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Tesla owners in Australia band together to help firefighters, wildfire victims

Australia bushfires (Source: NSW Rural Fire Service | Facebook)

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Tesla owners in Australia have banded together to help victims of the country’s raging bushfires, and to support the firefighter volunteers on the frontlines who are trying to keep the blazes under control.

Toby Patton, who manages the Twitter account Australian Tesla Owners started a fundraiser that will benefit the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. He created a GoFundMe account and aims to raise $10,000 for the firefighters. So far, the fundraiser has raised almost $1,300.

“The Australian Tesla Owners community is coming together to help raise funds for the NSW Rural Fire Service, we are aiming to raise as much as possible so if you or someone you know is able to provide a donation of any amount at all, it means that the NSW Rural Fire Service will be better able to attack the fires and provide better support to all residents of NSW,” the GoFundMe page reads. 

Likewise, Tesla owners from all over Australia launched the #FrunksUp4Fires campaign on Twitter, calling for donations for clothes, toys, non-perishable food items, toiletries, and other items that may be useful for the most vulnerable victims of the bushfires.

The date for the collection of the said items will be on Jan. 25 and donors will be able to put the items on Tesla frunks at a location that is yet to be determined. The group is asking for help from everyone who might have something to spare.

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As of Sunday night, local reports say that there are still 98 fires burning in New South Wales with around 50 bushfires yet to be contained. In NSW alone, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) estimates total area burned to about 3.41 million hectares.

Firefighters describe the situation as unprecedented and catastrophic with a total of six deaths and 829 houses destroyed. Authorities have also issued travel warnings across the state and have urged Christmas travelers to delay their travels as the bushfires intensify.

“To put it in perspective, in the past few years we have had a total area burned for the whole season of about 280,000 ha. This year we’re at 3.41m and we are only halfway through the season,” said Angela Burford, a spokesperson of RFS.

The bushfires started in September and are expected to spread well past Christmas.

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Tesla Robovan’s likely first deployment shared by Boring Company President

As per the executive, the vehicle will be used to move large crowds through Las Vegas during major events. 

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Credit: Grok Imagine

The Boring Company President Steve Davis has shared the most likely first real-world use for Tesla’s Robovan.

As per the executive, the vehicle will be used to move large crowds through Las Vegas during major events. 

Tesla Robovan for high-demand events

During a feature with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Boring Company President Steve Davis said the Tesla Robovan will be introduced once the Vegas Loop expands across the Strip and downtown and the fleet grows to about 1,200 Teslas. 

At that scale, Robovans would primarily be deployed during predictable surges, such as game days and large shows, when many riders are traveling to the same destination at the same time.

“The second you have four (passengers) and you have to start stopping, the best thing you can do is put your smallest vehicle in, which is a car. But if you know people are going to the stadium because of a game, you’ll know an hour before, two hours before, that a lot of people are going to a game or a Sphere show, if you are smart about it, that’s when you put a high occupancy vehicle in, that’s when you put the Robovan in,” Davis said.

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Vegas Loop expansion

Steve Davis’s Robovan comment comes as The Boring Company’s Vegas Loop expands its airport service. Phase 1 of rides to Harry Reid International Airport began last month, allowing passengers to travel from existing Loop stations such as Resorts World, Encore, Westgate, and the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Phase 2 will add a 2.2-mile dual-direction tunnel from Westgate to Paradise Road, cutting surface travel and increasing efficiency. That section is expected to open within months and will allow speeds of up to 60 mph on parts of the route, while expanding the fleet to around 160 vehicles.

Future phases extend tunnels closer to the airport terminals and add multiple stations along University Center Drive, pushing the fleet close to 300 vehicles. The final phase, an underground airport station, was described by Davis as the system’s “holy grail.” This, however, has no definite timeframe as of yet. 

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Tesla seeks engineer to make its iOS Robotaxi app feel “magical”

It appears that Tesla is hard at work in ensuring that users of its Robotaxi service are provided with the best user experience possible.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla is hiring an iOS Engineer for its Robotaxi app team, with the job posting emphasizing the creation of polished experiences that make the service not just functional, but “magical.”

Needless to say, it appears that Tesla is hard at work in ensuring that users of its Robotaxi service are provided with the best user experience possible.

Robotaxi App features

As observed by Tesla community members, Tesla has gone live with a job listing for an iOS Engineer for its Robotaxi App. The job listing mentions the development of a “core mobile experience that enables customers to summon, track, and interact with a driverless vehicle. From requesting a ride to enabling frictionless entry, from trip planning to real-time vehicle status and media control.”

Interestingly enough, the job listing also mentioned the creation of polished experiences that make the Robotaxi more than just functional. “You will take full ownership of features—from architecture design to robust implementation—delivering delightful and polished experiences that make Robotaxi not just functional, but magical,” Tesla noted in its job listing.

Apple’s “magical” marketing

Tesla’s use of the word “magical” when referring to the Robotaxi app mirrors the marketing used by Apple for some of its key products. Apple typically uses the word when referring to products or solutions that transform complex technology into something that feels effortless, simple, and natural to daily life. Products such as the AirPods’ seamless pairing with the iPhone and FaceID’s complex yet simple-to-use security system have received Apple’s “magical” branding. 

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With this in mind, Tesla seems intent on developing a Robotaxi app that is sophisticated, but still very easy to use. Tesla already has extensive experience in this area, with the Tesla App consistently being hailed by users as one of the best in its segment. If Tesla succeeds in making the Robotaxi app worthy of its “magical” branding, then it wouldn’t be a surprise if the service sees rapid adoption even among mainstream consumers. 

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Tesla is coming to Estonia and Latvia in latest European expansion: report

Tesla seems to be accelerating its regional expansion following its recent launch in Lithuania.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Recent reports have indicated that Tesla has taken a step toward entering the Baltic states by registering new subsidiaries in Latvia and Estonia.

Filings suggest that Tesla is accelerating its regional expansion following its recent launch in Lithuania, with service centers likely coming before full sales operations.

Official entities in Latvia and Estonia

Tesla has established two new legal entities, Tesla Latvia SIA and Tesla Estonia OÜ, both owned by Tesla International B.V., as noted in an EV Wire report. Corporate records show the Estonian entity was formed on December 16, 2025, while the Latvian subsidiary was registered earlier, on November 7.

Both entities list senior Tesla executives on their boards, including regional and finance leadership responsible for new market expansion across Europe. Importantly, the entities are registered under “repair and maintenance of motor vehicles,” rather than strictly vehicle sales. This suggests that Tesla service centers will likely be launched in both countries.

The move mirrors Tesla’s recent Baltic rollout strategy. When Tesla entered Lithuania, it first established a local entity, followed by a pop-up store within weeks and a permanent service center a few months later. It would then not be surprising if Tesla follows a similar strategy in Estonia and Latvia, and service and retail operations arrive in the first half of 2026.

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Tesla’s European push

Tesla saw a drop in sales in Europe in 2025, though the company is currently attempting to push more sales in the region by introducing its most affordable vehicles yet, the Model 3 Standard and the Model Y Standard. Both vehicles effectively lower the price of entry into the Tesla ecosystem, which may make them attractive to consumers.

Tesla is also hard at work in its efforts to get FSD approved for the region. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Tesla rolled out an FSD ride-along program in several European countries, allowing consumers to experience the capabilities of FSD firsthand. In early December, reports emerged indicating that the FSD ride-along program would be extended in several European territories until the end of March 2026. 

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