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Tesla’s pooling deal with Fiat-Chrysler is proving to be a killer combo in Europe
New data from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) shows that the pooling deal between Tesla and Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles is proving to be a strong force, as the two companies recently made up for 39% of the total electric vehicles registered in Europe.
According to the ICCT, the FCA-Tesla duo made up for nearly 2 of every five electric vehicles sold in Europe during the first quarter of 2020. The next closest competitor was Volvo, which shared 22% of the market with their electric cars. BMW was third with 14%.
“This is the result of a strong uptake of Tesla battery-electric vehicle sales, with a tenfold increase in deliveries in markets such as the UK, while at the same time sales of the Fiat brand combustion engine vehicles were cut in half compared to the previous month,” an ICCT Fact Sheet said.
⚡️Unprecedented⚡️ EV sales🚗all across European car markets in Q1 2020:
📈Record 10% marketshare in March
🇪🇺Driven by EU car CO2 regulation that kicked in on 1 Jan 2020See @TheICCT @MockPeter analysis:https://t.co/eYe8UrfngZ pic.twitter.com/fi7Q2FMcbe
— T&E (@transenv) April 29, 2020
In April 2019, Tesla and Fiat-Chrysler struck a deal to “pool” together their fleets to meet tough European Union emissions standards. The EU allowed company “pooling” to reach the goal of 95g of CO2 per kilometer at the beginning of 2020, and FCA chose Tesla to help accomplish that feat. Fiat Chrysler will pay Tesla around 1.8 billion euros for the deal, which will help them avoid large fines for having excessive emissions rates.
Fiat-Chrysler has plans to transition some of its most popular vehicles to electric as emissions standards are proving to be a tough task for the company when it is standing alone. The Fiat 500e will roll out for its first deliveries in Europe in July 2020. Meanwhile, the company also has plans to electrify the Fiat Panda, a car that could launch as soon as 2021.
Furthermore, FCA also expressed intentions to build Plug-In Hybrid variants of the Jeep Compass, Renegade, and Wrangler in a $10.5 billion initiative to transition to a more sustainable transportation lineup. But until then, the automaker’s pooling deal with Tesla would be its trump card to avoid emissions fines in Europe.
Tesla’s presence in Europe is notable. The company’s Model 3, Model S, and Model X are currently all available for purchase in the region. The Model Y will be available for purchase when the first phase of Giga Berlin is finished, and Tesla plans to complete that project in July 2021.
The Model 3, for its part, has made waves in the region’s auto sector. While other manufacturers like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW continue to maintain high sales numbers through their lineup of petrol-powered sedans, the Tesla Model 3 has competed with these companies head-on. Figures from JATO Dynamics suggest that the Model 3 was the third most popular car, regardless of power source, in Europe in December 2019.
The partnership between both Tesla and Fiat-Chrysler goes way past selling vehicles. The collaboration between the two companies will, of course, increase sales figures. However, the ultimate goal was to decrease the amount of CO2 emissions into the Earth’s atmosphere, which is an issue that Fiat-Chrysler would have struggled with on its own. However, Tesla has helped FCA come within just three points of its emissions goal of 95g of CO2 per kilometer.
SpaceX has achieved an incredible milestone by launching its 11,000th Starlink satellite into orbit.
This accomplishment occurred during the Starlink Group 17-50 mission, which lifted off on August 19 at 04:01 UTC from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Falcon 9 launches 24 @Starlink satellites from California pic.twitter.com/UscpmAxDls
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 19, 2026
A Falcon 9 rocket carried 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on this flight, successfully deploying them into low Earth orbit approximately one hour after liftoff. The first stage booster, identified as B1097 on its twelfth flight, landed successfully on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
According to tracking data compiled around that date, this deployment brought the total number of Starlink satellites in orbit to just over 11,000.
The Starlink program began with test satellites known as Tintin A and B, launched on February 22, 2018. The first operational batch of 60 Starlink satellites followed on May 24, 2019, when a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral. Those initial satellites marked the start of a rapid expansion that has continued for more than seven years.
SpaceX has conducted hundreds of dedicated Starlink missions since then, routinely launching batches of 20 to 30 satellites at a time using reusable Falcon 9 rockets. By mid-2026, the company had already surpassed 12,000 total satellites launched across all versions, with continuous replacements for units that deorbit as designed to manage space debris.
Looking ahead, SpaceX continues to expand the Starlink constellation to enhance global broadband coverage, capacity, and speed. The network already serves millions of users across more than 160 countries and supports applications ranging from residential internet to maritime, aviation, and emergency services.
Future plans center on next-generation hardware, including larger V3 satellites capable of delivering substantially higher throughput, which require the increased payload capacity of the Starship vehicle currently under development and testing.
In July, SpaceX submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission seeking authority for a Gen3 constellation of up to 100,000 satellites. These spacecraft would operate in very low Earth orbit shells at altitudes near 325 kilometers and 475 kilometers. The filing requests use of existing Ku, Ka, V, and E band spectrum along with new greenfield W and D band frequencies between 92 and 275 GHz.
SpaceX states that the expanded system aims to deliver multi-gigabit symmetrical broadband to consumers, enterprises, governments, and billions of AI-powered devices worldwide while handling a majority of global internet traffic. Approval and subsequent deployment would depend on regulatory review and the operational readiness of Starship for high-volume launches.
This ambitious scale reflects SpaceX’s ongoing commitment to providing ubiquitous high-speed connectivity from space.
Tesla has opened a new sweepstakes to allow the public to be among the first to take an initial ride in a Cybercab. This all-electric, steering-wheel-less, pedal-less vehicle is the centerpiece of the company’s autonomous ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi.
There are two ways Tesla fans can get to Austin to take part in the first public rides of the Cybercab: by riding on the Robotaxi platform by August 23, or by mailing a very specific entry to their Headquarters at Gigafactory Texas.
Tesla announced the latter portion of the sweepstakes last night:
🚨 Want to win a trip to Austin to ride in one of the first Cybercab rides ever?
Here’s how:
Tesla has opened up a new sweepstakes to ride in a Cybercab upon its public launch. Here’s the details.
There are two methods of entry into the sweepstakes, and they are as follows:… pic.twitter.com/iJRd4evuWo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 19, 2026
Tesla will give one entry into the sweepstakes if you mail a 3″ by 5″ piece of paper with your full name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, and date of birth to their address:
Tesla, Robotaxi Sweeps Event
1 Tesla Road,
Austin, TX 78725
There is a limit of one entry per stamped envelope. You can send as many as you’d like, but they must be in separate envelopes.
The company’s unique strategy to give people the opportunity to ride in a Cybercab before pretty much anyone else outside of the company is a hilarious but spot-on representation of how Tesla operates. In classic fashion, they had the perfect response to the event:
— Tesla (@Tesla) August 19, 2026
Cybercab will launch later this month, it appears, especially as it plans to announce the winners of the sweepstakes on August 25. The car has already been operating internally, as employees have been able to utilize the Cybercab for rides in some capacity, something it announced earlier this month.
Tesla weirdly confirms Cybercab employee rides, a huge milestone
Moving forward, the big goal is to get Cybercab out on the roads and integrated into the public Robotaxi fleet, one that will pick up real-world ride-hailers and give them a ride from Point A to Point B.
No matter which way you cut it, it appears Tesla is close to putting a vehicle with no steering wheel and no pedals on the road to help people travel autonomously.
You can ride along with us in our first Cybercab ride from the We, Robot event in October 2024. The video is embedded below:
🎥: Our FULL first ride in the @Tesla Cybercab pic.twitter.com/6gR7OgKRCz
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 11, 2024
Tesla has revealed plans through permit submissions for a massive Robotaxi charging hub in Austin, Texas.
Tesla plans to build the Supercharger hub in multiple phases, with the second phase potentially introducing wireless induction charging, something the company has been developing for the Robotaxi fleet.
Initially, 48 Tesla Robotaxi-geared Superchargers will be built on a lot just across from the St. Elmo, Texas, Service Center. There are about 80 additional spots that will not be impacted by phase 1 of the construction process.
Filings show that the second phase of the project will turn those 80 additional spots into wireless charging for Robotaxi, but it might be an error. The Key Notes state that item 3 is listed as “V4 Charging Cabinet to Support 80 Wireless Chargers in Phase 2. However, the drawings point to V3 Cabinets that are already tied to Superchargers:
There are roughly 128 total spots in the lot, but it is unclear if they will all be used for charging based on what appears to be some sort of typo in the blueprint.
A new Robotaxi fleet charging hub is coming soon to Austin, Texas!!
Permits have been filed for the installation of 48 (V3) stalls in a vehicle storage lot across the road from Tesla’s St Elmo service center. pic.twitter.com/xwRgSWDqht
— MarcoRP (@MarcoRPi1) August 18, 2026
This is among the first Robotaxi charging hubs Tesla has started to develop, as it currently has four others planned throughout various areas: one in Phoenix, one in San Antonio, another in Irving, which will serve the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and another in Las Vegas.
These projects are necessary as Tesla expands its Robotaxi program. Now that preparations have started for the public launch of Cybercab, Robotaxi will likely be expanding aggressively, especially over the next two to three years.
Last night, The Information reported that Tesla was planning to launch Cybercab as soon as the end of August. Hours later, Tesla then announced it was launching a competition for fans to potentially ride in Cybercab during its first public rides.
Tesla’s plan to expand its charging infrastructure in the regions where Robotaxi will initially operate is great preparation for the expanding service. There is still a lot to do, including launching the Cybercab on time.
SpaceX achieves incredible milestone with Starlink program
Tesla is opening Cybercab rides to a select few
