News
Amidst Tesla’s growing lead in the EV sector, VW boss rallies his troops to avoid being the next Nokia
The cellular phone industry was changed forever on June 29, 2007, when the first generation Apple iPhone was released to the public. It was a fresh and new idea that changed how mobile phones would be used and looked at forever. However, it was a wake-up call to Apple’s competitors and past cell phone manufacturers: Adapt or Fall Behind.
In Germany, a man named Herbert Diess, who runs a little car company called Volkswagen, is aware of the parallels between the automotive and cell phone sectors. Change happens. It happens fast, and if you don’t try to adapt to it, you won’t be relevant in a few years. Take Nokia, for example.
“Nokia is probably a good example of how such a change can happen—if you’re not fast enough, you’re not going to survive,” Diess said in an interview with Bloomberg. “I’m always telling our people this example.”
Nokia was arguably the most popular cell phone brand up until 2007. Most children used their Mom’s Nokia phone to play Snake while their parents shopped, giving it the versatility as a handy portable telephone and entertainment machine. However, Apple thought on a more broad scale and saw the cell phone as an opportunity to revolutionize the way people look at them. Instead of a few buttons and a low-resolution, pixelated screen, Apple got rid of most of the buttons and updated the software within a phone to show that it was capable of everything that a computer could do.
(Credit: AUTO BILD/YouTube)
Fast forward a few years, and Tesla is doing essentially the same thing with the automotive market. The company took the automobile and changed everything about it: the powertrain, the infotainment, the design, and the performance. Now, Volkswagen is trying to avoid becoming the Nokia of cars, looking to adapt to the global automotive market’s ever-changing look.
Volkswagen is arguably the automaker that supports the change to EVs the most of the companies with an ICE-based history. Interestingly, it is the same company that fended off a major emissions scandal within the last decade. However, it still has been the car company with the most support for Tesla and the transition to electrification.
Volkswagen has repaid Dieselgate victims an outrageous compensation package
Volkswagen’s transition begins with updating its currently-operating production plants to support the manufacturing process of EV powertrains. But that is not the biggest challenge the German automaker is facing, according to Diess.
“The bigger transition automotive will face is really as the car is becoming more and more of a software device,” he said, “gathering huge amounts of data, and then building up from the data artificial intelligence, knowledge about the driver, road conditions, safety, and then improving the way this device behaves.”
In regards to Tesla, Diess says that its lead is big, but that the company is helping “pull the industry” along with the guidance of CEO Elon Musk. “He’s a reference for us. If we look into our future and what the car has to become, it has to become electric, and it has to become an internet device.”
In the race to become the premier EV company, Volkswagen has a long way to go. Overtaking Tesla is in the company’s future plans, but Diess realizes that his company is ready for the challenges that lie ahead.
“I think we are the best-prepared company for the EV age. Europe will be one of the main hubs of electrification, and we are well prepared, so I’m happy. The big thing is managing through that transition. In 2024 and 2025, when cars really become Internet devices and start self-driving, I hope that we took the right decisions.”
Tesla has expanded the footprint of a massive safety feature worldwide with a recent Software Update labeled as 2026.20.6. The expansion of the “Blind Spot Warning While Parked” feature represents the more widespread availability of the feature, which aims to prevent “dooring.”
Dooring is when a driver or passenger opens a car door into the path of an oncoming road user, usually a cyclist or motorcyclist. It is among the most common types of cycling accidents, the League of American Bicyclists says.
For this reason, Tesla created a feature that warns occupants not to open the door because an object is approaching. The feature will sound a chime, and it will also delay the opening of the door to prevent an incident.
The release notes state (via Not a Tesla App):
“If you attempt to open a door while an approaching object is detected in your blind spot (for example, a bicyclist approaching from behind) a chime sounds, and your door will not open upon initial button press. Wait a short time and press the button a second time to override the warning.”
Tesla initially rolled out this feature back in 2024 with the Model 3 “Highland.” However, it remained with the Model 3 exclusively for over a year; that was until Tesla added it to the Cybertruck this past Spring.
Now, it is making its way to the new Model Y, 2021 and newer Model S, and 2021 or newer Model X.
The prevention of dooring incidents could eliminate many injuries to cyclists, especially in an urban setting. Dooring accounts for 10-20 percent of bike-related crashes in major cities, and over 17,000 dooring-related incidents were treated in the U.S. over the course of a decade. These usually involve fractures, contusions, and head trauma.
Tesla confirmed this morning that it has sent the first production units, manufactured with no steering wheel or pedals, to on-road testing in Austin, sharing video of the first rides with no human controls.
The lack of steering wheels and pedals in the Cybercab aligns with Tesla’s self-certification of Robotaxi as Level 4 SAE, a platform it plans to make widespread through internal vehicles and customer-owned cars that will operate and generate revenue for individuals.
The start of these engineering tests is a major signal for Tesla, which plans to bring driverless, wheel-less, and pedal-less Cybercabs to market in the coming months. With production already well underway at Gigafactory Texas, where the Cybercab is built, there is some inclination to believe the first public rides could happen sooner rather than later.
Engineering tests of the first production Cybercab have begun in Austin pic.twitter.com/fk3KQvcE8a
— Tesla (@Tesla) June 30, 2026
Tesla’s engineering tests will put the Cybercab in real-world scenarios, testing not only the hardware, but more importantly, the software that drives the car around Austin with nobody supervising it within the car.
This is perhaps the biggest part of the internal testing process, especially prior to allowing regular, everyday people to hail the Cybercab for an autonomous ride. These early rides serve as a true benchmark for Tesla: How many rides can it achieve safely? How many miles did it travel consecutively without needing an intervention? What scenarios challenge the Full Self-Driving suite the most?
The proper precautions have already been put into place as well, as Tesla released the First Responders Guide to Cybercab over the weekend, ensuring that emergency services have 24/7 access to Robotaxi Assistance, as well as other boundaries, such as Geofencing features that can be used to redirect autonomous vehicle traffic due to accidents, road closures, construction, or maintenance.
Cybercab seems genuinely close to being added to the Robotaxi fleet in Austin, but Tesla has prioritized safety throughout this entire process. Therefore, we think it could be months before it truly starts giving rides to the public. People have been frustrated with this, but Robotaxi in Austin has a tremendous safety record so far, so the slow rollout has kept people safe and accidents to a minimum.
The most important thing is that Tesla continues to show consistent progress in the Cybercab’s ramp-up toward fleet addition. A few weeks back, we saw the EPA reward the Cybercab a Certificate of Conformity, allowing it to enter the stream of commerce. Then, we saw Tesla add decals, signaling that it was likely about to start testing it publicly. That has now happened.
The next big move will be the announcement of the first rides, so this Summer should be filled with anticipation.
For years, there have been images and videos across social media platforms that have reminded me of when I was a 15-year-old kid teased by “Xbox 720” videos on YouTube. These videos are of the supposed “Tesla Phone” that Elon Musk was secretly developing in between leading Tesla with its electric cars and SpaceX with its reusable rockets.
Would you buy a Tesla phone ? pic.twitter.com/aaTwvvIJit
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 6, 2023
Although Musk has put those rumors to bed several times, it was never completely out of the realm that he could get involved in cell phones in some capacity. Think outside the box and more macro-level, though. Instead of reinventing the computer, Musk reinvented connectivity by developing Starlink with SpaceX.
It could be something similar, TD Cowen analyst Gregory Williams said in a note last week, where he hinted SpaceX could be gathering some steam to acquire T-Mobile.
Williams said it would be the “clear choice” for SpaceX if it decided to go through with a network acquisition. He also suggested AT&T.
The move would be possible through selling more of its own stock, which would help SpaceX raise the money to purchase T-Mobile, which would cost roughly $300 billion. It could be one of the moves SpaceX makes post-IPO in terms of an acquisition: it already acquired Cursor AI for $60 billion.
Other analysts, like Dan Ives of Wedbush, believe SpaceX and Tesla will eventually merge into one anyway, and that conglomeration could come as soon as this year, some have said.
The implications of SpaceX purchasing T-Mobile are massive. A combined entity would create a truly ubiquitous network: T-Mobile’s terrestrial 5G towers and Starlink’s growing constellation of Direct-to-Cell satellites. This would essentially eliminate dead zones across the U.S. and potentially globally.
SpaceX would instantly become a full-scale facilities-based carrier with satellite differentiation; a huge advantage. This would pressure AT&T and Verizon heavily.
There are also concerns like a potential reduction in long-term competition, and of course, a deal of that size would face intense scrutiny from government agencies.
The strategic fit is compelling due to the existing Starlink–T-Mobile partnership and complementary technologies (space + terrestrial). It could create a dominant integrated communications player. However, the regulatory, financial, and execution hurdles are enormous — this remains highly speculative with no indication SpaceX is actively pursuing it right now.
Tesla expands massive safety feature worldwide in latest update
Tesla sends production Cybercab with no steering wheel, pedals to on-road testing
