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UK gives death sentence to internal combustion cars, hybrids included
The United Kingdom’s ban on petrol vehicles has been formally moved up by five years, from 2040 to 2035. The decision was announced by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the United Nations climate summit COP26 in November.
Interestingly, the UK’s upcoming ban actually includes hybrid vehicles, which have long been promoted by veteran carmakers as “electrified” cars. Yet save for plug-in hybrids, which can be charged from an EV charging station, hybrids like the Toyota Prius still use petrol as their sole source of fuel.
Historian Sir David Attenborough believes that the event was “encouraging” as many of the leaders were instrumental in coming up with new ideas to attack the global climate crisis. One of the ideas was the acceleration of phasing out petrol-powered cars, an idea that has been adopted by many countries over the past few years.
“The longer we leave it, the worse it is going to get,” Attenborough said. “So now is the moment. It is up to us to organize the nations of the world to do something about it.”
The idea to move the proposed date of banning gas-powered cars from the UK’s roads was brought up by Boris Johnson. He believed 2035 was realistic and necessary to prevent detrimental effects on the environment. With hybrid cars now a part of the ICE ban because of their need for petrol, the UK will be focusing on pushing pure electric cars like the Tesla Model 3 and hydrogen cars like the Toyota Mirai.
The Annual World Economic Forum Meeting, known as Davos, recently took place in Switzerland. Some of the world’s most powerful leaders, along with the faces who are commonly matched with climate issues, were in attendance to talk about sustainable solutions. The important thing to note about these meetings where climate issues are discussed is the fact that they are being held to begin with. It is agreed upon by many of the world’s leaders that change is needed so the world can move forward with confronting the climate crisis.
A key piece of cutting down on carbon emissions is the adoption of electric cars across the globe. This is something that American electric car maker Tesla has been aiming to do. The UK’s adaptation of a ban on petrol will help the environment in many ways, most importantly by reducing the emissions of petrol-based cars in the country, even if they’re coming from what are promoted as “electrified” vehicles.
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Tesla FSD (Supervised) could be approved in the Netherlands next month: Musk
Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that Full Self-Driving (FSD) could receive regulatory approval in the Netherlands as soon as March 20, potentially marking a major step forward for Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance rollout in Europe.
Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin, noting that the date was provided by local authorities.
“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told,” Musk stated.
“Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive.”
Tesla’s FSD system relies on vision-based neural networks trained on real-world driving data, allowing vehicles to navigate using cameras and AI rather than traditional sensor-heavy solutions.
The performance of FSD Supervised has so far been impressive. As per Tesla’s safety report, Full Self-Driving Supervised has already traveled 8.3 billion miles. So far, vehicles operating with FSD Supervised engaged recorded one major collision every 5,300,676 miles.
In comparison, Teslas driven manually with Active Safety systems recorded one major collision every 2,175,763 miles, while Teslas driven manually without Active Safety recorded one major collision every 855,132 miles. The U.S. average during the same period was one major collision every 660,164 miles.
If approval is granted on March 20, the Netherlands could become the first European market to greenlight Tesla’s latest supervised FSD (Supervised) software under updated regulatory frameworks. Tesla has been working to secure expanded FSD access across Europe, where regulatory standards differ significantly from those in the United States. Approval in the Netherlands would likely serve as a foundation for broader EU adoption, though additional country-level clearances may still be required.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk estimates Tesla Semi could reach Europe next year
“We’ve got the Tesla Semi coming out, the heavy truck, and that’ll be going to Europe hopefully next year,” Musk said.
Tesla is preparing to expand its all-electric Semi truck program to Europe, with CEO Elon Musk indicating that the Class 8 vehicle could arrive in the region 2027.
Musk shared his update during an interview about Giga Berlin with plant manager André Thierig, which was posted on X by the official Tesla Manufacturing account.
“We’ve got the Tesla Semi coming out, the heavy truck, and that’ll be going to Europe hopefully next year,” he said.
Tesla has already begun limited production and customer deployments of the Tesla Semi in the United States, with the company working to scale output through the Semi factory near Giga Nevada. Considering Musk’s comments, it appears that a European rollout would be the next phase of the vehicle’s expansion beyond North America.
Musk’s use of the word “hopefully” leaves room for flexibility, but the remark signals that Europe is next in Tesla’s commercial expansion plans.
Musk has consistently argued that electrification should extend beyond passenger vehicles. During the same interview, he reiterated his view that “all ground transport should be electric,” adding that ships, and eventually aircraft, would follow.
The Semi plays a central role in that strategy. Heavy-duty freight remains one of the most emissions-intensive segments of road transport, and European regulators have increasingly pushed for lower-emission commercial fleets.
Tesla recently refreshed the Semi lineup on its official website, listing two variants: Standard and Long Range. The Standard trim offers up to 325 miles of range with an energy consumption rating of 1.7 kWh per mile, while the Long Range version provides up to 500 miles, which should be more than ample for European routes.
Elon Musk
Tesla Cybercab coming next to Giga Berlin, Optimus possibly after
“From a next major product standpoint, I think most likely is the Tesla Cybercab,” Musk said.
Tesla could add the Cybercab and Optimus humanoid robot to the production lineup at Giga Berlin, as per recent comments from CEO Elon Musk.
During a recent interview with Giga Berlin plant manager André Thierig, Musk identified the Cybercab as the most likely next major product for the German factory, with Optimus potentially following after.
“From a next major product standpoint, I think most likely is the Tesla Cybercab,” Musk said. He added that there are also “possibilities of Tesla Optimus” being produced in the facility.
Tesla has already begun production of the Cybercab in Giga Texas, with volume production expected to ramp this year. Based on Musk’s comments, it appears that if conditions align in Europe, Giga Berlin could eventually join that effort.
The CEO’s comments about Optimus coming to Gigafactory Berlin are quite unsurprising too considering that Musk has mentioned in the past that the humanoid robot will likely be Tesla’s highest volume product in the long run.
Giga Berlin will likely be able to produce mass volumes of Optimus, as the Model S and Model X lines being converted to an Optimus line in the Fremont Factory are already expected to produce 1 million units of the humanoid robot annually.
Apart from his comments about the Cybercab and Optimus, Elon Musk also confirmed that Giga Berlin has started ramping battery cell production and will continue expanding Model Y output, particularly as supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) gains regulatory approvals in Europe.
Taken together, the remarks suggest Berlin’s role could evolve beyond vehicle assembly into a broader multi-product manufacturing hub, not just a regional Model Y plant.
Tesla FSD (Supervised) could be approved in the Netherlands next month: Musk
Elon Musk estimates Tesla Semi could reach Europe next year
