News
NIO sets its sights on overtaking Tesla in China
One of the latest electric car companies looking to challenge Tesla’s dominance has made known its intentions of overtaking the Silicon Valley car manufacturer in China’s luxury auto market. In a recent 60 Minutes interview, founder and CEO William Li described plans for NIO, his Chinese EV startup company to capture Tesla’s upper-middle class audience in the country, ultimately moving on to position its products as highly desired status symbols. With potentially 50% of the worldwide electric car market soon to be located in China, NIO’s ambitions are certainly poised in a promising direction, and their native knowledge of their customer market just may help give them the edge they’re seeking.
NIO’s strategy to appeal to the EV customer market is similar to Tesla’s in several ways and has earned it the nickname “Tesla of China.” The Chinese auto maker currently sells two high-performance SUVs, the ES6 and the ES8, both of which have an advanced autonomous driving system (not yet in operation) and an on-board pilot system. These, of course, are all features enjoyed by current Tesla drivers in Tesla’s own flavor, and with one look at NIO’s vehicles’ large center console control screen, it’s clear which auto maker’s customer base NIO is targeting. A phone app is incorporated into the NIO ownership experience, providing basic car services like roadside assistance and maintenance scheduling (as well as several other features). Customers can also purchase NIO vehicles via the app, similar to Tesla’s sales model. While significant commonalities exist between the two car makers, NIO has significant unique offerings as well.
-
- NIO’s ES6 electric SUV interior. | Credit: NIO
-
- NIO’s ES6 electric SUV command panel. | Credit: NIO
-
- NIO’s ES6 electric SUV. | Credit: NIO
-
- The NIO ES6 electric SUV. | Credit: NIO
-
- The NIO ES8 electric SUV. (Credit: NIO)
Owning a Tesla certainly comes with an incorporated sense of community, but NIO seeks to expand on that concept, eventually transforming its brand into a symbol of social standing by connecting customers with one another. The car maker presents itself as a lifestyle company, offering membership in exclusive NIO-owner-only clubs called NIO Houses with regular social activities and perks one might see at, say, a country or yacht club in the US – classes, meeting rooms, etc. The customer app also connects users to an entire social network of other owners – a bit beyond basic Internet forums.
NIO has further padded its ‘lifestyle’ perception with first-of-its-kind battery swapping technology, allowing customers to switch out their drained car batteries for fully charged ones via an automated system that’s faster than refueling at a gas station, saving time. Also, a mobile charging subscription service is an owner option, wherein NIO company vehicles travel to the vehicle’s location to supply it with power on request. Along with customer-oriented charging services and community perks, subscription packages offering free repairs and maintenance (with valet pickup/delivery options), cellular data boosts, car washing, airport parking, and several others all foster a lifestyle for NIO customers that’s only available via vehicle ownership.
For about $60,000 (before tax breaks and subsidies), a customer in China can own one of NIO’s two all-electric SUVs. The company’s flagship SUV, the ES8, is all-wheel drive, uses two 240 kW motors, and has a swappable 70 kWh/84 kWh battery. Impressively, it also has a 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) time of 4.4 seconds. The newly released ES6 uses dual 160 kW high efficiency or 240 kW high performance motors with a swappable 70 kWh/84 kWh battery. The 0-100 km/h time is 4.7 seconds.
One of the major factors in NIO’s favor (as well as any electric car maker in the country) is the Chinese government’s major push to bring electric vehicles to the country’s roads. With air pollution a problem literally looming over the heads of major city populations, China’s leadership has maneuvered its tax system to provide major incentives for EV purchases to address the dirty air situation via clean energy. In Shanghai, for example, the $12,000+ license fee required to purchase a car in the city is waived if it’s electric. Additionally, several Chinese cities offer thousands of dollars in rebates for EV purchases.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has experienced this motivated government favoritism first hand with a sped up permit and construction process for Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai. As an established EV maker and leader in the EV revolution, paving the way for Tesla to have a major presence in China is in line with the leadership’s desires for market transformation. As described in the 60 Minutes segment, hundreds of native electric vehicle companies have also popped up as a result of incentive efforts, all hoping to achieve major success with government backing. NIO hopes to cut through the competition with its lifestyle branding.
-
- NIO’s ES6 electric SUV command panel. | Credit: NIO
-
- NIO’s ES8 electric SUV command panel. | Credit: NIO
-
- NIO’s ES6 electric SUV. | Credit: NIO
-
- NIO’s AI personal assistant NOMI. | Credit: NIO
While Tesla may have entertainment features like TeslAtari and Easter eggs, NIO boasts its own unique fun feature: an artificial intelligence personal assistant named NOMI, touted by the company as the world’s first such in-car device. On the dashboard, a little sphere with digital eyes chats with vehicle passengers and interacts to provide music playlists, adjust cabin temperature, and even take selfies. NOMI seems to be inspired by other existing AI robot personal assistants like the personality-filled Vector Robot by Anki.
If you’re a fan of Amazon’s (hit) car show, The Grand Tour, you may have seen NIO’s EP9 supercar racer on display in the “Chinese Food for Thought” episode, driven by the crash-tested Richard Hammond demonstrating the car’s 1,341 brake horsepower. While not road legal, for the price of around $1.5 million dollars, owners of this insanely fast vehicle can enjoy a 0-125 mph acceleration of about 7 seconds and an octopus-like grip around track corners thanks to 5,395 pounds of downforce (2X the amount of Formula 1 cars). When it’s time to recharge the batteries, a full charge takes only 45 minutes; however, that’s where usability complications set in. The battery must be completely removed by a specialty team in order to recharge, something that just might be on hand to begin with since the vehicle is a track-only hobby car.
Last year, NIO achieved its goal of delivering 10,000 vehicles, all made-to-order. CEO Li expects to be able to ramp up production quickly in the coming years thanks to the Chinese manufacturing capabilities, and he eventually hopes to have NIO vehicles on the road in the United States. The company already has a presence in San Jose, California where its global software development center employs over 700 people.
In a final nod to Tesla similarities, NIO’s mission as an EV company is environmentally-involved. The Chinese name for the company is Weilai, meaning “Blue Sky Coming”, and it represents their guiding philosophy based on building a sustainable future with clean energy. Per their website, “When the ownership experience exceeds expectations, electric vehicles will simply become the natural choice for everyone, leading to a more sustainable tomorrow. With that, our vision of a blue sky will come true.”
Tesla Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, recently revealed the company has thought about introducing a Plaid powertrain on the Model 3, but there could be some challenges involved.
On the Ride the Lightning podcast, Moravy revealed that he thinks about a Plaid Model 3 “all the time,” and it certainly has a place in Tesla’s potential lineup of future vehicles.
Now that the Plaid powertrain is technically defunct due to the newfound absence of the Model S and Model X, Tesla could find a way to reintroduce the lightning-quick trim level to its mass-market vehicles.
But there are going to be some challenges with it. Moravy said that the Model 3 Plaid would likely adopt the carbon-sleeved motors that the Model S Plaid had. However, packaging would be a major challenge, as Moravy said on the podcast, it would be a “tight engineering squeeze.”
It’s important to note that there are no active production plans for the Model 3 Plaid at this point, but it’s also worth noting that with the Model S and Model X Plaid no longer available, Tesla would likely be willing to introduce something that is even more white-knuckle than the Model 3 Performance, which already boasts a 2.9-second 0-60 MPH acceleration rate and a top speed of 163 MPH.
Of course, there is the Roadster, but we don’t know when that will exactly make it to market, and we know that, for sure, it will not be accessible to many.
Tesla unveils juicy new detail on the Roadster and hints at new unveil timeline
Tesla has prided itself in building some of the best cars out there, but they’re also interested in building cars that are simply fun to be in.
A Plaid Model 3 could truly push the limits and could end up being one of the best cars Tesla will ever build, especially if it can shave off at least half of a second from its 0-60 MPH time and increase its top speed slightly.
More than anything, the real changes will be in the ride and aerodynamics. Tesla improving things like the suspension, handling, and downforce will be the true trademarks of its Plaid powertrain; putting it in the Model 3 could be a great move for the company and for customers interested in high-end performance.
Elon Musk
NASA’s first human outpost on the Moon starts now – SpaceX on deck
NASA named the rovers, landers, and vendors that will build America’s first Moon Base.
NASA has laid out its most detailed Moon Base plan to date, describing a permanent outpost near the Moon’s south pole that the agency intends to build over the coming decade as a direct stepping stone to Mars. “The Moon Base will be America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, adding that every mission crewed and uncrewed “will be a learning opportunity as we return to the lunar surface, build the infrastructure to stay, and master the skills required to live and operate in one of the most demanding and dangerous environments imaginable.”
The plan is structured in three phases involving both uncrewed and crewed missions to deliver equipment, vehicles, and infrastructure to the surface, with the first three moon base missions targeted to launch before the end of 2026.
Moon Base I, targeting fall 2026, will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to deliver scientific instruments to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge, the same region where Artemis astronauts will land. Moon Base II will send Astrobotic’s Griffin lander carrying more than 1,100 pounds of cargo including Astrolab’s FLIP rover to begin developing mobility systems on the surface. Moon Base III will carry the Lunar Vertex science mission on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lander to study lunar swirls near the south pole, with ESA and Korean science payloads aboard.
On the rover side, NASA awarded Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million to build the first phase of Lunar Terrain Vehicles, with both rovers targeted for deployment to the lunar surface by 2028. Astrolab’s crewed rover weighs roughly 2,000 pounds and can reach over 6 mph. Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus rover can operate autonomously or via remote control at over 9 mph. Blue Origin separately received $188 million with an option worth $280.4 million to deliver cargo landers for rover transport.
NASA also confirmed that MoonFall, a mission deploying four survey drones to scout Artemis landing sites, has selected Firefly Aerospace to build the transport spacecraft, with a 2028 launch target.
SpaceX sits at the center of that commercial layer. SpaceX holds the NASA Human Landing System contract for the Starship-derived lander that will put astronauts on the surface under Artemis IV, currently targeting 2028. Before that can happen, SpaceX must demonstrate in-orbit propellant transfer at scale, a process requiring multiple Starship tanker launches to fuel a single mission. Water ice at the lunar south pole is central to the base’s long-term viability, as it can be converted into drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket fuel, directly reducing dependence on Earth resupply. That resource loop becomes far more practical if Starship can land and be refueled on or near the Moon itself.
Elon Musk has publicly stated that Starship V3, which recently completed its first flight, should be capable enough for initial Mars missions. The Moon Base plan announced Tuesday is the infrastructure layer that connects everything between those two ambitions, and SpaceX is the only American company currently contracted to build the rocket that gets humans to either destination.
A new Tesla patent that has been granted to the company this week has revealed a potential strategy for solving a major issue that could impact both the Full Self-Driving suite and Optimus.
The patent, which is No. 12,636,684, describes a “Lens Cleaning System,” and was submitted by Tesla in May 2025.
The language in the patent details a lens cleaning system that can dispense fluid and wipe it away with a wiper assembly.
Optimus can see you now… 🤖👁️
The patent for @Tesla_Optimus‘s eye structure just dropped. $TSLA pic.twitter.com/Jac4VhDmKH
— SETI Park (@seti_park) May 26, 2026
This would effectively clean any debris that would potentially impact the visibility of the cameras on Tesla automobiles or Optimus’s camera eyes. Perhaps the most pertinent example is through the Full Self-Driving suite, as debris that can accumulate on the vehicle’s exterior cameras can impact the suite’s ability to operate effectively.
This requires a remedy through manual cleaning, but this patent hints that Tesla could be planning to implement this new technology on its upcoming vehicles.
Interestingly, we have started to see it on some Robotaxi vehicles, and it will likely be included in the Cybercab, especially as that vehicle will enable full autonomy.
Back in January, the first Model Y Robotaxi units were spotted with camera washers on the side repeaters, as the video below shows fluid squirting and rinsing off any debris that is limiting visibility.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
This hardware patent does bring up an interesting question for those of us who own Teslas with AI4 and have been told that our cars will one day be capable of full autonomy: Will this washer be available as a retrofit on already-built cars?
Perhaps the “Lens Cleaning System” patent is a good look at one way Tesla plans to combat one of the most obvious issues of autonomy that utilizes a camera-based system. For Optimus, it could be less needed as it could be manually cleaned by owners. For cars, it seems like a bigger necessity, especially as autonomy nears and Tesla gets close to launching a feature-complete FSD suite.
Tesla teases going Plaid Mode with the Model 3
NASA’s first human outpost on the Moon starts now – SpaceX on deck
