**Summary**
- Tesla is hiring full‑self‑driving (FSD) vehicle operators in nine new countries to collect real‑world data and prepare for a broader international supervised FSD rollout; testing in Spain is strong and Italy is pushing for regulatory approval.
- In its latest earnings call, Tesla announced volume production of the Cyber Cab and Tesla Semi this year, plans to begin Optimus robot‑factory construction in Q2 (with a 1‑million‑unit/year line replacing Model S/X in Fremont and a 10‑million‑unit/year line slated for Gigafactory Texas), and reported strong financial results (revenue, EPS, margins, free cash flow, net income all beat expectations).
- Elon Musk said FSD V14 “light” will arrive on Hardware 3 vehicles in June, bringing most AI4 features, and that a discounted trade‑in/upgrade path to Hardware 4 will be offered once unsupervised FSD is proven; he expects unsupervised FSD to appear gradually in Q4 2025, pending geographic safety confirmation.
- Tesla also teased a possible Roadster unveil next month and showed glossy Cyber Cab photos, indicating a shift from the matte prototype.
- In Europe, Tesla raised Model Y prices by €1,000 in Norway, France, the Netherlands and Germany—interpreted as a sign of strong demand.
- Cyber Cab sightings continue: new testing locations in Fort Myers (FL) and Las Vegas (NV), with Las Vegas listed among the first‑half‑2026 robo‑taxi launch cities; private robo‑taxi‑only Supercharger stations are being built in Phoenix‑area Mesa and Chandler.
- Tesla will host an invite‑only Signature Edition Model S/X event on May 12 at its Fremont factory, after which those lines will be repurposed for Optimus production.
- Legacy automakers are pulling back: GM is delaying its next‑gen full‑size electric truck indefinitely, VW is cutting >1 million vehicles due to weak EV demand, and Toyota/Honda are scaling back EV plans.
- Conversely, Mercedes‑BMW unveiled new flagship EVs: the all‑electric Mercedes C‑Class (≈350 mi EPA range, 94 kWh battery, 330 kW DC charging, ~0‑60 mph in 3.9 s, ~$60k start) and BMW’s revived i3 sedan (≈380 mi EPA range, 400 V/800 V architecture), both targeting the Model 3/Model S segment.
- NHTSA’s first automated‑driving‑system crash data set shows Tesla’s robo‑taxi ADS had only 18 verified incidents (16 no‑injury, 2 minor) versus 697 for Waymo, 41 for AV Ride, and 32 for Zooks—indicating a competitive safety profile once scaled, though Tesla’s narrative fields are fully redacted while others provide detailed reports.
Overall, Tesla is expanding FSD testing and data collection worldwide, advancing its AI‑hardware roadmap, ramping up production of Cyber Cab, Semi and Optimus robots, and seeing strong financial results, while traditional automakers retreat from aggressive EV plans and European premium rivals launch new EVs to compete directly with Tesla’s lineup.
1. Tesla started hiring full self‑driving vehicle operators in nine new countries.
2. Tesla’s internal testing of FSD in Spain is progressing quickly, with reports describing Spanish results as some of the strongest in Europe.
3. Tesla is actively pushing Italian regulators for approval of FSD, beyond on‑road data collection.
4. Tesla released its earnings report and held an earnings call.
5. Tesla expects volume production of both the Cyber Cab and the Tesla Semi this year.
6. Preparations for the first large‑scale Optimus factory will begin shortly in Q2; the first‑generation line is designed for 1 million robots per year and will replace the Model S and Model X lines in Fremont.
7. Tesla is preparing Gigafactory Texas for a second‑generation Optimus line designed for long‑term annual production capacity of 10 million robots.
8. Tesla reported beating estimates on revenue, EPS, gross margins, free cash flow, and net income.
9. Tesla’s robo‑taxi chart shows a safety driver in the San Francisco Bay area, while unsupervised operation is being ramped in Austin, Dallas, and Houston; preparations are underway in Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas.
10. Tesla shared photos of the Cortex 2 AI training cluster, the Tesla Semi on the production line, and the start of production at Giga Texas for the Cyber Cab.
11. A photo of the Cyber Cab shows it with a glossy finish, the first glossy gold Cyber Cab seen.
12. Elon Musk said that V14 light of FSD is expected in June on hardware 3 vehicles and will deliver all major features currently available to AI4 users.
13. Elon Musk said a hardware upgrade from hardware 3 to AI4 will be offered, involving a trade‑in discount for AI4‑equipped cars and the ability to upgrade the autopilot computer and cameras.
14. Elon Musk said micro‑factories will be set up in major metro areas to perform the hardware‑3‑to‑AI4 retrofit.
15. Elon Musk said there is a big pipeline of major FSD improvements that will lead to unsupervised FSD wherever legal, and that FSD version 14 hopefully by year‑end will be a complete overhaul of the software architecture, after which work will focus on increasing safety levels.
16. Elon Musk guessed that unsupervised FSD could replace the current system gradually in Q4 if a geography is confirmed safe.
17. A Model Y L prototype was spotted in China wearing full camouflage wrap and equipped with 19‑inch Machina 2.0 wheels.
18. Tesla increased the price of the Model Y by €1,000 in Norway, France, the Netherlands, and Germany.
19. Cyber Cab sightings this week include a vehicle in Fort Myers, Florida (a new test city), the first Cyber Cab on public streets in Las Vegas, and a Cyber Cab robo‑taxi in Chicago.
20. Las Vegas was named on Tesla’s Q4 2024 earnings call as a first‑half‑2026 robo‑taxi launch city, alongside Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa.
21. Arizona regulators granted a permit for a 56‑stall Supercharger station in Chandler, described as the first ever robo‑taxi‑only Supercharger; a companion site in Mesa with 56 V4 stalls was filed simultaneously.
22. Tesla showed a wireless charging pad at the Wii Robot event, noting the near‑term use case is for a Cyber Cab to autonomously drive onto the pad.
23. Tesla demonstrated robots that fully clean the Cyber Cab.
24. Tesla’s signature‑edition Model S and Model X event is scheduled for May 12 at the Fremont factory, described as an invite‑only celebration for the first of the last deliveries of those signature editions.
25. Attendees at the signature‑edition event will receive refreshments, can purchase signature‑edition merchandise, and may take delivery of their vehicle.
26. GM is delaying its next‑generation full‑size electric truck program indefinitely and is pivoting back toward internal‑combustion and hybrid power for that segment.
27. VW announced production cuts exceeding 1 million vehicles due to weak demand across core markets and a stalling EV transition.
28. Toyota publicly shut down the idea of a RAV4 EV earlier this month.
29. Mercedes unveiled the all‑electric C‑Class with up to 350 mi EPA range, a 94 kWh battery, 330 kW DC fast charging on an 800 V platform, 0‑60 mph in 3.9 seconds, a full‑width dash screen, a starting price around $60,000, and US deliveries planned for the first half of 2027.
30. BMW revived the i3 nameplate as an all‑electric sedan on the new class platform, positioned as a 3‑series EV successor with about 380 mi EPA range and a hybrid 400 V/800 V DC fast‑charging approach.
31. NHTSA released its first automated driving system crash data set, containing 825 total ADS incident reports: Waymo 697, AV Ride 41, Zuks 32, Tesla 18.
32. Of Tesla’s 18 ADS incidents, 16 involved no injuries and two involved minor injuries; all were verified as engaged (system active at the time).
33. The most common crash parameters for Tesla’s ADS incidents were other fixed objects (5) and SUVs (4).
34. Tesla redacted 100 % of the narrative fields for each of its 18 incidents, with the description reading “Redacted may contain confidential business information.”
35. Waymo and Zuks published detailed multi‑paragraph narratives for each of their incidents.