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California Energy Commission pushes efforts to hold unreliable EV charging networks accountable
The California Energy Commission is taking steps to increase EV charging networks’ accountability and responsiveness to complaints. The efforts are timely as the number of electric vehicle owners in the state is growing at a quick pace.
Among electric vehicle makers, only Tesla has really solved the problem of long-distance travel in an all-electric car. This is largely due to the Tesla Supercharger Network, which provides a simple, quick, and reliable system for the company’s lineup of vehicles. Tesla’s Supercharger Network in the United States is still exclusive to Tesla as of writing, so non-Tesla EV owners are required to use other DC charging solutions for their vehicles.
This is where problems ensue since DC fast charging systems even in electric vehicle hubs like California are still far from very reliable. As noted in a Car and Driver report, EV charging networks may list a charger as “working” as long as the stations respond to a ping request from a remote center. The system is better than nothing, but it is prone to errors since charging stations can maintain cellular connectivity despite having issues such as jammed credit card readers, or software errors, to name a few.
The issue has been so notable that electric vehicle owners have come up with crowdsourced solutions to accurately rate DC chargers. Among these is the @rateyourcharge account on Twitter, which was created by EV group Out of Spec Studios to provide accurate reports of EV charger capabilities in the wild.
Amidst this environment, the California Energy Commission has shared plans to establish regulations for evaluating the reliability and availability of public electric vehicle charging stations. The commission is set to begin a public feedback process with the aim of defining “uptime” standards for EV chargers. These are expected to block excessive exemptions that would enable EV charging networks to avoid being held accountable for the reliability of their service.
The Commission also noted that it would no longer rely on self-reported claims from EV charging network providers regarding the availability and uptime of public charging stations. Instead, the commission plans to gather data from various sources to gain feedback from the public about the reliability and availability of EV charging stations. This feedback could include reports of non-functioning stations that are posted on apps and other platforms.
Apart from this, efforts are underway for California to evaluate the availability of EV charging stations at the individual station level instead of the overall site. This is quite different from the draft standards being developed by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which could result in some charging sites getting a 100% score just because one stall is functioning. EV charging networks generally prefer this system, but electric vehicle owners are the ones that end up with the shorter end of the stick.
Providing fast and reliable charging solutions to electric vehicles is no small task. Non-Tesla Supercharger networks like Electrify America have to cater to numerous brands of cars with equally numerous types of software, and details such as payment options are abounding. Managing membership plans for electric car owners is also a pretty complicated task. But as electric vehicles become more mainstream, the time is right to demand more accountability among EV charging network providers. There will only be more EVs on the road in the coming years, after all, so it only makes sense to ensure that they are well-supported.
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News
Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025.
The Tesla Model Y recorded the highest overall safety score of any vehicle tested by ANCAP in 2025. The Tesla Model 3 also delivered strong results, reinforcing the automaker’s safety leadership in Australia and New Zealand.
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025. ANCAP’s 2025 tests evaluated vehicles across four key pillars: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist technologies.
The Model Y posted consistently strong results in all four categories, distinguishing itself through a system-based safety approach that combines structural crash protection with advanced driver-assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring.

This marked the second time the Model Y has topped ANCAP’s annual safety rankings. The Model Y’s previous version was also ANCAP’s top performer in 2022.
The Tesla Model 3 also delivered a strong performance in ANCAP’s 2025 tests, contributing to Tesla’s broader safety presence across segments. Similar to the Model Y, the Model 3 also earned impressive scores across the ANCAP’s four pillars. This made the vehicle the top performer in the Medium Car category.
ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg stated that the results highlight a growing industry shift toward integrated safety design, with improvements in technologies such as autonomous emergency braking and lane support translating into meaningful real-world protection.
“ANCAP’s testing continues to reinforce a clear message: the safest vehicles are those designed with safety as a system, not a checklist. The top performers this year delivered consistent results across physical crash protection, crash avoidance and vulnerable road user safety, rather than relying on strength in a single area.
“We are also seeing increasing alignment between ANCAP’s test requirements and the safety technologies that genuinely matter on Australian and New Zealand roads. Improvements in autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring systems are translating into more robust protection,” Hoorweg said.
News
Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery.
Tesla Sweden has successfully launched a new Supercharger station despite an ongoing blockade by Swedish unions, using on-site Megapack batteries instead of traditional grid connections. The workaround has allowed the Supercharger to operate without direct access to Sweden’s electricity network, which has been effectively frozen by labor action.
Tesla has experienced notable challenges connecting its new charging stations to Sweden’s power grid due to industrial action led by Seko, a major Swedish trade union, which has blocked all new electrical connections for new Superchargers. On paper, this made the opening of new Supercharger sites almost impossible.
Despite the blockade, Tesla has continued to bring stations online. In Malmö and Södertälje, new Supercharger locations opened after grid operators E.ON and Telge Nät activated the sites. The operators later stated that the connections had been made in error.
More recently, however, Tesla adopted a different strategy altogether. Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery, as noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report.
Because the Supercharger station does not rely on a permanent grid connection, Tesla was able to bypass the blocked application process, as noted by Swedish car journalist and YouTuber Peter Esse. He noted that the Arlandastad Supercharger is likely dependent on nearby companies to recharge the batteries, likely through private arrangements.
Eight new charging stalls have been launched in the Arlandastad site so far, which is a fraction of the originally planned 40 chargers for the location. Still, the fact that Tesla Sweden was able to work around the unions’ efforts once more is impressive, especially since Superchargers are used even by non-Tesla EVs.
Esse noted that Tesla’s Megapack workaround is not as easily replicated in other locations. Arlandastad is unique because neighboring operators already have access to grid power, making it possible for Tesla to source electricity indirectly. Still, Esse noted that the unions’ blockades have not affected sales as much.
“Many want Tesla to lose sales due to the union blockades. But you have to remember that sales are falling from 2024, when Tesla sold a record number of cars in Sweden. That year, the unions also had blockades against Tesla. So for Tesla as a charging operator, it is devastating. But for Tesla as a car company, it does not matter in terms of sales volumes. People charge their cars where there is an opportunity, usually at home,” Esse noted.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s X goes down as users report major outage Friday morning
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Elon Musk’s X experienced an outage Friday morning, leaving large numbers of users unable to access the social media platform.
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Downdetector reports
Users attempting to open X were met with messages such as “Something went wrong. Try reloading,” often followed by an endless spinning icon that prevented access, according to a report from Variety. Downdetector data showed that reports of problems surged rapidly throughout the morning.
As of 10:52 a.m. ET, more than 100,000 users had reported issues with X. The data indicated that 56% of complaints were tied to the mobile app, while 33% were related to the website and roughly 10% cited server connection problems. The disruption appeared to begin around 10:10 a.m. ET, briefly eased around 10:35 a.m., and then returned minutes later.

Previous disruptions
Friday’s outage was not an isolated incident. X has experienced multiple high-profile service interruptions over the past two years. In November, tens of thousands of users reported widespread errors, including “Internal server error / Error code 500” messages. Cloudflare-related error messages were also reported.
In March 2025, the platform endured several brief outages spanning roughly 45 minutes, with more than 21,000 reports in the U.S. and 10,800 in the U.K., according to Downdetector. Earlier disruptions included an outage in August 2024 and impairments to key platform features in July 2023.