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Tesla Model S beats 70 years of motoring legends to win MotorTrend’s Ultimate Car of the Year award
After seven years in the market, multiple awards, and establishing itself as the undisputed king of premium electric sedans, the Tesla Model S has earned what could very well be its most impressive award to date. Just recently, the Model S, the first vehicle designed from the ground up by Tesla, was dubbed by MotorTrend as its Ultimate Car of the Year, beating 70 years worth of motoring legends in the process.Â
MotorTrend started its Car of the Year awards in 1949, which was won by Cadillac. Over the years, the publication’s Car of the Year award would expand to several segments such as Imports, Trucks, and SUVs. Despite this, each winner of the esteemed award had one thing in common: each vehicle scored very well under the publication’s six criteria — Advancement in Design, Engineering Excellence, Efficiency, Performance of Intended Function, Value, and Safety.Â
With MotorTrend celebrating its 70th anniversary, the publication opted to do something special this year. Ninety-two vehicles have received the Car of the Year award to date, but as mentioned by the publication in an announcement, one of these 92 vehicles is more significant than the others. From this 92, eight finalists were selected, corresponding to every decade that the publication has been active. These vehicles are the 1949 Cadillac lineup, the 1955 Chevrolet lineup, the 1968 Pontiac GTO, the 1972 Citroën SM, the 1986 Mazda RX-7, the 1996 Dodge Caravan, the 2004 Toyota Prius, and the 2013 Tesla Model S.

While the 2010-2020 decade is not over yet, it is difficult to argue that the most essential car of recent years is the Tesla Model S. Created as a successor to the original Tesla Roadster and designed to prove that all-electric cars can be viable (and even superior) alternatives to gas and diesel-powered sedans, the Model S was a groundbreaking vehicle from the inside out. The sedan’s production ramp experienced some delays considering Tesla’s inexperience (the company had only been producing the low-volume Roadsters when the Model S came out), but when it did, it shook the auto industry to its core.Â
MotorTrend calls the Model S as a “rolling manifesto,” a car that personifies CEO Elon Musk’s view of electric vehicles as tomorrow’s form of transportation. Even before its insanely quick configurations were released, the original Model S proved enough to disrupt the luxury sedan segment. Thanks to its rear-mounted electric motor, it was quick off the line, hitting 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds, it seated seven (two in jump seats), and it was also incredibly efficient. What’s more, it had 265 miles of range per charge, showing the auto industry that electric cars can go the distance too, literally. These, together with the vehicle’s never-before-seen tech, ultimately helped the Model S become MotorTrend’s 2013 Car of the Year.Â
The Model S is more than a great electric car. Rather, it is an excellent vehicle that just happens to be electric. Bold and progressive, Tesla’s flagship sedan still stands as the gold standard that competing EVs today are still benchmarked against. Constantly evolving thanks to free, over-the-air updates from Tesla, the Model S also stands as one of the only vehicles released this decade that actually becomes better with age. For MotorTrend, these characteristics make the Model S deserving of the Ultimate Car of the Year award, perhaps even more.Â
“No vehicle we’ve awarded, be it Car of the Year, Import Car of the Year, SUV of the Year, or Truck of the Year, can equal the impact, performance, and engineering excellence that is our Ultimate Car of the Year winner, the 2013 Tesla Model S,” the publication wrote.Â
MotorTrend’s feature on the Tesla Model S as a finalist in its Ultimate Car of the Year awards could be accessed here. The final results of the awards could be accessed here.Â
The Tesla Model S’ Ultimate Car of the Year award comes just a day after its smaller sibling, the Model 3, was deemed as the 2019 Car of the Year and 2019 Premium Electric Car of the Year by AutoExpress UK. Just like its larger sibling, the Model 3 was granted the accolade for its perfect blend of technology and driving dynamics, making the car that a likely disruptor in the auto industry, but in a much bigger scale.
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Tesla adds new in-app feature to solve the used EV market’s biggest headache
Tesla has quietly rolled out one of its most practical software updates yet — and it could add real dollars to every used Model 3, Y, S, and X on the road.
Starting with the latest Tesla app version, owners now receive an official “Certification of Repaired HV Battery” whenever Tesla performs a major high-voltage battery repair or full replacement. The digital certificate appears directly in the vehicle’s Service History tab inside the Tesla app.
It’s permanent, verifiable, and downloadable as a PDF, so sellers can hand it over to buyers in seconds.
For years, the used EV market has suffered from one glaring problem: nobody could prove what happened to the battery.
Service invoices often vanish when a car changes hands. Third-party battery-health scans are expensive and inconsistent. Buyers, staring at a car with 80,000 miles and an 8-year warranty ticking down, would negotiate hard — or walk away entirely — because the battery is the single most expensive part of any Tesla.
That uncertainty routinely shaved thousands off resale values and slowed the entire secondhand market.
Now Tesla has eliminated the guesswork. The new certificate, which was spotted by Tesla App Updates, logs exactly what work was done, when, and by whom. It lives inside the car’s digital profile forever, exactly where any future owner will look. No more digging through old emails or hoping the previous owner kept paperwork.
— Tesla App Updates (iOS) (@Tesla_App_iOS) May 5, 2026
The outlet describes why the update is so important:
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Official Digital Certificates: The string “Certification of Repaired HV Battery” confirms that if your vehicle undergoes a major battery repair or replacement, Tesla will now issue an official, verifiable digital certificate documenting the work.
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Service History Integration: Strings such as viewRepairedBatteryCert and repairedBatteryCertId indicate that this document won’t be lost in an old email thread. It will be permanently anchored to your vehicle’s profile inside the app’s Service History tab.
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Easy Exporting: The service_history_repaired_battery_cert_download_fail error state indicates you will be able to download this certificate directly to your phone as a file (likely a PDF) to share with others.
Sellers who have already replaced packs under warranty are especially excited; they can now prove the vehicle received a fresh Tesla battery without any gray-area questions.
The timing couldn’t be better. As more Teslas roll off 8-year/100,000- or 120,000-mile battery warranties, the used market is exploding. Lenders, insurers, and even auction houses have quietly asked for better battery documentation for years. Tesla’s certificate hands it to them on a silver platter.
For current owners, the feature adds peace of mind and protects long-term value. For buyers, it removes the single biggest risk in any used EV purchase. And for Tesla itself, it quietly strengthens the entire ownership ecosystem — making vehicles more liquid, more desirable, and more valuable over time.
In an industry obsessed with range numbers and 0-60 times, Tesla just proved that sometimes the biggest innovation is a simple line in the Service History tab. One small certificate, one giant step for used-EV confidence.
News
Tesla reigns supreme in the heaviest EV market on Earth
In the global race toward electrification, Norway stands unchallenged as the world’s most mature EV market.
In the first quarter of this year, EVs captured a staggering 97.9 percent market share, with plugin EVs reaching 98.6 percent. Out of 27,175 new vehicles registered, non-BEV powertrains have been reduced to statistical noise—petrol and hybrids combined accounted for fewer than 80 units.
At the heart of this transformation is Tesla.
The Model Y dominated overall vehicle sales with 5,406 units, outselling the next five best-selling non-Tesla models combined. The refreshed Model 3 followed in second place with 2,010 units, giving Tesla a commanding one-two finish. Toyota’s bZ4X placed third with 1,400 units, while Volvo’s EX40 and others trailed further back.
The @Tesla Model Y was the #1 best-selling vehicle overall in Norway in Q1 2026 by a wide margin, with BEVs in general taking a 97.9% market share. Model 3 ranked #2.
Model Y (5,406 units) sold more units than the next five best-selling non-Tesla vehicles on the list. pic.twitter.com/LE2SD5UQjs
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) May 5, 2026
This dominance is no fluke. Norway has spent decades building the infrastructure and policy framework that makes EVs the rational choice. Generous tax incentives, exemption from VAT, reduced tolls, free ferries for EVs, and a dense charging network have turned the country into a living laboratory for mass adoption. High fuel prices—often exceeding $8 per gallon—further tilt the economics decisively toward electricity.
The result is a market where choosing anything but an EV feels increasingly anachronistic. Diesel and petrol cars have all but vanished from new registrations. Even plug-in hybrids, once a transitional favorite, have collapsed to 0.7 percent share.
Chinese brands like XPeng, BYD, and Zeekr are making inroads, while legacy European and Japanese automakers scramble to field competitive BEVs. Yet Tesla’s combination of range, performance, software, Supercharger network, and brand cachet continues to set the benchmark.
Norway’s Q1 figures come after a volatile start to 2026 caused by VAT changes that pulled forward sales into late 2025. The market rebounded strongly in March, underscoring underlying demand. Tesla’s Q1 performance in the country also jumped significantly year-over-year, reinforcing its position even as competition intensifies.
What happens in Norway rarely stays there. The country has long served as a bellwether for EV trends across Europe and beyond.
Its near-total transition demonstrates that when incentives align with infrastructure and consumer economics, adoption accelerates dramatically. For automakers, Norway signals a future where success hinges not on legacy powertrains but on delivering compelling electric vehicles at scale.
As other nations ramp up their own EV ambitions, Tesla’s continued reign in the world’s heaviest EV market sends a clear message: in a fully mature electric future, the company that started the revolution remains the one to beat. With the Model Y still the best-selling vehicle overall—quarter after quarter—Norway’s roads are a rolling testament to Tesla’s enduring leadership.
Elon Musk
Tesla owners keep coming back for more
Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.
Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.
The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.
What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the  and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing.  Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.