

News
First-ever GMC Hummer EV SUV auctioned for $500,000 for a cause
General Motors has started the production of the GMC Hummer EV SUV, and to commemorate the event, the veteran automaker decided to auction off the vehicle’s VIN 001 unit for a good cause.
As noted by GMC in a press release, the nonprofit organization Tread Lightly! will be receiving $500,000 from the sale of the first production unit of the 2024 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 SUV. The auction took place on January 28, 2023, at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction.
Barrett-Jackson opted to waive its fees and commissions for the Hummer EV Edition 1 SUV auction. This alllows the nonprofit to receive the full amount raised from the sale of the all-electric vehicle. Duncan Aldred, global vice president of Buick and GMC, issued a statement about the auction.
“We’re proud to support Tread Lightly! and their mission through the monumental sale of VIN 001 of the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 SUV at Barrett-Jackson. We’re honored to start the year off with this donation to a great cause. With the continued support of Barrett-Jackson to make this donation 100% a charitable endeavor, proceeds will support Tread Lightly! and their mission of environmental conservation,” the executive said.
Keeping America beautiful with the help of this next generation off-road vehicle. The first retail production 2024 @GMC HUMMER EV SUV VIN 001 sold for $500,000 with 100% of the hammer price benefiting @tread_lightly!
Learn more: https://t.co/BILjK2Awbt pic.twitter.com/xjuNC4pkP3
— Barrett-Jackson (@Barrett_Jackson) January 29, 2023
Tread Lightly! aims to balance the needs of people who enjoy outdoor recreation with the need to preserve healthy ecosystems and wildlife populations across the country. The funds raised from the sale of the first retail unit of the all-electric SUV will be supporting the nonprofit’s conservation efforts.
Matt Caldwell, Executive Director of Tread Lightly! was extremely grateful for GM’s initiative.
“We can’t thank the GMC brand and Barrett-Jackson enough for this amazing support. This funding will make numerous trail restorations projects and educational programs possible in areas across the country. These projects are at the heartbeat of what we do as we work to ‘protect the adventure’ for everyone,” Caldwell said.
GM has stated that the reservations for the GMC Hummer EV Edition 1 SUV are already full. Production for the vehicle is expected to start early 2023 at GM’s Factory Zero. In addition to the Hummer EV Edition 1 SUV, the factory will also produce electric vehicles such as the Hummer EV Pickup and the Sierra EV Denali Edition 1.
The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.
Cybertruck
Tesla launches Cybertruck orders in a new market with a catch

Tesla is launching Cybertruck orders in a new market, but there’s a bit of a catch.
The Cybertruck was launched in the Middle East earlier this year, as Tesla launched the ability to place a reservation for the all-electric pickup in the United Arab Emirates. It would be the first market outside of North America that would have the ability to place an order for the Cybertruck.
Tesla confirms Cybertruck will make its way out of North America this year
Other markets where the vehicle has been widely requested, like Europe and Asia, have still not approved the vehicle to be sold to the public, mostly because of size and design restrictions.
However, in the UAE, Tesla is opening up the ability for those who placed reservations for the vehicle to finally put in their order. The Order Configurator is only available to those who have already placed a reservation; it is not yet available to the public.
Tesla said it would open up the public online configurator across the Middle East in the coming weeks:
If you’re in the UAE and you have a Cybertruck reservation, you can now order your new truck
The public will get access in the coming weeks. https://t.co/KJaP7NEfiT
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 16, 2025
The UAE is not the only country that will have access to the Cybertruck, as fans in other Middle Eastern countries will also be able to place orders soon. Tesla announced back in April that Saudi Arabia and Qatar would also have Cybertruck deliveries.
These vehicles will be built at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas plant just outside of Austin, as Gigafactory Berlin and Gigafactory Shanghai, two factories located in the same hemisphere as the Middle East, do not have established lines for Cybertruck production.
As for the other markets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted that the company could develop a smaller Cybertruck for those markets, as he admitted that in the long term, it likely made sense to build a more compact version for regions where roads are traditionally tighter.
Elon Musk hints at smaller Tesla Cybertruck version down the road
There has been no evidence of Tesla developing this more compact version, but it could eventually happen.
News
Tesla rolls out new life-saving feature for kids in Europe
On average, 37 children die every year from being left in vehicles unattended.

Tesla is rolling out a new life-saving feature in the European market, one that has been available in the United States for some time and can be considered potentially invaluable.
One of the most preventable causes of death for children is being left in cars unattended. On average, 37 children die every year after being left in hot vehicles. The cause of death is usually heatstroke, and it is incredibly avoidable.
Tesla rolls out new crucial safety feature aimed at saving children
However, there are instances where kids are left in vehicles and lose their lives, something that many companies have tried to fight with alerts and features of their own.
Tesla is one of them, as it has rolled out features like ultrasonic sensors to detect heartbeats, interior cameras to detect movement, and alerts to notify parents if they leave someone in the car.
A few months ago, Tesla rolled out a new feature called “Child Left Alone Detection” in the United States. It was described as:
“If an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will flash the exterior indicator lights, play an alert tone, and send a notification to your Tesla app. This will repeat at regular intervals until you return to your vehicle. Cabin data is processed locally and is not transmitted to Tesla.
This feature is enabled by default. To disable, go to Controls > Safety > Child Left Alone Detection.”
This feature was only rolled out in the U.S. at the time. It is now making its way to the European market, according to Not a Tesla App, which detected the rollout in the 2025.32.6 software update.
The rollout of this feature could specifically change many unfortunate situations. For many of us, it seems hard to think about leaving something as precious as another human life in a hot car. Many of us won’t leave our vehicles without our cell phones, so it seems unlikely that someone would do it without a child.
News
Tesla gets another NHTSA probe, this time related to door handles
“Although Tesla vehicles have manual door releases inside of the cabin, in these situations, a child may not be able to access or operate the releases even if the vehicle’s driver is aware of them.”

Tesla is facing another investigation into its vehicles by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), this time related to an issue with its door handles.
In a new Open Investigation named “Electronic door handles become inoperative,” the NHTSA says that it has received nine complaints from owners of the 2021 Tesla Model Y stemming from “an inability to open doors.”
These issues were reported after “parents exited their vehicle after a drive cycle in order to remove a child from the pack seat or placing a child in the back seat before starting a drive cycle.” Parents said they were “unable to reopen a door to regain access to the vehicle.”
Tesla door handles become unlikely hero as they stump road rager
Four of the nine complaints ended with having to break a window to regain access to the cabin.
🚨 Model Year 2021 Tesla Model Y vehicles are under a preliminary investigation by the NHTSA due to a potential issue with door handles, with nine owners reporting an inability to open doors from the outside
“The most commonly reported scenarios involved parents exiting the… pic.twitter.com/u0qBBiu9LT
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 16, 2025
The NHTSA goes on to explain that, while Teslas do have a manual door release inside the cabin, a child may not be able to access it:
“Although Tesla vehicles have manual door releases inside of the cabin, in these situations, a child may not be able to access or operate the releases even if the vehicle’s driver is aware of them. As a result, in these instances, an occupant who remains inside a vehicle in this condition may be unable to be rapidly retrieved by persons outside of the vehicle.”
It appears that the agency is attributing the issue to a low voltage in the vehicle’s 12V DC battery. This would mean there needs to be some sort of notification to the driver that the battery is running low on power and should be replaced to avoid this issue.
The NHTSA estimates that 174,290 vehicles are potentially impacted by this issue. It plans to assess the scope and severity of the condition, the agency says. The NHTSA also wants to see what approach Tesla uses to supply power to door locks and the reliability of the applicable power supplies.
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