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Tesla hits the bullseye with new marketing video from Europe

Image Credit: Tesla Europe/Twitter

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Tesla has always had a pretty good social media presence, but after Elon Musk acquired Twitter last year, the electric vehicle maker has ramped its posts on the platform. Tesla Europe’s recent marketing ad is one such post, and it hits the mark perfectly. 

Similar to other Tesla marketing videos, the recently-shared clip was quite short, lasting only 43 seconds long. It was simple too, as it just showed a red Tesla Model S driving around in a landscape filled with windmills. While the visuals of the video are quite simple, it was its message that really drove the point home. 

The video featured a voiceover from Elon Musk, who explained why it’s pertinent to move to a sustainable future today. As Musk noted, even if one were to play devil’s advocate and push the idea that there’s not much environmental damage at all, the world should not take that chance. 

“By definition, we must move to renewable energy. The question is just how hard we should try, what pace we should go at it. I think, logically, we should go as fast as we can since we know we have to get there eventually. It’s better to get to a renewable future or sustainable future sooner rather than later, (and) get there before the environmental damage, not after. And even if, one could say that, ‘Well, maybe there isn’t that much environmental damage,’ to play the devil’s advocate, maybe it won’t be that bad. Why take that chance?” Musk noted.

The post, similar to Musk’s previous statements, also gave thanks to the company’s employees, as well as customers who have taken a chance at the company and its products. “Thank you to Tesla owners & employees—your support & hard work continues to make a difference,” Tesla Europe noted.

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Tesla exists to usher in an era of sustainable transportation. The company has been laser-focused on this since the day it became a serious electric vehicle maker. Tesla has fought an uphill climb over the years, and every step of the way, it never lost the narrative. This was something that Tesla emphasized with every milestone and every accomplishment it earned. 

As Elon Musk noted in the video, there’s very little incentive to take a chance on environmental damage. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla lands permission to test Full Self-Driving in new country

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tesla showroom
(Credit: NicklasNilsso14)

Tesla has landed permission to begin testing its Full Self-Driving suite in a new country: Sweden.

Tesla has been working to expand its Full Self-Driving suite across the world. Currently, it is available in seven countries: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, and China, where it is referred to as “City Autopilot.”

Capabilities of the Full Self-Driving suite differ in each region based on the approvals given to Tesla by regulatory agencies.

In Europe, Tesla has been attempting for a long time to launch FSD in various countries, but regulatory red tape has been prolonging the company’s ability to launch the suite.

However, Sweden appears to be ready to allow Tesla to test FSD in some passenger and public locations, according to the country’s Transport Agency.

On X, a Swedish Tesla owner named Alexander Kristensen, says he received direct confirmation from the Transport Agency that Tesla has “received permission to test automated vehicles.”

The full email said:

“Tesla received permission to test automated vehicles last week. This includes three vehicles and all state highways and expressways in Sweden.”

Tesla has already been working with the Swedish Transport Agency on the first steps of Full Self-Driving’s approval. The company and the Transport Agency spent two weeks assessing data gathered during a Formal Site Assessment Test, or SAT.

Based on the communication from the Transport Agency to Kristensen, it appears the company has passed the SAT and will now be able to perform its own testing within the market.

This approval seems similar to the approval Tesla received in U.S. states for Robotaxi operation. Nevada and Arizona have both given Tesla approval for Robotaxi testing, but passengers are not allowed in the vehicles quite yet.

Instead, company employees perform the testing, which is likely what will go on in Sweden until the Transport Agency gives the company a green light to roll FSD software out to customers.

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My Tesla did this on FSD (Supervised) v14.1 and the internet went crazy

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My Tesla did something on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1, and it garnered quite the response from the internet.

I received access to Tesla’s FSD v14.1 on Tuesday night, and by Wednesday, I was already using it and seeing all the progress the company had made from v13.2.9.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.1 first impressions: Robotaxi-like features arrive

However, there was one thing that it did during the drive that I shared on our social media accounts, and it really got a lot of interesting reactions from people from all corners of the world.

I’ll give some background about the situation: I was driving on Main Street in Dallastown, PA, and the route was about to take me left onto Pleasant Avenue. It is a tight and usually very congested intersection; Main Street is a popular route for many construction vehicles and even some tractor-trailers.

It is a pretty tight intersection for full-size trucks and larger passenger vehicles. It is not super tight for my Model Y, but it gets to feel congested at times, including with what happened yesterday.

The light when I approached the intersection was a green yield; there was also a solid green arrow at the beginning of my light cycle, but I had arrived after that had already turned into the green yield. Oncoming traffic had a green light.

My Model Y got out into the middle of the intersection, and the light turned yellow, then red. Most people, including myself, would have probably made the left turn after the light turned red since the car was already out in the intersection.

The Tesla, using FSD v14.1, did not. Instead, it chose to back up to the “Stop Here on Red” line, which is further back due to the tight turn the perpendicular traffic has:

As I mentioned, I would have probably taken the left turn. However, I believe the Tesla did not see the traffic that sat to the left, and because of this, it weighed the turn as a higher probability of an accident than if it were to just back up to the line.

If you look at these two screenshots from when the light was yellow and red, Tesla’s driver visualization does not have any idea what traffic is to the left on Pleasant Avenue:

I believe that, since FSD could not tell what traffic was down to the left, it chose to reverse.

People had some polarizing opinions on it:

As far as the legality of the move, it does not seem to be against Pennsylvania law to go through or choose to back up. I have seen many cars do both things over the course of my life of driving in this state, and neither has ever gotten anyone a ticket.

I think FSD just did what it felt was the safer option here.

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NHTSA probes 2.9 million Tesla vehicles over reports of FSD traffic violations

The agency said FSD may have “induced vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws.”

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Credit: Whole Mars Catalog/YouTube

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into nearly 2.9 million Tesla vehicles over potential traffic-safety violations linked to the use of the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system.

The agency said FSD may have “induced vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws,” citing reports of Teslas running red lights or traveling in the wrong direction during lane changes.

As per the NHTSA, it has six reports in which a Tesla with FSD engaged “approached an intersection with a red traffic signal, continued to travel into the intersection against the red light and was subsequently involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection.” Four of these crashes reportedly resulted in one or more major injuries. 

The agency also listed 18 complaints and one media report which alleged that a Tesla operating with FSD engaged “failed to remain stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface.”

Some complainants also alleged that FSD “did not provide warnings of the system’s intended behavior as the vehicle was approaching a red traffic signal,” as noted in a Reuters report.

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Tesla has not commented on the investigation, which remains in the preliminary phase. However, any potential recall could prove complicated since the reported incidents likely involved the use of older FSD (Supervised) versions that have already been updated. 

Tesla’s recent FSD (Supervised) V14.1 update, which is currently rolling out to drivers, is expected to feature significantly improved lane management, intersection handling, and overall driving accuracy, reducing the chances of similar violations. It should also be noted that Tesla maintains that FSD is a supervised system for now, and thus, is not autonomous yet.

While autonomous systems face scrutiny, NHTSA’s own data highlights a much larger danger on the road from human error. The agency recorded 3,275 deaths in 2023 caused by distracted driving due to activities like texting, talking, or adjusting navigation while operating a vehicle manually. It is also widely believed that a good number of traffic violations are unreported due to their frequency and ubiquity.

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