Tesla Shows Off Wireless Charging Dock and Vehicle UI [VIDEO]

By Karan Singh
@robertrosenfeld (Edited by NATA)

Tesla showed previews of its upcoming wireless charging system at We, Robot. The slides were out of view on the live stream (at the 16:35 mark), but attendees managed to capture what was on screen.

We previously looked at Tesla's patent on Wireless Charging, as well as the fact that FSD will support automatic docking for the Wireless Charger, but this time, let’s look at what Tesla actually has to show.

Wireless Charging

On the slides, Tesla showed off the actual wireless charger - which seems to be a large square with a cable coming out of the back. Overall, it looks like a simplistically designed and functional object, is easy to keep clean, and ensures it's in the right spot for alignment purposes.

But on the next slide, Tesla showed off some interesting information. For context, the Level II Wall Connector that Tesla currently sells runs at 48 amps, at 240 volts. That puts out 11.5kW of power for the car to charge off of - with an approximately 99.33% efficiency, depending on the distance between your wall connector and service box.

The wireless charger is likely running at an even higher amperage - we estimate approximately 80+ amps at 240 volts - to put out a jaw-dropping 20+kW to the vehicle. 100 amps is usually the next service level after the 60 amp service level, and with a 20% amperage loss for electrical codes, an 80 amp charger may be in line.

The second slide with numbers.
The second slide with numbers.
Not a Tesla App

Tesla has said before that its wireless charging system would be very efficient, but it's not clear yet how efficient it will be. However, knowing that remembering to charge is one of the mainstream obstacles in EV adoption, an automated, wireless charging solution would likely help EV adoption and give Tesla an advantage over the competition.

Tesla may have cracked the nut on wireless vehicle charging here - and the Cybertruck is the first of their consumer vehicles that has the ability to get a retrofit for wireless charging. We’re excited to see what Tesla has up their sleeves on this front.

In the meantime, check out this video by Robert Rosenfeld of Tesla’s short segment on wireless charging.

Tesla Update 2025.20 Tear Down Reveals Grok Personalities and Icons

By Karan Singh
@greentheonly on X

While most automakers are adding basic and un-integrated AI assistants to their vehicles, Tesla appears to be working hand-in-hand with xAI to build out an entire cast of characters for in-vehicle Grok. In the latest dive into Tesla’s firmware, Tesla hacker @greentheonly uncovered a few new details about the upcoming Grok feature.

This discovery, part of a larger batch of changes found in Tesla update 2025.20, also offers a hint at the hardware required for the Grok.

A Dozen Groks

While we knew from previous firmware teardowns that Tesla was adding various Grok personalities to the vehicle UI, this update introduces a new one called Language Tutor, which may allow users to learn and practice a new language. 

These are the different personas that will be included in Grok:

  • Argumentative

  • Assistant

  • Conspiracy

  • Doctor

  • Kids’ Stories

  • Kids’ Trivia Games

  • Meditation

  • Motivation

  • Romantic

  • Sexy

  • Storyteller

  • Therapist

  • Language Tutor

  • and the Grok Classic - Unhinged Mode

Release Date

Icons for these personalities have been added to the firmware for the first time, leading us to think Tesla is getting close to releasing the feature. However, even after the feature is developed and included in vehicle software, Tesla may only enable it selectively — such as for select employees for testing.

Grok is expected to be one of the largest vehicle features added via a software update, so it’ll be a big deal when it’s finally released. While we know more or less what to expect from Grok, what we don’t know is about vehicle requirements or whether it’ll require a subscription beyond Premium Connectivity.

Grok Requirements

While subscriptions required are anyone’s guess, vehicle requirements may be a little clearer now, thanks to Green’s discovery that Grok is only being added to AMD-based vehicle software builds.

Unfortunately, this likely means that older, Intel-based vehicles will not receive Grok support, at least for the time being. When Tesla introduced a voice assistant in China, they also started off with AMD-only support but later added Intel support, so it’s possible that the same could happen with Grok.

Energy Saving

Green also found a new undocumented navigation feature in 2025.20.3. This one focuses on leveraging Tesla’s vast amounts of data in an interesting way and offers drivers proactive advice to save energy on a well-traveled route. 

In the Energy App, your vehicle will display, “This route is typically driven at X mph. Slow down by Y mph to save Z% for the rest of this trip.’ 

As you can see in the photo below, Tesla recognizes that vehicles typically drive at 66 mph on the route being driven and offers the driver the option to go five mph slower to save 1% of range. While this example doesn’t provide much incentive to slow down, it could be useful for someone with a low state of charge or if the savings are more significant.

The new line in the Energy App
The new line in the Energy App
Not a Tesla App

In the future, Tesla could even use this, alongside the road surface data they’re gathering, to help plan routes for Robotaxi and Unsupervised FSD.

NHTSA to Streamline Approvals for Control-Free Vehicles Like Tesla’s Cybercab

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

In a letter to industry, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it is overhauling its approvals process for vehicles designed without human controls.

The change addresses a regulatory bottleneck that has slowed down American companies like Tesla from deploying purpose-built Robotaxis, rather than relying on using traditional vehicles with steering wheels and pedals. The policy shift is outlined in a letter posted to the NHTSA’s website, which you can find here.

Reducing Approvals From Years to Months

Under the existing rules today, any vehicle that is built without a steering wheel or brake pedals must receive a special exemption from federal safety standards.

Obtaining exemptions for a particular vehicle was a time-consuming process for both the companies requesting exemptions and the NHTSA. The process was often a black box—nobody knew when an exemption might be granted, and approvals could take years.

The NHTSA, under the new administration’s guidelines for autonomous vehicle development, is now committed to streamlining this process. The agency will be implementing a new, faster approach immediately for receiving exemptions for autonomous vehicles without standard controls. The NHTSA expects decisions on exemption requests to be determined within months rather than years. 

Accelerating the Cybercab

This change has massive implications for Tesla, which is banking on the production of the simplified and easy-to-maintain purpose-built Cybercab. The Cybercab is developed from the ground up as an autonomous Robotaxi and will be one of the key beneficiaries of this move by the NHTSA.

Knowing that a final design won't be caught in a multi-year regulatory limbo provides a level of certainty that has been missing. It allows Tesla to confidently plan the manufacturing, development, and deployment processes without worrying whether the project will get stuck in regulatory approvals.

According to the letter, the agency will publish its improved instructions for the streamlined process "shortly." With Tesla already having begun Cybercab pre-production and the goals for its deployment as soon as late 2026, there’s still a lot to be done to make autonomy a part of Tesla’s new sustainable abundance mission statement.

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