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<\/p>\nApril 29, 2026 <\/p>\n
By Nehal Malik<\/p>\n
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Tesla\u2019s European hub has officially reached a massive milestone in its manufacturing journey. Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg has just celebrated the production of its 1,000,000th electric drive unit, a feat that highlights the facility\u2019s rapid transformation into a powertrain powerhouse.<\/p>\n
The news was confirmed<\/a> by the official Tesla Manufacturing account on X, with plant manager Andr\u00e9 Thierig also taking to social media to share his excitement. “Congrats to the Giga Berlin Drive Unit team for achieving this huge milestone!” Thierig posted<\/a>. These drive units are essentially the heart of a Tesla, combining the motor, gearbox, and electronics into a single system. Since the Model Y is the primary vehicle built at the site, and many are dual-motor variants, these units are being consumed by the assembly line faster than ever.<\/p>\n Congrats to the Giga Berlin Drive Unit team for achieving this huge milestone! https:\/\/t.co\/NbtMWWfpWb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Andr\u00e9 Thierig (@AndrThie) April 28, 2026<\/a> An Accelerating Pace of Production<\/p>\n What is most impressive about this milestone is how quickly Giga Berlin is picking up speed. The factory first began Model Y production in March 2022<\/a> and took until late 2024 to manufacture its first 500,000 drive units. That means it took roughly two and a half years to hit the first half-million mark.<\/p>\n However, the journey from 500,000 to 1,000,000 took just over a single year. This dramatic acceleration shows that Tesla\u2019s “machine that builds the machine” is finally dialed in. For context, around the time Giga Berlin hit its 500,000th unit in 2024, Tesla as a whole celebrated 10 million drive units globally<\/a>, proving that the German plant is now a significant contributor to the company’s worldwide scale.<\/p>\n Workforce Efficiency and Record Growth<\/p>\n The manufacturing milestone comes alongside a major turnaround in workplace culture at the plant. Giga Berlin has successfully slashed its sick leave rates from a high of 17% in 2024 to below 5% today. Thierig attributed this shift to better employee engagement, supported by attendance incentives and stock ownership plans.<\/p>\n This improved efficiency helped the factory achieve a record-breaking start to 2026. During the first quarter, the team averaged nearly 4,700 vehicles per week to build a new peak of more than 61,000 Model Ys. To keep this momentum going, Tesla is now looking to hire 1,000 more workers<\/a> at the plant and increase total production by another 20%.<\/p>\n Looking Toward a Massive Expansion<\/p>\n Tesla isn’t stopping at a million units. Elon Musk has previously promised a massive expansion for the site<\/a>, which includes a goal of hitting 8 GWh of battery production capacity<\/a> by 2027. Those plans were contingent on Giga Berlin workers voting against a union majority in last month\u2019s labor elections, which they did<\/a>. As the factory continues to scale, it is clear that Giga Berlin is no longer just a “satellite” plant but a core pillar of Tesla\u2019s global strategy.<\/p>\n With the next million drive units likely to arrive even faster, Tesla\u2019s German facility is proving that it can handle the pressure of being Europe\u2019s premier EV hub. If you’re driving a Model Y in Europe today, there is a very high chance the heart of your car was born right here in Berlin.<\/p>\n Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest Tesla news, upcoming features and software updates.<\/p>\n April 28, 2026 <\/p>\n By Nehal Malik<\/p>\n Tesla is moving quickly to refine the user experience for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) users. In a surprise software release, software update 2026.2.9.9<\/a> has started rolling out to vehicles, and while it notably keeps the core FSD software at version 14.3.2, it brings a much-needed change to the way drivers interact with the car after taking over control.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Update 2026.2.9.9<\/p>\n \n FSD Supervised 14.3.2\n <\/p>\n Installed on 2.9% of fleet<\/p>\n Last updated: Apr 29, 10:20 am UTC<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n This update focuses on the new disengagement menu, a feature that originally debuted just last week with FSD v14.3.2 in software update 2026.2.9.8<\/a>. That previous update was a major milestone, introducing significant improvements to Actually Smart Summon<\/a> (ASS) by unifying the AI models across consumer FSD and Tesla\u2019s Robotaxi platform. Now, Tesla is using the 2026.2.9.9 revision to address immediate community feedback regarding the data it collects from human drivers.<\/p>\n The New \u201cNavigation\u201d Option<\/p>\n The headline change in this build is the addition of a “Navigation” button in the post-disengagement menu. When Tesla first introduced this menu, the release notes stated: “Help Tesla improve Self-Driving by selecting an intervention reason on the main screen after taking over”. Previously, drivers were presented with four options to categorize their intervention: “Preference,” “Discomfort,” “Critical,” and “Other”.<\/p>\n In the latest 2026.2.9.9 update, “Other” has been replaced by “Navigation”. This is a massive addition because navigation errors \u2014 such as the car being in the wrong lane for an upcoming turn or simply not driving your preferred route \u2014 are among the most common reasons a driver feels the need to intervene. Tesla Senior AI Engineer Yun-Ta Tsai confirmed<\/a> over the weekend that this option was on the way, and the speed at which it has been deployed suggests that Tesla realized not including it at launch was a significant oversight.<\/p>\n Screen Real Estate and Forced Feedback While the extra option is helpful, the menu itself remains a point of contention for many owners. Currently, the feedback prompt takes up a large portion of the center display, effectively blocking the navigation maps in the background. Even more frustrating for some is that the menu cannot be dismissed without selecting an option; it stays on the screen until the driver provides a reason for the intervention.<\/p>\n Ideally, we would love to see Tesla move this menu to a less intrusive location or allow it to be dismissed immediately (or at least deferred) with a “Close” button. Another community suggestion is to display the feedback prompts at the end of a drive or when the car is shifted into Park, rather than forcing a driver to interact with a large pop-up while they are busy navigating a tricky intersection they just took over from the car. There\u2019s an argument to be made that Tesla could get higher-quality data if it didn’t force the prompt on users; drivers would likely be more accurate in their reporting if they weren’t picking an option on the fly just to get their maps back.<\/p>\n Seat Belt Behavior and Future Improvements<\/p>\n Beyond the UI changes, this update includes a small but appreciated quality-of-life tweak for FSD users. When FSD is engaged and you are nearing your destination, you can now unbuckle your seat belt before you engage Park, while the car is still moving toward or pulling into a parking spot. This was confirmed by @DirtyTesLa<\/a> on X and makes it easier for drivers to prepare to exit the vehicle as it completes its final maneuvers.<\/p>\n Tesla updated FSD so you don’t have to wait for the car to go into park to take your seat belt off<\/p>\n THANK YOU \ud83e\udd29 seemingly small but makes the entire experience much better pic.twitter.com\/h0ABcimNZN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesLa) April 27, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n As Tesla\u2019s FSD subscription revenue continues to climb \u2014 now reaching an impressive $546 million per year<\/a> from nearly half a million active monthly subscribers \u2014 the pressure to polish the software is higher than ever. These small iterations are the lead-up to FSD version 15<\/a>, which is expected to arrive later this year or early next year with a model featuring roughly 10 billion parameters<\/a>. With Yun-Ta Tsai also previously teasing<\/a> a way for drivers to provide feedback without disengaging, it is clear that the “Navigation” button is just the first of many community-led changes Tesla could make to its FSD feedback funnel. <\/p>\n April 28, 2026 <\/p>\n By Nehal Malik<\/p>\n Tesla can breathe a sigh of relief regarding one of its older safety concerns. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on Tuesday that it has officially closed its investigation into 120,089 2023 Tesla Model Y vehicles without requiring any further action or recalls from the automaker.<\/p>\n According to a report from Reuters<\/a>, the regulator\u2019s decision ends a preliminary evaluation that began in early 2023. The agency originally stepped in after receiving two separate reports of steering wheels detaching from the steering column while the vehicles were in motion.<\/p>\n The Root of the Detachment<\/p>\n According to the NHTSA, the issue was traced back to a missing retaining bolt. Both affected vehicles were manufactured during the first week of January 2023 at Tesla’s Austin, Texas, and Fremont, California, plants. Interestingly, both cars had undergone end-of-line repairs before they were delivered to customers. These repairs required the steering wheel to be removed and reinstalled, which is where the critical retaining bolt was missed.<\/p>\n Tesla confirmed the error and fixed both vehicles under warranty at the time. In its closing statement, the regulator mentioned it found no additional incidents. Furthermore, because the two known failures occurred within the first 400 miles of driving, the agency believes any other affected vehicles would have already experienced a detachment by now. While the case is closed for now, the NHTSA warned that this “does not constitute a finding that no safety-related defect exists,” reserving the right to take further action if new information surfaces.<\/p>\n Tesla\u2019s Ongoing Regulatory Dance<\/p>\n This outcome is a rare “win” in what has been a busy season of oversight for Tesla. The company has a long and documented history of landing in hot water with the regulator over its hardware and autonomous ambitions. For instance, the NHTSA recently upgraded a probe into Full Self-Driving (Supervised)<\/a> regarding low-visibility performance to a much more serious “engineering analysis”.<\/p>\n The agency has also scrutinized everything from FSD’s aggressive “Mad Max” speed profile<\/a> to the design of Tesla\u2019s emergency door releases<\/a>. Even steering hasn’t been a stranger to controversy; back in 2023, the agency also investigated 280,000 Tesla vehicles<\/a> over reported power steering failures. However, Tesla has seen some progress lately, with the NHTSA also ending a year-long investigation<\/a> into Actually Smart Summon, which notably got a major upgrade last week<\/a> with FSD v14.3.2<\/a>. <\/p>\n A Safer Path Forward<\/p>\n The closure of the steering wheel probe is good news for 2023 Model Y owners who might have been worried about their hardware. It shows that the issue was likely a very isolated manufacturing fluke rather than a widespread design flaw. Tesla is already moving to address other hardware concerns, such as its plan for a new interior door release<\/a> that combines electronic and mechanical latches into a single button.<\/p>\n As Tesla continues to refine its software with regular updates, keeping the physical hardware reliable is just as important as the code. With this investigation now in the rearview mirror, Tesla can focus on the massive software leaps expected later this year.<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/giga-berlin-tours.jpg\")
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