• Texas Robotaxi passenger films car hitting plastic bollards
• Company claims "impeccable" Robotaxi safety record
• Tesla is preparing Cybercabs for public roads imminently

A Tesla Robotaxi user in Austin, Texas, has captured the moment their driverless ride failed to navigate a curb extension, marked off by plastic posts, turning directly into them and carrying on with the journey.

The incident came not long after Tesla’s head of AI told investors the Robotaxi program has an “impeccable safety record” with “zero notable incidents,” according to Electrek.

The footage, posted to Reddit, shows the vehicle creeping forward, backing up, creeping forward again, and then driving right through the plastic posts.

An audible thud can be heard as the vehicle hits the plastic poles, while the passenger can be heard saying, "It hit em, it hit em."

The Robotaxi in question didn’t have a safety operator behind the wheel, although it is unclear whether a remote operator was called upon to authorize the decision to drive through the marked-off area.

Tesla’s decision to eschew “costly” LiDAR in favor of high-definition cameras and other sensors has been met with plenty of criticism, but this particular incident appears to indicate a potential issue with Tesla’s mapping, rather than its sensors.

According to Electrek, Redditors used the Texas Orthopedics building visible in the video’s frame to pin down the exact corner where the incident took place on Google Maps, and Street View shows those posts have been in place since at least February 2024.

Tesla's choice not to use a proprietary high-definition mapping system, as Waymo does, means it is largely up to the autonomous vehicle's on-board compute power to make on-the-fly decisions. Here, it looked like it failed.

Despite this, VP of AI Ashok Elluswamy defended Tesla’s Robotaxi safety record at the company's Q2 earnings call, claiming that the company has driven “more than 380,000 miles” with “zero notable incidents.”

Analysis: Tesla readies its Cybercab for public roads

Despite Tesla accumulating a fraction of the unsupervised autonomous ride-hailing miles compared to its closest rival, Waymo (220 million plays Tesla's 380,000), it has been reported that it could start trialing its fully autonomous Cybercab on public roads this month.

As a reminder, the Cybercab is a purpose-built, fully autonomous taxi that rolls off the production line without traditional pedals or a steering wheel, leaving every part of the driving experience to computers, cameras, and a handful of sensors.

The Next Web reports that Tesla’s own employees will be the first to test Cybercab on public roads, although it could start introducing the vehicles into its Austin autonomous fleet soon thereafter.

However, Tesla’s Austin fleet is reported to have shrunk to around 17 cars, down from about 25 in the spring, while those that still exist are operating in a tightly controlled, geofenced area that is a fraction of the size of the area Waymo is working with.

While every autonomous ride-hailing service naturally deals with issues and incidents on a daily basis, the recent video clip from Austin shows that Tesla still has plenty of work to do in order to back up that “impeccable” safety record claim… and boost consumer confidence in a Cybercab service that lacks any physical controls.

The Tesla Optimus, also known as the Tesla Bot, is one of an entire catalogue of humanoid robots that manufacturers have unveiled in the last few years. Humanoid robots may look the part, and while they may be a few years away from maturation, executives like Tesla CEO Elon Musk are adamant they're a direct substitute for human labor.

Optimus Prime

Before Musk had unveiled the first prototype of the Optimus robot, he was speaking to its potential and the role it could play in the workforce of the future.

Speaking at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit, Musk reportedly said that the robot could one day be good enough to replace human labor, just as machinery in the last few decades has gradually replaced humans in production lines.

His comments also suggested that rather than eliminating jobs, and thus leading to mass unemployment, the rise of humanoid robots will fill a gap in labor demand that currently exists, allowing corporations to make more and build quicker. He was adamant, in these comments and in several remarks since, that there aren't enough people and we aren't reproducing enough to maintain our current population levels.

Robotic replacement

Musk is adamant that the rise of humanoid robots will not impact the level of available jobs – but that doesn't mean his views will play out.

Many disagree, suggesting there is a material risk to current roles, including those that involve repetitive or manual tasks. But experts disagree over whether this means a net reduction in jobs, or simply a shift in the demand for human roles in the future.

Many suggest 2027 will be the year in which robots enter a serious level of production. While the Optimus robot is not currently being made, Tesla is targeting next year and beyond for mass manufacturing and distribution following several delays to date.

• Recall affects 20,349 vehicles in the United States

• Both Model 3 and Model Y could require new headlights

• NHTSA says low beams exceed maximum permitted light intensity

Tesla will physically recall more than 20,000 vehicles in the US because their headlights could reduce visibility for both the driver and fellow road users, potentially increasing the risk of accidents.

The NHTSA recall, officially codenamed 26V507, includes 2017-2023 Model 3 and 2020-2023 Model Y vehicles fitted with specific headlamp assemblies supplied by Marelli Automotive Lighting.

While there is no hard ceiling for the maximum brightness of low- and high-beam headlights, the NHTSA measures brightness at designated test angles to prevent glare and the possible ‘blinding’ of fellow road users.

According to the NHTSA, Tesla’s lamps are being recalled because the low beams exceed the maximum permitted light intensity in the outer upper-left and upper-right portions of a federally defined testing zone.

Electrek reports that Tesla was aware of the problem back in 2023, proposing to recall a small set of vehicles and petitioning the NHTSA to avoid a full recall. The petition was denied, and now Tesla will likely have to replace thousands of non-compliant headlamp assemblies as a result.

According to InsideEVs, Tesla says that it has not yet determined a fix for the vehicles and that the remedy is “currently under development.” Owners of the affected vehicles will receive notifications of the next steps via mail by September 15.

Analysis: A silver lining for owners

While a major recall is never a good look for any automotive manufacturer, it is part and parcel of daily life, as safety administrations look to ensure vehicles are performing as they should throughout their lifecycle.

Tesla, like any other car company, isn’t immune to recalls and has recently had to contact thousands of owners over issues with rear cameras and fix Cybertruck wheels that could crack.

That said, the EV giant has also been able to fix many of the issues that have arisen via over-the-air software updates.

Compare this to some of the largest recalls in history, which have affected millions of vehicles over decades, and Tesla’s physical recall numbers are relatively small fry.

What’s more, Not a Tesla App points out that, should Tesla have to replace entire headlamp assemblies, owners of these older vehicles may receive a free upgrade to Tesla’s matrix headlights, which offer improved illumination when driving at night.

• SpaceX and Tesla commit $16.8 billion to build a gigantic Texas chip factory
• TeraFab could cover more than 100 million square feet when fully built
• Elon Musk claims TeraFab will reach 50 times the size of the Pentagon

SpaceX and Tesla have revealed more details in their plan to invest $16.8 billion in a massive semiconductor factory planned for Grimes County, Texas.

The facility, known as TeraFab, is expected to manufacture chips for several computing-intensive applications associated with both companies.

At full construction, SpaceX says the factory could exceed 100 million square feet, or approximately 9.3 million square metres.

A semiconductor factory on an unprecedented scale

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk described the planned facility as potentially the largest and most valuable building on Earth after completion.

“TeraFab will be 50 times the size of the Pentagon when complete,” Musk said on X.

Since the Pentagon is 6.6 million square feet and SpaceX has only confirmed TeraFab will exceed 100 million square feet, Musk's "50 times" figure would require a final size closer to 330 million square feet — a number the company has not disclosed or confirmed.

Even so, the scale remains extraordinary: the Pentagon, Apple Park, Mall of America, and Giga Texas together total 25.04 million square feet, meaning TeraFab's confirmed 100 million square feet alone would already be roughly four times larger than all four combined.

The project originally emerged from Musk’s concern that existing semiconductor suppliers could not satisfy Tesla’s future computing requirements.

Tesla first discussed the concept publicly in November 2025, describing it as a much larger version of its Gigafactory model.

Plans announced in March 2026 called for the semiconductor plant to operate beside Tesla’s Austin headquarters.

SpaceX and Tesla subsequently established the project as a joint venture, with Intel later joining the development effort.

Musk has said the facility would use Intel’s 14A manufacturing process, although production plans may evolve during development.

The companies have linked the factory to chips required for space-based computing, advanced vehicles, and humanoid robotic systems.

Costs, employment and environmental commitments

The initial project estimate was $20 billion, but later filings indicated substantially larger potential spending during subsequent development phases.

A May property tax abatement application revealed that an initial phase could cost $55 billion, with eventual spending potentially reaching $119 billion.

The latest $16.8 billion commitment, therefore, does not represent the maximum investment that may eventually be required.

SpaceX expects the facility to employ at least 3,000 workers, including people from Grimes County and neighboring Brazos County.

Local authorities approved a 100% property tax abatement in June 2026 after county commissioners voted 4-1 on three related proposals.

The companies also say industrial operations will use water from Gibbons Creek Reservoir instead of relying on nearby groundwater supplies.

SpaceX and Tesla have also committed to wastewater treatment, water reuse, conservation measures, and compliance with environmental regulations.

Their plans include regulated handling of hazardous materials, chemicals, and industrial byproducts generated during semiconductor manufacturing.

“The combined SpaceX and Tesla demand for chips is expected to be in excess of 1 terawatt (TW) of compute,” said SpaceX in its website post.

The proposed scale makes TeraFab an unusually large industrial project, while its final cost and construction scope remain subject to future expansion.

Via DataCenterDynamics

• A police officer pulled a Tesla over for traveling 64mph in a 45 mph zone
• The owner attempted to plead innocence as Full Self-Driving was running
• Police issued a very blunt response

Video footage has surfaced online that shows a police department in Parker, Colorado, reportedly pulling over a Tesla for traveling 64mph in a 45mph zone.

While this isn’t unusual in itself, the plea from the Tesla’s driver is, as the excuse was that they weren't in control at the time. “I wasn’t driving. I had Autopilot on,” came the plea.

The three-minute video was released by the police, alongside a blunt reply (or perhaps a warning to other drivers?) that read: “Driver assistance technology does not replace the driver.”

“Whether your vehicle has adaptive cruise control, lane centering or full self-driving, you are still legally responsible for operating your vehicle safely,” the response added.

Despite the driver being clocked at 64mph in a 45mph zone, the Tesla owner belligerently claims they weren’t in control, it wasn’t their fault and that the self-driving system was activated.

The police officer then says: “I don’t know how these systems work, but you’re not the first person I have stopped with Autopilot activated.”

In fact, one of Electrek’s own writers documented the moment he got a speeding ticket while using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving.

Despite setting the system to Standard mode — as opposed to the faster Hurry or Mad Max settings — the vehicle still crept up to 78km/h in a 50km/h zone.

Analysis: Bad by design

Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems are designed to assist the person behind the wheel, rather than completely replace them, no matter what Elon Musk espouses in his various public statements.

Currently, the law states that the buck stops with the driver, and any reckless driving, speeding or accident ultimately remains the driver’s fault, as they need to be ready to take control if and when these systems fail.

However, Tesla makes things difficult, as it has designed FSD to drift over the limit, even in Standard mode, and also took away the adjustable speed offset that once allowed owners to cap how far over the limit the vehicle would creep in autonomous modes.

Electrek reports that the adjustable speed offset was recently removed in FSD v14 and replaced with fixed driving profiles.

It is easy to see why Tesla has trained its systems this way, as many drivers get frustrated when technology vehemently adheres to speed limits and subsequently fails to keep up with traffic.

But with many other semi-autonomous cruise-control technologies, the driver has complete control over the speeds at which they are happy to creep over the limit.

If Tesla’s driving assistance systems keep landing drivers in hot water, many will stop using them entirely, which is exactly the opposite of what the company wants.

After all, Elon Musk has long promised that drivers will soon be able to text and immerse themselves in all manner of side tasks in the very near future.

But right now, it feels like Tesla owners need to be more alert than ever.

• Camera-only systems can only “approximately match” a human driver

• Multi-sensing setup offers more than just a failsafe
• Waymo co-CEO backs the use of Lidar and radar over camera-only systems

Waymo co-CEO Dmitri Dolgov has spoken out about the technology required to run a fully autonomous robotaxi service, addressing the subject of camera-only systems.

While he didn’t mention Tesla directly in his in-depth talk at Y Combinator’s Startup School, the presentation directly addressed vision-only camera setups, like those Elon Musk and Tesla have been pursuing.

“Humans, of course, can drive with just eyes, so there’s that proof of existence,” he said, according to Electrek.

“If the goal were to just approximately match human performance or to build an assist product, that’s a very reasonable way to go.”

But “weak sensing” inevitably leads to a safety curve that flattens out “way too early,” he added, highlighting the many cases where a camera system can come unstuck.

Low light or poor visibility, dust storms and objects physically blocking the lens can bring a camera-based system to a grinding halt in seconds.

Dolgov then gave an example of how Waymo’s combination of Lidar, radar and high-definition cameras allowed one stricken vehicle to safely navigate itself back to a depot when a tree branch became caught in its wipers and obscured the camera lens.

While Dolgov doesn’t completely dismiss camera-based systems, stating that they can easily support a driver with highly autonomous assistance systems, he admits they will struggle to replace a human entirely.

The issue is that fully autonomous robotaxis need to be as close to perfect as it’s possible to be.

A mounting record of accidents will likely put off customers for life and kill the technology before it has time to gain a foothold.

Many take the multi-modal path

Having ridden in numerous autonomous vehicles over the years and listened to those that have built them, I am fully in Dmitri Dolgov's camp.

While a camera-based system might help keep costs down, fitting autonomous vehicles with Lidar, radar, and other sensors feels like a natural and reasonable step to make them as safe as possible.

A visit to Motional’s HQ in Las Vegas earlier this year illustrated the need for multiple sensing technologies when you completely remove the driver from the picture.

Its robotaxis, which are now bespoke versions of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (complete with radar and Lidar), have driven over two million autonomous miles with zero at-fault incidents.

Like Waymo, it too believes a multimodal approach that fuses various technologies is the safest way forward.

Laura Major, the company’s CEO, said at the time that rival startups were able to get to a “90% performance” very quickly, often relying solely on high-definition cameras.

“These offer really smooth rides in most situations,” Major remarked. “The problem is when you’re going to remove a driver and have true driverless operation, that’s not enough. You can’t perform well in 90% of the cases,” she added.

Admittedly, I haven't ridden in one of Tesla's driverless Robotaxis, but the numbers don't lie.

According to Electrek, Tesla's own data confirms a crash rate three times worse than humans even with a monitor at the wheel, while Waymo's numbers suggest it is 17 times safer after covering some 220 million rider-only miles.

Tesla has accumulated just 380,000 driverless miles over the past year since launching its robotaxi service.

I bought my first Tesla Model 3 in June 2019. It was my dream car. The promise of getting in, selecting a destination, and the car taking care of the rest was one I bought into.

I originally bought the Model 3 without Full Self Driving (FSD), which at the time cost $6,000. Then about a month later, Elon Musk announced the cost would start going up by $1,000 every few months. So, I bought FSD outright before that happened. I even ordered custom license plates to make it very clear to other drivers my car was driving itself.

A couple of years later, the first beta arrived, and during the next few years, after many updates, it got good. Really good.

I know headlines love to point out when an accident happens during FSD use — and rightfully so — but my overall experience with it as of a year ago was that I felt safe when using it. I could get in, tell it where to take me, and the majority of the time, I only had to babysit.

I used FSD probably 95% of the time; I was behind the wheel. I no longer hated driving.

Goodbye FSD, hello Comma 4

Then, life changed. My wife and I decided to open a pizza food truck, and we quickly learned the truck we planned on using wasn't up for the job of towing our trailer. So, I traded in my Model 3 for a 2025 Ford F-150 Lightning Flash. Bye-bye FSD.

My Lightning came with three free months of BlueCruise, Ford's hands-free driver-assist system that only works on highways. When you're on standard roads, Ford has a basic lane-keeping feature that keeps you within the lines, and that's about it.

After my BlueCruise trial ended, I opted not to pay the $50 a month/$500 a year subscription fee, mainly because it's limited to highways and I wasn't doing a lot of highway driving at the time. In town, I was still able to use lane keep and deal with the super annoying "Keep Your Hands on The Wheel" nag that goes off all the time.

I didn't miss the more advanced self-driving-like features of BlueCruise at all. I got by.

Then, in January, I had shoulder surgery. The extended recovery process meant driving an hour away for physical therapy at least once a week, and I'm still making that same drive. So, I decided to turn my Ford Rewards points into a couple of free months of BlueCruise to help me get back and forth.

Only this time, I loved it. I could cruise up and down the highway at 80 miles per hour, tap the blinker to start an automatic lane change and just relax — all hands free.

With a few weeks left in my extended trial, I decided to sign up for the $500-per-year subscription. While I waited for the charge to hit my credit card, a friend reminded me about Comma.ai, the small dash cam-like device that helps control your vehicle.

In Comma's own words: "It's upgraded active driver assistance for your Toyota, Hyundai, Ford, and more." Comma states it supports over 300 different vehicles.

Knowing I was about to commit to $500 per year for BlueCruise, curiosity got the best of me, and I spent over a week reading everything I possibly could about Comma and how it works.

The overly simplified explanation is that you need to install the device and a wire harness specific to your vehicle. The two components then intercept and send driver assistance commands to your vehicle, enabling hands-free driving on any marked road — not just highways.

I also spent more than a few days reading through and asking far too many questions in the Ford-specific Discord channel. The group there was amazing and patiently answered every single one.

I'll admit I felt very uneasy about random people on the internet writing software that can control my car. I still do, to an extent, but eventually I felt comfortable and curious enough to order the $1,000 gadget.

Install, setup and daily use

A few weeks later, a small box arrived with the camera, the Ford-specific wiring harness, and zero instructions.

Thankfully, there are quite a few YouTube videos detailing the installation process. That process requires installing the wiring harness under the dash, where my truck's Image Processing Module A (IPMA) is located. I had to remove some paneling to get to it, then route the included OBD-C cable from under the dash to my rear-view mirror where the Comma 4 is mounted.

The install process took about an hour, with the most difficult part being connecting the wiring harness to the IPMA — it's such a tiny space and hard to get to, but eventually I got it.

With the harness connected, the Comma 4 mounted, and the cable run, the next thing I needed to do was install an operating system.

The Comma 4 comes with a bare-bones operating system installed, able to do just enough to help facilitate whatever version of driving software — commonly referred to as forks — you want to use.

OpenPilot is Comma's own driving software, but it's not optimized for every vehicle. For my Ford Lightning, I have to use BluePilot, a Ford-specific fork that's customized and optimized to handle quirks in driver-assistance commands, for the best experience.

I went through the software setup process in about 10 minutes, and then it was ready for me to take a short calibration drive. Once that was done, I had my very own self-driving assistant, ready to begin driving me around.

Activating Comma is done using the same buttons I would use to turn on BlueCruise or Ford's lane-keeping features. I can see when Comma is active by looking at the Comma 4's screen for green border indicators where the edges of the lane are, and a solid green line in the middle showing that path the truck is going to take.

It took me a few days of tweaking features and settings to fine-tune how the Comma controls my truck. For instance, out of the box it doesn't handle lane changes for you. You have to enable lane changes, and even then it'll only perform a change when you activate your blinker — it won't do it on its own.

You can even customize how aggressive it is during the lane change, how long it will wait after activating the blinker before changing, so you need to confirm the change by nudging the wheel in that direction before it fully commits. It's really cool stuff.

What's taken me the longest to get just right is adjusting my truck's alignment in a lane. With default settings, my truck was consistently riding the left side of every lane I was in. It wouldn't go over it, but it was too close for my comfort. I spent some more time figuring out the proper setting to adjust and started tweaking. A few minutes later, my truck is almost perfectly centered.

I'm still tweaking different settings, but for the most part it drives just like I want. I continue to experience some very slow ping-ponging — when the car goes from one side of the lane to the other and then back — but it's easily remedied if I just place my hand on the wheel. From what I understand, I may never get fully rid of it.

I've learned a lot along the way, too. In my Ford, the Comma 4 only controls lateral movements to keep you centered in the lane, not longitudinal controls such as speeding up and braking. Ford's ACC system still handles the latter feature – something I found reassuring.

A couple of disclaimers you need to know

There are a few things I want to make clear, should you decide to get a Comma 4 (or one of the older models).

First, you, as the driver, are responsible for your vehicle at all times. The Comma 4 is an assistance device, not a fully-take-over-all-controls device. It hasn't tried to steer me unexpectedly into another lane, but I've seen reports and feedback about a recent update doing just that.

Second, Comma 4 will never offer a Full Self Driving-like point-to-point experience. There are just too many variables to how a third-party device can interact with and control various vehicles. In a Ford, for example, Comma 4 has limits in how aggressively it can steer, which makes tight corners difficult if not downright impossible. A recent update to BluePilot has made progress in this regard, but a 90-degree turn is all but out of the question.

1,000 miles and no regrets

My original intent was to take full advantage of the 30-day no-questions-asked return policy and send the Comma 4 back if I had any reservations after testing it. And, well, that window closed a few weeks ago.

All told, I'm nearing 1,000 miles over 97 driving sessions and 26 total hours since installing the Comma 4 in my truck. Not all of that is with it activated, but I'd wager that 75% or more of those miles were driven by Comma.

It's earning my trust with every drive and scenario I throw at it. The system has built enough confidence that I'm now going fully hands-free on longer drives.

Even with its quirks and limitations, the trade-off is a no-brainer for me. The Comma 4 handles backroads and standard city streets where BlueCruise simply gives up.

Best of all, I don't have to pay Ford $500 a year for a highway-only feature on top of what I already pay for premium connectivity. For a one-time $1,000 hardware investment, I got a sliver of my FSD experience back, saved money in the long run, and gained a system that continuously gets better thanks to an active community.

• Update adds more Grok commands to Tesla models
• Navigation can now learn recurring stops and plan routes accordingly
• Improved parental controls for the rear screen have been added

Tesla regularly releases major updates to its vehicles that bundle together a host of software upgrades that not only keep its fleet of vehicles bug-free and running smoothly, but also at the cutting edge of in-car technology.

For its Summer Update, Tesla has added a slew of new Grok commands that allow its AI voice assistant to take care of more key vehicle functions, without drivers needing to hunt around in on-screen menus.

When it was first introduced into Tesla models back in 2025, Grok was merely an AI voice assistant that could answer generic questions — it wasn't able to control features on the vehicle.

This has slowly been changing, with a Spring Update earlier this year adding a wake word, and the ability for users to set reminders based on location.

Now, Grok can make or answer hands-free phone calls, skip tracks or change radio stations on the media screen, and adjust the climate inside the vehicle.

Similarly, it's also able to open the glove box — something that traditionally involves navigating an on-screen menu — with a voice command.

On top of the major Grok updates, Tesla has also added improved parental controls for the rear display that's available for a number of models, allowing front-seat occupants to have full control over what's playing in the rear, or lock it out entirely.

Analysis: Grok updates make Tesla more competitive

Despite Elon Musk's wider focus on artificial intelligence across much of his business empire, Tesla has been relatively slow to introduce advanced AI voice assistant functionality into its cars.

Numerous Chinese competitors have long offered smart voice assistants that are able to control key vehicle functions and even open windows, while the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen have been rolling out a mix of LLM-powered assistants and in-house-developed voice assistants that can deal with general queries as well as more specific vehicle-based requests.

However, Tesla has once again demonstrated that it can improve its vehicles as they age, rather than reserving its hottest new features for new customers only; the Model 3, Model Y and Cybertruck remain some of the best examples of software-defined vehicles on sale today.

• Xpeng says China will soon produce a product to beat the Tesla Model Y
• Co-founder He Xiaopeng says the company isn't far from beating Tesla
• Tech-focused company wants to compete with premium European players

During the launch of Xpeng's upcoming L03 EV in Munich this week, the company's first simultaneous vehicle unveiling in Europe and China, founder He Xiaopeng said that he believed the marque was "not far from beating Model Y," according to the Financial Times.

Not one to shy away from Tesla comparisons, Xpeng has always strived to be seen as more technology-focused than many of its closest Chinese rivals, with humanoid robots, artificial intelligence, and eVTOL lightweight electric aircraft also part of the company's portfolio.

The L03, which is said to have a starting price of €35,600 (around $40,600/AU$58,000), features sporty SUV coupe styling, a 15.6-inch central infotainment display, lounge-style seating, and what the company calls its most advanced intelligent driving capabilities ever introduced to global markets.

"L03 has the potential to be a blockbuster model in terms of being a volume driver and certainly one of the Model Y killers, but not the killer," Lei Xing, founder of Chinese consultancy AutoXing, told the Financial Times.

Having driven the company's G6, which is clearly a Tesla Model Y rival in both exterior design and the technology it offers, I have to agree. I still think Tesla's recently updated Model 3 and Model Y are the better cars to drive.

The software at the heart of those cars also delivers a much slicker user experience.

Secondly, Tesla's Supercharger ecosystem remains one of the cheapest and simplest to use in most markets today. Granted, it doesn't offer the fastest charging speeds, but its convenience and reliability more than make up for that.

Spend any time in a Tesla or with Tesla owners, and they will attest to how simple the recharging process is — from the fact that the vehicle plans journeys based on range and state of charge to the contactless billing process.

Analysis: catching up fast

Having driven Xpeng products in Europe, I have been impressed by the speed at which the company has improved successive generations of its vehicles.

A tangible jump in the quality of the G6's interior, faster charging speeds, and more potent processing power generally made it much easier to live with — not to mention the engineering updates under the skin that made it better to drive.

The latest L03 is reported to push things further with its VLA 2.0 (Vision Language-Action) software that powers its Next Generation Pilot autonomous driving functionality. It will also be the first Chinese automaker to ship a vehicle with Google Maps built in.

But even with this, it's difficult to see Xpeng nailing the simplicity of Tesla's software and ownership experience. That philosophy was built into the company's DNA, with the Model S rapidly becoming regarded as the iPhone of the EV world when it launched some 14 years ago.

Xpeng is undoubtedly making waves in the EV industry, but there were just 900 UK registrations of the G6 during its first 10 months on sale, compared with 24,298 Tesla Model Ys.

Sales in Europe were more impressive, but the Model Y remains the top-selling electric vehicle in many parts of the world, as well as the second most popular in China.

The L03 may well be edging closer to 'Tesla killer' status, but it feels like Xpeng still has a mountain to climb when it comes to convincing customers it offers a superior EV ownership experience.

It’s pretty clear that EVs and software defined vehicles (SDVs) go hand-in-hand these days, and while Tesla paved the way with the Model 3 back in 2017, Rivian, Lucid, and Chinese manufacturers quickly followed. The legacy car manufacturers are taking a while longer to get on board, but are finally catching up. Companies like Hyundai Motor Group, General Motors, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are starting to launch full SDVs.

SDVs for the win

SDVs are cars with functions and features that are primarily enabled through software and can improve over time via over-the-air (OTA) software updates. I’m not just talking about updating navigation or infotainment, here. Thanks to their zonal architecture, full SDVs use a holistic approach to software updates where every hardware module can be updated OTA, which enables diagnostics and even recalls without a dealer visit.

The cynical view is that SDVs allow greedy car manufacturers to extract revenue from customers via needless subscriptions, but that's short-term thinking. When done right, there are many benefits to SDVs. Companies like Rivian and Tesla issue free monthly OTA updates to fix bugs and add new features to their EVs, to the delight of their customers, while only charging an optional subscription for higher data connectivity and ADAS tiers.

SDVs go beyond EVs

What happens when you extend SDVs beyond EVs to hybrid and combustion vehicles? A few weeks back, I visited Mercedes’ factory near Tuscaloosa, AL, where the company manufactures most of its global SUVs, to get a first look at the refreshed GLE and GLS SUVs. Beyond more powerful engines and the usual mid-cycle cosmetic upgrades inside and out, these SUVs are Mercedes’ first hybrid and combustion SDVs. Well, almost.

Unlike their predecessors, the 2027 GLE and GLS run the company’s MB.OS across all four domains — infotainment, automated driving, body & comfort, and driving & charging — just like Mercedes’ first full SDVs, the all-electric CLA and GLC. Previously, MB.OS was only implemented for navigation and infotainment, like in the current E-Class sedan and wagon. As such, those cars weren’t SDVs. But there’s a catch.

Mercedes notes, however, that “while all of these vehicles leverage MB.OS principles and a domain-oriented software architecture, the underlying hardware, communication systems, software capabilities, and OTA deployment approaches vary by vehicle platform.” As such, the refreshed GLE and GLS, while only partial SDVs, are closer to full SDVs than any other hybrid or combustion car before them.

The 2027 GLE and GLS feature Mercedes’ pillar-to-pillar Superscreen as standard, which consists of three 12.3-inch displays (driver, center, and passenger) behind a single glass surface, and includes a selfie camera for video calls (when stopped) and for selfies, naturally. Video calls require apps like Zoom, which you can download from Mercedes’ own app store. A 3D instrument display and head-up display are available as an option.

Like the all-electric CLA and GLC, the refreshed GLE and GLS feature a generative AI-powered voice assistant which uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT4o, Microsoft Bing Search, and Google Cloud’s Automotive AI Agent (for navigation) — depending on context. The MBUX Virtual Assistant can handle a whole range of natural language requests, from adjusting the climate and music to navigation and even general knowledge queries.

Mercedes’ MB.Drive Assist Pro, the company’s NVIDIA-powered point-to-point level 2+ advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), which launched on the all-electric CLA and GLC, is coming to the 2027 GLE and GLS, first in China, then in the US later this year. This ADAS is similar to Tesla’s ill-named full self-driving (FSD), but in addition to using ten cameras, it also uses five radar sensors and twelve ultrasonic sensors.

In all, the refreshed GLE and GLS show that drivetrain variations aside, it’s possible for all-electric, hybrid, and combustion vehicles to reach parity as SDVs when it comes to infotainment, navigation, comfort, and ADAS. Let’s hope that Mercedes fully embraces this exciting new technology and follows in Rivian and Tesla’s footsteps by releasing free monthly OTA updates to fix bugs and add new features to these new SDVs.

SDVs for all

What’s even more important is that SDVs are starting to extend beyond EVs and luxury cars. Manufacturers like Hyundai Motor Group are launching more affordable hybrid and combustion vehicles that are SDVs. The zonal architecture used by SDVs makes cars inherently less expensive to manufacture since it requires fewer hardware modules and much simpler wiring harnesses (less copper means less cost and less weight).

The South Korean Grandeur sedan and Europe-bound IONIQ 3 SUV are Hyundai’s first proper SDVs. Both cars run the company’s new Android Automotive-based Pleos Connect navigation and infotainment platform, and include Hyundai’s App Market and large language model (LLM)-powered Gleo AI voice assistant. Pleos Connect, the App Market, and Gleo AI will also be coming to Hyundai Motor Group’s future Kia and Genesis cars.

Right now, most of the affordable full SDVs being developed outside of China are EVs. Ford is working on its Universal Electric Vehicle (UEV) SDV platform which will initially underpin an all-electric small truck priced around $30,000. Volkswagen’s upcoming ID.1 city car, destined for Europe and priced below €20,000, is the company’s first SDV. Its zonal architecture and software stack are a direct result of VW’s partnership with Rivian.

Hopefully, these new EV-first platforms can also be adapted to manufacture more affordable hybrid and combustion SDVs. Because while I believe that the future is all-electric, hybrid and combustion vehicles will be sticking around a little while longer, at least here in the US. And considering the cost and feature benefits of SDVs, it would be a shame if manufacturers didn’t deploy this technology across all their upcoming vehicles.

My takeaway

Between 2018 and 2024, I owned two Tesla Model 3s, so I was able to enjoy the benefits of SDVs firsthand. There’s something utterly wonderful about finding an OTA software update waiting in your car every month, ready to deliver new functionality for free. Rivian aside, I have missed this on every other EV I’ve driven since, and because of this positive experience, I will forever associate SDVs with EVs.

But as Mercedes has shown with the refreshed GLE and GLS SUVs, the benefits of SDVs also extend to hybrid and combustion vehicles. SDVs allow the company to provide a consistent and modern user experience across its entire lineup, regardless of drivetrain. Not to mention, SDVs reduce costs and complexity for all manufacturers. As such, I’m looking forward to SDVs becoming the norm for more cars going forward.

There's no mistaking the growing momentum behind small-scale, low-cost solar panel installations: panels you can plug into a standard wall outlet, without the expense, time, or paperwork of a full rooftop installation.

Now widely established in Europe (where the tech is best known as 'balcony solar'), we're starting to see a wave of American states move towards legalizing these plug-in panels as well. Utah was the first in 2025, and there are now proposals in 30 other states to make the devices available to buy.

They're perfect for renters as well as homeowners. You can take them with you if and when you move. Additionally, they offer some respite from the energy price crisis, and they're becoming increasingly widely available.

At the same time, we're seeing a record number of homes in the US installing battery energy systems, hooked up to rooftop solar or the grid — another way to reduce electricity costs and provide a backup for a creaking national power system. Here's what's happening with home energy tech right now, and where it's going next.

Plug-in solar: the state of play

Utah set the ball rolling for plug-in solar in the US by passing House Bill 340 in March 2025. It means that portable solar panels or rooftop panels — up to a total capacity of 1,200 watts (typically four roof panels) can be plugged into a regular outlet. These panel systems use an integrated microinverter to convert the panels' DC output into household AC, ready for use.

In the default setup, this means the energy produced by plugged-in 'balcony' panels will be taken up by your home appliances first, before they try to access the grid. While battery connectivity is possible, the general idea is that the energy isn't stored anywhere — it's just pushed into your home for use as needed.

Estimates suggest you can shave around 10% off your electricity bill, though this will vary a lot depending on factors like electricity prices and how much sunshine you get. You can think of it as a way of getting a sizable chunk off your bill, rather than something that's going to replace the power grid entirely. The kits themselves start at around $500 and go up from there.

Now other states are following Utah's lead. According to The Cool Down, more than 30 states have drafted some form of bill, while six states have already enacted related laws. You can keep track of what's happening via the Bright Saver tracker, which provides updates for each state and a handy interactive graphic showing the overall picture.

You'll notice quite a few states are at the 'deferred' stage, which means the decision on legislation has been put off to a later date. A lot of these deferrals are on safety grounds: the argument from utility companies is that feeding power into household wiring (rather than just taking it out) comes with risks, and that more needs to be done to protect both consumers and the power grid.

The UL 3700 safety certification, freshly put into place this year, should help here. Plug-and-play solar panels with this certification attached will have built-in safeguards to prevent systems from being overloaded and to stop power flowing back into lines. It's a badge to look for if you're buying this kind of equipment.

Home battery installations

Home battery tech is separate but related, and as Ars Technica reports, records are being broken for battery installations: 673 megawatts of energy storage were brought online in the first quarter of 2026, the highest that figure has ever been.

The key driver here matches up with plug-in solar: rapidly rising electricity costs. The batteries can either store energy from rooftop solar panels, or bank electricity at off-peak times ready to be used during on-peak times. Plus, these appliances offer protection against power outages and help save money.

Unlike plug-in solar panels, home batteries do require a professional installation, the cost of which can be added on top of a typical $10,000-and-up price of the battery itself. It'll take years to pay that back in savings, but it will be paid back — it depends largely on whether you're using solar panels, how many panels you're using, and your home's electricity demand.

There are even moves to tap into this stored energy to help meet the huge energy demands of AI. Companies including Tesla will pay you on an ongoing basis if you allow them to control when your battery charges up and releases power — helping to manage stress on the overall power grid, especially during peak times.

While today's plug-in solar systems aren't designed to connect to big home batteries directly — though they can certainly operate alongside each other in the same home — a selection of them now come with their own portable batteries. As both technologies get more common and issues like safety certifications get sorted out, it's certainly plausible that future plug-in solar kits will be able to feed home batteries.

With the potential cost savings, worries over power grid reliability, and the increasingly convenient (and legal) ways to get all of this set up, it's no wonder that plug-in solar and battery energy technology is growing in popularity — and all the signs are that these devices are likely to become much more widely used in the near future.

• Tesla regains momentum after two years of sales decline
• China and Europe both see an increase in Tesla sales
• Tesla shares still fluctuated, despite the positive news

Tesla’s second-quarter sales results have far exceeded market expectations, with growth in both Europe and China helping to drive a 25% rise compared to the same period last year.

According to The Financial Times, the electric vehicle pioneer delivered 480,126 vehicles in the three months to the end of June, up from 384,122 in the same period last year and well above analysts’ forecasts of 404,000.

Despite shifting its focus to artificial intelligence and robotics in recent years, as well as trimming its model line-up down to just two cars, Tesla has seen huge growth in Europe, aided in part by government EV incentives.

The Guardian reports that the rising cost of fuel and the rapid adoption of electric vehicles on corporate fleets could have also played an important role in boosting sales, while the consumer backlash to CEO Elon Musk’s political statements last year could also have eased.

Despite the vast improvement in sales, BYD once again surpassed Tesla to regain its position as the world’s largest battery-electric vehicle manufacturer.

BYD sold roughly 867,000 electric vehicles in the first six months of the year, compared with 838,149 vehicles for Tesla, according to The Financial Times.

“Tesla has not surprised to the upside to this degree in a while, a healthy sign the auto business is here to stay,” William Blair analyst Jed Dorsheimer told the paper.

Analysis: Demand for EVs booms in Europe

Despite the CEO’s questionable political decisions and the company’s reputation for over-promising and often under-delivering, it is still difficult to argue that Tesla’s current crop of electric vehicles is anything short of excellent.

The company’s charging network remains one of the best, even if charging speeds are now being eclipsed by numerous Charge Point Operators, while its latest Model 3 and Model Y are the most comfortable, tech-focussed and luxurious they have ever been.

Thanks to increased competition from both up-and-coming Chinese EV companies and legacy automakers, Tesla has been forced to get competitive with its pricing, offering enticing monthly deals on the Model 3 and Model Y.

It has also recently started to roll-out its Supervised Full Self-Driving system in select European countries for the first time, another factor that could help improve sales further.

• Despite Tesla trademark application, the Megapod concept already exists
• Megapod's trademark is owned by someone else
• Nvidia and others already dominate this market

Tesla has filed a trademark application for ‘Megapod’ as the company begins to expand beyond electric cars, batteries and solar energy. Already with fingers in the autonomous transportation and humanoid robotics pies with Robotaxi and Optimus, the company is now looking to build modular AI data center infrastructure.

Though the filing is based on an intent-to-use application, meaning that no commercial product is available yet, it describes a self-contained AI computing platform that includes servers, AI hardware, networking equipment, power distribution units, cooling and software.

However, the project and associated trademark application has already hit three big walls – the concept already exists, the ‘Megapod’ trademark is already owned by somebody else, and the market itself is highly crowded with Nvidia, Huawei and others already more established.

Megapod could be related to Megapack

Tesla already uses the ‘Mega’ naming strategy, as evidenced by its Megapack. A battery system that offers a similar commercial proposition to the proposed Megapod, consisting of factory-built complete modules that can be deployed quickly with minimal on-site assembly or construction.

Rather than customers assembling servers, networking, cooling and other infrastructure themselves on-premises, Megapod could arrive as a plug-and-play AI data center, expandable by its modular design.

The news comes around a year after Musk’s company reportedly wound down its Dojo AI training computer project, indicating that it’s no longer gunning for the AI chip market. It now looks like Tesla could be going after more complete physical infrastructure using existing chips, instead.

Mitsubishi already has its own MegaPod, and it possesses a trademark already. And it’s not the first time Musk has faced complications over trademarks, failing to acquire a Robotaxi trademark over it being too generic and facing Cybercab trademark delays after another applicant got in first.

Submer even sells its own MegaPod, described as a data center in a box, adding to the naming complications.

Is there room for Tesla to join the market?

Trademarks aside, if Tesla were to launch a Megapod-type product, it would face stiff competition from established rivals. Nvidia’s DGX and HGX platforms are already commonplace in enterprise deployments, and Huawei has also developed its own solutions based around its Ascend accelerators. Server manufacturers like Dell and HPE also have their own hardware.

However, Tesla could bring its broader experience to the market to entice some customers into its ecosystem. Integration with its Megapack could, for example, give it uninterrupted power supply – xAI has already purchased $1 billion worth of Megapacks. Purchasing power and other internal efficiencies could also keep costs low.

While the company doesn’t really have an existing enterprise customer base, AI startups could be sold on its tech.

Integrated cooling could also be a major selling point, with thermal efficiency now nearly as important as chip performance itself. Nvidia, for example, has already introduced next-generation liquid cooling specifically for its Rubin systems.

As for what’s next, given Musk’s track record and those of his companies, we’re probably more likely to learn about any potential Megapod developments via X posts or surprise launches, rather than blog posts and official announcements.

• Tata Electronics confirmed a cyberattack but said operations remain unaffected, despite threat actor World Leaks claiming 630GB of alleged data
• Archive reportedly includes Apple/Tesla schematics, passport scans, and proprietary files; researchers found references to Pegatron, Foxconn, and Qualcomm too
• Reuters noted Tata is being extorted, though ransom details remain unclear; leaked files suggest sensitive manufacturing and engineering data exposure

Tata Electronics, the electronics and semiconductor manufacturing arm of the Tata Group conglomerate, confirmed suffering a cyberattack, but said it did not affect its operations. The scale of the breach, however, could be rather extensive.

"A few weeks ago, Tata Electronics identified a cybersecurity incident on some of our systems,” the company said in a statement to Reuters. “Our response protocols were deployed immediately, and the incident has had no impact on our operations across businesses, which remain unaffected," it said, without going into details.

This statement came almost two weeks after a threat actor called World Leaks posted a large database on its data leak site, claiming to have come from Tata Electronics, and affecting companies such as Apple and Tesla.

Sensitive files confirmed

According to Reuters, roughly a third of all iPhone production in India is done by Tata Electronics. The company supplies Apple with back panels, enclosures, and circuit board parts, among other things. For Tesla, it’s been supplying it with chips, circuit board assemblies, and vehicle motor controller units, since 2025.

World Leaks uploaded an archive of 204,341 files, weighing 630.4GB. Allegedly, it contains numerous confidential and proprietary data, including Apple and Tesla schematics, passport scans, and other sensitive files.

Reuters said Tata was being extorted for the files but did not say how much money the threat actors were demanding, or if the negotiations were progressing in any way.

Some security researchers analyzed the leaked files and said that they contained information about manufacturing and engineering processes from these two companies. Among the researchers were Cybernews, who claim to have seen “hundreds of references to Apple and Tesla”, a folder named “com.apple.factorydata”, as well as documents labeled as proprietary or confidential.

Cybernews also found files referencing other companies, too: Pegatron, Foxconn, and Qualcomm, to name a few. However, there is no evidence that any of these companies had been breached.

Via Cybernews

• Tesla-styled vacuum cleaner arrives in Germany
• The company is aiming to make the charging experience feel premium
• Air pumps and free Wi-Fi are expanding across the network

A Tesla owner has spotted what is believed to be the first branded vacuum cleaner at one of the company’s Supercharger stalls in Germany.

The site, which is located in Pforzheim, Germany, also features a small indoor lounge and now, the ability to clean out grubby interiors while owners wait the 15 to 20 minutes for batteries to brim.

Much like the rollout of many Tesla features over the years, the vacuum cleaner's appearance seems relatively random, with no other sites reporting the technology cropping up just yet.

According to Not a Tesla App, the vacuum cleaner is free to use for Tesla owners, although a closer look at the imagery posted on X appears to show an RFID card reader at the front of the boxy, white unit, which could just be a payment for rival EV owners using the Supercharger network after it opened up to the wider electric vehicle audience.

We reached out to Tesla’s UK press department to ask whether this amenity is slated to be rolled out to other sites in the future, how much it costs for non-Tesla owners, and what other Supercharger accessories Tesla might be working on next. However, we have not yet received a response.

Analysis: more amenities in the pipeline?

Since Tesla fired around 500 employees from its Supercharger division in 2024, network deployment has slowed down.

In 2024 alone, reports suggest there was roughly a 19% reduction year-on-year, causing stress among owners that there wouldn't be enough facilities to go around.

But more recent statistics suggest that the number is back on the rise, with the total number of supercharger connectors reaching 73,817 at the end of 2025, marking an 18% year-on-year increase — this includes the addition of new V4 charging stalls that promise much higher charging speeds.

With an increase in overall charging sessions, Tesla has started sporadically adding extra amenities at certain locations, such as air compressors in Goulburn, Australia, which help keep tires at a healthy pressure level.

But in true Tesla fashion, there’s no clear road map on what amenities will appear where, so it’s simply a case of turning up and hoping your local Supercharger is next in line for a glow-up.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been a central figure in the rise of robotics in the last decade, both as a builder of robotics, as well as a user of robotics, with the company he leads. Despite progress across the field of robotics in recent years, there are aspects of implementation that haven't always been so smooth.

The age of automation

When his past company Tesla was incorporating more automation and elements of robotics into its production of the Tesla Model 3 in 2018, the company ran into various issues.

Elon Musk summarized the issue while issuing comments during a shareholder meeting in June that year, suggesting the approach to automation wasn't conducive to actually increasing productivity.

Specifically, the robots installed struggled with automating final assembly tasks (such as placing flexible trim pieces and hoses) – with Musk also later tweeting that the company made a mistake in implementing "excessive automation".

The lesson was that automating anything and everything within scope was a mistake because there were certain tasks that humans are, and continue to be, strong in. Qualities that robots have, and continue to, lack may include dexterity and cognitive reasoning.

The future of robotics

Tesla's push into robotics has continued at pace since then, with the company's Tesla Optimus soon to enter mass production with a targeted $25,000 retail price.

But whether the technology has advanced enough to make a mark remains to be seen. These qualities include advanced AI, as well as cognitive reasoning and contextual understanding necessary to understand and operate within the physical world.

We've seen plenty of examples of humanoid robots that look the real deal – but still cannot engage in tasks that require a high level of dexterity and understanding to perform well in real-world scenarios.

• The R2 model will receive radio through the iHeartRadio app
• Customers have pointed out potential issues with the cell signal
• More automakers are phasing out radio tuners in their vehicles

A number of automotive manufacturers have begun phasing out AM and FM radio tuners from their vehicles, instead relying on connected apps to tune into both digital radio and FM channels.

Tesla famously ditched FM and AM tuners in some of its new cars this year, while BMW, Volkswagen, and Mazda began removing AM radio tuners in the early 2020s, citing interference from electric powertrains.

It turns out Rivian, the maker of hardy, off-road electric vehicles, will join that growing list of manufacturers that don’t ship models with an AM or FM tuner, as eagle-eyed internet sleuths discovered that the latest R2 uses an iHeartRadio app for its radio-based music, news, and entertainment.

The news surfaced after an image of an owner’s manual started circling on Reddit forums, appearing to show a list of media sources offered by the R2, but FM radio was not among them.

Some off-road enthusiasts have aired their grievances over the decisions, stating that cell signal is often patchy or sometimes non-existent in remote areas, while emergency broadcasts and road-specific information are still broadcast on AM carrier waves.

“I listen to sports talk radio, and while I am able to get it via bluetooth on my phone via an app, sometimes I just wanna listen to it live in the car while I'm out on a quick jaunt,” one Reddit user commented.

While another said, “they do realize large swaths of this country still don't have data coverage, right?”

Analysis: Rivian could alienate buyers

Back in 2023, a group of bipartisan U.S. lawmakers introduced legislation to ban automakers from removing AM broadcast radio in their new vehicles, citing that the act undermines a federal system for delivering key public safety information to the public, according to Reuters.

The bill still hasn't been passed, but numbers suggest that traditional radio listeners are declining, with Edison Research finding AM/FM radio’s share of in-car ad-supported audio dropped from 90% in 2019 to 83% in 2025.

The picture is even gloomier for AM radio in the UK and Europe, with the BBC reporting that fewer than 100 stations across Europe still broadcast services on AM. The BBC is even shutting down its Radio 4 Long Wave service after almost 100 years of broadcasting.

That said, Europe has made the switch to digital radio — or DAB — much faster than the US, where AM radio is still popular. According to Nielsen data, around 82.3 million Americans still listen to AM radio every month, which equates to roughly one in three US radio listeners.

The decision to remove traditional radio tuners from the Rivian R2 might not exactly impact the younger demographic Rivian is aiming for, but it could still limit its appeal to a wider audience — one that is perhaps considering switching an older gas 4x4 or pick-up for something modern and electric.

• Rivian’s boss believes we will have eyes-off driving within 18 months
• It will be the “most disruptive feature we’ve seen”, according to RJ Scaringe
• But a new report suggests Tesla engineers and staff don’t trust the technology

Rivian’s boss and CEO, RJ Scaringe, believes that we will see increasing levels of autonomous driving arriving in the coming months.

Speaking to Top Gear during a test drive of the upcoming R2, which the company hopes will be its first electric SUV with true mass appeal, Scaringe revealed that he thinks we will move from level two to three, which includes hands-off and eyes-off autonomous driving, within “the next 18 months”.

He also went on to state that he believes we will reach true Level 4 autonomous driving by the end of the decade. At that point, vehicles will be able to handle all driving tasks within geofenced zones.

Human passengers are relieved of duties because Level 4 autonomous vehicles should be capable of reaching a safe state in the event of a system failure. It is the level that most fully autonomous robotaxis currently operate in, but it is not something that has been made commercially viable to date.

Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, has regularly stated that the company’s autonomous driving technology is capable of allowing those behind the wheel to “text and drive", as well as engage in other distracting side tasks.

But a recent Reuters report seemingly counters this, claiming that even those who work closely with the systems don’t trust them.

Speaking with nine former Tesla data labelers, a former self-driving engineer, and 11 traffic-safety researchers, the Reuters report found that seven of the former data labelers said they wouldn’t trust FSD to drive them.

“We have all seen it fail,” one said. Another said he wouldn’t ride in a Tesla robotaxi “if you f****g paid me.”

One veteran self-driving engineer, who reviewed Tesla crash data for years, called its safety claims “bullsh*t.”

The report goes on to state that Tesla's FSD crash reporting is confusing and misleading, refuting its claims that the technology is "10 x safer than a human".

Analysis: hype isn’t helping

The data labelers that Reuters spoke to have the unenviable job of reviewing footage from eight exterior cameras on Tesla vehicles using Full Self-Driving (FSD).

You could argue that they only see the bad sides of FSD, but most of those interviewed confessed to regularly seeing the technology fail at basic tasks, such as pulling over for emergency vehicles, leaving enough room for motorcyclists and cyclists, and even avoiding construction zones.

What’s more, a specialized group, known internally and informally as the “trauma team”, said it focused on near-misses and other dangerous situations.

One person said they saw clips showing drivers manually taking over at the last second when FSD failed to recognize pedestrians in crosswalks.

Two other former employees recalled seeing videos last year of FSD-piloted Teslas nearly hitting children.

Both Rivian and Tesla’s CEOs feel that improvements in Large Language Models and the microchips that power modern vehicles will speed up the introduction of greater levels of automation in passenger vehicles, but it’s way more complicated than that, involving driver education, legislation, and more.

Many feel that to allow motorists to engage in side tasks and effectively hand over driving duties to the vehicle means the technology has to be perfect, not just “safer than a human” driver.

Overinflating the technology's capabilities has previously led to confusion and complacency among users, which, in Tesla’s case at least, has already resulted in myriad court cases and ongoing regulatory scrutiny.

• A Texas man has been accused of intentionally driving his Tesla into a lake
• Partially submerged vehicle was removed by a rescue team
• Cybertruck has a max wade depth of just 81.5cm (32in)

A Tesla driver has been arrested in Texas after “intentionally” piloting his Cybertruck into a lake in order to test the Wade Mode feature, police say.

The divisive, angular electric vehicle, which was launched in 2019 alongside claims of it being partially bulletproof and able to tackle the toughest terrain, features an official maximum wading depth of 81.5cm (32in), according to Tesla's online manual.

But one hapless owner quickly found the limits of Tesla’s technology after deliberately entering Grapevine Lake in north Texas this week, according to police. Rescue services said they found the vehicle abandoned by the driver and passengers after it took on water and became stuck.

Subsequently, the driver was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle in a closed section of the lake and for other water safety equipment violations, police said according to the BBC.

Both the police and the Grapevine Fire Department Water Rescue Team were called to remove the Cybertruck from the shoreline.

Police said in a statement that "although a vehicle may be physically capable of entering shallow freshwater areas, doing so can create legal and safety concerns under Texas law".

Analysis: A questionable off-roader?

Ever since its launch, numerous websites and social media channels have been testing the claimed robustness of Tesla’s Cybertruck, with mixed results.

WhistlinDiesel’s brutal YouTube video caused a stir when it went live a year ago, showing important parts of the Cybertruck seemingly physically coming away from the frame when subjected to numerous abusive tests.

Similarly, MotorTrend’s detailed off-road analysis concluded that Cybertruck has the makings of greatness but doesn’t really deliver the important stuff.

Its reporters claimed that visibility was poor, the range was zapped during off-road driving and the lack of a spare tire was ‘amateur hour’.

Customers are also finding myriad reliability issues with their trucks, including but not limited to alleged rusting panels, flyaway wheel covers, tonneau cover leaks and, perhaps more worrying still, wheels that could fall off.

With regards to Wade Mode, Tesla states on its website that it is the driver's responsibility "to gauge the depth of any body of water before entering", adding that "damage or water ingress to Cybertruck as a result of driving in water is not covered by the warranty".

But with all of the bold claims before, during and after the Cybertruck's launch, it is no wonder customers place faith in the EV's abilities.

At the launch of the Euro-focused Xpeng G6 in a storm-battered Portugal, representatives of the brand were on hand and keen to press journalists and influencers for their thoughts on the car that the company hoped would steal the Tesla Model Y’s thunder in Europe.

In a situation like this, it’s common to default to short but sweet answers, keeping them relatively generic so as not to offend anyone and saving the really juicy stuff for the resulting article. But that’s not what Xpeng wanted to hear.

Its crew of engineers wanted real talk on the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), the ride comfort, the quality of the interior and the capabilities of its myriad advanced safety systems —they wanted the good, the bad and the ugly.

Fast-forward less than a year and it becomes clear as to why our small group was quizzed for such answers, as a revised model landed in the UK sporting no fewer than 20,000 incremental developments, fresh battery chemistry, faster charging times and improved performance.

Not wanting to be left behind by Tesla’s recent “Highland” refresh, even the interior underwent some relatively seismic changes to improve the overall ambience, making it feel like a more premium proposition… a bit like Tesla did.

Where legacy automakers typically adhere to a seven-year lifecycle, where models might receive an update or facelift three or four years after the vehicle first enters mass production, Chinese manufacturers seemingly play by a different set of rules.

The updated Xpeng G6 is real proof of China's speed and real proof that the company wants to be more than a ‘Temu Tesla’. It wants to usurp it.

Fresh styling

The model that Xpeng is pushing in the UK and the one I recently drove is the All-Wheel-Drive Performance Black Edition that, quite predictably, mixes potent dual motors with sporty touches that help it keep up with those performance-orientated models from another well-known EV brand.

In fact, the 480bhp produced by the system is capable of propelling the shapely SUV from 0-62mph in a shade over four seconds, which would see it just about hold its own against a Model Y Performance.

You also get striking 20-inch alloy wheels, a smoked black exterior trim and a more subdued grey-tone interior that is upholstered in a soft touch suede for a more premium and performance-orientated ambience.

For an outfit that wants to be known as “a tech company that also makes cars,” it comes as no surprise that this updated version also comes with a full-width light-bar… although this time it’s at the front, as opposed to Tesla’s rear.

The refresh makes the vehicle look more futuristic and tech-focused, but it also feels very generic.

It’s not offensive in any way, but it's a shame Xpeng didn’t carve out its own distinct design direction when it entered Europe.

With European brands such as Renault, Mini and Peugeot all pushing for unique styling that often nod to the past, the Xpeng feels very much like an appliance.

Changes under the skin

As previously mentioned, Xpeng says it has employed some 20,000 ‘intelligent refinements’ over its predecessor, with things like chassis and suspension tuning tweaked to better handle the UK’s rutted roads, improved sound deadening and more predictable powertrain behavior.

In essence, much of the feedback from the initial European car launch likely surrounded the way it drove and handled, with Xpeng subsequently tweaking things to address this.

As a result, the accelerator now pedal feels more predictable and allows for better modulation, while the suspension set-up feels a little firmer for improved body control through corners.

There’s still a distinct lack of feeling through the steering wheel and firming it up through the central touchscreen still makes it feel overly heavy, but the overall ambience in the cockpit is improved thanks to the work on noise, vibration and harshness, particularly at highway speeds.

The cabin has undergone some of the most sizable changes, with the dashboard and pillars now trimmed in more premium feeling leather-effect material, an ‘optimized’ steering wheel design (although I couldn’t tell the difference) and ambient lighting throughout the cabin.

Occupants in the rear still get masses of head and leg room, while the huge amount of glass makes the cabin feel airy and spacious... like a Tesla.

Those sitting in the front are also treated to swanky new seats that feature heating, ventilation and massaging functionality. Apologies if the parallels with a certain Californian EV company are getting boring, but yes, this is exactly what happened with the recent Model 3 and Model Y.

Smoother technology

The previous generation G6 impressed me with its battery technology, offering 354-miles of range from the larger battery pack and an 800V architecture that facilitates the sort of ultra-rapid charging that Tesla is yet to roll out.

That said, Xpeng has gone with a new 80.8kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery in the update, eliminating the need for precious metals such as cobalt, nickel and manganese, it claims.

As a result, range is down to 316-miles in the AWD Performance model on the official WLTP cycle, while RWD Long Range variants get a max range of 326-miles, which generally feel like more realistic numbers anyway.

This new chemistry does allow for a peak charging power of 451kW, seeing off 10-80% top-ups in as little as 12 minutes from the appropriate outlets.

That’s up there with some of the fastest charging cars currently on sale in Europe, marking it out as a clear leader in its segment.

The Xmart operating system has also received an upgrade, with a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chipset improving the speed and responsiveness of the infotainment system.

New features, same problems

While the improvements in cabin quality and a reduction in charging times are both welcome, many of the other updates have had very little impact on the way the G6 drives or feels like to live with everyday.

It remains massively roomy, nicely airy inside and very easy to hop in and drive, but it does very little else beyond that.

There’s absolutely no emotion here, very little driver engagement and the added performance of the, erm, Performance edition is a waste of money, unless you really enjoy going very fast in a straight line.

Sure, the infotainment might be slicker to operate, but it also remains deeply frustrating to use at times, with simple functionality buried within submenus. Despite driving the original, I still couldn’t fathom how to change the angle of the door mirrors.

Asking the “Hey Xpeng”voice assistant didn’t help much either, as it didn’t understand the term ‘wing mirror’, so I had to use several variations of this phrase until it took me to the correct menu.

It is a similar story with the numerous autonomous driving and parking features that, on the whole, work fine but certainly not seamlessly. The Xpilot Driving aggressively tries to keep the car in a lane when activated, leading to a ‘jerky’ feeling when traveling along the highway at speed.

Similarly, the autonomous parking typically picks out a space quickly, but then lacks the speed or finesse to execute the maneuver with confidence. So I stopped using it.

This latest iteration is tangibly better than its short-lived predecessor, but it also possesses a lot of the same problems. With no real character of its own, it just looks like a cut-price Tesla, without the added bonus of that marque’s extensive Supercharger network.

Again, it’s perfectly fine if you want to boycott Elon, or simply save some cash, but this is yet another Chinese EV that feels remarkably generic.

• BYD and CATL are embroiled in a race to cut charging times
• Fast-charging dominated this year’s Beijing Auto Show
• Charge times as little as 6.5 minutes are currently being touted

This year’s Beijing Auto Show proved the perfect opportunity for China to flex its automotive muscle, with 17 exhibition halls housing more than 1,500 vehicles and advances in the technology that powers them.

In fact, in the two years since the Beijing Auto Show was last held (it alternates with Shanghai), a brand new convention center was built next to the existing exhibition hall — a fitting visual metaphor to China’s rapidily expanding auto industry.

With new cars comes new technology and the event also served as the perfect place to showcase the latest battery and charging technology, with a number of companies vying to drastically reduce EV charge times to under 10 minutes.

Right now, in the Western world, you’re lucky if you can complete a 10-80% charge in 30 minutes or less, but CATL recently showcased its Shenxing 3 EB battery pack that it said can hit 10 to 98 percent in 6.5 minutes.

BYD also has battery technology that can charge from 10 to 97% in just nine minutes, while even second-tier Chinese battery suppliers, including CALB Group, EVE Energy and Sunwoda, all unveiled products capable of boosting power from 10 to 70 per cent in under 10 minutes, according to the South China Morning Post.

Analysis: Everything electric to get a boost

It wasn't just four-wheeled EVs that were given a charging boost at the Beijing Auto Show. Sunwoda also wants to apply its know-how to eBikes, showcasing a battery that charges from 10 per cent to 80 per cent in 20 minutes and lasts for at least 2,000 cycles, according to its maker.

This would effectively allow eBike owners to complete even long commutes and then charge up at coffee stops, rather waiting the several hours it typically takes today.

“The time needed to replenish energy is perhaps the final frontier where electric vehicles have yet to fully surpass petrol cars in China,” Li Xianyang (a battery specialist at Sunwoda) told the South China Morning Post. “So everyone has to compete on time.”

Whichever way you cut it, China appears to be light-years ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to offering innovative and rapid EV charging solutions.

Alongside its game-changing megawatt charging outlets, it is also a purveyor of battery swap tech, with domestic carmaker Nio proving that a full swap takes three minute with a live demo at the Beijing Auto Show.

• First unveiled in 2017, the Semi project has faced numerous hurdles
• Now, the Semi truck moves to a high-volume production line
• Electric hauler offers up to 500-miles on a single charge

The official Tesla Semi X account announced that the first electric big rig has rolled off the 1.7-million-square-foot high-volume production line in Nevada this week, as Elon Musk switches up the game plan to focus on the Cybercab, Optimus robot, and battery production.

Despite being first unveiled in 2017, the long-distance electric hauler has faced numerous roadblocks and delays in production, with the company so far producing only a handful of models on a low-volume line, predominantly for testing on US roads.

Tesla will now offer the Semi in two guises: a Standard Range model that manages 325 miles at a fully loaded weight of 82,000 pounds and a Long Range version that is slated for 500 miles of electric motoring.

With an estimated battery size of around 900 kWh in the Long Range versions, the Semi is the first vehicle in the Tesla line-up to be capable of megawatt charging, with the company already installing outlets along key haulage corridors in the US that can deliver up to 1.2mW of power through an MCS 3.2 connector — resulting in charging stops of around 30 minutes.

Tesla is quoting $290,000 for the 500-mile Long Range version and roughly $260,000 for the Standard Range — making it the lowest-priced Class 8 battery-electric tractor on the market, according to Electrek.

It is also particularly efficient, with Tesla estimating it can return 1.7 miles/kilowatt-hour, even when fully laden. What’s more, the Semi program director, Dan Priestley, said in an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage that the batteries are designed to last a million miles.

With mass production already underway, Tesla says it will begin delivering the Semi to its first customers later this year.

Analysis: late to the party but an important player

The Tesla Semi has been in and out of the headlines over the years, partly because it looks so cool and partly because Elon Musk has talked up its ‘sports car’ handling and rapid acceleration.

But in the time it has taken Tesla to reach high-volume production, Volvo has created an entire range of seven electrified heavy-duty trucks, spanning long-distance haulage machines to low-entry models designed for construction work and waste collection in cities.

However, Electrek claims that Tesla’s Semi can travel further than Volvo’s electric trucks, as well as its closest rival in the Freightliner eCascadia, while significantly undercutting both on price.

What’s more, Tesla is doing what it does best and is already investing in the charging infrastructure and ecosystem around the vehicles that are so essential to their success.

• Tesla launches a Virtual Queue for its Supercharger network
• Tesla App determines eligibility to join a queue
• Currently, the app doesn’t punish queue-jumpers

Tesla has started to roll out a new Virtual Queue system to its onboard charging software, in a bid to ensure the flow of traffic through its increasingly popular Supercharger network is efficient and seamless.

A quick Youtube search throws up a number of videos the appear to show Tesla owners getting into altercations around who has priority on the Supercharger network. Right now, it is up to drivers to self-police.

Having tested a virtual queuing system over the past year, Tesla has started to roll out updates to the Tesla App that attempts to manage some of this traffic. According to Teslarati, a message will pop up on the infotainment system when a driver approaches a Supercharger that is occupied.

“While the app is closed, Tesla uses your location to notify you of accurate wait times at Superchargers when you arrive,” a message within the app now reads.

A further prompt then pop-ups and states: “There is a waitlist to charge. Are you sure you want to start a charging session now?”

This suggests that the driver has to refrain from queue-jumping and then only plug in when the app suggests it is their time to do so.

The app will notify the driver of their position in the queue, as well as how many vehicles are ahead of them, Teslarati reports.

Analysis: Things are only going to get busier

There have been a number of reported incidents at Superchargers, where tensions have boiled over when things get busy.

That said, I’ve only ever experienced very polite Tesla owners that seem to self-regulate when the queues form.

However, this is likely because I have interacted with a large percentage of early adopters, most of which are willing to have a brief chat about their Tesla and part with any insider knowledge they may have.

It feels like Tesla has already sold to most of the early adopters and now the general public is getting in on the action. On top of this, Tesla also opened up its Supercharger network to rival manufacturers, meaning the floodgate of eager EV owners effectively opened.

One Reddit user described their experience as a "complete s*** show" and how they witnessed "multiple screaming arguments after someone jumped the line" after their local Supercharger was opened up to other EV owners.

While Tesla is attempting to get a hold on any potential pain points with its Virtual Queue system, it is still only designed for Tesla owners right now (rival EV makers are locked out of Tesla's closed system), and the app feels like it still requires drivers to self-regulate.

After all, what’s stopping an impatient driver from ignoring the messages that appear on the infotainment display and cutting the line? As EV ownership increases, charging stations are only going to get busier, and this will undoubtedly cause friction for all EV charging network providers.

• Musk makes big admission during latest earnings call
• CEO hints that we might see Roadster in a “month or so”
• Tesla also announces an upgraded AI4 chip

During the company's Q1 earnings call, Tesla’s CEO stated that most of the company’s production “long term” will be the two-seater Cybercab and that anyone thinking of physically taking control of driving duties will have to look towards the long-awaited Roadster model.

“Over time, it’s going to make sense for our whole lineup to be autonomous vehicles of different sizes,” Elon Musk stated. “In fact, long term, the only manually driven car will be the new Tesla Roadster,” he added.

The vehicle in question has been touted for release since 2017, when the company started taking deposits for an all-new two-seat electric sports car.

During that time, Tesla’s CEO has claimed that it will be able to tackle the 0-60mph sprint time in 1.9 seconds and hinted that it would use technology derived from SpaceX to “fly” for short periods of time.

But during this year’s earnings call, Musk pushed back the launch of the Roadster once again, claiming that the company will be able to debut the car in “a month or so”.

“I think it might be one of the most spectacular demos ever,” he said, despite not giving any further details on when we will see it or when it is slated to go into production.

Analysis: The goal posts continue to move

Musk’s vision of a fully-autonomous future is currently causing the company headaches, as a number of Tesla owners have started taking legal action against the company's historic Full Self-Driving claims.

During the recent earnings call, Musk finally admitted that “Hardware 3 simply does not have the capability to achieve unsupervised FSD,” despite previous promises to customers that it would.

He went on to state that the company is exploring the possibility of building “micro factories or small factories” in major metropolitan areas to upgrade older HW3 cars to HW4. Although there were no further details on how this would work.

Yet during the same call, Musk also stated that the AI4 chips are also going to rapidly be replaced by more competent technology.

Seeing as the company’s recently unveiled next-gen AI5 chips won’t be going into vehicles any time soon, instead being funneled into Optimus robots, Tesla is now planning an AI4 Plus upgrade to its self-driving computer that doubles the RAM from 16 gigabytes to 32 gigabytes per chip, taking the total to 64GB, which is in line with the latest automotive processors from Nvidia.

But read between the lines and it appears that while HW4 with the AI4 Plus chip is likely more than enough to continue running Supervised Full Self-Driving, it isn’t powerful enough to take the leap to Unsupervised — a goal that Tesla has been working towards for years and the promise that attracted millions of customers in the first place.

• The world's biggest Lidar maker just unveiled its next-gen technology
• The system can detect color, velocity and reflectivity
• The tech is expected to hit the market later this year

The world's biggest Lidar sensor manufacturer has just announced a next-gen version of its technology that is tipped to give self-driving cars a huge reliability boost.

Hesai Group announced this week that its new color-capable Lidar, called its '6D ETX full-color platform', is able to detect the X, Y and Z coordinates of an object, plus its reflectivity, velocity and color, according to the South China Morning Post.

Compared to the black-and-white imaging that is currently returned by most systems on the market, Hesai Group’s ability to detect color, as well as any reflectivity and velocity, is expected to vastly improve the speed at which autonomous driving systems can determine and categorize objects, such as road sigs, traffic lights and emergency service vehicles.

Hesai CEO David Li Yifan claims that the first iterations of the technology will hit the market later this year, stating that they will be the first of their kind. However, the CEO stopped short of revealing which brands would be receiving the Lidar system first.

“This is not some kind of market hype,” he said in a media briefing on Friday. “It is a fundamental innovation, something that no one I know of has ever done before,” the South China Morning Post reported.

Deutsche Bank conducted its own research paper into the technology, where it concluded that it eliminates the need for “complex stitching or inference”, meaning the autonomous driving system no longer needs to ‘guess’ when identifying critical colored objects like traffic lights, lane lines or construction signs.

It reported that Hesai’s innovation would “significantly enhance” the spacial intelligence of artificial intelligence world models, which will likely shine a spotlight on the already profitable company that counts all of the top 10 Chinese carmakers as its clients.

Analysis: Hands-off autonomy is coming

Most of the major automotive players in China are racing to develop a 'hands-off' Level 3 autonomous driving system, which will safely and legally allow drivers to engage in 'side-tasks' when behind the wheel.

Right now, pilot Level 3 operations have started on designated urban roads in southwest China’s Chongqing and on highways in Beijing, with more approvals expected to follow.

Tesla is also actively testing and rolling out its Supervised Full Self-Driving system in China, but it famously eschews Lidar and other sensors in favor of pursuing its camera-only approach, which it says will drastically reduce the overall cost.

But many Tesla owners are angry that the company promises self-driving capability on older vehicles, when it continues to roll out greater levels of processing power in new product.

China’s push into more advanced Lidar system could help to improve accuracy, as well as the speed at which a reliable self-driving system can be signed off by the authorities.

What’s more, it’s highly likely that China will continue to support cutting-edge technology that hails from its domestic market, rather than letting a company like Tesla become the first to market with a true 'hands-off' autonomous driving system.

• Hyundai has revealed the Ioniq 3, a compact EV with an 'Aero Hatch' design
• You can expect upwards of 300 miles from a single charge
• It's the first car to run Hyundai’s new Android-based infotainment system

Hyundai chose the glamorous surrounds of Milan’s annual Design Week event to launch the fourth European car in its expanding Ioniq range.

The Ioniq 3, which joins the larger hatchback Ioniq 5, the streamliner-inspired Ioniq 6 and the seven-seat SUV Ioniq 9, boasts an interior that is inspired by 1970s Italian furniture design, while the exterior styling sticks surprisingly close to the Concept 3 that was revealed last year.

It's all rooted in the "Art of Steel" philosophy, which we first saw in the bold Initium hydrogen concept, with clean surfaces that take inspiration from steel manufacturing processes... apparently.

“Ioniq 3 will offer best-in class aerodynamics, which helps it achieve best-in-class range. It also offers class-leading trunk space and a premium interior that really is from the segment above,” says Hyundai’s chief designer Eduardo Ramirez.

The compact electric Aero Hatch design, as Hyundai dubs it, is aimed at the European market, but is aiming to inject some premium appeal into the segment.

As a result, it will be available in two guises. A Standard Range variant features a 42.2kWh battery that is capable of 344km (214 miles) on a single charge, while a 61kWh Long Range version delivers 496km (308 miles).

Both models use a single motor that powers the front wheels, resulting in a 0-62mph sprint time of nine seconds in the standard car and 9.6 seconds in the heavier, larger battery Long Range edition.

Hyundai’s European CEO, Xavier Martinet, says that this vehicle was designed to combine “segment-leading driving range and aerodynamics with extraordinary levels of space”.

The roominess is impressive, as despite the relatively compact exterior dimensions, Hyundai’s designers have managed to deliver a generous amount of head and legroom inside, while a plethora of cubby holes and storage areas increase the overall sense of practicality.

Analysis: Android Automotive opens new doors

Perhaps the biggest news is that the Ioniq 3 will also be the first to usher in the new Pleos Connect infotainment system from Hyundai, which uses the Android Automotive operating system for the first time.

This has allowed the company to create an intuitive journey planner that factors in live public charging data, as well as the ability for owners to lock and unlock the car with a digital key, be it by smartphone or smartwatch.

It also opens up the possibility of an app store, with the ability to download popular streaming, news and other entertainment apps directly to the unit for the first time.

Unlike some of the other models built on the Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP platform, the Ioniq 3 features a 400V electrical architecture, as opposed to the ultra-rapid charging 800V system found elsewhere in the Ioniq range.

However, the company claims that fast DC charging from 10 to 80 per cent takes 29 minutes under optimal conditions.

Despite all of the grown-up talk, Hyundai insisted that the Ioniq 3 still has a sense of fun, with the four dots in the pixel rear lights marking out the Morse Code for the letter 'H'.

There are plenty of other 'Easter Eggs' to explore inside too that, while not quite Renault 5 levels of funkiness, is at least something to show friends when ferrying them around.

During the launch in Milan, Hyundai executives suggested that the vehicle is due to go on sale in Europe during September this year, priced at around €30,000, which is around £26,000 in the UK or roughly $35,000 (AU$50,000). Although there are no plans to sell it Stateside just yet.

• Full Self-Driving was recently legalized in the Netherlands
• Furious Dutch Model 3 owner feels many are being left behind
• Thousands of participants have joined a growing petition against Tesla

There is mounting pressure on Tesla to compensate buyers after a dutch Model 3 owner took to X to vent his anger at the company for failing to recognize those customers that had already paid for Full Self-Driving (FSD), but can’t use it due to owning older hardware.

Mischa Sigtermans, a self-confessed owner of one of the first Model 3 vehicles in the Netherlands, says he paid for Full Self-Driving back in 2019, when Tesla was prepared to take €6,800 (around $7,500) of his money on the promise that highly autonomous driving technology would be available at some point in the near future.

“I waited 7 years. SEVEN years!” the angry owner wrote on X, followed by a link to a petition he has started that is attempting to file a collective claim against Tesla.

Back in 2019, when Sigtermans purchased the Model 3, Tesla publicly advertised that “every Tesla is equipped with the hardware needed in the future to make the vehicle fully self-driving in almost all circumstances”.

Seven years later and, despite the technology finally being approved by the Dutch vehicle authority RDW, only those vehicles running the latest AI4 chip will be capable of Full Self-Driving.

What's more, Elon Musk just announced an AI5 chip that is said to be far more powerful than existing technology and will eventually go on to underpin future iterations of FSD.

The collective claim already has some 2,939 verified participants, with many owners in other European countries eager to join, as they know that their vehicles likely won’t be compatible if and when FSD rolls out to wider European markets.

“The more people sign up, the more weight this carries when we sit down with Tesla. Or stand up in court,” the collective claim states.

Analysis: Legal pressure is mounting on Tesla

The alleged false advertising claims with regards to Full Self-Driving aren’t just limited to Europe, as Electrek reports that there is an estimated $100m-$500m in class action lawsuits currently ongoing surrounding the technology.

This is a drop in the ocean compared to the $14.5 billion in lawsuits that Electrek cites if you consider the phantom braking, Autopilot/FSD crashes, wages and hours violations, odometer manipulation, range claims inflation and many more cases that have been widely reported in recent years.

However, a staggering four million vehicles have been sold on the promise that they have “all hardware needed” for Full Self-Driving, which is rapidly turning out not to be true.

Now, with a growing number of Europeans feeling let down, Tesla might have a new front to be fighting on. Not great timing, as it plans to roll FSD out to the wider European markets.

• Elon Musk took to X to announce the latest Tesla chip
• The AI5 chip is destined for “Optimus and supercomputer clusters”
• Musk says a single AI5 unit has five-time compute power of two AI4 chips

Elon Musk took to X to announce the arrival of Tesla’s next-generation chip, which will boast a claimed 40x performance boost over the predecessor.

According to Musk on X (below), the Tesla AI5 chip has been “taped out”, which refers to the point at which a chip’s design is lock-in before being sent to semiconductor facility for mass production. The CEO then added that “AI6, Dojo3 & other exciting chips in work (sic)”.

Tesla's CEO also confirmed that a single AI5 unit has five times the useful compute power of two existing AI4 chips, according to Not a Tesla App, while Tom’s Hardware reports that the processor module is about half the reticle size of the AI4.

But when quizzed by an X user on when customers can expect these latest chips to arrive in customer vehicles, Musk responded with a statement that confirmed they would be used in Optimus and “supercomputer clusters” first.

“AI4 is enough to achieve much better than human safety for FSD,” he added.

This tallies with the fact that Tesla plans to stick with the AI4 chip to power its upcoming batch of purpose built Cybercabs.

Electrek reports that Tesla needs “several hundred thousand completed AI5 boards line side” before it can switch production lines, and that volume isn’t expected until mid-2027, meaning those expecting a huge leap forward in Full Self-Driving performance are going to have to wait a bit longer.

Analysis: More Tesla tech will become obsolete

Right now, autonomous driving engineers are somewhat hampered by compute power, as advancing models require an enormous amount of memory to perform.

Volvo faced a similar issue with some of its recent releases, including the EX90, which launched without the compute power to effectively run its Lidar-based safety systems.

The Swedish company then parked Lidar and physically updated a whole host of models when new system-on-a-chip (SoC) technology became available from partners Nvidia and Qualcomm.

Tesla engineers face the same constraints and last year, the company had to admit that its previous generation Hardware 3 (HW3) set-up wasn’t powerful enough to run future iterations of Full Self-Driving.

Despite this, Musk has doubled-down on the fact that he thinks the current AI4, which powers HW4, is enough to achieve much “better than human safety”, but it is highly likely customers will have to wait until the AI5 chip is properly introduced before they see giant leaps in capabilities.

Plus, Tesla’s planned nine-month development cycle, which Not a Tesla App says could see AI6 chips introduced as early as 2028, effectively makes ‘nearly-new’ vehicles obsolete in terms of their ability to offer fully ‘unsupervised’ self-driving — a dream Musk has been selling for years.

• Tesla’s Spring update brings with it lots of changes
• A new self-driving app is inarguably the biggest
• However, the app will only work on cars with the latest hardware

Tesla has revealed details of a massive Spring 2026 update that will bring a host of new software features to vehicles across the globe.

Alongside smaller things, such as a voice prompt to wake Grok and an innovative use of interior lighting to act as a blind spot warning system, Tesla has ushered in a new, dedicated Self-Driving app that will act as a hub for any information surrounding its highly autonomous Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system.

Appearing somewhat like a homepage of a smart TV, the new app allows owners that didn’t specify FSD at the time of purchase to subscribe to the feature with the press of a button.

There are also tutorial videos and the ability to adjust numerous FSD settings from within the app.

Eagle-eyed Tesla fans have noted that the UX looks as if it is preparing for the potential introduction to a pay-per-mile or short term Full Self-Driving subscription package.

This could, potentially, allow customers to 'rent' the technology for a road trip, or even a day in the future — although Tesla hasn't yet confirmed this.

Inside the new FSD app, there’s also a screen that crunches the numbers and shows how much time the vehicle has spent in ‘Self-Driving’ mode, as well as track multi-day usage streaks.

Not a Tesla App notes that this shows owners “exactly how much value they are getting from the software”. However, it also looks like a ploy to 'gamify' its autonomous driving functionality in order to keep customers engaged and drum up new business.

Analysis: Not everyone is happy

A number of disgruntled owners have taken to the various comments sections, social media sites and subreddits to air their grievances around Tesla’s decision to make this new app only available to cars with Hardware 4 (HW4) — the latest models, in other words.

Some customers have claimed that, despite their vehicles only being two years old, they are not able to make the most of the new Full Self-Driving app or the future improvements to the technology, while the clever use of interior accent lights is only available on the refreshed “Highland” Model 3 and Model Y, as well as the Cybertruck.

“And now HW3 owners have been delegated to the crap pile, just like all the previous car owners,” one Reddit user commented.

Others soon piled in to criticize the fact that most of Tesla’s “major” updates haven’t added many genuinely useful features. “In the four years of owning my Model S, the only update that I found useful was when they enabled the blind spot cameras in the driver display,” a Reddit user added.

Skeptics could easily claim that this update follows a similar pattern, with minor additions thrown in to grab headlines. These include the ability for customers to choose an animal when the car is in ‘Pet Mode’, including a dog, a cat and a new character dubbed Cyberhog (it’s a hedgehog, of course).

Apparently, many cars will also receive improved graphics on the in-car visualizations, as well as minor improvements to the weather maps and the Sketchpad app.

However, the biggest change, which comes in the form of the new Self-Driving app, is designed to drum up more business for Tesla’s automated technology, much of which won’t apply to anything that isn’t running the latest hardware.

This is a far cry from Elon Musk's initial promise that any Tesla produced since 2016 will be able to run Full Self-Driving — a fact that it back-tracked on last year.

• After years of regulatory red tape, FSD goes live in Europe
• It is only legal in the Netherlands, but more regions could follow
• Some safety campaigners say the decision is “deeply troubling”

Over the past 18 months, Tesla has been working with the Dutch vehicle approval organization, RDW, to get approval for its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) semi-autonomous driving system.

After a long consultation period, which included covering almost one million miles with FSD (Supervised) active and offering ride-along trials with 13,000 people in numerous European countries, the RDW deemed the technology safe to be given the green light.

Tesla’s controversial CEO, Elon Musk, has long-promised to introduce the partially autonomous cruise control system to other markets outside of the US, where it has been on sale for years. But the company has regularly butted up against regulatory red tape.

According to a press statement put out by Tesla to promote its European debut, the company says that when FSD (Supervised) is engaged, collisions are up to "seven-times less likely per kilometer driven compared to manual driving alone".

However, safety campaigners, such as Dan O’Dowd of The Dawn Project, reiterates that “59 people have been killed in over 3,000 crashes involving Tesla’s self-driving software in the U.S. since 2021 alone”.

"The RDW's decision is deeply troubling given Tesla FSD's myriad of well-documented safety defects," O’Dowd adds.

What's more, the company’s Robotaxis, which use a similar hardware suite that relies on the vehicle’s external cameras and artificial intelligence to navigate the world, as opposed to a plethora of radar and Lidar sensors like rivals, have made the headlines because data suggests they crash four times more often than the average human driver, according to Fortune.

In a bid to bolster its safety credentials, Tesla has made a number of changes to its software for the version that will go on sale in the Netherlands.

Not a Tesla App reported that those customers that had first-hand ride-along experience with Euro-spec FSD (Supervised) noticed that it differed to the technology found in the US.

Dutch owners will have to pass a mandatory safety quiz before FSD activates, for example, while the 'Sloth' to 'Mad Max' speed profiles in the US version have been ditched in favor of more straightforward 'Max Speed' setting in the Netherlands.

Analysis: Europe will be watching closely

While it is easy to think that the recent ruling in the Netherlands will automatically open the door for FSD (Supervised) to be used in the rest of Europe, it is highly likely that many other markets will continue to exercise caution.

Even RDW, the organization that gave the green-light to FSD (Supervised|) in the Netherlands, says that the system is not "self-driving," adding that the "driver remains responsible and must always remain in control."

This confusion with messaging used to promote the technology’s capabilities has caused plenty of problems in the US, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launching an investigation into the safety of the technology.

Recently, it escalated its probe to "Engineering Analysis", which it says will evaluate the system’s ability to operate in reduced roadway visibility.

All the while, Elon Musk continues to promote the fact that every iteration of the FSD software will “far exceed human levels of safety" and that users will soon be able to text and drive, when realistically, it’s simply a Level 2 semi-autonomous cruise control system that is also offered by the likes of Ford and BMW.

• Tesla reveals that Model S and Model X are no more
• Musk shifts focus to autonomy, rather than passenger cars
• Only the Model 3 and Model Y are left to make up the bulk of sales

Tesla has officially called time on its groundbreaking Model S and Model X electric vehicles, with Elon Musk sharing a photo that dates back to 2012 and the original production launch of the Model S at its Fremont factory on X.

Elon Musk said that custom orders of the Tesla Model S and X have “come to an end”, claiming that a small amount of global inventory is left for the vehicles. He signed off with: “We will have an official ceremony to mark the ending of an era. I love those cars.”

Musk announced that the company would stop producing both Model X and Model S during an earnings call at the beginning of the year, stating that the company was “moving into a future that is based on autonomy.”

However, the decision was also based on dwindling sales figures, as the two pioneering models – one a performance-orientated electric sedan and another a wild take on the mid-size SUV – had both experienced a lack of customer interest after the Model 3 and Model Y were introduced.

In fact, Tesla stopped reporting Model S and Model X numbers around 2020 when the Model Y arrived, instead lumping them into an “Other Models”, which also included the slow-selling Cybertruck.

As an illustration of those sales figures, Tesla delivered 1.6 million Model 3 and Model Y cars worldwide last year, while the “Other Models” category, which includes the Model S, Model X, Cybertruck, and Semi, totaled just 50,850 units, according to Inside EVs.

Analysis: Is Tesla giving up on EVs?

If you want to get hold of a Model S and Model X, you better get in quick, as Electrek reports that Tesla currently has approximately 295 new Model S units and 301 new Model X units left in global inventory — nearly all of them in the United States.

But perhaps more telling is the fact that Tesla doesn’t appear to be replacing these once-pioneering models, instead opting to dedicate the freed-up factory floor space for the assembly of Optimus robots.

Elon Musk has been vocal about the fact that his company is moving more towards autonomy and providing autonomous services, such as Robotaxis and humanoid robots, rather than focussing its attention on electric vehicles.

Unfortunately, this apparent lack of interest could well filter down to the Model 3 and Model Y that, despite making a resurgence at the beginning of 2026, have both fallen short of anticipated sales figures this year.

If Tesla wants to keep up with the increasing amount of EV competition, it needs exciting new cars that feature the ground-breaking spirit of the now-defunct originals.

But despite Musk's promise of "something cooler than a minivan", it is being left to China to make headlines with rapid charging speeds, monster EV battery ranges and innovative driving tech.

• Elon Musk replied to X users pressing for a Tesla minivan
• Successor to the Model X could be on the cards
• But Tesla has been teasing an electric van or bus for decades

During a recent interaction with Tesla fans on X, Elon Musk set the rumor mill in motion by hinting that the company is working on “something way cooler than a minivan” when pressed on the issue of a more spacious, family-orientated electric vehicle from the brand.

Speaking on the subject of Cybertruck, in particular how it can fit three child seats abreast in the rear, an X user asked the company to "make a minivan". The Tesla CEO then hinted that something even better is on the horizon.

What form this vehicle would take is entirely up for speculation, although Tesla has only recently announced the discontinuation of its flagship Model S and large, unconventional Model X SUV.

Not a Tesla App believes that a CyberSUV, based on the same platform as Cybertruck, would solve issues of the cramped interior and poor packaging of the Model X, while the website points out that models of larger Cybertruck-inspired SUVs were spotted in the background of official Tesla videos in the past.

Chief designer Franz von Holzhausen told Tesla fans to “wait and see” when numerous eagle-eyed viewers pointed out the teasers. However, Tesla pessimists have stated that Elon Musk has been hinting at a van, large SUV or minivan for a decade now.

In the company’s Master Plan Part Deux it stated that heavy-duty trucks (now the Cybertruck) and high passenger-density transport were in need of electrification, but it has been quiet on the latter until now.

Analysis: Tesla is openly into automation

While the announcement has predictably whipped a large sector of the internet into a frenzy, it’s also perfectly possible that Musk was referring to the Robovan or a similar fully autonomous project that could transport multiple passengers.

After all, the company has scaled back its ambitions to produce new vehicle platforms in order to focus on ‘transportation as a service’, as well as AI and humanoid robots.

On top of this, the Cybertruck has proven a massive flop in terms of overall sales, while Tesla’s grip on the EV market is steadily slipping, as an increasing number of Chinese manufacturers have started chipping away at sales in Europe and beyond.

If the refreshed Roadster project is any example to go by, we could be waiting many more months to get answers.

• Tesla’s Full Self-Driving systems have come under scrutiny again
• Uber’s former head of self-driving crashes Model X using FSD
• A Cybertruck also violently crashed into an overpass barrier

Two recent high-profile Tesla crashes have once again shone the spotlight on the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. They highlight the issue with “asking humans to supervise systems designed to make supervision feel pointless”, as Uber’s former head of self-driving cars wrote in an article for The Atlantic after his Model X crashed into a wall.

Raffi Krikorian, the Mozilla CTO and former Uber self-driving boss, said he was navigating the residential streets of San Francisco’s Bay Area with his Model X set to Full Self-Driving mode, when the steering wheel “jerked one way, then the other”.

Moments before colliding with a wall, Krikorian says he turned the wheel to take over, but it was too late.

In a similar but altogether much scarier scenario, dash cam footage captured by Justine Saint Amour’s Cybertruck reveals the moments just before the vehicle careered into an overpass barrier at speed, almost sending it over the edge and potentially killing the driver and her one-year-old child.

Saint Amour says the vehicle was in Full Self-Driving mode before the incident, but her attorney Bob Hilliard acknowledged that his client disengaged the system moments before impact. Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, immediately picked up on this fact.

He took to X to write: “Logs show driver disengaged Autopilot four seconds before crashing” — an argument he has used in FSD's defence a number of times before.

But Raffi Krikorian, who used to run Uber’s self-driving car division, argues in his article that drivers need "five to eight seconds to mentally reengage after an automated driving system gives control back”. In his opinion, this middle ground simply doesn’t work.

"A machine that constantly fails keeps you sharp. A machine that works perfectly needs no oversight. But a machine that works almost perfectly? That’s where the danger lies,” he writes.

Saint Amour suffered two herniated discs in her lower back, one in her neck, sprained tendons in her wrist, and experienced numbness and weakness in her right hand, according to Electrek , and is suing Tesla for over $1m as a result.

Analysis: Tesla’s messaging has long been misleading

Tesla may have stopped referring to its advanced cruise control system as “Autopilot”, but that hasn’t prevented the company from pursuing and promoting its Full Self-Driving technology.

Despite adding ‘Supervised’ to proceedings, Elon Musk has long peddled the myth that his technology is more capable than it actually is.

He has made claims a Tesla should be able to autonomous drive “90 per cent of miles” way back in 2013, as well as stating that drivers could soon “go to sleep in your car and wake up in your destination” on multiple occasions, with the most recent being the end of last year.

The mounting number of court cases and high profile crashes are testament to the fact that we are still a long way from that point, and despite Tesla’s website warning Full Self-Driving users not to “become complacent”, customers are clearly placing more trust in the systems than they should.

As Raffi Krikorian writes: “when a car’s marketing says “self-driving” but the fine print says “driver responsible,” that’s a warning sign".

• Energy regulator grants Tesla Energy Ventures license to provide electricity
• Reports state that Tesla looks to replicate its energy supply business in Texas
• ‘Virtual Power Plant’ could allow solar owners to feed back into the grid

The British energy regulator Ofgem has granted Tesla Energy Ventures, a unit of Tesla, a license to supply electricity to both domestic and commercial customers across the UK.

According to Reuters, the move would allow Tesla to expand its business and use its experience with a similar setup in Texas, which uses its solar energy and battery storage business to directly compete with existing energy suppliers in the UK, such as Octopus Energy, British Gas and EDF.

Tesla doesn’t provide data on the number of Powerwall Home Battery Storage Systems it has sold to UK residents, but the company stated that it had installed one million worldwide at the end of last year.

The units, which see a large battery storage system harness energy from the grid when it is at its cheapest, are not only touted to help reduce energy bills but also protect in the event of a blackout.

When paired with solar panels, users can power homes or the workplace, charge EVs and even feed excess energy back into Tesla’s “Virtual Power Plant”, lowering the cost of energy and allowing some homeowners to generate income.

Currently, Tesla’s “virtual power plant” for Powerwall owners is offered through Octopus Energy, but this would change with Ofgem’s recent ruling.

Analysis: A keen move in a time of energy uncertainty

Tesla’s EV sales have been slipping globally, with a particularly poor performance in the UK and Europe recently. According to The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Tesla’s UK sales fell 37% from 3,852 to 2,422 in February compared with the same period last year.

That said, it still has a lot of Tesla owners, many of whom are generally more willing to embrace new technologies. Its push into the energy sector could convince an increasing number of owners to install Powerwall and solar to reduce reliance on the grid and charge their vehicles more cheaply.

However, not everyone is convinced that Tesla will have such an easy time.

Adam Bell, former head of energy at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and now director of policy at consultancy Stonehaven, told City AM that Tesla is entering a “heavily regulated market” in which margins have been “squeezed to the narrowest possible extent” and in which it faces competitors who have “already invested in novel tariff offers”.

While most British households are ‘protected’ from escalating energy costs by price caps and regulated tariffs, this is due to change in July, when the next adjustment is expected and the government may be forced to step in should the conflict in the Middle East continue to force prices up.

• A 16-inch QHD display is coming to updated Model 3
• New upgrades bring it more in line with Model Y
• But demand for used Model S and Model X cars is still strong

A recent dive into the backend configurator assets and Electronic Parts Catalogue of the Tesla Model 3 has revealed that a handful of updates are due to be added in a bid to bring it more in line with the more expensive Model Y.

According to Not a Tesla App, a new black Alcantara-style headliner is due to replace a current grey unit, as requested by customers. In addition to this, the central display is also receiving an upgrade.

The report suggests that the catalogue now lists the 'Display_16_QHD' component, previously reserved only for the Model Y, as an available part on the 2026 Model 3. This means it will increase in size from a 15.4-inch touchscreen to a 16-inch QHD display.

This will bump up the pixel density from 1920x1200 in the current HD version to 2560x1440 in the QHD variant for more impressive visuals.

The backend references discovered by an X user were reportedly in Tesla’s EU and China configurator assets, which suggests that Giga Shanghai will be the first factory to begin rolling out these refreshed interiors, with the European market to follow suit.

Analysis: Welcome updates, but Tesla needs more cars

While it is good news that Tesla continues to focus its efforts on refining both the Model 3 and Model Y, a recent report on the US used car market suggests that demand for the recently discontinued Model S and Model remains high.

According to iSweeCars (via Auto Evolution), the average price of a used Tesla has climbed 4.3% since last September, when the $7,500 tax credit ended. However, the same is not true for other EV brands, which have lost an average of 3.6% in resale value during the same period.

The report states that while all Teslas have seen their resale value increase, the Model S and Model X have experienced the biggest jumps.

The Model S has seen its price increase from $47,226 in September 2025 to $57,306 in January 2026, an 8.5% jump. The Model X has seen an even bigger hike, from $51,973 to $57,306, which represents a 10.3% increase.

Granted, these figures aren’t definitive but they suggest an appetite remains for Tesla’s sleek saloon and practical people carrier. Could it be a case of only missing something when it’s gone or did Tesla hastily pull the plug on its premium cars?

Currently, a number of global automakers are having to rethink their export strategy due to the tariff goalposts constantly shifting. This is resulting in an overall reduction in choice for new electric vehicles in the US.

Many homegrown manufacturers are also rethinking their manufacturing strategy due to a drop in demand for EV technology in general.

But this, and the cancellation of the EV tax credit, could be why the used market seems to be kicking in, with buyers looking to snap up deals from an era where EV choice was greater.

• Tesla's first 'Cybercab' has rolled off the production line
• But its Robotaxi operation is crashing at an alarming rate
• Human drivers are safer, by comparison

Tesla has been celebrating a milestone this week, as the first production Cybercab rolled off the production line at its Gigafactory Texas facility.

The golden-hued, highly autonomous machine does away with a conventional steering wheel and pedals, meaning it is entirely dependent on software to navigate the planned routes in busy cities throughout the US.

But despite the posts from the company on X, continuous production of the Cybercab isn’t due to start in earnest until April this year, according to Electrek.

What’s more, Tesla has faced numerous hurdles with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) simply gaining intellectual property rights on the name alone.

That means the Cybercab might not actually be called 'Cybercab'. More worrying still is new evidence that shows Tesla’s current Robotaxi fleet (you know, the one with a real driver on hand in case things go wrong) reported five new crash incidents in Austin, Texas recently.

This brings the total number of incidents up to 14 since the service launched in June 2025 that, by Tesla’s own benchmarking, meaning its Robotaxi fleet is experiencing one crash every 57,000 miles, according to Electrek.

When compared to data from human drivers, who experience a minor collision every 229,000 miles and a major collision every 699,000 miles in North America, Tesla’s Robotaxi service is experiencing an incident four times as often.

Perhaps even more concerning is the fact that a report submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which is keeping a close eye on all autonomous vehicle projects, show that a July 2025 crash was upgraded from “property damage only” to “Minor W/ Hospitalization”.

Other filed incidents from Tesla include a collision with a fixed object at 17mph while the vehicle was driving straight, a crash with a bus while the Tesla was stationary, a collision with a heavy truck at 4mph, plus two separate incidents where the Tesla backed into objects (one into a pole or tree at 1mph and another into a fixed object at 2mph), according to Electrek.

These all reportedly happened during daylight hours and in good weather conditions, which hangs even more question marks over Tesla's decision to tackle advanced levels of autonomous driving without LiDAR and other sensors, instead relying on cameras.

Running before walking

Although these incidents all (thankfully) sound like relatively minor collisions, the crash data submitted to the NHTSA is concerning. It is predicted that Tesla only has around 42 Robotaxis in relatively sporadic operation around Austin, but they are colliding at a rate that is worse than human drivers.

What’s more, Tesla is one of the only autonomous taxi services that redacts all of its crash information under the pretense of “confidential business information”. This means it is impossible to see who or what was at fault during the incident – whether it was Tesla’s autonomous driving systems or the safety driver’s failure to react in time.

By comparison, Waymo has submitted 51 incidents in Austin alone over a similar timeframe. But as of the last count, the company had covered 6.337 million fully autonomous miles in Austin, Texas, since launching the service in March, according to the Austin American Statesman.

It is predicted that Tesla has covered 800,000 cumulative miles… with a safety driver at the helm or a chase cart in position for safety reasons. In other words, hail that golden 'Cybercab' at your own risk.

• Charging for access to heated seats didn't go down well
• BMW admits it was a mistake but continues to explore subscription models
• More companies are turning towards micro-transactions to boost profits

BMW sparked controversy in 2022 when it floated the idea of a new ‘Functions on Demand’ program, which would charge owners to gain access to preinstalled hardware. In particular, the idea that owners would have to pay a monthly fee to access heated seats raised more than a few eyebrows.

The German marque was quick to clarify at the time that, should a customer specify heated seats, they would "remain fully operational for the life of the vehicle". But the company said that additional features, such as using existing camera hardware as a dash cam, would still be offered as a premium software subscription.

More recently, BMW head of product communications Alexandra Landers told drive.com.au that introducing the 'on-demand' service with a heated seat and steering wheel subscription model was “probably not the best way to start with it”.

However, Landers also defended the model, stating "you have cloud use, and that is cost" and added that "if you use it, we have to pay for it". She also confirmed that the company is still exploring the idea that customers may want to unlock additional features for a fee in the future.

The upcoming iX3, for example, will be available with a subscription to the 360-degree camera, as well the company’s Tesla FSD-rivaling Driving Assistant Pro package, which offers advanced cruise control with automatic lane changing and more.

“With these established digital offerings, we offer our customers even more comfort and flexibility in line with their individual wishes after they purchase a vehicle,” a BMW spokesperson told The Drive when asked to clarify its standing on the matter.

But BMW is not the only manufacturer to come under fire for offering additional capability as a subscription service.

Tesla recently removed the ability to pay a one-off fee for its Full Self-Driving autonomous driving system, while General Motors has been charging a fee for its OnStar emergency services for decades.

What's more, any 'constantly-connected' car requires payment for a data package eventually, otherwise owners have to be within reach of Wi-Fi to make the simplest software updates.

Like and subscribe

While many consumers are happy to pay a subscription fee for digital services, which are becoming an increasingly common sight in today’s Software Defined Vehicles, the real outrage came when BMW suggested that owners would have to pay for hardware that is already installed in a vehicle.

The German marque did backtrack on that decision, but it continues to demand a recurring fee should the owner want to operate their heated seats and steering wheel remotely. The company argues that there are associated costs with cellular data and Cloud storage to cover, but some buyers remain unconvinced.

However, as vehicles – particularly EVs – become increasingly digitized, automotive manufacturers are looking at ways of exploiting the potential revenue stream that is associated with subscription packages.

After all, it is more lucrative to charge an entire string of owners a small monthly fee for a service, than it is to offer it as a one-time purchase when the vehicle is first configured.

This also goes hand-in-hand with the fact that the car ownership model is rapidly changing, with more buyers leasing or hiring their vehicles in one way or another than ever.

Buying a car is no longer the massive, one-time investment that is supposed to last for years, but is instead lumped in with the growling list of monthly outgoings that consumers have to contend with.

What was right for the original buyer of a vehicle might not be right for the second person to own it just two years into its life-cycle, which is where a Features-as-a-Service model has its benefits.

More than this, if BMW can streamline its manufacturing process by essentially building just one configuration of a model and then charging customers to unlock convenience features, such as a heated steering wheel, it is going to do so.

The automotive market is going through one of the biggest transformations it has ever witnessed, while competition is hotter than ever. These micro-transactions are seen as a way to smooth cashflow and as a result, and clearly aren’t going away soon.

• Tesla launches a cheaper all-wheel-drive Model Y
• The car gives up some luxuries but costs $41,990
• Cheaper models could help Tesla fend off the competition

Tesla’s sales have been taking a beating across the globe of late, with figures dipping to a near four-year low in November 2025 in the US, according to statistics from Cox Automotive, via Reuters.

The picture is even more bleak in Europe, with numbers down by as much as 88% in some regions.

While EV sales in the US have generally taken a nasty downturn, worsened by the Trump administration's cancellation of the $7,500 federal tax credit, Elon Musk's once-innovative brand has been particularly affected.

The company's total sales fell nearly 23% in 2025 compared to the previous year, despite its launch of cheaper Standard versions of the Model 3 and Model Y.

The company is now hitting back with a more affordable Model Y AWD version that it hopes will increase demand, thanks to a bump in performance at very little cost.

The $41,990 (before incentives) AWD Model Y sits just above the base-spec rear-wheel-drive Model Y, offering a 294-mile EPA range and a 0-60mph sprint time of 4.6 seconds, which is more than two seconds faster than the entry-level rear-wheel-drive variant.

Although Tesla has ditched the ‘Standard’ naming convention in its marketing materials, this new fifth addition to the line-up very much follows the same pattern as the cheapest cars in the range, eschewing the premium audio system, second-row touchscreen, and open glass roof for much more basic options.

So like its rear-wheel drive counterpart, this new car lacks the HEPA filter, touchscreen adjustable air vents, vegan leather interior, power folding seats, adaptive high beams, and frequency-dependent shock absorbers of the more expensive Premium counterparts.

The all-electric range is also slightly down in the rear-wheel-drive version, thanks to the second motor and additional performance on tap, with 321-miles playing 294-miles.

Tesla needs more affordable cars

The added benefits of having all-wheel-drive traction, as well as the additional pace for an additional $2,000, will be appealing to North American buyers – a group that is drastically lacking choice in electric vehicles due to a decision from many global automakers to not export to the tariff-riddled market.

As we have said before, the latest iterations of both the Model 3 and Model Y are the best cars Tesla has ever made, and even in the more basic ‘Standard’ trims, still represent an excellent, fuss-free introduction into the world of EVs. Especially when you consider that Tesla’s Supercharger network remains one of the simplest and most seamless ways to charge.

Tesla’s choice to offer cheaper versions of its best-sellers is clever and timely, as, despite demand for EVs in the US waning, there is a growing number of premium electrified rivals from BMW, Volvo, and Mercedes-Benz set to arrive in the coming months.

If Tesla wants to remain competitive, it needs to undercut the competition.

• China bans concealed door handles with new rules starting January 1, 2027
• All cars will require a mechanical release on the exterior
• Several fatal accidents have forced investigations

A design that was first popularized by Tesla and then copied by numerous automotive manufacturers has been banned in China, after several deadly incidents forced the country to rethink modern car design.

Concealed door handles, or pop-out handles, were first introduced by Tesla on the Model S in 2012 and caused a stir among the car community at the time. Not only did they help improve aerodynamics – and therefore increase electric range – they also delivered a clean surface that made the Model S look even more space-age.

But a number of high profile accidents that caused occupants to become trapped inside their vehicles shifted focus on Tesla and the safety of such a device. According to Bloomberg, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a defect investigation into a number of Tesla Model Y and Model 3 door handles.

Similarly, several fatal accidents in China, including a crash involving a Xiaomi SU7, prompted the country to rethink its regulations.

New rules announced on Monday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology explicitly state that cars sold in China as of January 1 next year will have to provide a hand-operable space (measuring at least 6cm x 2cm x 2.5cm) in order to manually release the door. There also needs to be signage in the cabin about how to open the doors from the inside.

Where Tesla’s original design differs is that the door handle remains flush with the body work, requiring the driver or passenger to press on an area to first expose the handle, while pulling on one end sends an electrical signal to open the door.

Having taken much inspiration from Tesla, around 60% of the top 100 bestselling new energy vehicles in China feature the same or similar technology, according to The Guardian.

Despite Tesla including a manual release mechanism inside their vehicles, it has been argued that these are difficult to operate unless owners and occupants are taught how to do so.

A flawed design

Tesla is currently under fire for its once-innovative door designs, with the NHTSA claiming it had received nine complaints about the handles in Tesla's 2021 Model Y cars, according to the BBC.

But alongside the court cases and investigations, pop-out door handles have also been met with disdain by a section of the car-owning public. The mechanisms can be difficult to operate for the uninitiated, while freezing temperatures easily freeze the handles in place, often requiring defrosting before they start working.

This isn’t just a Tesla problem either, as numerous manufacturers have opted to adopt the design given the aerodynamic gains and the clean surfaces they provide for exterior designers.

As a result, the BBC claims that safety bodies in both the US and Europe could also follow China’s lead and implement their own rules on the divisive door handles.

Lost among the shock news that Tesla would be shifting away from Model S and Model X production to building a million robots a year in its Fremont factory were the company's wild aspirations and promises for its upcoming Optimus 3 humanoid robot.

Built on the same Full Self Driving technology (FSD) you'd find in a Tesla Model 3 or Model Y EV, Tesla's Optimus robot has been on a development fast track for almost four years, quickly graduating from embarrassingly halting locomotion to impressive dance moves. Now, though, Elon Musk and Tesla are promising something more – and possibly more disturbing.

During an earnings call in which execs did their best to put a positive spin on declining sales and extreme EV competition in one of their biggest markets (China), Tesla robotics engineer, and the guy leading its AI efforts, Ashok Elluswamy, claimed, "Yeah, it’s an awesome robot that minimizes any differences... It looks like a human. People could be easily confused that it’s a human."

Entering the uncanny valley

Naturally, I have questions. Sure, there is a movement now among humanoid robotics engineers to make their robots look a little more lifelike, like the oddly feminized Xpeng robot, but no one would mistake it for a real woman. I'm struggling to imagine how someone might confuse the upcoming Optimus 3 with a person, especially if it still has that smooth, all-black featureless plastic face.

On the other hand, no one really wants an humanoid robot with an uncanny valley face walking around their living room.

This is a conversation, though, about more than looks. Musk also made some bold claims during the call, insisting that we're heading into an age of "amazing abundance" (a new company motto) and that AI and robotics would be the driving force behind us all having "a future of universal high income. Not universal basic income, but universal high income."

Tesla's plan to use its Freemont manufacturing facility to churn out one million Optimus robots a year could mean, in Musk's view, that “Everyone can have whatever they want, including great medical care.”

None of this seems remotely possible – certainly not based on Tesla's timeline of delivering Optimus 3 in March 2026 and consumer-grade robots at scale by 2027 or 2028, especially if they cost in the range of $30,000.

Will we all want one?

Musk's commitment to this idea is deep, and his comments during the earnings call – in which he claimed that his Optimus robot will be an economic force big enough to move the US GDP – align with statements he made at the Davos World Economic Forum a week or so ago.

There he told an audience: "I think everyone on earth is going to have one, to want one," adding that people will want his robots to watch over children, pets, and, yes, the elderly ("assuming it’s very safe").

Musk isn't wrong about the elder care crisis we're facing. The aging population is essentially outpacing the birthrate, and Musk noted in Davos that there are not enough young people to take care of the elderly.

Robots assisting in elder care isn't a new idea, nor is it unique to Musk and Tesla. It's been a topic of conversation for almost as long as I've covered robotics, and certainly humanoid robots.

Honda's long-term goal for its revolutionary ASIMO humanoid robot was elder care, but the car company eventually stopped pouring money into the ill-fated research project. Interestingly, another car company, Hyundai, is now at the forefront of humanoid robotics development with its significant Boston Dynamics Atlas funding.

The problem I see with Musk, Tesla, and Optimus 3 is that even with the rapid advances being made as a result of AI training, Musk's timeline is off.

Very little is known right now about how humans and humanoid robots will interact in real-world environments, and I would assume that years of testing will be required before we can safely leave any robot home alone with grandma. The technology for making these robots look and act human is still far from perfected.

And then there's the price – $30,000 is out of range for most people, while those wealthy enough to afford Optimus will likely treat it like a toy rather than a utility.

Humanoid robots will not become universal until they're $500 a piece and accept payment plans (I know some companies are looking at leases, but the monthly costs on those will be at least as much as luxury car payments).

The China factor

And then there's China. Even Musk admitted that while people often underestimate that nation, it may offer the toughest robot competition. On the other hand, Musk showed few doubts about his ability to beat the global superpower, saying "We think Optimus will be much more capable than any robot that we are aware of under development in China."

Musk pointed to the strides it's made in dexterity, real-world AI, and scaling. "Those are the three hardest problems by far for humanoid robots. I think Tesla is the only company that actually has all three of those components."

In the end, I think Musk and Elluswamy were blowing a little smoke for investors, trying to keep them excited as the company makes a massive shift away from EVs as the core business and to a future of AI and robotics.

Optimus 3 might be the shiny thing that Musk points to at future events and on future earnings calls, but it will be AI, and the promised Tesla AI chips, that will have the largest impact on their business, if not the world.

And if anyone mistakes Optimus 3 for a person, I'll eat my hat.

• Tesla restarts Dojo 3 after earlier supercomputer projects failed to meet expectations
• AI5 chip performance will reportedly rival Nvidia Hopper while consuming less power
• Future chips, AI6 and AI7, are planned for incremental technical evolution

Tesla has restarted development of its Dojo 3 supercomputer project after shelving or abandoning earlier versions.

Elon Musk confirmed the move on X, linking the restart directly to progress on Tesla’s in-house AI5 chip.

Previous Dojo efforts failed to meet expectations, with Dojo 1 losing relevance quickly against Nvidia systems and Dojo 2 being cancelled before completion.

Tesla reboots Dojo 3 with ambitious in-house AI chips

Dojo 3 is framed as a recovery attempt rather than a clean breakthrough, as Tesla claims the technical foundation is now strong enough to justify reallocating engineers and capital back to the project.

Dojo 3 is expected to be Tesla’s first supercomputer built entirely on internal hardware, without relying on Nvidia components.

Earlier Dojo designs mixed Tesla silicon with external GPU products, limiting differentiation and control, whereas the new approach aligns chip design, system architecture, and software under one roof.

Tesla has openly recruited engineers to scale chip production, signalling ambitions for high-volume manufacturing.

Central to Dojo 3 is Tesla’s plan to release custom AI chips every nine months, although this will probably test the company’s resolve.

In terms of application, the AI4 and AI5 chips are linked to self-driving development and humanoid robotics, and AI6 is tied to Optimus and large-scale data center deployments.

Future iterations, including AI7, are already mapped out, although expectations point to incremental evolution rather than radical redesigns.

Beyond vehicles and robots, the supercomputer could support Tesla’s broader AI tools ecosystem, including training models that compete with established cloud providers.

These claims place Dojo 3 in direct competition with mature AI infrastructure vendors.

According to social commentator Nic Cruz Patane, “Tesla’s chip game is no joke,” noting that AI5’s performance is roughly comparable to Nvidia’s Hopper on a single chip, approaches Blackwell levels when paired, and runs at approximately 250W compared to H100’s 700W or Blackwell’s 1,000W+ at full specification.

Tesla claims its chip designs deliver similar output at lower wattage, but maintaining the planned release cycle will test its discipline and execution consistency.

Its technical promises are ambitious and financially driven, especially given the rising cost of external AI hardware.

Dojo 3 may reduce Tesla’s dependence on third-party silicon, but success will require consistency that earlier projects lacked.

• The Volvo EX60 will be the first to ship with Google Gemini built-in
• Volvo is promising "natural conversation" between man and machine
• Latest hardware from Nvidia and Qualcomm speeds up response time

Volvo’s ground-breaking, mid-sized electric SUV is due to be revealed in full later this week, boasting a range of around 500 miles on a single charge and in-car technology that builds on its already very advanced Android Automotive system.

But the Swedish marque also confirmed that the upcoming model will be the first to ship with Google’s Gemini AI assistant already baked in, allowing for more natural conversations between occupants and the car itself.

Combining hardware from Nvidia and Qualcomm with both Google and in-house developed software, Volvo says its brilliantly-named ‘HuginCore’ system is powerful enough to deliver highly personalized and deeply integrated responses via Google’s Gemini voice assistant.

Complex tasks can be managed through more natural and “multi-turn” conversation, rather than drivers having to remember specific commands or by having to prod various menus that pop up on the touchscreen display.

Volvo gives a number of potential use cases for the technology, such as searching for a hotel booking address in a linked email account (Gmail presumably works best), checking if a recently bought item fits in your EX60 trunk, or brainstorming ideas for an upcoming road trip.

Rather than merely acting as a built-in voice assistant that takes care of a limited amount of vehicle functionality, Gemini integration means drivers and occupants can deal with life admin via any linked Google services, as well as ask more generic questions.

It's also tipped to play nicely with Google Maps, which has become widely regarded as the dominant mapping and navigation service for drivers. This means owners can check if locations are open and even book hotels and restaurants on the move with natural voice prompts, in theory at least.

The next-generation Snapdragon Cockpit Platform from Qualcomm provides the highest levels of processing power ever seen on a Volvo, while Nvidia’s latest Drive AGX Orin system-on-a-chip runs the operating system as a whole.

Combined, this is said to offer a lag-free infotainment system with maps that load instantly and voice assistants that don’t take an age to compute the request and respond.

The company has also announced that Gemini integration will improve over time with over-the-air updates, stating that Gemini will be able to use the EX60's cameras to "see what you see and answer questions about the world around you".

Gemini is also coming to other Volvo vehicles running the latest infotainment systems, such as the recently-launched ES90 saloon and the seven-seat EX90.

Analysis: battle of the voice assistants

The race is now on for automotive manufacturers to deliver AI-powered voice assistants that are actually useful. Up until this point, they have been clunky, to say the least, with response times long and multiple attempts often required to get the desired answer.

Volkswagen, for example, took to the stage at CES in 2024 to announce that it was integrating ChatGPT into its vehicles, but that system could only answer wider queries and couldn’t actually adjust anything inside the car – you had to use VW’s voice assistant for that.

Fast-forward to 2026, and BMW was in Las Vegas, showcasing its Amazon Alexa+ system that aims to integrate things further, allowing for flowing conversation with the upcoming iX3, as well as the ability to both operate and interact with Amazon accounts and hardware.

It will be interesting to see if Volvo can genuinely crack the whole “seamless” conversation thing, as even BMW’s live demonstration at this year’s CES wasn’t perfect.

Some responses took a little while to calculate and the whole experience didn’t really feel like chatting with a fellow human being.

But Volvo's Android-based infotainment system is already impressive and, seeing as most vehicle functionality is mapped to that massive touchscreen, having Google's Gemini help with adjusting door mirrors and cabin temperature is probably a good thing.

• Tesla's FSD will soon cost $99 a month
• One-time payment option has been removed
• It means autonomous driving tech won’t be sold on with the car

Elon Musk took to X today to announce that Tesla’s (Supervised) Full Self-Driving software, which allows for high levels of autonomous driving in certain markets, would no longer be sold as a one-time purchase.

The technology, which requires unlocking as an optional extra when purchasing a vehicle, can no longer be added for an $8,000 /£6,800 / AU$10,100 one-off payment and will instead move to a monthly subscription package as of February 14.

Currently, Musk has only stated that the package will cost $99 a month, although pricing hasn’t been set for other regions just yet. We would expect it to cost in the region of £75-£99 in the UK and $149 in Australia.

Supervised Full Self-Driving has a long and tumultuous history of price changes, starting with free trials and then temptingly dangled for a $5,000 set fee back in 2019 that was supposed to last the life of the vehicle, moving with the customer.

During that time, the price has risen to an all-time high of $15,000 as the technology has improved, but the goalposts have almost continuously been moved when it comes to pricing strategy, despite Musk reiterating that the technology was an “investment in the future” as the company continued to implement updates.

Fast-forward to April 2024 and the rate of uptake for Supervised Full Self-Driving diminished, falling further in 2025 as the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into 2.88 million Tesla vehicles equipped with its FSD system, based on over more than 50 reports of traffic-safety violations and a series of crashes, according to Reuters.

As a result, Tesla cut the price of FSD from $12,000 to an $8,000 one-off fee to buoy sales, also slashing the price of the monthly subscription cost to $99 from $199.

Analysis: Reality kicks in

Elon Musk has long promised a future where Tesla customers theoretically become owners of a fully autonomous Robotaxi, where an everyday passenger car can go out and run errands, as well as earn an income as a ride-hailing service.

This future promise was part of the push to convince would-be punters to part with as much as $15,000 for what is currently a relatively standard Level 2 semi-autonomous cruise control system. "If you buy a Tesla today, I believe you are buying an appreciating asset – not a depreciating asset,” Musk famously said in 2019.

Either Tesla has finally admitted to this new reality, or the recently announced monthly pricing strategy has come about because such a small number of buyers have been willing to part with the extra cash up-front of late.

Moving it to a much easier-to-swallow subscription means the public will be paying a much fairer price over the life of their vehicle for a technology that many rival manufacturers now offer for free.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

• China’s Xpeng says G7 has the longest range of any SUV
• Owners can travel from Beijing to Shanghai without stopping
• Company aims to rapidly expand outside of China in coming years

Chinese EV maker Xpeng has unveiled an Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) version of its G7 SUV and P7+ sedan that it hopes will not only prove popular in its domestic market, but also in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, where it plans to expand in the coming years.

The G7 boasts the world’s longest combined range of any SUV, according to Chinese news website SCMP.

The hybrid combination of a 55.8kWh battery pack and a small petrol engine that’s fed by a 15.9-gallon (60-liter) fuel tank means it can cover a total distance of 1,704 kilometers (1,058 miles) when both battery and tank are brimmed.

Unlike a traditional hybrid system, which uses electric motors until the smaller battery packs run out of juice and an engine takes over driving duties, an EREV only relies on the diminutive petrol engine to act as a generator to charge the batteries on the move. Essentially, it’s always being propelled by an electrical system.

The company says that distance is roughly the same as driving from Seattle to Los Angeles without recharging, or Beijing to Shanghai for Chinese customers.

Total mileage far exceeds even the most frugal petrol and diesel vehicles, with a frankly terrifying range that will surely outlast even the most ardent long-distance drivers.

In addition to the G7, Xpeng also introduced the P7+ sedan at its event in Guangzhou, which also incorporates its “super extended range” technology.

Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said the battery alone supported 430km (267 miles), the longest of any EREV, while total range is an impressive 1,550km (or 963 miles).

According to SCMP, the G7 starts at 195,800 yuan (around $28,000 /£21,000 / AU$42,000), with both the extended range EV and pure electric editions priced the same.

The P7+ follows a similar strategy in China, with both versions starting at 186,800 yuan (around $26,600 / £20,000 / AU$40,000).

Xpeng eyes Europe and beyond

The company that likes to model itself on Tesla is rapidly becoming one of China’s leading EV manufacturers, overtaking rivals Nio and Li Auto last year in delivery figures.

But its founder and chairman understands that demand for pure electric vehicles in other markets just isn’t what it is in China, so has tweaked its strategy to include a raft of hybrid and range-extender options for those on the fence about new energy vehicles.

This is all part of its “go-global 2.0 strategy”, which will apparently see it expand into a growing list of European countries, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, taking the fight directly to Tesla and BYD.

Just last week it was announced that BYD had overtaken Tesla as the world’s top EV seller, revealing that sales of its battery-powered cars rose last year by almost 28% to more than 2.25 million, according to the BBC.

In contrast, Tesla car sales dropped by nearly 9% in 2025 to 1.64 million vehicles sold worldwide.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

• Musk says "safety is not the main goal" of Roadster project
• It will be "the best of the last human-driven cars"
• Roadster reveal is scheduled for April 1 this year

Elon Musk has publicly stated that the company is on track to unveil the next generation Roadster on April 1 (that's right… April Fool’s Day) of this year, despite previous promises of a 2020 launch date, and then another one in 2023.

But nine-year delay aside, Musk appeared on the Moonshots podcast with Peter Diamandis recently, stating that "safety is not the main goal" of the project, reiterating the point by saying: "If you buy a Ferrari, safety is not the number one goal," according to Teslarati.com.

Back-tracking slightly on those questionable comments, he then goes on to say that the company will "aspire not to kill anyone in this car" but that it will be "the best of the last human-driven cars," ramming home the point that he still believes fully autonomous driving remains an important milestone for the company.

Just to recap, Musk has let slip some pretty wild claims about the next generation Roadster on numerous podcasts, including his time spent with Joe Rogan, where he alluded to the fact that it would be able to fly.

Other "crazy technology" includes the use of some kind of thruster to propel the electric sports car from 0-60mph in under one second – something that no other manufacturer has been able to get close to thus far.

A top speed of over 250mph was also promised, as was a frankly ridiculous 10,000Nm of torque on tap. That’s more than four times the amount the Rimac Nevera develops.

But to top it all off, the divisive CEO has also hinted that it could possibly fly for short periods of time, stating on the Joe Rogan podcast that he thinks his good friend and serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist and political activist, Peter Thiel, should be able to buy a flying car if he wants one.

Fool fuel

All of the talk about a sub-second 0-60mph dash, rocket thrusters and the ability to fly might seem absurd, but until April 1 rolls around, we simply won’t know if Elon is being serious or is merely throwing everyone off the scent, like he usually does.

Electrek pointed out at the end of last year that Tesla had filed a patent for a fan system that would reside in the side skirts of an upcoming vehicle.

This is not too dissimilar to the McMurtry Spéirling that uses a fan system to create a massive amount of downforce – so much so, it can drive upside-down and absolutely demolish track times.

Similarly, Musk has hinted that Tesla would take learnings from its SpaceX sister company, referring to the cold nitrogen gas altitude control system it uses. Whether or not a system like this would be incorporated into Roadster for acceleration or to, you know, actually fly is yet to be unveiled.

Alas, we will all have to wait until April 1 and likely sit through a bizarre live-cast event before we get any closer to discovering the truth.

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

• The study by Toyota Research Institute was pretty damning
• Lane deviation rose dramatically as a result of touchscreen interaction
• Results suggest automakers should reduce the amount of menus in cars

The results of a new study by the University of Washington (UW) and Toyota Research Institute have provided pretty daming evidence against the use of large, distracting touchscreens when driving a vehicle.

Rather eloquently titled “Touchscreens in Motion: Quantifying the Impact of Cognitive Load on Distracted Drivers”, the study saw 16 participants placed in ultra-realistic high-fidelity driving simulators while researchers tracked eye and hand movements, pupil dilation, and skin conductivity.

Participants were asked to drive around a typical urban environment and then interact with various side-tasks presented on the touchscreen; nothing major, simply adjusting car functionality or changing the radio station.

Their ability to both drive and their accuracy when interacting with the touchscreen were measured.

According to Car Scoops, the researchers measured a mix of driver performance metrics and physiological markers, from eye movements, index finger tracking and steering consistency to reaction time and stress signals. This helped them build a better picture of stress and cognitive load on the human in the driving seat.

As you would expect, the results weren’t pretty for those peddling an increased reliance on touchscreens over physical buttons. Firstly, pointing accuracy on said touchscreen and the speed of use were reduced by more than 58% when compared to non-driving conditions.

Already, this reveals that us humans struggle to physically interact with a touchscreen when busy processing what’s going on out of the windscreen of a moving vehicle. This then requires the driver to apply more focus to tapping digital menu screens.

As a result, the study revealed that lane deviation increased by over 40% once touchscreen interaction was introduced. The vicious cycle then continues.

Bring back buttons

We have already covered this extensively, but some manufacturers are reintroducing physical buttons for often-used features in a vehicle. This is, in part, a reaction to consumer backlash, but also because some of the leading safety bodies will penalize automakers for an over-reliance on touchscreens in the future.

I strongly believe that things like volume control, lighting, window de-misters and windscreen wipers should all be mapped to physical buttons that can be committed to muscle memory after a few uses.

This means drivers don’t have to go hunting through often hyper-sensitive touchscreens to activate very basic functionality. Getting stuck in a loop of mis-tapping, shuffling through incorrect menus or activating the wrong function is frustrating but also very dangerous.

The research conducted by the University of Washington (UW) and Toyota Research Institute suggests automakers look to reduce the number of menus required to perform a function, with hard-buttons implemented that can be customized to jump to the most used items.

Otherwise, it states that future systems should get smarter and adapt when it detects the driver is becoming more distracted, by enlarging buttons or limiting some functions when it deems things are becoming unsafe.

Unfortunately, it's simply much cheaper for modern automakers to commit absolutely everything to a touchscreen and then rely on software updates to improve things. Not only are we now faced with completely homogenous care interiors, but also the prospect of an increasingly button-free future.

• Waze is reportedly testing traffic light support
• Popular feature from Google Maps could soon go live
• The feature is currently only testing in Israel for now

Waze is reportedly introducing a feature that many users have been calling for — and one that Google Maps has been offering since 2022.

Support for traffic lights and stop signs has been helping Google Maps users anticipate upcoming turns and better understand the correct lane to be in for more than three years, but it appears that Waze is finally playing catch up,

According to Android Authority, which itself received a tip from GeekTime, Waze is testing traffic lights on its maps in Israel, where the app was originally founded and where many of the developers still currently live and work, despite the company’s acquisition by Google in 2013.

The report suggests that the feature is still in its very early stages and that the number of traffic lights being shown at any one time is currently limited, to avoid cluttering the map to the point that it becomes distracting.

Android Authority claims that when actively navigating, the map shows a maximum of three traffic lights at a time. Although this changes when users aren’t navigating, with all traffic lights in the vicinity shown to those merely browsing the map or driving without navigation.

Waze confirmed back in May that traffic light data, stop signs and other important road signs would be introduced to its mapping services after asking its users to vote in favor of the new features.

Google pulls ahead

As previously mentioned, Google Maps added traffic lights, stop signs and other road furniture to its maps years ago, seeing as these are some of the most important reference points when arriving at a junction or other complex traffic system.

They allow drivers to more effectively plan to be in the correct lane for an upcoming turn and it’s something close rival Apple Maps has also been offering for some time now, too.

Seeing that Waze is now owned by Google, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think that the former could use traffic light data that already exists to roll out the feature beyond Israel in the very near future.

In fact, the two services are becoming more similar as time progresses, seeing as the tech giant effectively “borrowed” most of the features that made Waze so popular in the first place.

But Google arguably now has the upper hand, as it also integrates its Google Places data, as well as live fuel price and EV charger availability information.

Couple this with the rollout of Google Gemini into vehicles and it is rapidly becoming one of the most powerful ways to safely interact with navigation on the move, with the ability to ask complex questions about a destination, book tables at a restaurant and receive recommendations from a huge community of users.

• Ford says all-electric F-150 Lightning is no more
• Poor sales contributed to the demise
• Company says range extender hybrid is on the cards instead

Ford was the first to introduce a full-sized, pure electric pick-up truck to market, even beating Tesla and Elon Musk to the divisive and fiscally-disappointing Cybertruck.

But much like Musk’s steel-bodied workhorse, the F-150 Lighting also failed to set the sales charts alight.

After indefinitely halting production of the pure-electric pick-up a few months ago due to an increase in demand for combustion engine trucks and therefore plant capacity, Ford announced this week that “production of the current F-150 Lightning ends this year".

The Blue Oval didn’t go into great depth about why it was pulling the plug, so to speak, only to mention that it has a second-generation model in the pipeline that will opt for an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) powertrain instead.

In this guise, Ford says the next-gen Lightning will run on pure electricity, harnessing the power of twin electric motors for silent and powerful performance, but with the backing of a “high-power generator enabling an estimated range of 700+ miles”.

That figure is more than double what the heavy and expensive F-150 Lightning could manage, which was arguably the main reason the model was doomed from the start.

Work-shy EVs fail to attract custom

Ford's electric pick-up ambitions were doomed from the start. After all, pick-up trucks are generally purchased to haul big loads over big distances, whether that’s towing a boat to the shore or loading up with building supplies.

Whatever the reason, additional weight saps modern EV batteries and drastically reduces range – which wasn't something the North American consumer was willing to compromise on.

In addition to this, the F-150 Lightning was far more expensive than originally planned, with the customer left to shoulder the cost of the enormous battery packs required to give it any sort of acceptable range.

Andrew Frick, the president of Ford Blue, told reporters on Monday that rather than spending “billions more on large EVs that now have no path to profitability, we are allocating that money into higher-returning areas,” according to NPR.

"The American consumer is speaking clearly and they want the benefits of electrification like instant torque and mobile power. But they also demand affordability," he added.

It also didn’t help that the Trump administration stripped away the $7,500 tax credit for new EVs, resulting in a perfect storm that killed off the F-150 Lighting and a number of other pure electric vehicles from Ford – including a commercial van for Europe that was also axed.

Reuters reported that Ford said it expected to lose roughly $5 billion on its EV business this year, about the same as it lost in 2024. A major reason why it is pivoting back to gasoline and hybrid powertrains.

Ford isn't the only company feeling the heat as demand for EVs cools, with Porsche also revealing this week that its upcoming Boxster and Cayman sports cars are being reconfigured to house petrol engines, after previously stating these would be pure EVs, according to Autocar.

While it is undoubtedly bad news for EV movement in general, those companies specializing in pure electric SUVs and pick-ups – such as Rivian, Tesla and the upcoming Slate model – will likely be thanking their lucky stars that a major player like Ford has exited the market.

• Concept plays with the idea of a future minivan
• Six seats fit inside a vehicle not much larger than a Mini
• Swivel seats, inflatable beds and a projection screen all feature

No, it has nothing to do with the Electric Light Orchestra, because Citroen’s playful concept that shares the same acronym is less about experimental rock music from the 1970s and more about cramming an entire extended family into a tiny EV.

The radical electric concept from the French manufacturer is designed to make us rethink our approach to multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), minivans and people carriers, suggesting that something with the footprint of an average hatchback can double-up as a capable people-mover.

Citroen says it would be based on a dedicated electric platform, with the motor positioned on the rear axle and the interior designed to make "efficient use of every cubic centimeter".

As a result, the driver’s seat is uniquely positioned dead center, like a McLaren F1, with its designers stating that the steering wheel has been moved forward as far as possible to maximize interior roominess.

This also gives an extra-wide field-of-view out of the windscreen and allows the driver to spin around when parked and chat with passengers. It could also indicate greater levels of autonomous driving are on the way.

In order to squeeze six people onboard, Citroen has devised some clever concealed seats that fold away when not in use or flank the driver when required.

Behind these is a fairly standard three-seat bench, although each passenger gets a dedicated pew, rather than the unlucky one in the middle having to put up with a slither of fabric.

Sleep on it

Taking the concept of extensive interior roominess to the max, the ELO carries two mattresses folded in dedicated storage compartments in the boot. These inflatable beds have been made in conjunction with French sports shop Decathlon and inflate like a stand-up paddle board via an onboard compressor.

Once fully inflated, they suspend from the ceiling and reside over the folded rear bench for a comfortable night’s sleep.

As you’ve probably noticed, the concept is very orange, which Citroen says “embodies the joyful character of the concept", although the hue shifts from orange to yellow depending on the light.

Inside, there’s even more orange, with fabrics fashioned from recycled sportswear (thanks Decathlon), as well as a projection screen to beam movies when camped up.

The driver’s chair also features a small desk, so it can double-up as the ultimate mobile-office for managing those multiple social media accounts. Hashtag vanlife.

Side doors that slide open in the opposite direction of one another allow for simple ingress and egress, even with such a small exterior footprint, while the large glasshouse means the interior is flooded with light.

It’s slightly zany and lots of the elements will likely get lost should this car ever make it into production, but Citroen is serious about small cars that offer clever interior solutions.

The company's CEO, Xavier Chardon, says the ELO is “totally in tune with the times and offers concrete, innovative solutions to promote freedom of movement and a better life”. We say, build it!

• Ban on ICE cars could be pushed back to 2040
• Manufacturers have argued against the legislation
• More hybrid and range extender powertrains likely to arrive

A report by German newspaper Bild this week claims that plans to impose a 2035 ban on selling new cars with an internal combustion engine in the European Union have been shelved, as reported by Reuters.

Manfred Weber – president of the EPP, the European Parliament’s largest party – reportedly stated that the plans were “off the table”, with a more flexible emissions reduction setup to be introduced instead.

"For new registrations from 2035 onwards, a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions will now be mandatory for car manufacturers' fleet targets, instead of 100%," Weber told the Bild.

There is still a vision to reduce CO2 emissions by 100%, but Weber claims this has now been pushed back to 2040. The move has, apparently, been made to secure “tens of thousands of industrial jobs”.

Unsurprisingly, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, the Stellantis Group and Renault all argued in favor of dropping ban, claiming that decisions should be led by customers rather than through legislation.

The original plan, which was signed off in 2021, was to ban the sale of any new vehicles with an internal combustion engine, effectively forcing carmakers to only sell pure electric vehicles by 2035.

However, many manufacturers have argued that the deadline is too tight and that demand for electric vehicles just isn’t there from the customer.

It is why major players, such as Porsche and Ford, have backtracked and pivoted away from pure electric plans in recent months.

Porsche, for example, proposed that both the new Macan and Cayenne would be all-electric, but then changed its mind and revealed that both petrol and hybrid vehicles would still be offered well into the future.

The UK, although now no longer part of the European Union, was among the first countries to propose a sales band on ICE cars back in 2020, but it is yet to state what its plans are following the Weber’s announcement.

Analysis: EVs remain inevitable

While the timeline has potentially been pushed back five years, there are still plans in motion to reduce CO2 emissions by 90%, which remains a tough target for many manufacturers.

It means anything with a combustion engine will likely become a plug-in hybrid or a range extending hybrid in order to meet the legislation.

It could also speed up the use of advanced biofuels and e-fuels, as these can be certified as carbon neutral if they are made using captured CO2 and renewable electricity.

The proposed relaxation of the deadline will give automakers more time to make what looks to be the inevitable switch to pure electric propulsion. In the meantime, they can still develop hybrid powertrains that are proving popular with customers due to their efficiency without the accompanying range anxiety.

Regardless, the next 15 years will continue to see most major automakers pivoting towards pure EVs in order to meet those 100% reduction in CO2 emissions targets, while pure EV newcomers – particularly those brands from China – will continue to have the competitive advantage.

Not only can they produce competitive EVs cheaper, they also lack the historical legacy of manufacturing ICE powertrains, and therefore the range and performance markers that come with it.