Manufacturing Engineer

Tesla confirms Semi electric truck is coming to Europe, reveal at IAA August 20, 2026

FSD v15: a "step-change," according to Tesla. Tesla told JPMorgan that FSD v15 is a major jump in capability, built on seven "core technologies," with about 40% of them already running in the robotaxi fleet in Austin. Early feedback is "encouraging," per the note. Tesla shipped FSD v14 in October 2025, its first big update in roughly a year, and Elon Musk called v14.3 the "last piece of the puzzle" back in April. So v15 is at least the third version in a row pitched as the one that finally gets there. Advertisement - scroll for more content And "there" is the same place Tesla has been selling since 2016: unsupervised Full Self-Driving on a car you own. Every version has been a "step-change." Customers are still supervising. HW4 can handle it - the same thing Tesla said about HW3. Tesla told the bank that its current HW4 computer, which it calls AI4, is enough to run v15 and unsupervised FSD. At the same time, Tesla is rolling out AI4.5, a new version of the chip with roughly 10% more compute and about twice the memory. Tesla made that exact promise about the previous computer, HW3, for years before quietly walking it back. HW3 cars are now getting a stripped-down FSD v14 "Lite" instead of the real thing, and we recently reported on rising HW3 computer failures tied to that software. There's also the chip roadmap. Tesla delayed its next-gen AI5 chip to mid-2027 and confirmed the Cybercab would launch on AI4, or now AI4.5? The goalpost for "the hardware that finally does unsupervised driving" keeps sliding to the next chip. Cybercab scaling: confidence, not cars. On the robotaxi program, Tesla told JPMorgan it's confident it can scale the Cybercab in the near term. It's deliberately holding back further Model Y robotaxi conversions because of that confidence, using an "unboxed" manufacturing process, and targeting a long-run cost of around $0.30 per mile, with fleet expansion accelerating from late 2026 into early 2027. If safety levels can allow it, which has been the case more than a year into the Robotaxi program. Tesla's actual driverless service in Austin still runs on a handful of cars more than a year after launch. And there are still frequent issues with Tesla's Robotaxis despite the extremely low mileage. Tesla recently disclosed only 380,000 unsupervised miles since launching. For comparison, Waymo is at over 200 million. Meanwhile, Tesla is already mass-producing a Cybercab it can't legally sell or drive itself. "Confidence in scaling" and a scaled service are not the same thing. Optimus Gen 3: on sale in 2027, reveal still MIA. Tesla also told JPMorgan that the Optimus Gen 3 design is finalized, the supply chain is "essentially locked in," and a production line is going into the old Model S/X facility in Fremont. External commercial sales could start "as early as" the second half of 2027, with long-term capacity ambitions of about 1 million units at Fremont and 10 million in Texas. Discover more Tesla Powerwall Lease Musk had previously claimed that Tesla would have 5,000 Optimus robots last year. The reality is still only a few robots for testing. So the pitch is: a robot Tesla hasn't shown, that can't yet do a job inside its own factory, on sale to outside customers in under two years. Sure. The analyst relaying all this. Worth knowing who's carrying the message. JPMorgan replaced Ryan Brinkman, one of Wall Street's longest-running Tesla bears, with Rajat Gupta, who upgraded the stock to Neutral and set a price target around $445. Gupta came to Tesla off a bullish call on Carvana. The note mostly relays Tesla's own guidance from the Fremont visit without much pushback. Electrek's take. Top comment by jason. Typically the "last piece of the puzzle" means there are no more gaps to fill, and you literally can't add anything to it. But I'm sure they have the metaphor right this time. The useful part of this note isn't JPMorgan's rating. It's the rare, specific look at what Tesla is telling investors behind closed doors at Fremont right now. Read it that way, and every line is a Tesla claim, filtered through an analyst who just sell stocks. Stack the four claims against Tesla's own record and the pattern is hard to miss. FSD v15 is a "step-change," just like v14 and v13. HW4 does unsupervised driving, just like HW3 was supposed to. The Cybercab is about to scale, into a service, Robotaxi, that has been stuck in neutral for a year. Optimus goes on sale in 2027, despite Tesla showing nothing about the program in half a year. We'll believe unsupervised FSD on HW4 when a customer car does it, and Tesla takes responsibility, which might never happen. If you're buying an EV, powering it with home solar can cut your charging costs to nearly zero. With electricity rates up almost 10% last year and expected to keep climbing, going solar is one of the best ways to protect yourself against rising costs. And with lease and PPA options, you can do it with zero upfront cost and start saving immediately. If you want to find the best deal, check out EnergySage. It's a free service with hundreds of pre-vetted installers competing for your business, so you save 20 to 30% compared to going it alone. No sales calls until you pick an installer. Get your free quotes here. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Tesla's Semi truck is coming to take over Europe, but it might be A little late. Published Aug 20, 2026, 10:45 AM EDT Jared has spent 15 years covering the auto industry, getting his first break with autoX - one of Asia's biggest auto magazines. Since 2010, he has reviewed hundreds of cars and motorbikes around the world, worked with Top Gear, Autocar, Evo, Motoring World, and Quattroruote, served on the IMOTY jury for five years, and is a founding member of the Automotive Journalist Association of India (AJAI). Having rubbed elbows with automotive industry leaders for 15 years, Jared is practically fluent in "car guy" lingo, and rumor has it that he once convinced a car to start just by giving it a pep talk. Now the managing editor of HotCars, Jared has the challenging task of herding a team of car enthusiasts and turning their passion into coherent articles. A true motorcycle lover, he also spearheads motorcycle content for TopSpeed. Jared is now based out of Orlando, but you will still probably find him riding through the Himalayas or bashing through desert sand dunes in a 4x4, because he has trouble fitting into sports cars these days. Tesla enjoys crashing into established vehicle segments and making enough noise to wake the entire industry. It did that with electric sedans, SUVs, and even that wonderfully strange stainless-steel wedge called the Cybertruck. Its next European conquest, however, is considerably larger, heavier, and harder to park. The Tesla Semi is preparing to cross the Atlantic and challenge Europe's biggest truck manufacturers on their own turf. On paper, it has the outrageous power, futuristic styling, and monster charging hardware needed to shake up the electric heavy-truck market. The problem is that Tesla first showed this machine nearly a decade ago. While it was busy getting everything ready, Europe's established truck builders were not exactly sitting around drinking coffee. The Tesla Semi is finally heading to Europe. Tesla will present the updated Semi at the IAA Transportation show in Hanover, Germany, next month, where it plans to announce European specifications and launch details. The truck has already received a visual and technological refresh that brings it closer to the latest Model Y, although it still looks like a bullet train escaped the tracks and decided to start hauling trailers. American buyers currently get a choice of two versions. The Standard Range model can allegedly travel 325 miles between charges, while the Long Range version carries additional batteries behind its extended cab and stretches that figure to 500 miles. Tesla's UK website currently lists only the shorter-range truck, so Europeans may not receive both versions when sales begin. Power comes from a tri-motor system driving two rear axles and producing up to 1,073 horsepower. That is more grunt than many modern supercars, except the Semi uses it to drag enormous loads instead of vaporizing tires outside a fancy hotel. Tesla has not released full European hauling specifications yet, but the company claims its electric truck will be more powerful, efficient, and affordable to operate than traditional diesel rigs. Charging is another major part of the pitch. Tesla says its 1,200-kW Megachargers can replenish 60 percent of the truck's range in approximately 30 minutes. That sounds mighty impressive, although installing enough of those giant electrical firehoses across major freight routes will be just as important as building the trucks themselves. Tesla will face some big electric competition. Tesla helped push electric cars into the mainstream, but repeating that trick with trucks will not be easy. Commercial operators care less about drag-race bragging rights and more about purchase price, payload, charging access, reliability, and whether a truck can complete its route without spending half the day plugged into a wall. The 40-ton MAN eTGX is already available with outputs ranging from 328 hp to 536 hp, a maximum claimed range of 358 miles, and charging speeds of up to 1,000 kW. Mercedes-Benz also has the eActros 600, which offers a claimed range of 311 miles and will eventually support megawatt charging. Neither delivers anything close to the Semi's ridiculous four-figure output, but European trucking companies already know these brands and have established relationships with their service networks. Tesla could still disrupt the segment if its efficiency and running-cost claims survive the brutal realities of daily freight work. A 1,073-hp electric truck sounds badass, but fleet managers will be more impressed by a machine that arrives on time, carries a competitive payload, and does not throw a warning light at 3:00 a.m. somewhere outside Stuttgart. The Tesla Semi has taken nearly A decade to get here. Tesla originally unveiled the Semi in 2017 and initially planned to begin production in 2019. The first working trucks did not reach PepsiCo until 2022, and Tesla has still not disclosed exactly how many it has delivered. European sales will therefore begin almost a decade after the big rig first rolled onto a stage looking ready to bully every diesel truck in sight. There are finally signs that production is gaining momentum. Tesla has begun ramping up its dedicated Semi operation in Nevada, while Swedish freight technology company Einride recently announced plans to deploy 500 examples across North America. That is claimed to be the largest publicly announced Tesla Semi deployment yet, with deliveries beginning in September and continuing over the next two years. Europe could become a massive opportunity for Tesla, particularly as emissions regulations tighten and transport companies search for alternatives to diesel. However, the Semi is no longer arriving in an empty market. Mercedes and MAN already have electric trucks moving freight, charging networks still need serious expansion, and European regulations may require changes to Tesla's American design. The Semi certainly has enough power to kick down Europe's door. Tesla just needs to prove it did not arrive after everyone else had already entered the building.