News
Tesla jumps to top spot in Norway as automaker with most loyal customers
The Norwegian Customer Barometer has determined that Tesla has become the carmaker with the most loyal customers in Norway for 2020 so far. What’s particularly impressive is that the organization’s findings come amidst a widespread decline in customer loyalty ratings among legacy automakers.
The past year has not been easy on Tesla’s customer loyalty ratings in the country. The company had a record year for deliveries in 2019, with over 15,000 Model 3 being registered over the year. However, delivery challenges in Europe, especially during the start of the year, put a damper on Tesla’s customer loyalty ratings in Norway.
But this year, Tesla is no longer in the same position as it was in 2019. With deliveries coming to Europe in a more efficient manner, Tesla’s ramp of the Model 3 has generally been optimized in the country, and it showed in its results from the Norwegian Customer Barometer’s survey. Tesla is the only automaker whose customer loyalty ratings actually improved this year, with the company’s scores rising 3.9 points. All other carmakers saw a decline instead.
Pål Silseth, project manager for the Norwegian Customer Barometer, noted in a statement to Dagens Næringsliv that the electric car maker showed a significant recovery from last year’s challenges. “Tesla has recovered after a bang. They delivered many cars in a short time (last year) and were not ready to handle that situation,” the project manager said.
Even Sandvold Roland, Information Manager at Tesla Norway, acknowledged the electric car maker’s challenges in 2019. Roland stated that Tesla’s improved customer loyalty scores in 2020 are a big accomplishment, especially considering that the company does not use traditional advertising at all.
“We have been through a period of growing pains, and this has not been a desirable situation. We will not let this progress become a resting cushion, but will continue to work on the coming cars as well. The fact that our customers are satisfied with our products and services is what drives our sales, so we are happy with this progress,” Roland said.
Tesla’s remarkable recovery in Norway has actually allowed the company to pass Toyota in customer loyalty. This is notable considering that the Japanese auto giant has been operating for decades, and its vehicles are famed for their reliability and affordability. For its part, Nissan has ended up on the opposite side of the spectrum from Tesla, dropping 10 points in customer loyalty despite the presence of popular EVs like the Leaf.
Silseth noted that Nissan’s struggles, especially with the Leaf, highlight the impact of competition in the market. “Nissan will really struggle in the future. When competitors come with their electric cars, Nissan will not be able to keep up. They hit the jackpot with being in the right place at the right time. Nissan had available cars when no one else had. That’s why they got so big,” Silseth said.
Nissan Norway begs to differ. In a statement to local news, Knut-Arne Marcussen in Nissan Norway stated that the company does not acknowledge the findings of the Norwegian Customer Barometer’s recent study.
“We do not recognize that we have such poor loyalty, on the contrary. We were first out in mass production of electric cars in the world, and are now on the second generation of Leaf. It’s been ten years since it was launched in the fall. I think we are counting on the future, electrification is part of our business strategy, and more models are coming from us,” Marcussen said.
Elon Musk
Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million
The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.
SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has continued its rapid global expansion, surpassing 9 million active customers just weeks after crossing the 8 million mark.
The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.
9 million customers
In a post on X, SpaceX stated that Starlink now serves over 9 million active users across 155 countries, territories, and markets. The company reached 8 million customers in early November, meaning it added roughly 1 million subscribers in under seven weeks, or about 21,275 new users on average per day.
“Starlink is connecting more than 9M active customers with high-speed internet across 155 countries, territories, and many other markets,” Starlink wrote in a post on its official X account. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell also celebrated the milestone on X. “A huge thank you to all of our customers and congrats to the Starlink team for such an incredible product,” she wrote.
That growth rate reflects both rising demand for broadband in underserved regions and Starlink’s expanding satellite constellation, which now includes more than 9,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites designed to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet worldwide.
Starlink’s momentum
Starlink’s momentum has been building up. SpaceX reported 4.6 million Starlink customers in December 2024, followed by 7 million by August 2025, and 8 million customers in November. Independent data also suggests Starlink usage is rising sharply, with Cloudflare reporting that global web traffic from Starlink users more than doubled in 2025, as noted in an Insider report.
Starlink’s momentum is increasingly tied to SpaceX’s broader financial outlook. Elon Musk has said the satellite network is “by far” the company’s largest revenue driver, and reports suggest SpaceX may be positioning itself for an initial public offering as soon as next year, with valuations estimated as high as $1.5 trillion. Musk has also suggested in the past that Starlink could have its own IPO in the future.
News
NVIDIA Director of Robotics: Tesla FSD v14 is the first AI to pass the “Physical Turing Test”
After testing FSD v14, Fan stated that his experience with FSD felt magical at first, but it soon started to feel like a routine.
NVIDIA Director of Robotics Jim Fan has praised Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14 as the first AI to pass what he described as a “Physical Turing Test.”
After testing FSD v14, Fan stated that his experience with FSD felt magical at first, but it soon started to feel like a routine. And just like smartphones today, removing it now would “actively hurt.”
Jim Fan’s hands-on FSD v14 impressions
Fan, a leading researcher in embodied AI who is currently solving Physical AI at NVIDIA and spearheading the company’s Project GR00T initiative, noted that he actually was late to the Tesla game. He was, however, one of the first to try out FSD v14.
“I was very late to own a Tesla but among the earliest to try out FSD v14. It’s perhaps the first time I experience an AI that passes the Physical Turing Test: after a long day at work, you press a button, lay back, and couldn’t tell if a neural net or a human drove you home,” Fan wrote in a post on X.
Fan added: “Despite knowing exactly how robot learning works, I still find it magical watching the steering wheel turn by itself. First it feels surreal, next it becomes routine. Then, like the smartphone, taking it away actively hurts. This is how humanity gets rewired and glued to god-like technologies.”
The Physical Turing Test
The original Turing Test was conceived by Alan Turing in 1950, and it was aimed at determining if a machine could exhibit behavior that is equivalent to or indistinguishable from a human. By focusing on text-based conversations, the original Turing Test set a high bar for natural language processing and machine learning.
This test has been passed by today’s large language models. However, the capability to converse in a humanlike manner is a completely different challenge from performing real-world problem-solving or physical interactions. Thus, Fan introduced the Physical Turing Test, which challenges AI systems to demonstrate intelligence through physical actions.
Based on Fan’s comments, Tesla has demonstrated these intelligent physical actions with FSD v14. Elon Musk agreed with the NVIDIA executive, stating in a post on X that with FSD v14, “you can sense the sentience maturing.” Musk also praised Tesla AI, calling it the best “real-world AI” today.
News
Tesla AI team burns the Christmas midnight oil by releasing FSD v14.2.2.1
The update was released just a day after FSD v14.2.2 started rolling out to customers.
Tesla is burning the midnight oil this Christmas, with the Tesla AI team quietly rolling out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2.2.1 just a day after FSD v14.2.2 started rolling out to customers.
Tesla owner shares insights on FSD v14.2.2.1
Longtime Tesla owner and FSD tester @BLKMDL3 shared some insights following several drives with FSD v14.2.2.1 in rainy Los Angeles conditions with standing water and faded lane lines. He reported zero steering hesitation or stutter, confident lane changes, and maneuvers executed with precision that evoked the performance of Tesla’s driverless Robotaxis in Austin.
Parking performance impressed, with most spots nailed perfectly, including tight, sharp turns, in single attempts without shaky steering. One minor offset happened only due to another vehicle that was parked over the line, which FSD accommodated by a few extra inches. In rain that typically erases road markings, FSD visualized lanes and turn lines better than humans, positioning itself flawlessly when entering new streets as well.
“Took it up a dark, wet, and twisty canyon road up and down the hill tonight and it went very well as to be expected. Stayed centered in the lane, kept speed well and gives a confidence inspiring steering feel where it handles these curvy roads better than the majority of human drivers,” the Tesla owner wrote in a post on X.
Tesla’s FSD v14.2.2 update
Just a day before FSD v14.2.2.1’s release, Tesla rolled out FSD v14.2.2, which was focused on smoother real-world performance, better obstacle awareness, and precise end-of-trip routing. According to the update’s release notes, FSD v14.2.2 upgrades the vision encoder neural network with higher resolution features, enhancing detection of emergency vehicles, road obstacles, and human gestures.
New Arrival Options also allowed users to select preferred drop-off styles, such as Parking Lot, Street, Driveway, Parking Garage, or Curbside, with the navigation pin automatically adjusting to the ideal spot. Other refinements include pulling over for emergency vehicles, real-time vision-based detours for blocked roads, improved gate and debris handling, and Speed Profiles for customized driving styles.
Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million
NVIDIA Director of Robotics: Tesla FSD v14 is the first AI to pass the “Physical Turing Test”
