Tesla Autopilot continues to be taboo to many people, and it is understandable. In a world where people have absolute control over everything in their life, it is tough to assume many people would be comfortable with their car driving itself. But the issue is, many people, countries, and entities are not willing to give the self-driving characteristic a chance.
Despite Autopilot’s impressive performance figures, Germany announced this week that Tesla could not use the word “Autopilot” in any advertising, because it still requires the driver to remain attentive during its use. But the problem is, Autopilot, in any sense of the word, doesn’t state the vehicle in question can operate entirely on its own. Tesla’s description of the function also requires the driver to keep their hands on the wheel at all times in case of an emergency.
But the issue really comes down to the taboo subject of self-driving vehicles. To my surprise, many people outside the Tesla community are still uninformed and misguided on Autopilot’s capabilities. Every time one of my friends or family members see a Tesla, they automatically think it’s driving itself, and the operator is sitting in the passenger seat playing on their phone.
We all know that Autopilot doesn’t work that way. And even though Tesla is head and shoulders above the competition in terms of self-driving capabilities, they still can’t drive themselves, but the company has never indicated that their vehicles are fully autonomous.
The Tesla community knows that.
However, there are groups of people and even entire countries that still seem to believe that Tesla’s Autopilot claims are unrealistic and “misleading.” In reality, the company’s cars do exactly what the electric automaker claims they do.
This is not the first time a country has thrown Autopilot away because Israel altogether outlawed any use of the capability in the past. However, after revisiting the case, Israel government officials got a more concrete understanding of how Autopilot works, and they allowed the use of the feature by vehicles that were capable of using it.
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In my opinion, everyone who is skeptical of Autopilot, especially those who are government officials, should be required to undergo a crash course of the feature and take a ride in a Tesla vehicle while it is using the characteristic.
However, there is something even more surprising to me personally about all of the taboo there is surrounding Autopilot. More of it is from Tesla skeptics and TSLAQ, but you rarely hear about Autopilot navigating through tricky road layouts on mainstream media outlets. It is more about Tesla vehicles that were using Autopilot, ending up in accidents.
Teslarati has covered a series of examples of Autopilot navigating plenty of interesting terrains and situations with relative ease. We cover accidents, too, but we clarify how they occurred. For example, this past week, a Model S collided with a State Trooper and an Ambulance. However, the driver was under suspicion for DUI, although it has not yet been confirmed.
Autopilot is a way for drivers to take the stress out of driving. I know, personally, that I don’t like driving very much. I was in two car accidents in high school, I was not the driver in either instance. Along with seeing accidents on I-95 near Baltimore and other winding backroads near my house, drivers scare me, and I rarely trust anyone operating a car that I’m in.
I would feel safer if Autopilot was operating every car on the road. Not only would the cars get better every single day because of Tesla’s Neural Net, but people wouldn’t be so unpredictable with their driving behavior, and I genuinely believe we all would be much better off.
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In the past, technological advancements have been second-guessed. At one time, NASA launched a spaceship to the Moon, and it used less technology than an iPhone. Things advance and opinions change on something. People are going to eventually warm up to the idea of a car driving itself, and there is a chance that even the most vocal skeptics of the self-driving car movement will ultimately utilize the capability to get them from Point A to Point B.
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On Friday, Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter that enabled Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) energy transfer, meaning owners could essentially utilize their cars as a power source for things like laptops, electric grills, or string lights.
However, even owners of some of the newest builds of the Model Y are finding out that their cars are not compatible with the new $80 accessory, stirring up a new complaint among members of the community.
Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.
Upon the release of the Outlet Adapter on Friday, I signed into my Tesla account to order the accessory. However, I was met with the dreaded “This product is not compatible with your 2026 Model Y” message at the bottom of the screen.
Some said their accounts also displayed the same message, but they ordered anyway. However, they might be surprised to find that this is no mistake; some of the newest Model Ys do not have the appropriate Power Conversion System (PCS). Mine, which was ordered on this day last year and delivered on August 31, has the old 48A, single-phase PCS.
Vehicles with the new, two-piece PCS are able to utilize V2L features on their cars:
🚨 Looks like you can hit the Parts Catalog and enter your VIN and check to see if your Model Y will be able to use the adapter for V2L.https://t.co/QA9zRk7n2k
h/t to @SawyerMerritt for finding this out.
-I am sad but this isn’t a huge loss. https://t.co/AYpI12QVV9 pic.twitter.com/LRFSrtRywo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 16, 2026
Obviously, it’s disappointing. Many owners have taken delivery this year and still can not utilize the Outlet Adapter because their cars feature the old PCS:
Took delivery in February of 2026. I have the older one, so not going to work for me pic.twitter.com/RcOVq8gvvT
— Russell (@QuietTesla) August 16, 2026
It looks like if you have one of these older PCS units, you can upgrade, but the parts alone are $1,750, and that’s before Tesla adds labor for installing. It is honestly more logical to get some kind of portable power supply or power station at that point.
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It is great that Tesla has enabled V2L for Model Y vehicles, but it is also unfortunate that vehicles that are less than one year old are not able to take advantage of this awesome new feature.
With that being said, it truly is a first-world problem; can you really complain when Full Self-Driving is available, maintenance is incredibly inexpensive, and the car has been so good through a year of ownership?
Tesla has launched a new Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y vehicles in the United States, meaning you can now power devices like laptops or light strings with your vehicle’s battery.
It appears the capability will be available for any Model Y Premium trim, including those that were purchased prior to the Adapter being launched. It will also only impact Juniper Model Y vehicles, so the first-gen owners will unfortunately not have access to this capability.
If your Model Y was purchased before Tesla renamed the trim levels to “Premium” and “Standard,” it does not seem to be compatible. My Model Y is technically a Premium build, as it is the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive. However, Tesla says it is not compatible with my vehicle.
🚨 Tesla has launched the Outlet Adapter for Model Y Premium in the U.S., enabling V2L capability for all Premium trims (that’s what it appears to be as it is available for purchase with all Premium trims)
It’s available for $80. 2.4kW max power and rated for 120v, 20A pic.twitter.com/lDxlVIk5s8
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
For $80, you can now utilize your car as a portable charger for small appliances or devices. This is perfect for things like tailgates, concerts, or camping, as you can now plug in devices that you might use. Those string lights for camping? That laptop for the other games that are on at the tailgate?
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They’ll both utilize energy from your Tesla’s battery to be powered. This is the first time Tesla has expanded the capability to vehicles outside of the Model Y Performance and Cybertruck. However, this feature has been highly requested by owners for an extended period of time.
Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter in China last year:
Tesla China rolls out Model Y L V2L adapter, and it’s free for early owners
You will need the Mobile Connector to operate the Outlet Adapter: the Outlet Adapter will plug into the main housing of the Mobile Connector, where the appropriate adapter to charge your vehicle will plug in.
It is rated for 120 volts and 20 amps, and has a max power rating of 2.4kW.
You can buy it here from Tesla for $80.
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Tesla is nearing its long-awaited unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, a new report from The Information claims, as the company has said several times this year that the event would take place “soon.”
Now, it appears there is movement on Tesla’s end regarding when it will happen.
The report says that Tesla will unveil the Roadster as soon as this month with a SpaceX version that will utilize cold-gas thrusters to help the vehicle float for a short period of time. This is something CEO Elon Musk has talked about with the Roadster for years.
🚨 The Information is reporting this morning that Tesla is ready to unveil the “flying” Roadster as soon as this month
It’s almost here, folks. pic.twitter.com/IdL4atsucQ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
Additionally, due to the delays, Tesla explored “a variety of designs” for the Roadster, potentially planning to abandon the design it showed off for the first time in 2017 and adopting an entirely new aesthetic.
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According to The Information, Tesla considered utilizing a repurposed Model S Plaid and even wanted to upgrade the look to something like a Lamborghini Countach.
We’ve heard all of these things before, including teases about the date and how “soon” the Roadster will finally be ready to be shown off to the world (for the second time). Musk said that the event would occur in April, then May, then Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen continued to say it would be coming “soon.”
We do expect to see the Roadster by the end of the year, and now with this new report swirling, it appears it could be sooner rather than later.
The wait has been incredibly long, but there is likely a good reason for it. Tesla’s desire to make the Roadster the craziest vehicle on the road was non-negotiable, and it likely took a lot of time and resources to develop and perfect into something that was safe and suitable for a vehicle like this.
Tesla V2L adapter for Model Y stirs up a new complaint among owners
Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.
