Musk says Tesla Semi self-driving is a year away, so truckers are safe

This one is about electric semi trucks, not home energy upgrades, but here's the gist. Elon Musk said Tesla expects self-driving to work on its Tesla Semi truck "probably around the end of this year or early next year." He framed it as a safety and comfort upgrade for truck drivers, even though full self-driving would eventually remove the need for a driver at all. He also said Tesla is putting Semi self-driving work on the back burner for the next six months while it focuses on its Model 3, Model Y, and Cybercab vehicles.

Worth knowing: Musk has a long history of missing self-driving deadlines. Tracking of his public predictions found only about 9 percent came true on time, and self-driving is his worst category, with roughly ten missed deadlines since 2013, including promises of coast-to-coast self-driving by 2017 and a million robotaxis by 2020. The Tesla Semi itself was first unveiled in 2017 with promised autonomous features and a 2019 production date; that slipped repeatedly, and by the 2022 delivery event, Tesla had dropped all mention of self-driving. A new factory line for the Semi started up this year, but Tesla says the truck will remain a small share of its total vehicles through 2026.

None of this affects home energy rebates or upgrades. It is simply news about Tesla's trucking and self-driving ambitions.