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Tesla Model Y Long Range Rear Wheel Drive now available in the U.K.

Credit: Tesla Europe & Middle East/X

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Tesla has launched the Model Y Long Range Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) variant in the U.K. The vehicle, which would serve as the base trim of the all-electric crossover in the country, is also the most efficient variant of the Model Y. 

Tesla U.K. announced the addition of the Model Y Long Range RWD on its official account on social media platform X. As per Tesla U.K., the Model Y Long Range RWD could provide an estimated fuel savings of £6,400 over four years. The Model Y Long Range RWD can also cost as little as £175 per year, assuming that the vehicle is driven 10,000 miles per year with Octopus Energy’s rates. 

Prior to the introduction of the Model Y Long Range RWD to the U.K., the base version of the all-electric sedan in the country was the Model Y RWD, which features a lithium iron phosphate battery pack. The Model Y RWD cost £44,990 before options. For this price, the vehicle offers an estimated WLTP range of 283 miles per charge, a 6.6-second 0-60 mph time, and 135 mph top speed.

The Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD costs £46,990 before options in the U.K. For comparison, the mid-tier Model Y Long Range All Wheel Drive (AWD) and the Model Y Performance cost £51,990 and £59,990 before options, respectively. This makes the Model Y Long Range RWD quite a good deal, considering its 373-mile WLTP range, 135 mph top speed, and 5.7-second 0-60 mph time. 

With its estimated WLTP range of 373 miles per charge, the Model Y Long Range RWD currently stands as the longest-range variant of the all-electric crossover in Tesla U.K.’s lineup. The Model Y Long Range AWD, in comparison, is listed with an estimated WLTP range of 331 miles per charge, while the Model Y Performance is listed with an estimated WLTP range of 319 miles per charge. 

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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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xAI launches Grok 4 with new $300/month SuperGrok Heavy subscription

xAI also introduced SuperGrok Heavy, which is priced at $300 per month.

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Credit: xAI/X

xAI, the artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, has officially launched its latest flagship models, Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy. Alongside the release, the company introduced its most premium subscription tier to date, SuperGrok Heavy, which is priced at $300 per month and targeted at power users and developers.

Grok 4 is designed to compete with top-tier AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. As per xAI, Grok 4 demonstrates frontier-level performance across several benchmark evaluations. 

On Humanity’s Last Exam, an extensive test designed to evaluate general knowledge, Grok 4 scored 25.4% without using external tools, outperforming OpenAI’s o3 (high), which scored 21%, and Gemini 2.5 Pro, which scored 21.6%. 

When equipped with tools, Grok 4 Heavy scored 44.4%, making it the top-performing model in that category. For context, Gemini 2.5 Pro with tools scored 26.9%, as noted in a TechCrunch report.

xAI also highlighted Grok 4 Heavy’s “multi-agent” system, which enables multiple instances of the model to solve a problem in parallel and compare answers, similar to a study group. This collaborative approach is intended to improve both reasoning and accuracy in complex tasks.

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The company also shared results from the ARC-AGI-2 benchmark, where Grok (Thinking) achieved new state of the art (SOTA) score on the test with 15.9%. As per Arc Prize in a post on X, this score is “nearly double(s) the previous commercial SOTA and tops the current Kaggle competition SOTA.”

The $300/month SuperGrok Heavy plan grants users early access to Grok 4 Heavy, as well as upcoming product features. Upcoming capabilities that are planned for release in the coming months include an AI coding model in August, a multi-modal agent in September, and a video generation system in October.

Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy are available via API as part of xAI’s push to engage developers and enterprise users. The company’s enterprise platform, which launched just two months ago, will also expand via partnerships with cloud hyperscalers to bring Grok models to broader infrastructure environments.

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EVs getting cleaner more quickly than expected in Europe: study

Battery-electric vehicles are still championing emissions reductions, and a new analysis suggests they’re doing so even more quickly than previously expected.

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Credit: Tesla

As Europe’s electricity mix is getting cleaner, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are also offering a larger climate advantage than previously expected, according to the results of a new study released this week.

On Wednesday, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) released a study noting that BEVs sold today produce 73 percent fewer life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, even factoring in production. This figure also represents a 24-percent improvement upon the organization’s 2021 estimates for this year, meaning that BEVs are getting cleaner more quickly than expected as the continent’s renewable programs continue to grow.

The study was comprised of a comprehensive life-cycle analysis of all major powertrain types, and the results suggest that BEVs are the only widely available powertrain that can slash emissions levels enough to meet climate goals. By contrast, the study’s results suggest that other clean energy powertrains, such as hybrids and plugin hybrids, only have a marginal impact, if any, on reducing the overall climate impact of the transportation sector.

“Battery electric cars in Europe are getting cleaner faster than we expected and outperform all other technologies, including hybrids and plug-in hybrids,” says ICCT researcher Dr. Marta Negri. “This progress is largely due to the fast deployment of renewable electricity across the continent and the greater energy efficiency of battery electric cars.”

Credit: International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)

READ MORE ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Study reveals hybrids could have up to 4.9x lifetime emissions vs. BEVs

ICCT Senior Researcher Dr. Georg Bieker says he also hopes the analysis can help fight misinformation regarding BEV powertrains. For example, he notes that, while it’s true that manufacturing emissions for BEVs can be up to 40 percent higher than for ICE vehicles, this is quickly offset by an electric automobile after just around 17,000 km (~10,563 miles) of driving.

“We hope this study brings clarity to the public conversation, so that policymakers and industry leaders can make informed decisions,” Dr. Bieker says. “We’ve recently seen auto industry leaders misrepresenting the emissions math on hybrids. But life-cycle analysis is not a choose-your-own-adventure exercise.”

Additionally, the ICCT study covers emissions from both vehicle and battery production, recycling, fuel and electricity production, fuel consumption, and maintenance.

“Our study accounts for the most representative use cases and is grounded in real-world data,” Dr. Bieker adds. “Consumers deserve accurate, science-backed information.”

U.S. EV adoption still on pace to reach 50% by 2030: data

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Tesla executive teases plan to further electrify supply chain

One of Tesla’s top executive hints at how Tesla is further electrifying its supply chain.

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Credit: Andrea Conway/X

A high-level Tesla executive has said the company is working to further electrify its supply chain, following a successful road test with the Semi this week.

After Tesla supplier thyssenkrupp completed a successful 5,000-mile winter trial with the Semi this week, Dan Priestley, the company’s Director of Semi Engineering, noted on X that the demonstration is a part of larger efforts to electrify more of the supply chain. The executive said that the company is already working to help suppliers like thyssenkrupp implement the Semi into their operations, particularly due to its cost savings and reliability.

Following the thyssenkrupp demo, the supply chain company has also begun integrating the Semi into its fleet, and Priestley suggests that more are still to come:

Working with our suppliers and logistics partners to electrify Tesla’s supply chain. With lower cost and higher reliability, it just makes sense. thyssenkrupp pushed the truck hard over this demo and now plans to integrate Semi into their fleet.

READ MORE ON TESLA SEMI: Tesla Full Self-Driving displays impressive collision avoidance with Semi

Tesla Semi factory nears official production as trials continue to impress

Tesla’s early Semi trials received positive results from both thyssenkrup and ArcBest’s ABF Freight this week, with the latter company logging 4,494 miles during a pilot period, and averaging 321 miles per day despite a 7,200-foot climb over Donner Pass.

The company has also been constructing a factory for volume Semi production at its Gigafactory in Nevada, and in recent weeks, the plant is looking nearly complete. Semi frames have been spotted in increasing numbers outside the facility recently, suggesting that Tesla is nearing early production on site.

The company also hired more than 1,000 workers for the Semi factory in April, while the plant is eventually expected to produce as many as 50,000 Semi units annually.

Tesla reveals Semi fleet data, shows off new feature and infrastructure plans

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