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Why Tesla wants to open its Supercharger to the competition
In a very bold move, Musk is considering opening the company’s intellectual property (IP) for its Superchargers inviting the competition in, breaking away from outmoded fights.
Just when you think you had Tesla figured out, Elon Musk, Tesla Motors’ CEO, throws in another bit to the overall electric vehicle (EV) picture, once again, changes the background.
Tesla embraces openness
The one thing almost all companies have in common is secrecy. Carmakers are no different and jealously keep trade secrets. What makes Tesla Motors unique and part of its success, is its engineering, which is off limit to GM, Ford and the rest. Companies edge out their products and services by keeping their know-how in-house in order to dominate a market, or a part of it. Even if some things are off limits, all carmakers pull apart others’ cars to see how they were engineered. If this was an effective strategy until now, it has its limits. Pushed to the maximum, it strangles markets and consumers are left to pay the price. There is less choice and innovations. Eventually, someone has to break the trends and breath new life. Is this what Tesla is trying to do? Not so fast.
Supercharge me and everyone else
Elon Musk says someone has to take the first step and Tesla Motors is the company to show the way forward. We couldn’t agree more. We’re tired of living in the stone age, we want a modern world that holds up to its promise and potential.
A company opening up the IP of its Supercharger network to create a “standard technical specification that other electric car makers can adopt,” as Engadget puts it, is a bold move forward.
But is it naïve, or simply a brilliant move forward when the competition is locked in a futile fight? The question is, who stands to gain the most from such a move.
Tesla is willing give away some of its IP in order for other makers to charge at its Superchargers. It also hopes to by-pass the CHAdeMO and SAE fight, as well as the upcoming Chinese charging network with its own protocol. Tesla might charge a modest fee return, but that is nothing for such a juggernaut. Musk sees, as most of us do, that the automobile industry is in disarray and still grapples over how to create a thriving business model with electric vehicles (EV). If the industry, used to making internal combustion engines (ICE), it doesn’t know what to do with an electric motor and batteries, even less with a charging network. Luckily, Tesla took a lead early there.
So far Nissan is one of the only carmaker to grow the network with CHAdeMO chargers at its dealerships. Then, there is the SAE Combo standard trying to muscle its way in, fighting against CHAdeMO. The absurd fight ended last year with a standstill, forcing once again consumers to choose one or the other, losing in the short run. So what can Tesla Motors do with its own Supercharger system watching another Chinese charger standard take advantage of the confusion? Open its doors and leapfrog the infighting competitors. It works to everyone’s advantage and the company comes out on top. Simple, brilliant, and so Tesla.
Standards come in two ways, officially, or de facto. For those of you seasoned enough to remember, we once had a choice between a good quality Betamax, and a rather inferior VHS system. VHS became a de facto standard after a deep pocket campaigns turned a generation on to it. The same almost happened to DVD recording, and there are plenty of other examples still. Tesla opening its IP doors to the competition is a bold move above the fray, and one we can be happy about since it will benefit the entire EV community. Hopefully, it will also stop this infighting caveman mentality companies have, pushing their visions on consumers. When you get down to it, what’s important is to have a nationwide charging network that works for as many cars as possible, regardless of makers, backers or other financial interests. Tesla does it again.
News
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end with no interventions.
A Tesla Model S has completed the first-ever full Cannonball Run using Full Self-Driving (FSD), traveling from Los Angeles to New York with zero interventions. The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end, fulfilling a long-discussed benchmark for autonomy.
A full FSD Cannonball Run
As per a report from The Drive, a 2024 Tesla Model S with AI4 and FSD v14.2.2.3 completed the 3,081-mile trip from Redondo Beach in Los Angeles to midtown Manhattan in New York City. The drive was completed by Alex Roy, a former automotive journalist and investor, along with a small team of autonomy experts.
Roy said FSD handled all driving tasks for the entirety of the route, including highway cruising, lane changes, navigation, and adverse weather conditions. The trip took a total of 58 hours and 22 minutes at an average speed of 64 mph, and about 10 hours were spent charging the vehicle. In later comments, Roy noted that he and his team cleaned out the Model S’ cameras during their stops to keep FSD’s performance optimal.
History made
The historic trip was quite impressive, considering that the journey was in the middle of winter. This meant that FSD didn’t just deal with other cars on the road. The vehicle also had to handle extreme cold, snow, ice, slush, and rain.
As per Roy in a post on X, FSD performed so well during the trip that the journey would have been completed faster if the Model S did not have people onboard. “Elon Musk was right. Once an autonomous vehicle is mature, most human input is error. A comedy of human errors added hours and hundreds of miles, but FSD stunned us with its consistent and comfortable behavior,” Roy wrote in a post on X.
Roy’s comments are quite notable as he has previously attempted Cannonball Runs using FSD on December 2024 and February 2025. Neither were zero intervention drives.
Elon Musk
Tesla removes Autopilot as standard, receives criticism online
The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders.
Tesla removed its basic Autopilot package as a standard feature in the United States. The move leaves only Traffic Aware Cruise Control as standard equipment on new Tesla orders, and shifts the company’s strategy towards paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
Tesla removes Autopilot
As per observations from the electric vehicle community on social media, Tesla no longer lists Autopilot as standard in its vehicles in the U.S. This suggests that features such as lane-centering and Autosteer have been removed as standard equipment. Previously, most Tesla vehicles came with Autopilot by default, which offers Traffic-Aware Cruise Control and Autosteer.
The change resulted in backlash from some Tesla owners and EV observers, particularly as competing automakers, including mainstream players like Toyota, offer features like lane-centering as standard on many models, including budget vehicles.
That being said, the removal of Autopilot suggests that Tesla is concentrating its autonomy roadmap around FSD subscriptions rather than bundled driver-assistance features. It would be interesting to see how Tesla manages its vehicles’ standard safety features, as it seems out of character for Tesla to make its cars less safe over time.
Musk announces FSD price increases
Following the Autopilot changes, Elon Musk stated on X that Tesla is planning to raise subscription prices for FSD as its capabilities improve. In a post on X, Musk stated that the current $99-per-month price for supervised FSD would increase over time, especially as the system itself becomes more robust.
“I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve. The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (Unsupervised FSD),” Musk wrote.
At the time of his recent post, Tesla still offers FSD as a one-time purchase for $8,000, but Elon Musk has confirmed that this option will be discontinued on February 14, leaving subscriptions as the only way to access the system.
Tesla has initiated Cybertruck deliveries in a new region for the first time, as the all-electric pickup has officially made its way to the United Arab Emirates, marking the newest territory to receive the polarizing truck.
Tesla launched orders for the Cybertruck in the Middle East back in September 2025, just months after the company confirmed that it planned to launch the pickup in the region, which happened in April.
I took a Tesla Cybertruck weekend Demo Drive – Here’s what I learned
By early October, Tesla launched the Cybertruck configurator in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, with pricing starting at around AED 404,900, or about $110,000 for the Dual Motor configuration.
This decision positioned the Gulf states as key early international markets, and Tesla was hoping to get the Cybertruck outside of North America for the first time, as it has still been tough to launch in other popular EV markets, like Europe and Asia.
By late 2025, Tesla had pushed delivery timelines slightly and aimed for an early 2026 delivery launch in the Middle East. The first official customer deliveries started this month, and a notable handover event occurred in Dubai’s Al Marmoom desert area, featuring a light and fire show.
Around 63 Cybertrucks made their way to customers during the event:
First @cybertruck deliveries in the UAE 🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/sN2rAxppUA
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) January 22, 2026
As of this month, the Cybertruck still remains available for configuration on Tesla’s websites for the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Middle Eastern countries like Jordan and Israel. Deliveries are rolling out progressively, with the UAE leading as the first to see hands-on customer events.
In other markets, most notably Europe, there are still plenty of regulatory hurdles that Tesla is hoping to work through, but they may never be resolved. The issues come from the unique design features that conflict with the European Union’s (EU) stringent safety standards.
These standards include pedestrian protection regulations, which require vehicles to minimize injury risks in collisions. However, the Cybertruck features sharp edges and an ultra-hard stainless steel exoskeleton, and its rigid structure is seen as non-compliant with the EU’s list of preferred designs.
The vehicle’s gross weight is also above the 3.5-tonne threshold for standard vehicles, which has prompted Tesla to consider a more compact design. However, the company’s focus on autonomy and Robotaxi has likely pushed that out of the realm of possibility.
For now, Tesla will work with the governments that want it to succeed in their region, and the Middle East has been a great partner to the company with the launch of the Cybertruck.
Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
Tesla removes Autopilot as standard, receives criticism online
