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Tesla rival Volkswagen takes stand against FUD on electric cars’ carbon footprint

(Credit: MotorCarTube/YouTube)

Published

7 years ago

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Tesla rival Volkswagen has taken a stand against a debunked yet insistent argument against all-electric vehicles. In a recent study involving one of its  most popular vehicles, the German automaker declared that EVs have a smaller carbon footprint than their internal combustion-powered counterparts, even if they are not charged from renewable sources.

Volkswagen used two of its vehicles, a Golf TDI and an e-Golf for its study. The e-Golf produced 57g/km of carbon dioxide per vehicle, which is higher than the Golf TDI’s 29g/km of CO2 per vehicle during its production phase. This is the only time that the electric car’s carbon footprint exceeded that of its diesel counterpart, since when it came to charging and operating the vehicles, the e-Golf proved far cleaner than its diesel-powered sibling.

Driving the Golf TDI resulted in an average CO2 output of 111g/km, which was notably higher than the 62g/km CO2 produced by the e-Golf when charging. Volkswagen estimated that this figure could drop to as low as 2g/km if the electric car were charged using renewable energy. With these calculations in mind, the German carmaker noted that the diesel-powered Golf TDI produced an average of 140g/km over its lifetime. The e-Golf, on the other hand, produced an average of 119g/km over its lifetime.

The Volkswagen-backed study mirrors the findings of a previous analysis by research organization BloombergNEF, which concluded that the CO2 emissions produced by electric vehicles charged from non-renewable power were still 40% lower than cars operating with internal combustion engines. This gap, of course, is set to get smaller with the introduction of more efficient battery technology and more sustainable automotive manufacturing processes.

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Credit is due to Volkswagen for taking a stand against a persistent piece of misinformation that has been peddled for years. The study, if any, is yet another sign that one of Germany’s largest of automakers is beginning to take the upcoming electric car revolution seriously.

This is highlighted by Volkswagen’s recent public comments, as shown when the carmaker acknowledged Tesla for establishing that the demand for electric vehicles is there. The company also made headlines when CEO Herbert Diess encouraged BMW and Daimler to commit to an all-electric future. After Das Auto’s agreement, BMW member of the board Klaus Fröhlich confirmed that Germany would be moving away from other alternative forms of propulsion like hydrogen, as the country’s automakers will be focusing on all-electric vehicles instead.

While Volkswagen is arguably one of Tesla’s loudest rivals with its constant releases of concept all-electric vehicles that are yet to enter production, the company has shown some earnest interest in the electric car maker’s work. During the final days of Elon Musk’s short-lived attempt to take Tesla private last year, the CEO received a number of offers from investors willing to fund company’s privatization at $420 per share. The deal, which was estimated to cost around $30 billion, attracted a number of prominent investors, one of which was none other than Volkswagen AG.

Volkswagen’s electric car emissions study could be accessed here.

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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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Investor's Corner

Lucid denies rumors of bankruptcy after over 40% stock drop

Published

54 minutes ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: Lucid

Electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has denied rumors of an imminent bankruptcy after a report from this morning sent the stock on a dramatic drop on Wall Street, seeing losses of more than 40 percent during trading hours.

Lucid’s Director of Communications, Nick Twork, responded to the report from Eletric-Vehicles.com, which stated the company’s restructuring advisor, AlixPartners, was asked to review two decisions: taking Lucid shares private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The report also claims AlixPartners told the Lucid board to “concentrate on Gravity production while improving its quality, and to temporarily hold back the Lucid Air, the sedan that has defined the company since its launch.”

Twork said:

Shares rebounded after the response to the report, halving its losses as the trading day neared 3 p.m. Eastern.

Lucid has struggled to get its sales off the ground and into more respectable numbers, but the company is in its early years, when things are hard to begin with. It is also backed by several notable investors, including the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has nearly limitless money and likely would not ditch an investment of this size so soon.

Lucid shares were down just 14 percent at the time of publication, a far cry from the 55 percent its losses topped out at during the day.

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Tesla owner attempts resale of Model S Signature Edition for over $260k

Published

4 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: Tesla

A Tesla owner who purchased a Model S Signature Edition, one of the final 250 units of the all-electric flagship vehicle that the company discontinued earlier this year, is attempting to sell the car despite a no-resale clause that prohibits reselling for the first year.

The car is being sold by J&S Autohaus in Ewing, New Jersey, and is priced at $260,490, well above the $159,420 that Tesla sold it for earlier this year.

To those who do not know, the Model S Signature was a highly exclusive, limited-run farewell variant of the Model S Plaid that was produced this year to mark the end of production of both the Model S and Model X, Tesla’s two flagship vehicles.

Limited to just 250 units with invite-only sales, it serves as a collector’s item celebrating the legacy of the Model S, which helped pioneer Tesla’s electric vehicle success since its 2012 launch.

It bundles top-tier performance with bespoke cosmetic and luxury upgrades, plus Tesla’s Luxe Package. Here’s what the Model S Signature has over the typical Model S Plaid:

  • Exclusive Exterior – Unique Garnet Red Paint, matching door handles, gold Tesla “T” badges upfront, gold Plaid and Signature badging at the rear.
  • Premium Interior – White Alcantara upholstery with gold piping/accents, gold Plaid seat badges, Signature-marked door sills, individually numbered dashboard plaque, gold puddle lights, special interior lighting sequence, and a custom Signature key fob.
  • Performance Upgrades – Carbon-ceramic brakes with gold calipers
  • Bundled Luxe Package – Full Self-Driving (Supervised), four years of Premium Connectivity, free lifetime Supercharging
  • Performance Metrics – ~1,020 horsepower, sub-2-second 0-60 MPH, ~390-mile range

Tesla quickly introduced a No Resale Agreement for the Signature Editions of the Model S and Model X, which would penalize the seller for “the amount of $50,000 or the value received as consideration for the sale or transfer, whichever is greater.”

The company continues:

“If you sell or otherwise transfer the ownership of your Model S or Model X, the remainder of the Recommended Maintenance, Wheel and Tire Protection Plan, and Windshield Protection Plan will transfer automatically to the buyer. The Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Free Supercharging and Premium Connectivity will not transfer with the vehicle and will terminate once the ownership of the Model S or Model X is transferred.”

Tesla will likely come after the seller, especially as it has been about two months since Tesla launched deliveries.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Early Impressions: new features and early performance

Published

8 hours ago

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July 14, 2026

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Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla rolled out Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.3.5 yesterday, and about fifty miles of driving on the new version has given me enough time to highlight what seems to be strong about the release and what is not.

Additionally, Tesla has added a few new features with this specific update, which we’ll highlight as well.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3.5 Performance

The new update is business as usual. Things seem to be running completely normal and necessary, but there are a few things that we’ve seemed to pick up on based on our own experience with v14.3.5, as well as what other users are seeing.

Initially, it seems to be more aware of its surroundings, making moves that are incredibly courteous to other drives and operating just a tad more reserved than what the suite might have done previously.

We had two instances where it showed this, the first being FSD needing to pass a Flagger Force vehicle that was placing down signage for the day. Their work truck was right at the front corner of a right-hand turn; typically where most cars travel when they take that turn.

FSD v14.3.5 recognized this, slowed down, and took the turn wide with no issues:

Additionally, v14.3.5 backed up for a semi truck that was making a wide turn onto a road my car was on. This is not new, but it seemed to be backing up for courtesy; it didn’t seem completely necessary, but it might have put some peace of mind in the truck driver’s head:

X user Mike P, also a Pennsylvania native like myself, shared three clips of his Tesla running v14.3.5 performing similar maneuvers. He said:

“FSD turns right into a small alley that only fits one car at a time, sees oncoming car, reverses out of alley to make space, realizes oncoming car is actually parking, re-enters alley.”
Check it out here:

It seems like Speed Profiles are still in need of some tweaking; I am adjusting what Speed Profile I’m in frequently, constantly changing it to get it to travel at the correct speed. This was an issue for me on v14.3.4. It seems like they’re just a little inconsistent.

Terrible Parking

Parking attempts on v14.3.5 were not good. There are quite a few people who have said this:

David Moss, the Tesla owner who has taken multiple coast-to-coast drives without any interventions, also has had some issues with parking early on with v14.3.5:

New Features

Tesla has added the ability to open Camera Preview at any time. Previously, it was only available in Park. Here’s what that feature looks like in action:

Check back later this week for a longer review of what we’ve noticed on Full Self-Driving v14.3.5.

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