Austin, TX
Tesla teases new vehicle in latest earnings report
Tesla’s next generation vehicle will be made in Austin, the company announced Wednesday.
The Austin-based company, which shared its fourth quarter 2023 earnings report Wednesday, teased that it would be making its next vehicle platform in Austin, but gave little detail beyond that.
The company listed the vehicle as “in development” in the earnings report but disclosed no real details on the vehicle itself, including what the price points, name or vehicle type would be. Tesla also did not mention a timeline for its launch.
“We are focused on bringing the next generation platform to market as quickly as we can, with the plan to start production at Gigafactory Texas,” Tesla said in the report. “This platform will revolutionize how vehicles are manufactured.”
On a call with investors Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk said more details on the platform will come later.
“Perhaps the most important competitive characteristic for Tesla in the future will be manufacturing technology and you will really see that come to bear with our next gen vehicle,” Musk said. “The first manufacturing location for this will be at our gigafactory and headquarters in Austin, Texas and then we will follow that up with other locations around the world.”
Tesla also warned that its growth rate “may be notably lower” in 2024 as it works towards launching the vehicle. In the report Tesla noted it is “currently between two major growth waves,” saying the next wave could be driven by its next-generation vehicle platform.
The warning came as competition in the electric vehicle market heats up. Chinese automaker BYD was the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles in the fourth quarter, unseating Tesla for the first time, according to a report by Reuters. During the fourth quarter BYD sold 526,000 vehicles compared to Tesla’s 485,000. However, Tesla still made the most electric vehicles overall in 2023.
The company also listed its second-generation Roadster sports car as “in development” on its earnings report. The new version, a successor to a limited production vehicle originally made from 2008 to 2012, has delayed production multiple times, but is available to reserve on Tesla’s website for an initial $50,000 reservation.
The new platform announcement follows a Wednesday morning report from Reuters that said Tesla was working on producing a new mass market electric vehicle codenamed “Redwood” in mid-2025. The report, which cited sources familiar with the matter, said the vehicle could be a compact crossover and production could begin in July 2025.
Musk has previously promised the company would work on more affordable electric vehicles, including a sub-$25,000 vehicle and self-driving robotaxis, which have yet to come to fruition.
Musk confirmed on the investor call the company expects to start production in the second half of 2025, but noted he is typically optimistic about timelines and it would include a lot of new “revolutionary” manufacturing technology.
Musk added that he wants the vehicles to start production in Austin because it “will be a challenging ramp,” and likely will have engineers sleeping and “living” on the production line to make it possible.
“We really need engineers to be living on the line,” Musk said. “This is not the sort of ‘off the shelf, just works’ sort of thing. I am confident that once it is going it will be head and shoulders above any other manufacturing technology that exists in the world.”
The company most recently released a new vehicle late last year when it delivered its first handful of its long-anticipated Cybertrucks. In its earnings report Tesla said it has ramped up capacity to build over 125,000 Cybertrucks a year in Austin.
The company noted in the earnings report it expects the production ramp up to be longer than other vehicles because of Cybertrucks’ “manufacturing complexity.” CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly warned of difficulties scaling up production for the vehicle and the company has not said how many it initially delivered nor how many it expects to in 2024.
Tesla also produces Model Y vehicles and batteries at its Austin gigafactory, Giga Texas. In the report Tesla said in now has capacity to produce 375,000 Model Y SUVs a year in Austin.
Tesla shares fell about 3% after hours as the company missed Wall Street expectations with the company reporting revenue of $25.17 billion in the fourth quarter, compared to the $25.6 billion expected by FactSet analysts. The revenue was a 3% increase overall from the same time last year.
The company had already released its fourth quarter and full year delivery and production numbers earlier this month, reporting that it delivered 1.8 million vehicles in 2023 including 485,000 in the fourth quarter. Deliveries are Tesla’s closest approximation to vehicle sales.
The earning’s report also comes as Musk demanded more control of Tesla this month if the company is to be a leader in AI or robotics. The CEO, who already has a number of other companies including SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink and The Boring Company, said he would rather focus on building products at another company if he doesn’t get his way.
Austin, TX
Lawsuit: Brianna Aguilera’s parents allege underage alcohol service at Austin tailgate contributed to daughter’s death
The parents of Brianna Aguilera have filed a lawsuit against two organizations, alleging that they served alcohol to their underage daughter which contributed to her death in Austin.
Before Aguilera fell to her death from the Rio 21 Apartments in West Campus, the lawsuit states that she attended a tailgate at the Austin Blacks Rugby Club’s facility, organized by the UT Latin Economics and Business Association.
Both the Austin Blacks Rugby Club and the UT Latin Economics and Business Association were listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
>> What we know about Texas A&M student Brianna Aguilera’s death in Austin
Even though the lawsuit states Aguilera was “noticeably intoxicated” at the tailgate, her parents argue that the defendants continued to serve her alcohol.
According to court documents, Aguilera allegedly began stumbling at the tailgate and needed help standing at times. At some point, the lawsuit said she fell into the woods and lost her phone.
After leaving the tailgate at approximately 10 p.m., court documents state Aguilera died around two hours later.
The lawsuit also accuses the defendants of negligence and gross negligence for serving alcohol to Aguilera despite her age and allegedly overserving her.
In the suit, Aguilera’s parents demanded a trial by jury and sought at least $1 million plus interest, costs and punitive damages.
Aguilera’s parents also seek damages for wrongful death, citing the defendants’ alleged misconduct.
Houston-based attorney Tony Buzbee, who’s representing the Aguilera family, commented on the lawsuit in a Tuesday news conference.
Watch the full news conference below:
“Brianna was obviously overserved,” Buzbee said. “Even the police have concluded that she was overserved at that tailgate. She was not 21.”
Buzbee also stated that the Austin Police Department has allegedly told multiple witnesses not to talk with him and Aguilera’s parents.
“They told the three, the three individuals that were in that apartment that night when this young girl died. They told them, do not speak to Brianna’s mother or her lawyers,” Buzbee said.
He said that the lawsuit could provide a way for the witnesses to eventually come forward with information.
“By filing this lawsuit, not only will we hold accountable an entity or entities that were involved in overserving Brianna and other minors, but we will also be able to subpoena individuals and documents and video and data so we can continue our investigation,” Buzbee said.
KSAT’s sister station, KPRC, has reached out to both the Austin Blacks Rugby Club and the UT Latin Economics and Business Association for comment on the lawsuit. This story will be updated once the organizations provide a statement.
More coverage of this story on KSAT:
Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.
Austin, TX
Cedar pollen eases, but record heat builds across Central Texas
Although record-breaking heat and spring-like warmth dominated the first few days of the new year, cooler — but still warmer than normal —temperatures settled in to start the first work week of 2026.
The heat will ramp up yet again Tuesday and Wednesday, with temperatures about 20 degrees above the normal early-January high of 62 degrees.
Expect a blanket of low stratus clouds and some patchy dense fog Tuesday morning, but skies should begin clearing around lunchtime.
“In the meantime, a surface trough (of low atmospheric pressure)/dry line will push from the southern Edwards Plateau into the I-35 corridor, bringing temperatures into the lower to mid-80s,” meteorologists with the National Weather Service wrote in a forecast discussion Monday. “It is going to be very warm for this time of year, and some daily high temperature records could be broken.”
Those temperatures could rival record highs at both Austin climate observation sites, Camp Mabry and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, where the standing record is 84 degrees, set in 1989.
Behind the dry line Tuesday, drier air will move into Central Texas, leading to a slightly cooler start Wednesday under mostly to partly cloudy skies.
Morning temperatures will dip into the 50s around sunrise before climbing into the upper 70s to mid-80s by the afternoon. Those highs would surpass the record of 80 degrees set in 2008 at Camp Mabry.
Temperatures the rest of the week will remain above normal with mostly cloudy mornings but sunny afternoons.
A cold front is forecast to move across the region later in the week with a slight rain chance Thursday and Friday, but most of the rain will fall north and east of Austin. However, cooler and more seasonable weather is expected this weekend.
This past weekend, Austin experienced the highest cedar pollen counts so far this season with a count of 3,200 grains per cubic meter Saturday and a peak of 4,000 grains per cubic meter on Sunday. However, the count dropped to just over 1,000 grams per cubic meter on Monday. Humidity has been on the rise in the past few days, and winds have been much lighter. Those factors have helped “settle” the cedar pollen for the time being.
Luckily, the winds have turned southerly and are much lighter, so the pollen has settled a bit. A small chance of rain on Thursday and Friday should also help dampen cedar pollen before it becomes airborne. However, above-normal temperatures will allow tree pollen cones to continue opening, setting the stage for another pollen surge when the next breezy cold front arrives.
Austin, TX
Venezuelan oil reboot not expected to spur windfall in Texas
Texas reacts to Venezuelan leader being taken into custody
With former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro out of power, President Trump said he wants to reboot the oil industry in Venezuela. That idea has raised questions about whether it could cause a price spike at the gas pump and a downturn in the Texas oil patch region.
AUSTIN, Texas – With former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro out of power, President Trump said he wants to reboot the oil industry in Venezuela.
That idea has raised questions about whether it could cause a price spike at the gas pump and a downturn in the Texas oil patch region.
Now, a spike at the pump and a production slump in the Texas oil patch may not happen this year, but with oil prices down, a budget crunch for state lawmakers may be waiting when they return to Austin in 2027.
What they’re saying:
The situation in Venezuela is creating a lot of political uncertainty, but a Texas energy expert said he is not expecting that uncertainty to cause an oil patch crash or a gas pump pike in 2026.
Prices at the pump are low and despite some recent big swings, up and down, analysts say 2026 could see the lowest prices since the pandemic. That prediction has people like Dale Owens cautiously optimistic.
“Things change so drastically nowadays. I mean, look what’s happening with the government, so anything can affect the price. But right now I’m really happy that it’s stable,” said Owens.
There are big reasons for that local gas price stabilization, and it predates the leadership change in Venezuela, according to Ed Hirs, an Energy Fellow at the University of Houston.
“The first is that the president has asked MBS (Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman) and OPEC nations to continue pumping a pace. Number one. Number two, this helps hamstring the Russian economy and its war effort. And that’s also one of the goals of not only the European Union, but of the Trump administration. And number three, we’ve got the midterm elections coming up,” said Hirs.
The price of a barrel of oil is expected to increase slightly because of the uncertainty regarding Venezuela. Texas crude oil production, according to an update released Monday, was stable in December, but state data also showed drilling permits for 2025 were at 369 and that’s down from 459 in 2024.
“When President Trump took office, oil was about $80 a barrel, today it’s under $60 a barrel. We are the high-cost producers in the global commodity oil market, and the cost of drilling these wells has gone up by between 5% and 12%, primarily because of Trump’s steel tariffs. Not only does the imported steel now cost a lot more, but domestic producers raise their So the producers in West Texas and across the Permian Basin are getting squeezed by much lower revenues, $20 a barrel less and much higher cost. It’s not a good capital investment for Wall Street,” said Hirs.
Dig deeper:
The oil industry remains a big part of the Texas economy and the state budget. State lawmakers will return to Austin in 2027 to crunch numbers for a new two-year budget.
“I think they need to be looking at the budget. So the state comptroller needs to be running the numbers now based on lower oil revenues, not only for state lands, for example, for the universities, but for the state tax receipts. And that applies to the counties and cities that rely on these revenues to keep their budgets balanced. It’s going to be lower for longer,” said Hirs.
There are also doubts about whether the Texas refineries will get a financial windfall if the Trump Administration is able to reboot the oil industry in Venezuela. There are about six refineries in Texas and Louisiana that can process the heavy crude that is located in Venezuela.
“Well, it might help keep them open. But Lyondell just closed down a 100-plus-year-old heavy crude refinery on the Houston Ship Channel because it just doesn’t make any sense to reinvest in it. And it was going to require $750, $800 million of new capital investment just to keep the plant operating at par,” said Hirs.
What’s next:
Stocks for several oil companies did increase on Monday. Chevron, at one point, had a 10% stock price surge, mainly because Chevron is the only U.S. company operating in Venezuela. Other energy-related companies also saw an increase, like Exxon, as well as industry suppliers like Baker-Hughes and Halliburton.
The action on Wall Street came after President Trump said he wants energy producers to pay for the oil production rebuild. Hirs described the administration’s plans as being “naive.”
Past attempts to rebuild another country’s oil infrastructure seem to back up the doubts raised by Hirs. In 1989, after the Soviet Union collapsed, companies like Exxon went in to rebuild — only to get kicked out later by the Russians. Hirs also noted the rebuilding effort in Iraq, started by President George W. Bush, hasn’t returned production there to pre-war levels. And it’s the same story for Libya, which was done under President Obama.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski and previous coverage
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