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Nissan entangled in falsified emissions and fuel economy data scandal in Japan plants
Nissan Motor has admitted that an internal review has revealed falsified emissions testing data in most of its factories in Japan. The Asian country’s third-largest carmaker has not announced how many of its vehicles were involved in the controversy, though the company stated that inspectors used “altered measurement values” on emissions inspection reports.
In a statement on Monday, Nissan noted that the tests conducted on its vehicles “deviated from the prescribed testing environment.” Nissan, however, believes that all of its car models except the Nissan GT-R — the company’s flagship sports car — complied with safety standards in Japan. Nissan’s statement further noted that the falsification problems did not affect fuel-economy findings.
Nissan has assured the public and its investors that investigations are now underway. The carmaker also stated that it had retained Nishimura & Asahi, a prominent Japanese law firm, to lead the investigation. Nevertheless, Nissan’s disclosure comes as the latest blow to the Japanese carmaker. Last October, after all, Nissan was faced with controversy after it was forced to stop the operations in its Japanese factories and recall 1.2 million of its cars after it was revealed that vehicle inspections in its facilities had been conducted by uncertified technicians.
For now, Nissan’s current emissions problems are still a far cry from the scope of Volkswagen’s Dieselgate scandal, which resulted in a $25 billion fine to the German legacy carmaker. Nissan’s current emissions issues, if any, seem to be caused by the company’s mismanagement of its facilities and its workforce. Based on what Nissan has revealed so far, it appears that the company’s falsified emissions data were at least not the results of a deliberate effort.
Volkswagen, on the other hand, admitted to intentionally writing software to cheat emissions tests. From 2006 to September 2015, Volkswagen promoted its cars in the United States as “Clean Diesel” vehicles. Over that time, about 580,000 sedans, SUVs, and crossovers were sold by Volkswagen in the US under its flagship VW badge, as well as under its Audi, and Porsche brands. As the scandal broke, however, it was revealed that the exhaust control equipment in Volkswagen’s diesel vehicles was programmed to shut off as soon as the cars were off regulators’ tests.
Volkswagen initially attempted to shift the blame on a group of rogue engineers for Dieselgate, before quietly backing away from the claim. On December 2017, Volkswagen engineer Oliver Schmidt was sentenced to 7 years in prison on a Detroit court for his part in the scandal. Earlier this year, the United States Justice Department also indicted former Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn on four felony charges.
While Nissan could be sitting on what could be a scandal that could be the biggest in its history, the Japanese carmaker is a least handling its ongoing problems a lot better than Volkswagen. If Nissan could nip its emissions scandal at this point, it could at least rest assure that it merely made a sin of inadvertent omission — significantly different than its German counterpart’s sin of deliberate commission.
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Featured
Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss
Nevada granted Tesla’s robotaxi permit, but capped the fleet at just ten vehicles for now.
Tesla has received its robotaxi permit in Nevada, more than two months after regulators closed the public comment period on the company’s application. News of the approval surfaced Wednesday night when Tesla investor and longtime company watcher Sawyer Merritt posted a copy of the interim order, and the Nevada Transportation Authority’s own carrier registry now lists the permit, AVNC Permit 002 under Docket 26-05015, as active for Tesla Robotaxi, LLC.
Tesla asked Nevada in June for authority to run up to 5,000 vehicles in Clark County within a year, however the permit the NTA issued is initially capping Tesla at ten fully autonomous vehicles and confines them to a defined geofence along the Las Vegas Strip corridor. Any expansion of that operating area, or any increase to the fleet size, requires the NTA’s approval first.
Tesla has received its Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit in Nevada.
The Nevada Transportation Authority says that operations are limited to a maximum fleet of 10 fully autonomous vehicles and shall be conducted only within the Authority-approved Operational Design… https://t.co/Cxfd6GIfDk pic.twitter.com/iOO6wSZkHF
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 13, 2026
The order also sets rules that look more restrictive than what Tesla runs in Austin. Rides are barred on roads with posted speed limits above 45 miles per hour, pickups are off limits within a quarter mile of Harry Reid International Airport without separate authorization, and every vehicle has to carry visible “Robotaxi” markings while notifying riders before each trip that no one is driving. The order also requires “appropriate human supervision”, language that suggests Nevada isn’t ready to let Tesla offer the rides without a safety monitor that it has run in parts of Austin since January. As with standard protocol with robotaxi services, Tesla must report any accident, system failure, or vehicle that becomes stranded on a Nevada road within five business days.
Tesla is entering a market Nevada already knows well. Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi company, has run its own autonomous vehicle permit in the state since last year, building up to roughly 100 vehicles and 350,000 rides along the Strip. That history likely explains why the NTA started Tesla at ten cars rather than the fleet size the company asked for. The agency has a template for scaling a permit up once a company proves out its safety record.
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Tesla’s Nevada application first surfaced in June, when the company filed for the permit alongside plans for a maintenance hub in southwest Las Vegas. The company has said it won’t meaningfully scale its robotaxi fleet anywhere until FSD v15 ships, expected in late 2026 or early 2027, which makes the ten vehicle cap less of a constraint today than it might look on paper. For now, Tesla has the legal right to start Nevada rides. Whether it starts before FSD v15 arrives is a separate question the permit doesn’t answer.
Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
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Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
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Elon Musk continues to tease the unveiling event for the Tesla Roadster, a continuing trend that has grown into a bigger game of “When” for fans who have been waiting years for the car to finally enter production.
A video shared on X of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that Musk appeared on last year, teasing the Roadster unveiling, was shared once again on the social media platform. The poster said the Roadster event will be “unforgettable.”
Musk agreed:
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2026
The timing is interesting because just yesterday, Musk said that we will be getting flying cars, and for years, Tesla has hinted that it could develop a SpaceX cold gas thruster package that would help the car float or fly for a short period of time.
It would be reasonable to assume Tesla’s major delays with this unveiling event are likely caused by the company’s need to break the rules and push the envelope on nearly everything. Last July, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, said:
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“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind blowing. We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on and he got a little excited.”
The latest updates that Tesla has given us are that the Roadster is in design development, and it did have several potential dates for an unveiling event this year, including April. It was then pushed to August.
However, there are no clues as to when Tesla will be ready, and fans are certainly getting frustrated with the delays.
For what it is worth, Franz von Holzhausen told Jay Leno this week that the event would be “very soon.”
We sure hope.
Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss
Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup
