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Herbert Diess bids farewell to Volkswagen on his final day as CEO

Credit: Herbert Diess | LinkedIn

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Herbert Diess will officially resign from his post as Chairman of the Board of Management and CEO of the Volkswagen Group at the end of today.

“Today’s my last day as CEO of Volkswagen and I would like to use the opportunity to say thank you again,” Diess said. “These were the most rewarding seven years of my career. The future of our industry can be brilliant but we have to change fast. Volkswagen has already changed tremendously and is well underway.”

Diess effectively led the charge in Volkswagen’s electrification efforts, pushing the German automaker to transition past its cloudy past that involved the Dieselgate scandal, a controversy that saw the company use cheat devices during emissions testing. Knowing the company’s reputation and future were at stake, Diess pushed VW to focus on EVs, which has led to the automaker being recognized as Number 2 in the industry by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The company’s ID. platform of vehicles has quickly become one of the best-selling on Earth. The ID.4 outsold the Tesla Model 3 in July, CleanTechnica data shows.

“We have transformed the company that was seen as an autocratic cheat into a global thought leader in clean mobility,” Diess said, based on comments he received from VW fans after announcing his departure.

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“I am grateful to all stakeholders and to all employees for having had the opportunity to steer the company through partially rough waters but with a clear direction: let’s shape mobility for generations to come,” Diess continued in his farewell post.

Diess started to feel pushback from the VW Board in 2021 when he warned that a slow transition to electric vehicles could cost 30,000 employees their jobs. This was considered an unfounded comment by Volkswagen’s labor union, and Diess was put in front of a rare mediation committee, where he was punished internally. Diess eventually said job reduction was not a focus of Volkswagen’s but remaining competitive, and keeping pace with Tesla, was.

Volkswagen eventually scaled the responsibilities Diess had as AG CEO back due to his comments.

However, it seemed that the damage had been done, and the relationship could not be salvaged. In late July, German media outlet n-tv reported that Diess and Volkswagen had decided his time with the company would come to an end in late August. Oliver Blume, the current head of VW brand Porsche, is set to take the title of VW AG CEO, replacing Diess effective immediately.

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“Thank you all for your trust and feedback. Under the leadership of Oliver and a stronger than ever team of board members, I am convinced the company will remain in a leading position for as long as I can foresee,” Diess said.

Diess said that, since announcing his departure from VW, he has received positive feedback on what his work proved to do for the automaker. “You‘ve transformed Volkswagen into a thought leader in clean mobility,” one LinkedIn user told him. It is the only compliment that Diess mentioned, so he seems exceptionally proud of the work he has done, and let’s be honest, he should be.

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.

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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 FSD (Supervised) could be approved in the Netherlands next month: Musk

Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that Full Self-Driving (FSD) could receive regulatory approval in the Netherlands as soon as March 20, potentially marking a major step forward for Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance rollout in Europe.

Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin, noting that the date was provided by local authorities.

“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told,” Musk stated

“Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive.”

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Tesla’s FSD system relies on vision-based neural networks trained on real-world driving data, allowing vehicles to navigate using cameras and AI rather than traditional sensor-heavy solutions. 

The performance of FSD Supervised has so far been impressive. As per Tesla’s safety report, Full Self-Driving Supervised has already traveled 8.3 billion miles. So far, vehicles operating with FSD Supervised engaged recorded one major collision every 5,300,676 miles. 

In comparison, Teslas driven manually with Active Safety systems recorded one major collision every 2,175,763 miles, while Teslas driven manually without Active Safety recorded one major collision every 855,132 miles. The U.S. average during the same period was one major collision every 660,164 miles.

If approval is granted on March 20, the Netherlands could become the first European market to greenlight Tesla’s latest supervised FSD (Supervised) software under updated regulatory frameworks. Tesla has been working to secure expanded FSD access across Europe, where regulatory standards differ significantly from those in the United States. Approval in the Netherlands would likely serve as a foundation for broader EU adoption, though additional country-level clearances may still be required.

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Elon Musk estimates Tesla Semi could reach Europe next year

“We’ve got the Tesla Semi coming out, the heavy truck, and that’ll be going to Europe hopefully next year,” Musk said.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is preparing to expand its all-electric Semi truck program to Europe, with CEO Elon Musk indicating that the Class 8 vehicle could arrive in the region 2027.

Musk shared his update during an interview about Giga Berlin with plant manager André Thierig, which was posted on X by the official Tesla Manufacturing account.

“We’ve got the Tesla Semi coming out, the heavy truck, and that’ll be going to Europe hopefully next year,” he said.

Tesla has already begun limited production and customer deployments of the Tesla Semi in the United States, with the company working to scale output through the Semi factory near Giga Nevada. Considering Musk’s comments, it appears that a European rollout would be the next phase of the vehicle’s expansion beyond North America.

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Musk’s use of the word “hopefully” leaves room for flexibility, but the remark signals that Europe is next in Tesla’s commercial expansion plans.

Musk has consistently argued that electrification should extend beyond passenger vehicles. During the same interview, he reiterated his view that “all ground transport should be electric,” adding that ships, and eventually aircraft, would follow.

The Semi plays a central role in that strategy. Heavy-duty freight remains one of the most emissions-intensive segments of road transport, and European regulators have increasingly pushed for lower-emission commercial fleets. 

Tesla recently refreshed the Semi lineup on its official website, listing two variants: Standard and Long Range. The Standard trim offers up to 325 miles of range with an energy consumption rating of 1.7 kWh per mile, while the Long Range version provides up to 500 miles, which should be more than ample for European routes.

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Tesla Cybercab coming next to Giga Berlin, Optimus possibly after

“From a next major product standpoint, I think most likely is the Tesla Cybercab,” Musk said.

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Credit: Cybercab

Tesla could add the Cybercab and Optimus humanoid robot to the production lineup at Giga Berlin, as per recent comments from CEO Elon Musk. 

During a recent interview with Giga Berlin plant manager André Thierig, Musk identified the Cybercab as the most likely next major product for the German factory, with Optimus potentially following after.

“From a next major product standpoint, I think most likely is the Tesla Cybercab,” Musk said. He added that there are also “possibilities of Tesla Optimus” being produced in the facility.

Tesla has already begun production of the Cybercab in Giga Texas, with volume production expected to ramp this year. Based on Musk’s comments, it appears that if conditions align in Europe, Giga Berlin could eventually join that effort.

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The CEO’s comments about Optimus coming to Gigafactory Berlin are quite unsurprising too considering that Musk has mentioned in the past that the humanoid robot will likely be Tesla’s highest volume product in the long run. 

Giga Berlin will likely be able to produce mass volumes of Optimus, as the Model S and Model X lines being converted to an Optimus line in the Fremont Factory are already expected to produce 1 million units of the humanoid robot annually. 

Apart from his comments about the Cybercab and Optimus, Elon Musk also confirmed that Giga Berlin has started ramping battery cell production and will continue expanding Model Y output, particularly as supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) gains regulatory approvals in Europe.

Taken together, the remarks suggest Berlin’s role could evolve beyond vehicle assembly into a broader multi-product manufacturing hub, not just a regional Model Y plant.

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