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Other automakers follow Tesla into rare earth metal-free powertrains

Credit: Tesla Manufacturing/X

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Tesla and others are looking to end the use of rare earth metals in future electric vehicle (EV) motors, with U.S., European and Japanese automakers all considering the move to help reduce reliance on China.

During the company’s Investor Day event earlier this year, Tesla’s Vice President of Powertrain Engineering Colin Campbell announced that the company’s next-generation powertrain would include a permanent magnet motor with zero rare earth metals. Automakers including General Motors (GM), Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Nissan and more, along with the supplier BorgWarner, are all developing, researching or have already created motors with low- or zero-rare earth materials, according to a recent report from Reuters.

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Nissan has taken its attempts further than previously reported in the development of new magnet-free externally excited synchronous machine (EESM) motors, which utilize an electrical current to create a magnetic field. Eventually, the Japanese automaker plans to phase out the use of rare earth metals entirely through EESM development and the use of permanent magnet motors. Nissan also currently utilizes an EESM motor in the Ariya crossover.

“This is an important contribution to making us a little more independent of China,” said Otmar Scharrer, CTO of German supplier ZF.

ZF has created an EESM motor that Scharrer said offers similar performance and overall size to those in permanent magnet motors.

Currently, the processing and mining of the 17 minerals known as rare earth metals are dominated by China, and many have sounded the alarm on relying too heavily on the country — especially after the government announced a recent export ban of gallium and graphite, both of which are crucial for EV production.

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There are also sustainability reasons to move away from the use of these minerals, along with those related to bolstering the home supply chains of individual markets. Other rare earth materials like neodymium and dysprosium require the use of solvents and generate toxic waste, opposing current environmental standards and goals.

Detroit-based company Drive System Design is working on motors free of rare earth metals with three different automakers, and the firm’s Director of Engineering Business Development, Ben Chiswick, also highlights the environmental benefits of the shift.

“If you get it right, you’ve got a much more sustainable product,” Chaswick said.

BMW has reportedly conducted several years of research into motors without rare earth materials.

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“It was not a home run… but it works very well without rare earths,” said Uwe Deuke, BMW’s lead engineer for the EESM motor being developed for its next-generation vehicle.

Even automakers that aren’t phasing out rare earths entirely are reducing their content dramatically in upcoming EV designs. Mercedes-Benz, for example, will use almost no heavy rare earth materials in its next-generation EV, although it will still be a permanent magnet motor using a small amount of the minerals.

Tesla lithium refinery to start production in Q1 2024

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Honda gives up on all-EV future: ‘Not realistic’

Mibe believes the demand for its gas vehicles is certainly strong enough and has changed “beyond expectations.” As many drivers went for EVs a few years back, hybrids are becoming more popular for consumers as they offer the best of both worlds.

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honda logo with red paint
Ivan Radic, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Honda has given up on a previous plan to completely changeover to EVs by 2040, a new report states. The company’s CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, said that the idea is “not realistic.”

Mibe believes the demand for its gas vehicles is certainly strong enough and has changed “beyond expectations.” As many drivers went for EVs a few years back, hybrids are becoming more popular for consumers as they offer the best of both worlds.

Mibe said (via Motor1):

“Because of the uncertainty in the business environment and also the customer demand, is changing beyond our expectation and, therefore, we have judged that it’ll be difficult to achieve. That ratio [100-percent electric in 2040] is not realistic as of now. We have withdrawn this target.”

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Instead of going all-electric, Honda still wants to oblige by its hopes to be net carbon neutral by 2050. It will do this by focusing on those popular hybrid powertrains, planning to launch 15 of them by March 2030.

Honda will invest 4.4 trillion yen, or almost $28 billion, to build hybrid powertrains built around four and six-cylinder gas engines.

There are so many companies abandoning their all-electric ambitions or even slowing their roll on building them so quickly. Ford, General Motors, Mercedes, and Nissan have all retreated from aggressive EV targets by either cancelling, delaying, or pausing the development of electric models.

Hyundai’s 2030 targets rely on mixed offerings of electric, hybrid & hydrogen vehicles

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Early-decade pledges from multiple brands proved overly ambitious as infrastructure lags, battery costs remain high in some markets, and many buyers prefer hybrids for their convenience and range. Toyota has long championed hybrids, while others have quietly extended internal-combustion timelines.

For Honda—historically known for reliable gasoline engines—this shift leverages its core strengths while buying time to refine electric technology. Whether the hybrid-heavy strategy will protect market share in an increasingly competitive landscape remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the gas engine is far from dead at Honda, unfortunately.

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Delta Airlines rejects Starlink, and the reason will probably shock you

In a pointed exchange on X, Elon Musk defended SpaceX’s uncompromising approach to Starlink’s in-flight internet service, explaining why Delta Air Lines walked away from a deal.

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Delta Airlines Airbus photographed April 2024 Delta-owned. No expiration date, unrestricted use.

SpaceX frontman Elon Musk explained on Wednesday why commercial airline Delta got cold feet over offering Starlink for stable internet on its flights — and the reason will probably shock you.

In a pointed exchange on X, Elon Musk defended SpaceX’s uncompromising approach to Starlink’s in-flight internet service, explaining why Delta Air Lines walked away from a deal.

Delta rejected Starlink because it insisted on routing all connectivity through its branded “Delta Sync” portal rather than allowing a simple Starlink experience.

Instead, the airline partnered with Amazon’s Project Kuiper—rebranded as Amazon Leo—for high-speed Wi-Fi on up to 500 aircraft, with rollout targeted for 2028. At the time of the announcement, Kuiper had roughly 300 satellites in orbit, while Starlink operated more than 10,400.

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The use of the “Delta Sync” portal would not work for SpaceX, as Musk went on to say that:

“SpaceX requires that there be no annoying ‘portal’ to use Starlink. Starlink WiFi must just work effortlessly every time, as though you were at home. Delta wanted to make it painful, difficult and expensive for their customers. Hard to see how that is a winning strategy.”

Musk doubled down in a follow-up post:

“Yes, SpaceX deliberately accepted lower revenue deals with airlines in exchange for making Starlink super easy to use and available to all passengers.”

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SpaceX has structured its airline agreements to prioritize zero-friction access—no captive portals, no SkyMiles logins, no paywalls or ads blocking basic connectivity.

While this means forgoing higher-margin deals that would let carriers monetize the service more aggressively, it ensures Starlink feels like home broadband at 35,000 feet. Passengers on partner airlines such as United, Qatar Airways, and Air France have already praised the service for enabling seamless video calls, streaming, and work mid-flight without interruptions.

Delta’s choice reflects a different philosophy. By keeping Wi-Fi behind its Delta Sync ecosystem, the airline aims to drive loyalty program engagement and control the digital passenger journey. Yet, critics argue this short-term control comes at the expense of immediate competitiveness.

Airlines already installing Starlink are pulling ahead in customer satisfaction surveys, while Delta passengers face years of reliance on slower, legacy systems until Leo launches.

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SpaceX’s decision to trade revenue for simplicity will pay off in the longer term, as Starlink is already positioning itself as the default high-speed option for carriers that value passenger satisfaction over incremental fees.

Musk’s focus on creating not only a great service but also a reasonable user experience highlights SpaceX’s prowess with Starlink as it continues to expand across new partners and regions.

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Tesla gathers 93,000 FSD miles in a country where FSD isn’t approved – here’s how

Tesla has quietly logged an impressive 93,000 miles (roughly 150,000 km) of autonomous driving at its Giga Berlin factory—using Full Self-Driving (FSD) in a country where the technology remains unavailable to consumers on public roads.

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Credit: Tesla AI | X

Tesla has gathered 93,000 Full Self-Driving miles in a country where Full Self-Driving is not even approved. Here’s how.

Tesla has quietly logged an impressive 93,000 miles (roughly 150,000 km) of autonomous driving at its Giga Berlin factory—using Full Self-Driving (FSD) in a country where the technology remains unavailable to consumers on public roads.

The milestone, revealed alongside news that Giga Berlin has now built 750,000 Model Y vehicles, highlights how Tesla is putting its AI to work in one of the most controlled environments imaginable: it’s own factory floor.

Every Model Y that rolls off the final assembly line at Giga Berlin doesn’t need a human driver to reach the outbound lot. Instead, the freshly built vehicles engage FSD and navigate themselves across the factory campus.

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The route—from the end of the production line through marked internal pathways to the staging area where cars await delivery or export—is entirely on private property. No public roads, no mixed traffic, and no regulatory hurdles for on-road autonomous operation.

It’s a closed-loop system: wide lanes, predictable layouts, minimal pedestrians, and consistent conditions that make it one of the simplest proving grounds for the software.

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A short factory tour video shared by Tesla Manufacturing shows General Assembly team member Jan explaining the process. Gesturing beside a glossy black Model Y still wearing its protective wrap, he notes the cumulative distance the fleet has covered autonomously.

Tesla Giga Berlin seems to be using FSD Unsupervised to move Model Y units

The cars handle the short drive flawlessly, freeing up workers who would otherwise spend hours shuttling vehicles manually. For a high-volume plant like Giga Berlin, the time and labor savings add up quickly. Even small gains in cycle time per car can reclaim valuable space in the outbound lot and streamline logistics.

This internal deployment serves multiple purposes. First, it delivers zero-cost validation data. Each factory run exposes FSD to real-world physics—acceleration, steering precision, obstacle avoidance—in a repeatable setting far safer than public testing.

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Second, it demonstrates the system’s readiness at scale. If FSD can reliably move thousands of brand-new cars without intervention inside a busy factory, it underscores the robustness of the vision-based, end-to-end neural network Tesla has been refining.

Critics often point to Europe’s cautious regulatory stance on unsupervised autonomy, yet Tesla has turned that limitation into an advantage. While owners in Germany still cannot activate consumer FSD on highways or city streets, the software is already proving its worth behind the factory gates.

The 93,000 miles represent not just internal efficiency gains but a subtle flex: the cars are manufactured ready to navigate autonomously, at least in the bounds of the factory. It’s a big feather in the cap of FSD, even if regulators have yet to green-light broader use.

As Giga Berlin continues ramping output, expect this autonomous logistics loop to grow. What began as a practical workaround for moving finished vehicles has quietly become one of the most compelling real-world showcases of FSD’s potential—right in the heart of regulated Europe. Tesla isn’t waiting for approval to perfect its autonomy; it’s already driving the future, one factory mile at a time.

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