The Tesla Model 3 has been deemed as one of the safest vehicles in the road today after undergoing a series of stringent tests by the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP), an independent body that evaluates the safety of vehicles in Europe. With its stellar scores, the Tesla Model 3 has proven itself to be one of the safest cars ever tested by the agency, especially since Euro NCAP made its safety tests tougher in 2018.
The Tesla Model 3 was granted a perfect 5-Star rating by the Euro NCAP in all four of its safety tests’ categories: Adult Occupant Protection, which tests how the vehicle protects its driver and passenger; Child Occupant Protection, which gauges the protection of younger occupants; Vulnerable Road Users, which tests a vehicle’s safety features for cyclists and pedestrians; and Safety Assist, which evaluates a car’s active safety capabilities.
The Model 3 performed well in all four categories, though its score in Safety Assist is incredibly high. This is due to the vehicle’s generous active safety features such as Lane Departure Avoidance and Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance, which were rolled out to the company’s fleet of vehicles through a free over-the-air software update. It should be noted that the Model 3’s 94 score in the Euro NCAP’s Safety Assist category is one of the highest ratings that the agency has given to a vehicle to date.
Matthew Avery, head of research at Thatcham Research, which conducts the crash tests with the Euro NCAP, noted that Tesla’s focus on the safety of its vehicles is evident in the design of the Model 3. From the absence of an internal combustion engine up front to the battery pack’s low center of gravity, the Model 3 appears to be an electric car designed to keep its occupants safe in the event of an accident. “Tesla has done a great job of playing the structural benefits of an electric vehicle to its advantage. The Tesla Model 3 achieved one of the highest Safety Assist scores we have seen to date,” Avery said.
Tesla noted in a blog post that the Model 3’s active safety features were the results of the company’s initiative to utilize the data gathered from its fleet of vehicles, which allowed the company to understand how drivers behave in dynamic scenarios on the road. Using this data, Tesla was able to to acquire a precise understanding of the environment around its vehicles and the various ways that accidents can happen, which, in turn, allowed the company to develop and deploy safety features that are designed to mitigate or avoid these potential accidents.
The Tesla Model 3’s impressive Euro NCAP scores stand as yet another testament to the electric family sedan’s safety capabilities. This all but proves that even when faced with Europe’s stringent safety tests, the Model 3, just like in its tests with the US’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has what it takes to be dubbed as an incredibly robust, quick, futuristic, tank of a car that is built to be as safe as possible.
Watch the Tesla Model 3’s Euro NCAP crash tests in the video below.
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.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk denies Starlink’s price cuts are due to Amazon Kuiper
“This has nothing to do with Kuiper, we’re just trying to make Starlink more affordable to a broader audience,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
Elon Musk has pushed back on claims that Starlink’s recent price reductions are tied to Amazon’s Kuiper project.
In a post on X, Musk responded directly to a report suggesting that Starlink was cutting prices and offering free hardware to partners ahead of a planned IPO and increased competition from Kuiper.
“This has nothing to do with Kuiper, we’re just trying to make Starlink more affordable to a broader audience,” Musk wrote in a post on X. “The lower the cost, the more Starlink can be used by people who don’t have much money, especially in the developing world.”
The speculation originated from a post summarizing a report from The Information, which ran with the headline “SpaceX’s Starlink Makes Land Grab as Amazon Threat Looms.” The report stated that SpaceX is aggressively cutting prices and giving free hardware to distribution partners, which was interpreted as a reaction to Amazon’s Kuiper’s upcoming rollout and possible IPO.
In a way, Musk’s comments could be quite accurate considering Starlink’s current scale. The constellation currently has more than 9,700 satellites in operation today, making it by far the largest satellite broadband network in operation. It has also managed to grow its user base to 10 million active customers across more than 150 countries worldwide.
Amazon’s Kuiper, by comparison, has launched approximately 211 satellites to date, as per data from SatelliteMap.Space, some of which were launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. Starlink surpassed that number in early January 2020, during the early buildout of its first-generation network.
Lower pricing also aligns with Starlink’s broader expansion strategy. SpaceX continues to deploy satellites at a rapid pace using Falcon 9, and future launches aboard Starship are expected to significantly accelerate the constellation’s growth. A larger network improves capacity and global coverage, which can support a broader customer base.
In that context, price reductions can be viewed as a way to match expanding supply with growing demand. Musk’s companies have historically used aggressive pricing strategies to drive adoption at scale, particularly when vertical integration allows costs to decline over time.
News
Tesla Giga Berlin makes a statement of solidarity amid IG Metall conflict
The display comes as tensions between Tesla and IG Metall continue to escalate.
Tesla Giga Berlin is sending a strong message of solidarity amid its ongoing legal dispute with German union IG Metall.
In a post on social media platform X, Giga Berlin plant manager André Thierig shared an image of the facility’s lobby covered with a large banner that reads: “Progress. Innovation. Success.” He added that the slogan reflects what the facility has stood for since Day One.
“Our lobby at Giga Berlin covered in a huge banner these days. Progress. Innovation. Success – this is what we stand for since we started production in 2022 and how we will go into our future!” Thierig wrote in his post on X.
The display comes as tensions between Tesla and IG Metall continue to escalate.
The dispute began after Tesla accused a union representative of secretly recording a works council meeting at Giga Berlin. Tesla stated that it filed a criminal complaint after the alleged incident. Police later confirmed they had seized a computer belonging to an IG Metall member as part of their investigation.
“What has happened today at Giga Berlin is truly beyond words! An external union representative from IG Metall attended a works council meeting. For unknown reasons he recorded the internal meeting and was caught in action! We obviously called police and filed a criminal complaint!” Thierig wrote on X at the time.
IG Metall denied the accusation and characterized Tesla’s move as an election tactic ahead of upcoming works council elections. The union subsequently filed a defamation complaint against Thierig. Authorities later confirmed that an investigation had been opened in connection with the matter.
Giga Berlin began production in 2022 and has since become one of Tesla’s key European manufacturing hubs, producing the Model Y, the company’s best-selling vehicle. The facility has expanded capacity over the past years despite environmental protests, labor disputes, and regulatory scrutiny.
xAI’s Grok approved for Pentagon classified systems: report
Elon Musk denies Starlink’s price cuts are due to Amazon Kuiper
