Tesla's Cyber Rodeo event took place on April 7th, 2022
Tesla
Tesla's Cyber Rodeo event took place on Thursday, April 7th, 2022 at Tesla's new Gigafactory located in Austin, Texas.
The event celebrated the opening of Gigafactory Texas, where Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk revealed that FSD Beta will become available to everyone in Canada and United States before the end of 2022.
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Tesla and Rivian have been in court since 2020 after Tesla alleged that ex-employees stole and transferred trade secrets. Tesla also alleged that Rivian was encouraging Tesla employes to depart and bring said trade secrets with them on their way to Rivian.
Tesla is now seeking to have the suit dismissed on December 24th of this year, assuming the settlement terms are reached.
Initial Lawsuit
The initial lawsuit in 2020 involved several employees, including a Health and Safety Manager, a Charging Network Manager, and two Human Resources Recruiters, who all departed Tesla to move to Rivian. Tesla alleged that these employees took trade secrets, confidential materials, and proprietary information when they joined Rivian.
The next year, Tesla added to the suit, alleging that Rivian stole technology related to Tesla’s next-gen batteries. That would’ve been the 4680-cells back then - now the updated Cybercell which is shipping in the Cybertruck.
Out-of-Court Settlement
On November 25th, Tesla informed the California state court that it would be settling the matter with Rivian out of court. This means that Tesla and Rivian have come to an agreement outside of the court case, and Tesla will be dropping its lawsuit. This is good for both companies—extended legal battles are extremely expensive, especially with highly paid, specialized lawyers on both sides of the battle arguing it out for nearly four years.
It's good to see that both companies are moving forward. Rivian stock saw a positive bump in yesterday’s trading from this news—approximately 13%. We’re looking forward to seeing what both companies do in the future. It’d be best to see both as allies in electrifying the planet and supporting adventuring rather than at each other’s throats in court.
Each year, around the Holiday season, Tesla puts up pop-up mall displays across the United States, Canada, and certain locations in Europe. It looks like Tesla is continuing this tradition once again this year, as David Zhai, Concept and Prototype Staff Manager at Tesla, has stated on LinkedIn that the Tesla Pop-Up Shops are returning.
Pop-Up Displays
Tesla intends to build small pop-up displays featuring Tesla vehicles, including the Cybertruck, at major malls throughout the United States. These displays are usually temporary and just for the holiday season. However, they’re placed in high-traffic areas, usually near the center of major malls - near food courts and rest areas.
They’re also usually staffed by members of the local Delivery/Service Center, who are around to answer questions and show off the features of the vehicles on display. After all, seeing a Cybertruck from a distance is one thing - sitting inside is entirely another.
Other Regions
David Zhai didn’t mention whether these would be coming to other regions - just the United States. It seems that while Tesla previously ran these displays globally, it may not be the case this year. We’ll keep an eye out and see if they start popping up in Canada, Europe, or China - let us know if you spot one there!
Drive-By Displays
When Cybertruck launched, Tesla also held drive-by displays throughout North America and Europe. They drove the Cybertruck into places like New York’s Times Square while towing a Model 3 or Model Y on a trailer behind it. These displays were really popular and attracted tons of attention.
We’re hoping to see more of these drive-by displays make a comeback sometime soon. Many owners have yet to see the new Model 3 or the Tesla Semi up close and personal.