Munro Live has become a channel where car expert Sandy Munro can educate the public on the inner workings of vehicles. In his latest video, Munro doesn’t hold back and spits out truths about the US government’s approach towards improving the local auto industry and its chosen champions in the fight to dominate the global car market.
Munro drives home two main points in his video. First, American EV maker Tesla doesn’t get the recognition or credit it deserves, particularly regarding their technological advancements like its artificial intelligence development. Second, legacy OEMs such as General Motors and Ford don’t have the technology to beat Chinese automakers in the global car market, specifically when talking about autonomous driving technologies.
Munro’s Tesla AI Day Review
Munro seemed very impressed by the technology and progress Tesla revealed during its AI day event. In his video, he particularly focused on Tesla’s D1 chip, which was developed in-house.
“It defies the imagination. One chip, one chip that Tesla has developed in recent history here could take the place of pretty much any major computer that might’ve been hanging around in the early 2000’s. These advancements are things that will save lives. Lots of lives,” he said.
While Tesla AI Day seemed to be a success by Munro’s standards, the government’s reaction to Tesla incurred his ire. He noticed that the same week Tesla AI Day took place, both the NHTSA and US Congress started investigating the EV maker’s Autopilot system.
To put things in perspective, Munro spit out some facts about vehicle safety. He shared that 212,500 vehicles fires were responsible for 560 civilian deaths in 2018. Teslarati was able to confirm Munro’s numbers on vehicle fires with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
In 2018, a little over 17 million vehicles were sold in the United States, and EVs only made up 2% of total vehicle sales. A total of about 360,000 electric vehicles were sold in 2018, and 38% of that number was just the Tesla Model 3.
Over the years, Tesla vehicles and fires have been a mainstay in mainstream media (MSM). With regards to EV fires, Munro pointed out that gasoline burns easier than batteries and even invited people to try it out—although his video editors warned people against doing so at home. According to the NFPA, collisions were the main cause of vehicle fires that resulted in death.
Munro’s Rant
After spitting some facts about electric vehicle safety. Munro drove his point home. “I’ve driven almost every self-driving car or even autopilot car and it’s crap,” Munro said about the progress legacy OEMs have made with autonomous technology. He chided the government for continuously praising traditional automakers for their “participation” in self-driving development while continuously bashing Tesla for making actual progress in the field.
He also noted that Tesla was the only US car company that still made true, blue American vehicles that could trump the main competition in the global autonomous car market: China’s upcoming EV makers that are just as focused on tech as Tesla.
“The Chinese are creating [self-driving] systems right now that are equivalent or better than anything GM, VW, BMW, Daimler, Toyota, Honda, Kia, Ford, and anybody else that’s out there is gonna be making, and we’re crushing the only source of real American ingenuity? Are you kidding me?” Munro remarked.
Overall, Munro’s message was clear: veteran OEMs in the United States and the traditional auto sector in general are on track to be overtaken by fast-moving, upstart automakers in China that prioritize tech and innovation in their vehicles. Tesla is ahead of the pack right now, but if the company slows down due to continued resistance from the powers-that-be, then it would not be surprising if China’s champions like NIO and Xpeng become the golden standard for in-car tech and autonomous driving in the near future.
Watch Sandy Munro’s self-described “rant” in the video below.
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Tesla Cybercab might have just rolled out to the public as it entered the company’s Robotaxi suite in Austin this past week. However, the vehicle might already be on its way to becoming even better, as the company is asking riders to describe what they’d like to see improved with the Cybercab.
Tesla sent a rider experience survey to Cybercab passengers only days after paid rides began in Austin. The questionnaire asks how satisfied riders were with the overall trip. Then it requests star ratings for availability and wait time, door functionality, vehicle touchscreen, mobile app experience, seat comfort, interior space, ride comfort, cleanliness, and cargo space.
A later section asks which features riders would most like to have and allows selection of up to three items from a list that includes heated seats, ventilated seats, fully reclining seats, a tray table, a wireless phone charger, a better sound system, and more storage. Respondents may also choose none of these or write in another idea. The survey closes with a recommendation score from zero to ten.
Tesla just sent out a Cybercab rider experience survey so you can give feedback to the team. pic.twitter.com/YsU5OYdAjW
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 8, 2026
This rapid request for input illustrates Tesla’s habit of treating early users as collaborators rather than mere customers. The company has long refined vehicles through software updates and hardware changes informed by real-world use across its passenger cars.
Collecting structured opinions so soon after commercial service started shows the same mindset applied to a purpose-built autonomous taxi. The questions themselves reveal an openness to cabin changes even after the first vehicles reached public streets, which is no surprise.
Tesla has always hoped to cater a great experience to anyone in its vehicles, which is why so many fan-requested features have made it into its vehicles.
Replies already circulating online favor reclining seats, tray tables, wireless charging, improved audio, and extra room when seats fold back.
Tesla Cybercabs narrowly miss deadly Amazon cargo plane crash
Those preferences point toward comfort upgrades that Tesla can implement in later production batches or through cabin revisions. Because the Cybercab is designed around software first principles, many requested amenities can arrive faster than in traditional automakers.
Tesla’s willingness to survey riders immediately after launch therefore makes near-term cabin and experience improvements likely as the team reviews responses and iterates toward a more refined robotaxi people will choose daily.
Tesla Cybertruck Lead Engineer Wes Morrill revealed the company has made several changes to the all-electric pickup, which he calls a “living thing, constantly evolving and improving.”
Cybertruck is manufactured at Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas just outside of Austin, and over the past few years, Tesla has continued to make small changes to the pickup to improve everything from cost, reliability, serviceablility, and manufacturability.
“The finish line isn’t getting to production. A product is a living thing, constantly evolving and improving,” Morrill added.
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Some of those changes are yet to be revealed, but perhaps the most notable one was the change Tesla made to the aero shield that sits underneath the truck. In the past, it was aluminum, but now the Cybertruck is using a self-reinforcing polypropylene.
Morrill said that the polypropylene is “stretched into fibers and then laminated into the form,” and is much more durable, much lighter, and significantly cheaper than aluminum when it is manufactured this way.
It also enabled some improvements in the geometry of the Cybertruck, improving the manufacturing around the bolts and edges, in addition to minor form changes. These all benefitted the Cybertruck in more ways than one: specifically with durability and improved drag.
I was surprised by how interested people were to find out we made a relatively benign change to the Cybertruck aero shield, a part of the car most people never even see. So I’ll share some more details.
Here are two photos, the left is one of the latest trucks off the… pic.twitter.com/F5cZo2CZKf
— Wes (@wmorrill3) September 7, 2026
Typically, Teslas are not necessarily identified by model year because these changes are fluid and occur when the company sees fit to implement them. It is not like other automotive companies, which usually make sweeping manufacturing changes when building a new model year.
Instead, Teslas are recognized by their “generation” or “era.” For example, those with a newer Model Y might refer to their car as a “Juniper.” This is the same with Model 3, as many refer to the new body style as the “Highland.”
Tesla’s manufacturing changes are proof of the company’s constant need to improve its products and move things forward with its vehicles. There is no need to drag one’s feet and wait until next year if the product can be made better right now, and that’s precisely what Tesla did with the Cybertruck.
Elon Musk
Tesla Cybercabs narrowly miss deadly Amazon cargo plane crash
An Amazon cargo plane crash near Miami’s airport stopped feet from dozens of Tesla Cybercabs.
An Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 cargo jet overran the runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon, killing five people and injuring five more. The jet, operated by North Carolina based carrier 21 Air as Flight 7598, touched down around 2 p.m. after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, then crossed the airport perimeter, plowed across NW 67th Avenue and struck multiple vehicles before catching fire, according to the Associated Press.
Photos and video from the scene show the aircraft’s nose stopped within meters of a fenced staging lot holding dozens of gold painted Tesla Cybercabs, the steering wheel free robotaxi Tesla began putting on public roads in Austin last week. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has confirmed the plane struck “multiple vehicles” but has not said whether any Cybercabs were among them, and neither Tesla nor airport officials have addressed the fleet directly.
The Cybercabs had not yet entered commercial service in Miami. Tesla’s existing Robotaxi operation there runs on modified Model Y vehicles and has been unsupervised since Ashok Elluswamy confirmed the detail on X in July.
Footage of the plane crash from earlier today | #ONLYinDADE pic.twitter.com/iGoOtnd6cD
— ONLY in DADE (@ONLYinDADE) September 6, 2026
Elon Musk offered the briefest of reactions. Replying to a Zero Hedge post about the Cybercabs sitting so close to the wreckage, he wrote a single word: “Weird.” He has not commented further, and Tesla has not issued a statement.
The timing puts Tesla’s newest vehicle near an unrelated but highly visible tragedy just days after its Austin debut, a launch that had already drawn scrutiny from federal regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an audit how Tesla certified the Cybercab as compliant with federal vehicle safety standards, a process Teslarati covered after the vehicle’s September 3 launch event. That inquiry concerns the car’s lack of a steering wheel and pedals, not the Miami crash.
Investigators from the FAA and NTSB are focused on the plane, not the parking lot beside it. Flight data reviewed by outlets including Simple Flying show the 767 touched down around 170 knots, well above the 135 to 140 knot range typical for the aircraft, though investigators have not determined a cause. Amazon said it is working with authorities and that its priority is the safety of everyone affected.
Whether any Cybercabs were damaged, and what Tesla plans for the fleet parked near one of the country’s busiest airports, remain open questions.
Tesla Cybercab improvements are already on the minds of company engineers
Tesla Cybertruck engineer reveals new changes in ‘constantly evolving’ pickup
