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Tesla Calls Danish Tax Plan A Death Knell For Electric Cars
Tesla says a plan by Denmark to phase in its 180% registration tax on electric cars is unfair and may be the death knell for electric cars in the country.
Tesla Service Center Aarhus-Viborgvej, Denmark [Source: Frederik C via Tesla Lifestyle App]
Tesla owners in Denmark have been exempt from the infamous 180% new car registration tax because of the government’s incentive for electric vehicles. That will soon change as Denmark is in the process of reassessing its national policies for reducing carbon emissions.
Just last week, Climate Minister Lars Christian Lilleholt said he will not push to meet Denmark’s existing goal of reducing emissions by 40% by 2020 because doing so will be too expensive for Danish businesses.
As part of that reassessment, a new Danish tax plan will phase in the registration tax on electric cars over the next 5 years. The government says doing so will be fairer to those who buy conventional cars and add almost $100,000,000 annually to the nation’s coffers. But Tesla, which makes the top selling electric car in Denmark, has slammed the plan as anti-competitive and a death knell for the industry. Under the plan, the price of a Tesla Model S P85D will soar from $131,250 (862,000 kroner) to more than $270,000 (1,807,100 kroner).
“All things being equal, this is not a phasing-in of levies on electric cars but rather a phasing out of electric cars in Denmark,” said Tesla’s Danish spokesman, Esben Pedersen, according to Danish media outlet, The Local. He said the plan, which will see prices on Tesla’s luxury models climb much higher than the increases on smaller and cheaper models, is unfair.
The company plans to file a complaint with the European Union. Pedersen tells Denmark’s TV2,
“We will contact the EU because we believe that the electric car agreement is anti-competitive and singles out Tesla. The deal will hit the entire electric car model and will eliminate it instead of developing it”
The Danish government defended the move, which has broad support from the Social Democrats, Danish People’s Party and Social Liberals. Tax Minister Karsten Lauritzen said that the new plan “balances the needs for the continued expansion of electric cars in Denmark, the public purse and fairness within the automobile market.”
“Electric cars have for a long time been better positioned than other cars by being completely exempt from the registration tax. Many regular Danes have a hard time understanding why they should pay the full registration tax for their regular cars while those who can afford an electric car have gotten off completely free,” Lauritzen said in a press release. 1,240 electric cars were sold in Denmark during the first six months of 2015 according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, nearly double the number bought in 2014.
Denmark’s rethinking of its plans to reduce carbon emissions comes just a few months ahead of the next global climate change conference, which will take place in Paris this December. While the new plan only seeks to reduce emissions by 37% instead of 40%, climate activists are calling the changes short sighted and dangerous.
Until this point, Denmark has been one of Europe’s “greenest” countries. It has made a significant investment in offshore wind power and actually produced 140% of its national electricity needs one day this past July. Its decision to re-balance its economic and sustainability objectives may be a preview of the thorny issues the international delegates will confront in Paris. It may also presage the policy debate that will take place in the United States when the current federal tax credit for electric cars expires at the end of 2016.
Investor's Corner
SpaceX is launching a secret spacecraft that could change how things are made in space
SpaceX’s secret disk-shaped Starfall capsule is targeting a market no reentry vehicle has cracked.
SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, June 23 for the first flight of Starfall, a reentry capsule the company has developed almost entirely in private. The Falcon 9 launch window opens at 6:43 a.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with a backup window available the same time on June 24. SpaceX has made no public announcement about the vehicle, only providing launch details. Everything known about it has come through FAA and FCC regulatory filings.
What makes Starfall different starts with its shape. Rather than the traditional cone used by Dragon and every other cargo return capsule in operation, Starfall is a flat disk that measures roughly 10.2 feet (3.1 meters) wide and just 2.5 feet (0.75 meters) tall, and weighing 4,630 pounds (2,100 kg) and capable of returning up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of payload from orbit. The disk geometry maximizes structural efficiency and payload volume relative to mass, and the heat shield mechanically jettisons just before splashdown, allowing recovery teams to retrieve both the capsule and the shield separately from the Pacific Ocean.
The difference with Starfall from existing competitors, such as Varda Space Industries, which has largely built the orbital manufacturing market and returns heavy payloads per flight is that Starfall’s specification is roughly 30 times more per mission, and is designed to be mass-produced and launched on either Falcon 9 or Starship. That combination of volume and launch access is something no standalone startup can replicate, and it puts SpaceX in direct competition with the companies that currently pay it to reach orbit.
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The intended market is orbital manufacturing: pharmaceuticals, protein crystals, semiconductors, and advanced optical fiber that physically cannot be produced in the presence of gravity. FAA documents describe Starfall’s long-term purpose as building a “self-sustaining commercial in-space manufacturing market” and as a potential successor to the industrial capabilities of the International Space Station, which is set to retire in the late 2020s. Military rapid global cargo delivery is a parallel application under active discussion with the Pentagon.
The reason some industries seek manufacturing in space comes down to gravity. On Earth, gravity causes materials to settle, separate, and deform during production. In microgravity, those constraints disappear.
SpaceX’s already controls launch access, which means it currently functions as the landlord for every competitor in the orbital manufacturing return space. Starfall converts that landlord position into vertical ownership, and it would no longer just carry other companies’ capsules to orbit, but rather operate the capsule, own the return logistics, and capture the service revenue directly. Viewed alongside Starlink, Colossus, and the xAI merger, Starfall fits a consistent pattern: SpaceX identifying infrastructure layers that others depend on and moving to own them outright. Orbital manufacturing return is the next layer on that list.
If Tuesday’s reentry, parachute sequence, and recovery demonstration goes as planned, the second FAA-approved test flight follows. A successful pair of demos would position SpaceX to begin offering Starfall as a commercial service, likely first to pharmaceutical and materials science customers before scaling toward the military and broader manufacturing segments.
The Tesla Semi was spotted mounted with ground truth validation equipment as the company nears its looming launch. The Semi is Tesla’s Class 8 all-electric truck, and has been utilized in its earlier stages by many companies like PepsiCo. and Frito-Lay, who have been using it in a pilot program.
The Semi was spotted in Sunnyvale, California, and sports a typical ground truth validation unit that Tesla routinely uses on its vehicles. Ground truth validation is essentially the process of training supervised algorithms to ensure they can perform reliably. Tesla typically performs this on vehicles that are being released soon:
Spotted the new semi adorned with ground truthing equipment. Haven’t seen anyone post this so figured I’d share.
The future is autonomous!!@SawyerMerritt @wholemars pic.twitter.com/qkPDHPUQZ6
— Danny (@dannywinner1) June 21, 2026
The Semi being spotted with this type of validation rig is important because it means the company is working on solidifying a Full Self-Driving model for its commercial vehicle offering. This would be a massive development for not only Tesla but also the logistics industry as a whole.
There are strict regulations on driving hours for commercial truck drivers, and autonomy is a way to potentially combat these issues. FSD is already a widely effective way that owners of typical passenger vehicles take stress out of travel. Even launching a semi-autonomous platform for truck drivers to use to increase safety, reduce fatigue, and increase productivity would be a huge development.
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The Semi has already proven to be an ideal solution for companies that use commercial logistics. It has increased efficiency and reduced operating costs for many companies that have been able to use it in pilot programs.
There are expected to be some bumps along the way. Tesla saw some challenges with FSD on the Cybertruck, as it had never had a vehicle with cameras at that height, so some of the features with FSD were not immediately available. Just a week ago, Tesla launched Actually Smart Summon (ASS) for Cybertruck, nearly three years after the vehicle was first delivered to customers.
President Donald Trump unveiled an upgraded Boeing 747-8 at Joint Base Andrews on June 19, 2026, describing the Qatar-gifted aircraft as an interim Air Force One equipped with advanced communications systems, including Starlink, Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite internet service.
The plane, valued at around $400 million and modified for presidential use, serves as a bridge until the delayed VC-25B replacements arrive. Trump highlighted its luxury features and new technology during remarks to service members.
Trump stated:
“We have communication equipment up there that nobody’s ever seen before. It’s the highest level and, uh, including Starlink. My friend Elon is going to be very happy, but, uh, Starlink and we have, uh, four or five different sets of double and triple communications like people haven’t seen.”
He added:
“And it represents what can happen with hard work, innovation, and aggressive timelines because we did this quickly and yet there’s never been communication like is on this plane.”
🚨 President Trump confirmed today that the new Air Force One is equipped with Starlink:
“We have communication equipment up there that nobody’s ever seen before, it’s the highest level and including Starlink…my friend Elon is going to be very happy.” pic.twitter.com/IhkDmtr5hL
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) June 20, 2026
The aircraft features a redesigned red, white, and blue livery and has been outfitted with Starlink satellite connectivity alongside other secure systems.
Trump praised the plane’s uniqueness, calling it among the world’s most luxurious. The gift from Qatar and subsequent modifications have drawn attention, with the jet positioned as a solution for presidential travel. It is expected to support operations, including potential ceremonial roles such as Fourth of July flyovers.
The event marked the formal introduction of the converted jet, which will help maintain capabilities while the primary Air Force One fleet undergoes modernization. Defense observers note the inclusion of commercial satellite technology like Starlink as part of efforts to ensure resilient communications, crucial to keep the country running as the President is in the sky.
President Trump’s comments underscored appreciation for rapid upgrades and innovation in equipping the aircraft. The plane remains a U.S. government asset and is slated for eventual transfer related to presidential library purposes after its service.
SpaceX is launching a secret spacecraft that could change how things are made in space
Tesla Semi spotted with ground truth validation equipment as launch looms
