Weekly Roundup: TSLA Roadster Flies

Google (GOOGL) just taught a robot to play cornhole by showing it a video.

The robot went on to sink seven shots in a row.

Even more impressive, Google says the same technology can cut weeks of robot training down to just a few hours. Imagine what that could mean for the future of robotics.

And Google isn't the only one making big moves.

Tesla (TSLA) is building a nationwide charging network to bring electric trucks to America's highways. Meanwhile, Amazon (AMZN) is going after a much bigger share of the groceries Americans buy every week.

Three of our Infinite Holds are making serious progress in markets with enormous room to grow.

Here's what happened this week:

Tesla (TSLA): Roadster Flies Over Five Other Teslas

Tesla drove its new Roadster upside down on a curved ramp Thursday night, then used SpaceX thrusters to set it down on pavement.

Porsche revealed a new supercar of its own, Mission S, on Thursday.

On Friday, Google searches for Tesla jumped 665% from their four-week average.

Searches for Porsche rose 68%.

Suction fans held Tesla's Roadster to its ramp while it hung upside down.

Then it lifted itself over a Cybercab, a Cybertruck, a Semi, a Model Y and a Model 3 while moving.

Tesla says its Roadster reaches 60 miles per hour in under one second, tops 230 miles per hour and goes 300 miles on a charge.

Elon Musk says Tesla will build it in 2028.

Reservations cost $50,000 for a Performance model and $250,000 for a Thrust model. A third version, Rocket, is invite only.

This X post by a user who owns a Porsche 911 and a Tesla Model Y captures the sentiment split well — TSLA is in a race of its own.

Tesla searches on Friday ran about five times higher than on any other day in three months.

Tesla's consumer demand is up 8% year over year, according to our web-visits data. In mid-August, demand sat 11% below a year earlier — a strong swing heading into earnings next week.

Tesla reports third-quarter results Wednesday, Oct. 21, after markets close. Earnings Season Pass members can watch for our Earnings Score on this Sunday’s sheet.

Tesla (TSLA): Bringing Megachargers to America's Truck Stops

Tesla is tackling one of the biggest obstacles to electric trucking: keeping heavy-duty trucks charged and moving across the country.

The company is teaming up with Pilot, North America's largest travel center network, to build more than a dozen high-powered charging stations along major U.S. trucking routes.

And the first one is already up and running.

At a Pilot location in Ellabell, Georgia, Tesla has installed six Megachargers, each capable of delivering up to 1.2 megawatts of power.

That's enough power to make a big difference for truckers. A Tesla Semi can add 60% to its battery charge in just 30 minutes.

Another dozen stations are under construction, with locations planned along major freight corridors in California, Indiana, Nevada, and Texas. Each will feature four to eight Megachargers.

For trucking companies, time is money. Every hour a truck spends charging is an hour it can't spend hauling freight.

Putting fast chargers at truck stops drivers already use removes a major obstacle to adopting electric trucks.

We've seen Tesla use this strategy before.

Its Supercharger network helped make electric passenger vehicles practical for long-distance travel. Now Tesla is building similar infrastructure for commercial trucking.

And as that network expands, so does the number of freight routes Tesla's Semi can realistically serve.

Tesla has already shown it can build an electric semi-truck. Now it's building the infrastructure to make that truck a serious contender in America's freight industry.

Google’s (GOOGL) AI Just Taught a Robot to Play Cornhole

Google just taught a humanoid robot to play cornhole.

And all it took to get started was a video.

On Oct. 13, Google DeepMind showed off its newest AI model, Gemini 4 Argon, which learned how to play by watching a person toss beanbags at a board.

The AI studied the physics, figured out how the robot needed to move, and created its own practice simulation.

Google then sent those instructions to Apollo, a humanoid robot built by Apptronik.

Apollo sank seven throws in a row.

But the speed of the learning process is even more impressive.

Teaching a robot a new movement has traditionally required engineers to spend weeks building and testing simulations.

Google says its new AI can cut that work down to just a few hours.

In a warehouse or factory, that could mean teaching a robot a new task simply by showing it what to do – cutting weeks of programming down to hours.

And the market for that technology is growing fast.

Goldman Sachs expects 75,000 humanoid robots to ship this year, climbing to 6.5 million annually by 2035.

Every one of those robots will need to learn how to perform useful tasks.

Google just showed why the companies teaching robots how to work could be every bit as important as the companies building them.

And Google is only one part of the opportunity.

Every humanoid robot needs motors to move, sensors to see, and data to learn new tasks. As robot production ramps up, the companies supplying those essentials could see enormous demand.

In fact, we just identified five robotics stocks worth watching in this month’s MegaTrends issue.

Some are already landing orders from robot makers. Yet all five currently trade 17% to 56% below their 12-month highs.

MegaTrends members received the full report this week, including the five stocks we're watching and why we believe they could benefit as the robotics industry takes off.

If you're not a MegaTrends member yet, join us here to get the full story.

Amazon (AMZN): Making Groceries an Amazon Habit

Amazon wants to make ordering groceries as easy as buying anything else on its website.

This week, the company confirmed it's shutting down an unspecified number of grocery partner storefronts on Amazon.com.

These are separate online shops for grocery chains like Winn-Dixie and Weis Markets.

Right now, customers shopping through these storefronts can face different delivery fees, checkout processes, and delivery windows depending on which grocer they choose.

Amazon plans to simplify the experience by directing shoppers to the best available grocery options on its marketplace.

Meanwhile, it's expanding its own grocery delivery business.

Amazon already offers same-day fresh grocery delivery in more than 2,300 U.S. cities and towns, with plans to expand internationally.

It's also exploring new ways to work with grocery chains, including using stores as Amazon package pickup and return locations or helping grocers run their operations through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Whole Foods, Amazon's own grocery chain, is drawing more shoppers: its consumer demand is up 77% year over year, according to our web-visits data.

We like the direction Amazon is heading here.

Think about how often you buy groceries compared with a new television or laptop.

Groceries bring customers back week after week. And the easier Amazon makes those purchases, the more likely shoppers are to make it part of their regular routine.

Amazon has already made itself a destination for big purchases. Now it's going after the milk, eggs, and bread you need every week.