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Audi e-tron navigation system provides detailed petrol information to drivers (UPDATE)
It appears that while the Audi e-tron is a solid-built all-electric SUV with a premium price to match, the German automaker might have neglected to adjust some of the vehicle’s finer details. Take the e-tron’s navigation system, for example, which was recently observed to have a very interesting, and notably humorous feature: it gives drivers useful information about nearby petrol stations and current gas prices.
The e-tron, similar to other electric vehicles such as Tesla’s electric cars, uses its navigation to help drivers find rest stops and charging spots during trips. This is incredibly important for electric vehicles, particularly SUVs like the e-tron that only have a rather limited 204 miles of range per charge as per the vehicle’s EPA rating. Tesla’s electric cars perform this feature flawlessly, with vehicles laying out a route for drivers that clearly indicates where charging services are available.
As noted by drivers who shared images of the e-tron’s navigation in action, the all-electric SUV’s infotainment screen displays information about petrol stations on a selected route. The information is quite detailed too, as it includes the current price of petrol in selected locations. Images shared by Robin Engelhardt, for one, showed that the SUV had information about diesel prices in the area.
While humorous, the bug in the e-tron’s current navigation is likely due to the fact that the all-electric SUV’s infotainment system is taken from other vehicles in the company’s lineup. The e-tron melds well with Audi’s other vehicles in the way that its design theme is very similar to the company’s internal combustion cars. As such, components like the e-tron’s infotainment system are likely used for gas-powered vehicles as well.
The gas stations and diesel price information on the e-tron’s navigation system are likely the result of an honest oversight from Audi, and it is one that could be addressed through a software update. Nevertheless, the quirk does highlight a notable lack of attention to detail on the carmaker’s part. Audi is a premium brand, and the e-tron is not a vehicle that is designed for the mass market. At prices that are closer to the Tesla Model X than the Model 3, consumers purchasing the e-tron would likely expect a car that was meticulously tuned as an electric vehicle. Having a navigation system that is optimized for petrol stations does not help much in this sense.
This is especially notable considering that the e-tron continues to receive glowing reviews from organizations such as Consumer Reports, whose reviewers actually listed the vehicle’s infotainment system as a strong point of the all-electric SUV. Consumer Reports has warmly received the e-tron, even describing the vehicle’s deliberate acceleration as a more of an “elegant pull away.” That said, the e-tron remains a pretty solid vehicle, as revealed by its stellar safety ratings from the IIHS, which recently gave the SUV a Top Safety Pick+ rating.
Update: An Audi spokesperson has reached out to us with regards to the e-tron’s Navigation quirk. Following is the carmaker’s statement:
“The Audi MMI navigation system is designed to aid in everyday situations, including finding stops along the way of any given journey. Oftentimes, that means stopping at gas stations where drivers and passengers can stop for breaks or food. While the Audi e-tron is fully electric, these conveniences go a long way toward helping our customers, and displaying gas prices can be turned off in the MMI’s sub-menus. Additionally, the Audi e-tron comes with an up-to-date roster of available charging stations throughout the U.S. and elsewhere in its navigation to support long-distance driving.“
Tesla is being accused of infringing robotics patents by a company called Perrone Robotics, which is based out of Charlottesville, Virginia.
The suit was filed in Alexandria, Virginia, and accuses Tesla of knowingly infringing upon five patents related to robotics systems for self-driving vehicles.
The company said its founder, Paul Perrone, developed general-purpose robotics operating systems for individual robots and automated devices.
Perrone Robotics claims that all Tesla vehicles utilizing the company’s Autopilot suite within the last six years infringe the five patents, according to a report from Reuters.
Tesla’s new Safety Report shows Autopilot is nine times safer than humans
One patent was something the company attempted to sell to Tesla back in 2017. The five patents cover a “General Purpose Operating System for Robotics,” otherwise known as GPROS.
The GPROS suite includes extensions for autonomous vehicle controls, path planning, and sensor fusion. One key patent, U.S. 10,331,136, was explicitly offered to Tesla by Perrone back in 2017, but the company rejected it.
The suit aims to halt any further infringements and seeks unspecified damages.
This is far from the first suit Tesla has been involved in, including one from his year with Perceptive Automata LLC, which accused Tesla of infringing on AI models to interpret pedestrian/cyclist intent via cameras without licensing. Tesla appeared in court in August, but its motion to dismiss was partially denied earlier this month.
Tesla also settled a suit with Arsus LLC, which accused Autopilot’s electronic stability features of infringing on rollover prevention tech. Tesla won via an inter partes review in September.
Most of these cases involve non-practicing entities or startups asserting broad autonomous vehicle patents against Tesla’s rapid iteration.
Tesla typically counters with those inter partes reviews, claiming invalidity. Tesla has successfully defended about 70 percent of the autonomous vehicle lawsuits it has been involved in since 2020, but settlements are common to avoid discovery costs.
The case is Perrone Robotics Inc v Tesla Inc, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, No. 25-02156. Tesla has not yet listed an attorney for the case, according to the report.
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Tesla has passed a critical self-driving milestone Elon Musk listed in Master Plan Part Deux
Tesla China announced that the company’s Autopilot system has accumulated 10 billion kilometers of driving experience.
Tesla has passed a key milestone, and it was one that CEO Elon Musk initially mentioned more than nine years ago when he published Master Plan, Part Deux.
As per Tesla China in a post on its official Weibo account, the company’s Autopilot system has accumulated over 10 billion kilometers of real-world driving experience.
Tesla China’s subtle, but huge announcement
In its Weibo post, Tesla China announced that the company’s Autopilot system has accumulated 10 billion kilometers of driving experience. “In this respect, Tesla vehicles equipped with Autopilot technology can be considered to have the world’s most experienced and seasoned driver.”
Tesla AI’s handle on Weibo also highlighted a key advantage of the company’s self-driving system. “It will never drive under the influence of alcohol, be distracted, or be fatigued,” the team wrote. “We believe that advancements in Autopilot technology will save more lives.”
Tesla China did not clarify exactly what it meant by “Autopilot” in its Weibo post, though the company’s intense focus on FSD over the past years suggests that the term includes miles that were driven by FSD (Beta) and Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Either way, 10 billion cumulative miles of real-world data is something that few, if any, competitors could compete with.
Elon Musk’s 10-billion-km estimate, way back in 2016
When Elon Musk published Master Plan Part Deux, he outlined his vision for the company’s autonomous driving system. At the time, Autopilot was still very new, though Musk was already envisioning how the system could get regulatory approval worldwide. He estimated that worldwide regulatory approval will probably require around 10 billion miles of real-world driving data, which was an impossible-sounding amount at the time.
“Even once the software is highly refined and far better than the average human driver, there will still be a significant time gap, varying widely by jurisdiction, before true self-driving is approved by regulators. We expect that worldwide regulatory approval will require something on the order of 6 billion miles (10 billion km). Current fleet learning is happening at just over 3 million miles (5 million km) per day,” Musk wrote.
It’s quite interesting but Tesla is indeed getting regulatory approval for FSD (Supervised) at a steady pace today, at a time when 10 billion miles of data has been achieved. The system has been active in the United States and has since been rolled out to other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, China, and, more recently, South Korea. Expectations are high that Tesla could secure FSD approval in Europe sometime next year as well.
Elon Musk
SpaceX maintains unbelievable Starship target despite Booster 18 incident
It appears that it will take more than an anomaly to stop SpaceX’s march towards Starship V3’s refinement.
SpaceX recently shared an incredibly ambitious and bold update about Starship V3’s 12th test flight.
Despite the anomaly that damaged Booster 18, SpaceX maintained that it was still following its plans for the upgraded spacecraft and booster for the coming months. Needless to say, it appears that it will take more than an anomaly to stop SpaceX’s march towards Starship V3’s refinement.
Starship V3 is still on a rapid development path
SpaceX’s update was posted through the private space company’s official account on social media platform X. As per the company, “the Starbase team plans to have the next Super Heavy booster stacked in December, which puts it on pace with the test schedule planned for the first Starship V3 vehicle and associated ground systems.”
SpaceX then announced that Starship V3’s maiden flight is still expected to happen early next year. “Starship’s twelfth flight test remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026,” the company wrote in its post on X.
Elon Musk mentioned a similar timeline on X earlier this year. In the lead up to Starshp Flight 11, which proved flawless, Musk stated that “Starship V3 is a massive upgrade from the current V2 and should be through production and testing by end of year, with heavy flight activity next year.” Musk has also mentioned that Starship V3 should be good enough to use for initial Mars missions.
Booster 18 failure not slowing Starship V3’s schedule
SpaceX’s bold update came after Booster 18 experienced a major anomaly during gas system pressure testing at SpaceX’s Massey facility in Starbase, Texas. SpaceX confirmed in a post on X that no propellant was loaded, no engines were installed, and personnel were positioned at a safe distance when the booster’s lower section crumpled, resulting in no injuries.
Still, livestream footage showed significant damage around the liquid oxygen tank area of Booster 18, leading observers to speculate that the booster was a total loss. Booster 18 was among the earliest vehicles in the Starship V3 series, making the failure notable. Despite the setback, Starship V3’s development plans appear unchanged, with SpaceX pushing ahead of its Q1 2026 test flight target.
Tesla accused of infringing robotics patents in new lawsuit
Tesla has passed a critical self-driving milestone Elon Musk listed in Master Plan Part Deux
