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Tesla halted supply of its Solar Roof tiles in August, telling certified installers it would only ship standard solar panels going forward. Contractors say they spent weeks in specialized training and completed supervised installations to become certified, only to be left with sunk costs once Tesla pulled the product after roughly 3,000 total US installations over seven years.
Tesla is circulating an interest form asking businesses whether they want to purchase and operate their own Cybercab fleets on its robotaxi network, splitting revenue with the company. This mirrors a promise Elon Musk made back in 2019, when he claimed owners could earn up to $30,000 a year in gross profit by putting their cars on the 'Tesla Network,' a plan that never materialized for any owner.
Elon Musk argued on X that chess has only a small number of meaningful moves and predicted the game would eventually be fully solved by computers, similar to checkers. Chess.com's official account pushed back with a blunt 'skill issue' reply, prompting a back-and-forth in which Musk doubled down and speculated that a future superintelligence could compress and solve the game in ways humans can't grasp.
US District Judge Donovan Frank has again ruled against Elon Musk's xAI in its effort to halt Minnesota's law banning AI tools that create non-consensual sexualized images. The judge denied xAI's preliminary injunction request, finding the company failed to prove it would suffer irreparable harm while its First Amendment lawsuit against the state proceeds. Minnesota's law, effective since August 1, imposes fines of $500,000 per unlawful image access, penalties xAI argues could total billions of dollars.
Tesla began operating its first Cybercabs, which have no steering wheel or pedals, on Austin streets, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation just hours later. Only 45 Cybercabs are currently registered in Texas, and CEO Elon Musk was notably absent from the vehicle's public debut event, which drew a muted response from investors.
Several board members from Elon Musk's companies, including SpaceX and Tesla, are directing personal funding toward psychedelic research and a startup pursuing regulatory approval for MDMA-assisted therapy. The investments span both academic studies and commercial drug-development efforts aimed at treating conditions like PTSD.
Tesla opened its Cybercab robotaxi service to paying customers in Austin via its Robotaxi app, with 45 vehicles now running commercially. Shortly after, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into the vehicle, which lacks a steering wheel, pedals and mirrors, since Tesla self-certified the design.
Tesla shares dropped 6% Friday after a subdued, invite-only Cybercab event in Austin left Wall Street unimpressed. The two-seat, driverless Cybercab began limited rides through Tesla's Robotaxi app within a geofenced Austin zone, but the company offered little new detail on pricing, production timelines or regulatory clearance, and Elon Musk did not attend.
After a low-key private event with no livestream and only a brief keynote, Tesla released fine print showing its Cybercab autonomous vehicle will not accept riders under 13 years old. The Cybercab also lacks standard LATCH anchors for child car seats, requiring seat belts instead, while Tesla's separate Model Y robotaxi service allows children as young as 8 with an adult present.
A federal court granted Elon Musk's X a preliminary injunction stopping a startup called Operation Bluebird from launching a new app under the Twitter name. Chief Judge Colm Connolly found X likely to prevail on trademark infringement claims, largely because X's own App Store listing still describes itself as 'formerly known as Twitter,' showing the company hasn't abandoned the brand.
xAI is offering a 50% discount on Starlink residential internet plans to residents near its Memphis and Southaven data centers, along with free hardware for its new Starlink V5 rental kit, saving up to $349 upfront. The company says roughly 2,000 people have signed up since the promotion began in late June, even as it faces criticism over unpermitted gas turbines powering its facilities.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has launched an audit query into Tesla's Cybercab, questioning how the company certified the vehicle without sideview mirrors, pedals, or a steering wheel—features normally mandated under federal safety standards. The probe covers roughly 1,000 Cybercabs, though only 45 are currently registered with Texas' DMV, and comes just as Tesla publicly unveiled the vehicle in Austin as part of its Robotaxi rollout.