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Audi e-tron will ‘give Tesla shoppers a run for their money,’ says Consumer Reports
When Consumer Reports published its first impressions of the Audi e-tron, the organization proved quite optimistic about the German carmaker’s all-electric SUV. In a recently uploaded video, Consumer Reports‘ Mike Quincy, Jon Linkov, and Jennifer Stockburger provided more insights about their experience with the e-tron, covering several aspects of the vehicle such as its design, its range, and how it stacks up in comparison to the Tesla Model X.
Consumer Reports auto journalist Mike Quincy praised the vehicle, noting that the Audi e-tron is the “nicest EV I’ve ever driven” to date. “I like it more than any of the Teslas we’ve driven,” he said. The e-tron also earned some applause for its design, such as its rather conventional interior that follows the theme of Audi’s other vehicles. The SUV’s spaciousness and quietness on the road were also lauded.
The driving dynamics of the vehicle also received some praise, with Director of Operations at the CR Auto Test Center Jennifer Stockburger noting that the SUV performs very well as soon as it’s in motion. Commenting further, Consumer Reports Deputy Content Editor Jon Linkov stated that contrary to the snap of acceleration found in Tesla’s electric cars like the Model S, the Audi e-tron has “more of an elegant pull-away.”
Consumer Reports did have a number of negative comments about the e-tron, particularly on its range and price. At $80,000, Quincy noted that the e-tron seems too expensive for a vehicle that features such a limited range, though it was mentioned that perhaps the SUV’s real-world range was being underestimated. Other quirks of the SUV, such as a gear shifter that is a magnet for wrong inputs, were also mentioned as points for improvement. Linkov, for his part, argued that perhaps the limited range of the e-tron would be a non-issue for its target demographic.
“It may be that the market for this doesn’t take family road trips. They may fly. Electric cars today still make a case, particularly $80,000 ones, for a second car. Now there are a lot of people out there, and there are stories online about people, they own a Chevy Bolt, or they own a Leaf, and that’s their only car, and they still run into those headaches of ‘my gosh, I have to stop and charge it’ and it certainly is a case today depending on what you want out of an electric car,” he said.
In conclusion, Consumer Reports remained quite optimistic about the e-tron’s chances on the market, particularly as it is coming from a well-known company that’s known for good quality vehicles. This, according to Stockburger, is something that Tesla buyers might not have yet. “Do I think it’s gonna give Tesla shoppers a run for their money? Oh yeah. And I think there’s a confidence to be had from a mainstream manufacturer building this car, one with a ton of history, good quality, and I think there might be some confidence in the e-tron that maybe you don’t have in a Tesla,” she said.
Curiously enough, several updates on the e-tron remain unsaid in Consumer Reports‘ recent video, such as the ongoing recall for the SUV due to a potential fire risk. The range challenges of the e-tron have also been documented extensively, even by foreign organizations such as nextmove from Germany; and so far, reviews of the SUV which concluded that the vehicle’s range is being underestimated seem to be quite scarce.
The comparisons with the Model X also seemed quite interesting, considering that there was no mention of the recent update that Tesla rolled out into the SUV, which increased its range to 325 miles per charge using a battery that is only 5 kWh larger than the pack utilized by the e-tron. Long trips in an all-electric car have been addressed for years by the Supercharger Network, which allows Tesla’s vehicles to recharge their batteries during quick stops on the road.
Watch Consumer Reports‘ discussion on its Audi e-tron first impressions in the video below.
News
SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell just made a quiet gesture toward Tesla
SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell quietly followed Tesla on X, and merger watchers noticed right away.
SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell has started following Tesla’s official account on X, a small change that landed in the middle of a very loud merger conversation. Whole Mars Catalog joked about it on Sunday.
A follow is not an announcement, and neither company has said anything about a deal. What gives the moment weight is the timing. Barclays analyst Dan Levy has told clients that an agreement could come before Tesla’s annual meeting, which must be held by December 6, with SpaceX as the buyer in an all stock deal, as we reported after the Roadster unveiling. Wedbush’s Dan Ives has stuck with a 2027 timeline.
“Shit, I better start following their X account if i’m gonna be helping run the company”
— Whole Mars Catalog (@wholemars) October 18, 2026
Shotwell is the executive most worth watching if the two companies do move closer. When Musk was asked at the All In Summit why Tesla and SpaceX remain separate, Shotwell sat next to him and said SpaceX personnel had already moved into xAI to fill leadership and engineering gaps. The businesses were integrating “faster than I thought,” she said, though “not fully integrated yet.” Her responsibilities have also grown since SpaceX absorbed xAI, and she now oversees operations that include Grok and the company’s AI compute buildout.
The financial links are already there. Tesla’s $2 billion xAI investment turned into a stake of less than one percent in SpaceX, the two share the Terafab chip project in Austin, and Musk exercised his 2018 Tesla options a week after SpaceX began trading, a sequence analysts flagged as giving SpaceX public shares to use in a deal. Musk holds about 20 percent of Tesla and controls 85.1 percent of SpaceX’s voting power, according to our earlier breakdown.
The next test is close at hand. SpaceX reports its second earnings as a public company on Tuesday after the close, and Tesla follows on Wednesday. Musk told analysts in July that “we can’t talk about combining companies and that kind of thing on an earnings call,” so a direct answer is unlikely from either stage. Tesla shareholders can still submit and vote on questions through the Say portal until 4 p.m. EDT on Monday, and the merger is a recurring theme in the queue.
Elon Musk
Tesla Roadster owners to get “Flying Stunt Mode” and looping track access
Musk says Roadster owners can command the unveiling stunts autonomously, with a Texas looping track.
Elon Musk says owners of the new Tesla Roadster will be able to ask the car to perform the stunts Tesla showed at its unveiling, with the car doing the driving itself. Musk made the comment Saturday in a reply on X to tech blogger Robert Scoble, and he added a promise of a looping track at Tesla’s Texas headquarters.
Scoble had argued that the person in the Roadster is not really driving it. In his description, the driver operates a computer that tells another computer what to do, with steering, braking and acceleration all handled by wire. Musk answered, “True. You will be able to ask the Roadster to perform any of the tricks shown autonomously, as it will be sentient. Also, we will have a wild looping track (crazier even than Hot Wheels) at our Texas HQ where you can test out your Roadster.”
@Scobleizer True.
You will be able to ask the Roadster to perform any of the tricks shown autonomously, as it will be sentient.
Also, we will have a wild looping track (crazier even than Hot Wheels) at our Texas HQ where you can test out your Roadster.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2026
At the October 15 event outside Waco, the car drove up a curved ramp until it was upside down, flew off on cold gas thrusters, flipped and landed. It also hovered over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Semi, Model Y and Model 3 while moving. As we noted in our breakdown of the three Roadster configurations, Musk said at the event that the car “literally is just going to puff itself up” to perform the maneuvers whenever an owner wants. Saturday’s reply adds that the car would run them on its own.
Tesla has described some of the hardware that would make that possible. The Roadster uses steer by wire with a yoke, and its cold gas thrusters rely on electric actuators for small adjustments in flight. A fan system under the car creates suction, which Tesla says is strong enough to hold it upside down, a setup we covered in our look at the Roadster’s fan system and thrusters.
Musk did not say when an autonomous stunt feature might arrive, how it would work, or what he means by sentient. He also gave no size, location or opening date for the Texas track. Production is planned for Giga Texas in 2027 or 2028, and Tesla says the car is not approved for public road use. The Rocket version, the one built to fly, is invite only.
The comment follows a week of Musk teasing the event, including his claim that the demo would be a banger, which we covered before the stream. Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21, and shareholders can submit and vote on questions through the Say portal until 4 p.m. EDT on October 20, according to our earnings Q&A preview. A question about autonomous Roadster stunts and the Texas track would be a quick way to get specifics from management.
Elon Musk
How to use Grok Bot to block spam calls and texts
Musk told users to ask Grok Bot to scrub their phone numbers from spam lists.
Elon Musk has a new use case for Grok Bot, and it is the spam call. On Thursday he replied to an X user named Arash with a short instruction: “Ask your @Grok @Bot to remove your phone number from spam call & text lists!” Arash had said he got tired of the calls, had an AI bot find his number on listing sites and file removal requests, and packaged the process as a free skill for others.
The skill is called Spam-Call Scrubber, which is described to find a phone number on people search sites and data brokers, submits the opt outs, completes the confirmation emails those sites send back, and rechecks on a schedule the user picks. Using it requires the Grok Bot app. The pitch is time saved, since most broker opt outs sit behind separate forms on separate sites.
Ask your @Grok @Bot to remove your phone number from spam call & text lists!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2026
Musk said Grok Bot now gives each bot its own email address, and that it can detect scam emails. On Thursday he also said SpaceX would make users whole if the bot botches a purchase or leaks a card, then told users to shop away from Amazon after the retailer blocked the agent, as Teslarati reported. The terms of service we reviewed at the time put responsibility for what an agent does on the user.
For Tesla owners, Grok Bot is not just a phone app. Tesla brought Grok Bot into its vehicles on September 22, and we argued earlier this week that the Cybercab’s real advantage may be the errands it runs during a ride. Every Cybercab and the rest of the Model Y Robotaxi fleet has it enabled. The more routine tasks like this one become, the more a rider has reason to hand over something personal in the back seat.
The new Spam-Call Scrubber skill can be downloaded for free and works on sites that honor removal requests, while noting that listings can reappear, and illegal robocallers do not check any registry. Whether Spam-Call Scrubber cuts anyone’s call volume is something the first wave of users will find out, and Musk’s endorsement guarantees that wave is coming.
SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell just made a quiet gesture toward Tesla
Tesla Roadster owners to get “Flying Stunt Mode” and looping track access
How to use Grok Bot to block spam calls and texts
SpaceX reveals how its 1 Million AI satellite network will work and prevent space collisions
Tesla Roadster: Three configs, one can fly, 0-60 in 0.8 seconds
