Volkswagen Auto Group CEO Herbert Diess has led his German car company to be one of the most respected in terms of large entities that have chosen to leave a long and successful past of producing gas-powered vehicles in favor of electrified models. Diess has worked long and hard to dissolve VW’s past mistakes, especially the Dieselgate scandal from several years ago. However, in 2021, VW has left its blemished past behind it and is the most popular electrified brand in Europe, leading companies like Tesla, Peugeot, and Renault in the world’s most robust market for electrified vehicles. Diess is a big part of this accomplishment and has one of the more keen eyes for the industry, self-admittedly behind Elon Musk.
Diess’ thoughts on the EV industry and how 2021 has shaped it to be one of the most difficult and challenging sectors of the year due to semiconductor shortages, along with his plans for Volkswagen’s electrified future and his respect for fellow auto CEO Elon Musk were discussed in a recent interview with CNN’s Anna Stewart who caught up with the VW frontman at the International Motor Show in Munich.
50% of sales electric by 2030
Diess responds to Stewart’s first inquiry, which regards VW’s goal to have 50% of its sales be electric by 2030. “In Europe, we are already leading,” Diess said, which is true based on the most recent figures from EU-EVs.com, showing Volkswagen has a comfortable lead over second-place Tesla by just over 20,000 vehicles. In other markets, Volkswagen is performing well. “Even in the US, we have been in second place for the last months, and in China, we are growing fast. We think we will become the market leader for EVs,” Diess adds.
Volkswagen has absolutely taken on the EV initiative better than 99% of other car companies, making its goals the most believable moving forward. The ID. family of vehicles has performed incredibly well, with Volkswagen offering specific models for specific markets to keep things fresh, exciting, and relevant. The question is, will VW be able to keep up its domination of the European market when Tesla begins production at Giga Berlin later this year?
Global semiconductor shortage
One of the biggest bottlenecks in recent history, the global semiconductor supply shortage, has plagued automakers to scrap basic functions like “push-to-start” features in ICE vehicles. Diess, a usually optimistic person, admits that Volkswagen is still struggling with the shortages, and he is not quite sure when things will get better.
“It has gotten worse already. We expected that we would have relief after the summer break, which didn’t happen because, in Malaysia, we had really quite significant problems with Covid,” Diess added. “Some of our suppliers, the back ends of our suppliers are mostly based in Malaysia, and three plants were hit hard. We think that we will overcome this situation towards the end of the month, and then we should see relief.”
Autonomy
In terms of autonomy, Diess is optimistic about the capabilities of self-driving cars. “We see a much bigger transition for the industry when cars are becoming autonomous because cars will be used differently, used by more people. You can send your children or your grandparents in a car somewhere. Now imagine!” Volkswagen previously claimed it could sell a self-driving system that charged by the hour, and it would be profitable doing it. However, Diess said the business still has a long way to go, and Volkswagen will likely roll out its first fleet in 2024 or 2026. “But it’s now time to invest and to prepare. And that’s what we are doing,” he stated.
Volkswagen says it can profitably sell a self-driving system for €7 an hour
Volkswagen vs. Tesla
Diess holds high regard for Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The two are friends and have shared several compliments with each other on several occasions. Musk even took a ride in an ID.3 in Germany with Diess piloting the vehicle, which ignited rumors of a potential collaboration between the two automotive CEOs. Diess still holds the utmost respect for Musk and Tesla, calling the company’s frontman “a brilliant guy” who “makes a difference. He’s changing the world with his ventures.”
Despite the two companies combating to dominate EV sales across the globe, Diess does not see any parallels between VW and Tesla. “We are quite different. He is very focused on Tesla, on his story. I’m running a big traditional company, which we try to prepare for the future. And I think we also require different characters. I like him a lot, but I think we are quite different.”
As for whether Diess was ever offered the CEO job at Tesla, Herbert simply ended with, “I don’t know,” and a slight chuckle.”
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, or be sure to email me at joey@teslarati.com or on Twitter @KlenderJoey.
News
Tesla adds awesome new driving feature to Model Y
Tesla is rolling out a new “Comfort Braking” feature with Software Update 2026.8. The feature is exclusive to the new Model Y, and is currently unavailable for any other vehicle in the Tesla lineup.
Tesla is adding an awesome new driving feature to Model Y vehicles, effective on Juniper-updated models considered model year 2026 or newer.
Tesla is rolling out a new “Comfort Braking” feature with Software Update 2026.8. The feature is exclusive to the new Model Y, and is currently unavailable for any other vehicle in the Tesla lineup.
Tesla writes in the release notes for the feature:
“Your Tesla now provides a smoother feel as you come to a complete stop during routine braking.”
🚨 Tesla has added a new “Comfort Braking” update with 2026.8
“Your Tesla provides a smoother feel as you come to a complete stop during routine braking.” https://t.co/afqCpBSVeA pic.twitter.com/C6MRmzfzls
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 13, 2026
Interestingly, we’re not too sure what catalyzed Tesla to try to improve braking smoothness, because it hasn’t seemed overly abrupt or rough from my perspective. Although the brake pedal in my Model Y is rarely used due to Regenerative Braking, it seems Tesla wanted to try to make the ride comfort even smoother for owners.
There is always room for improvement, though, and it seems that there is a way to make braking smoother for passengers while the vehicle is coming to a stop.
This is far from the first time Tesla has attempted to improve its ride comfort through Over-the-Air updates, as it has rolled out updates to improve regenerative braking performance, handling while using Full Self-Driving, improvements to Steer-by-Wire to Cybertruck, and even recent releases that have combatted Active Road Noise.
Tesla holds a unique ability to change the functionality of its vehicles through software updates, which have come in handy for many things, including remedying certain recalls and shipping new features to the Full Self-Driving suite.
Tesla seems to have the most seamless OTA processes, as many automakers have the ability to ship improvements through a simple software update.
We’re really excited to test the update, so when we get an opportunity to try out Comfort Braking when it makes it to our Model Y.
News
Tesla finally brings a Robotaxi update that Android users will love
The breakdown of the software version shows that Tesla is actively developing an Android-compatible version of the Robotaxi app, and the company is developing Live Activities for Android.
Tesla is finally bringing an update of its Robotaxi platform that Android users will love — mostly because it seems like they will finally be able to use the ride-hailing platform that the company has had active since last June.
Based on a decompile of software version 26.2.0 of the Robotaxi app, Tesla looks to be ready to roll out access to Android users.
According to the breakdown, performed by Tesla App Updates, the company is preparing to roll out an Android version of the app as it is developing several features for that operating system.
🚨 It looks like Tesla is preparing to launch the Robotaxi app for Android users at last!
A decompile of v26.2.0 of the Robotaxi app shows some progress on the Android side for Robotaxi 🤖 🚗 https://t.co/mThmoYuVLy
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 13, 2026
The breakdown of the software version shows that Tesla is actively developing an Android-compatible version of the Robotaxi app, and the company is developing Live Activities for Android:
“Strings like notification_channel_robotaxid_trip_name and android_native_alicorn_eta_text show exactly how Tesla plans to replicate the iOS Live Activities experience. Instead of standard push alerts, Android users are getting a persistent, dynamically updating notification channel.”
This is a big step forward for several reasons. From a face-value perspective, Tesla is finally ready to offer Robotaxi to Android users.
The company has routinely prioritized Apple releases because there is a higher concentration of iPhone users in its ownership base. Additionally, the development process for Apple is simply less laborious.
Tesla is working to increase Android capabilities in its vehicles
Secondly, the Robotaxi rollout has been a typical example of “slowly then all at once.”
Tesla initially released Robotaxi access to a handful of media members and influencers. Eventually, it was expanded to more users, so that anyone using an iOS device could download the app and hail a semi-autonomous ride in Austin or the Bay Area.
Opening up the user base to Android users may show that Tesla is preparing to allow even more users to utilize its Robotaxi platform, and although it seems to be a few months away from only offering fully autonomous rides to anyone with app access, the expansion of the user base to an entirely different user base definitely seems like its a step in the right direction.
News
Lucid unveils Lunar Robotaxi in bid to challenge Tesla’s Cybercab in the autonomous ride hailing race
Lucid’s Lunar robotaxi is gunning for Tesla’s Cybercab in the autonomous ride hailing race
![Lucid Lunar robotaxi concept [Credit: Rendering by TESLARATI]](https://www.teslarati.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/lucid-lunar-robotaxi-concept-teslarati-rendering.jpg)
Lucid Group pulled back the curtain on its purpose-built autonomous robotaxi platform dubbed the Lunar Concept. Announced at its New York investor day event, Lunar is arguably the company’s most ambitious concept yet, and a direct line of sight toward the autonomous ride haling market that Tesla looks to control.
At Lucid Investor Day 2026, the company introduced Lunar, a purpose-built robotaxi concept based on the Midsize platform.
A comparison to Tesla’s Cybercab is unavoidable. The concept of a Tesla robotaxi was first introduced by Elon Musk back in April 2019 during an event dubbed “Autonomy Day,” where he envisioned a network of self-driving Tesla vehicles transporting passengers while not in use by their owners. That vision took another major step in October 2024 when, Musk unveiled the Cybercab at the Tesla “We, Robot” event held at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, where 20 concept Cybercabs autonomously drove around the studio lot giving rides to attendees.
Fast forward to today, and Tesla’s ambitions are finally materializing, but not without friction. As we recently reported, the Cybercab is being spotted with increasing frequency on public roads and across the grounds of Gigafactory Texas, suggesting that the company’s road testing and validation program is ramping meaningfully ahead of mass production. Tesla already operates a small scale robotaxi service in Austin using supervised Model Ys, but the Cybercab is designed from the ground up for high-volume, low-cost production, with Musk stating an eventual goal of producing one vehicle every 10 seconds.
At Lucid Investor Day 2026, the company introduced Lunar, a purpose-built robotaxi concept based on the Midsize platform.
Into this landscape steps Lucid’s Lunar. Built on the company’s all-new Midsize EV platform, which will also underpin consumer SUVs starting below $50,000. The Lunar mirrors the Cybercab’s core philosophy of having two seats, no driver controls, and a focus on fleet economics. The platform introduces Lucid’s redesigned Atlas electric drive unit, engineered to be smaller, lighter, and cheaper to manufacture at scale.
Unlike Tesla’s strategy of building its own ride hailing network from scratch, Lucid is partnering with Uber. The companies are said to be in advanced discussions to deploy Midsize platform vehicles at large scale, with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi publicly backing Lucid’s engineering credentials and autonomous-ready architecture.
In the investor day event, Lucid also outlined a recurring software revenue model, with an in-vehicle AI assistant and monthly autonomous driving subscriptions priced between $69 and $199. This can be seen as a nod to the software revenue stream that Tesla has long championed with its Full Self-Driving subscription.
Tesla’s Cybercab is targeting a price point below $30k and with operating costs as low as 20 cents per mile. But with regulatory hurdles still ahead, the window for competition is open. Lucid’s Lunar may not have a launch date yet, but it arrives at a pivotal moment, and when the robotaxi race is no longer viewed as hypothetical. Rather, every serious EV player needs to come to bat on the same plate that Tesla has had countless practice swings on over the last seven years.
Tesla adds awesome new driving feature to Model Y
Tesla finally brings a Robotaxi update that Android users will love
![Lucid Lunar robotaxi concept [Credit: Rendering by TESLARATI]](https://www.teslarati.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/lucid-lunar-robotaxi-concept-teslarati-rendering-80x80.jpg)
