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Tesla’s stock (TSLA) is free-falling today as its newly unveiled robot is getting ridiculed, but Elon Musk claims people don’t understand the value.

Tesla’s stock is down 8% today while the Nasdaq is up 2%. This is one of Tesla’s biggest drops of the year, and it comes off of two separate events that happened since the last market close on Friday.

Yesterday Tesla disclosed its Q3 delivery and production results, and it came a bit short of expectations, though it was because of about 20,000 vehicles in transit to customers.

The second event contributing to Tesla’s stock falling is the AI Day event held late on Friday.

The market is still digesting the event, but the general consensus appears to be disappointment, mainly that Tesla didn’t communicate clearly how much closer it is to its goal of delivering a self-driving system.

Tesla did disclose some significant progress with its Dojo supercomputer program and impressive new technologies to improve its self-driving program, but there’s still no clear path to delivering on its promise.

Then there’s the Tesla Bot.

After pulling opinions from analysts and social media, it appears that the consensus is mainly that the two prototypes unveiled were mostly underwhelming.

One of them couldn’t even walk, and the other was barely able to walk and wave to the crowd. Tesla did release some videos of the robot completing other tasks, but those were mostly unimpressive, and it looked like purpose-built robots would make more sense for those tasks.

Musk again said that “only a few people understand the value of Tesla Bot,” and he believes that the humanoid robot can eventually increase economic output by an order of magnitude.

Electrek’s Take

Some of the critics of the Tesla Bot are missing an important point. Yes, it is unimpressive in many ways, especially if you compare the prototypes to what Boston Dynamics has shown so far.

I have seen dozens of comments similar to this one over the last few days:

But Tesla is not trying to make a robot as agile as Boston Dynamics’s products. The company is trying to make a robot that can be useful and manufacturable on a large scale in order to keep the costs down.

We don’t know how much Boston Dynamics’s bipedal robot costs, but we know they’re selling the much smaller dog robot for $75,000, so it’s fair to say that it would be much more expensive than Tesla Bot, which is supposedly going to be “less than $20,000.”

But it’s a fair question to ask about how useful the Tesla Bot could be. I think it’s clear that Tesla is focusing on a fairly high level of dexterity in the hands, the ability to move from one location to the next, and a high level of ability to understand and navigate its environment through Tesla’s computer vision capability.

I do think that there are many use cases for a robot being able to do that.

However, I just don’t understand Musk’s claims that “only a few people understand the value of Tesla Bot,” and I think it comes with a fundamental problem with Musk’s feedback loop.

Anyone who has spent any amount of time thinking about the value of a cheap, useful bipedal humanoid robot understands just how much value it would bring to the economy.

If there’s doubt about the project, there are mainly doubts about Tesla’s ability to deliver such a product, especially because of how behind the automaker is on its self-driving program.

Some skepticism on that front is healthy, but if Tesla can deliver on the product, then yes, the impact is going to be tremendous.

But it looks like Musk needs to reevaluate his own credibility when it comes to that stuff with anyone who is not a superfan. Tesla fans on Twitter telling him how great FSD Beta is and taking everything he says as the gospel is taking a toll.

It results in him thinking that people can’t see his vision just because they have doubts regarding whether or not he can deliver the vision.

Now he has this habit of retweeting people directly quoting him word for word and commenting something like “that’s true” or “exactly,” which is just bizarre.

Musk can deliver on his vision as he has done many times in the past, but he needs to better manage expectations because he has obviously done a terrible job at that with the Tesla Full Self-Driving program.

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Ford beat every supercar at Goodwood with a truck because EVs are just better

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Ford beat every supercar at Goodwood with a truck because EVs are just better

The Goodwood Festival of Speed happened this weekend, and Ford’s electric SuperTruck managed to beat every other vehicle, gas or electric, to the top of the hill.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is a yearly event on the grounds of Goodwood House, a historic estate in West Sussex, England. The event started in 1993, and has become one of the largest motorsports festivals in the world.

Many companies attend Goodwood to debut new models, and enthusiasts or race teams will show off rare or customized vehicles or race unique cars.

One of the central features of the event is the Goodwood hillclimb, a short one-way race up a small hill on the property. The track is only 1.17mi/1.89km long, with a 304ft/92.7m uphill climb. It’s not a particularly taxing event – merely a fun way to show off some classic or unique racing vehicles.

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As is often the case, companies brought out several interesting EVs to the event, including Honda’s Super EV concept, the recently-unveiled Hyundai Ioniq 6N, and the upcoming Porsche Cayenne EV, still in camouflage after recently setting an SUV record at another UK hillclimb.

Many of these cars came just to show off, to do a demonstration run up the hill and join the company of the world’s most exotic hypercars.

But some cars show up for the glory, and join “the shootout,” the sprint up the hill for the best time.

And Ford didn’t come to show off, it came to win. And in order to win, it brought…. a truck.

The F-150 “SuperTruck” / Source: Ford

Ford’s SuperTruck is a one-off, 1,400+ horsepower prototype electric vehicle, supposedly based on the F-150 Lightning, but in fact bearing almost no similarity or even resemblance.

It’s been festooned with aerodynamic elements all about, lowered, equipped with race tires, and power output has been boosted to the aforementioned 1,400hp. It was driven by Romain Dumas, who Ford have been using since 2022 to drive their electric prototypes.

For the purposes of a hillclimb, perhaps the most important aspect is the Ford’s electric drive. Hillclimbs are a popular form of racing in Britain, and often consist of a short sprint up a small hill, showcasing acceleration and nimbleness more than anything.

Electric cars do well in this sort of racing due to their instant low-end torque, being able to jump off the line faster than the gas competition. They also tend to have plenty of torque, which helps with carrying them up the hills involved.

EVs do well on longer hillclimbs too, because as races reach higher and higher altitudes, gas cars suffer from reduced power due to less oxygen being available for combustion. EVs don’t suffer from this, so they tend to do well at, say, Pike’s Peak hillclimb – which, incidentally, Ford also brought its SuperTruck to, and also beat everybody at.

This year was not the first time Ford has brought a ridiculous electric chonker to Goodwood. Last year, it brought the SuperVan, which has a similar powertrain to the SuperTruck, and also beat everybody.

The SuperVan’s main competition last year was Subaru’s 670hp “Project Midnight” WRX, piloted by Scott Speed, who Dumas handily defeated by over two seconds, 43.98 to 46.07. And this year, the SuperTruck’s main competition was… the same Subaru, piloted by Speed, who Dumas handily defeated by just under two seconds, 43.23 to 45.03.

Ford did not, however, set an all-time record with the SuperTruck, in fact coming in fifth on the list of fastest runs ever. In front of it are two gas cars and two electric – the gas-powered Gould GR51, a tiny open-wheel race car, with a 42.90; an F1 car driven by Nick Heidfeld that set a 41.6 in 1999; the electric VW ID.R, also piloted by Dumas with a 39.90 (which broke Heidfeld’s 20-year record); and the all-time record holder the electric McMurtry Spierling “fan car,” with a mind-blowing 39.08 in 2019.

You’ll notice something similar about all of these – they’re all small racecars that are actually built for speed, whereas the truck is… a big truck. And yet, Ford still managed to beat every single challenger this year, with its big honker of an EV, because EVs are just better.

Watch the run in full below, starting at 9:34. Blink and you’ll miss it.

And now, if Ford continues its pattern, we’re looking forward to seeing the Super Mustang Mach-E at Goodwood next year, which did well this year at a tough Pike’s Peak, getting first in its class and second overall, likely due to inclement conditions that limited running to the lower portion of the course, limiting the EV’s high-altitude advantages.

Given the Super Mustang is a real racecar, and not a chonky truck, it might even give VW’s ID.R time a run for its money (but, frankly, really has no shot at the overall record, because the Spierling’s “fans” give it an absurdly unbeatable amount of downforce).


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GM gears up to build low-cost LFP EV batteries in Tennessee after announcing new upgrades

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GM gears up to build low-cost LFP EV batteries in Tennessee after announcing new upgrades

GM is preparing to begin converting production lines at its battery plant in Tennessee later this year for low-cost LFP EV batteries. GM’s joint venture, Ultium Cells, announced additional upgrades at the facility on Monday as it prepares for a new era.

GM will build low-cost LFP EV batteries in the US

After beating out Ford and Hyundai last year to become America’s second-best EV seller, GM is widening its lead in 2025.

Ultium Cells, GM’s joint venture with LG Energy Solution, announced plans to upgrade its Tennessee battery plant on Monday as it prepares to introduce lower-cost lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery cells.

The upgrades build on the $2.3 billion investment announced in April 2021 to convert the facility into a key EV and battery hub. The company initially said the Tennessee plant was “at the heart of GM’s EV strategy,” but that was also when GM was still committed to an all-electric future.

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GM will begin converting production lines to accommodate the lower-cost LFP batteries at the facility later this year. By late 2027, the company expects to start commercial production.

GM-low-cost-EV-batteries
Ultium Cells Spring Hill, Tennessee plant (Source: Ultium Cells)

With LFP batteries, GM said it’s “targeting significant battery pack cost savings compared to today’s high-nickel battery pack while increasing consumer EV choice.”

The Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant currently employs around 1,300 employees. With the ability to produce multiple chemistries, GM said the facility will “guide the next phase of” its battery strategy.

GM-low-cost-LFP-EV-batteries
2025 Chevy Equinox EV LT (Source: GM)

After choosing Spring Hill for its LFP batteries, the next step, according to GM, is finding a home for lithium manganese-rich batteries. GM recently announced plans to become the first company to produce LMR prismatic battery cells at commercial scale.

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GM plans to build a “next-gen affordable EV) in Kansas (Source: GM)

Meanwhile, GM’s Warren, Ohio, plant will continue producing NCM batteries, which it says have helped it unlock over 300 miles of range.

Electrek’s Take

GM’s electric vehicle sales more than doubled in the second quarter, led by the hot-selling Chevy Equinox EV. The company sold nearly 46,300 EVs in Q2, up 11% from last year.

Chevy is currently the fastest-growing EV brand in the US, while Cadillac claims to have already achieved “EV leader” status in the luxury segment this year. However, that does not include Tesla.

Even GMC is building momentum with the new Sierra EV, seeing strong initial demand, and Hummer EV sales are picking up.

With new, lower-cost batteries on the way, GM aims to continue narrowing the gap with Tesla. GM offers 13 electric vehicles, covering nearly every segment of the market. It already calls the Chevy Equinox EV “America’s most affordable +315 range EV,” but GM has even lower-priced models on the way, including the next-gen Chevy Bolt EV.

Ready to test drive one for yourself? You can use our links below to find Chevy, Cadillac, and GMC EVs in your area.

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Elon Musk says Tesla is going to have ‘the most epic demo ever’, but we heard that before

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Elon Musk says Tesla is going to have 'the most epic demo ever', but we heard that before

Elon Musk is teasing Tesla doing “the most epic demo ever”, but we heard him claim that before and nothing came of it.

On X last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he was shown something at the Tesla Design Studio and that the company will hold the ” most epic demo ever by the end of the year”:

Just left the Tesla Design Studio. Most epic demo ever by the end of the year. Ever.

I used to get excited about Musk making statements like that, but I was burned one too many times.

In 2016, Musk said this:

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Our goal is, and I feel pretty good about this goal, that we’ll be able to do a demonstration drive of full autonomy all the way from LA to New York … by the end of next year.

The end of 2017 came and went without this demonstration and now in 2025, Tesla can’t do it either.

However, since Musk referenced being at Tesla’s Design Studio, where it mostly works on car designs and advanced features, people are speculating that it’s something else.

A possibility is the next-gen Tesla Roadster, as Musk has made similar comments about it in the past, but they were again about demonstrations that never happened.

Shortly after the unveiling of the next-gen Roadster in 2017, Musk talked about adding cold air thruster to the supercar to allow it to have unprecedented racing performance and even possibly hover over the ground.

In 2019, Musk told me that Tesla aimed to do a demonstration of that by the end of 2020:

5 years later, it never happened, and the Roadster was initially supposed to come to market in 2020. It has never launched.

In 2024, Musk claimed that Tesla would unveil and demo the new Roadster by the end of the year:

It also didn’t happen, and the CEO instead said that Tesla was “close to finalizing design” at the end of 2025.

Electrek’s Take

The comment about the demo makes me think of the Roadster, but it could be something else. Maybe a bot, but I’m not sure out of the design studio.

Either way, for the reasons listed above, it’s hard to get too excited.

You can’t just believe what Musk says these days. Historically, he has been wrong or lied too often, especially about upcoming demonstrations like this new comment.

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