News
Ford launches the E-Transit in Europe, electrifying business productivity globally
Ford announced it has officially started shipping production units of its all-electric E-Transit van to customers across Europe, aligning with its goals to electrify its business globally.
The Detroit-based Ford, who recently separated its electric and combustion engine businesses into separate divisions, said the E-Transit vans built at its Otosan Factory in Kocaeli, Turkey, are making their way to European customers. Ford started delivering the E-Transit in the United States in February.
Ford says it received over 5,000 customer orders for the E-Transit in Europe alone before production began. The strong demand for the vehicles motivated Ford to reach “full mass production” of the E-Transit on the continent. Under its Ford Pro division, which handles commercial fleet management, the automaker continues to move forward with its transition to electric cars across the world.
- First E-Transit models ready to ship from Ford Otosan’s Gölcük plant in Kocaeli, Turkey to help Ford Pro satisfy strong customer demand to electrify European fleets. LICENSE EXPIRES: In perpetuity. LICENSE BY: Ford Otosan. LICENSE SCOPE: A – Earned editorial, press releases, press kits, C – All non-broadcast digital and online media, plus Retail and POS (showrooms, events etc). REGION: EU. COPYRIGHT AND IMAGE RIGHTS: This content is solely for editorial use and for providing individual users with information. Any storage in databases, or any distribution to third parties within the scope of commercial use, or for commercial use is permitted with written consent from Ford of Europe GmbH only.
- First E-Transit models ready to ship from Ford Otosan’s Gölcük plant in Kocaeli, Turkey to help Ford Pro satisfy strong customer demand to electrify European fleets. LICENSE EXPIRES: In perpetuity. LICENSE BY: Ford Otosan. LICENSE SCOPE: A – Earned editorial, press releases, press kits, C – All non-broadcast digital and online media, plus Retail and POS (showrooms, events etc). REGION: EU. COPYRIGHT AND IMAGE RIGHTS: This content is solely for editorial use and for providing individual users with information. Any storage in databases, or any distribution to third parties within the scope of commercial use, or for commercial use is permitted with written consent from Ford of Europe GmbH only.
“Ford Otosan’s Kocaeli plant is the heart of Transit production in Europe, and this celebration of E-Transit manufacturing starts the electrified next chapter in our already strong partnership,” Ford Pro’s General Manager of Europe, Hans Schep, said. “This is the first step in a transformation of the Kocaeli site, which will see it become a major center for electric commercial vehicle manufacturing in Europe.”
Ford already had a notable base established for the E-Transit, as the gas version of the car is the world’s best-selling cargo van. The electrified version of the van “spearheads the launch of Ford Pro in the region; this new business offers customers a comprehensive suite of software, charging, servicing, and financing solutions fully integrated into a portfolio of world-class gas and electric vehicles to help improve productivity and uptime, lower costs, and facilitate access to everything operators need on one platform built for the electric and digital age,” Ford said.
- First E-Transit models ready to ship from Ford Otosan’s Gölcük plant in Kocaeli, Turkey to help Ford Pro satisfy strong customer demand to electrify European fleets. LICENSE EXPIRES: In perpetuity. LICENSE BY: Ford Otosan. LICENSE SCOPE: A – Earned editorial, press releases, press kits, C – All non-broadcast digital and online media, plus Retail and POS (showrooms, events etc). REGION: EU. COPYRIGHT AND IMAGE RIGHTS: This content is solely for editorial use and for providing individual users with information. Any storage in databases, or any distribution to third parties within the scope of commercial use, or for commercial use is permitted with written consent from Ford of Europe GmbH only.
- First E-Transit models ready to ship from Ford Otosan’s Gölcük plant in Kocaeli, Turkey to help Ford Pro satisfy strong customer demand to electrify European fleets. LICENSE EXPIRES: In perpetuity. LICENSE BY: Ford Otosan. LICENSE SCOPE: A – Earned editorial, press releases, press kits, C – All non-broadcast digital and online media, plus Retail and POS (showrooms, events etc). REGION: EU. COPYRIGHT AND IMAGE RIGHTS: This content is solely for editorial use and for providing individual users with information. Any storage in databases, or any distribution to third parties within the scope of commercial use, or for commercial use is permitted with written consent from Ford of Europe GmbH only.
“Production of E-Transit in our Kocaeli plant, where the electricity is supplied with 100 percent renewable energy, is a source of pride for us and another turning point in our increasing role in Ford’s electrification strategy,” GM of Ford’s Otosan Plant, Güven Özyurt, said. “We believe that electrification of the legendary Transit model is a major development and an important step for making Ford Otosan the production base of Ford electrified commercial vehicles.”
Ford’s Commercial Transition to EVs
Ford’s Otosan Plant is receiving an additional €2 billion investment from the automaker to complement the rise in electrification. Ford plans to use the funds to help the plant supplement a massive hiring operation of 3,000 additional employees, who will help increase vehicle production capacity, including a next-gen Transit Custom model.
Recently announced partnerships with SK On Co., Ltd. and Koç Holding have Ford in a prime position to move all in on its electrified future in Europe. The three companies signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding that would bring one of the largest EV battery facilities in the European region. Production is intended to begin by mid-decade, and annual capacity is expected to be between 30 and 45 Gigawatt hours.
Additionally, Ford will launch four additional EV models to the Transit family by 2024.
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News
Tesla Full Self-Driving expands to another European country
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is heading to Czechia after the Czech Ministry of Transport recognised the Dutch RDW’s provisional type approval, making the country the seventh EU member state to clear the system for public roads. Tesla Europe announced on 21 September 2026 that “FSD Supervised is now approved in Czechia” and that rollout “will begin soon.”
The decision marks a notable reversal. Earlier in 2026, Prague had declined to automatically recognise the Netherlands’ April approval, citing concerns over speed-limit compliance, traffic-sign recognition and driver-attention monitoring, and arguing that a coordinated EU approach was preferable. Officials said months of expert review, talks with Tesla and other member states, and real-world data from countries already using the system resolved those issues.
🚨 Tesla FSD heading to Czechia 🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/mkzlM9QjrB
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 21, 2026
“Safety remains the top priority,” the ministry stated.
FSD Supervised remains a Level 2 driver-assistance system: the driver must stay engaged and is legally responsible. Eligible vehicles need AI4, the company’s most up-to-date hardware version. Tesla is expected to push the feature over the air in the coming days, following the pattern seen after earlier national approvals.
Europe’s rollout began when Dutch regulator RDW issued a provisional EU type approval on 10 April 2026 after extensive testing. Mutual recognition then produced a rapid cascade: Lithuania (20 May), Estonia (29 May), Denmark (9 June), Belgium (10 June) and Slovenia (7 September). Czechia now completes that list of seven.
The approvals cover only a modest share of the EU population, but they add political weight ahead of a 6 October vote by the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles. A qualified majority, at least 15 of 27 member states representing 65 percent of the EU population, could open the remaining markets, including large ones such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain that have so far preferred to wait for a bloc-wide decision.
For Czech Tesla owners, the immediate prize is access to the same supervised highway and city driving already available in the other six countries. For Tesla, each new market generates additional European driving data and strengthens the case that FSD Supervised can operate safely under the continent’s varied road rules. The Czech approval is therefore both a local milestone and another incremental step toward a wider European launch.
News
Tesla Roadster event requires restricted airspace, and the FAA obliges
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established a Temporary Flight Restriction over SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas, rocket development and test facility, a move widely viewed as preparation for Tesla’s October 1 Roadster reveal. The restriction took effect September 18 and runs through October 2.
NOTAM FDC 6/3825 covers a 1.5-nautical-mile radius around the site near Waco and extends from the surface to 10,000 feet above ground level. The FAA cited hazards under 14 CFR 91.137(a)(3) and barred aircraft and drones from the zone. Tesla’s invitation to reservation holders already placed the event in Waco, about 20 minutes from McGregor, making the timing and location more than coincidental.
A TFR has appeared around SpaceX’s McGregor Testing Site up to 10,000ft and runs through until the 2nd of October 👀 pic.twitter.com/rcZ4p4JkLm
— Niall Anderson (@INiallAnderson) September 18, 2026
What stands out is the altitude. Typical recent TFRs at McGregor for engine static fires and component tests have used far lower ceilings, often around 2,000 feet. Raising the limit to 10,000 feet is unusually high even compared with some Starbase restrictions and signals operations that go beyond a standard ground-level engine test.
That extra airspace has fueled speculation about the long-promised SpaceX Package for the Roadster. Elon Musk has described cold-gas thrusters that could deliver sub-one-second 0-60 times and, more dramatically, brief lift-off. Reports earlier this year indicated Tesla planned a remote-controlled demonstration at McGregor in which the car would leave the ground with no one inside; spectators kept hundreds of yards away because of the noise.
The 10,000-foot envelope would give operators a large safety buffer even if the vehicle only hovers a short distance.
Tesla has not confirmed a flight demo. The company has only used the phrase “Go for launch” and posted a teaser image of the car on what looks like a launch pad. The TFR itself mentions only hazards. Still, closing airspace this high and this close to the reveal date strongly suggests the event will include more than a static display.
Whether the Roadster actually hovers on October 1 remains to be seen. What is certain is that the FAA has cleared a large vertical slice of Texas sky for whatever Tesla and SpaceX intend to show. Reservation holders heading to Waco will be among the first to find out if the car can do more than drive.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk drops a surprise update on Boring Company’s next big dig
Musk says Boring Company could shrink the Austin to San Antonio drive to just minutes.
Elon Musk says The Boring Company is working on what he called “a simple, precursor Hyperloop” tunnel connecting Austin and San Antonio, targeting speeds above 200 mph and cutting a drive that can take up to two and a half hours down to a consistent under 30 minutes. Musk posted the idea on X Sunday, in a reply to a repost of an AI generated video imagining a science fiction future with human colonies on other worlds, which he shared with the line “This is the future we shall bring into being.”
This is the future we shall bring into being pic.twitter.com/8aD0w8MDVc
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 20, 2026
The Boring Company’s own account picked up the idea in the same thread, adding a detail about how the trip would actually work: “Because Loop/Hyperloop is express (i.e. no intermediate stops), one could travel from an Austin parking lot to a favorite San Antonio restaurant in about 30 minutes. As long as they both have Loop stations.” That framing ties the proposed intercity link to the same station model the company already runs in Las Vegas, where riders enter the tunnel network through small, garage style stops rather than one central terminal.
This is not the company’s first run at the Austin to San Antonio corridor. Boring Company floated tunnels between the two cities as far back as 2021, and later competed for a separate San Antonio Loop project tied to the airport before that specific bid stalled. Pitches for tunnels in Chicago, Los Angeles, and a New York to Washington corridor have followed a similar pattern of big announcement without a shovel in the ground.
What is different this time is the balance sheet, especially since The Boring Company closed a 3 billion dollar funding round led by investors in the United Arab Emirates earlier this month at a valuation near 23 billion dollars, giving the tunneling company more capital to chase speculative projects than it had during its earlier Texas pitches. The company is also mid-build on two other intercity systems it has actually broken ground on, inc;luding a Nashville tunnel linking downtown to the airport, where a second boring machine finished commissioning in June, and its Las Vegas network, where the station count keeps climbing on paper faster than tunnels get dug.
That gap between announcement and execution is the reason to treat Sunday’s post as an opening bid rather than a project. A tunnel spanning roughly 80 miles between two metro areas, running at speeds Boring Company has not demonstrated over any real distance, would dwarf anything the company has built. For now, the Austin to San Antonio Hyperloop exists as a caption under an AI generated space video.



