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Tesla, VW lead the charge for EV dominance as EU sets plan to end combustion engines in 2025
Europe’s current emissions standards have already proven difficult for legacy automakers as evidenced by Honda joining Tesla and Fiat Chrysler’s pool deal recently. But if the EU Commission does decide to push through with its hyper-strict recommended Euro 7 standards, traditional automakers may find it even more difficult to stay competitive in the face of EV manufacturers like Tesla or legacy OEMs who have a leg-up in electric car production and development, like Volkswagen.
All of Tesla’s vehicles are tailor-fit for the strict Euro 7 standards, thanks to its S3XY line, all of which are battery-electric. Tesla recently started exporting Giga Shanghai’s Model 3 vehicle to Europe, thereby increasing its delivery capacity. Gigafactory Berlin seems to be on schedule to start Model Y production in 2021 as well.
On the other side of the aisle, Volkswagen’s ID.3 seems to be selling well in Europe and the ID.4, a crossover, is poised for a release soon. Volkswagen is also working on the other entries of its ID line, such as the ID.5 sedan and estate, the ID.6 SUV, and the ID.7 van. Other all-electric cars from Volkswagen AG, such as the Porsche Taycan and the Audi e-tron, are also being received quite well in their respective segments.
Other traditional OEMs have announced electric vehicles for the future. For instance, Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz brand has announced the EQV, EQS, EQE, and EQA, expanding its existing EV range. Things will likely not be easy for legacy automakers that are only getting their feet wet with EVs, however, as it isn’t just emissions standards that they have to contend with when it comes to releasing new energy vehicles. With each passing year, competitors like Tesla continue to improve the technologies in its vehicles, which also raises the EV standards for traditional OEMs.
The recommendations from the panel of experts in the EU Commissions’ recent study suggests that new car sales in the region will likely be geared towards electric vehicles in the near future. Even if the recommendations end up getting watered down as they are implemented, the shift to electric cars will definitely be palpable within the coming years. And amidst these changes, companies that have already laid the groundwork for their respective electric car programs will likely come out with an advantage.
Tesla would be wise to take advantage of Europe’s apparent war against the combustion engine. With Gigafactory Berlin poised to come online next year, Tesla would have the opportunity to saturate the market with the Model Y, its highest-volume car vehicle to date. The release of the company’s yet-to-be-announced $25,000 EV would also go a long way towards accelerating the mass adoption of all-electric cars. Tesla has not hinted at a concrete release date for its $25,000 car, but with the EU Commission’s stance, it may be a good idea for the electric car maker to accelerate the upcoming vehicle’s release.
Companies like Volkswagen, for their part, would best be advised to ensure that the rollout of its all-electric cars are done with no more delays. The ID.3 experienced severe problems with its software, resulting in the all-electric car’s rollout being pushed back. Amidst Europe’s push to end the internal combustion engine, Volkswagen must ensure that the succeeding vehicles in the ID family are rolled out in a much smoother manner.
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Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
Tesla briefly offered this Robotaxi part for your personal car
