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Tesla destroys German critic’s electric car prejudice after Model 3 test drive
German automotive veteran Nando Sommerfeldt has not had good experiences with electric cars. At one time, the electric vehicles he was testing ended up running out of charge, making him stranded in the middle of a trip. Other vehicles proved too slow to charge, testing his family’s patience. Sommerfeldt has reservations about electric cars, even a prejudice, if you may, but it only lasted until he drove a Tesla Model 3.
The Silicon Valley-based electric car maker sent a bold message to the auto veteran, offering to change his mind about electric cars. “We would like to convince you otherwise. Our impression is that you simply have not tested the ‘right electric cars’ yet,” Tesla wrote. That’s a bold statement, and Sommerfeldt opted to take the offer. Tesla provided the EV critic with a Model 3 Performance, one of its latest vehicles that currently sells for 69,000 euros in Germany.
Being “spoiled” by vehicles from premium manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Sommerfeldt was largely unimpressed with the build quality of the Model 3. In his review, which was published at German publication Welt.de, Sommerfeldt complained about the panel gaps in the car, and he argued that while the white seats of the Model 3 were good, they do not compare favorably to the seats of the Audi e-tron. “The workmanship of body, interior, actually everything, is not up to premium standards,” he wrote. Nevertheless, with his evaluation of the vehicle’s build quality out of the way, the EV critic started driving the electric sedan.
It took 50 kilometers (31 miles) before his prejudices against electric cars started to fade. Even with the electric revolution underway today, there is still a persistent belief that EVs don’t drive as well as the best gas-powered vehicles on the market. “What nonsense. The Model 3 drives terrific,” Sommerfeldt declared. German industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from Center Automotive Research (CAR) highlighted Sommerfeldt’s observations. “The car is much better than all models of electric competition. The technical lead is easily four to five years. Range and driving pleasure are unmatched,” he said.
Elaborating on his experience, Sommerfeldt noted that the Model 3 feels like a sports car, an “extremely fast sports car.” This is quite notable considering that the vehicle is a family car at its core. But it’s not just the vehicle’s driving dynamics that impressed the EV critic. In terms of bleeding-edge technology inside the car, the Model 3 does not disappoint either. Industry expert Stefan Bratzel of the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) noted that the migration of car buyers from traditional vehicles to electric cars like Tesla is due to veterans being unable to offer similar innovations. “The future is offered here (at Tesla), which the Germans have not been able to do so far,” Bratzel said.
Beyond the excellent driving dynamics and the technology in the Model 3, perhaps what really removed the EV critic’s prejudice against electric cars was Tesla’s Supercharger Network. During his time with the vehicle, Sommerfeldt took his family out on a road trip once more, and this time around, they did not have to wait for hours on end for their vehicle to charge. Using one of Tesla’s Superchargers, Sommerfeldt and his family opted for a quick coffee and ice cream break, and by the time they returned to the Model 3, it had already gained 300 km (186 miles) of additional range. Sommerfeldt found the Supercharger Network’s design well-placed for long trips, and the Tesla community as a whole pleasant to interact with.
Dudenhöffer noted that among electric car makers, Tesla is the one that really thought about the big picture when they released their vehicles. Teslas, while not capable of charging at speeds similar to a gas-powered car yet, can charge at their owner’s homes (allowing drivers to leave with a “full tank” every day), and the company has backups in place if the Supercharger Network is unevailable. “Right from the beginning, the company had a clear plan of where its customers’ traffic flows. The Tesla owner can also refuel at all the other pillars of this country. But first of all, it would probably be too slow for him. And second, he does not need them,” he said. This is a particularly notable point for Sommerfeldt, as he admits to having deep range anxiety issues due to his past experiences with EVs. These issues, he found, were nonexistent with the Model 3.
With range anxiety gone thanks to the Supercharger Network and its contingencies, Sommerfeldt noted that Tesla drivers could trust their vehicles once more. And that, for Germany’s car buying public, at least, is a very big deal. “This Tesla destroys all my prejudices against the electric car,” he wrote.
Elon Musk
What is Digital Optimus? The new Tesla and xAI project explained
At its core, Digital Optimus operates through a dual-process architecture inspired by human cognition.
Tesla and xAI announced their groundbreaking joint project, Digital Optimus, also nicknamed “Macrohard” in a humorous jab at Microsoft, earlier this week.
This software-based AI agent is designed to automate complex office workflows by observing and replicating human interactions with computers. As the first major outcome of Tesla’s $2 billion investment in xAI, it represents a powerful fusion of hardware efficiency and advanced reasoning.
At its core, Digital Optimus operates through a dual-process architecture inspired by human cognition.
Macrohard or Digital Optimus is a joint xAI-Tesla project, coming as part of Tesla’s investment agreement with xAI.
Grok is the master conductor/navigator with deep understanding of the world to direct digital Optimus, which is processing and actioning the past 5 secs of…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 11, 2026
Tesla’s specialized AI acts as “System 1”—the fast, instinctive executor—processing the past five seconds of real-time computer screen video along with keyboard and mouse actions to perform immediate tasks.
xAI’s Grok model serves as “System 2,” the strategic “master conductor” or navigator, providing high-level reasoning, world understanding, and directional oversight, much like an advanced turn-by-turn navigation system.
When combined, the two can create a powerful AI-based assistant that can complete everything from accounting work to HR tasks.
Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI
The system runs primarily on Tesla’s low-cost AI4 inference chip, minimizing expensive Nvidia resources from xAI for competitive, real-time performance.
Elon Musk described it as “the only real-time smart AI system” capable, in principle, of emulating the functions of entire companies, handling everything from accounting and HR to repetitive digital operations.
Timelines point to swift deployment. Announced just days ago, Musk expects Digital Optimus to be ready for user experience within about six months, targeting rollout around September 2026.
It will integrate into all AI4-equipped Tesla vehicles, enabling parked cars to handle office work during downtime. Millions of dedicated units are also planned for deployment at Supercharger stations, tapping into roughly 7 gigawatts of available power.
Oh and it works in all AI4-equipped cars, so your car can do office work for you when not driving.
We’re also deploying millions of dedicated Digital Optimus units in the field at Superchargers where we have ~7 gigawatts of available power.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 12, 2026
Digital Optimus directly supports Tesla’s broader autonomy strategy. It leverages the same end-to-end neural networks, computer vision, and real-time decision-making tech that power Full Self-Driving (FSD) software and the physical Optimus humanoid robot.
By repurposing idle vehicle compute and extending AI4 hardware beyond driving, the project scales Tesla’s autonomy ecosystem from roads to digital workspaces.
As a virtual counterpart to physical Optimus, it divides labor: software agents manage screen-based tasks while humanoid robots tackle physical ones, accelerating Tesla’s vision of general-purpose AI for productivity, Robotaxi fleets, and beyond.
In essence, Digital Optimus bridges Tesla’s vehicle and robotics autonomy with enterprise-scale AI, promising massive efficiency gains. No other company currently matches its real-time capabilities on such accessible hardware.
It really could be one of the most crucial developments Tesla and xAI begin to integrate, as it could revolutionize how people work and travel.
News
Tesla adds awesome new driving feature to Model Y
Tesla is rolling out a new “Comfort Braking” feature with Software Update 2026.8. The feature is exclusive to the new Model Y, and is currently unavailable for any other vehicle in the Tesla lineup.
Tesla is adding an awesome new driving feature to Model Y vehicles, effective on Juniper-updated models considered model year 2026 or newer.
Tesla is rolling out a new “Comfort Braking” feature with Software Update 2026.8. The feature is exclusive to the new Model Y, and is currently unavailable for any other vehicle in the Tesla lineup.
Tesla writes in the release notes for the feature:
“Your Tesla now provides a smoother feel as you come to a complete stop during routine braking.”
🚨 Tesla has added a new “Comfort Braking” update with 2026.8
“Your Tesla provides a smoother feel as you come to a complete stop during routine braking.” https://t.co/afqCpBSVeA pic.twitter.com/C6MRmzfzls
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 13, 2026
Interestingly, we’re not too sure what catalyzed Tesla to try to improve braking smoothness, because it hasn’t seemed overly abrupt or rough from my perspective. Although the brake pedal in my Model Y is rarely used due to Regenerative Braking, it seems Tesla wanted to try to make the ride comfort even smoother for owners.
There is always room for improvement, though, and it seems that there is a way to make braking smoother for passengers while the vehicle is coming to a stop.
This is far from the first time Tesla has attempted to improve its ride comfort through Over-the-Air updates, as it has rolled out updates to improve regenerative braking performance, handling while using Full Self-Driving, improvements to Steer-by-Wire to Cybertruck, and even recent releases that have combatted Active Road Noise.
Tesla holds a unique ability to change the functionality of its vehicles through software updates, which have come in handy for many things, including remedying certain recalls and shipping new features to the Full Self-Driving suite.
Tesla seems to have the most seamless OTA processes, as many automakers have the ability to ship improvements through a simple software update.
We’re really excited to test the update, so when we get an opportunity to try out Comfort Braking when it makes it to our Model Y.
News
Tesla finally brings a Robotaxi update that Android users will love
The breakdown of the software version shows that Tesla is actively developing an Android-compatible version of the Robotaxi app, and the company is developing Live Activities for Android.
Tesla is finally bringing an update of its Robotaxi platform that Android users will love — mostly because it seems like they will finally be able to use the ride-hailing platform that the company has had active since last June.
Based on a decompile of software version 26.2.0 of the Robotaxi app, Tesla looks to be ready to roll out access to Android users.
According to the breakdown, performed by Tesla App Updates, the company is preparing to roll out an Android version of the app as it is developing several features for that operating system.
🚨 It looks like Tesla is preparing to launch the Robotaxi app for Android users at last!
A decompile of v26.2.0 of the Robotaxi app shows some progress on the Android side for Robotaxi 🤖 🚗 https://t.co/mThmoYuVLy
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 13, 2026
The breakdown of the software version shows that Tesla is actively developing an Android-compatible version of the Robotaxi app, and the company is developing Live Activities for Android:
“Strings like notification_channel_robotaxid_trip_name and android_native_alicorn_eta_text show exactly how Tesla plans to replicate the iOS Live Activities experience. Instead of standard push alerts, Android users are getting a persistent, dynamically updating notification channel.”
This is a big step forward for several reasons. From a face-value perspective, Tesla is finally ready to offer Robotaxi to Android users.
The company has routinely prioritized Apple releases because there is a higher concentration of iPhone users in its ownership base. Additionally, the development process for Apple is simply less laborious.
Tesla is working to increase Android capabilities in its vehicles
Secondly, the Robotaxi rollout has been a typical example of “slowly then all at once.”
Tesla initially released Robotaxi access to a handful of media members and influencers. Eventually, it was expanded to more users, so that anyone using an iOS device could download the app and hail a semi-autonomous ride in Austin or the Bay Area.
Opening up the user base to Android users may show that Tesla is preparing to allow even more users to utilize its Robotaxi platform, and although it seems to be a few months away from only offering fully autonomous rides to anyone with app access, the expansion of the user base to an entirely different user base definitely seems like its a step in the right direction.
What is Digital Optimus? The new Tesla and xAI project explained
Tesla adds awesome new driving feature to Model Y
