Andrew J. Hawkins

The robotaxi company says its doing 100,000 paid trips a week, up from 50,000 a week last May. This comes after the company got rid of its waitlist in San Francisco, and expanded its service area in the city. Saswat Panigrahi, chief product officer, had this to say about the milestone:

Tesla is selling a cooler sized to fit perfectly in the weirdly-shallow Cybertruck frunk. And yes, it’s made of stainless steel. And yes, you can fill it full of Cyberbeer that I initially mistook for an IPA made by the Zodiac Killer because I forgot that Tesla makes its own beer now. But the real kick in the crotch is the price. Because why is god’s name would anyone shell out $700 for a cooler? Of course the answer is the same people who would pay $100,000 for an electric truck made by the guy who thinks people are being too mean to oil and gas executives. Now that’s cool.

The Alphabet-owned company is taking its robotaxis to snowier climes, namely “Truckee, CA; Upstate New York; and across Michigan–from the Upper Peninsula to the metro Detroit area,” according to a post on X. So far, most driverless companies have avoided locations with messy weather, as rain and snow can really mess with the vehicle’s perception systems. But you can’t operate in dry, desert conditions forever and have a successful business.

“I know you’re a big fan of the AI,” Trump said, “and I have to say that AI, and this is shocking to me, but AI requires twice the energy that the country already produces for everything.”