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Tesla Autopilot and Ford BlueCruise compared in brutally honest critique

Credit: Munro Live/YouTube

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Automotive teardown specialist Sandy Munro is a brutally honest veteran who tells things as they are. This is one of the reasons why he regularly criticizes Tesla for its vehicles’ inconsistent build quality, and, more recently, why he came away unimpressed after operating Ford’s upcoming BlueCruise driver assist system, which allows drivers to take their hands off the wheel in designated “blue zones” across the United States. 

Munro recently took a drive with Ford Driver Assist Technology Chief Engineer Chris Billman on a freeway, and immediately, the teardown expert and former Ford engineer noticed a number of interesting behaviors from the hands-free system. While he liked some of BlueCruise’s behaviors, Munro quickly observed that Ford’s advanced driver-assist suite could not take the off-ramp by itself. This made it quite different from the Autopilot that Munro has been using for some time now in his Tesla Model 3. 

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Munro soon learned that BlueCruise required manual interventions when navigating curves. And when these happened, the alerts prompting drivers to keep their hands on the wheel did not include loud, audible warnings. Manual interventions with BlueCruise were also required for basic maneuvers like lane changes, and Billman was quite unclear if Ford has any plans to expand the system’s driver-assist features to inner-city streets like Tesla’s FSD Beta. 

At the end of the trip, Munro concluded that Ford BlueCruise, at least in its current iteration, still has a lot of room to improve. The teardown expert highlighted that for Ford to make BlueCruise impressive, the veteran automaker must fix the system’s incapability to handle curves on the highways, even those that the company describes as “sharp curves.” Munro also noted that Ford needs to improve BlueCruise’s disengagements, which could be unclear to the driver. 

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“I would suggest that the sweeping curve stuff, you need to address that. I think that would be something that you absolutely flat out would want to have, better than what you’ve got today. And the reason basically is that, um, you know I got a pension plan that I need to be fully funded. I guess I’ve been a little bit spoiled by watching what Tesla’s been doing with the Full Self-Driving Beta. That is really impressive, and I’m going to suggest that somehow, if you can get your hands on that and try it out, it’ll really help you understand what I was talking about as far as improvements are concerned,” Munro said. 

Interestingly enough, Ford has mounted a rather pointed strategy in promoting BlueCruise, which would be released for the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning, with both CEO Jim Farley and Ford North America Product Communications director Mike Levine taking shots at Tesla’s Autopilot. Farley, for one, highlighted during BlueCruise’s announcement in April that the system was tested in the real world so that Ford’s customers “don’t have to,” and Levine is known to frequently mock FSD and Autopilot for its flaws while engaging in arguments with Tesla owners on Twitter. 

Watch Sandy Munro’s take on Ford’s BlueCruise in the video below. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to tips@teslarati.com to give us a heads up. 

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving expands in Europe, entering its second country

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially expanded its Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite in Europe once again, as it will now be offered to customer vehicles in Lithuania, marking a significant milestone as the second European Union country to offer the system.

Tesla confirmed FSD’s rollout in Lithuania this morning:

Tesla showed several clips of Full Self-Driving navigation in Lithuania to mark the announcement, while Lithuanian Transport Minister Juras Taminskas highlighted the system’s potential to assist with lane-keeping, speed adjustment, and traffic tasks on longer drives, while emphasizing that drivers must stay alert and ready to intervene.

Just a few weeks ago, Tesla officially entered Europe with Full Self-Driving in the Netherlands. The expansion of FSD on the continent is now officially underway.

Tesla Full Self-Driving gets first-ever European approval

Full Self-Driving’s European Journey

Europe has long posed one of the toughest regulatory challenges for Tesla’s autonomy ambitions due to stringent safety standards under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) framework, particularly UN Regulation 171 for Driver Control Assistance Systems.

The Netherlands’ RDW authority granted the pioneering approval after over 18 months of rigorous testing, including 1.6 million kilometers on European roads and extensive data submissions.

This approval enables mutual recognition across the EU, allowing other member states to adopt it nationally without full re-testing. Lithuania quickly leveraged this mechanism, becoming the second adopter. Tesla positions FSD Supervised as a tool to incrementally improve road safety, with the company claiming it reduces incidents when used properly.

Bottlenecks slowing broader European deployment include fragmented national regulations, varying levels of regulatory skepticism, and requirements for robust driver monitoring. Some EU officials have raised concerns about performance in adverse conditions like icy roads or speeding scenarios, alongside frustrations over Tesla’s public advocacy approach.

Additional hurdles involve data privacy, liability frameworks, and the need for EU-wide harmonization. While countries like Belgium appear to be fast-tracking adoption, larger markets such as Germany, France, and Italy are expected to follow in the coming months, with potential EU-wide progress targeted for later in 2026.

Tesla Full Self-Driving Across the World

As of May, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is available in approximately ten countries.

In North America, it has been live for years in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Asia-Pacific additions include Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, while China utilizes what Tesla calls “City Autopilot.” In Europe, the Netherlands and now Lithuania join the list, with more countries mulling the possibility of also approving FSD.

Tesla offers FSD via monthly subscriptions (around €99 in Europe) or one-time purchases (with deadlines approaching in many markets), shifting toward recurring revenue models. Today is the final day Europeans will be able to purchase the suite outright.

This expansion underscores Tesla’s push for global autonomy, starting with supervised and building toward greater capabilities. With Lithuania now online, momentum is building across Europe, though regulatory caution will continue shaping the pace. Owners in approved regions report smoother highway and urban driving, but the system remains Level 2, which requires human oversight.

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Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises

Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.

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Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.

Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.

Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15

India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.

First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.

The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.

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SpaceX reveals date for maiden Starship v3 launch

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Credit: SpaceX

SpaceX has revealed the date for the maiden voyage of Starship v3, its newest and most advanced version of the rocket yet.

Starship v3 represents a significant leap forward. At 124 meters tall when fully stacked, it stands taller than previous versions and boasts substantial upgrades.

The vehicle incorporates next-generation Raptor 3 engines, which deliver higher thrust, improved reliability, and simplified designs with fewer parts. Both the Super Heavy booster (Booster 19) and the Starship upper stage (Ship 39) feature these enhancements, along with structural improvements for greater payload capacity—exceeding 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit in reusable configuration.

SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk have announced that the company aims to push the first launch of Starship v3 this Thursday. Musk included some clips of past Starship launches with the announcement.

There are a lot of improvements to Starship v3 from past builds. Key hardware changes include a more robust heat shield, upgraded avionics, and modifications optimized for orbital refueling, a critical technology for future missions to the Moon and Mars. This flight marks the first launch from Starbase’s second orbital pad, allowing parallel operations and accelerating the cadence of tests.

This will be the 12th Starship launch for SpaceX. Flight 12 objectives include a full ascent profile, hot-staging separation, in-space engine relights, and reentry testing. The booster is expected to perform a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the ship will deploy 20 Starlink simulator satellites and a pair of modified Starlink V3 units before attempting reentry.

Success would validate V3’s design for operational use, paving the way for rapid reusability and higher flight rates.

The rapid evolution from V2 to V3 underscores SpaceX’s iterative approach. Previous flights demonstrated booster catches, ship landings, and heat shield advancements. V3 builds on these with nearly every component refined, supported by an expanding production line at Starbase that churns out vehicles at an unprecedented pace.

Starship V3 is here putting SpaceX closer to Mars than it has ever been

This launch comes amid growing momentum for SpaceX’s ambitious goals. Starship is central to NASA’s Artemis program for lunar landings and Elon Musk’s vision of making humanity multiplanetary. A successful V3 debut would boost confidence in achieving orbital refueling and crewed missions in the coming years.

As excitement builds, enthusiasts and engineers alike await liftoff. Weather and technical readiness will determine the exact timing, but the community is optimistic. Starship V3 is poised to push the boundaries of spaceflight once again, bringing reusable interplanetary transport closer to reality.

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