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Polestar 4 has lowest lifespan carbon impact of automaker’s whole lineup

Credit: Polestar

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Polestar has just published its first Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the Polestar 4 electric crossover, which looks at how many lifespan carbon emissions a given vehicle is expected to produce. The assessment for the Polestar 4 notes that, upon launch, the vehicle has the lowest lifespan carbon impact of the company’s entire lineup.

The Polestar 4 single-motor Standard Range has a lifecycle carbon footprint of just 19.4 tons of CO2e at launch, according to results from the LCA as detailed in a press release on Wednesday. By comparison, the Long Range single- and dual-motor variants feature lifespan carbon impacts of 19.9tCO2e and 21.4tCO2e, respectively.

The single-motor configuration of the vehicle is set to be available in China as soon as this month, and it’s set to be produced at the Hangzhou Bay, China Geely SEA factory. The factory uses carbon-reducing measures such as solar roof panels, hydropower, low-carbon aluminum from smelters that also use hydropower, and more.

“To support our net zero goal, we set carbon budgets for all our cars,” said Fredrika Klarén, Polestar’s Head of Sustainability. “Throughout the product development of Polestar 4, its carbon budget has influenced everything from material choices to factory energy sources. Sharing the LCA enables us to show that we can strive for net zero – one ton of CO2e at a time.”

Polestar reaches 150,000 vehicle production milestone

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The announcement comes as part of Polestar’s larger Polestar 0 goal, which states an initiative to reach climate neutrality in production by 2030. The automaker plans to offer five performance electric vehicles (EVs) by 2026, and the Polestar 4 is the company’s third production car and is set to launch this month through early 2024.

Notably, Polestar says that aluminum makes up roughly 23 to 24 percent of the vehicles’ carbon footprints, although steer and iron comprise around 20 percent. Additionally, the automaker says that battery modules account for the largest portion of the carbon footprint of material production and refining, representing about 36 to 40 percent.

The automaker unveiled the Polestar 4 earlier this year, with the electric sports coupe expected to be the company’s “fastest production car to date.”

You can compare the lifecycle carbon footprint of each of the Polestar 4 and Polestar 2 below, according to figures listed on the company’s website. The automaker currently says it’s still compiling data for the Polestar 3. You can also learn more about Polestar’s LCA reports here.

Vehicle and Configuration Lifecycle Carbon Footprint (in tCO2e)
Polestar 2 Long Range Single-Motor 22.4
Polestar 2 Long Range Dual-Motor 23.1
Polestar 4 Standard Range Single-Motor 19.4
Polestar 4 Long Range Single-Motor 19.9
Polestar 4 Long Range Dual-Motor 21.4

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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Tesla is improving this critical feature in older vehicles

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is set to improve a critical feature that has not been present in older vehicles with a new update.

Tesla vehicles feature a comprehensive suite of driver assistance features, some of which aid in driving itself, while others support the vehicle’s surroundings.

One of those features is that of Driver Visualization, and with the rollout of a new update, owners of Intel-based Tesla vehicles are receiving an upgrade that will come with a simple software update.

Tesla plans to use Unreal Engine for driver visualization with crazy upgrade

The update will provide new visualizations while Intel-based vehicles are in reverse, a feature that was not previously available, but will be with Software Update 2025.32.2.

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The improvement was spotted by Not a Tesla App via TheBeatYT_evil:

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Previously, vehicles Tesla built were equipped with Intel-based processors, but newer cars feature the AMD chip, which is capable of rendering these visualizations as they happen. They were capable of visualizations when driving forward, but not in reverse, which is what this change resolves.

It is a good sign for those with Intel-based vehicles, as Tesla seems to be paying attention to what those cars are not capable of and improving them.

This was an undocumented improvement associated with this particular update, so you will not find any mention of it in the release notes that Tesla distributes with each update.

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Tesla looks to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market

Tesla has been transparent that it is prioritizing safety, but it believes it can expand to basically any geographical location within the United States and find success with its Robotaxi suite. CEO Elon Musk said it could be available to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year.

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Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Tesla is looking to make a big splash with Robotaxi in a new market, as the company was spotted testing validation vehicles in one region where it has not yet launched its ride-hailing service.

After launching Robotaxi in Austin in late June, Tesla followed up with a relatively quick expansion to the Bay Area of California. Both service areas are operating with a geofence that is expansive: In Texas, it is 173 square miles, while in the Bay Area, it is roughly 400 square miles.

Tesla has been transparent that it is prioritizing safety, but it believes it can expand to basically any geographical location within the United States and find success with its Robotaxi suite. CEO Elon Musk said it could be available to half of the U.S. population by the end of the year.

There have been plenty of reports out there that have speculated as to where Tesla would land next to test Robotaxi, and Nevada, Florida, Arizona, and New York have all been in the realm of possibility. These regions will need to approve Tesla for regulatory purposes before Robotaxi can officially operate.

Tesla is still testing and performing validation in several regions, and in Tempe, Arizona, things are moving forward as a Model Y with a LiDAR rig was spotted performing ground truth for the platform:

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With the LiDAR unit, many followers of the self-driving and autonomy space might wonder why Tesla uses these apparatuses during validation, especially considering the company’s stance and vision-based approach.

LiDAR is used for “ground truth,” which is basically a solidification or confirmation of what the cameras on the car are seeing. It is a great way to essentially confirm the accuracy of the vision-based suite, and will not be used on Robotaxi units used within the ride-hailing suite.

The Robotaxi platform was made available to the public earlier this month, as Tesla launched its app for iOS users.

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Tesla Robotaxi app download rate demolishes Uber, Waymo all-time highs

Downloading the app allows you to join a waitlist, giving you the opportunity to utilize and test the Robotaxi platform in either Austin or the Bay Area.

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Tesla hacker finds lifesaving FSD suggestions in 2025.32.3

The feature could drastically reduce instances of drivers operating their vehicles while distracted or exhausted.

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Credit: Tesla/X

A Tesla hacker has shared references to what could very well be lifesaving FSD suggestions in software update 2025.32.3. 

The feature could drastically reduce instances of drivers operating their vehicles while distracted or exhausted.

New FSD features

As per longtime Tesla hacker @greentheonly, the EV maker’s drowsiness and lane departure suggestions in 2025.32.3 reference FSD. The hacker shared two alerts that specifically suggest the use of FSD, such as “Lane drift detected. Let FSD assist so you can stay focused,” and “Drowsiness detected. Stay focused with FSD.”

The hacker noted that the updated messages in 2025.32.3 are quite interesting because Tesla still advises drivers to be fully alert when using FSD Supervised. Thus, it is quite interesting to see the company advising users to use FSD when they seem unfocused or tired. That being said, FSD is still a supervised solution for now, but the system itself is already very capable, so the company’s updated alerts are not surprising.

Steps to FSD Unsupervised

Such warning messages would definitely make more sense once Tesla actually rolls out FSD Unsupervised. The system seems to be just waiting for regulatory approval for now, considering that it is already being used in vehicles that are coming off the production line at the Fremont Factory and Giga Texas. Tesla is also now using a driverless system for its Robotaxi services in Austin, as well as its autonomous ride-hailing service in the Bay Area.

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For now, Tesla is hard at work preparing for the impending rollout of FSD V14, which Elon Musk has stated will be a notable improvement from the already-impressive performance of FSD V13. As per Musk, Teslas running FSD V14 will feel “sentient.” He also noted that the system “feels alive.”

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