A look at recent announcements from legacy automakers would give the idea that the electric car revolution is at hand. GM recently announced a massive $20 billion push for electrification. Volkswagen’s CEO is quite literally putting his career on the line to make a mass-market electric car, and Porsche has given one of its most historic sites an “open-heart surgery” just to make an all-electric sports car. Across the board, the “Tesla Effect” seems alive and well, with automaker after automaker announcing their support for electric vehicles.
Yet for all these statements and promises, the EV revolution, at least in the US, does not seem to be going as fast as it could be. In fact, it appears that for many US auto dealerships, it would be better if the transition to electric vehicles happens far into the future, or better yet, never. This was according to a brief trip by Chevy Bolt owner and CNET founding member Brooke Crothers, who recently got a sobering look at the sheer apathy among US auto dealerships when it comes to EVs.
Amidst legacy auto’s accelerating electric car programs, Crothers opted to visit one of the largest auto malls in the United States, located at Cerritos, CA. The Golden State is considered the center of America’s electric car movement, being the home of Tesla and one of the country’s strictest emissions programs. Thus, it would only make sense if the electric car revolution is evident in the state’s car dealers. Unfortunately for the tech veteran, he soon learned that this was not the case.
Crothers visited numerous automakers, starting with GM, which currently sells the Bolt EV, an electric car that is pretty comparable to the Model 3 Standard Range Plus in terms of range. The GM dealership did not have a single Bolt available on the lot. Instead, the only thing that potential car buyers could find are gas guzzlers like Silverado trucks, cars like the Corvette and Camaro, and large SUVs like the Suburban. This is quite disappointing considering that GM actually has a history of being a first mover in sustainable transport, with cars like the EV1 and the Volt under its belt.
Volkswagen’s dealer was no better. The German automaker is in the middle of a massive electric car program, one that CEO Herbert Diess considers as his personal project. Crothers stated that the VW dealer he visited only had the e-Golf available, which is an electric car from the bygone era of compliance vehicles. It remains to be seen if the company’s EV initiative in Germany will spill over to the US, but for now, Volkswagen’s electric car program in the United States seems substandard at best.
Acura seems to be among the worst, with a salesperson telling Crothers that there is no future in electric vehicles. Gas will rule, the automaker’s representative said, and the only viable way for sustainable transport are fuel cell hybrids. The dealership also stated that they only sold “a couple” of hybrid MDX vehicles in the past 12 months. “There’s no demand,” an Acura salesperson said.
Some legacy automakers did show some degree of the “Tesla Effect,” with Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, and Audi having some electric vehicles in their lot. Nissan actually had a Leaf available, and Honda had several Clarity models in its showroom window. Hyundai was even better with staff being ready to answer questions about the Kona EV and the Ioniq (though both vehicles were in the dealer’s back lot). The same was true for Audi, whose staff seemed knowledgable and enthusiastic about the e-tron.
The “Tesla Effect” is a series of initiatives from numerous industries that follow one theme: The end of the oil age and the beginning of the electric era. This effect has taken hold in the auto sector, as young carmaker Tesla ended up disrupting several industries with vehicles like the Model 3. The “Tesla Effect” is only bound to get more prominent too, amidst the company’s focus on residential solar and battery storage, as well as the release of potentially high-margin vehicles like the Model Y and the Cybertruck.
Across the auto industry, the “Tesla Effect” could be seen, with practically every automaker in the industry seemingly going all-in on their respective electric car programs. All-electric newcomers with a lot of potential are poised to enter the market as well, led by independent companies like Rivian and Bollinger, and sub-brands such as Polestar. Overall, legacy automakers seem ready to embrace electrification. They just need to persuade their dealers to put effort into selling their EVs.
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Tesla expands Robotaxi in a way that was long anticipated
Instead, it has to do with the consumer base it offers Robotaxi to, because it has not offered it to everyone in the past.
Tesla has expanded Robotaxi in a way that was long anticipated, and it does not have to do with a new, larger geofence in a city where it already offered its partially autonomous ride-hailing suite, or a new city altogether.
Instead, it has to do with the consumer base it offers Robotaxi to, because it has not offered it to everyone in the past.
Tesla has taken a major step forward in its autonomous ride-hailing ambitions with the official launch of the Tesla Robotaxi app for Android users. Released on the Google Play Store on April 24. Titled simply “Tesla Robotaxi,” the app is now available to download directly from Tesla.
The @Tesla Robtoaxi App has just officially launched for Android users. Go get some rides y’all!
Download: https://t.co/D2jIONXc91 pic.twitter.com/rQ6TD14zkC
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) April 24, 2026
This rollout fulfills a long-anticipated expansion that opens the service to hundreds of millions of Android smartphone users who were previously unable to access it on iOS alone.
The app delivers a streamlined, driverless ride experience powered by Tesla’s automated driving technology.
Users sign in with a Tesla Account, view the current service area map within the app, enter a destination, and receive an estimated fare and arrival time before confirming the ride. When a Model Y from the Robotaxi fleet arrives, riders confirm the license plate, enter the vehicle, fasten their seatbelt, and tap “Start Ride” on either the app or the vehicle’s touchscreen.
During the trip, passengers have access to all the same controls that iOS users do, and can adjust climate settings, seat positions, and music while tracking progress on an in-app map. The interface also allows drop-off changes or support requests if needed. After the ride, users exit, close the doors, and submit feedback.
This Android availability directly broadens the rider base for Robotaxi in its initial service areas. Unfortunately, Android users are used to being subject to delayed launches of new features available to Tesla owners.
By removing the iOS-only barrier, Tesla instantly expands the addressable market, enabling far more people to summon and use the autonomous vehicles already operating on public roads.
The move is a foundational requirement for scaling ride volume and gathering the real-world data needed to refine the unsupervised Full Self-Driving system that powers every trip.
For the Robotaxi program itself, the launch signals steady operational progress. It prepares the service for higher utilization rates as the fleet grows and supports the transition from limited early deployments to a more robust network.
Tesla expands Unsupervised Robotaxi service to two new cities
Tesla has indicated that users outside current service areas can sign up at the company’s website for future notifications, pointing to a deliberate, phased geographic rollout.
Looking ahead, the company plans to incorporate Cybercab vehicles to increase fleet capacity and efficiency while continuing to expand service territories. With the Android app now live, Tesla has removed a key adoption hurdle and positioned Robotaxi for the next phase of growth in autonomous urban transportation.
The infrastructure is now in place to support significantly larger rider demand as production and deployment accelerate.
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UPDATE: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy that launched a Tesla into space is back on a mission
SpaceX Falcon Heavy returns after 18 months away to deliver a satellite that only it could carry.
UPDATE: 10:29 a.m. et: SpaceX is standing down from today’s Falcon Heavy launch of the ViaSat-3 F3 mission due to unfavorable weather. A new target date will be shared once confirmed.
After an 18-month absence, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is returning to mission on Monday morning when it’s scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center at 10:21 a.m. EDT.
The mission is called ViaSat-3 F3, and the heavy satellite payload needs to reach geostationary orbit, sitting 22,236 miles above Earth where its speed matches the planet’s rotation. Getting a satellite that heavy to that altitude demands more thrust than a single-core Falcon 9 can deliver.
This marks the Falcon Heavy’s 12th flight overall since its debut in February 2018, and its first since NASA’s Europa Clipper mission in October 2024.
Arguably, the most exciting element for spectators will be watching the booster recoveries in action when the two side boosters, B1072 and B1075, will attempt simultaneous landings at Landing Zone 2 and the newer Landing Zone 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, while the center core will be expended over the ocean.
SpaceX wins its first MARS contract but it comes with a catch
Following satellite deployment, expected roughly five hours after launch, ViaSat-3 F3 will spend several months traveling to its final orbital slot before undergoing in-orbit testing, with service entry expected by late summer 2026
As Teslarati reported, NASA awarded SpaceX a $175.7 million contract on April 16, 2026, to launch the ESA Rosalind Franklin Mars rover aboard a Falcon Heavy no earlier than late 2028, which would mark the first time SpaceX has ever sent a payload to Mars. That contract came on top of an already deep pipeline that includes the Roman Space Telescope, the Dragonfly Saturn mission, and multiple national security payloads.
SpaceX executed 165 missions in 2025 and now accounts for approximately 85% of all global orbital launches. With Starlink surpassing 10 million subscribers and an IPO targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation still ahead, Monday’s launch is one more data point in a company that has quietly become the backbone of both commercial and government space access worldwide.
Tesla is launching its solution to end Supercharger fights once and for all, eliminating any confusion on who is to charge next at a congested location.
Last year, a notable incident at a Tesla Supercharger led to a fight, and it all stemmed from a disagreement over who arrived at the location first.
Congestion at Tesla Superchargers is a pretty infrequent occurrence for most of us, but there are more congested and popular areas where wait times can be extensive. An unfortunate growing pain of EV ownership is the plain fact that chargers are not as available as gas pumps, and there are, at times, lines to charge.
This can cause tensions to flare and people to get entitled when visiting Superchargers. Nobody wants to spend hours at a Supercharger, but now, there will be no more confusion when there is a queue, and that’s thanks to Tesla’s new Virtual Queue for Superchargers.
Tesla is finally starting to build out the Virtual Supercharger Queue, according to Not a Tesla App, but it still relies on drivers to make it work.
When a driver is near a Supercharger that is full, a message will pop up on the Tesla App, using the driver’s location to determine their eligibility to join the virtual queue.
The app states:
“While the app is closed, Tesla uses your location to notify you of accurate wait times at Superchargers when you arrive.”
Another message within the app states:
“There is a waitlist to charge. Are you sure you want to start a charging session now?”
This sounds as if it will require drivers to act appropriately and only plug in when the app prompts them to do so, by letting them know it is their turn.
The app will notify the driver of their position in the queue, as well as how many vehicles are ahead of them.
Tesla launches first ‘true’ East Coast V4 Supercharger: here’s what that means
The company announced a while back that it would be working on a solution for this issue. Personally, I’ve only had to wait at a Supercharger for a charge on one occasion, and there was a line of between 3 and 10 cars during this singular occurrence.
I’m out at the Lancaster, PA Supercharger and showed up with a queue of three vehicles.
It’s now up to five and there have been several issues with order of arrival and confusion about who is first.
Any update on Supercharger queue? @elonmusk @aelluswamy @r_jegaa
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 31, 2026
There were no conflicts or arguments about who had arrived first, but there was some discussion between several drivers during my time there about who was to charge first. Throw a non-Tesla EV into the mix, one that can only charge at a pull-in spot, and that causes even more of a complication.
Tesla expands Robotaxi in a way that was long anticipated
UPDATE: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy that launched a Tesla into space is back on a mission
