Golden Tesla ‘cybercabs’ appear in Pittsburgh

triblive.com Sep 24, 2026

Golden Tesla ‘cybercabs’ appear in Pittsburgh

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Sep 24, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Tesla’s golden “cybercabs” have appeared on Pittsburgh roadways, though they cannot yet be hailed for service. The driverless taxis, typically lacking steering wheels, are currently operated by a human driver in the seat, classifying them as Level 2 vehicles under Pennsylvania law. PennDOT confirmed Tesla does not require certification for these vehicles, as they are not fully autonomous. The cabs, two‑seat models with butterfly doors, are already active in Texas and Florida and can be summoned via Tesla’s Robotaxi app. Waymo, a leader in robotaxis, is also testing fully autonomous vehicles in Pittsburgh, awaiting state approval to remove validation drivers.

💡 Why It Matters

· The appearance of Tesla’s cybercabs signals a tangible step toward commercial autonomous transportation in a major U.S.
· city, offering a real‑world testbed for regulatory frameworks and public acceptance.

Read full article on triblive.com

Elon Musk hails China’s manufacturing strength, calls Shanghai Tesla plant ‘a gem’

Elon Musk praised China’s manufacturing prowess, calling Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory a “gem” during a CCTV Finance interview. He highlighted the plant’s excellent quality and efficiency, attributing its success to the talent and dedication of Chinese workers. The Shanghai facility, operational since 2019, has produced over 4.5 million vehicles, contributing more than 45 % of Tesla’s global output. In 2025, the plant sold roughly 852,000 vehicles wholesale and 626,000 retail, generating $20.96 billion in revenue—virtually unchanged from the prior year. Musk also urged visitors to explore Shanghai, Beijing, and Xi’an.

💡 Musk’s endorsement underscores China’s pivotal role in Tesla’s supply chain and global sales, reinforcing the country’s status as a critical hub for electric‑vehicle production.

teslarati.com · Sep 23

Tesla Optimus Gen 3 shows off a cleaner, factory-ready design in new…

Tesla’s third‑generation Optimus humanoid robot was revealed when design files were discovered inside an Android version of the company’s smartphone app. Community member @wholemars extracted the assets and posted renders of the new Gen 3 model next to the older Gen 2.5 prototype before deleting the post. The official “gen3” files show a redesign: matte black leg fairings replace exposed linkages, gold‑toned body panels are more contoured, and sealed joints protect bearings from debris. Hands retain 22 degrees of freedom but appear more refined. The leak follows Elon Musk’s March comment that Gen 3 was walking but not yet ready for public display, and it aligns with Tesla’s ongoing preparation of app interfaces and production lines targeting up to ten million units annually.

💡 The design confirms Tesla is moving from prototype to a production‑ready robot, positioning the company to lead the nascent commercial humanoid market.

teslarati.com · Sep 23

Tesla Semi lands the biggest electric truck deal in U.S. history

Tesla has secured the largest U.S. electric‑truck order ever, as the new shippers’ alliance ZET SCALE named the company its primary manufacturer for an initial purchase of 2,500 Class 8 electric trucks. The deal, selected through a competitive request‑for‑proposals that evaluated price, range, charging capability and production capacity, will almost double the nation’s electric heavy‑truck fleet. Secondary manufacturers Kenworth, RIDE and Volvo were also approved, though the split of the 2,500 units remains undisclosed. Financing will be provided by ZET Financial via fair‑market‑value leases, with deliveries slated for ten freight hubs across the country over the next few years. The order precedes the opening of Tesla’s new Nevada Semi factory, a 1.7 million‑square‑foot facility built to produce up to 50,000 trucks annually.

💡 Demonstrating lower cost per mile than diesel, the contract provides a tangible business case that could fast‑track large‑scale adoption of electric trucks across U.S. logistics networks.

cleantechnica.com · Sep 23

Tesla Racism Trial Launches

California’s Civil Rights Department filed a lawsuit accusing Tesla of allowing pervasive race discrimination at its Fremont assembly plant, and the case began trial on Monday in Oakland before Superior Court Judge Peter Borkon, scheduled to run until Oct. 30. The complaint, filed in 2022, alleges continuous harassment, racial slurs, graffiti, segregation of Black workers into low‑pay, undesirable jobs, and systemic pay and promotion disparities. Plaintiffs say management ignored or dismissed complaints rather than intervening. The trial will be bench‑only, with a judge delivering the verdict. Tesla also faces a separate EEOC suit alleging racial harassment and dozens of individual discrimination actions, making the Fremont case one of the most high‑profile employment bias litigations against a major U.S. corporation in years.

💡 The courtroom showdown forces Tesla to address entrenched bias, a move that could reshape its labor practices and alter its reputation among workers and investors.

slashgear.com · Sep 22

5 Pickup Trucks That Are As Fast (Or Faster) Than Sports Cars

SlashGear’s Caroline Anschutz lists five pickup trucks that can out‑accelerate iconic sports cars such as the Corvette, Mustang, Porsche 911 and Miata. The roundup highlights that electric powertrains give several models a zero‑to‑60 time faster than many high‑performance coupes, thanks to instant torque. Among the electric contenders are the Rivian R1T, Ford F‑150 Lightning, and the upcoming Tesla Cybertruck, each posting sub‑3‑second runs in manufacturer data. For gasoline‑only buyers, the article includes the 2025 Chevrolet Silverado SS and the 2026 Ram 1500 TRX, both boasting sub‑4‑second sprint times while retaining traditional towing capacity. Anschutz notes that modern trucks now blend performance, luxury interiors and utility, challenging the stereotype that speed belongs only to sports cars in today’s competitive market and.

💡 Ultra‑fast pickups are reshaping buyer expectations, turning performance into a standard feature of utility vehicles.

teslarati.com · Sep 22

Why automakers keep turning down Elon Musk’s Tesla Full Self-Driving offer

Elon Musk confirmed on X that no automaker has taken Tesla’s offer to license its Full Self‑Driving (FSD) software. The comment responded to a tweet by Sawyer Merritt, who noted Tesla’s invitation and a prediction by Boom Supersonic founder Blake Scholl that the company would eventually open FSD as it did with its Supercharger network. Musk’s one‑word reply, “Exactly,” echoed a remark in November calling legacy makers’ reluctance “crazy.” Despite autonomous mileage from Waymo, Zoox and Tesla’s robotaxi fleet, manufacturers have declined because licensing would require adopting Tesla’s eight‑camera hardware and compute architecture, effectively turning their cars into Teslas. Moreover, a license would grant Tesla direct telemetry on competitors’ vehicles, data and safety incidents that rivals prefer to keep private.

💡 Automakers reject the deal to avoid handing Tesla real‑time insight into their own autonomous performance, preserving competitive secrecy.