News
Tesla’s near-obsessive efforts to improve efficiency shown in new ventilated seat patent
It is no secret that Tesla’s electric vehicles are among the most efficient in the auto industry. This is shown in the gap between Tesla and its competitors when it comes to battery tech and just how far the company’s vehicles can last between charges.
The Model X, for example, is Tesla’s largest vehicle available today, yet it is far more efficient than competitors from veteran automakers such as the Audi e-tron and the Jaguar I-PACE, both of which are smaller and newer than the Silicon Valley-based company’s flagship crossover. Part of this is likely due to Tesla’s proprietary battery chemistry, as well as the design and components of its vehicles themselves.
Tesla optimizes its vehicles’ efficiency in several ways, from equipping its cars with software that optimizes the battery pack to using materials that simply consume less power. The less power is consumed by the car’s systems, after all, the more power there is that could be used to turn the wheels of the vehicle.
An example of this is described in a recently-published patent titled “Vehicle Seat with Integrated Temperature-Control System.” Tesla notes in its patent that heated seats could easily be very inefficient, as they require heat to travel through multiple layers of material.
“Attempts to provide air ventilation through the seat foam are typically insufficient to remove excess heat and provide a comfortable environment for the occupant. Further, conventional heating systems are bulky, occupy space in the seat which typically requires the seat to be thicker, and are inefficient in heating the seat as the heat typically must travel through multiple layers and heats regions of the seat that the occupant does not contact. Hence, there is a need for an improved temperature-control system for vehicle seats,” Tesla noted.
The electric car maker describes how its ventilated seat patent works as follows.
“The temperature-control system is associated with at least one of a seating portion and a backrest portion of the seat. The temperature control system includes a base layer. The temperature-control system includes an intermediate layer disposed adjacent to the base layer. The intermediate layer allows fluid to flow through it. The temperature-control system includes a cover layer disposed adjacent to the intermediate layer. The temperature-control system also includes at least one heating element disposed between the intermediate layer and the cover layer. The temperature-control system further includes a fluid pump to provide the flow of fluid through the intermediate layer,” the company wrote.
Tesla explains that the design outlined in its patent provides a low-cost, low-noise, power-efficient, and effective way of cooling or heating a vehicle’s seats. The company also explained that its patent could be incorporated in any seat, regardless of size and shape.
Tesla’s patent for its “Vehicle Seat with Integrated Temperature-Control System” could be accessed in full here.
Being a patent application, it is unknown if Tesla has or will utilize the design it described in the recently published document. Yet, regardless of this, it is difficult to not acknowledge the electric car maker’s constant efforts to improve its vehicles’ efficiency. In a way, the publication of this patent comes at a rather appropriate time for Tesla too, as the company is preparing to unveil its next vehicle, a pickup truck, later this year.
Pickup trucks are by tradition not the most efficient cars on the road, and even the Rivian R1T, a vehicle designed from the ground up to be all-electric, requires a massive 180 kWh battery pack to hit 400 miles of range. That’s a range that the Raven Tesla Model S is already approaching with its 100 kWh battery pack.
At this point in the EV race, it’s evident that the efficiency of Tesla’s electric cars is top-notch, and it will likely take a while before competitors can come close. Rivals will come for the company from several fronts, including veteran automakers and young, upstart manufacturers. But by being a moving target, it will likely be a very challenging task to catch up to Tesla. Very few companies out there could be just as dedicated and near-obsessive with improvement and innovation, after all.
News
Tesla revises new Intervention Reporting system with Full Self-Driving
It is the second revision to the program as Tesla is trying to make it easier to decipher driver and owner complaints, but also to make it easier to report issues within the suite for them.
Tesla has revised its new Intervention Reporting system within the Full Self-Driving suite that now categorizes reasons that drivers take over when the semi-autonomous driving functionality is active.
It is the second revision to the program as Tesla is trying to make it easier to decipher driver and owner complaints, but also to make it easier to report issues within the suite for them.
With the initial rollout of Full Self-Driving v14.3.2, Tesla included a new reporting menu that gave four options for an intervention: Preference, Comfort, Critical, and Other. A slightly revised version of Full Self-Driving with the same ID number then came out a few days later, changing the “Other” option to “Navigation” after numerous complaints from owners.
It appears Tesla has listened to those owners once again and has not only made it smaller and more compact, but also easier to report the issues than previously.
The new menu is now embedded within the request for a Voice Memo from Tesla, and does not block the entire screen, as the second rollout of the menu was:
Thank you Tesla! The new intervention screen is much better! @Tesla_AI pic.twitter.com/1lea9G27N1
— Dirty Tesla (@DirtyTesLa) May 1, 2026
There will likely be one additional revision to the Interventions Menu, as we have coined it here at Teslarati.
Unfortunately, at times, there are no reasons for an intervention at all, but the menu does not give an option to simply disregard the reporting and forces the driver to choose one of the options. We, as well as other notable Tesla influencers, indicated that there is not always a reason for an intervention.
For example, I choose to back into my parking spot in my neighborhood at least some of the time for the reason of charging. I usually hit “Preference” for this, but it sends a false positive to Tesla that there was a reason I took over that I was unhappy with.
Tesla begins probing owners on FSD’s navigation errors with small but mighty change
Instead, I’m simply performing a maneuver that is not yet available to us. When Tesla allows drivers to choose the orientation at which their car enters a parking spot, I and many others won’t have to deal with this menu.
Others are still skeptical that it will help resolve any issues whatsoever and prefer to disregard the menu altogether. It does seem as if Tesla will issue another revision in the coming days to allow this to happen.
Lifestyle
California hits Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi driverless cars with new law
California just gave police power to ticket driverless cars, including Tesla’s Cybercab fleet.
California DMV formally adopted new rules on April 29, 2026 that allow law enforcement to issue “notices of noncompliance”, or in other words ticket autonomous vehicle companies when their cars commit moving violations. The rules take effect July 1, 2026 and officially closes a regulatory gap that previously let driverless cars operate on public roads with nearly no traffic enforcement consequences.
Until now, state traffic laws only applied to human “drivers,” which meant that when no person was behind the wheel, police had no mechanism to issue a ticket. Officers were limited to citing driverless vehicles for parking violations only. A well-known example came in September 2025, when a San Bruno officer watched a Waymo robotaxi execute an illegal U-turn and could do nothing but notify the company.
Under the new framework, when an officer observes a violation, the autonomous vehicle company is effectively treated as the driver. Companies must report each incident to the DMV within 72 hours, or 24 hours if a collision is involved. Repeated violations can result in fleet size restrictions, operational suspensions, or full permit revocation. Local officials also gained new authority to geofence driverless vehicles out of active emergency zones within two minutes and require a live emergency response line answered within 30 seconds.
Tesla Cybercab ramps Robotaxi public street testing as vehicle enters mass production queue
California’s new enforcement rules arrive at a pivotal moment for Tesla. The company is ramping Cybercab production at Giga Texas toward hundreds of units per week, targeting at least 2 million units annually at full capacity, while simultaneously pushing to expand its Robotaxi service to dozens of U.S. cities by end of 2026. Unsupervised FSD for consumer vehicles is currently targeted for Q4 2026, and when it arrives, Tesla’s fleet may not have a human to absorb legal accountability, under the July 1 rules.
Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its Robotaxi service to seven new cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, with the service already running without safety drivers in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.
News
Tesla Model X shocks everyone by crushing every other used car in America
The Model X is one of Tesla’s flagship models, the other being the Model S. Earlier this year, Tesla confirmed it would discontinue production of both the Model S and Model X to make way for Optimus robot production at the Fremont Factory in Northern California.
The Tesla Model X was the fastest-selling used vehicle in the United States in the first quarter of the year, crushing every other used car in America.
iSeeCars data for the first quarter shows that the Model X was the fastest-selling used car, lasting just 25.6 days on the market on average, two days better than that of the second-place Lexus RX 350h. The Cybertruck, Model Y, and Model S, in seventh, ninth, and thirteenth place, respectively, also made the list.
The Model X is one of Tesla’s flagship models, the other being the Model S. Earlier this year, Tesla confirmed it would discontinue production of both the Model S and Model X to make way for Optimus robot production at the Fremont Factory in Northern California.
Tesla brings closure to flagship ‘sentimental’ models, Musk confirms
Bringing closure to these two vehicles signaled the end of the road for the cars that have effectively built Tesla’s reputation for luxury and high-end passenger vehicles.
Relying on the sales of its mass market Model Y and Model 3, as well as leaning on the success of future products like the Cybercab, is the angle Tesla has chosen to take.
Teslas are also performing extremely well as a whole on the resale market. iSeeCars data shows that, “while the average price of a 1- to 5-year-old non-Tesla EV fell 10.3% in Q1 2026 year-over-year, the average price of a used Tesla was essentially flat at 0.1% lower across the same period. Traditional gas car prices dropped 2.8% during this same period.”
Additionally, market share for gas cars has dropped nearly 3 percent since the same quarter last year. Tesla has remained level, while the non-Tesla EV market share has increased 30 percent, mostly due to more models available.
Nevertheless, those non-Tesla EVs have seen their value drop by over 10 percent, while Tesla’s values have remained level.
Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said:
“Used electric vehicles without a Tesla badge have lost more than 10% of their value in the past year. This compares to stable values for Teslas and hybrids, and a modest 2.8% drop for traditional gasoline vehicles.”
Teslas, as well as non-luxury hybrids, are displaying the strongest resistance in the face of faltering demand, the publication says. But the more impressive performance is that of the Model X alone.
Tesla’s decision to stop production of the Model X may have played some part in the vehicle’s pristine performance in Q1. With the car already placed at a premium price point, used models are already more appealing to consumers. Perhaps second-hand versions were more than enough for those who wanted a Model X, and only a Model X.
Tesla revises new Intervention Reporting system with Full Self-Driving
California hits Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi driverless cars with new law
