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Elon Musk dubbed as ‘Industry Newsmaker of the Year’ in All-Stars Awards
Elon Musk is being honored as the Industry Newsmaker of the Year by industry publication Automotive News, which recognized the Tesla CEO as one of the few people who found a way to gain momentum in a year that was challenging for the automotive industry.
Tesla and SpaceX both have used 2020 as a year of “no excuses,” marking incredible surges in valuation and momentum as other companies failed to grow in their respective sectors. Musk’s 2020 has gone far beyond cars and rocketships, and the Tesla CEO has released an EDM track, a bottle of highly-popular Tequila, fathered a newborn, launched a worldwide satellite internet service, and propelled his Neuralink project into relevancy with new developments that were detailed in a company event earlier this year. It has been anything but an off-year for Musk, who has used the pandemic as motivation to get the world into the future and develop new technology that will increase the efficiency of our lives in every facet.
Perhaps Musk’s biggest win in 2020 was Tesla’s constant and consistent growth on Wall Street, which has made company investors extremely wealthy. After the company’s first trading day in 2020, TSLA’s price per share was just over $86 apiece. Now, the stock has surged to over $600 a share at its highest point, and its momentum all has to do with the influence that the once-failing company that struggled to keep its doors open 12 short years ago has on the rest of the automotive sector.
Elon Musk’s astonishing life accomplishments to be recognized by award in Berlin
Tesla has managed to show that electric cars will eventually be the only way to travel, and legacy car companies are beginning to realize that their production lines need to transition to sustainable forms of transportation. Musk is certainly aware of his company’s influence and has noted during some interviews that Tesla’s success in the automotive sector speaks for itself.
“I must be doing something right, as far as my managing style’s concerned. Tesla’s worth twice as much as the rest of the U.S. auto industry combined,” he said to Automotive News.
Tesla’s valuation has been fueled by its constant improvements in automotive technology, including batteries, and its ever-growing appearance in foreign markets. To keep up with demand outside of the United States, Tesla is building the second phase of its already-operational Giga Shanghai facility and is moving closer to the first production push at the Giga Berlin plant in Germany. While those two facilities will supply vehicles to some of the most populous automotive markets globally, Tesla is also building a new facility in Texas to help with increasing demand in its home country of the United States.
Other than that, Tesla has introduced its first versions of the “zero-intervention” Full Self Driving suite in a Beta release to a small group of owners. The release has solidified Tesla’s identity as the leader in semi-autonomous driving functions. The company plans to release more confident and detailed versions of the software as it improves, thanks to the work of the Autopilot and Artificial Intelligence teams.
Musk’s constant and tireless work to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy has made Tesla the most valuable car company on Earth. With more developments on the way, which include a $25,000 vehicle in the next few years, a more affordable battery through in-house manufacturing, and increasingly accurate FSD releases, Tesla holds the keys to become the most valuable company on Earth as every portion of the company aims to change life as we know it, for the better.
News
Ford is charging for a basic EV feature on the Mustang Mach-E
When ordering a new Ford Mustang Mach-E, you’ll now be hit with an additional fee for one basic EV feature: the frunk.
Ford is charging an additional fee for a basic EV feature on its Mustang Mach-E, its most popular electric vehicle offering.
Ford has shuttered its initial Model e program, but is venturing into a more controlled and refined effort, and it is abandoning the F-150 Lightning in favor of a new pickup that is currently under design, but appears to have some favorable features.
However, ordering a new Mustang Mach-E now comes with an additional fee for one basic EV feature: the frunk.
The frunk is the front trunk, and due to the lack of a large engine in the front of an electric vehicle, OEMs are able to offer additional storage space under the hood. There’s one problem, though, and that is that companies appear to be recognizing that they can remove it for free while offering the function for a fee.
Ford is now charging $495 on the Mustang Mach-E frunk (front trunk). What are your thoughts on that? pic.twitter.com/EOzZe3z9ZQ
— Alan of TesCalendar 📆⚡️ (@TesCalendar1) February 24, 2026
Ford is charging $495 for the frunk.
Interestingly, the frunk size varies by vehicle, but the Mustang Mach-E features a 4.7 to 4.8 cubic-foot-sized frunk, which measures approximately 9 inches deep, 26 inches wide, and 14 inches high.
When the vehicle was first released, Ford marketed the frunk as the ultimate tailgating feature, showing it off as a perfect place to store and serve cold shrimp cocktail.
Ford Mach-E frunk is perfect for chowders and chicken wings, and we’re not even joking
It appears the decision to charge for what is a simple advantage of an EV is not going over well, as even Ford loyal customers say the frunk is a “basic expectation” of an EV. Without it, it seems as if fans feel the company is nickel-and-diming its customers.
It will be pretty interesting to see the Mach-E without a frunk, and while it should not be enough to turn people away from potentially buying the vehicle, it seems the decision to add an additional charge to include one will definitely annoy some customers.
News
Tesla to improve one of its best features, coding shows
According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.
Tesla is looking to upgrade its Matrix Headlights, a unique and high-tech feature that is available on several of its vehicles. The headlights aim to maximize visibility for Tesla drivers while being considerate of oncoming traffic.
The Matrix Headlights Tesla offers utilize dimming of individual light pixels to ensure that visibility stays high for those behind the wheel, while also being considerate of other cars by decreasing the brightness in areas where other cars are traveling.
Here’s what they look like in action:
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- Credit: u/ObjectiveScratch | Reddit
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- Credit: u/ObjectiveScratch | Reddit
As you can see, the Matrix headlight system intentionally dims the area where oncoming cars would be impacted by high beams. This keeps visibility at a maximum for everyone on the road, including those who could be hit with bright lights in their eyes.
There are still a handful of complaints from owners, however, but Tesla appears to be looking to resolve these with the coming updates in a Software Version that is currently labeled 2026.2.xxx. The coding was spotted by X user BERKANT:
🚨 Tesla is quietly upgrading Matrix headlights.
Software https://t.co/pXEklQiXSq reveals a hidden feature:
matrix_two_stage_reflection_dip
This is a major step beyond current adaptive high beams.
What it means:
• The car detects highly reflective objects
Road signs,… pic.twitter.com/m5UpQJFA2n— BERKANT (@Tesla_NL_TR) February 24, 2026
According to the update, Tesla will work on improving the headlights when coming into contact with highly reflective objects, including road signs, traffic signs, and street lights. Additionally, pixel-level dimming will happen in two stages, whereas it currently performs with just one, meaning on or off.
Finally, the new system will prevent the high beams from glaring back at the driver. The system is made to dim when it recognizes oncoming cars, but not necessarily objects that could produce glaring issues back at the driver.
Tesla’s revolutionary Matrix headlights are coming to the U.S.
This upgrade is software-focused, so there will not need to be any physical changes or upgrades made to Tesla vehicles that utilize the Matrix headlights currently.
Elon Musk
xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
Elon Musk’s xAI has signed an agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to allow Grok to be used in classified military systems.
Previously, Anthropic’s Claude had been the only AI system approved for the most sensitive military work, but a dispute over usage safeguards has reportedly prompted the Pentagon to broaden its options, as noted in a report from Axios.
Under the agreement, Grok can be deployed in systems handling classified intelligence analysis, weapons development, and battlefield operations.
The publication reported that xAI agreed to the Pentagon’s requirement that its technology be usable for “all lawful purposes,” a standard Anthropic has reportedly resisted due to alleged ethical restrictions tied to mass surveillance and autonomous weapons use.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to meet with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei in what sources expect to be a tense meeting, with the publication hinting that the Pentagon could designate Anthropic a “supply chain risk” if the company does not lift its safeguards.
Axios stated that replacing Claude fully might be technically challenging even if xAI or other alternative AI systems take its place. That being said, other AI systems are already in use by the DoD.
Grok already operates in the Pentagon’s unclassified systems alongside Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Google is reportedly close to an agreement that will result in Gemini being used for classified use, while OpenAI’s progress toward classified deployment is described as slower but still feasible.
The publication noted that the Pentagon continues talks with several AI companies as it prepares for potential changes in classified AI sourcing.
Ford is charging for a basic EV feature on the Mustang Mach-E
Tesla to improve one of its best features, coding shows
