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Tesla Model Y converted into green hydrogen car to show “Hyper Hybrid” innovations

Credit: @BMBF_Bund/Twitter

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German Federal Research Minister Anja Karliczek recently unveiled an example of a “hyper hybrid” vehicle powered by synthetic methanol, which is based on “green hydrogen” technologies. But while the idea to produce a climate-friendly car is admirable, the vehicle Germany used for the project was quite questionable. This was because the Federal Research Minister’s team opted to use a Tesla Model Y — an all-electric vehicle that is, in many ways, already the pinnacle for efficiency and sustainability — for the project.   

Simply put, Germany took a perfectly working battery-electric vehicle, modified it with a synthetic methanol engine, and dubbed it as a work of true innovation. Karliczek, for his part, noted in a press release that such a project is incredibly important since “green hydrogen” is a valuable building block for climate protection. 

“Climate protection can only succeed with green hydrogen. That’s why we are already providing massive support for research into the use of green hydrogen, although efforts will have to be stepped up again in the coming years. Especially in industry and transportation, we will continue to need chemical energy sources in the future. Not all industrial processes can be completely decarbonized. CO2 will continue to be produced. We need solutions for this.

“Today we are building a very interesting bridge between these two points: The use of methanol from ‘recycled’ CO2 from industry as a fuel in road transport… But the methanol car itself is also an ‘innovation showcase’ for low-emission, resource- and energy-efficient mobility of tomorrow. Synthetic fuels have an important role to play in making a sustainable, climate-friendly mobility system possible worldwide. This is important in shipping and air travel, or where a charging station for the electric car may not always be available in the future. Especially there, the serial hybrid drive can be a good solution in perspective,” the Federal Research Minister said. 

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Speaking about the hybrid Model Y project, Prof. Robert Schlögl, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion and Carbon2Chem project coordinator, noted that the hybrid technologies used in the initiative present a great synergy between two systems: the efficient electric drivetrain and the easily accessible synthetic fuel methanol. 

“The urgency of climate protection requires a rapid and comprehensive entry into renewable energy. In a global market for renewable energy, carbon-based energy sources such as methanol are key building blocks. The serial hybrid drive concept presented here combines the advantages of the efficient electric drive and the energy-dense and easily accessible synthetic fuel methanol. This concept must be further optimized by the research project presented here,” the professor said. 

The hybrid Tesla Model Y is part of the Carbon2Chem initiative, which aims to reduce CO2 emissions in the steel industry. The vehicle is a concept built to showcase how methanol is recycled. The Obrist DE GmbH worked with the Technical University of Munich, the Technical University of Dresden, and the RWTH Aachen to create the vehicle. About 10 million euros were estimated to have been spent on the methanol-powered Tesla Model Y. That being said, OBRIST Group CEO Frank Wolf remained proud of the project’s end result. 

“Our HyperHybrid powertrain, whose zero-vibration generator produces electricity with green methanol, is an essential innovation for globally deployable, efficient, and emission-neutral e-mobility – in other words, a car with green liquid electricity in the tank!” Wolf said. 

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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 FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles

The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles.

The figure appears on Tesla’s official safety page, which tracks performance data for FSD (Supervised) and other safety technologies.

Tesla has long emphasized that large-scale real-world data is central to improving its neural network-based approach to autonomy. Each mile driven with FSD (Supervised) engaged contributes additional edge cases and scenario training for the system.

Credit: Tesla

The milestone also brings Tesla closer to a benchmark previously outlined by CEO Elon Musk. Musk has stated that roughly 10 billion miles of training data may be needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving at scale, citing the “long tail” of rare but complex driving situations that must be learned through experience.

The growth curve of FSD Supervised’s cumulative miles over the past five years has been notable. 

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As noted in data shared by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt, annual FSD (Supervised) miles have increased from roughly 6 million in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and 4.25 billion in 2025. In just the first 50 days of 2026, Tesla owners logged another 1 billion miles.

At the current pace, the fleet is trending towards hitting about 10 billion FSD Supervised miles this year. The increase has been driven by Tesla’s growing vehicle fleet, periodic free trials, and expanding Robotaxi operations, among others.

With the fleet now past 8.4 billion cumulative miles, Tesla’s supervised system is approaching that threshold, even as regulatory approval for fully unsupervised deployment remains subject to further validation and oversight.

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Elon Musk fires back after Wikipedia co-founder claims neutrality and dubs Grokipedia “ridiculous”

Musk’s response to Wales’ comments, which were posted on social media platform X, was short and direct: “Famous last words.”

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UK Government, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Elon Musk fired back at Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales after the longtime online encyclopedia leader dismissed xAI’s new AI-powered alternative, Grokipedia, as a “ridiculous” idea that is bound to fail.

Musk’s response to Wales’ comments, which were posted on social media platform X, was short and direct: “Famous last words.”

Wales made the comments while answering questions about Wikipedia’s neutrality. According to Wales, Wikipedia prides itself on neutrality. 

“One of our core values at Wikipedia is neutrality. A neutral point of view is non-negotiable. It’s in the community, unquestioned… The idea that we’ve become somehow ‘Wokepidea’ is just not true,” Wales said.

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When asked about potential competition from Grokipedia, Wales downplayed the situation. “There is no competition. I don’t know if anyone uses Grokipedia. I think it is a ridiculous idea that will never work,” Wales wrote.

After Grokipedia went live, Larry Sanger, also a co-founder of Wikipedia, wrote on X that his initial impression of the AI-powered Wikipedia alternative was “very OK.”

“My initial impression, looking at my own article and poking around here and there, is that Grokipedia is very OK. The jury’s still out as to whether it’s actually better than Wikipedia. But at this point I would have to say ‘maybe!’” Sanger stated.

Musk responded to Sanger’s assessment by saying it was “accurate.” In a separate post, he added that even in its V0.1 form, Grokipedia was already better than Wikipedia.

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During a past appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show, Sanger argued that Wikipedia has drifted from its original vision, citing concerns about how its “Reliable sources/Perennial sources” framework categorizes publications by perceived credibility. As per Sanger, Wikipedia’s “Reliable sources/Perennial sources” list leans heavily left, with conservative publications getting effectively blacklisted in favor of their more liberal counterparts.

As of writing, Grokipedia has reportedly surpassed 80% of English Wikipedia’s article count.

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Tesla Sweden appeals after grid company refuses to restore existing Supercharger due to union strike

The charging site was previously functioning before it was temporarily disconnected in April last year for electrical safety reasons.

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Credit: Tesla Charging

Tesla Sweden is seeking regulatory intervention after a Swedish power grid company refused to reconnect an already operational Supercharger station in Åre due to ongoing union sympathy actions.

The charging site was previously functioning before it was temporarily disconnected in April last year for electrical safety reasons. A temporary construction power cabinet supplying the station had fallen over, described by Tesla as occurring “under unclear circumstances.” The power was then cut at the request of Tesla’s installation contractor to allow safe repair work.

While the safety issue was resolved, the station has not been brought back online. Stefan Sedin, CEO of Jämtkraft elnät, told Dagens Arbete (DA) that power will not be restored to the existing Supercharger station as long as the electric vehicle maker’s union issues are ongoing. 

“One of our installers noticed that the construction power had been backed up and was on the ground. We asked Tesla to fix the system, and their installation company in turn asked us to cut the power so that they could do the work safely. 

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“When everything was restored, the question arose: ‘Wait a minute, can we reconnect the station to the electricity grid? Or what does the notice actually say?’ We consulted with our employer organization, who were clear that as long as sympathy measures are in place, we cannot reconnect this facility,” Sedin said. 

The union’s sympathy actions, which began in March 2024, apply to work involving “planning, preparation, new connections, grid expansion, service, maintenance and repairs” of Tesla’s charging infrastructure in Sweden.

Tesla Sweden has argued that reconnecting an existing facility is not equivalent to establishing a new grid connection. In a filing to the Swedish Energy Market Inspectorate, the company stated that reconnecting the installation “is therefore not covered by the sympathy measures and cannot therefore constitute a reason for not reconnecting the facility to the electricity grid.”

Sedin, for his part, noted that Tesla’s issue with the Supercharger is quite unique. And while Jämtkraft elnät itself has no issue with Tesla, its actions are based on the unions’ sympathy measures against the electric vehicle maker. 

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“This is absolutely the first time that I have been involved in matters relating to union conflicts or sympathy measures. That is why we have relied entirely on the assessment of our employer organization. This is not something that we have made any decisions about ourselves at all. 

“It is not that Jämtkraft elnät has a conflict with Tesla, but our actions are based on these sympathy measures. Should it turn out that we have made an incorrect assessment, we will correct ourselves. It is no more difficult than that for us,” the executive said. 

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