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BMW CEO denies competition from rivals like Tesla: ‘There is no real newcomer’
New BMW CEO Oliver Zipse might be willing to save the company’s only all-electric vehicle, but he appears to be strangely dismissive about the efforts of rival automakers, particularly American electric vehicle maker Tesla and other emerging carmakers from regions such as China.
BMW has a new CEO, and with his appointment, the German carmaker has a chance to recapture lost ground in the emerging electric car market that was taken over by rivals during the days of its previous CEO, Harald Krüger. Unlike his predecessor, new BMW CEO Oliver Zipse appears to be far more progressive with regards to electric cars in general.
In a recent interview with German news outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Zipse stated that contrary to speculations and even the statements of BMW AG Board of Management member Pieter Nota, the all-electric BMW i3 will not be killed off. The curiously-designed electric vehicle will live on, and it will continue to be improved in years to come.
“The i3 will continue to be produced, no question about it. The car is already an icon today. Which car can claim this after only six years? Icons tick according to a different logic, they don’t have a classic successor, they always remain true to themselves in essence. Today, the i3 is more in demand than ever and will make another leap in battery and operating concepts,” he said.
Yet, despite these rather encouraging statements, the new CEO appeared notably confident about the company’s chances in the auto segment in the coming years, even stating during an interview with news media outlet Emobly that he sees BMW being “well-positioned” for the future. When asked by the news outlet about competition from upstart companies, Zipse proved quite dismissive. “There is no real newcomer,” he stated.
In an article outlining its interview, the Emobly team noted that the new BMW CEO’s statements were quite surprising, especially considering that companies like Tesla have emerged as leaders in their own right. The American electric car maker, for one, holds an undeniable lead in the premium electric vehicle market, so much so that the gap between the BMW i3 and Tesla Model 3 is very notable. And it’s not just Tesla either, as other companies from China such as BYD and SAIC’s MG brand are capturing the interest of the electric car market with affordable EVs like the electric MG ZS.
Overall, BMW enthusiasts could at least rest assured that the i3 will remain in production. For his part, the CEO believes that the i3 is still among the leaders in its segment, calling it one of the “most innovative” vehicles in the world. “The i3 remains the most innovative mass-production vehicle in the world due to its design. Investments are written off, we earn money with every i3. Why in God’s name should we give up this car that is now at the height of its time? We are sure: The i3 still has great potential!” he said.
Yet, for all of Zipse’s stance on the i3 and his dismissive nature against competitors, it would be wise for BMW to accelerate its electric vehicle initiatives. The BMW i3, after all, is a seven-year-old city car that is, in more ways than one, a product of its time. The EV segment is now in the era of the Tesla Model 3 and the Volkswagen ID.3, and vehicles in this era simply offer so much more tech and range at a far more reasonable cost.
Elon Musk
SpaceX pursues 5G-level connectivity with Starlink Mobile V2 expansion
SpaceX noted that the upcoming Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current first-generation system.
SpaceX has previewed a major upgrade to Starlink Mobile, outlining next-generation satellites that aim to deliver significantly higher capacity and full 5G-level connectivity directly to mobile phones.
The update comes as Starlink rebrands its Direct-to-Cell service to Starlink Mobile, positioning the platform as a scalable satellite-to-mobile solution that’s integrated with global telecom partners.
SpaceX noted that the upcoming Starlink V2 satellites will deliver up to 100 times the data density of the current first-generation system. The company also noted that the new V2 satellites are designed to provide significantly higher throughput capability compared to its current iteration.
“The next generation of Starlink Mobile satellites – V2 – will deliver full cellular coverage to places never thought possible via the highest performing satellite-to-mobile network ever built.
“Driven by custom SpaceX-designed silicon and phased array antennas, the satellites will support thousands of spatial beams and higher bandwidth capability, enabling around 20x the throughput capability as compared to a first-generation satellite,” SpaceX wrote in its official Starlink Mobile page.
Thanks to the higher bandwidth of Starlink Mobile, users should be able to stream, browse the internet, use high-speed apps, and enjoy voice services comparable to terrestrial cellular networks.
In most environments, Starlink says the upgraded system will enable full 5G cellular connectivity with a user experience similar to existing ground-based networks.
The satellites function as “cell towers in space,” using advanced phased-array antennas and laser interlinks to integrate with terrestrial infrastructure in a roaming-like architecture.
“Starlink Mobile works with existing LTE phones wherever you can see the sky. The satellites have an antenna that acts like a cellphone tower in space, the most advanced phased array antennas in the world that connect seamlessly over lasers to any point in the globe, allowing network integration similar to a standard roaming partner,” SpaceX wrote.
Starlink Mobile currently operates with approximately 650 satellites in low-Earth orbit and is active across more than 32 countries, representing over 1.7 billion people through partnerships with mobile network operators. Starlink Mobile’s current partnerships span North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, allowing reciprocal access across participating nations.
News
Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles
The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles.
The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.
Tesla has long emphasized that large-scale real-world data is central to improving its neural network-based approach to autonomy. Each mile driven with FSD (Supervised) engaged contributes additional edge cases and scenario training for the system.
The milestone also brings Tesla closer to a benchmark previously outlined by CEO Elon Musk. Musk has stated that roughly 10 billion miles of training data may be needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving at scale, citing the “long tail” of rare but complex driving situations that must be learned through experience.
The growth curve of FSD Supervised’s cumulative miles over the past five years has been notable.
As noted in data shared by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt, annual FSD (Supervised) miles have increased from roughly 6 million in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and 4.25 billion in 2025. In just the first 50 days of 2026, Tesla owners logged another 1 billion miles.
At the current pace, the fleet is trending towards hitting about 10 billion FSD Supervised miles this year. The increase has been driven by Tesla’s growing vehicle fleet, periodic free trials, and expanding Robotaxi operations, among others.
With the fleet now past 8.4 billion cumulative miles, Tesla’s supervised system is approaching that threshold, even as regulatory approval for fully unsupervised deployment remains subject to further validation and oversight.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk fires back after Wikipedia co-founder claims neutrality and dubs Grokipedia “ridiculous”
Musk’s response to Wales’ comments, which were posted on social media platform X, was short and direct: “Famous last words.”
Elon Musk fired back at Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales after the longtime online encyclopedia leader dismissed xAI’s new AI-powered alternative, Grokipedia, as a “ridiculous” idea that is bound to fail.
Musk’s response to Wales’ comments, which were posted on social media platform X, was short and direct: “Famous last words.”
Wales made the comments while answering questions about Wikipedia’s neutrality. According to Wales, Wikipedia prides itself on neutrality.
“One of our core values at Wikipedia is neutrality. A neutral point of view is non-negotiable. It’s in the community, unquestioned… The idea that we’ve become somehow ‘Wokepidea’ is just not true,” Wales said.
When asked about potential competition from Grokipedia, Wales downplayed the situation. “There is no competition. I don’t know if anyone uses Grokipedia. I think it is a ridiculous idea that will never work,” Wales wrote.
After Grokipedia went live, Larry Sanger, also a co-founder of Wikipedia, wrote on X that his initial impression of the AI-powered Wikipedia alternative was “very OK.”
“My initial impression, looking at my own article and poking around here and there, is that Grokipedia is very OK. The jury’s still out as to whether it’s actually better than Wikipedia. But at this point I would have to say ‘maybe!’” Sanger stated.
Musk responded to Sanger’s assessment by saying it was “accurate.” In a separate post, he added that even in its V0.1 form, Grokipedia was already better than Wikipedia.
During a past appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show, Sanger argued that Wikipedia has drifted from its original vision, citing concerns about how its “Reliable sources/Perennial sources” framework categorizes publications by perceived credibility. As per Sanger, Wikipedia’s “Reliable sources/Perennial sources” list leans heavily left, with conservative publications getting effectively blacklisted in favor of their more liberal counterparts.
As of writing, Grokipedia has reportedly surpassed 80% of English Wikipedia’s article count.
SpaceX pursues 5G-level connectivity with Starlink Mobile V2 expansion
Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles
