News editor
Max Calder
Tesla news: Full Self-Driving, Robotaxi, Cybercab, Semi, energy, Superchargers and software updates
Max Calder writes FrunkLab's Tesla news. His beat is everything that moves the fleet forward: Full Self-Driving (Supervised) releases and approvals, the Robotaxi and Cybercab rollout, the Semi, Megapack and the Supercharger network, plus the software updates that land in your garage overnight.
He reads Tesla's own posts, the release notes and the regulator filings first, then tells you what changed and why it matters if you own one. Numbers come with their source, dates come with the day they happened, and if something is still a rumor, he says so.
Max Calder is one of FrunkLab's house bylines, written as a character with their own car and wraps. Read our editorial standards.
Max's garage
Drives a Model Y Juniper AWD. Every wrap below is free to download for Tesla Paint Shop or remix in the studio.
How Max writes
- Lead with the news in one sentence, then the number that proves it.
- Upbeat and specific. Celebrate progress without hype words.
- Every factual claim links a dated source, Tesla's own post first.
- Short paragraphs, one idea each. No snark and no gotchas.
- Garage posts about his own Juniper are first person, a little nerdy and proud of the glow.
Latest from Max
Tesla update 2026.38: dynamic headlight leveling, Supercharger site maps and sharper car visuals
Tesla software update 2026.38 started rolling out on September 29, 2026. It brings dynamic headlight leveling to Model 3, Supercharger site maps with live stall status to older cars, a refreshed car render for Model 3, and security fixes.
Max Calder · Oct 1, 20263 min
Tesla's US Supercharger network passes 40,000 stalls, and Canada hits 3,000
Tesla's US Supercharger network crossed 40,000 stalls in late September 2026, about half of all public DC fast-charging stalls in the country. The same week, Canada's 3,000th stall opened in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.
Max Calder · Oct 1, 20262 min
Tesla moves the Roadster event to October 15 so the outdoor demo gets clear skies
Tesla has moved the next-generation Roadster event from October 1 to October 15, 2026, after forecasters called for severe storms near Waco. The event has to be held outdoors because it includes the SpaceX thruster demonstration.
Max Calder · Oct 1, 20263 min
Tesla Q3 2026 deliveries: report date, Wall Street estimates and what to watch
Tesla reports its third-quarter 2026 deliveries and energy storage deployments on October 2. Tesla's own analyst consensus sits near 462,000 vehicles and 15.9 GWh of storage, which would be a record storage quarter. Here is what to watch.
Max Calder · Oct 1, 20263 min
Tesla FSD Supervised is approved in Croatia, the eighth country in Europe
Croatia approved Tesla's Full Self-Driving (Supervised) on September 29, 2026, the third European approval in September and the eighth since the Netherlands opened the door in April. Here is what owners there get and what comes next.
Max Calder · Oct 1, 20263 min
SpaceX Starship reaches orbit for the first time on Flight 14
Starship Flight 14 lifted off from Starbase at 8:50 a.m. ET on September 28, reached orbit for the first time, deployed all 26 Starlink V3 satellites and splashed down north of Hawaii about 3 hours later.
Max Calder · Sep 29, 20263 min
Tesla Semi launch recap: a 50,000-truck factory, two ranges and a line of customer trucks
Tesla launched the production Semi on September 24 at its new factory in Sparks, Nevada. What was announced: 325 and 500 mile versions, an 800 kW three-motor powertrain, a factory sized for 50,000 trucks a year, and customer trucks from PepsiCo, DHL, Einride and more.
Max Calder · Sep 28, 20263 min
Tesla Semi picked for a 2,500-truck order, the biggest electric truck deal in US history
A shipper alliance backed by Microsoft and PepsiCo chose the Tesla Semi as the lead truck for a 2,500-unit Class 8 order, roughly doubling the country's electric heavy-truck fleet. It landed two days before Tesla opens its dedicated Semi factory in Nevada.
Max Calder · Sep 23, 20264 min
Tesla reopens Roadster reservations ahead of the October 1 reveal
Tesla is taking new Roadster reservations again, eight days before the car's reveal near Waco, Texas. A $5,000 refundable card payment holds a spot, followed by a $45,000 wire, and Tesla says pricing, specs and production targets arrive on October 1.
Max Calder · Sep 23, 20264 min
Tesla app 4.61: Supercharger Site Maps, passkey sign-in, and a camera share for support
Tesla app 4.61.0 started rolling out on September 18. Zoom in on a Supercharger and you now see the stall layout with live occupancy, passkeys put sign-in behind Face ID, and a new camera share lets a support rep see what you see.
Max Calder · Sep 23, 20264 min
Optimus V3 moves toward mass production as Tesla audits its first robot suppliers
Tesla's humanoid robot team is auditing suppliers in China for Optimus V3 parts, with three existing Tesla partners reportedly cleared. It's the clearest sign yet that the robot is moving to a production line, in the Fremont space that once built the Model S and X.
Max Calder · Sep 23, 20264 min
Grok Bot arrives in Tesla cars: order coffee, clear your inbox and book dinner by voice
Tesla switched on Grok Bot and Connectors in its cars on September 22. Link Gmail, Calendar, DoorDash, OpenTable and more in the Grok app, then ask the car to handle the errand while you drive. Here's how it works, who gets it, and how to set it up.
Max Calder · Sep 23, 20264 min
FSD Supervised is approved in Czechia, the seventh EU country, with an EU-wide vote on October 6
Czechia recognized the Dutch type approval for Tesla FSD (Supervised) on September 21, two weeks after Slovenia. That makes seven EU countries, and a committee vote on October 6 could open Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
Max Calder · Sep 23, 20264 minTesla update 2026.32.3: pick your wheels on the screen, plus Apple Music
Tesla's 2026.32.3 update is rolling out worldwide to every model with a redesigned Wheel Selection screen, an Apple Music library tab, security fixes and a browser ad blocker. Here is what changed, and how wheel choice pairs with a custom wrap in Paint Shop.
Max Calder · Sep 17, 20264 minThe six-seat Model Y L starts reaching US driveways this month
Tesla has begun assigning US delivery windows for the Model Y L, the stretched three-row Model Y that went on sale in July at $61,990. The first customers get theirs in September, later orders run into October and November, and the 2026 allocation is close to spoken for.
Max Calder · Sep 17, 20264 minTesla says 24/7 Robotaxi rides are a month away, riding on FSD v15
Tesla's AI chief Ashok Elluswamy said round-the-clock Robotaxi service is "next month or so", gated on the next piece of the FSD v15 stack. Some Robotaxis are already on early v15 builds, and owners with Hardware 4 are pencilled in for late this year or early next.
Max Calder · Sep 17, 20264 minThe Cybertruck is the only pickup with an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ for 2026
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the 2026 Cybertruck its highest award, and no other pickup of any size earned it. Good ratings in every crash test, the caveats the IIHS did note, and what that means for the truck's reputation.
Max Calder · Sep 17, 20264 minTesla shows the Cybercab's unboxed assembly line: one car every 10 seconds
A 48-second video from Tesla's Robotaxi account shows the Cybercab being built as separate modules on parallel lines and framed together at the end. Tesla says it halves the length of the line and targets a sub-10-second cycle time, against about 34 seconds for a Model Y.
Max Calder · Sep 17, 20264 minThe Tesla Semi gets its own launch party on September 24
Invitations are out for a Semi rollout event at the new Sparks, Nevada factory, with factory tours and ride-alongs in the refreshed truck. What the event is, what the updated Semi carries, and why a 1.7-million-square-foot factory is the real story.
Max Calder · Sep 12, 20264 minGo for launch: Tesla sets the Roadster reveal for October 1
Nine years after the prototype, Tesla has put a date on the next-generation Roadster. A "Go for launch" teaser, a countdown on the Roadster page, and an October 1 reveal with the SpaceX thruster package on stage.
Max Calder · Sep 12, 20265 minTesla app 4.60.5: wheel covers, a Robotaxi loaner, and the wrap upload that makes the phone the whole workflow
The September Tesla app update adds a one-tap wheel cover toggle and lets service customers ride a Robotaxi instead of taking a loaner. It lands on top of August's passkeys and Wallet V2, and on the Creations > Wrap upload that has made a USB drive optional since July.
Max Calder · Sep 12, 20264 minPaint Shop is on every Tesla now, Model S and Model X included
Custom wraps started on the Cybertruck, reached Model 3 and Model Y in the Holiday Update, and arrived on Model S and Model X in the 2026 Spring Update. The Summer Update then removed the USB drive. Here is where every model stands.
Max Calder · Sep 8, 20264 minFSD is logging 35 million miles a day. Here is what that pace means
Tesla's fleet went from 13 to 14 billion FSD miles in 24 days, running about 35 million miles a day at peak. The pace, the 1.5 million drivers behind it, and why miles between interventions is the number that actually matters.
Max Calder · Sep 8, 20265 minCybercab rides are live in Austin, and the Robotaxi app just hit number one
Tesla opened Cybercab rides to the public in Austin on September 4, three hours earlier than announced. Two seats, no steering wheel, no pedals, mixed into the regular Robotaxi fleet. The app topped the App Store the same day.
Max Calder · Sep 8, 20265 min