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Tesla's Autopilot conquers intimidating highway and inner city trip with ease
recent video from a Tesla enthusiast shows that the electric car maker’s driver-assist software is fully capable of handling lengthy trips on the highway, navigating through various on and off ramps and performing smooth lane changes.
As a part of his “Tesla Challenge” series on YouTube, Tesla owner and enthusiast Dirty Tesla took his Model 3 on a 45-mile journey from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Troy, Michigan. He decided it was a perfect opportunity to test Tesla’s Navigate on Autopilot system as the journey was taken during a relatively busy time on the highway. His Model 3 was operating on Software 2019.40.50.7 with Hardware 2.5.
Dirty Tesla noted that the intention of the video was to intervene as little as possible with the car to see how it would handle the trip in somewhat stressful conditions. He stated that in past challenges, he has been a tad disappointed with his Model 3’s performance when navigating on the highway with Autopilot and Full Self-Driving. However, this test gave a completely different result.
When traveling on Interstate-75 in Michigan, Dirty Tesla notes that exit 186B has given his vehicle some issues in the past. Even though the vehicle and GPS recognized that the exit needed to be taken to get to the destination in the quickest way possible, the Tesla would sometimes speed by the exit and reroute.
However, the vehicle easily recognized the exit in this instance and took it with relative ease. “Perfect, it took it. That is so nice. That’s an exit that [the car] used to just fly right past it. It had it on the screen, it said it was going to exit, and it just didn’t. But now, that is working,” he said.
Shortly after taking the correct exit in a manner that was impressive to Dirty Tesla, the car then displayed its recently added Adjacent Lane Speed Adjustment feature. When approaching a traffic light that had recently turned green, a line of cars in the lane next to the one Dirty Tesla was driving in was not yet moving. The Model 3’s Autopilot cameras and sensors recognized this and eventually slowed the vehicle down so it would be traveling at a safer speed that was similar to the cars around it.
After exiting the freeway, the Tesla was then automatically navigating through a series of city roads and intersections flawlessly. This was impressive as some lines on the road were faded or not visible at all. This did not seem to be a challenge for the Tesla and it was able to travel through the streets of Troy without any intervention from the driver.
The performance of Dirty Tesla’s Model 3 is another example of how far Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems have come. As the company has released frequent updates to the software that has made it safer, the Tesla enthusiast noted that the vehicle seems to perform with more confidence than it ever has before. Ultimately, the YouTube host gave Autopilot’s performance an A rating and stated the drive was super impressive and a lot of fun.
You can watch Dirty Tesla’s 45-mile journey in his Model 3 below.
Tesla has given its biggest hint that Full Self-Driving in Europe is imminent, as a new feature seems to show that the company is preparing for frequent border crossings.
Tesla owner and influencer BLKMDL3, also known as Zack, recently took his Tesla to the border of California and Mexico at Tijuana, and at the international crossing, Full Self-Driving showed an interesting message: “Upcoming country border — FSD (Supervised) will become unavailable.”
FSD now shows a new message when approaching an international border crossing.
Stayed engaged the whole way as we crossed the border and worked great in Mexico! pic.twitter.com/bDzyLnyq0g
— Zack (@BLKMDL3) January 26, 2026
Due to regulatory approvals, once a Tesla operating on Full Self-Driving enters a new country, it is required to comply with the laws and regulations that are applicable to that territory. Even if legal, it seems Tesla will shut off FSD temporarily, confirming it is in a location where operation is approved.
This is something that will be extremely important in Europe, as crossing borders there is like crossing states in the U.S.; it’s pretty frequent compared to life in America, Canada, and Mexico.
Tesla has been working to get FSD approved in Europe for several years, and it has been getting close to being able to offer it to owners on the continent. However, it is still working through a lot of the red tape that is necessary for European regulators to approve use of the system on their continent.
This feature seems to be one that would be extremely useful in Europe, considering the fact that crossing borders into other countries is much more frequent than here in the U.S., and would cater to an area where approvals would differ.
Tesla has been testing FSD in Spain, France, England, and other European countries, and plans to continue expanding this effort. European owners have been fighting for a very long time to utilize the functionality, but the red tape has been the biggest bottleneck in the process.
Tesla Europe builds momentum with expanding FSD demos and regional launches
Tesla operates Full Self-Driving in the United States, China, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship V3 gets launch date update from Elon Musk
The first flight of Starship Version 3 and its new Raptor V3 engines could happen as early as March.
Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX’s next Starship launch, Flight 12, is expected in about six weeks. This suggests that the first flight of Starship Version 3 and its new Raptor V3 engines could happen as early as March.
In a post on X, Elon Musk stated that the next Starship launch is in six weeks. He accompanied his announcement with a photo that seemed to have been taken when Starship’s upper stage was just about to separate from the Super Heavy Booster. Musk did not state whether SpaceX will attempt to catch the Super Heavy Booster during the upcoming flight.
The upcoming flight will mark the debut of Starship V3. The upgraded design includes the new Raptor V3 engine, which is expected to have nearly twice the thrust of the original Raptor 1, at a fraction of the cost and with significantly reduced weight. The Starship V3 platform is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability.
The Starship V3 Flight 12 launch timeline comes as SpaceX pursues an aggressive development cadence for the fully reusable launch system. Previous iterations of Starship have racked up a mixed but notable string of test flights, including multiple integrated flight tests in 2025.
Interestingly enough, SpaceX has teased an aggressive timeframe for Starship V3’s first flight. Way back in late November, SpaceX noted on X that it will be aiming to launch Starship V3’s maiden flight in the first quarter of 2026. This was despite setbacks like a structural anomaly on the first V3 booster during ground testing.
“Starship’s twelfth flight test remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026,” the company wrote in its post on X.
News
Tesla China rolls out Model 3 insurance subsidy through February
Eligible customers purchasing a Model 3 by February 28 can receive an insurance subsidy worth RMB 8,000 (about $1,150).
Tesla has rolled out a new insurance subsidy for Model 3 buyers in China, adding another incentive as the automaker steps up promotions in the world’s largest electric vehicle market.
Eligible customers purchasing a Model 3 by February 28 can receive an insurance subsidy worth RMB 8,000 (about $1,150).
A limited-time subsidy
The insurance subsidy, which was announced by Tesla China on Weibo, applies to the Model 3 RWD, Long Range RWD, and Long Range AWD variants. Tesla stated that the offer is available to buyers who complete their purchase on or before February 28, as noted in a CNEV Post report. The starting prices for these variants are RMB 235,500, RMB 259,500, and RMB 285,500, respectively.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance, which starts at RMB 339,500, is excluded from the subsidy. The company has previously used insurance incentives at the beginning of the year to address softer seasonal demand in China’s auto market. The program is typically phased out as sales conditions stabilize over the year.
China’s electric vehicle market
The insurance subsidy followed Tesla’s launch of a 7-year low-interest financing plan in China on January 6, which is aimed at improving vehicle affordability amid changing policy conditions. After Tesla introduced the financing program, several automakers, such as Xiaomi, Li Auto, Xpeng, and Voyah, introduced similar long-term financing options.
China’s electric vehicle market has faced additional headwinds entering 2026. Buyers of new energy vehicles are now subject to a 5% purchase tax, compared with the previous full exemption. At the same time, vehicle trade-in subsidies in several cities are expected to expire in mid-November.
Tesla’s overall sales in China declined in 2025, with deliveries totaling 625,698 vehicles, down 4.78% year-over-year. Model 3 deliveries increased 13.33% to 200,361 units, while Model Y deliveries, which were hampered by the changeover to the new Model Y in the first quarter, fell 11.45% to 425,337 units.
Tesla gives its biggest hint that Full Self-Driving in Europe is imminent
SpaceX Starship V3 gets launch date update from Elon Musk
