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Audi launches short range e-tron in Norway with Tesla Model 3-comparable price

(Credit; Audi)

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As part of its EV push into the European market, Audi has launched a 71 kWh, shorter-range version of its e-tron SUV in Norway. Dubbed the e-tron 50, the all-electric vehicle comes loaded with a generous set of standard features and is priced at a very competitive NOK 499,999 (around $55,300) including shipping and delivery in Oslo. 

The e-tron 50 looks exactly the same as its more expensive sibling, the 204-mile, 95 kWh e-tron 55. Audi included an impressive list of standard features for the e-tron 50, such as adaptive air suspension, heated front seats, LED headlights, cruise control, and electric tailgate, a heat pump, and extra heating for the interior and battery, to name a few. 

The e-tron 50 at NOK 499,999 is notably more affordable than its longer-range sibling, which retails for around NOK 160,000 (about $17,700) more. The vehicle’s price comes with some drawbacks, as the entry-level e-tron 50, with its 71 kWh battery pack, is rated for over 300 kilometers (186 miles) per charge even with the region’s rather optimistic WLTP standard. With this in mind, an EPA range that’s closer to ~150 miles per charge would likely be true for the e-tron 50. 

As noted in a report from Norwegian media outlet DINside, a key factor that would likely determine the e-tron 50’s success or failure is the market’s reception to its shorter range. The longer-range e-tron 55 is already outlasted by rivals such as the Jaguar I-PACE and smaller vehicles like the Standard Range Plus Model 3. With the e-tron 50, Audi will be pushing a vehicle to the EV market that has even less driving range. 

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Couple this with Norway’s winters and the entry-level e-tron could end up seeing a real-world range that’s notably below its 300-kilometer (186-mile) WLTP estimate. Nevertheless, Audi Norway CEO Elin Sinervo believes that the vehicle will be a good fit for the needs of drivers in the country considering their driving habits. Even when e-tron 50 owners would have to go on long trips, Sinervo noted that the vehicle could simply charge from Norway’s ever-expanding network of chargers. 

“An ordinary Norwegian runs about 30 kilometers a day. Combined with the ability to charge fast, the Audi e-tron 50 quattro is a car very well suited for long-distance travel, especially considering the leading driving characteristics,” the Audi Norway CEO said. 

While the range of the Audi e-tron 50 is limited, the vehicle’s affordable price could very well attract car buyers who prefer larger vehicles. At around $55,500, the e-tron 50 is comparable in price to the smaller but longer-range Tesla Model 3 Performance, which costs around $56,700 in Norway. 

H/T Jim Roger Johansen.

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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.

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Tesla reveals huge Cybercab detail in new guide for First Responders

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla revealed a major new Cybercab detail in a guide it released for First Responders, showing new territory in its beliefs and intentions for the ride-hailing-focused vehicle that entered production in April.

The First Responders Guide is released to give fire departments, paramedics, and other emergency personnel the proper guidance on what to do in the event of an accident, entrapment, or other situation that would require immediate attention.

On one of the pages of the First Responders Guide, Tesla revealed a stark detail about the Cybercab, which could help personnel enter the vehicle more easily in case of an emergency.

Tesla Cybercab has one important piece that AI4 cars might need for FSD

It shows Tesla has no intention of releasing any Cybercab units that were initially proposed for ride-hailing services for the general public with any manual controls, meaning a steering wheel or pedals:

“A Cybercab equipped with steering wheel, brake pedal, and an acceleration pedal is typically an engineering or test vehicle, and operates at SAE Level 2 autonomy. Cybercab is not typically equipped with a steering wheel or acceleration and brake pedals.”

This is a major development for those who continue to believe Tesla planned to release the Cybercab with any sort of manual controls so that passengers could take over if needed. However, when Tesla started manufacturing production versions of the Cybercab in Giga Texas earlier this year, they were spotted without a steering wheel or pedals.

It essentially confirms the company has no intentions of bringing manual controls to the car’s production versions. Some have argued that the likelihood of Tesla having something

There still are some Cybercab units out there with a steering wheel and pedals, and as Tesla said, these cars are engineering or test vehicles, which have Safety Monitors on board to help the car out of a precarious situation or emergency.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ Release Notes: new capabilities and features

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(Credit: Megan Gale/Twitter)

Tesla released the Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ suite to owners of Hardware 3 or AI3 vehicles today, adding several new features to the vehicles that were once believed to be capable of unsupervised self-driving.

Now, Tesla has released this modified suite to older Tesla vehicles, adding plenty of new features and capabilities.

Here are the full release notes for the suite:

  • Distilled the intelligence from HW4 V14 into HW3. This allows HW3 to directly learn how to handle scenarios using HW4 V14 as a guide. This process unlocks the improvements that have been made to HW4 including Reinforcement Learning (RL) and offline models for HW3.
  • Improved both proactive and reactive responsiveness across a wide variety of categories including navigation handling, merges and forks, pedestrian interactions, traffic lights, and vehicle cut-in scenarios.
  • Improved general comfort in nominal scenarios through fewer false slowdowns, smoother steering and more consistent lane centering.
  • Introduced parking, unparking, and reversing capabilities.
  • Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, or at the Curbside.
  • Speed Profiles are now available at all times, to further customize driving style preference.

These improvements, according to Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, help distill the driving behavior from AI4’s v14 series into both the camera and compute configurations of AI3.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ for older cars finally gets released

He added:

“It includes destination options and speed profiles on city roads, but more importantly significantly improved safety. We hope you’ll enjoy it, once the build ships wide.”

Tesla will continue to roll out the v14 Lite suite more widely in the coming weeks, the company said.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ for older cars finally gets released

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tesla model 3 model y
Credit: Tesla Inc.

Tesla has finally released its Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ suite for older cars that equip the Hardware 3 or AI 3 chip, which have not been able to handle the newest versions of the company’s driver assistance software.

Tesla officially started releasing the v14 Lite suite to owners in the Early Access Program last night. The company’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said that the rollout will continue over the next few weeks. The build distills the driving behavior from AI4’s v14 series into both the camera and compute configurations of an AI3 car.

It also includes a variety of new features that were available to AI4 cars running v14, including:

  • Start Self-Driving from Park
  • Arrival and Parking Options
  • Speed Profiles

The release is highly anticipated because those owners with AI3 vehicles were early adopters into the FSD platform and were promised that their cars would be capable of achieving Full Self-Driving.

However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk admitted during the company’s recent Q1 Earnings Call that these vehicles would not be capable of achieving unsupervised Full Self-Driving, which is what Tesla had originally said.

Owners were not pleased with this answer, or the idea that their commitment to buying the suite outright for thousands of dollars would not yield the ability to drive without operating the car. Tesla gave some solutions for this, including a discount on a new car, or an upgrade to an AI4 or AI5 self-driving computer and new, upgraded cameras.

Tesla owners do not seem pleased with these options, as they require giving the company more money.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that Tesla came through for owners here by releasing v14 Lite before the end of Q2, something it had promised owners during the previous Earnings Call. Tesla has had trouble keeping up with timelines, but this is a big achievement for the team.

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