Tesla Cybertruck underwent ‘Al Capone style’ bulletproof testing, Elon Musk reveals

The Tesla Cybertruck underwent “Al Capone-style” bulletproof testing with a Tommy Gun, CEO Elon Musk revealed on X.

A video shared by a member of the Tesla Owners Club of Silicon Valley showed a Cybertruck driving down the highway with what appeared to be around 40-50 bullet holes in the driver’s side of the vehicle.

CEO Elon Musk revealed that the Cybertruck had an “entire drum magazine of a Tommy gun” emptied into the driver door “Al Capone style,” which revealed the truck would keep occupants safe as no bullets penetrated into the cabin.

The testing is extreme, but the Cybertruck is an extreme vehicle. In 2019, when it was unveiled to the public by Musk and Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, the team attempted to show the durability and safety of the truck by slamming into the side of it with a sledgehammer, as well as a steel ball, which resulted in a very public window-breaking.

Tesla filed for various parts of the Cybertruck to be capable of extreme durability. A patent revealed that the Cybertruck glass would be more durable and stronger than basically anything that is currently offered on the market.

It offered a 10 percent chance of failure with an impact of 2 J.

When the Cybertruck made an appearance on Jay Leno’s Garage in 2021, Musk was asked by the former late-night TV show host why anyone would want bulletproof, armored glass on their truck.

“Because it’s badass, and it’s super cool,” Musk said. “Do you want your truck to be bulletproof or not?”

Musk has hinted in the past that the Cybertruck will be the finest in apocalypse protection technology, satirically hinting that add-ons like the Boring Company flamethrower would be available.

However, we can see it would survive some incredibly treacherous conditions, including a warzone, it appears.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at . You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at .

Tesla Cybertruck underwent ‘Al Capone style’ bulletproof testing, Elon Musk reveals

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Toyota adopts Tesla’s NACS

Tesla has gotten two new adoptees of the North American Charging Standard (NACS) in Toyota and Lexus, the companies announced on Thursday.

Several large automakers have already adopted Tesla’s NACS connector, including Ford, General Motors, Honda, BMW, and Rivian, among others.

However, Toyota and Lexus have now chosen to do the same thing, gaining access to Tesla’s Supercharger Network in North America in an effort to make charging more available for drivers of its EVs.

Toyota said it will incorporate NACS inlets in “certain Toyota and Lexus BEVs starting in 2025, including the all-new, three-row, battery-electric Toyota SUV that will be assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky.”

The partnership will start in 2025, a year after Ford and GM will adopt it. Those automakers will gain access to the Tesla Supercharger Network in Spring 2024.

Customers owning or leasing Toyota and Lexus EVs equipped with the Combined Charging System (CCS) inlet will be offered an adapter to enable NACS access in 2025.

“Dedicated to delivering a seamless charging experience, whether at home or in public, Toyota aims to provide convenience no matter where customers choose to charge their vehicles,” Toyota said. “Through the Toyota and Lexus apps, customers have access to an extensive charging network, comprising over 84,000 charging ports in North America, including level 2 and DC fast chargers. With NACS, customers will have access to more charging options, especially DC fast chargers, allowing greater confidence to travel to even more destinations.”

Prior to today, BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce were the most recent companies to adopt Tesla’s NACS adapter.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Toyota adopts Tesla’s NACS

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Tesla Energy is becoming the company’s highest margin business: Elon Musk

Tesla Energy turned out to be the dark horse of the company’s third-quarter results. CEO Elon Musk even noted during the Q3 2023 earnings call that Tesla’s battery storage business is becoming one of the company’s most profitable divisions. 

The Q3 2023 Update Letter revealed that Tesla’s battery storage deployments increased by 90% year-over-year to 4.0 GWh. This represented the highest quarterly deployment of battery storage systems to date. Tesla noted that this growth was made possible in no small part due to the ramp of the Megafactory in Lathrop, California. The facility produces the Megapack battery.

This milestone was reiterated by Musk during the Q3 2023 earnings call. During his opening remarks, the CEO specifically pointed out that Tesla Energy is a part of the company’s business that is steadily showing more and more strength — so much so that it is becoming Tesla’s highest-margin business. 

“Regarding energy storage, we deployed 4 GWh of energy storage products in Q3. And as this business grows, the Energy division is becoming our highest-margin business. Energy and service now contribute over half a billion to quarterly profit,” Musk said. 

While Musk has shown a tendency to become overly optimistic about initiatives like Full Self Driving and Autopilot, his comments about Tesla Energy becoming a high-margin business make perfect sense. Tesla’s Energy Storage devices, after all, are far simpler to design and produce than the company’s electric vehicles. Thus, they are likely easier to ramp. 

Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja provided additional insights about the growth of Tesla Energy during the third quarter. He mentioned that the business’ growth is largely due to the Megapack’s ramp. Such statements make sense considering the constant stream of Megapacks being spotted during drone flyovers of the Lathrop Megafactory. 

“Our other businesses are becoming more prominent on a stand-alone basis, with the Energy business leading the charge primarily from the growth in Megapack deployments. Our services and other businesses, on a year-on-year basis, also continued to show positive momentum as we benefit from our growing fleet,” Taneja said. 

Check out our coverage of Tesla’s Q3 2023 Update Letter here

Check out our Live Blog, which contains our live coverage of the event, here

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla Energy is becoming the company’s highest margin business: Elon Musk

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