News
Elon Musk gives nod to Tesla ads that support ‘high quality’ media
It is well known in the electric car community that Elon Musk detests traditional advertisements. The Tesla CEO has emphasized for years that Tesla does not advertise or pay for endorsements. Instead, the company simply utilizes its resources to ensure that its products are great. If a recent comment is any indication, however, it appears that Elon Musk may be softening up a bit when it comes to his stance on advertisements.
The CEO’s comments were recently related as a response to an article from fellow EV news outlet CleanTechnica, which covered the recent price reduction of Tesla’s solar solutions. After commenting that it’s still “better to put the money into the product than sales & marketing,” Elon Musk noted that eventually, Tesla should probably do some advertising to support “high quality media.” This is quite a statement from the CEO, who has been anti advertisement in the past.
Elon Musk’s references about supporting high quality media open a lot of opportunities for the electric car maker. The CEO, after all, is a known supporter of non traditional media sources, as evidenced by his overt support for prolific podcaster Joe Rogan, whose approach to information dissemination is quite different from mainstream media. References to art and entertainment also invoke past programs from the company, such as Project Loveday, where the Tesla community was tapped to create compelling videos featuring the company’s products.
The topic of Tesla advertisements has been expressed for some time now, at one point being discussed directly at an annual shareholders meeting. During the event, some Tesla shareholders even volunteered to utilize their own resources for the company’s advertising push. Musk, for his part, stated that he has reservations about advertising due to the level of trickery that usually goes with the practice. Nevertheless, the CEO did admit later on that Tesla could have “advertising for information to refute misinformation.”
And here lies a key reason behind the push for Tesla’s advertising efforts. The company is in calmer waters now compared to last year, but there is still no shortage of negativity surrounding Tesla and Elon Musk. A lot of the negativity, such as the perception that electric cars are more harmful to the environment, or that Teslas start at over $100,000, or that Elon Musk is a fraud, are surprisingly prevalent until today. The majority of these are easily debunked if Tesla has a serious anti misinformation campaign.
-->What is quite interesting is that Tesla does not really have to advertise itself in the traditional sense. The company could simply focus on setting the record straight with regards to the negativity that surrounds it. Examples of these could include the proper utilization of Autopilot and the Full Self Driving suite, two of the company’s products that attract a significant amount of ire from critics. These little campaigns could go a long way in ensuring that the right information is available online, and out in the open.
Tesla is now at a point where it has two mass market vehicles that could compete with other reasonably priced premium vehicles on the market. And if reports are accurate, it appears that the company is looking to release an even more affordable vehicle in the future. Tesla is now the largest automaker in the world by market cap, and its growth is unlikely to stop anytime in the near future. With this in mind, it might soon be the right time for the company to push forward even more, even if it has to advertise in the process.
News
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
The refreshed Tesla Model 3 has won the DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year 2025 award in the Passenger Car category, beating all traditional and electric rivals.
Judges praised the all-electric sedan’s driving dynamics, value-packed EV tech, and the game-changing addition of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) that went live in New Zealand this September.
Why the Model 3 clinched the crown
DRIVEN admitted they were late to the “Highland” party because the updated sedan arrived in New Zealand as a 2024 model, just before the new Model Y stole the headlines. Yet two things forced a re-evaluation this year.
First, experiencing the new Model Y reminded testers how many big upgrades originated in the Model 3, such as the smoother ride, quieter cabin, ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and stalk-less minimalist interior. Second, and far more importantly, Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
FSD changes everything for Kiwi buyers
The publication called the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version “good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money,” but highlighted that FSD elevates it into another league. “Make no mistake, despite the ‘Supervised’ bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it’s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios,” the review stated.
-->At NZ$11,400, FSD is far from cheap, but Tesla also offers FSD (Supervised) on a $159 monthly subscription, making the tech accessible without the full upfront investment. That’s a game-changer, as it allows users to access the company’s most advanced system without forking over a huge amount of money.
News
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out.
It appears that the Tesla AI team burned the midnight oil, allowing them to release FSD V14.2.1 on Thanksgiving. The update has been reported by Tesla owners with AI4 vehicles, as well as Cybertruck owners.
For the Tesla AI team, at least, it appears that work really does not stop.
FSD V14.2.1
Initial posts about FSD V14.2.1 were shared by Tesla owners on social media platform X. As per the Tesla owners, V14.2.1 appears to be a point update that’s designed to polish the features and capacities that have been available in FSD V14. A look at the release notes for FSD V14.2.1, however, shows that an extra line has been added.
“Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”
Whether this could lead to more drivers being alerted to pay attention to the roads more remains to be seen. This would likely become evident as soon as the first batch of videos from Tesla owners who received V14.21 start sharing their first drive impressions of the update. Despite the update being released on Thanksgiving, it would not be surprising if first impressions videos of FSD V14.2.1 are shared today, just the same.
-->Rapid FSD releases
What is rather interesting and impressive is the fact that FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out. This bodes well for Tesla’s FSD users, especially since CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that the V14.2 series will be for “widespread use.”
FSD V14 has so far received numerous positive reviews from Tesla owners, with numerous drivers noting that the system now drives better than most human drivers because it is cautious, confident, and considerate at the same time. The only question now, really, is if the V14.2 series does make it to the company’s wide FSD fleet, which is still populated by numerous HW3 vehicles.
News
Waymo rider data hints that Tesla’s Cybercab strategy might be the smartest, after all
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota Connected Europe designer Karim Dia Toubajie has highlighted a particular trend that became evident in Waymo’s Q3 2025 occupancy stats. As it turned out, 90% of the trips taken by the driverless taxis carried two or fewer passengers.
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota designer observes a trend
Karim Dia Toubajie, Lead Product Designer (Sustainable Mobility) at Toyota Connected Europe, analyzed Waymo’s latest California Public Utilities Commission filings and posted the results on LinkedIn this week.
“90% of robotaxi trips have 2 or less passengers, so why are we using 5-seater vehicles?” Toubajie asked. He continued: “90% of trips have 2 or less people, 75% of trips have 1 or less people.” He accompanied his comments with a graphic showing Waymo’s occupancy rates, which showed 71% of trips having one passenger, 15% of trips having two passengers, 6% of trips having three passengers, 5% of trips having zero passengers, and only 3% of trips having four passengers.
The data excludes operational trips like depot runs or charging, though Toubajie pointed out that most of the time, Waymo’s massive self-driving taxis are really just transporting 1 or 2 people, at times even no passengers at all. “This means that most of the time, the vehicle being used significantly outweighs the needs of the trip,” the Toyota designer wrote in his post.
-->Cybercab suddenly looks perfectly sized
Toubajie gave a nod to Tesla’s approach. “The Tesla Cybercab announced in 2024, is a 2-seater robotaxi with a 50kWh battery but I still believe this is on the larger side of what’s required for most trips,” he wrote.
With Waymo’s own numbers now proving 90% of demand fits two seats or fewer, the wheel-less, lidar-free Cybercab now looks like the smartest play in the room. The Cybercab is designed to be easy to produce, with CEO Elon Musk commenting that its product line would resemble a consumer electronics factory more than an automotive plant. This means that the Cybercab could saturate the roads quickly once it is deployed.
While the Cybercab will likely take the lion’s share of Tesla’s ride-hailing passengers, the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover would be perfect for the remaining 9% of riders who require larger vehicles. This should be easy to implement for Tesla, as the Model Y and Model 3 are both mass-market vehicles.
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
