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Tesla revises late-night driving and its affect on Safety Score

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Tesla has revised how late-night driving can affect your Safety Score.

Tesla’s Safety Score gives drivers feedback on how they drive and uses a variety of factors to determine the probability of an accident in the future.

Although the feature has been available for some time, Tesla continues to refine and improve it, just like it does with other offerings, aiming to constantly improve its operational accuracy.

Tesla’s Safety Score system will be key to in-house insurance’s affordability

In a new update, which is referred to as Version 2.1, Tesla has refined how late-night driving can affect your score.

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Previously, Tesla considered any driving between 10 PM and 4 AM when calculating a Safety Score. They have shifted this back by an hour, and it will now consider the amount of driving that takes place between 11 PM and 4 AM.

Tesla writes about it on its Safety Score page on its website:

“Updated Late-Night Driving to be risk weighted based on driving from 11 PM – 4 AM (previously 10 PM to 4 AM). The impact of late-night driving on your Safety Score will depend on the proportion of time spent driving in each hour from 11 PM – 4 AM.”

“Due to the variable risk level associated with driving during each late-night hour, each hour is weighed differently, and driving at each hour will affect your Safety Score differently. For example, driving at 11 PM will not affect your Safety Score as heavily as driving at 2 AM.”

How Tesla Determines Your Safety Score

Tesla uses eight different factors to determine a Safety Score:

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Forward Collision Warnings per 1,000 Non-Autopilot Miles

When an object is detected in front of the vehicle, both audible and visual alerts prompt the driver of a potential front-end collision. The number of these warnings per 1,000 non-Autopilot miles is formulated and can affect the Safety Score.

Hard Braking

Any braking that is in excess of 0.3g is defined as hard braking. “This is the same as a decrease in the vehicle’s speed larger than 6.7 MPH in one second,” Tesla writes.

Aggressive Turning

Like Hard Braking, aggressive turning monitors g-forces in excess of 0.4g.

Unsafe Following

The vehicle will measure its own speed, along with the speed of the vehicle in front, and the distance between the two vehicles.

“Based on these measurements, your vehicle calculates the number of seconds you would have to react and stop if the vehicle in front of you came to a sudden stop.”

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Excessive Speeding

This is defined as the proportion of time spent driving faster than 85 mph.

Late Night Driving

The number of seconds you spend driving at night from 11 PM to 4 AM is divided by the number of seconds you spend driving during the day and night.

Each hour is weighted differently, as previously discussed. 11 PM will not affect Safety Score as heavily as driving at 2 AM.

Forced Autopilot Disengagement

If a driver has received three audio and visual warnings, Autopilot will disengage for the remainder of a trip. These warnings will occur when the vehicle determines the driver has not applied sufficient steering wheel resistance or is inattentive.

Unbuckled Driving

Pretty simple: Wear your seatbelt. However, Tesla says that this is defined as time spent driving above 10 MPH without a seatbelt.

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I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla still has two major milestones on track before end of Q2

Tesla still is on track to complete two monumental achievements as Q2 nears its end.

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla still has two major milestones it is on track to complete before the end of the second quarter, according to statements made by the automaker earlier this year.

With the launch of the Robotaxi platform in Austin on Sunday, Tesla has already completed perhaps its biggest milestone of 2025.

However, these are not the only things the company hopes to accomplish before we head into the latter half of the year, as there are two major things the company said it is aiming to complete before the third quarter starts next week.

Affordable Models

Tesla said earlier this year, on two separate occasions, that it is still on track to develop, build, and unveil the first affordable models that will be built on both the next-gen platform and also have aspects of the current vehicle platform.

Potential affordable Tesla “Model 2/Model Q” test car spotted anew in Giga Texas

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In the Q4 2024 Earnings Call in January, the company said:

“Preparations are underway across our existing factories for the launch of new products in 2025, including more affordable models.”

The company continued:

“Plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025. These vehicles will utilize aspects of the next generation platform as well as aspects of our current platforms and will be produced on the same manufacturing lines as our current vehicle line-up.”

Although there are only a few days left, Tesla has yet to confirm that these affordable models are delayed, so we can expect that they’ll be arriving before the quarter ends.

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The company might have been hinting toward one recently at the Fremont Factory, but it is more likely that the vehicle seen was the new Model Y Performance trim:

Tesla’s apparent affordable model zips around Fremont test track

Tesla delivers itself to customers

Back in late May, CEO Elon Musk said that the first Tesla to self-deliver would happen in June:

Tesla just launched its Robotaxi platform on Sunday, so this would be a tremendous step if it can, in fact, make this happen.

The customer would likely be extremely local to Gigafactory Texas. In the future, the company would load the vehicles onto haulers and then drive to customer homes from delivery centers, showrooms, and repair centers.

Teslas will self-deliver to customers, Elon Musk says: here’s when

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Tesla has a few days left to complete both of these tasks, and then it will report delivery figures for the second quarter next week.

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Tesla’s Omead Afshar, known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man, leaves company: reports

Tesla’s Head of North American sales and European ops, Omead Afshar, has reportedly left the company. He was widely-known as Elon Musk’s right-hand man.

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Credit: Elon Musk | X

Tesla’s Omead Afshar, who is widely known as CEO Elon Musk’s right-hand man, has reportedly left the company.

Several outlets are reporting that Afshar either left voluntarily or was potentially terminated on Thursday. His LinkedIn profile has not been updated to reflect this, and still states he presently works at Tesla in the “Office of the CEO.”

Afshar was promoted to Head of North American sales and European operations late last year. We reported on his promotion in October, as he was previously a Project Manager in the Office of the CEO before Musk and co. stepped up his responsibilities.

According to the initial report on Afshar’s departure from Bloomberg, the news has been circulating throughout the company in recent days. His name no longer appears in the company’s internal directory.

It is interesting to think about what could have caused this. Tesla has felt some pressure in Europe with struggling sales figures in some markets. It is the second-best-selling EV maker in the region, with Volkswagen performing slightly better for the year, according to EU-EVs.

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Tesla’s Model Y is the best-selling EV in the region.

While the company has not directly confirmed the news, it appears to be true based on the reports.

Tesla is usually relatively quick to dispel any headlines that go out from mainstream media that are not factual. This has yet to be responded to by any executive, including Musk.

Afshar has been with Tesla for seven years and ten months, first joining in September 2017 as a Project Manager in the Office of the CEO.

He then became a Project Director, before his job title was updated to a Cowboy hat emoji in July 2020, around the time Tesla started moving some things to Texas.

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Forbes is reporting that Afshar was terminated and did not leave voluntarily. This has yet to be confirmed.

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xAI Colossus pollution concerns in Memphis continue

NAACP & SELC push back against xAI Colossus supercomputer. City tests say air is safe — but activists aren’t convinced.

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(Credit: xAI)

Politicians in Memphis continue to debate about the pollution concerns arising from the xAI Colossus supercomputer.

The NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) have already expressed interest in filing a lawsuit against xAI over concerns related to air pollution stemming from its gas-powered turbines. Environmental groups have now raised concerns about water pollutants.

On Tuesday, Memphis released third-party air quality test results from June 13 and 16. The tests were conducted in downtown Memphis, Whitehaven, and Boxtown, two miles from xAI’s site. The city claimed levels of 10 pollutants tested were safe.

However, SELC–which is representing the NAACP in a potential lawsuit against xAI–criticized the omission of a key pollutant called ozone from the air quality tests. SELC also noted that monitors were placed against buildings, contrary to EPA guidance, stating air sensors should be “at least six feet above ground level, rooftop, or other objects and away from obstructions, vegetation, or emissions sources that would interfere with the measurement.”

Local opposition intensified, with State Representative Justin J. Pearson asserting: “I stand firm that nothing matters if you cannot breathe clean air, drink clean water, and plant in clean soil.”

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On Wednesday, concerns shifted to the Memphis aquifer, as the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation held a virtual meeting on xAI’s wastewater facility.

Activist Pamela Moses criticized xAI. “They are not coming here to uplift or invest in our community. They are here to exploit it. This a distressed and a historically neglected area, and instead of bringing opportunity, Colossal is bringing pollution…secrecy and broken promises,” she said.

xAI’s $80 million Grey Water facility aims to mitigate water concerns. The Colossus Water Recycle Facility, a collaboration between the Tennessee Valley Authority and Nucor Steel, aims to alleviate the strain on the aquifer.

“This project is a game changer in terms of it saving about 4.7 billion gallons of water projected, and about 4.7 billion gallons will remain in the aquifer every year,” said Bobby White of the Greater Memphis Chamber.

As xAI’s Memphis supercomputer continues to be the center of debates, the tension between economic benefits and environmental justice remains unresolved. With ongoing scrutiny and potential legal action, xAI’s efforts to address pollution and water concerns will shape its role in Memphis’ future.

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