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BYD argues self-driving tech is ‘basically impossible,’ ignores Tesla FSD

Credit: BYD

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A spokesman for Chinese automaker BYD has argued that self-driving technology is “basically impossible” and should be relegated to industrial applications.

One of the most mind-blowing features currently available on any vehicle is Tesla’s Full Self Driving (FSD) offering, which currently allows thousands of people to make daily transportation more accessible than ever believed possible. Yet, despite Tesla’s incredible success, the technology still faces an uphill battle regarding industry acceptance.

According to a new report from CNBC, a BYD representative at the Shanghai auto show highlighted the company’s dismissal of “self-driving” or autonomous driving technology. “We think self-driving tech that’s fully separated from humans is very, very far away, and basically impossible,” Li Yunfei, a spokesperson for BYD, stated in a comment to CNBC. “When we think about [self-driving tech] from all aspects, from human psychological safety needs, from ethics, from regulation, from technology — including application in this industry — we haven’t figured out [the logic], and we think it is probably a false proposition.”

Concluding their comments, the BYD representative pointed out that “There may be many industries and businesses that invest a lot of money on this [tech], and after investing for many years, it will prove it leads nowhere.” BYD was not immediately available to comment to Teslarati regarding the statements.

Self-driving technology is tightly regulated in China, and level 2 autonomous systems, like Tesla’s FSD offering, are not yet available from automakers. However, only further confounding the BYD spokesman’s comments, earlier this year, numerous Chinese cities, including the country’s Capital, Beijing, granted a large number of permits to domestic and foreign automakers to deploy robotaxis in select areas.

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Outside of China, BYD’s argument seems only to lose more ground. Tesla Full Self-Driving has grown in popularity and capability at an incredible rate over the past five years. And now, not only can Tesla’s system navigate simple highway scenarios, but it can even be deployed in dense urban areas. Thanks to the American automaker’s dedication to the software, it only seems to improve by the day.

Luckily for consumers, the sentiment shared by BYD this morning doesn’t seem consistent throughout the industry, as countless legacy makers are currently working toward autonomous driving solutions. Besides Tesla, the current frontrunner in the technology, Mercedes has slowly introduced its level 3 autonomous driving system to numerous global markers. Meanwhile, Ford and GM have funded massive subsidiary projects dedicated to bringing self-driving tech to market as soon as possible.

What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!

Will is an auto enthusiast, a gear head, and an EV enthusiast above all. From racing, to industry data, to the most advanced EV tech on earth, he now covers it at Teslarati.

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Tesla takes first step in sunsetting Model S and X with drastic move

Tesla won’t be taking custom orders of the Model S or Model X in Europe any longer.

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Credit: @supergeek18 | X

Tesla has seemingly taken the first step in sunsetting two of its older vehicles, the Model S and Model X, by ending international orders.

The flagship sedan and SUV from Tesla are the two oldest cars in the company’s lineup. They account for a very small portion of overall sales, and several years ago, CEO Elon Musk admitted that Tesla only continues to build and sell them due to “sentimental reasons.”

Earlier this year, there were calls for Tesla to end the production of the two cars, but Lars Moravy said that the Model S and Model X were due to get some love later in 2025. That happened, but the changes were extremely minor.

Tesla launches new Model S and Model X, and the changes are slim

Some took this as an indication that Tesla has kind of moved on from the Model S and Model X. A handful of people seemed to think Tesla would overhaul the vehicles substantially, but the changes were extremely minor and included only a few real adjustments.

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In Europe, customers are unable to even put a new order in on a Model S or Model X.

We noticed earlier today that Tesla pressing the ‘Order’ button on either of the flagship vehicles takes you to local inventory, and not the Design Studio where you’d configure your custom build:

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Tesla simply does not make enough Model S or Model X units to justify the expensive logistics process of shipping custom orders overseas. It almost seems as if they’re that they will essentially build a bunch of random configurations, send them overseas every few months, and let them sell before replenishing inventory.

Inversely, it could also mean Tesla is truly gearing up to sunset the vehicle altogether. It seems unlikely that the company will fade them out altogether in the next couple of years, but it could absolutely think about ending international orders because volume is so low.

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Energy

Tesla inks multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution to avoid tariff pressure

Tesla has reportedly secured a sizable partnership with LGES for LFP cells, and there’s an extra positive out of it.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has reportedly inked a multi-billion-dollar deal with LG Energy Solution in an effort to avoid tariff pressure and domesticate more of its supply chain.

Reuters is reporting that Tesla and LGES, a South Korean battery supplier of the automaker, signed a $4.3 billion deal for energy storage system batteries. The cells are going to be manufactured by LGES at its U.S. factory located in Michigan, the report indicates. The batteries will be the lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, chemistry.

Tesla delivers 384,000 vehicles in Q2 2025, deploys 9.6 GWh in energy storage

It is a move Tesla is making to avoid buying cells and parts from overseas as the Trump White House continues to use tariffs to prioritize domestic manufacturing.

LGES announced earlier today that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP cells over three years to a company, but it did not identify the customer, nor did the company state whether the batteries would be used in automotive or energy storage applications.

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The deal is advantageous for both companies. Tesla is going to alleviate its reliance on battery cells that are built out of the country, so it’s going to be able to take some financial pressure off itself.

For LGES, the company has reported that it has experienced slowed demand for its cells in terms of automotive applications. It planned to offset this demand lag with more projects involving the cells in energy storage projects. This has been helped by the need for these systems at data centers used for AI.

During the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja confirmed that the company’s energy division had been impacted by the need to source cells from China-based suppliers. He went on to say that the company would work on “securing additional supply chain from non-China-based suppliers.”

It seems as if Tesla has managed to secure some of this needed domestic supply chain.

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Lifestyle

Tesla brings perhaps the coolest interior feature to cars in latest update

Tesla adds on to the “fun” aspect of its vehicles.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has brought perhaps the coolest interior feature to its cars in a new update that is rolling out to vehicles now.

The feature will require a newer vehicle that has interior ambient lighting, which is present on the new Model S, Model X, Model 3 “Highland,” and Model Y “Juniper.” The Cybertruck also has ambient lighting strips throughout.

Tesla Model Y’s ambient lighting design changes revealed in leaked video

With the Version 2025.26+ Software Update, Tesla is rolling out a new “Sync Accent Lights w/ Music” feature, which is available on the Tesla Toybox:

To enable the feature, you’ll access the Toybox, choose “Light Sync,” and then choose “Sync Accent Lights w/ Music.”

Although it does not improve the performance of the vehicle, it is yet another example of Tesla making one of the coolest cars out there. This is truly a cool add-on that can be used to impress your friends and family.

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