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Tesla redefines ‘luxury’ segment as industry shifts focus to technology

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8 years ago

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Tesla’s official website dubs the Model S, X, and 3 as “premium” electric cars. Nevertheless, Tesla’s electric cars such as the Model S have proven to be formidable entries in the luxury segment, particularly against mainstays from legacy automakers such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the BMW 7 Series, which are characterized by plush amenities and expensive interior accents. How then, are Tesla’s premium vehicles, which adopt a minimalistic theme and an almost spartan interior, performing so well in a market where more is usually better? By invoking a sense of luxury through deep software integration, of course.

To say that Tesla’s electric cars have their own fair share of critics is an understatement. Among the criticisms directed at the company’s vehicles is the fact that they do not have the same luxurious features found on other vehicles in their class. Critics of Tesla would be quick to point out that the company’s vehicles are not fitted with the same premium materials found in their German rivals. Tesla’s cars continue to sell, however, because as those who have found themselves behind the wheel of a Tesla know, the company’s electric cars are just an entirely different breed of vehicle, offering a completely different driving experience.

It’s not difficult to find social media posts from Tesla owners who state that they would never go back to driving a car powered by an internal combustion engine again. With the release of the Model 3, the number of new Tesla owners are increasing, and so are the numbers of positive reviews for the company’s electric cars. Considering Tesla’s plan for the Model 3, it is no surprise that the vehicle, which features a radically minimalistic interior, is frequently dubbed as the “iPhone of cars.”  

https://twitter.com/PaulStorost/status/1022659335086845957

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In a way, comparisons between Tesla and Apple are understandable, considering that both companies release products built around custom software. Apple designs its software for its hardware, ensuring that its offerings, such the iPhone, functions and performs optimally. This integration of hardware and software ultimately became the trigger that changed the market’s perception of what smartphones were capable of. Other manufacturers attempted to take on the iPhone through their own devices, including Samsung’s Android-powered S and Note series. To match the smoothness of Apple’s iOS-powered iPhones, Samsung equipped its flagship devices with as much specs, features, and accessories as the smartphones can handle. Samsung eventually pushed too far with its “more is better” strategy once, and the result was the Galaxy Note 7, a smartphone that literally went up in flames. Today, a perfect Android phone exists, and that is the Google Pixel series, a smartphone line built specifically for Android OS.

For now, Tesla’s competitors in the luxury segment are adopting a strategy not that different from Samsung. They adopt software and tech, but the level of integration is not that deep. Tech used by legacy carmakers, such as BMW with the top-tier M3’s heads-up display, could be seen as simple add-ons to a legacy platform and very little else. Tesla, on the other hand, builds everything in house, making software that works for the car and a car that works for the software. This becomes evident in improvements rolled out through over-the-air updates and features such as Enhanced Autopilot.

This integration allows Tesla’s electric cars to feel like a unified experience — one that can redefine how some perceive cars as a whole. For drivers of the premium electric cars, driving such a vehicle could be a turning point, similar to when one used a touch-based smartphone for the first time after using devices with physical keyboards for years. With the release of the Model 3, and based on positive reactions from the vehicle’s owners, it appears that the iPhone of cars has definitely arrived in the auto industry. As for the “Google Pixel of cars,” it seems that it might take a while before that vehicle would be made.

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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 teases “Halloween Mode” update with Optimus rising from a graveyard

Tesla’s Halloween teaser hides a covered vehicle and an Optimus hand rising from the ground.

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2 days ago

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October 2, 2026

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Tesla has started teasing a Halloween software update for its vehicles, with  a short clip on X that reads, “Halloween is coming.” The clip opens on a glowing pumpkin before pulling back to the car’s center touchscreen, where the usual parked visualization has been replaced by a graveyard scene, and the vehicle draped with a white sheet so it reads as a cartoon ghost.

The second detail is a robotic hand clawing its way out of the dirt like a zombie, which looks to be the hand of Tesla’s latest Optimus V3 humanoid robot. While Tesla still has not formally shown Optimus Gen 3 walking around in service, renders pulled from Tesla’s Android app last month gave the clearest look yet, including far more refined hands that Tesla has said carry 22 degrees of freedom. The hand has been the hardest part of the program. Musk has called it the majority of the robot’s engineering difficulty, and Tesla’s patents describe a design driven by tendons with the actuators moved into the forearm.

Tesla Optimus V3 hand and arm details revealed in new patents

Optimus also has a Halloween track record. Last October the robot handed out candy in Times Square, and a costumed “zombie” Optimus shuffled around the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on Halloween night.

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On the software side, Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update expanded Santa Mode with a Santa sleigh, snowmen, snow effects, and a festive lock chime, so it wouldn’t be too far fetched if we saw something similar but themed for a  Halloween Mode.

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Tesla’s newest feature lets you floor it out of a Supercharger while plugged in

Tesla’s new Emergency Drive Away feature lets owners flee a Supercharger while still plugged in.

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2 days ago

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October 1, 2026

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Tesla has given drivers a way to escape while a vehicle is plugged-in at a Supercharger, in the event of an emergency. The company’s charging team announced a new feature on X called Emergency Drive Away, which lets a driver shift into Drive and pull away while the charging cable is still connected to the car.

Until now, a Tesla would not leave Park with a charge cable plugged in. Drivers had to release the latch from the touchscreen, the Tesla app, or the button on the charge handle, then wait for the port to let go. Emergency Drive Away removes that lockout, but Tesla is clear that it comes at a cost. “Use of this feature will damage your vehicle and the Supercharger,” the company wrote, adding that the function is meant for emergencies only and that deliberate misuse will lead to “additional penalties.” Tesla did not say what those penalties are.


The in-car prompt is just as direct, with the warning reading: “Driving with the cable connected will cause damage to your vehicle and the Supercharger. Short camera recordings will be shared with Tesla.” That footage gives Tesla a way to separate a real emergency from someone who simply did not want to wait for the latch.

The feature requires software update 2026.38.3, and Tesla said in replies to owners that it works at every Supercharger in the United States without new stall hardware. Model S and Model X vehicles built before 2021 are not supported, and the company says the feature applies to U.S. Superchargers “for now,” leaving Canada and other markets out at launch.

Tesla Supercharger argument leads to tragic shooting incident

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Tesla did not tie the announcement to any specific event, but it arrives two months after a gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out in Twin Falls, Idaho, on August 1, targeting three people in two Teslas at the neighboring Supercharger. One of them, a 66 year old man from Salt Lake City, was killed. Superchargers have been the scene of violence before, including a fatal shooting at a station near Denver in 2023.

In the weeks after Twin Falls, owners pushed Tesla for a native way to escape a stall, and many pointed back to EVject, the aftermarket breakaway connector Tesla sued in 2024 over claims it lacked overtemperature protection. The two companies later reached an agreement that led EVject to recall its earlier connectors in favor of a version with thermal sensors.

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Watch Tesla’s “guardian angel” FSD feature take over for collision evasion

Published

6 days ago

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September 28, 2026

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Tesla’s Automatic Collision Evasion feature can be seen in one of the first owner videos of it in action.

Tesla owner Spencer (@scotsrule08) posted on Monday that the feature “worked flawlessly,” saying FSD reengaged itself just as he was about to hit a curb. Ashok Elluswamy, who leads Tesla’s AI team, shared the clip and wrote, “A guardian angel always looking out for you.”

The video arrives in the middle of a staged rollout. Tesla first shipped Automatic Collision Evasion with FSD (Supervised) v14.3.9 in software update 2026.27.6 earlier this month, which Teslarati covered as it reached cars. Update 2026.27.10, which began going out on September 19, carried the feature improvements with FSD v14.3.10, according to release notes tracked by Not a Tesla App. The newer 2026.27.11 build is now reaching another wave of vehicles.


The feature only runs on HW4 vehicles, and it requires an active FSD purchase or subscription with both FSD (Supervised) and Automatic Emergency Braking enabled. HW3 owners receive FSD v14.2 Lite in the same updates, but that build does not include collision evasion.

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Tesla’s release notes describe two triggers. The first is an imminent frontal collision that braking alone may not prevent, in which case the car can activate FSD to steer, brake or accelerate around the hazard. That scenario is limited to highways below 85 mph, with no pedestrians or cyclists detected and no slippery road surface. The second covers a driver who appears inattentive, such as reaching into the back seat, or who seems to have switched off FSD by accident. Spencer’s curb clip appears to fall into that second category.

Tesla plans big safety improvements for Full Self-Driving v15

Once the system takes over, the accelerator is muted and light brake input will not cancel the maneuver. Drivers need to apply firm, deliberate steering force to take back control, and the car chimes to hand control back once the danger has passed.

Elluswamy recently noted that earlier hazard prediction, faster reaction time and better collision avoidance would arrive with FSD v15, the next major version.

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