The End of the Luxury Era: Model S and X Retired

Tesla has officially pulled the plug on the vehicles that built its brand. CEO Elon Musk confirmed Wednesday that production of the Model S and Model X has ceased, marking what he called the "ending of an era" Business Insider. The move is purely strategic; the luxury duo now accounts for a negligible slice of total delivery volume, and Tesla requires the assembly capacity at its Fremont and Texas facilities to scale the Optimus humanoid robot Business Insider.

As of this morning, the online configurators for both models have been removed, leaving customers to choose from a dwindling supply of pre-configured inventory units Business Insider. This pivot signals Tesla’s hard shift from a traditional premium automaker to an AI and robotics firm. The company is simultaneously preparing to launch production of its two-seater Cybercab robotaxi—which lacks a steering wheel and pedals—later this month Business Insider.

Project Apex: SpaceX Targets $1.75 Trillion IPO

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has confidentially filed for an initial public offering in what is expected to be the largest stock market listing in history New York Post. Internally codenamed "Project Apex," the listing could value the space giant at $1.75 trillion TechCrunch. The company has reportedly lined up a massive syndicate of 21 banks to manage the offering, which seeks to raise $75 billion—dwarfing Saudi Aramco’s 2019 record Reuters.

This capital injection is critical for Musk's broader ambitions, including the replenishment of the Starlink satellite constellation and the continued development of Starship TechCrunch. The filing follows the February merger between SpaceX and Musk’s AI startup, xAI, a deal that valued the combined entity’s data center and satellite compute capabilities at $1.25 trillion TechCrunch.

Tesla’s Human-in-the-Loop Revelation

Tesla has admitted that its "unsupervised" robotaxis aren't always operating autonomously. In a letter to Senator Ed Markey, Tesla’s director of public policy, Karen Steakley, disclosed that Remote Assistance Operators (RAOs) in Austin and Palo Alto are authorized to assume "direct vehicle control" as a final maneuver Gizmodo. These human operators can remotely drive the vehicles at speeds up to 10 mph to move them out of compromising positions Gizmodo.

This admission highlights a significant technical distinction between Tesla and its rivals. While Waymo uses a "fleet response" team—largely based in the Philippines—to provide suggestions or confirmation to the AI, Waymo insists its system never surrenders executive control to a human joystick Gizmodo. Tesla’s willingness to allow full remote takeover suggests the FSD software still faces edge cases it cannot navigate without a "flesh-and-blood human" Gizmodo.

Market Watch

TSLA closed its last session at $382.07, gaining 2.78% as investors digested the SpaceX IPO news and the streamlining of the vehicle lineup. The stock is currently trading higher as the market opens Wednesday. However, headwinds remain; analysts warn that first-quarter deliveries are likely to dip sequentially as global EV demand softens Reuters.

On the bright side, European registrations are rebounding. March sales more than tripled in France and doubled across Nordic countries compared to previous months Automotive News. Despite the recovery, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) remains under an escalated U.S. safety investigation following new crash reports Automotive News.