News
Robocar to attempt first self-driving hill climb at Goodwood Festival of Speed
Robocar, an autonomous purpose-built race car driven by an AI system, will soon be taking on its biggest challenge yet — the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, which is set to be held this coming July 12-15 in West Sussex, England. In the event, Robocar would have to traverse the iconic hill climb’s 1.16-mile track on its own, using only its array of advanced sensors and AI to help it finish the challenging run.
Roborace, the company behind the creation of Robocar, had already proven that its autonomous driving technology could drive a high-speed vehicle around a race track. Roborace also believes that Robocar is equipped with just the right amount of tech to give it a good fighting chance to not only finish the hill climb event, but do so with authority.
Robocar is futuristic, and it definitely looks the part. The vehicle is designed by Daniel Simon, the man behind the designs of vehicles in blockbuster movies like Tron: Legacy and Oblivion. As featured in a recent video on Roborace’s official YouTube channel, Robocar is equipped with a variety of sensors to help it accomplish its task, including GPS, radar, LiDAR, ultrasonic sensors, and machine vision cameras that collect data around the car.
Robocar’s suite of sensors. [Credit: Roborace]
The vehicle’s tech extends to its interior, with Robocar being equipped with four 135 kW electric motors that produce 500 hp, as well as a 58 kWh battery. Powered by NVIDIA Drive PX 2 processors, the vehicle is capable of hitting speeds of up to 199 mph (320 kph). Robocar is also operated by an AI system provided by Arrival that decides how fast the car must go and how it should tackle the conditions of the track.
All this tech has to come together on July 12. Robocar, after all, would be the first autonomous race car to attempt the run, and Rod Chong, deputy CEO of Roborace, expects the vehicle to attract a lot of attention when it shows up to the event.
“We’re pretty sure when the car appears, people will freak out. We aren’t sleeping very well right now,” he said.
Roborace expects Robocar to have some challenges during the hill climb event, considering that the trees in the track are bound to block the GPS satellite GPS signals for the vehicle, which could compromise the car’s capability to map its position accurately. In order to get around this problem, Roborace developers have written a custom software for the event, which uses Robocar’s LiDAR sensors for real-time environment perception. The Roborace team also plans to run the autonomous car every morning during the Festival of Speed before the official events begin, in order to allow Robocar to scan the track and account for objects that could be different from the day before.
Chong stated that Roborace is not really looking to set any records in the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year. Instead, the team would be happy if Robocar can simply finish all three days of the event without any issues. Nevertheless, the deputy CEO noted that ultimately, they would like Robocar to have a good run with a good level of speed.
“We want to run to a good level of speed—it’ll be visually exciting, believe me,” he said.
The founder of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Charles Gordon-Lennox, the Duke of Richmond, however, is quite excited about the prospect of Robocar driving itself through his estate’s race track in high speeds.
“I can’t think of a more exciting way to celebrate our Silver Jubilee than to have Roborace attempt the first autonomous race car run up the hill. Roborace plays an important role in the future of mobility, challenging public perceptions and providing a platform to advance new technologies. This makes them the perfect partner to undertake this significant feat,” he said.
Here’s a brief video on the tech inside Robocar.
Tesla’s new Full Self-Driving pricing strategy will eliminate one recurring complaint that many owners have had in the past: FSD transfers.
In the past, if a Tesla owner purchased the Full Self-Driving suite outright, the company did not allow them to transfer the purchase to a new vehicle, essentially requiring them to buy it all over again, which could obviously get pretty pricey.
This was until Q3 2023, when Tesla allowed a one-time amnesty to transfer Full Self-Driving to a new vehicle, and then again last year.
Tesla is now allowing it to happen again ahead of the February 14th deadline.
The program has given people the opportunity to upgrade to new vehicles with newer Hardware and AI versions, especially those with Hardware 3 who wish to transfer to AI4, without feeling the drastic cost impact of having to buy the $8,000 suite outright on several occasions.
Now, that issue will never be presented again.
Last night, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on X that the Full Self-Driving suite would only be available in a subscription platform, which is the other purchase option it currently offers for FSD use, priced at just $99 per month.
Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk
Having it available in a subscription-only platform boasts several advantages, including the potential for a tiered system that would potentially offer less expensive options, a pay-per-mile platform, and even coupling the program with other benefits, like Supercharging and vehicle protection programs.
While none of that is confirmed and is purely speculative, the one thing that does appear to be a major advantage is that this will completely eliminate any questions about transferring the Full Self-Driving suite to a new vehicle. This has been a particular point of contention for owners, and it is now completely eliminated, as everyone, apart from those who have purchased the suite on their current vehicle.
Now, everyone will pay month-to-month, and it could make things much easier for those who want to try the suite, justifying it from a financial perspective.
The important thing to note is that Tesla would benefit from a higher take rate, as more drivers using it would result in more data, which would help the company reach its recently-revealed 10 billion-mile threshold to reach an Unsupervised level. It does not cost Tesla anything to run FSD, only to develop it. If it could slice the price significantly, more people would buy it, and more data would be made available.
News
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominates U.S. EV market in 2025
The figures were detailed in Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report.
Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y continued to overwhelmingly dominate the United States’ electric vehicle market in 2025. New sales data showed that Tesla’s two mass market cars maintained a commanding segment share, with the Model 3 posting year-to-date growth and the Model Y remaining resilient despite factory shutdowns tied to its refresh.
The figures were detailed in Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report.
Model 3 and Model Y are still dominant
According to the report, Tesla delivered an estimated 192,440 Model 3 sedans in the United States in 2025, representing a 1.3% year-to-date increase compared to 2024. The Model 3 alone accounted for 15.9% of all U.S. EV sales, making it one of the highest-volume electric vehicles in the country.
The Model Y was even more dominant. U.S. deliveries of the all-electric crossover reached 357,528 units in 2025, a 4.0% year-to-date decline from the prior year. It should be noted, however, that the drop came during a year that included production shutdowns at Tesla’s Fremont Factory and Gigafactory Texas as the company transitioned to the new Model Y. Even with those disruptions, the Model Y captured an overwhelming 39.5% share of the market, far surpassing any single competitor.
Combined, the Model 3 and Model Y represented more than half of all EVs sold in the United States during 2025, highlighting Tesla’s iron grip on the country’s mass-market EV segment.
Tesla’s challenges in 2025
Tesla’s sustained performance came amid a year of elevated public and political controversy surrounding Elon Musk, whose political activities in the first half of the year ended up fueling a narrative that the CEO’s actions are damaging the automaker’s consumer appeal. However, U.S. sales data suggest that demand for Tesla’s core vehicles has remained remarkably resilient.
Based on Kelley Blue Book’s Q4 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Sales Report, Tesla’s most expensive offerings such as the Tesla Cybertruck, Model S, and Model X, all saw steep declines in 2025. This suggests that mainstream EV buyers might have had a price issue with Tesla’s more expensive offerings, not an Elon Musk issue.
Ultimately, despite broader EV market softness, with total U.S. EV sales slipping about 2% year-to-date, Tesla still accounted for 58.9% of all EV deliveries in 2025, according to the report. This means that out of every ten EVs sold in the United States in 2025, more than half of them were Teslas.
News
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y earn Euro NCAP Best in Class safety awards
“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.
Tesla won dual categories in the Euro NCAP Best in Class awards, with the Model 3 being named the safest Large Family Car and the Model Y being recognized as the safest Small SUV.
The feat was highlighted by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on its official account on social media platform X.
Model 3 and Model Y lead their respective segments
As per a press release from the Euro NCAP, the organization’s Best in Class designation is based on a weighted assessment of four key areas: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Vulnerable Road User, and Safety Assist. Only vehicles that achieved a 5-star Euro NCAP rating and were evaluated with standard safety equipment are eligible for the award.
Euro NCAP noted that the updated Tesla Model 3 performed particularly well in Child Occupant protection, while its Safety Assist score reflected Tesla’s ongoing improvements to driver-assistance systems. The Model Y similarly stood out in Child Occupant protection and Safety Assist, reinforcing Tesla’s dual-category win.
“The company’s best-selling Model Y proved the gold standard for small SUVs,” Euro NCAP noted.
Euro NCAP leadership shares insights
Euro NCAP Secretary General Dr. Michiel van Ratingen said the organization’s Best in Class awards are designed to help consumers identify the safest vehicles over the past year.
Van Ratingen noted that 2025 was Euro NCAP’s busiest year to date, with more vehicles tested than ever before, amid a growing variety of electric cars and increasingly sophisticated safety systems. While the Mercedes-Benz CLA ultimately earned the title of Best Performer of 2025, he emphasized that Tesla finished only fractionally behind in the overall rankings.
“It was a close-run competition,” van Ratingen said. “Tesla was only fractionally behind, and new entrants like firefly and Leapmotor show how global competition continues to grow, which can only be a good thing for consumers who value safety as much as style, practicality, driving performance, and running costs from their next car.”
Tesla Full Self-Driving pricing strategy eliminates one recurring complaint
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y dominates U.S. EV market in 2025
