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EU Commission wages war on combustion engines with hyper-strict emissions standards

(Credit: Pixabay)

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The EU Commission received a study from a panel of experts that called for hyper-strict emissions standards for cars, which may spell the end of internal combustion engines (ICE) around 2025, Bild am Sonntag reported. The EU Commission could base its 2021 legal legislative proposal on the panel’s study. The Commission will negotiate its proposal with the EU Parliament next year.

Local media reports covered some of the specifics of the study and its stricter emissions standards. The panel of experts, called the Advisory Group on Vehicle Emission Standards (AGVES), set following recommendations for Euro 7 standards

  1. New vehicles should only be allowed to emit 30 milligrams (mg) of nitrogen oxide per kilometer (km) compared to 60 mg/km for gasoline cars and 80 mg/km for diesel. An even stricter standard was recommended with new cars only allowed to emit 10 mg/km. 
  2. Carbon monoxide (CO) emissions should be reduced to 100-300 mg from 500-1000 mg.
  3. Real Drive Emissions (RDE) tests should hold tighter standards, and all exceptions should allowed thus far should be eliminated. The AGVES’s study suggests allowing vehicles run at full throttle at all times during the RDE tests. 
    • New cars should comply with limit values at temperatures minus 10C° or plus 40C°, even at an altitude of 1000 or 2000 meters. 
    • New cars should have a theoretical “lifetime” of 15 years or more and 240,000 km mileage (149,00 miles)—even with a roof box, bike rack, or trailer.

The study’s recommended emissions standards means that many ICE vehicles would not be able to pass without vast improvements from legacy OEMs. “With the introduction of the planned EU-7 standard, the EU Commission will de facto ban cars with combustion engines from 2025,” said Hildegard Müller, head of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). Müller seemed to advocate for more attainable standards. 

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“The Commission wants to stipulate that in the future a vehicle must remain virtually emission-free in every driving situation – be it with a trailer on a mountain or in slow city traffic. That is technically impossible and everyone knows that,” she said. The head of VDA called for a push to encourage innovation and make investments in e-fuels and fuel cells. “The problem is not the combustion engine, but the fuel,” Müller said. 

Müller’s points hold a semblance of truth. If the EU Commission does move forward with stricter standards, new energy vehicles like Tesla’s lineup of electric vehicles will have an advantage. This bodes well for the rollout of the Model Y in Gigafactory Berlin, as the vehicle more than meets the region’s emissions standards, and it competes in the popular crossover market. 

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla Roadster unveiling gets pushed again, but new event details emerge

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Credit: Dan Burkland

Tesla has reportedly pushed the unveiling of the Roadster once again, but there are also evidently new details about the event that the company plans to show off.

The Information reported this morning that Tesla will now unveil, for the second time, the next-generation Roadster in August, a further delay from the multiple timeline that the company had previously stated.

The report has not been confirmed or denied by Tesla at any capacity.

It also states the unveiling event will take place in Texas, the same place that Tesla executives revealed in May would be the place of manufacture for the company’s highly-anticipated supercar, which boasts a top speed of over 250 MPH and 650 miles of range, according to its website.

Tesla is also expected to showcase the SpaceX package, which will be used for faster acceleration and potentially hovering capabilities, at the unveiling event, the report states. Musk has always planned for this to happen, but now it seems it is more realistic than ever

The Roadster has had its unveiling date and manufacturing date pushed back on many occasions. It was set to start production in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic crippled supply chain operations, forcing Tesla to push its timeline back considerably.

However, COVID has been over for some time, and Tesla has still not managed to successfully schedule and execute an unveiling event, which is something fans and enthusiasts, as well as those who have put down a $50,000 deposit, have been waiting for.

The vehicle was close to completion last year, but Musk truly wanted Lars Moravy and Franz von Holzhausen to push the limits of the Roadster. In July of last year, Moravy said:

“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind-blowing; We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on, and he got a little excited.”

It is important to note two things: Tesla has not confirmed these details, and the company has regularly pushed these dates back. Until Tesla sends out formal invitations with a concrete date, taking any unveiling event reports with a grain of salt is a good idea.

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Tesla Model 3 has a tasty Supercharging incentive, but it’s ending soon

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is offering a tasty Supercharging incentive on certain Model 3 trims, but the company has officially put a concrete end date on it, so those interested should act fast.

Tesla is offering Free Supercharging for One Year on the Model 3 Premium and Performance trims, the top two offerings of the all-electric sedan. There are three trims of the Model 3 that will have the Free Supercharging offer attached:

  • Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive – $42,490
  • Premium All-Wheel-Drive – $47,490
  • Performance – $54,990

Tesla has now announced that this offer will expire on June 15, giving potential buyers about ten days to take advantage of the incentive.

This could be an additional incentive for car buyers to transition to electric vehicles. Many states are showing gas prices well over $4 per gallon, with the national average currently sitting at $4.22, according to AAA.

Tesla Model 3 wins Edmunds’ Best EV of 2026 award

A free year of Supercharging miles would allow people to charge and travel for free, other than routine maintenance, which is already incredibly cheap compared to a gas car.

At Tesla Superchargers, peak rates, meaning prices between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., average between $0.45 and $0.60. One year of driving at an average of 12,000 miles would cost between $1,000 and $1,500 at $0.50 per kWh. It’s a pretty good deal.

Supercharging prices have also increased recently:

Tesla has used Free Supercharging to move units in the past, and it’s a great strategy for those who plan to use the car for longer commutes, cross-country drives, or do not have reliable access to home charging.

It should be noted that Tesla recommends that Supercharging be used at a minimum to preserve the life of the battery, as fast-charging is more stressful on the cells.

However, some people might not have an option, so the Free Supercharging incentive could truly be a great reason for many people to charge their cars.

The Supercharging incentive is short-term, and it is pretty rare that Tesla utilizes it, so once this offer is gone, we probably will not see it on the Model 3 for some time.

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Ferrari CEO’s self-driving stance echoes Elon Musk’s — sort of

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Credit: Tesla | Ferrari

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna revealed that the Italian automaker’s future will not involve self-driving, a point that echoes that of Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s — sort of.

You might be thinking, “Are you insane? Musk has been so incredibly hellbent on delivering self-driving vehicles to the public, so much so that he has even hinted that Tesla won’t need the ever-popular and widely-requested Model Y L in the U.S.

However, when it comes to electric supercars with high-performance specs and lofty price tags, Vigna’s stance is exactly what Musk wants for Tesla’s own hypercar project, the Tesla Roadster.

In a new interview with Australian media outlet Drive, Vigna made it clear that Ferrari’s ambitions for the future do not involve autonomy, simply because the company’s cars are not designed for anything but manual, spirited driving.

He said:

“We will not make fully autonomous cars — loud and clear. We want the people to have fun, not the [computer] chips. We want to have a steering wheel and a man or a woman behind the steering wheel. Otherwise, why do you buy a Ferrari?”

This seems to be a reasonable assertion. Ferraris are not made for daily commutes, cross-country road trips, or bumper-to-bumper traffic. They’re made for fast, spirited driving, and many of their buyers will only put a few thousand miles on them throughout their lifetime. True, exciting, fun driving is meant to be done manually.

That is not to say Full Self-Driving or other semi-autonomous suites are not “fun,” but they are meant to take the stress out of driving. They are made for the daily commutes, the rush hour traffic, and the parking lots and garages. It’s made to take the stress out of driving.

Tesla Full Self-Driving attempts 150-mile stress test: the good and the bad

Musk had stated in an interview in early 2026 that the Roadster would also be geared toward fun, manually-controlled driving. On the Moonshots podcast with Peter Diamandis, Musk said about the Roadster:

“This is not a…safety is not the main goal. If you buy a Ferrari, safety is not the number one goal. I say, if safety is your number one goal, do not buy the Roadster…We’ll aspire not to kill anyone in this car. It’ll be the best of the last of the human-driven cars. The best of the last.”

There are cars out there that simply are meant to be driven by humans, and Ferraris and Roadsters are a few of them. Ferrari has no true advantage in developing self-driving; their cars sell at low volumes with high price tags, and their performance specs and engineering are all geared toward spirited driving.

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