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Toyota exec and Model X owner argues against a pure electric vehicle transition

(Credit: Toyota)

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4 years ago

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Toyota Chief Scientist and Toyota Research CEO Gill Pratt recently shared his thoughts about the climate crisis, as well as the need to reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector. The executive is quite knowledgeable about sustainable vehicles, as evidenced by the three cars he currently owns: a Toyota Sienna Hybrid, a RAV4 Prime Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV), and an all-electric Tesla Model X. 

In a post on Medium, Pratt urged readers to follow the science and acknowledge that a diversified approach to battling climate change is more preferable than a transition to pure electric cars like his Model X. The executive cited the cost of battery production, the need for natural resources, and the emissions of battery manufacturing as reasons for his stance. He also noted that while he loves his 300-mile Model X, his vehicle’s large battery is pretty much wasted on an everyday basis since its range is usually not utilized fully. 

“I love my Tesla Model X BEV. But commuting 30 miles in it every day — the average US commute — and recharging it every night is wasteful of the carbon reducing potential of most of its over 300 mile range battery. Sometimes we take the Tesla on long trips. But most of the time, 90% of its battery cells aren’t doing any good, and would reduce carbon much more if they were harder at work in other types of electrified vehicles, including HEVs or PHEVs,” the Toyota Research CEO wrote. 

With this in mind, Pratt argued that it would be more efficient if batteries are distributed to more “right-sized” electrified vehicles instead, including hybrids and PHEVs. The cells that could go on one Tesla, for example, could instead be used for several electrified cars. “We hardly ever put gas into our RAV4 Prime PHEV, which has a battery ⅙ as large as our Model X BEV. For the same investment in batteries as our single Model X, five other RAV4 Prime customers could reduce their carbon footprint too,” Pratt explained. 

The Toyota executive did note that he is a proponent for increased battery production, the lowering of the carbon footprint of electric power plants, and the expansion of rapid charging stations. However, Patt also argued that in many countries, a lot of the easier carbon reduction of electric power plants had already been achieved by converting them to natural gas, effectively lowering their carbon output by half. Replacing the plants with new nuclear, wind, and solar facilities would be more difficult and more costly, added the Toyota Research CEO. 

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Ultimately, Pratt noted that he and Toyota believe that the transition to pure electric vehicles, such as those planned in Europe and areas like China, is not the right way to battle climate change. He then noted that in the fight for sustainability, carbon should be seen as the enemy, not the internal combustion engine, as PHEVs and hybrids would, in some parts of the world, generate comparable or even less emissions than pure electric cars. 

“I believe, as does Toyota, that it would be a tremendous mistake for governments around the world to prescribe narrow solutions like insisting that all vehicles be BEVs. Instead, the better solution is to allow manufacturers to innovate across a diversity of drivetrains and drivers to choose the low-carbon drivetrain that suits their circumstances best,” he wrote. 

While the Toyota Research CEO’s points are notable, the scientist did neglect to mention several developments that are currently ongoing in the battery sector. Battery production costs are going down at a rapid pace, with EVs closing in on price parity with their internal combustion-powered counterparts. The emissions of battery production are expected to be improved over time too, as companies like Tesla innovate and adopt more sustainable technologies such as cobalt-free batteries. Large batteries such as those used in the Toyota executive’s Model X are likely not wasted either despite not being used for their maximum range every day. Battery recycling technologies such as those being developed by Redwood Materials, which is aimed at creating a closed-loop battery supply chain, play a role in making batteries more sustainable as well. 

Toyota Research CEO Gill Pratt’s points could be read here. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us for news tips. Just send a message to tips@teslarati.com to give us a heads up. 

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Robotaxi vs. New York Taxi: Why the Yellow Cab has a lot to lose

Tesla Robotaxi could spell the beginning of the end of the New York City yellow cab.

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1 hour ago

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August 13, 2025

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Tesla appears to be on its way into the Big Apple, and a traditional Yellow Cab in New York City might be a thing of the past in the near future.

As Tesla continues to put an immense focus on the rollout of its Robotaxi platform, it is evident that driverless ride-hailing modes of transportation could truly be the way that many choose to get around. This is especially prevalent in cities like New York, where many people do not own cars. Instead, they choose to walk to hail a cab.

Tesla Robotaxi is headed to New York City, but one thing is in its way

But the limited number of medallions available for taxi drivers in New York City, as well as several other points of emphasis, seem to show the future is here and yellow cabs might soon be a thing of the past.

Instead of working tirelessly to pay off the debt from medallions, entrepreneurs could soon just buy a Tesla and have it work autonomously in New York City. Tesla executives have mentioned figures as high as $50,000 per year in terms of passive income from Robotaxi operation.

That is just the tip of the iceberg, and Robotaxi presents not only one but at least five distinct advantages over the traditional cab platform. With Tesla starting to seek employees to operate Robotaxi rides in New York, according to recent job postings, New York City cabs should prepare for the disruption Tesla could potentially cause.

Lower Operational Costs and Cheaper Fares

Uber and Lyft have already undercut the costs of New York City taxis, but Robotaxi is starting to undercut even those ride-sharing programs in Austin, Texas.

In terms of how much cheaper Robotaxi will be than cabs, it is an exponential measurement over time. Robotaxi will not require salaries, benefits, or tips, and the cost of Robotaxi could end up being just a fraction of what the same ride would cost in a cab.

This feeds right back into medallion expenses and union wages: even buying a Tesla in the next few years that has the capability to operate as a Robotaxi will be a fraction of what medallions cost, which is sometimes $200,000.

Availability and Scalability

Cabs are available at all hours of the day, but at certain times, they are less available.

Robotaxis can technically operate without breaks, other than charging. Tesla has an immense focus on scaling its Robotaxi platform anyway, and once it is available for the public to use in their personal cars, Model Ys and Cybercabs could be roaming the streets of the five boroughs with more reliability and lower wait times than traditional cabs could ever offer.

This is an issue that is even more relevant in smaller cities or less congested portions of New York.

Safer and More Efficient Rides

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology has reported recent safety figures that are ten times less likely to be involved in an accident than a human. Tesla releases a Safety Report for each quarter that proves its safety against human drivers.

As Full Self-Driving continues to advance, it will get better. Riders who want a stable and safe ride could seek Robotaxi instead of going with a human driver. This is something that we’ll likely see more of in the future as sentiment on autonomous driving grows.

Trust in autonomous vehicles has increased substantially over the past ten years. In 2015, surveys showed that trust in autonomous vehicles was low, with only 23 percent of Americans showing that they’d ride in a driverless car.

In 2021, another study performed that asked the same question showed 57 percent of adults would try an autonomous car for their travel.

Seamless App Integration and User Experience

Taxis are not always the most entertaining to ride in, and sometimes they are even more difficult to get a ride in. Robotaxi has already shown to be an incredibly user-friendly experience, with riders being able to choose what temperature the cabin is and what music they want to listen to in the cabin.

The addition of a rear screen also allows riders to choose from a selection of games or YouTube videos in the car.

Hailing a vehicle was basically resolved with the use of Uber and Lyft. Robotaxi is just as good, if not better, from an app standpoint, especially as the in-car climate is able to be adjusted from the Robotaxi app.

Music from one Robotaxi will continue to play in your next one, too. It’s a small luxury, but it’s a feature that is an improvement over a traditional taxi.

The Push for Sustainability by New York City

New York is pushing for a city-owned fleet of all-electric vehicles by 2027.

Its green initiatives, including the Green Rides Initiative, have pushed the city’s rideshare trips to be conducted by either zero-emission or wheelchair accessible vehicles by 2030.

Tesla Model 3 taxis drive NY’s resolution for more all-electric yellow cabs

The focus by consumers to use green or zero-emission vehicles could also steer right into the direction of Tesla Robotaxi, as none of the vehicles in the Robotaxi fleet will be anything but all-electric Teslas.

Carbon neutrality is a goal of the City and its residents. Moving forward, we could see these programs start to put immense pressure on the yellow cab, which could eventually be a thing of the past.

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Tesla plans to use Unreal Engine for driver visualization with crazy upgrade

This could change the way Driver Visualization looks for Tesla owners.

Published

3 hours ago

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August 13, 2025

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Credit: Tesla Newswire | X

Tesla looks to be planning a major upgrade to its driver visualization for Autopilot with a crazy upgrade from its current version.

Tesla’s driver visualization appears on the center screen and shows the vehicle, its surroundings, and, when it is operating on Autopilot or Full Self-Driving, shows the route of travel.

It has improved over the years, and even includes things like pedestrians, pets, and the shapes of other vehicles. It also helps with manual driving because it can be a good representation of your surroundings when trying to change lanes or merge in traffic.

However, it appears Tesla is planning a pretty substantial upgrade with the

Coding found in the 2025.20 firmware by Tesla hacker greentheonly showed the company is planning to utilize Unreal Engine for Autopilot visualization. He said the one Tesla currently uses is “godot-based.”

Unreal Engine is a 3D computer graphics game engine that was developed by Epic Games, the developer of the popular third-party shooter game Fortnite. It was first released back in 1998, and the most recent version is Unreal Engine 5. The sixth version is in development, and it could be out in 2027 or 2028.

However, Tesla could use it for a more realistic representation of vehicle surroundings. It would undoubtedly improve driver visualization, creating a smoother and freer-flowing depiction of what is outside of the car.

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SpaceX is rolling out a new feature to Starlink that could be a lifesaver

Starlink now has a new Standby Mode that will enable low-speed internet access in the event of an outage.

Published

5 hours ago

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August 13, 2025

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(Credit: Starlink | X)

SpaceX is rolling out a new feature to Starlink that could be a lifesaver in some instances, but more of a luxury for others.

Starlink is the satellite internet service that Elon Musk’s company SpaceX launched several years ago. It has been adopted by many people at their homes, many airlines on their planes, and many maritime companies on their ships.

SpaceX produces its 10 millionth Starlink kit

It has been a great way for customers to relieve themselves of the contracts and hidden fees of traditional internet service providers.

Now, Starlink is rolling out a new service feature on its units called “Standby Mode,” which is part of Pause Mode. The company notified customers of the change in an email:

“We’re reaching out to you to let you know the Pause feature on your plan has been updated. Pause now includes Standby Mode, which comes with unlimited low-speed data for $5.00 per month, perfect for backup connectivity and emergency use. These updates will take effect in 30 days. All of your other plan features remain the same. You are able to cancel your service at any time for no charge.”

SpaceX did not define how fast these “low speeds” will be. However, there are people who have tested the Standby Mode, and they reported speeds of about 500 kilobytes per second.

The mode is ideal for people who might deal with internet or power outages, but still need to have some sort of internet access.

It could also be used as a backup for people who want to stay with their ISP, but would like to have some sort of alternative in case of an outage for any reason.

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