The electric vehicle market in Europe seems poised to see some substantial changes in the coming months, with the European Commission telling automakers on Wednesday that China-based EV imports could see additional tariffs of up to 38% from next month. The additional duties would be implemented on top of the current 10% tariff placed on all EVs that are produced in China.
The European Commission’s announcement came following an anti-subsidy probe, as noted in an AFP News report. The tariffs given to China-based EVs would depend on the level of state subsidies that automakers receive. With this in mind, the European Commission has ordered a provisional hike of tariffs on several Chinese automakers.
These include BYD, which is poised to receive additional tariffs of 17.4%; Geely, which will receive 20%, and SAIC, which will receive a substantial 38.1% additional tariff. All other EV companies from China that cooperated with the European Commission’s probe are expected to see an average tariff of 21%, while electric vehicle makers that did not cooperate with the probe would see an additional 38.1% duty. Tesla cooperated in the EU’s probe, and thus, its Model 3 imports to the region are poised to receive an additional 21% tariff.
The much anticipated EU EV tariffs have been announced. In 2023 just shy of half a million China made EVs were sold in the EU making up nearly one-third of the total EVs bought. ? pic.twitter.com/x1G0zs3SfK— Iola Hughes (@RhoMoIola) June 12, 2024
“The Commission has provisionally concluded that the battery electric vehicles (BEV) value chain in China benefits from unfair subsidization, which is causing a threat of economic injury to EU BEV producers. Should discussions with Chinese authorities not lead to an effective solution, these provisional countervailing duties would be introduced,” the European Commission noted.
The additional tariffs are expected to be applied starting July 4, with full implementation being rolled out from November, as noted in a Reuters report. This is, at least, unless a qualified majority of EU states decide against the system. Some members of the European Union, such as Germany, have already spoken up against the additional tariffs.
As per transport minister Volker Wissing, a trade war and market isolation are not the way. “Cars must become cheaper through more competition, open markets, and significantly better business conditions in the EU, not through trade war and market isolation,” Wissing wrote in a post on X.
#Strafzölle der EU-Kommission treffen deutsche Unternehmen und ihre Spitzenprodukte. Durch mehr Wettbewerb, offene Märkte und erheblich bessere Standortbedingungen in der EU müssen Fahrzeuge preiswerter werden, nicht durch Handelskrieg und Marktabschottung.— Volker Wissing (@Wissing) June 12, 2024
China, for its part, has criticized the European Commission’s additional tariffs, stating that such a move would “harm Europe’s own interests.” China also claimed that the additional tariffs amount to protectionism. China foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian noted that the country would take all necessary measures to protect its EV makers’ interests.
“This anti-subsidy investigation is a typical case of protectionism… It goes against the principles of market economy and international trade rules undermines China-EU economic and trade cooperation as well as the stability of the global automobile production and supply chain. China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” the foreign ministry spokesman noted.
Chinese Passenger Car Association (CPCA) Secretary General Cui Dongshu shared a tempered view on the matter. “The EU’s provisional tariffs come basically within our expectations, averaging around 20%, which won’t have much of an impact on the majority of Chinese firms. Those exporting China-made EVs that include Tesla, Geely and BYD still have huge potential for development in Europe in the future,” the CPCA official noted.
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Elon Musk
Tesla is about to make parking in busy lots less stressful than ever
Tesla is about to make parking in busy parking lots at businesses and other points of interest less stressful than ever by allowing drivers more control over where they park and how, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X.
Tesla has been working to improve the parking performance of vehicles utilizing the Full Self-Driving suite, but now it is looking to add more customization, allowing drivers to choose the specific space they park in, but also potentially the orientation the car pulls into the spot:
It’s coming soon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2026
Musk has reiterated on X twice over the past several weeks that Tesla is working to make things with the FSD suite based more on the driver’s specific preferences and behaviors that were seen in past drives.
Essentially, it sounds like if you tend to park away from a business to avoid other vehicles, Tesla FSD will soon recognize that preference of yours and start parking further away as well. Additionally, the prospect of assigned parking spaces has been something many owners have voiced concerns about.
Living in a community with assigned parking spaces makes using FSD incredibly difficult as it will rarely park in the correct spot when there are so many to choose from. This is also pertinent in work settings where there are sometimes assigned parking spaces.
The updates to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite in terms of listening to driver preferences with parking are also extending to routing. Tesla announced yesterday that with the release of its 2026 Summer Update, it was adding Automatic Navigation and Preferred Routes:
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla has always maintained the idea that any human input is bad input, and that, ideally, Tesla Full Self-Driving will always make the right decision. Of course, this is all in theory, but the issue is that so many of Tesla’s interventions have come because it does something that is not necessarily wrong, but perhaps not what the driver would prefer.
Taking these preferences into account will help Tesla alleviate some of the potentially unnecessary interventions that drivers perform.
News
Tesla starts preparing for Optimus in its smartphone app
Tesla is starting to prepare for the launch of the Optimus robot in its smartphone app, new coding strings show. Elon Musk has referred to Optimus as what will be the greatest-selling product of any kind of all time, and now, Tesla is getting ready for its launch.
Tesla’s smartphone app had several first-time mentions of the Optimus program, according to Tesla App Updates, who intially reported on the appearance. Here’s what they found:
A Dedicated “Robot” Phone Key Authentication
Tesla is working on a Bluetooth Low Energy, or BLE, authentication that is specifically for robots. This does not only apply to Optimus, though, as Robotaxi, which is Tesla’s autonomous ride-hailing platform, might also identify vehicles within the fleet as robots as well.
Tesla shows rapid teardown of Model S and X lines, paving the way for Optimus at Fremont
Essentially, pairing your phone as a key to anything Tesla identifies as a robot to a “whitelist” of authorized devices. Optimus, Robotaxi, or other products that fall into this category will only respond if the device trying to communicate with it is authorized.
This is a great security feature that will eliminate at least face-value and low-level threats.
Home Data Collection and System Alerts
This appears to be somewhat of a neural network for Optimus within your house. There will be a dedicated screen that asks for consent to collect both video and spatial data while Optimus performs in-home tasks. Everything from vacuuming, washing dishes, dusting, and other activities will be tracked.
There will also be a comprehensive alert system that will track everything from low battery to mechanical issues.
Other Changes
Most of the changes tracked in this particular app update are related to Tesla’s 2026 Summer Update, and include things such as image assets for new features, a preview of the new custom wraps feature, and other unique features.
You can check out our coverage on what is included with the 2026 Summer Update here:
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Investor's Corner
Tesla Q2 Earnings: Here’s what to expect
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will report its earnings for the second quarter of 2026 this evening after market close, and investors and analysts are waiting anxiously to see what the company will report for the second three-month span of the year.
Analysts have already put out their expectations from a financial standpoint for the company’s second quarter, but what’s unknown is what Tesla plans to discuss during the call.
Financial Expectations
Wall Street consensus expectations put Tesla’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) at $0.53, while revenues are expected to come in around $26.4 billion.
This would compare to an EPS of $0.39 and $22.19 billion compared to Tesla’s Q2 2025. Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.41 on $22.387 billion of revenue. Additionally in Q1, Tesla beat analyst expectations, but shares dropped over 3 percent the following trading day.
What We Expect
In terms of discussions, Tesla earnings are pretty sporadic and depend on a handful of things, including current events, investor questions, and more.
Tesla uses a platform called Say to field questions from investors and analysts. These questions are what will be used during the call. Here are the top 5 from the Retail side and top 3 from the Institutional side:
Retail:
“Tesla has missed short-term guidance on robotaxi 3 earnings reports in a row, from 50% coverage of USA by end of 2025 to most recently 7 new cities in 1H26. What is keeping Tesla back from accomplishing these short term goals that they’ve set for themselves?”
“What are the main constraints to expanding robotaxi operations faster, and how do you see that lining up with Cybercab production?”
“What’s the current status of Optimus Gen 3 production ramp, initial deployment in factories, and external sales timeline/volume for 2027? What tasks can we expect the Optimus to perform by end of 2027?”
“To reward long-term Tesla retail shareholders for their loyalty, can you commit to achieving at least half of the goals outlined in your 2025 compensation plan before considering any offers to acquire or merge Tesla?”
“Why has growth of robotaxi vehicles stalled? When will we see cybercab start customer rides?”
Institutional
“Previously, you’ve said Tesla would lead the R&D while SpaceX would lead production for Terafab. Can you provide an update on how that division of responsibilities is evolving, and any additional clarity on the expected capital contributions from Tesla and SpaceX?”
“For autonomous driving, Tesla’s fleet created a huge data advantage by collecting billions of real-world miles. That advantage doesn’t yet exist for Optimus. How should we think about data availability and its impact on Optimus development?”
“Why is it necessary to limit robotaxi operations within specific zones within cities to start? Will every city have to be rolled out this way?”
Tesla will report earnings for Q2 this evening with the Shareholder Deck at 4 p.m. ET, with the call starting around 5:30 p.m. ET.