

News
U.S. Supreme Court to hear challenge on California emission rule waiver
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a challenge from fuel companies against California’s ability to create its own emissions rules, in a case that could set a major precedent for how states handle making their own standards in efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions through electric vehicle (EV) adoption.
After the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted California an exemption from federal air pollution laws in 2022, effectively letting the state set its own vehicle emissions rules, the U.S. Supreme Court last week agreed to listen to a bid from a Valero Energy subsidiary and other fuel groups to challenge the exemption (via Reuters).
Valero’s Diamond Alternative Energy and other associated fuel business lobby groups argue that the waiver oversteps the power of the EPA under the Clean Air Act, under which the federal rules are set. The groups also argued that such a decision would lower demand for their liquid fuels, ultimately inflicting harm on their bottom line.
RELATED: U.S. Congressman urges President Biden to end EV transition goals
In the appeal, the groups also said that California was overstepping its power, acting as a “junior-varsity EPA” by making regulatory decisions to combat climate change and force the adoption of EVs upon consumers—choices the group says the state does not have the right to make.
The decision also comes after the EPA was backed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in April, with the court throwing out a legal challenge against the waiver from a group of 17 Republican-run states. In that appeal, backers also argued that California’s ability to set its own emissions rules gave the state unconstitutional regulatory power, which they said isn’t available to other states.
The waiver has long been a point of contention, originally dating back to a 2013 decision to offer California the waiver. In 2019, the Trump administration rescinded that waiver, before the EPA was given power to reinstate it under the Biden administration in 2022.
California has also been a leader in pushing EV adoption through massive incentives, and an official ruling later in 2022 to ban the sale of new gas cars beginning in 2035. That ruling has since been followed by a handful of other states, including New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington.
Last year, California’s battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales also made up around one-third of all U.S. BEV sales, as led by Tesla.
Passed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the California ban also includes a gradual phase-out of gas vehicles set to begin in 2026, for which the state also required an EPA waiver. California has gained over 75 separate waivers since 1967, through which it has been able to lodge increasingly strict rules surrounding vehicle emissions performance and EV sales.
In February, the EPA actually loosened federal standards requiring automakers to sell a certain ratio of EVs by 2032. Previously, the agency required that automakers make 60 percent of sales come from BEVs and plugin hybrids by 2030, increasing that to 68 percent by 2032. Now, the agency mandates that manufacturers make 50 percent of their overall sales either plugin hybrids or BEVs by 2030.
What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.
California’s proposed 2035 EV sales mandate faces scrutiny at EPA hearing


Elon Musk
Tesla to fix an FSD driver monitoring annoyance, Elon Musk hints
Elon Musk seems welcome to a change in Tesla’s Driver Monitoring suite.

CEO Elon Musk hinted in an X post that Tesla is about to fix a Full Self-Driving driver monitoring annoyance.
When using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite, the newest “Supervised” version allows drivers to use the vehicle without actually holding onto the steering wheel. However, a cabin-facing camera monitors the driver’s eyes, ensuring they are paying attention to the road and not abusing the suite’s capabilities.
If the vehicle recognizes multiple instances of drivers taking their eyes off the road, Full Self-Driving will be unavailable for the rest of the drive. Ending up in FSD fail is never a fun time.
However, there are some instances when the suite is perhaps a tad too critical of a driver and their eyes if they are not always looking at the road. For example, in a Tesla, adjusting things like the cabin temperature, the position of side mirrors, or even the speed offset requires the driver to take their eyes off the road for a short period of time — usually less than ten seconds.
If operating on FSD, the vehicle will alert you to look back at the road, even if you’re traveling at a low rate of speed and you only take a few seconds to adjust a setting.
During my weekend Demo Drive of the new Model Y, I experienced this:
🚨Here’s a good example of this:
I was adjusting the Autopilot speed offset and then checked back to the screen to see if anything changed.
As you can see, my eyes weren’t off the road very long before the vehicle said I needed to look out of the windshield again. https://t.co/0YKAJgXFB6 pic.twitter.com/YfiuChbDAr
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) May 6, 2025
It appears a change could be welcome by Musk, who agreed that the warning seems excessive. How it will be changed remains to be seen, but it seems safer to be adjusting settings while FSD is active as opposed to trying to do it while driving manually:
You’re right
— gorklon rust (@elonmusk) May 6, 2025
It is good that FSD operates cautiously, as plenty of people have abused its capabilities in the past. When accidents happen due to driver irresponsibility, Tesla is not liable, but media headlines paint the picture that driving the vehicles is dangerous. In reality, Teslas travel more miles without an accident than the national average.
Tesla Vehicle Safety Report shows Autopilot is 10x better than humans
The change would likely be welcomed by many drivers, who have also complained about driver monitoring giving warnings when doing something like taking a bite of food.
News
Tesla is using this technique to expand Supercharging outside the U.S.
Tesla’s pre-fabricated Superchargers are making expansion easier for the company all over the world

Tesla is using a technique that it first used in 2021 to expand its Supercharging presence outside the United States.
In April 2021, Tesla installed its first pre-fabricated Supercharging stalls in Utah, helping streamline installation and make EV charging more widely available as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to surge on.
Tesla still utilizes pre-fabricated Superchargers, which are built at its Buffalo Gigafactory, and they are a huge asset to the company, considering they streamline the entire installation process. The chargers can be installed on a concrete slab within a matter of hours, bringing a station with numerous plugs online in the matter of a day’s work.
Tesla Semi helps install prefab Superchargers at Laguna Seca
However, Tesla is not confining this strategy to its U.S. locations only. It recently opened its first Supercharger in Estonia, where Tesla has planned to open a station for over 12 years.
It is finally set to launch its first Supercharger in Estonia this week, and North American Charging Head Max de Zegher stated that the company is utilizing the pre-fabrication technique to streamline the installation:
Long time coming! And with our pre-assembled Superchargers, which often have become our highest quality builds.
— Max (@MdeZegher) May 6, 2025
de Zegher also said the pre-fab Superchargers are Tesla’s “highest quality builds.”
Tesla has said in the past that these pre-fabricated stalls are not only more efficient in terms of the overall installation process, but they are also more cost-effective and can help save the company money on what is not necessarily a cheap part of the business.
These cost savings are then passed on to the drivers, de Zegher said in a breakdown of the pre-fab process last year. This is just one way the EV maker continues to streamline its manufacturing processes, and it does not only have to do with the vehicles, but also the equipment that charges them.
As Teslas and other EVs are becoming more popular and the charging infrastructure is still trying to catch up, pre-fab Superchargers are a great technique and strategy the company can use to expand availability. Within a matter of days, Tesla can add stalls to a station, making it easily accessible to consumers with less risk of a wait.
News
Tesla Sweden gets sweet revenge against unions with Model Y domination
It pays to have the best all-around battery electric vehicle in the market.

It is no secret that Tesla is competing in Sweden with one hand tied behind its back. With the IF Metall union and its allies pulling every trick in the book to tank Tesla’s operations in the country, one could almost expect the EV maker to push as hard as it can just to stay afloat.
Based on the Model Y’s registrations in Sweden, however, it seems like Tesla is not just staying afloat—it is actually dominating.
Tesla Model Y in Sweden
A recent compilation from Borskollen.se, citing data from car.info, has indicated that Tesla has seen a total of 45,882 Model Y registrations to date. This was enough to make the Model Y Sweden’s most popular electric vehicle. Due to its popularity, pre-owned legacy Model Y units are also seeing a drop in price, making the vehicle more attainable for Swedish car buyers.
The momentum of the new Model Y seems to be notable. Based on car.info data, Tesla saw a total of 45,200 registrations for the legacy Model Y. As of writing, at least, car.info has tracked a total of 682 new Model Y units that have been registered in Sweden so far.
What’s quite interesting is that the Model Y remained Sweden’s top electric vehicle despite a slowdown in sales during the first quarter due to the changeover to the new Model Y. For context, Sweden’s second and third most popular EVs, the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Volvo XC40, currently boast a total of 29,853 and 24,943 registrations, respectively, as per car.info data. The Tesla Model 3, the Model Y’s sibling, has seen a total of 21,223 registrations to date.

Tesla Sweden vs. the Unions
Tesla Sweden’s accomplishments and the Model Y’s sales in the country are especially impressive since the electric vehicle maker is currently facing a number of blockades and sympathy strikes from a number of Sweden’s unions. Today, unions in the country are actively attempting to disrupt, if not stop, Tesla’s operations, with some unions even flat-out refusing to activate the company’s Superchargers, which serve all electric car owners in the country.
Sweden’s unions currently seem to be learning, however, that Tesla is a very tough nut to crack. Last month alone, Tesla went ahead and launched several new Superchargers in the country. Frustrated union representatives noted that Tesla seemed to be getting around their measures by flying in people to help with its Supercharger buildout.
Back in February, Jonas Björkman, head of business development at Riddermark Bil, one of the largest used car sellers in Sweden, also stated that Tesla is the electric vehicle brand that still sees the most sales, with the Model Y and Model 3 seeing a lot of demand from consumers. “Tesla is the electric car brand we have sold the most units of, and sales continue at a high rate,” Bil stated.
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