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EV subscription company Autonomy expands to California’s High Desert region

Credit: Autonomy

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Electric vehicle subscription company Autonomy, which made headlines in January for its expansive Tesla Model 3 rental fleet, announced today it has expanded its operations once again into the High Desert region of California. This includes the communities of Lancaster, Palmdale, Victorville, Adelanto, Apple Valley, Hesperia, Phelan, and Barstow.

In January, Autonomy launched its electric vehicles subscription model with the Tesla Model 3. Autonomy’s options gave customers a subscription-based program that combined the monthly car payment, insurance, and other applicable fees into a single monthly payment. Drivers can order vehicles and pick them up in less than ten minutes with a driver’s license and form of digital payment.

In early May, Autonomy expanded its operations to the Central Coast region of California. CEO Scott Painter said it was important to expand to these regions as they were critical to the EV movement. These areas offered peak levels of electric vehicle adoption, and local infrastructure offered plenty of charging stations for owners. The same strategies apply to Autonomy’s decision to expand to the High Desert region. The area has over 200 charging stalls and 13 Supercharger stations, which are all strategically placed along I-15 and SR-14.

Tesla recently announced a massive Supercharger on I-15 in Barstow, California. The site is expected to have 100 Supercharger stalls.

Tesla is building a giant Supercharger midway between LA and Las Vegas

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“With gas prices continuing to climb and putting a strain on households, there’s never been a more compelling time to get an electric vehicle,” Painter said. “Consumers are beginning to fully realize the benefits of driving an electric vehicle, and we’re excited to be offering a more affordable, flexible way of getting one.”

Autonomy has remained in the California market due to its suitability for a startup that deals with EV adoption. It has 30 percent of the total charging stations and stalls in the United States. Additionally, the State is set to receive $56 million from a federal infrastructure bill passed by the Biden Administration. Only Texas received more.

Additionally, High Desert residents have some of the longest commutes nationwide, according to Autonomy, which cited CNBC for the data. Palmdale residents have the longest commutes nationwide on average, with 85.4 minutes of commuting round trip. “Like in Palmdale, many people who live in the High Desert have long commutes across the region or down California’s Cajon Pass to the Inland Empire, Orange County, and Los Angeles. With Autonomy, commuters can ditch the high-priced gas and contribute to a more green commute,” Autonomy said.

Autonomy also said in its press release that it will offer Model Y vehicles. “A payment dial allows customers to personalize their Model 3 and Model Y. Model 3 subscriptions range from as low as $490 per month with an initial $4,900 start fee, to $1,000 per month with an initial $1,000 start fee. Whichever payment option you choose, a low refundable deposit of $500 and taxes also apply,” the company explains.

Autonomy’s monthly subscription costs are cheaper than Tesla’s leasing or financing plans, but customers will have to pay startup fees to initiate their subscription. With a $100 deposit, people can reserve a Model 3. They will then personalize subscriptions for as low as $490 per month with an initial startup fee of $4,900. There are also other options, like $1,000 per month with an initial $1,000 startup fee. A $500 refundable security deposit is also required when the subscription is activated.

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I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Model 3 gets perfect 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating

Tesla prides itself on producing some of the safest vehicles on the road today.

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Credit: Tesla Singapore/X

Tesla prides itself on producing some of the safest vehicles on the road today. Based on recent findings from the Euro NCAP, the 2025 Model 3 sedan continues this tradition, with the vehicle earning a 5-star overall safety rating from the agency.

Standout Safety Features

As could be seen on the Euro NCAP’s official website, the 2025 Model 3 achieved an overall score of 90% for Adult Occupants, 93% for Child Occupants, 89% for Vulnerable Road Users, and 87% for Safety Assist. This rating, as per the Euro NCAP, applies to the Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive, Long Range Rear Wheel Drive, Long Range All Wheel Drive, and Performance All Wheel Drive.

The Euro NCAP highlighted a number of the Model 3’s safety features, such as its Active Hood, which automatically lifts during collisions to mitigate injury risks to vulnerable road users, and Automatic Emergency Braking System, which now detects motorcycles through an upgraded algorithm. The Euro NCAP also mentioned the Model 3’s feature that prevents initial door opening if someone is approaching the vehicle’s blind spot.

Standout Safety Features

In a post on its official Tesla Europe & Middle East account, Tesla noted that the company is also introducing new features that make the Model 3 even safer than it is today. These include functions like head-on collision avoidance and crossing traffic AEB, as well as Child Left Alone Detection, among other safety features.

“We also introduced new features to improve Safety Assist functionality even further – like head-on collision avoidance & crossing traffic AEB – to detect & respond to potential hazards faster, helping avoid accidents in the first place. 

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“Lastly, we released Child Left Alone Detection – if an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will turn on HVAC & alert caregivers via phone app & the vehicle itself (flashing lights/audible alert). Because we’re using novel in-cabin radar sensing, your Tesla is able to distinguish between adult vs child – reduced annoyance to adults, yet critical safety feature for kids,” Tesla wrote in its post on X.

Below is the Euro NCAP’s safety report on the 2025 Tesla Model 3 sedan.

Euroncap 2025 Tesla Model 3 Datasheet by Simon Alvarez on Scribd

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USDOT Secretary visits Tesla Giga Texas, hints at national autonomous vehicle standards

The Transportation Secretary also toured the factory’s production lines and spoke with CEO Elon Musk.

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Credit: Elon Musk/X

United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Sean Duffy recently visited Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas complex, where he toured the factory’s production lines and spoke with CEO Elon Musk. In a video posted following his Giga Texas visit, Duffy noted that he believes there should be a national standard for autonomous vehicles in the United States.

Duffy’s Giga Texas Visit

As could be seen in videos of his Giga Texas visit, the Transportation Secretary seemed to appreciate the work Tesla has been doing to put the United States in the forefront of innovation. “Tesla is one of the many companies helping our country reach new heights. USDOT will be right there all the way to make sure Americans stay safe,” Duffy wrote in a post on X. 

He also praised Tesla for its autonomous vehicle program, highlighting that “We need American companies to keep innovating so we can outcompete the rest of the world.”

National Standard

While speaking with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the Transportation Secretary stated that other autonomous ride-hailing companies have been lobbying for a national standard for self-driving cars. Musk shared the sentiment, stating that “It’d be wonderful for the United States to have a national set of rules for autonomous driving as opposed to 50 independent sets of rules on a state-by-state rules basis.”

Duffy agreed with the CEO’s point, stating that, “You can’t have 50 different rules for 50 different states. You need one standard.” He also noted that the Transportation Department has asked autonomous vehicle companies to submit data. By doing so, the USDOT could develop a standard for the entire United States, allowing self-driving cars to operate in a manner that is natural and safe.

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Tesla posts Optimus’ most impressive video demonstration yet

The humanoid robot was able to complete all the tasks through a single neural network.

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Credit: Tesla Optimus/X

When Elon Musk spoke with CNBC’s David Faber in an interview at Giga Texas, he reiterated the idea that Optimus will be one of Tesla’s biggest products. Seemingly to highlight the CEO’s point, the official Tesla Optimus account on social media platform X shared what could very well be the most impressive demonstration of the humanoid robot’s capabilities to date.

Optimus’ Newest Demonstration

In its recent video demonstration, the Tesla Optimus team featured the humanoid robot performing a variety of tasks. These include household chores such as throwing the trash, using a broom and a vacuum cleaner, tearing a paper towel, stirring a pot of food, opening a cabinet, and closing a curtain, among others. The video also featured Optimus picking up a Model X fore link and placing it on a dolly.

What was most notable in the Tesla Optimus team’s demonstration was the fact that the humanoid robot was able to complete all the tasks through a single neural network. The robot’s actions were also learned directly from Optimus being fed data from first-person videos of humans performing similar tasks. This system should pave the way for Optimus to learn and refine new skills quickly and reliably.

Tesla VP for Optimus Shares Insight

In a follow-up post on X, Tesla Vice President of Optimus (Tesla Bot) Milan Kovac stated that one of the team’s goals is to have Optimus learn straight from internet videos of humans performing tasks, including footage captured in third person or by random cameras.

“We recently had a significant breakthrough along that journey, and can now transfer a big chunk of the learning directly from human videos to the bots (1st person views for now). This allows us to bootstrap new tasks much faster compared to teleoperated bot data alone (heavier operationally).

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“Many new skills are emerging through this process, are called for via natural language (voice/text), and are run by a single neural network on the bot (multi-tasking). Next: expand to 3rd person video transfer (aka random internet), and push reliability via self-play (RL) in the real-, and/or synthetic- (sim / world models) world,” Kovac wrote in his post on X.

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