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Ford shows BlueCruise hands-free driving while CEO Farley takes jab at Tesla

Ford will begin offering its new BlueCruise hands-free highway driving system to customers later this year after 500,000 miles of development testing and fine-tuning the technology on a journey across the United States and Canada. Mustang Mach-E pictured.

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Ford released a new video of its BlueCruise hands-free driving system earlier today. It didn’t come with a straightforward approach, either as the company’s CEO, Jim Farley, took a jab at Tesla in a Tweet that highlighted the new driver assistance feature.

Ford’s BlueCruise is the legacy automaker’s crack at a semi-autonomous driving functionality that aims to increase driver safety on the roads. Tested over a fleet of Ford vehicles that include the Ford F-150 pickup and the Mustang Mach-E, Ford employees accumulated over 100,000 miles of travel while using BlueCruise. Compared to other semi-autonomous driving features currently available on the market, Tesla Autopilot has been used for an estimated 22.5 billion, yes billion, miles of driving through its testing. This has been accumulated through the use of Tesla’s owners to improve the Autopilot and Full Self-Driving suites’ performance that the automaker offers to customers. Basic Autopilot is included with all Tesla vehicles, while Full Self-Driving currently costs $10,000.

To test BlueCruise’s capabilities while traveling on the road, Ford performed the Mother of All Road Trips, or MOART, as it referred to the testing phase. It wasn’t a matter of testing the features on clean, dry roads, either. Ford drivers inevitably hit severe weather during the massive trek across some of the United States’ most popular highways and interstates, ensuring its confidence while traveling through some of the more challenging terrains and road conditions that can provide some motor vehicle operators with headaches.

The reason Ford chose to have its employees operate the testing scenario instead of its real-world owners is unknown. However, criticisms of Tesla’s use of its owners to test the Full Self-Driving Beta seems to be the subject of Ford CEO Jim Farley, who tweeted that “We [Ford] tested it in the real world, so our customers don’t have to.”

Recently, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that Tesla’s use of its real-world owners to test its FSD Beta was a “potential risk to motorists and other road users,” according to a note written by NTSB chief Robert Sumwalt, according to CNBC. However, drivers have essentially pleaded as to why they should be included in the testing phase. Tesla owners are never required to utilize Autopilot or the FSD Beta if they do not want to. Owners have called for an expansion of Tesla’s Beta program in several cases, and it has led to CEO Elon Musk nearly doubling the size of the testing group. Tesla has also removed owners from the FSD Beta testing sequence if they did not utilize it properly.

Ford’s BlueCruise will vary depending on the vehicle that is being driven. It will cost $1,595 in the F-150 pickup and $3,200 in the Mach-E, Fox Autos said. It will require a three-year, $600 subscription to connected service in the all-electric Mach-E and will be updated through Over-the-Air software updates.

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 Semi just got a huge vote of confidence from 300-truck fleet

The confidential meeting marks a major step for the mid-sized carrier in evaluating the electric truck for its regional routes.

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Credit: Tesla

The Tesla Semi is moving closer to broader fleet adoption, with Keller Logistics Group wrapping up a key pre-production planning session with the electric vehicle maker’s team this week. 

The confidential meeting marks a major step for the mid-sized carrier in evaluating the electric truck for its regional routes.

Keller’s pre-production Tesla Semi sessions

Keller Logistics Group, a family-owned carrier with over 300 tractors and 1,000 trailers operating in the Midwest and Southeast, completed the session to assess the Tesla Semi’s fit for its operations. The company’s routes typically span 500-600 miles per day, positioning it as an ideal tester for the Semi’s day cab configuration in standard logistics scenarios. 

Details remain under mutual NDA, but the meeting reportedly focused on matching the truck to yard, shuttle and regional applications while scrutinizing economics like infrastructure, maintenance and incentives.

What Keller’s executives are saying

CEO Bryan Keller described the approach as methodical. “For us, staying ahead isn’t a headline, it’s a habit. From electrification and yard automation to digital visibility and warehouse technology, our teams are continually pressure-testing what’s next. The Tesla Semi discussion is one more way we evaluate new tools against our standards for safety, uptime, and customer ROI. We don’t chase trends, we pressure-test what works,” Keller said. 

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Benjamin Pierce, Chief Strategy Officer, echoed these sentiments. “Electrification and next-generation powertrains are part of a much broader transformation. Whether it’s proprietary yard systems like YardLink™, solar and renewable logistics solutions, or real-time vehicle intelligence, Keller’s approach stays the same, test it, prove it, and deploy it only when it strengthens service and total cost for our customers,” Pierce said. 

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Tesla extends FSD Supervised ride-alongs in Europe by three months

Needless to say, it does appear that FSD fever is starting to catch in Europe. 

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla appears to be doubling down on its European Full Self-Driving (Supervised) push, with the company extending its demo ride-along program by three months until the end of March 2026. The update seems to have been implemented due to overwhelming demand. 

Needless to say, it does appear that FSD fever is starting to catch in Europe. 

Extended FSD demonstrations

Tesla EU Policy and Business Development Manager Ivan Komušanac shared on LinkedIn that the company is offering ride-along experiences in Germany, France and Italy while working toward FSD (Supervised) approval in Europe.

He noted that this provides a great feedback opportunity from the general public, encouraging participants to record and share their experiences. For those unable to book in December, Komušanac teased more slots as “Christmas presents.”

Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt highlighted the extension on X, stating that dates now run from December 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, in multiple cities including Stuttgart-Weinstadt, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf in Germany. This suggests that the FSD ride-along program in Europe has officially been extended until the end of the first quarter of 2026. 

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Building momentum for European approval

Replies to Merritt’s posts buzzed with excitement, with users like @AuzyMale noting that Cologne and Düsseldorf are already fully booked. This sentiment was echoed by numerous other Tesla enthusiasts on social media. Calls for the program’s expansion to other European territories have also started gaining steam, with some X users suggesting Switzerland and Finland as the next locations for FSD ride-alongs.

Ultimately, the Tesla EU Policy and Business Development Manager’s post aligns with the company’s broader FSD efforts in Europe. As per recent reports, Tesla recently demonstrated FSD’s capabilities for Rome officials. Reporters from media outlets in France and Germany have also published positive reviews of FSD’s capabilities on real-world roads. 

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Tesla’s six-seat extended wheelbase Model Y L sold out for January 2026

Estimated delivery dates for new Tesla Model Y L orders now extend all the way into February 2026.

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Credit: Tesla China

The Tesla Model Y L seems to be in high demand in China, with estimated delivery dates for new orders now extending all the way into February 2026. 

This suggests that the Model Y L has been officially sold out from the rest of 2025 to January 2026. 

Model Y L estimated delivery dates

The Model Y L’s updated delivery dates mark an extension from the vehicle’s previous 4-8 week estimated wait time. A detailed chart shared by Tesla data tracker @Tslachan on X shows the progressions of the Model Y L’s estimated delivery dates since its launch earlier this year. 

Following its launch in September, the vehicle was given an initial October 2025 estimated delivery date. The wait times for the vehicle were continually updated over the years, until the middle of November, when the Model Y L had an estimated delivery date of 4-8 weeks. This remained until now, when Tesla China simply listed February 2026 as the estimated delivery date for new Model Y L orders.

Model Y demand in China

Tesla Model Y demand in China seems to be very healthy, even beyond the Model Y L. New delivery dates show the company has already sold out its allocation of the all-electric crossover for 2025. The Model Y has been the most popular vehicle in the world in both of the last two years, outpacing incredibly popular vehicles like the Toyota RAV4. In China, the EV market is substantially more saturated, with more competitors than in any other market.

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Tesla has been particularly kind to the Chinese market, as it has launched trim levels for the Model Y in the country that are not available anywhere else, such as the Model Y L. Demand has been strong for the Model Y in China, with the vehicle ranking among the country’s top 5 New Energy Vehicles. Interestingly enough, vehicles that beat the Model Y in volume like the BYD Seagull are notably more affordable. Compared to vehicles that are comparably priced, the Model Y remains a strong seller in China. 

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