Electrek

During Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings call today, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that Optimus robot production will begin at Fremont in late July or August — just four months after the last Model S and X roll off the line in early May.

Musk warned, however, that initial output will be “quite slow,” calling it “literally impossible to predict” the production rate this year given Optimus has 10,000 unique parts across an entirely new production line.

China’s solar exports surged to unprecedented levels in March as a global energy shock is pushing countries to rapidly pivot away from fossil fuels.

There are millions of Tesla vehicles on the road today which were sold on the promise of full autonomy, but without hardware capable of doing so.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk just proposed the company could build “microfactories” in urban areas in order to upgrade the computers and cameras in those videos, adding high costs for a company that is already running thin on profitability – but we’ll see if it actually happens.

Elon Musk has once again pushed back the Tesla Roadster unveiling. During yesterday’s Q1 2026 earnings call, the CEO said the car might debut “in a month or so” — blowing past the late April timeline he had set just weeks ago.

It marks at least the eighth time Musk has moved the goalposts on the Roadster since the prototype was first revealed in November 2017, nearly nine years ago.

During Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings call today, CEO Elon Musk confirmed that unsupervised Full Self-Driving for consumer vehicles won’t arrive until Q4 2026 at the earliest — pushing the timeline yet again after years of broken promises.

When asked directly when FSD unsupervised would reach customer cars, Musk replied: “I’m just guessing here, but probably in the fourth quarter.”

Tesla has released quarterly earnings, and the announcement was accompanied by what seems to be a backpedaling on availability of Robotaxis in 5 of the 8 cities Tesla has announced availability in.

Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings beat looks impressive on the surface — 21.1% gross margin, 136% operating income growth, $0.41 non-GAAP EPS. But dig into the shareholders’ letter and a pattern emerges: Tesla pulled every accounting and financial lever available to make a stagnant quarter look like a turnaround.

One-time warranty reserve releases, tariff refund windfalls, stretched supplier payments, and new debt all contributed to headline numbers that mask a fundamental problem — Tesla’s core auto business isn’t growing.

Tesla (TSLA) released its financial results and shareholders’ letter for the first quarter (Q1) 2026 after market close today.

We are updating this post with all the details from the financial results, shareholders’ letter, and the conference call later tonight. Refresh for the latest information.

Today’s 9to5Toys Green Deals has some fresh markdowns for you to scope out. A couple of noteworthy mentions include $1,050 off Bluetti’s 2,048Wh AC200L power station with two 200W solar panels alongside the beastly Hiboy beastly Titan PRO electric scooter with up to an 80-mile range at up to $500 off. Head below to sell all of your options in detail.

Head below for other Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek‘s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

BMW gave its flagship electric sedan an overhaul for the 2027 model year. The new BMW i7 offers nearly 450 miles of range, advanced new tech, and an updated Neue Klasse design.

CATL’s new sodium-ion batteries will begin launching in passenger EVs later this year, offering a more efficient and sustainable solution.

Rivian officially started production of its R2 electric SUV at its Normal, Illinois plant today, marking the most critical milestone in the company’s history.

The production launch comes just five days after an EF-1 tornado ripped through the same facility, collapsing a section of the roof in Building 2 — the very area dedicated to R2 operations.

Xpeng’s flying car division Aridge invited media to tour its massive new factory in Guangzhou, and it’s clear the Chinese automaker is pouring serious resources into making manned electric aircraft a commercial reality.

I saw about 20 aircraft at various stages of production inside the plant — from bare carbon fiber bodies to completed units in quality checks — as Aridge validates its manufacturing process ahead of planned deliveries later this year.

It looks like a futuristic Lamborghini and is expected to arrive as an electric successor to the Kia Stinger. Kia unveiled the Vision Meta Turismo concept, a preview of its “futuristic approach to a new era of electric mobility.”

A US District court ruled against republican attempts to block deployment of wind and solar projects that could help to reduce US electricity costs as energy prices spike worldwide.

Segway has announced a milestone that might be easy to gloss over at first glance, but that actually says a lot about where micromobility is headed: the company has now sold more than 1 million units of its Ninebot E2 series electric scooters worldwide. 

ChargePoint just unveiled a 600 kW EV charger – and it claims it’s the world’s fastest standalone unit.

In a bid to ramp up its heavy-duty fleet in a hurry, Amazon has tapped zero-emissions logistics firm Einride to deploy 75 fully electric semi trucks across five US locations.

SERES Group’s Huawei-powered AITO brand is joining IONCHI, the premium charging joint venture between BMW and Mercedes-Benz in China, as an equal 33.3% shareholder. The deal restructures what was a 50:50 German partnership into a three-way collaboration with one of China’s fastest-growing luxury EV brands.

The move signals a significant shift in China’s EV charging landscape, where German and Chinese automakers are now directly collaborating on premium infrastructure rather than competing on separate networks.

General Motors has indefinitely suspended plans to refresh its full-size electric truck and SUV lineup, putting the future of the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Hummer EV, and Cadillac Escalade IQ in limbo beyond the current generation.

The move marks yet another retreat from GM’s once-ambitious electric vehicle strategy, as the automaker doubles down on gas-powered trucks instead.

Independent lab testing has found traces of hexavalent chromium — a known carcinogen — along with arsenic and elevated levels of lithium in wastewater discharged from Tesla’s nearly $1 billion lithium refinery in Robstown, Texas.

The Nueces County Drainage District No. 2, which manages the ditch receiving Tesla’s 231,000-gallon daily discharge, has issued a cease-and-desist letter demanding the company halt its wastewater flow pending further discussion.

The US wind industry bounced back in a big way in 2025, installing 8.2 gigawatts (GW) of new capacity – up 49% from the year before – according to Wood Mackenzie’s latest US Wind Energy Monitor report.

Tesla’s registrations in California crashed 24.3% in the first quarter of 2026, with the automaker selling over 10,000 fewer vehicles in the state compared to the same period last year.

The data comes from the California New Car Dealers Association’s (CNCDA) Q1 2026 Auto Outlook report, which also reveals that the state’s overall zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) market share has plunged to just 13.7% — the lowest level since Q4 2021.

The battle of the entry-level EVs is heating up. A week after Volkswagen launched the upgraded ID.3 Neo, Kia is cutting EV4 prices by over $10,000 in some markets.