

News
Tesla ranks among UK’s most reliable carmakers in veteran motoring magazine’s survey
Britain-based motoring publication What Car?‘s recent Reliability Survey included a rather surprising addition this year. Amidst the magazine’s Top 10 list of most reliable carmakers in the UK lies Tesla at No.4, beating veterans known for their reliability such Japanese automaker Honda in the process.
What Car?‘s 2019 rankings involved an analysis of data from over 18,000 vehicles that span 31 brands and 218 car models. According to the magazine, 18,119 car owners provided detailed accounts of any vehicle-related problems that they ran into over the past 12 months. Data on the turnaround time and cost for repairs were also taken into consideration.
Among the 31 brands included in this year’s survey, Tesla ranked 4th place with an overall score of 96.9%. In its post about its study’s results, the publication noted that electric cars, in general, are starting to emerge as one of the most reliable classes of vehicles that consumers can buy. Thus, it was no wonder that Tesla, which only produces EVs, garnered a high reliability score among car owners.
Overall, Tesla was only exceeded by a trifecta of Japanese brands comprised of Lexus (99.3%), Toyota (97.7%), and Suzuki (97.3%). Interestingly, part of the reason behind Lexus’ high score is also due to the company’s electrified vehicles, one of which garnered a 100% reliability score. Veteran carmakers Subaru (96.6%), Kia (96.3%), Hyundai (95.7%), Mini (95.4%), Skoda (95.2%), and Honda (94.9%) followed the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker in What Car?‘s Top 10 list.
Tesla’s place in What Car?‘s 2019 Reliability Survey is impressive, especially considering that the company is the sole American automaker that made the study’s Top 10 list. The fact that Tesla achieved such a high rank despite the company’s well-known extended turnaround times for repairs also proves that its vehicles are simply gaining a reputation for being low-maintenance and durable.
A large part of this lies in the all-electric design of Tesla’s vehicles. With few parts and no engine, Teslas need far less maintenance compared to their internal combustion-powered counterparts. Even components such as brake pads last longer in a Tesla due to the vehicles’ utilization of regenerative braking. Among the Tesla community, it is not rare to see owners listing basic practices such as tire rotation and wiper fluid refilling as the majority of their vehicles’ regular “maintenance.”
The UK is now being saturated by Tesla’s most affordable, most disruptive vehicle to date, the Model 3. The midsize all-electric four-door has made quite a splash in recent months, with the Model 3 pushing a 377% increase in the region’s EV sales for August year-over-year, as per data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Energy
Tesla recalls Powerwall 2 units in Australia

Tesla will recall Powerwall 2 units in Australia after a handful of property owners reported fires that caused “minor property damage.” The fires were attributed to cells used by Tesla in the Powerwall 2.
Tesla Powerwall is a battery storage unit that retains energy from solar panels and is used by homeowners and businesses to maintain power in the event of an outage. It also helps alleviate the need to rely on the grid, which can help stabilize power locally.
Powerwall owners can also enroll in the Virtual Power Plant (VPP) program, which allows them to sell energy back to the grid, helping to reduce energy bills. Tesla revealed last year that over 100,000 Powerwalls were participating in the program.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
The Australia Competition and Consumer Commission said in a filing that it received several reports from owners of fires that led to minor damage. The Australian government agency did not disclose the number of units impacted by the recall.
The issue is related to the cells, which Tesla sources from a third-party company.
Anyone whose Powerwall 2 unit is impacted by the recall will be notified through the Tesla app, the company said.
Cybertruck
Tesla launches Cybertruck orders in a new market with a catch

Tesla is launching Cybertruck orders in a new market, but there’s a bit of a catch.
The Cybertruck was launched in the Middle East earlier this year, as Tesla launched the ability to place a reservation for the all-electric pickup in the United Arab Emirates. It would be the first market outside of North America that would have the ability to place an order for the Cybertruck.
Tesla confirms Cybertruck will make its way out of North America this year
Other markets where the vehicle has been widely requested, like Europe and Asia, have still not approved the vehicle to be sold to the public, mostly because of size and design restrictions.
However, in the UAE, Tesla is opening up the ability for those who placed reservations for the vehicle to finally put in their order. The Order Configurator is only available to those who have already placed a reservation; it is not yet available to the public.
Tesla said it would open up the public online configurator across the Middle East in the coming weeks:
If you’re in the UAE and you have a Cybertruck reservation, you can now order your new truck
The public will get access in the coming weeks. https://t.co/KJaP7NEfiT
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 16, 2025
The UAE is not the only country that will have access to the Cybertruck, as fans in other Middle Eastern countries will also be able to place orders soon. Tesla announced back in April that Saudi Arabia and Qatar would also have Cybertruck deliveries.
These vehicles will be built at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas plant just outside of Austin, as Gigafactory Berlin and Gigafactory Shanghai, two factories located in the same hemisphere as the Middle East, do not have established lines for Cybertruck production.
As for the other markets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted that the company could develop a smaller Cybertruck for those markets, as he admitted that in the long term, it likely made sense to build a more compact version for regions where roads are traditionally tighter.
Elon Musk hints at smaller Tesla Cybertruck version down the road
There has been no evidence of Tesla developing this more compact version, but it could eventually happen.
News
Tesla rolls out new life-saving feature for kids in Europe
On average, 37 children die every year from being left in vehicles unattended.

Tesla is rolling out a new life-saving feature in the European market, one that has been available in the United States for some time and can be considered potentially invaluable.
One of the most preventable causes of death for children is being left in cars unattended. On average, 37 children die every year after being left in hot vehicles. The cause of death is usually heatstroke, and it is incredibly avoidable.
Tesla rolls out new crucial safety feature aimed at saving children
However, there are instances where kids are left in vehicles and lose their lives, something that many companies have tried to fight with alerts and features of their own.
Tesla is one of them, as it has rolled out features like ultrasonic sensors to detect heartbeats, interior cameras to detect movement, and alerts to notify parents if they leave someone in the car.
A few months ago, Tesla rolled out a new feature called “Child Left Alone Detection” in the United States. It was described as:
“If an unattended child is detected, the vehicle will flash the exterior indicator lights, play an alert tone, and send a notification to your Tesla app. This will repeat at regular intervals until you return to your vehicle. Cabin data is processed locally and is not transmitted to Tesla.
This feature is enabled by default. To disable, go to Controls > Safety > Child Left Alone Detection.”
This feature was only rolled out in the U.S. at the time. It is now making its way to the European market, according to Not a Tesla App, which detected the rollout in the 2025.32.6 software update.
The rollout of this feature could specifically change many unfortunate situations. For many of us, it seems hard to think about leaving something as precious as another human life in a hot car. Many of us won’t leave our vehicles without our cell phones, so it seems unlikely that someone would do it without a child.
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