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Mercedes-Benz apologizes for ‘red hot’ AMG GLA 45 ad amid Europe’s summer heat wave

(Photo: Mercedes-Benz Kundencerter/Twitter)

Published

7 years ago

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Veteran automaker Mercedes-Benz has issued an apology on Twitter following a gaffe in a recent ad for one of its vehicles, the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 4MATIC. The apology comes amidst a strong negative reaction from users of the social media platform, many of whom found the company’s framing of the vehicle as a “red hot” addition to this summer’s record-setting temperatures as insensitive. 

Mercedes-Benz’s advertisement for the vehicle featured a variant of the GLA 45 4MATIC in a stunning red finish. As a way to emphasize the car’s attributes, the automaker related its shade to the sweltering summer heat. “If this summer wasn’t warm enough already, the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 4MATIC will heat things up even more with this red-hot finish,” the carmaker wrote.  

The wordplay was not appreciated by a notable number of social media users, many of whom called out the company for the seemingly tone-deaf nature of the tweet. This year’s summer has been particularly brutal, after all, with Europe’s scorching heat wave in July being 3 degrees Celsius hotter than usual. Scientists have noted that the intense heat experienced in the region was exacerbated by climate change, as noted in a CNN report. 

So notable were the effects of July’s summer heat wave in Europe that last Wednesday, a Eurostar train traveling from Belgium to London broke down and trapped 40 passengers in 40 degrees Celsius heat without air conditioning. In France, public events and schools were canceled as temperatures reached alarming levels. In Spain, the heat helped exacerbate a 10,000-acre wildfire, which was one of the worst to hit Catalonia in decades. 

July’s heat wave was felt across the European region, with the UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands recording their highest temperatures to date last month. Germany, where Mercedes-Benz is based, experienced the same intense heat, with temperatures topping 40 degrees. According to a report from the World Weather Attribution group, temperatures in the region would have been between 1.5-3 degrees lower without climate change.  

Amidst the strong reaction to its advertisement, Mercedes-Benz has posted an apology, admitting that the tweet was not its “finest hour.” “Folks, that was really not our finest hour. We apologize sincerely. We’re working hard on the transformation of our car fleet. We aim for CO2-neutral mobility,” the company wrote. The automaker also included a link to its Ambition2039 initiative, a plan for the company to become carbon-neutral in 20 years. 

Daimler, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, is currently in hot water in Germany, with the company being on the sights of the country’s vehicle authority, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) over the alleged use of illegal shut-off devices for the diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz GLK 220, a popular SUV, as well as other vehicles equipped with the automaker’s OM642 and OM651 engines. The KBA’s investigation of Daimler has resulted in a recall of 60,000 units of the GLK, though the number could be as high as 700,000 vehicles if other vehicles using the OM642 and OM651 engines are also found to have used the emissions-cheating device.

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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 Model Y L’s new features flexed at unveiling event at Diner

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1 hour ago

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July 31, 2026

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Tesla Model Y L in a field
Credit: Tesla

Tesla flexed the new features of the Model Y L with a dedicated media event at the company’s Diner on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles.

The Model Y L is the extended-wheelbase version of the all-electric crossover, which has been voted the best-selling car in the world on three occasions. The vehicle is already rolling off production lines at Gigafactory Texas, and first deliveries are slated to take place later this year.

Tesla brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series’ to the U.S. at $61,990

Teslarati was invited to the event, but due to some scheduling conflicts, we could not make it to Los Angeles. Instead, we will have our hands on a media unit sometime in August, so we’ll be able to spend some more extended time with the Model Y L.

However, plenty of those who made it to LA shared some cool features that set the Model Y L apart from the Model Y.

Multi-Row Climate Control

Tesla fitted the Model Y L with full climate control on all three rows on the front screen. It can be adjusted by selecting which row you’d like to modify on the right-hand side of the touch screen:

Better Rear Window Visibility

One of the strangest things about the Model Y, especially the Juniper iteration, is the rear window has extremely limited visibility when looking into the rearview mirror.

Tesla has improved upon this with the Model Y L:

PowerShare will be included

Model Y L will come with PowerShare in North America, with an 11.5kW output to your home. Tesla said it would require Powerwall 3 for operation.

Wireless Charging Pad

There has been some speculation that Tesla would upgrade the wireless charging pads in the United States, but this is not the case.

Tesla owner fixes common feature complaint with crafty DIY retrofit

Tesla confirmed that it does not come with the cooled pads as the Y L in China does. This is because North America has not adopted Qi charging yet.

Thermal Management Improvements

These improvements in the Model Y L were seen with thermal management:

  • Up to 15% faster cabin cooling
  • +23% thermal efficiency gained in hot weather, 7 miles of real-world range gained
  • 8x more solar energy reflection off of glass roof
  • 30% reduction in solar energy entering the cabin

Demand

Tesla said the Model Y L is almost sold out in the U.S. It comes with

  • 1 year of FSD Supervised
  • 1 year of Supercharging
  • 1 year of Premium Connectivity
  • Free exterior paint color, interior, and wheel option at no additional cost
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Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk denies ridiculous Gigafactory Shanghai rumor

Published

3 hours ago

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July 31, 2026

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to his social media platform X on Thursday night to deny a ridiculous rumor regarding the sale of the company’s Chinese vehicle production plant, Gigafactory Shanghai.

On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter, claimed in a scathing new report that Tesla was exploring a potential sale of the entire China business in an effort to help bolster a potential merger between SpaceX and Tesla.

Musk immediately denied the rumor not once but twice, initially calling it “fake news,” and then calling it “absurdly fake news” in a separate post just a few moments later:

The original poster of the Wall Street Journal article that Musk saw deleted the initial post sharing the headline and the rumored sale of Tesla’s China business.

The report seemed absolutely and unequivocally false to begin with; Tesla’s business in China is among the most important pieces of the company’s business. Not only does the factory supply vehicles for the domestic market, but also for various other markets in Asia and Europe.

China is also one of the largest automotive markets in the world, and Tesla has performed well there despite the robust competition.

The speculation regarding a Tesla and SpaceX merger has started to gain steam this year as the space exploration company went public just a month ago. There has been speculation that Musk will bridge all of his companies under one “umbrella company,” and analysts believe this could happen before the end of the decade.

The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building

This is the latest iteration of Musk’s very evident war on mainstream media. Reports regarding any of Musk’s companies are quick to get the dreaded “false” or “fake news” response from the CEO when they are unfounded.

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Elon Musk

Tesla AI boss reveals how big Optimus is going to get

Tesla’s Optimus chief corrected himself on X, confirming a staggering 10 million robot production target.

Published

11 hours ago

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July 31, 2026

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Tesla Optimus Gen 3 [Credit: Tesla]

Tesla’s Optimus program has a new number attached to it, after Ashok Elluswamy, the executive who has run the humanoid robot program since June 2025, posted a three word correction on X Thursday, “Correction, 10 million robots.”

The line clarifies the long term annual capacity Tesla is building toward its planned second Optimus production line at Gigafactory Texas, a figure Musk has cited repeatedly since last year’s shareholder meeting.

The scale is worth noting, because ten million robots a year would mean Tesla building more units annually than most countries sell in new cars. Tesla has framed this as a second line, not the first. The buildout is happening in two phases: a roughly one million unit per year line inside Tesla’s Fremont factory, installed on the floor space vacated when Model S and Model X production ended earlier this year, and a much larger dedicated facility under construction at Giga Texas that broke ground on its first steel structure in May. That Texas facility is the one Elluswamy’s correction refers to, and is expected to reach volume production sometime in 2027.

Tesla Optimus project fires up as Musk sees production line progress

Elluswamy took over Optimus from Milan Kovac last summer and has spent the months since talking up the program’s trajectory. Elon Musk has also floated the ten million figure at Tesla’s 2025 shareholder meeting.

Ending Model S and Model X production to make room for the first Optimus line was one of the more consequential manufacturing decisions in the company’s recent history, retiring two flagship vehicles in favor of a robot that has yet to enter mass production. Musk has previously estimated per unit production costs at $20,000 to $25,000 once Tesla reaches a million units a year, though he hasn’t said what that cost looks like at ten times the volume.

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