The manager will turn leads into sales contracts and guide customers through onboarding, commissioning and delivery of both trucks and charging infrastructure.

The UK drives on the left, and most trucks sold there are right-hand drive. Tesla’s Semi driver sits in a central seat that works the same on either side of the road.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/vhUgaWwayn

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Amazon’s trucking partners in Germany now have expanded access to Aral pulse’s ultra-fast truck charging network, including a megawatt park in Königs Wusterhausen near Berlin.

According to the National Charging Infrastructure Office, Aral pulse’s roughly 35 sites along strategic corridors make up Germany’s largest public ultra-fast truck charging network.

More than 50 battery-electric trucks in Amazon’s network are expected on German roads by the end of the year.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/58ZFgpZUPZ

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Hagerty, Top Gear Gear and MotorTrend have published deep-dive videos on Tesla’s Roadster, with up to 1,500 hp from two rear motors and 15% to 80% charging in 10 minutes.

Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy and Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen walked the outlets through the car. The top speed target is over 330 miles per hour (531 km/h).

The bespoke 4680 battery charges from 15% to 80% in 10 minutes, Tesla’s fastest-charging battery yet. Tesla is targeting 300-plus miles (483-plus km) of range.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/0G6Z1Aif36

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Waymo is bringing its robotaxi service to Toronto, its first Canadian market, with the first riders targeted for 2028.

Waymo vehicles will start appearing on Toronto streets in the coming days, with humans driving at first. The initial phase covers high-definition mapping, followed by testing with trained autonomous specialists behind the wheel.

Waymo is partnering with Toronto-based Element Fleet Management to handle end-to-end fleet management, and plans to add hundreds of jobs over time.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/aHXi0i61JV

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

🇸🇰 Slovakia has approved Tesla FSD Supervised, making it the ninth EU country to allow the system on public roads.

Slovakia’s Ministry of Transport recognized the provisional type approval that the Dutch vehicle authority RDW issued in April. An EU-wide decision might be due December.

Tesla’s FSD Supervised Evidence Dashboard has pooled 102 million kilometers (63.4 million miles) of European driving, and the data shows 4.1 times fewer collisions with FSD Supervised than with manual driving.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/Jhxh2TL6m5

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Tesla’s next-generation Roadster packs a 1 MW drive unit, details that weren’t covered at the unveiling.

Tesla says the battery and drive unit together deliver 1 MW, one-third more than the Model S Plaid, with half the mass. The rear drive unit packs two motors into one housing, though it remains to be seen if a third motor is present in the front.

The Roadster's UI is also retro-futuristic, with extremely smooth transitions and even a nice easter egg. Production is expected to start in 2028.

H/T @SawyerMerritt and @itskyleconner for the cool pics and vids.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/R05nY0quLU

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Tesla has unveiled the next-generation Roadster in three configurations, including a Rocket version that can fly short hops.

The Rocket is the quickest, with Tesla listing a 0-60 mph time of under 0.59 seconds and a top speed of over 230 mph (~370 km/h).

Every version offers more than 300 miles (~483 km) of range. The Performance is listed at under 1.6 seconds and the Thrust at under 0.9 seconds.

Reservations are open on Tesla’s website, but the price hasn’t been announced yet.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/OcswodmOep

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Redwood Materials is building intelligent microgrids for AI data centers, hyperscalers and heavy industry, using its Rivian partnership as the blueprint.

Redwood recovers EV batteries from Rivian and deploys energy storage at Rivian’s manufacturing facilities. The effort builds on a 10 MWh second-life system at Rivian’s plant in Normal, Illinois.

Redwood’s pitch is speed. New grid connections can take years, and the equipment needed to build them is caught in the same supply bottlenecks as the rest of the energy buildout.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/x3DQfgI5ul

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Tesla is preparing to file plans for a second production hall at Giga Berlin, more than twice the size of the existing hall.

The new building would sit north of the current plant and measure about 536,000 m² (~5.77 million sq ft), compared with roughly 219,000 m² (~2.36 million sq ft) for the existing production hall. Tesla’s long-term goal is up to 1 million vehicles a year in Grünheide.

Tesla plans to submit the permit application in December, and construction could start in 2027.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/KUKbiq8jw8

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Tesla’s Roadster event was scheduled to stream live on October 15 at 7:55 p.m. CST.

Elon Musk shared the livestream announcement with the words “Timing is everything.” Tesla fans noticed the time could be read as “1955,” a reference to Back to the Future.

Tesla first revealed the Roadster as the “one more thing” at the Semi unveiling in late 2017. In May, Tesla confirmed it will be built in Texas.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/eSuRMO85Fi

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

H.Essers has added 20 electric trucks, 10 from MAN and 10 from Mercedes-Benz, bringing its e-truck fleet to 31.

All 20 are already in operation, mainly from the company’s Belgian sites. The Mercedes-Benz e-trucks offer 525 to 575 km (326 to 357 miles) of range, and the MAN units are rated at 400 to 450 km (249 to 280 miles).

The pilot phase is now over. H.Essers ran six electric trucks from three manufacturers over the past year, and it aims to cut emissions from its own transport fleet by 42% by 2030.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/83daLPkYd6

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Tesla sold an estimated 144,094 EVs in the US in Q3 2026, more than all other EV brands combined, for a 54.0% market share.

The rest of the market combined sold 118,555 of the 262,649 EVs sold in the country. Year to date, Tesla has sold 386,194 EVs in the US, a 52.9% share.

The Model Y was America’s best-selling EV with 99,037 units, or 37.2% of EV sales. The Model 3 followed with 40,346 units, or 15.1%.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/Owb2FHPSYS

[Simon of EVwire.com @ResidentSponge]

Verne has started autonomous vehicle testing in Manchester with Pony. ai and Uber.

Manchester is Uber’s second UK robotaxi city after London, though no date has been set for public rides. Verne announced its London plans with Uber a week earlier.

Transport for Greater Manchester says permission to operate autonomous vehicles is granted by the UK Government, and that no applications have been made to operate driverless taxis in Greater Manchester so far.

More in our EVwire article: https://t.co/w8rBOwpkip