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Tesla, other EVs required to have ‘traditional engine’ sound to meet new EU rule

A Tesla Model X. (Credit: Tesla)

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6 years ago

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Electric vehicles such as Teslas are known for being incredibly quiet. Without an internal combustion engine’s controlled explosions under the hood, electric cars are capable of operating in near-total silence. This, according to a new EU rule, will be changed soon. 

A new EU rule coming into force on Monday requires new electric vehicles to be equipped with a pedestrian noisemaker. The new regulations follows concerns that low-emission vehicles such as battery-electric cars are simply too quiet for the road, making them a risk for pedestrians, cyclists, and visually-impaired individuals (among others). According to the new ruling, a car’s Acoustic Vehicle Alert System (AVAS) must be engaged when reversing or traveling below 12 mph (19 km/h).  

In its ruling, the EU noted that vehicles usually back up or travel at low speeds in areas that are near people, such as city streets or crosswalks, though the new regulations does allow drivers to deactivate their vehicles’ pedestrian noisemakers as necessary. By 2021, the EU noted that all electric vehicles — not just new models coming to the market — must be equipped with an AVAS. 

Quite interestingly, the ruling mentioned that the noise-emitting devices would give EVs a sound that is similar to a “traditional engine,” according to a BBC report. This particular detail is notable, since making electric vehicles sound identical to conventional cars will likely result in some levels of noise pollution, something that EVs completely avoid. 

Road noises, after all, are considered the second most harmful environmental stressor in Europe, surpassed only by air pollution. The European Federation for Transport and Environment (also known as Transport and Environment or T&E), for one, notes that vehicle noises are a “major cause, not only of hearing loss, but also of heart disease, learning problems in children and sleep disturbance.”

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On the flip side, pedestrian noisemakers do make it far easier for the visually impaired to detect where vehicles are on the road. This was highlighted by Guide Dogs for the Blind, a charity that has complained about the absence of sounds from low-emission vehicles. Guide Dogs welcomed the new EU ruling, though the group noted that it would be better if EVs are required to produce sounds at all speeds. 

The UK’s Minister of State at the Department for Transport, Michael Ellis, noted in a statement to the publication that the ruling came about as a result of the government wanting the “benefits of green transport to be felt by everyone,” while considering the safety needs of people at the same time. “This new requirement will give pedestrians added confidence when crossing the road,” he said. 

While the consideration for the visually-impaired is quite admirable in the new ruling, it is quite interesting to see the EU regulations require electric vehicles to sound like traditional gas cars. EVs, after all, could have their own unique sound, as could be seen in the Jaguar I-PACE, the Audi e-tron, and even the prototype units of the Porsche Taycan. Even Tesla seems to be working on an AVAS, as hinted at by what appears to be a speaker grille on a Model 3’s underbody. Nevertheless, when Tesla rolls out its vehicles’ pedestrian noisemakers, one could be assured that it would be designed to minimize noise pollution, and it would most likely not simulate the sounds of a “traditional” engine.

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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 releases cryptic teaser for something massive and it’s coming this week

On Sunday morning, Tesla released a nine-second teaser video of what appears to be either a vehicle wheel, fan, or some sort of propeller, but there are no real clues as to what it could be exactly.

Published

10 hours ago

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October 5, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has released a cryptic teaser for something massive, and it will release details on it this week. With many different projects in the works, there is a lot of speculation going on about what it could potentially be, but we have a few ideas.

On Sunday morning, Tesla released a nine-second teaser video of what appears to be either a vehicle wheel, fan, or some sort of propeller, but there are no real clues as to what it could be exactly.

It then ends with “10/7,” meaning it will announce something on October 7, which is this Tuesday:

Given that Tesla has been working on a handful of pretty notable projects that are set for unveiling at the end of this year, and there are some clues that seem to point in their direction with this short teaser video.

There are two projects that come to mind almost immediately: the Tesla Roadster is one, and the “E41” or affordable model is the other. Here’s what we know about both:

Tesla Roadster Demo Event

Tesla said earlier this year that it would have a demo event for the Roadster to unveil some new technologies and show off what it has been working on over the past few years.

There have been a lot of crazy things in the works for the Roadster, including a SpaceX package that would use cold-gas thrusters for an insane 1.1-second 0-60 MPH acceleration rate. This package was also supposed to help it hover, something CEO Elon Musk has teased for the past few years.

The Roadster was ready for release earlier this year, but after Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and VP of Powertrain Lars Moravy showed Musk what they had come up with, he wanted more.

Moravy said on the Ride the Lightning podcast earlier this year:

“What we had come up with exceeded what we originally planned. So, Elon was like, ‘Wow, great. Let’s do more!'”

The Roadster event was coined as “the most epic demo,” and since it was planned for the end of 2025, it is totally feasible to believe this could be it.

Elon Musk teases Tesla’s “most epic demo” by end of year

Tesla ‘E41’ Affordable Model

Some believe the teaser could be the official launch of Tesla’s affordable model, which Musk said earlier this year is simply a stripped down Model Y.

There have been some sightings of this vehicle in the past few weeks, including one on Friday that showed the vehicle completely uncovered for the first time:

The launch of the affordable model makes sense, especially from a timing perspective. With the $7,500 EV tax credit officially coming to a close on September 30, many are wondering how Tesla will spark growth in its deliveries. A more affordable EV would be the perfect response, and it is something that Tesla has been working on for some time.

Other Potential Ideas

There are some pretty interesting ideas as to what the teaser could be apart from the Roadster or affordable model. Some believe it could be a cooling fan for a GPU cluster, which would make sense considering Tesla’s prowess in data.

Grok also made an interesting guess, stating it could be a propeller for a secret air taxi Tesla is developing. This seems sort of our of left field.

We do know Tesla hosted a handful of influencers at Gigafactory Texas this past week, so whatever the company showed them is likely what will be unveiled on Tuesday.

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Tesla Optimus is learning martial arts in new video teasing capabilities

For the past few months, Tesla has been refining its capabilities and making some serious progress on what Optimus is capable of. This morning, Musk released a new video showing Optimus learning Kung Fu, perhaps its most impressive feat yet.

Published

1 day ago

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October 4, 2025

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Credit: Elon Musk | X

Tesla Optimus is learning martial arts, a new video released by CEO Elon Musk shows, a crazy development and advancement in the robotics project the company has been working on for a few years.

Optimus has been a major focus of Tesla for the past several years, especially as Musk has said he believes it will be the biggest product of all time and could be the biggest contributor to the company’s valuation.

For the past few months, Tesla has been refining its capabilities and making some serious progress on what Optimus is capable of. This morning, Musk released a new video showing Optimus learning Kung Fu, perhaps its most impressive feat yet:

The video shows Optimus working with a Kung Fu teacher, known as a Shifu, going through what appears to be some sort of routine of combinations. It’s quite impressive to see the fluidity of the movements and Optimus’s ability to keep up with Shifu.

Tesla has been “working hard” to scale Optimus production, Musk said last week, a project that has obviously confronted both AI and manufacturing teams with a variety of challenges.

The plan is to have an annual production run-rate of one million units by 2030, and there were plans to build 5,000 units this year.

Elon Musk gives update on Tesla Optimus progress

Musk still believes Optimus will make up roughly 80 percent of Tesla’s value. In January, he said it would be “overwhelmingly the value of the company.”

Tesla plans to launch the Gen 3 version of Optimus soon, and although a video of a new-look prototype was released by Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, the company’s frontman stated that this was not what the next-generation prototype would look like.

Elon Musk confirms Tesla has never shown Optimus V3 design yet

This video seems to show there is still significant progress being made on the Optimus project, and it will be perhaps one of the most impressive humanoid robots available to consumers in the coming years.

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Elon Musk

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 gets new release date, Elon Musk details

“Last minute bug cropped up with V14. Released is pushed to Monday, but that gives us time to add a few more features.”

Published

1 day ago

on

October 4, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving version 14 has gotten a new release date after new details from CEO Elon Musk opened up some new perspectives on the suite.

Originally slated for an “early wide release” of v14 this past week, then a launch of v14.1 and v14.2 this week and next week, respectively, delays arose after Tesla’s Autopilot team found some issues within the software.

Tesla FSD V14 set for early wide release next week: Elon Musk

Musk detailed on X this morning that a “last minute bug” appeared before release, which has now pushed FSD v14’s release back to this Monday:

Musk also said the delay would give Tesla the ability to “add a few more features,” which seems like an added advantage, although he did not provide any additional details on what these features could be.

In classic Musk fashion, he has teased the capabilities of this version of the FSD suite since it became public knowledge that Tesla was working on it. He said that it is the second most important update for the AI/Autopilot team since FSD v12.

V14 will have a parameter count that is ten times what previous iterations were, which should provide more accuracy and a more human-like operation.

Musk has said v14 “feels alive” and has used the word “sentient” to describe its performance. The goal with the new FSD rollouts is to eliminate as many interventions as possible, making it as close to human driving as possible.

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