Elon Musk: Tesla is increasing EV production based on anticipated demand for self-driving
Elon Musk announced that he is pushing Tesla to increase its electric vehicle production due to what he anticipates will soon be increased demand for autonomous driving.
Tesla’s production plans have undergone significant changes over the last five years.
The automaker started the decade growing at a roughly 50% annual rate and aimed to produce 20 million cars annually by 2030.
Now, Tesla has a production capacity of less than 3 million vehicles, and it is using roughly only 60% of this capacity due to low demand.
This situation has led Tesla to reconsider its plans for new factories, including its previously announced gigafactory in Mexico.
Today, Tesla released its Q3 financial results, and CEO Elon Musk took the opportunity to announce that the automaker will now increase production:
I feel confident in expanding Tesla’s production. So that is our intent, to expand as quickly as we can our future production. I was reticent to do that until we had clarity on achieving unsupervised full self-driving, but at this point, I feel like we’ve got clarity and it makes sense to expand production as fast as we reasonably can.
The CEO stated that he is “100% confident” that Tesla will solve unsupervised self-driving – a claim he has made every year for the last six years.
Musk said that once people can text inside their cars, demand won’t be an issue:
Here’s the killer app: really, what it comes down to is, “Can you text while you’re in the car?” And if you tell someone, “Yes, the car is now so good you can be on your phone and text the entire time while you’re in the car,” anyone who can buy the car will buy the car. End of story.
He added that the most significant increase in production will come from Cybercab, which he expects will enter production in Q2 2026.
The vehicle lacks a steering wheel and pedals. Therefore, if Tesla doesn’t solve unsupervised self-driving by then, it will be useless.
The CEO reiterated that he expects Tesla to remove the safety monitor from its Robotaxi in Austin, Texas, by the end of the year and release unsupervised FSD in consumer vehicles on the same timeline.
Electrek’s Take
Increasing production based on presumed demand coming from a feature, unsupervised self-driving, that isn’t finished, and that you have been consistently wrong in predicting.
What could possibly go wrong?
Elon always says that “people don’t understand how impactful self-driving will be.” I think they do. He is confusing people not believing his self-driving timelines with people not believing in self-driving.
If Tesla does deliver unsupervised self-driving in HW4 vehicles, I do believe that it will result in a significant increase in demand.
However, I don’t think Tesla is as close as Elon is leading shareholders to believe.
Tesla may or may not remove the safety drivers from its Robotaxis in Austin, but that’s a geo-fenced areas with a bunch of limitations.
Turning on unsupervised self-driving in consumer vehicles and Tesla taking responsibility for the system is an entirely different thing, and the automaker is not ready for it.
But there’s some good that could come out of this. If Tesla increases Model 3 and Model Y production in anticipation of full self-driving, it could result in lower prices.
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Electricity demand is surging in Texas, and solar, wind, and battery storage are meeting it.
According to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity demand across the Texas grid managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) hit record highs in the first nine months of 2025. ERCOT, which supplies power to about 90% of the state, saw demand jump 5% year-over-year to 372 terawatt hours (TWh) – a 23% increase since 2021. No other major US grid has grown faster over the past year.
Solar and wind keep ERCOT’s grid steady
The biggest growth story in Texas power generation is solar. Utility-scale solar plants produced 45 TWh from January through September, up 50% from 2024 and nearly four times what they generated in 2021 (11 TWh). Wind power also continued to climb, producing 87 TWh through September – a 4% increase from last year and 36% more than in 2021.
Together, wind and solar supplied 36% of ERCOT’s total electricity over those nine months. Solar, in particular, has transformed Texas’s daytime energy mix. From June to September, ERCOT solar farms generated an average of 24 gigawatts (GW) between noon and 1 pm – double the midday output from 2023. That growth has pushed down natural gas use at midday from 50% of the mix in 2023 to 37% this year.
Battery storage is filling in the gaps
Batteries charge during the day when wind and solar generation are the highest, and they produce electricity when generation from wind and solar slows down. ERCOT began reporting battery output separately in October 2024 in its hourly grid data, and it’s clear that batteries are now helping to smooth out evening peaks. This past summer, batteries supplied an average of 4 GW of power around 8 pm, right as solar production dropped off.
Natural gas is flatlining
Natural gas is still Texas’s dominant power source, but it isn’t growing like it used to. Between January and September, gas-fired plants generated 158 TWh of electricity, compared to 161 TWh in 2023. Gas comprised 43% of ERCOT’s generation mix during the first nine months of 2025, down from 47% in the first nine months of 2023 and 2024.
More demand growth ahead
The EIA expects Texas electricity demand to keep rising faster than any other grid in the US. In its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA projects ERCOT’s demand will climb another 14% in the first nine months of 2026, reaching 425 TWh. That means Texas will need even more solar, wind, and battery storage to keep up with its breakneck growth.
Read more: This $900 million solar farm in Texas is going 100% to data centers
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GM is recalling nearly 23,000 Chevy Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq models due to a defect where the tire tread could fall off.
GM is recalling more Chevy Equinox EV models
In a letter sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), GM said it has decided to issue a safety recall for certain Chevy Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq models from model years 2025 to 2026.
This time, it isn’t necessarily GM’s fault. The vehicles may be equipped with 21″ all-season tires that Continental Tire is recalling.
According to Continental, the tires were produced during the week of October 6, 2024, and may have a defect where the tire tread could partially or fully detach. The records show the defect is due to a nonconforming tread base rubber compound.
Owners of affected vehicles may notice unusual tread wear or bulging, vibration while driving, or tire noises. GM is unaware of any incidents related to the defect, but is issuing the recall out of an abundance of caution.
On September 18, 2025, GM inspected the assembly plant and confirmed there were no suspect tires in stock. The 21″ tires come standard on RS trims and are optional on LT1 and LT2 grades.
Although GM is recalling 22,914 Chevy Equinox EVs and Cadillac Optiqs, it estimates that only about 1% of them have the defect.
The recall includes:
- 2026 Cadillac Optiq: 214
- 2026 Chevy Equinox EV: 1,832
- 2025 Cadillac Optiq: 3,468
- 2025 Chevy Equinox EV: 17,400
GM dealers will check all four tires and replace them if needed, free of charge. Dealers were notified on October 16. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed out on December 1, 2025.
You can contact Chevrolet’s customer service number at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac’s at 1-800-333-4223. GM’s recall number is N252525030. Owners can also call the NHTSA hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or visit the nhtsa.gov website for more information.
The Chevy Equinox EV is now the third best-selling EV in the US, trailing only the Tesla Model Y and Model 3. Meanwhile, Cadillac’s entry-level Optiq SUV is the fifth-most-popular luxury EV. The recall is minor and only affects a small percentage of models, so it’s not expected to have a major impact.
If you want to test one of them for yourself, we can help you get started. Check out our links below to find available Chevy Equinox EV and Cadillac Optiq models near you.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla’s earnings madness, Rivian layoffs, Ford pausing F-150 Lightning, and more.
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