News
Tesla Superchargers were over 10 times as reliable as these rivals
Tesla and Rivian topped this charger reliability study, outperforming competitors by a wide margin.
A new study shows that many electric vehicle (EV) charging networks were substantially less reliable than Tesla’s Superchargers or Rivian’s Adventure Network (RAN), while hardware problems accounted for the most common issue experienced
In a Consumer Reports study shared last week, Tesla and Rivian’s charging networks were found to be significantly more reliable than those of other companies, though EV owners reported a problem with about one out of every five charging sessions initiated overall. Respondents said they had issues with just 4 percent of charging sessions at Tesla’s Superchargers, making them the most reliable, while issues with Rivian’s network were reported for just 5 percent of sessions.
Comparatively, Shell Recharge users faced the most issues, with respondents detailing problems in 48 percent of charging sessions. The next least reliable networks were EVgo and Blink, which followed with 43 percent and 41 percent problems reported, respectively. DC fast-chargers had a reported issue rate of 34 percent, while owners faced problems with Level 2 chargers in 25 percent of sessions.
“The findings show that the public charging experience can vary widely based on the vehicle and the charging networks operating in one’s community and along frequent trips,” writes Drew Toher, Consumer Reports’ Campaign Manager for Sustainable Transportation projects. “This is an important consideration for those without access to home charging. With these findings, CR is encouraging all charging networks to take ownership of their performance and implement measures to improve reliability.”
The survey included responses from 1,230 owners of BEVs and plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs), detailing experiences from roughly 5,700 individual charging sessions. The majority of issues customers faced were related to hardware, while they also reported problems with payment, charging power, and other factors.
Out of those who said they had issues directly with the chargers, 76 percent said they encountered broken or unresponsive screens, or those with error messages.

Credit: Consumer Reports (graphic by Sharon Seidl)

Credit: Consumer Reports (graphic by Sharon Seidl)

Credit: Consumer Reports (graphic by Sharon Seidl)

Credit: Consumer Reports (graphic by Sharon Seidl)
Teslas constant push for improvements in action.💪
Superchargers are already among the best in the industry, but Tesla is still improving the system.⚡️ https://t.co/wD9D2Z1CJe
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 21, 2025
READ MORE ON EV CHARGING: Tesla Superchargers dominate J.D. Power EV Charging Study
“By calling out broken screens, payment issues, and slow charging power, community members are crowdsourcing data that will hold charging networks accountable and improve drivers’ experience with public charging,” Toher adds. “This will help tackle the biggest impediment for consumers looking to purchase a more efficient vehicle.”
The release also notes that EV owners planning to charge beyond their home can take a few steps to help ensure the best experiences possible, including making accounts for several different charging networks, getting apps like A Better Route Planner, Plugshare, and CR partner Chargeway, and performing battery preconditioning, among others.
Tesla’s Superchargers have repeatedly been found to be the most reliable in markets around the world, and in surveys from Consumer Reports, JD Power, and other auto industry research firms. Rivian has also followed Tesla in taking routine measures to keep owners informed about the reliability of chargers. One such example includes the automaker’s deployment last April of “charging scores” for the RAN network, to help improve customer experiences by directing them to working stations.
Tesla exec highlights advantages of prefabricated Superchargers
Lifestyle
Tesla’s mirrorless Cybercab will give riders a visibility upgrade
Tesla engineer confirms Cybercab update letting riders pull up rear and repeater cameras on demand.
Tesla is working on a Cybercab update that would let passengers pull up the vehicle’s rear and side cameras on demand, and the request came straight from a rider.
The exchange played out on X late Friday. Cybercab rider Dan Burkland shared photos of the two-seater’s cabin screen after an evening ride, praised the UI team’s work, and left one request: let riders open the rear and repeater cameras whenever they want, “especially for peace of mind.” Tesla UI software engineer Evan (@CarCoder) answered with two words: “In development.”
The Tesla UI team absolutely crushed it with the infotainment software. Nicely done @CarCoder!
One feature request: Allow folks to pull up the rear & repeater cameras on demand. This would be great especially for peace of mind. https://t.co/mNAOSLx6pE
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) October 10, 2026
The idea fits a pattern Teslarati has tracked since public rides began. Days after paid Cybercab service opened in Austin, Tesla sent riders a survey that asked them to rate the touchscreen, the app and the cabin, and to pick the features they wanted most. We reported on that survey in September, and a camera view is the kind of small software change Tesla can push quickly if riders keep asking.
It also speaks to something unique about the vehicle. With no steering wheel, no pedals and no driver, passengers have no mirror to check and no way to see behind them. The hardware is clearly built for camera awareness, from the repeater cameras to the rear camera. Letting a passenger look through those same cameras would give a nervous first time rider a way to confirm what is around the car.
The timing matters because the fleet is growing fast. Tesla’s Robotaxi account said on Saturday that more than 300 Cybercabs are now serving Austin, an eightfold increase in 30 days, and Tesla AI chief Ashok Elluswamy named Dallas as the next city. More cars and more cities mean more people riding in a driverless vehicle for the first time, which is exactly when small trust features carry weight.
For now, the feature is confirmed only as in development. If Tesla follows its usual pattern with Cybercab software, riders could see it appear in a point release without any announcement, and Teslarati will watch for it.
News
Tesla’s Cybercab fleet jumped 8x in a month, with Dallas up next
Tesla confirms its first official Cybercab fleet number as Austin scales fast and Dallas looms.
Tesla says more than 300 Cybercabs are now serving Austin, the first time the company has put an official number on its active Cybercab fleet. The figure came from the Robotaxi account on X on Saturday, which wrote that one month after launch the service had “scaled to 300+ Cybercabs serving Austin – an 8x increase in 30 days.”
Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s head of AI software, quoted the post with a line that carried the bigger news. “Two years since the 10/10 Cybercab WeRobot event, the cabs are everywhere in Austin now. Dallas soon,” he wrote. It is the first time Tesla has named the next city for public Cybercab rides.
One month after launch, we’ve scaled to 300+ Cybercabs serving Austin – an 8x increase in 30 days https://t.co/EagJy2JAsm
— Robotaxi (@robotaxi) October 10, 2026
Tesla opened Cybercab rides to the public in Austin on September 4, as Teslarati reported, a day after an invite only launch event. The ramp since then has been steep. Our September 28 report had the fleet at well over 100 units after availability jumped from 58 to 125 in a single week. On Thursday, Tesla added 150 Cybercabs to the Texas automated vehicle registry, lifting its registered count to 319 from 169. The first seven appeared on the registry on August 31.
RobotaxiTracker, a community site that counts vehicles from sightings and state records, listed 275 vehicles in unsupervised service in Austin on Saturday, 105 of them Cybercabs, which is well below Tesla’s figure. Tracker counts can lag official numbers, though Sawyer Merritt noted that Cybercab wait times in Austin stayed short on Saturday evening even with more than 2,000 fans in town for X Takeover.
Regulators are watching the rollout. NHTSA opened an audit query into Tesla’s certification that the Cybercab meets federal safety standards, and sworn answers are due October 30. Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21, which gives the company a natural venue to define its fleet numbers and put a date on Dallas.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk roasts India’s billionaire Mukesh Ambani as Starlink fight heats up
Elon Musk sarcastically calls Mukesh Ambani ‘Prime Minister’ as the Starlink India standoff escalates again.
Elon Musk escalated his public fight over Starlink’s launch in India on Friday, addressing Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani as “Prime Minister Ambani” in a sarcastic post on X. “Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India,” Musk wrote, before accusing Ambani of “monopolistic exploitation” and asking whether he would “consider allowing Starlink to compete.” In follow up posts, he said Starlink has proven essential during natural disasters and would help parts of India with no internet access.
The post came two days into a fight that Musk sparked up on Wednesday, when he said Starlink was “being blocked by certain oligarchs in order to maintain their monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people.” He called it “a crime against the people of India” and left the names out, adding only, “You can guess who they are.” Jio and Airtel together hold more than 80% of India’s telecom market. On Thursday, Musk asked whether Ambani is “the real boss of India” and said Starlink has spent five years complying with “every single law and requirement” of the Indian government.
Dear Prime Minister Ambani,
Please accept my humble apologies for not realizing that you are the real boss of India.
Naturally, you would prefer to maintain your monopolistic exploitation of the great people of India, but would you nonetheless consider allowing Starlink to compete?
There are many areas of India, as there are in all countries, with no Internet access, which denies children the opportunity for education and for small businesses the opportunity to sell their goods to a global market. Starlink would change their lives for the better.
Thank you 🙏
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 9, 2026
India’s government has pushed back each time. The Ministry of Communications called the suggestion that its framework is unfair or discriminatory “baseless and misconceived.” Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Friday that three companies hold satcom licenses: Starlink, Jio Satellite Communications, and Bharti backed Eutelsat OneWeb. Amazon’s Kuiper, now Amazon Leo, is still going through the process. None can launch until regulators finalize satellite spectrum pricing and the Home Ministry signs off on each company’s security compliance. Scindia said the telecom regulator and the Department of Telecommunications are close to a decision on pricing, The Hindu reported. Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal also said OneWeb is still waiting on approvals.
Starlink received its operator license in 2025 after a three year wait, and the space regulator IN-SPACe granted what industry executives called the last approval needed in July. The holdup since then centers on security, particularly concern that foreign operators could bypass Indian gateways.
Musk and Ambani have been on opposite sides of this before. In late 2024, Ambani argued for auctioning satellite spectrum, which Musk criticized as out of step with the rest of the world, and India chose administrative allocation instead. By March 2025, the two sides had signed a deal to sell Starlink devices in Reliance stores, and Starlink secured its telecom license that June. That partner is now also a competitor. Jio is reportedly weighing a constellation of 1,600 to 1,650 satellites costing an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion, while Akash Ambani has told shareholders Jio plans to lease capacity from global providers to move quickly.