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Tesla Model 3 to be among the UK’s best company cars amid EV-friendly policy update
In what could only be described as a “milestone moment,” the UK Treasury has confirmed that employees who drive zero-emission company cars will pay no benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax for the year. This decision heavily incentivizes businesses to purchase electric vehicles for their fleets, which contribute to nearly six out of ten new car registrations in the UK today.
Under the updated rules from the government, those who choose zero-emission vehicles will pay no company car tax for the year from April 2020, followed by a measly 1% tax from April 2021 and 2% BIK from April 2022. This is in stark contrast to the BIK taxes placed on vehicles equipped with the internal combustion engine. A BMW 3-Series with a 2.0-liter diesel engine, for example, is priced at £32,000 (~$40,200). But due to its CO2 emissions of 110 and 115g/km, the vehicle will be subject to a 31% BIK rate from April 2020.
Considering that the UK’s personal income tax rates can hit 40% for taxpayers earning £50,001 (~$62,000) to £150,000 (~$188,500) per year, those under the income bracket would pay £4,000 (~$5,000) in BIK just for using the diesel-powered BMW 3-Series from April 2020 and March 2021. Taxpayers in the same income bracket that drive a Tesla Model 3, on the other hand, would pay no BIK for the same period. The 1% tax and 2% BIK that follows in the next two years are also marginal.
In a statement, the government noted that the regulations are expected to encourage businesses to make informed decisions about their purchase of fleet vehicles. “By providing clarity of future the appropriate percentages, businesses will have the ability to make more informed decisions about how they make the transition to zero-emission fleets. Appropriate percentages beyond 2022-23 remain under review and will be announced at future fiscal events,” the government stated.
It’s not just all-electric vehicles like the Tesla Model 3 that will benefit significantly from the UK’s updated policies. Plug-in hybrids could also take advantage of the government’s zero company car tax rate, provided that the PHEVs are capable of operating at least 130 miles as a pure electric car. Unfortunately, there are no PHEVs in the market today that meets this metric. This is quite ironic since BMW director of development Klaus Frölich recently stated that the carmaker is focusing its efforts in developing PHEVs with only 80 km (49 miles) of pure electric range. “PHEV gives them full freedom and 80 km of EV range,” he said.
Plug-in hybrids with short electric ranges, such as those mentioned by the BMW executive, will still see tax breaks, though they are notably less generous than those granted to all-electric cars. PHEVs that have less than 30 miles of electric range, such as the BMW 225xe Active Tourer, will be subject to a 12% BIK tax from April next year.
With these new regulations in place, the Tesla Model 3 has the potential to become one of the most competitive company vehicles in the UK. The car, after all, boasts 240 miles of range even at its Standard Plus variant, and it comes from a company that competes in the premium segment. Considering that company cars used by middle-level to upper-level employees are usually premium vehicles, Tesla’s midsize sedan might prove to be a perfect fit.
The turnover rates for company vehicles in the UK is quite quick, with approximately 300k-500k company cars coming off lease every year. If Tesla could tap into this market with the Model 3, the company could have a steady stream of EV buyers that will likely keep the demand for the vehicle thriving in the region for a considerable length of time. The UK’s company car market is now ripe for the picking for EV makers, and if Tesla plays its cards right, it could very well be on the lead to take the first bite.
Tesla AI lead Ashok Elluswamy said this week that 24-hour Robotaxi service is close. Replying on X to a rider who wanted Cybercab trips all night, he wrote that the capability would arrive “next month or so” once “the next tech to merge on the v15 plan” is ready.
The comment landed on September 4, one day after Tesla opened public Cybercab rides in Austin. It is the clearest near-term timeline yet for overnight unsupervised operation. Tesla’s paid Robotaxi network currently runs from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week across Austin, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa.
next month or so. the next tech to merge on the v15 plan will enable it.
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) September 4, 2026
That 16-hour window is shorter than the 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. schedule the company used for much of the prior year.
Elluswamy did not name the specific feature or say whether the change would apply first to purpose-built Cybercabs, the existing Model Y fleet, or both. He also offered no city-by-city rollout list. The link to Full Self-Driving v15 is nevertheless significant.
Tesla has described v15 as a step-change architecture with seven parallel improvement tracks and roughly ten times more parameters than earlier builds. Early versions of that software already operate on the Robotaxi fleet and contain about 40 percent of the planned gains.
By July 2026, the unsupervised fleet had logged more than 380,000 miles across six cities in two states with what the company called an impeccable safety record and no notable incidents caused by the vehicles themselves. Tesla has repeatedly argued that camera-based end-to-end neural networks, rather than extra sensors, are the core of the solution.
Overnight service would test that claim in lower-light conditions and would also raise vehicle utilization, a key variable for Robotaxi unit economics. The company has already begun using public Superchargers at night and is building dedicated Robotaxi charging sites.
Riders have asked why software must change if the cars already drive in the dark. The practical answer appears to be reliability and scale: Tesla has held back mass expansion until more of the v15 stack is merged, citing the need for higher confidence before putting thousands of unoccupied vehicles on streets around the clock.
If the next module arrives on the timetable Elluswamy sketched, 24-hour service could begin in October 2026 in at least some markets.
That would mark a shift from a daytime-bounded pilot to a service that can run whenever demand exists, including the late-night hours that have so far remained out of reach.
Tesla is beginning to roll out Full Self-Driving Supervised v14.3.9 with a new active safety layer that can take control even when the driver is operating the car manually.
Tesla AI said the software can activate FSD on the driver’s behalf when an imminent collision is detected and Automatic Emergency Braking may not be enough. It may also engage if the system detects heavy distraction or an accidental FSD disengagement.
FSD Supervised v14.3.9 starting to roll out shortly
This release includes a new active safety feature set: FSD Supervised can now activate on your behalf when an imminent collision is detected and Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) may not be enough.
It may also engage if we…
— Tesla AI (@Tesla_AI) September 4, 2026
The capability is essentially Automatic Collision Evasion. However, unlike conventional AEB, which mainly applies the brakes in a straight line, this feature can use steering, braking, and acceleration together if the car calculates that stopping alone will not prevent impact and a safer path exists. The system may change lanes or move toward a shoulder when conditions allow, then continue driving after the immediate threat is handled rather than simply coming to a stop.
The intervention is meant as a last-resort safety net, not a replacement for attentive driving.
Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.7 early review: FSD saved me from an accident
Tesla’s own description still frames FSD as supervised assistance. Secondary reports on internal release notes say the feature can fire while the car is being driven manually if cabin-camera monitoring suggests the driver is not sufficiently attentive, such as reaching toward the back seat, or if FSD appears to have been turned off unintentionally.
After the emergency maneuver, the car is expected to alert the driver and request a return to manual control.
The safety case is straightforward. Many collisions happen in the last second because a driver is looking away, fumbles a control, or faces an obstacle that braking cannot fully solve. A system that can both recognize that AEB is insufficient and execute a coordinated evasive path can reduce those remaining high-severity events.
Re-engaging after accidental disengagement also addresses a practical failure mode: a small steering nudge that drops FSD at the worst moment. The advantage is a background safety net that uses the same vision stack already running in v14, instead of leaving the car solely to emergency braking once the driver is no longer in command.
The feature still depends on FSD being enabled and, according to reports, an active FSD purchase or subscription. It does not make the vehicle unsupervised. Drivers remain responsible, and Tesla has not published how often the system is expected to intervene or how it will handle false positives.
If the rollout is conservative and the false-alarm rate stays low, the update is a meaningful step: FSD is no longer only a feature the driver turns on. In the rare moments when disaster is already forming, it can step in.
Tesla launched the all-electric, steering wheel-less, and pedal-less Cybercab last night at a quiet and small event in downtown Austin, Texas.
The launch, which marked the beginning of unsupervised ride-hailing for Tesla’s Robotaxi platform with Cybercab, has already caught the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) who has more questions.
NHTSA opened an Audit Query (AQ) into the Cybercab’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) certification that Tesla gave the vehicle. Manufacturers self-certify vehicles much of the time to avoid excessive regulatory delays.
Tesla Cybercab interior, note the lack of steering wheel and pedals. (Credit: @niccruzpatane/X< /a>)
However, the agency needs more information; it said in a summary:
“On September 3, 2026, Tesla began commercial deployment with a small number of its Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas. Tesla notified the Agency that it certified those Cybercab vehicles as compliant with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Tesla also notified the Agency that it plans to gradually expand commercial deployment of the Cybercab to include additional vehicles and locations.”
It also went on to state that the Cybercab lacks traditional automotive controls, which is a groundbreaking move. The process is entirely new to the NHTSA, which gives the agency some leverage to put Tesla’s launch under a microscope:
“The vehicles lack permanently attached, conventional manual controls, such as a brake pedal, gas pedal, steering wheel, and mirrors. NHTSA is opening this AQ to examine the process and technical data on which Tesla relied when certifying the Cybercab and related issues. Among other things, NHTSA will consider the extent to which Tesla’s certification depended on determinations that certain FMVSS are inapplicable to the Cybercab.”
Tesla has added 45 Cybercab units to its fleet of Robotaxi-enabled cars in Austin, according to public documents the company submitted to the State of Texas over the past week. Enabling this level of self-driving is something Tesla has worked toward for many years, and now that it is finally here, it seems more than reasonable that regulatory agencies will have some questions.
Many outlets might try to frame this as a negative, but it is truly an agency looking to gain more information about groundbreaking tech that Tesla has been developing for years.
In an effort to keep riders, pedestrians, and property safe, any and all data accumulated from these first days, weeks, and months of rides will likely be shared with the NHTSA to enable broader rollout strategies across the United States and more in the future.
Tesla Robotaxi will be a 24/7 service: here’s when
Tesla Full Self-Driving will now overtake manual driving to avoid disaster
