Connect with us

News

Tesla is not ahead in lithium-ion battery tech, says Audi CEO: ‘We’re catching up’

The Tesla Model X and the Audi e-tron. (Photo: Achim Hartmann/AutoPista.es)

Published

on

There are very few automakers in the market today that is as serious about electric car battery tech as Tesla. Over the years, Tesla has been hard at work improving its batteries, and as the company heads towards its highly anticipated Battery Day event, it is becoming more and more evident that the electric car maker is one of, if not the, leader in lithium ion batteries for electric cars. 

That is, of course, if one does not ask Audi CEO Markus Duesmann. In a recent talk with German magazine Focus.de, the Audi CEO, together with Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder, talked about the advent of electric mobility, the end of gas powered cars, and up and coming automakers like Tesla. 

Both the Prime Minister and the Audi CEO noted that the pandemic will likely accelerate change in the auto industry. With the world having been shaken by the virus, Germany actually has a chance to recapture some of the market that it has lost to other automakers. The country’s car industry, after, all is in a crisis, with 46% of employees still on short-time work as of June. 

To accomplish this, Söder noted that it would be necessary for the country’s auto industry to take a “real quantum leap.” “The time of the classic humming-humming car with a lot of horsepower is over,” he said. Audi CEO Duesmann, for his part, noted that mobility can only be solved with technology, and that digitization must be driven forward. 

Advertisement

With the talk surrounding next generation vehicles powered by sustainable solutions, the moderator of the talk asked the Audi CEO and the Prime Minister if Tesla has already overtaken Germany’s best. To this question, Duesmann had a ready retort. The CEO stated that he does not see Tesla being ahead in lithium ion battery tech at all. With this, it would not be long before Germany’s automakers catch up. “We’re catching up with seven-mile boots,” Duesmann said. 

The Prime Minister was in agreement, stating that he also does not see Tesla being far ahead. Söder did state that he is a great admirer of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s work in the space industry. But in terms of the auto market, other companies can do what Tesla can accomplish, and Germany’s carmakers may even be ahead in some aspects. “Tesla is not bad, but others can do it too. We can stay ahead in engineering,” the Prime Minister remarked. 

Interestingly enough, it will only be a matter of time before Tesla manages to capitalize on Germany’s car making mastery. The electric car maker is currently building Gigafactory Berlin, a facility that is expected to start operations next year by producing the Model Y.

As noted by Spiegel Online in a report about the crossover, the vehicle is nearly perfect, and it is only weighed down by its build quality, which still falls below Germany’s best. But with Gigafactory Berlin in the picture, Tesla customers in the region could look forward to acquiring vehicles with classic German build quality and the renowned tech of Tesla. 

Advertisement

H/T Alex Voigt

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Advertisement
Comments

Cybertruck

Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes

According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:

Published

on

(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla’s new Cybertruck offering has had its delivery date pushed back once again. This is now the second time, and deliveries for the newest orders are now pushed well into 2027.

According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:

Just three days ago, the initial delivery date of June 2026 was pushed back to early Fall, and now, that date has officially moved to April 2027.

The fact that Tesla has had to push back deliveries once again proves one of two things: either Tesla has slow production plans for the new Cybertruck trim, or demand is off the charts.

Judging by how Tesla is already planning to raise the price based on demand in just a few days, it seems like the company knows it is giving a tremendous deal on this spec of Cybertruck, and units are moving quickly.

That points more toward demand and not necessarily to slower production plans, but it is not confirmed.

Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says

Tesla is set to hike the price on March 1, so tomorrow will be the final day to grab the new Cybertruck trim for just $59,990.

It features:

  • Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
  • Powered tonneau cover
  • Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
  • Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
  • Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
  • Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
  • 6’ x 4’ composite bed
  • Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
  • Powered frunk

Interestingly, the price offering is fairly close to what Tesla unveiled back in late 2019.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt

Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.

Published

on

Credit: SpaceX/X

Elon Musk has clarified when SpaceX will first attempt to catch Starship’s upper stage with its launch tower. The CEO’s update provides the clearest teaser yet for the spacecraft’s recovery roadmap.

Musk shared the details in recent posts on X. In his initial post, Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.

“Starship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability,” Musk wrote.

In a follow-up post, Musk addressed when SpaceX would attempt to catch the upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms. 

Advertisement

“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk clarified. 

His remarks suggest that SpaceX is deliberately reducing risk before attempting a tower catch of Starship’s upper stage. Such a milestone would mark a major step towards the full reuse of the Starship system.

SpaceX is currently targeting the first Starship V3 flight of 2026 this coming March. The spacecraft’s V3 iteration is widely viewed as a key milestone in SpaceX’s long-term strategy to make Starship fully reusable. 

Starship V3 features a number of key upgrades over its previous iterations. The vehicle is equipped with SpaceX’s Raptor V3 engines, which are designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight. 

Advertisement

The V3 design is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale the spacecraft’s production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars. 

Continue Reading

News

Tesla FSD (Supervised) could be approved in the Netherlands next month: Musk

Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that Full Self-Driving (FSD) could receive regulatory approval in the Netherlands as soon as March 20, potentially marking a major step forward for Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance rollout in Europe.

Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin, noting that the date was provided by local authorities.

“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told,” Musk stated

“Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive.”

Advertisement

Tesla’s FSD system relies on vision-based neural networks trained on real-world driving data, allowing vehicles to navigate using cameras and AI rather than traditional sensor-heavy solutions. 

The performance of FSD Supervised has so far been impressive. As per Tesla’s safety report, Full Self-Driving Supervised has already traveled 8.3 billion miles. So far, vehicles operating with FSD Supervised engaged recorded one major collision every 5,300,676 miles. 

In comparison, Teslas driven manually with Active Safety systems recorded one major collision every 2,175,763 miles, while Teslas driven manually without Active Safety recorded one major collision every 855,132 miles. The U.S. average during the same period was one major collision every 660,164 miles.

If approval is granted on March 20, the Netherlands could become the first European market to greenlight Tesla’s latest supervised FSD (Supervised) software under updated regulatory frameworks. Tesla has been working to secure expanded FSD access across Europe, where regulatory standards differ significantly from those in the United States. Approval in the Netherlands would likely serve as a foundation for broader EU adoption, though additional country-level clearances may still be required.

Advertisement
Continue Reading