News
The Germans are coming for Tesla, or so it would seem
The top German car manufacturers, who have been slow to embrace the EV market, showcased the newest additions to their upcoming catalogs at the recent Paris Motor Show. Shall we say that the atmosphere was “electric?”
- Audi Q6 e-Tron, an all-electric SUV with a range of 500 kilometers, to be in showrooms in early 2018;
- Volkswagen I.D., pitched as having a powerful 168-horsepower engine, offering double the distance of a Tesla Model 3, yet costing about the same as a Golf, with delivery by 2020;
- Mercedes-Benz EQ, a plug-in electric, with a 2025 release date.
German newspaper, Handlesblatt, described these car maker entries into the EV market as “the Germans are coming for Tesla” due to their “unprecedented flurry of new e-car models, battery upgrades, and concept cars.”
That’s one way to look at it.
But there is another, and more pragmatic, point of view to consider about the Tesla/ German car maker competition. As traditional car companies, the major German car manufacturers have made money by selling traditional cars. While they purport to now embrace luxury electric vehicles, they are literally being dragged forward by Tesla’s successes, which few in the industry, particularly the German car manufacturers, ever thought would happen. Let’s look to 2016 alone to see Tesla’s dominant luxury car market trajectory.
- In early 2016, Bloomberg forecast that the Tesla Model 3 would outsell its competitors in the luxury market.
- Already, the Tesla Model X has captured 6% of the luxury market in the U.S., insulating the Tesla 2016 Q3 earnings report.
- And, probably most significantly, Peter Hochholdinger, Vice President of Vehicle Production for Tesla Motors and former Senior Director of Production at Audi for the A4, A5, and Q5 vehicles, says, “The cars we build are about seven years beyond everything I’ve seen before.”
The German car markers had little interest in electric cars until the Tesla Model S launched. That’s when they were able to examine the Tesla luxury four-door firsthand: they tore it apart. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the Tesla Model S was a huge shock to Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and especially Porsche, which was still preening with the success of its own four-door, speedy, and sporty Panamera. “The Porsche product team had to grapple with the appearance of an electric car, from a highly unlikely company, that was as fast, smoother, and equally as desirable as their prime offering.”
Up until recently, the U.S. has been the German luxury car makers’ strongest foreign market. However, the newer Tesla Model S has outsold every German luxury sedan, including the BMW 7 series and Mercedes-Benz’ venerable S-Class. Handlesblatt admits that “lately, sleek Teslas are even showing up on the autobahn and on the streets of Berlin. Worst of all, the established brands, once known for their market savvy and technological leadership, are starting to look old, grey and slow.”
It seems that Audi’s legendary advertising motto, Vorsprung durch Technik (advancement through technology) now refers to Silicon Valley, Tesla’s home base.
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
