A Tesla owner decided to play a prank on fellow owners by posting a fake birthday email.
In it, “Tesla” says it’ll give the owner an extra horsepower boost for thirty days.
Those in the comment section unleashed their frustration with features hidden behind paywalls.
Tesla fans get really excited when new features, trials, or beta programs arrive. That’s probably why very few people realized that a post on Reddit was just a prank by an overeager owner. They reported a birthday reward email supposedly from Tesla offering a 30-day horsepower boost. It turns out that before realizing it was a hoax, many took the chance to bash the US EV maker and other brands for paywall-blocked features.
Posted on Reddit’s Tesla Model 3 forum, the main feature was an image. It appeared to be an email directly from Tesla. “Happy Birthday! We are delighted to offer you an exclusive birthday gift: +50 Extra Horsepower,” it said. “Your Tesla has been upgraded with an additional 50 horsepower, effective for the next 30 days.”
A Convincing Fake
At first glance, it looks legitimate. The script looks realistic, the grammar is fine, and it appears to come from no-reply@Tesla.com. That was more than enough to fool several people. The top comments are full of people assuming it’s real. Some ask about future programs based on the idea, others joke about changing their birthday in the Tesla app, and others comment on their excitement about it.
At the same time, it left some fans feeling disillusioned and annoyed. Several made comments to that effect. “…is it just me that thinks that’s absolutely ridiculous? If I have the hardware, why would I pay to use the hardware? That’s like buying a computer with 16gb of ram, only having 12, and then getting an email “unlocking” the other 4gb for 30 days.
“Just… stupid. Either sell me the car without the extra horsepower (so, without the hardware that makes it possible)… or let me use all the horsepower it can produce. This is just… awful,” said one. After another commented on how cool it was that you could download extra horsepower, another responded, “You mean mildly infuriated it’s locked behind a paywall.”
A Familiar Practice
Of course, in this case, the birthday gift wasn’t real, but it’s not as if Tesla doesn’t offer similar products. As of this writing, buyers can unlock features that the hardware they own is already capable of, like additional range or speed.
Notably, Tesla is far from the only brand to offer this sort of thing. Several brands offer similar ‘subscription services’, from extra power to adaptive suspension. Unless buyers unite to condemn this type of practice, it’ll probably never end.
A Tesla driver somehow escaped from a wild crash with no serious injuries.
Their Model Y drifted through the center divide and was impaled on the guardrail.
Photos show a wrecked pre-facelift Model Y with the guardrail coming out of both ends.
Modern cars are subjected to all kinds of crash scenarios before they’re legally allowed on US streets, and they protect us far better than an old car ever could. But a higher force must have been protecting the driver of a Model Y in California who walked away from an accident that by all rights should have resulted in a one-way ticket to the morgue.
The images of the wrecked Model Y from the CHP are truly jaw-dropping and show a pre-facelift Model Y doing its best impression of a monorail carriage.
The side of the car is entirely undamaged, and you could almost say it looks like it slid sideways against the guardrail, neatly pushing the barrier in. But no, the guardrail isn’t crushed by the car, it’s running literally right through the thing. In the front, right down the center, and out the back.
A Rare Kind of Collision
According to the California Highway Patrol in Los Banos, where the crash took place on I-5, the driver “for unknown reasons” allowed his EV to veer off the road and through the road’s center divide where it crashed into the guardrail. The force of the collision pushed the rail through the Tesla’s nose and then its firewall, before it exited out the rear. Thank heavens no one was sitting in the center seat on the rear bench.
CHP Los Banos
The driver was saved by the conventional two-seat layout up front, but looking at the crumpled state of the rail that’s exited out the back, gives us an idea of the amount of energy that was involved in the collision, and how close they came to getting hurt or killed.
“Lucky for the driver he only sustained minor injuries and was able to walk away,” Los Banos police said in a Facebook post. “Driving a vehicle requires 100% attention to the road. Avoid distractions and focus on driving.”
We don’t know why the driver left the road, but with so much Tesla ADAS technology at his disposal, it should never have happened in the first place. This time he was lucky, but you get the feeling he might have used up all nine lives at once on this incident.
A Tesla Cybertruck driver hit several parked cars in a Miami neighborhood overnight.
Witnesses on the scene claim that the driver was racing a Lamborghini before crashing.
It remains unclear what charges are pending as police have not released a report yet.
A Tesla Cybertruck and a Lamborghini Urus were reportedly racing down a Miami road, only for the EV to crash into not just one parked car but nine. That’s the story according to witnesses on the mangled scene. Racing or not, it’s clear from video taken at the scene that a Cybertruck can do a lot of damage.
A Tesla Cybertruck and a Lamborghini Urus were reportedly racing down a Miami street when the EV slammed into not just one, but nine parked cars. That’s the account from witnesses at the mangled scene. Racing or not, video footage makes one thing clear: the Cybertruck can cause a whole lot of damage.
The crash happened just after midnight on Sunday Morning near the area of Northwest 10th Street and Eighth Street Road in Miami. Google Street View shows the road to be relatively tight with cars parked on both sides of the one-way street. It’s unclear if there really was a race or not, but the aftermath is undeniable.
The social media account “Only In Dade” posted a video of the scene showing cars on the right side of the road mangled. At the very start of the line of damaged cars is a Toyota Corolla with its driver-side wheel ripped all the way off. Ahead of it is a Kia Sportage with the rear end so crumpled that it’s likely a write-off.
At the front of the pack, the Tesla Cybertruck with teal-painted wheel covers sat idle while touching the last car it hit. In total, reports state the vehicle hit nine parked cars before coming to a stop. Exactly how the driver lost control remains unclear.
Eyewitness Account Suggests Street Race
Jose Zelaya, who owns a Suzuki damaged in the crash, told WSVN that the Cybertruck appeared to be racing a Lamborghini Urus before the driver lost control. “The Cybertruck was racing a Lamborghini Urus, and the Cybertruck lost control and hit every single car,” he said.
At this stage, local authorities haven’t released any information on the crash, the cause, or the charges that the Cybertruck driver could be facing. Fortunately, it appears that no one was injured in the incident, which may be the only silver lining in an otherwise costly and chaotic scene.
A new Xiaomi YU7 Max’s brakes caught fire on track, reaching over 600°C under heavy use.
The brand says organic materials in the pads ignited, but braking function remained intact.
The SUV reportedly wasn’t using regenerative braking, increasing strain on friction brakes.
Things are looking pretty bright for Xiaomi these days, but even a hot streak hits a bump now and then. Fresh off an impressive Nürburgring showing by the SU7and a hefty 289,000 pre-orders for its upcoming SUV, the YU7, the company now finds itself doing a little damage control.
This time, it’s about a different kind of heat; specifically, the kind coming off the YU7 Max’s brakes during a track test for the media that raised a few eyebrows. Here’s a quick look at what happened and how Xiaomi is responding.
Last Friday, a video of a YU7 Max in a race track pit lane with brakes on fire surfaced. That’s not a great situation since this is the brand’s high-end super SUV that makes 682 horsepower (691 kW) and 639 lb-ft (866 Nm) of torque from a dual-motor setup. Naturally, this provides plenty of oomph, but it must be accompanied by great brakes, because inevitably you also need to slow down or come to a halt at some point, right?
In the video, we see technicians standing inches away from the open flame on a caliper as one measures the temperature. According to the device he’s using, the brake pads were sitting at 619 degrees Celsius. That’s 1,146 degrees Fahrenheit, or just 50 or so degrees shy of where aluminum begins to melt.
Notably, these flames aren’t the same type that we’ve seen in the past from supercars sporting carbon ceramic setups. Instead, Xiaomi’s statement toCarNewsChinaclarifies that these brakes caught on fire due to organic materials in the low-metallic pads.
Evidently, this is totally normal when the brakes exceed 600 degrees Celsius (1,112 F) and supposedly, it’s no big deal here because they continued to function properly.
In addition, it’s worth noting that Xiaomi says the car in question wasn’t using its regenerative brakes properly. The YU7 Max has a ‘Master Mode’ with ‘Enhanced Energy Recovery.’ When using that system, the friction brakes don’t have to do as much work since the regen can provide up to 0.2G of braking force.
Instead, it seems that this YU7 was relying solely on the friction brakes. Given that it weighs some 2.3 tons, it’s no wonder the brakes were pushed to their outer limits.
Interestingly, this situation seems separate from the major brake failure seen on other Xiaomi cars. In cases from late last year, two different SU7 sedans had major crashes when their brakes failed completely. Those instances appear related to brake components not intended for track use at all. In contrast, the pads and rotors on the YU7 in this new video are up to the task.
The owner of this Lucid Air says the phone app, key fob, or key card can’t open the car.
Some fellow owners suspect that the EV’s 12-volt battery may have been drained.
What could have been a simple fix in most other cars is anything but in the complex EV.
The Lucid Air has earned its reputation as one of the best electric vehicles on the market, blending luxury, performance, and efficiency in a way that few EVs can match, especially outside of China. However, as is the case with most modern cars, the Air is basically a high-tech gadget on wheels, and like any laptop or smartphone these days, it comes with its fair share of tech troubles.
To make matters worse, getting a Lucid technician to fix a stranded Air seems to be more difficult than contacting tech support to help you troubleshoot your (much cheaper) phone.
A Familiar EV Saga
Recently, a member of the Lucid Owners Club on Facebook shared the saga of his Air GT, the flagship variant of the EV that starts at $110,000. According to the owner, “We have been locked out of our Lucid GT since Monday evening. Have tried phone, fob and Key Card”. And, of course, the issues don’t end there.
The owner pointed out that he’s been in contact with customer service from Lucid and they’ve tried, and failed, to get access to the car remotely. Apparently, they couldn’t connect to it or get it to wake up. That’s annoying, but it may not seem like the end of the world, right? Lucid should be able to get the car towed and fixed quickly, right? Wrong.
According to the owner, the local Minneapolis mobile service tech was on vacation until the following week, so they aren’t around to try and remedy the non-responsive Air. Not all hope is lost, however.
“Lucid has gotten in contact with me and we have tried everything but jumping 12v,” the owner added in the comments. “They are having towed to a partner collision center and it sounds like they will try to jump it. If that doesn’t work, we will see what happens.
If it doesn’t, the owner may be left without the golf clubs he so desperately needs by Saturday. What a predicament…
Are Modern Cars Too Complicated For Their Own Good?
Jokes aside, the issue does raise an interesting question: are cars too complicated nowadays? Do they feature too many fancy electronics that can go wrong, potentially leaving owners stranded like this? Without even a physical key slot for emergency cases, it appears this Air is useless if the 12-volt battery runs flat.
It’s not just Lucid, of course. Just earlier this week, Ford had to recall nearly 200,000 Mustang Mach-E EVs in the U.S. and another 100,000 overseas due to a problem where the doors could get stuck if the 12-volt battery fails.
Call us old-fashioned, but this would never happen with a good ol’ internal combustion engine vehicle. In the past, you’d simply jump-start the car or swap out the battery, and off you’d go. Sure, every new technology has growing pains, and it’s only fair to give automakers time to work out the bugs. Electric vehicles are still relatively new, and there’s a learning curve. The truth is, the tech has made incredible strides in just a few short years.
Nevertheless, most end users expect everything to run smoothly and glitches to be fixed in heartbeat, especially if they’ve paid big money in the first place. Otherwise, they may lose their patience and steer clear of EVs until they’re damn good and ready.
Volvo just recalled over 11,500 cars because their braking software might not be right.
The automaker has advised owners to stop using one-pedal driving until further notice.
Thankfully, an over-the-air software update will resolve the issue for affected vehicles.
Update: While Volvo hasn’t specified the exact number of cars affected, they did send us a statement confirming that “the software remedy has been rolled out to compatible cars via over-the-air update and is also available through retailer workshops.” The spokesperson further added, “We are asking customers who have not yet had the corrective software installed in their cars to avoid selecting ‘B’ mode or One Pedal Drive while driving.”
Regenerative braking is a vital technology for EVs and PHEVs. Without it, they’d have a significantly lower range. The entire driving experience would be different since it enables B-mode and one-pedal driving. Now, 11,469 Volvo owners are finding out what that’s like to live with. The automaker just issued a warning to stop driving with either of those modes until it sorts out a braking issue.
The new recall, number 25V392000, includes several models from 2020-2026, including the S60, V60, S90, XC60, XC90, XC40, EX40, EC40, and C40. Those running software 3.5.14 might have issues with their brake control module. Specifically, they might experience a loss of braking functionality. While that sounds bad, there are two sides to this story.
According to Volvo, the issue seems to only pop up after “coasting downhill for at least 1 minute and 40 seconds.” It would be rare to do that on the vast majority of roads. One would likely be descending a mountain or dropping into a valley on a long highway.
But the big issue is what happens if it does occur. The automaker warns, “If the situation occurs, pressing the brake pedal may remove braking functionality entirely.” Clearly, that’s about the worst possible scenario.
Notably, Volvo didn’t provide a chronology report to explain how it heard about this situation, what it did in the aftermath, and how it decided to conduct a recall. Because of that, we’re missing a lot of vital information about how this all came about.
The NHTSA does require Volvo to produce that report, but it simply isn’t available yet. We do know that Volvo plans to fix all of these cars via a software update over the air. It’ll notify owners by August 6, and dealers already know about the situation.
Interestingly, this recall might actually be a bit bigger than 11,469 units. In a different piece of paperwork filed with the NHTSA, Volvo says that the recall includes 14,014 cars. We’ve reached out to the NHTSA to see why the figures are different. We’ll report back here if we learn the cause of that difference.
A train struck a Tesla Model 3 in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, June 14.
The driver reportedly claimed the car was in Full Self-Driving mode and actively caused the incident.
A specialty tow rig retrieved the car from the tracks without further visible damage.
Imagine setting your semi-autonomous vehicle to take the wheel, only to have it veer off the road and onto active train tracks. At least that’s what one Tesla Model 3 driver claims happened during an early morning drive. While everyone inside the car escaped unharmed, the driver wasted no time pointing fingers at the car’s Full Self-Driving system after the incident.
Western Berks Fire Commissioner Jared Renshaw told local news outlet WFMZ that the car, “Went down the tracks approximately 40-50 feet.” According to the driver’s account, the Tesla apparently mistook the train tracks for a road and followed them as if that were a normal route. Renshaw added that the driver claimed the vehicle was in Full Self-Driving mode at the time.
A Close Call with a Passing Train
The incident occurred around 5:30 a.m., and just minutes later, a train passed by and clipped the Tesla’s mirror. Fortunately, by that point, all occupants were out of the vehicle and in a safe location. Even so, the track had to be temporarily shut down to allow crews to remove the car without risking further incidents.
According to Spitlers Garage and Towing, which posted photos of the recovery on its Facebook page, a specialized rig was needed to handle the job. The team there used a rotating crane to lift and extract the Model 3 without additional damage. Based on photos from the scene, it wouldn’t be too surprising if the Tesla managed to drive away.
Plenty of Questions, Not a Lot of Answers
Photos Spitlers Garage & Towing’s / Facebook
It’s important to note here that there are a great many details missing from this account.For starters, there are no direct quotes or context from the driver. While FSD is certainly failable, it would be very strange for it to do what the driver alleges. Not only would it have to disregard the GPS coordinates of the road itself, but it would also call into question what the driver was doing.
Did they not think to stop the car when it started to go around the train barrier? Why not hit the brakes when it first turned onto the train tracks? Why wait til it was several yards down the track?
Also, don’t forget that Tesla doesn’t market Full Self-Driving as an autonomous chauffeur. It markets it as a supervised system, one that still needs a human behind the wheel, paying attention. Here’s what Tesla’s own manual says:
“Like other Autopilot features, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) requires a fully attentive driver and will display a series of escalating warnings requiring driver response. You must keep your hands on the steering wheel while Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is engaged.While Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is engaged, the cabin camera monitors driver attentiveness (see Driver Attentiveness).“
There are just too many questions here to blindly believe that this was completely the result of Full Self-Driving on its own. We’ve reached out to Commissioner Renshaw for additional details and will update you here if we hear back.
Hundreds of Tesla EVs are parked at a former mall lot with no clear timeline.
Tesla is leasing the space for 16 months due to dealership storage limitations.
Aerial and street images show the lot filled with EVs as far back as 2023.
Every big automaker wants to see its cars filling parking lots across the world. The way Tesla is going about it in Westchester, Missouri, isn’t exactly what we mean, though. The company rented out a lot to stash extra cars more than a year ago. The rent’s still being paid, and the cars are still piling up.
This isn’t just a few rows of overflow inventory. We’re talking hundreds of Teslas crammed into the long-shuttered parking lot of the old Chesterfield Mall. That location is about three miles from a nearby Tesla dealership, which simply doesn’t have the physical space to hold them all.
“Tesla has a short-term lease to park Tesla cars at Chesterfield Mall. We relocated them to the Dillard’s parcel when we started mall demolition,” said Tim Lowe, senior vice president of leasing and development for The Staenberg Group, speaking to Fox 2. As it stands, Tesla is only six months into a 16-month lease, meaning this lot will remain a makeshift storage yard for at least another ten months.
Storing unsold cars off-site isn’t a new move for Tesla. The company does this from time to time and from place to place. We’ve seen it in Florida, where dozens of cars ended up vandalized. More recently, Tesla got in hot water over doing it in Detroit, where it’s against city code.
There’s a decent chance that all of this has been going on a lot longer than just a year. A Google Maps Street View image labeled ‘June 2023’ shows the lot already housing plenty of Teslas. A transport truck is also in the image with six Teslas on board and its ramps down. While it might look like an episode of a modernized Stepford Wives, the underlying cause could be more troubling.
Most major automakers keep a large supply of finished cars ready to go to dealers. Tesla is no different in that sense. Where things get hairy is about customer demand. It’s no secret that the brand is struggling to keep pace with where sales were last year.
Total income for the first quarter dropped 71 percent, and April didn’t offer much relief. U.S. sales for the month fell 16 percent, a sharp contrast to the broader EV market, which dipped just 4.4 percent over the same period.
If demand keeps sliding, the real question isn’t just how long these parking lots will stay full, but what Tesla plans to do with all those unsold cars once the lease runs out.
Tesla is offering a Model Y to the winner of its fan-made commercial contest.
Participants must upload their ads to YouTube and tag Tesla on social media.
The contest is open globally with region-specific prizes like Tesla Shop Credits.
Tesla has long shunned traditional forms of advertising, and for most of the past decade, this approach has worked out well for them. Thanks to Tesla’s often fanatical owners, the power of word of mouth helped them become from a fledgling EV startup to the world’s leading EV brand and comfortably the most valuable car company on the planet.
But the past year has thrown Tesla a few curveballs, and now it looks like the company is trying to claw its way back into the public’s good graces.
Enter TeslaVision Content
To help reinvigorate interest in the brand, Tesla has announced the ‘TeslaVision Content.’ It’s been launched eight years after the original video contest, where Tesla owners were tasked with creating a homemade commercial. The original contest was won by Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD on YouTube.
According to Tesla, the new contest has been created to celebrate the global rollout of the new Model Y. Owners and fans can submit a video that is 90 seconds or less, “showing how Tesla vehicles give you more in your life – more freedom, more safety, more fun, more convenience.”
Prizes Galore… But Mostly for North America
The winner of the grand prize in North America will walk away with a brand new Tesla Model Y as well as an all-expenses-paid trip to the Gigafactory in Texas. The 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive a free trip to the same factory and enjoy a private tour. There are different prizes in other markets. For example, for anyone living in Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, the grand prize is $830 in Tesla Shop Credits.
In Australia, the best fan-made commercial will get a trip to Tesla’s Gigafactory and enjoy a Cybertruck and Full-Self Driving experience. The 2nd place prize is a 2-day Model Y loan and 2 nights’ accommodation at a selected Tesla Destination Charging location. Yes, that’s a real prize. The pleasure of staying at a charging station.
The reason behind the contest is obvious: free promotion. All participants must upload their commercial to YouTube. Additionally, they need to make posts on X and Instagram, tagging Tesla and the words ‘TeslaVision contest.’
The clock’s ticking. All submissions must be in by July 17, with winners announced by August 16. Get creative, because Tesla is counting on you to sell their cars for them.
The passenger’s head slammed directly into the windshield during the acceleration run.
The driver was trying to mimic a viral video featuring a Porsche 911 posted last week.
Just because you see something funny or interesting online, that doesn’t mean you should try to copy it. The occupants of a Tesla Model X Plaid have learned that the hard way while trying to replicate a video featuring a Porsche 911 Turbo S went awry. Thankfully for all of us, the fail was caught on film and shared online for our viewing pleasure.
Last week, the owner of a Porsche 911 Turbo S shared a viral video on Instagram that demonstrates how quickly the flagship sports car launches off the line. In the clip, the owner’s young son is pinned so forcefully into the backrest of the passenger seat that he’s able to lift up his legs, essentially floating as the Porsche picks up speed.
While viewers were quick (and rightfully) to criticize the father for not securing his kid with a seatbelt, the internet still ate it up, as the post has racked up over 12 million likes. Go figure.
A Copycat Stunt Goes Predictably Wrong
Eager to replicate this clip, inevitably in an attempt to go viral, two men in a Model X Plaid had the amazing idea of doing the same. But it seems as though they completely forgot about the EV’s regenerative braking. The result? The passenger ends up smashing their head into the windshield.
Like the Porsche, the Model X Plaid can accelerate quickly enough to pin the passenger into the seat, allowing him to briefly lift up his legs. However, as soon as the driver lets off the throttle, the passenger goes flying forward and his head smashes into the windshield when the SUV starts to brake. His head hit the glass so hard that it shattered, and in all likelihood, he was probably left with a hefty concussion.
Making things even worse for the occupants is that the Model X’s windshield is particularly expensive to replace as it stretches much further back than a typical one, roughly in line with the front headrests.
So what did we learn? Seatbelts matter. Regenerative braking is not your friend in stunts like these. And above all, trying to go viral by copying strangers on the internet is a fantastic way to end up with a busted windshield and a CT scan. Watch the original Porsche video for entertainment, not inspiration.
Waymo halted LA operations after several robotaxis were vandalized and set on fire.
Anti-ICE messages were spray-painted on the autonomous vehicles before being destroyed.
A Cybertruck with anti-ICE slogans was seen circling the protest area waving a large flag.
Several robotaxis operated by Waymo in Los Angeles have been torched by protestors as the National Guard arrived in the city. While locals have the right to protest, there’s no need to set Waymo vehicles on fire, simply as a means to vent their frustrations against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Footage shared to social media shows at least five Waymo vehicles vandalized by protestors in recent days, before being smashed and set alight. The attacks forced the self-driving division of Alphabet to pause its services in the city.
According to the LA Times, protestors descended on an area of Los Angeles Street at approximately 5 p.m. on Sunday. They proceeded to slash the tires, smash the windows, and tag them with anti-ICE messages. At least one protester is believed to have used a makeshift flamethrower to set the interior of one of the Waymo robotaxis on fire.
Local police were forced to respond and had to close Los Angeles Street north of Arcadia and south of Alameda streets, declaring it an unlawful assembly. Not only is intentionally setting EVs on fire stupid, but it’s also dangerous, as burning batteries can release toxic fumes, including hydrogen fluoride.
Waymo responded to the incident in a statement to CBS News, saying it didn’t believe its vehicles were deliberately targeted but rather were “present during the protests.” That may be true, but it doesn’t exactly offer much comfort when your AI-powered fleet ends up as kindling during civil unrest.
This is not the first time that Waymo’s fleet of robotaxis has been targeted. In early 2024, a wild mob in San Francisco attacked one of the company’s Jaguar I-Pace models, setting it on fire.
The chaotic scenes across Los Angeles didn’t just lead to the destruction of several Waymo vehicles. Over the weekend, a blacked-out Tesla Cybertruck was filmed driving in circles at a major LA intersection, as seen in a video shared on Reddit. The EV was waving a large Mexican flag and had anti-ICE messages sprayed on both sides. It hasn’t been confirmed whether the truck was stolen, borrowed, or part of a performance protest, but it certainly added to the surreal tone of the weekend.
A Tesla with FSD engaged hit a chicken but the truck never acknowledged the impact.
FSD appears to struggle spotting smaller animals and other similar roadside objects.
At times, the system surprisingly detects and reacts well to similar obstacles nearby.
Sometimes, a chicken just wants to cross the road. And sometimes, Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) tech reminds us that it’s still learning how to deal with that. The system is supposed to improve over time by using real-world driving data, gradually getting better at recognizing and responding to everything from traffic lights to pedestrians. But based on a new video, it still struggles with, well, birds.
According to the original poster over at the Cybertruckownersclub forums, the incident happened as he was doing around 45 mph with traffic behind him. The footage shows a chicken literally trying to cross the road (yes, really). The bird takes off, but appears to miscalculate the truck’s speed. It’s tough to say with complete certainty, but it appears as though the bird didn’t make it.
All of you animal lovers get a tiny hint of hope here, too. The driver says, “Could not feel the impact. I don’t recall even hearing a thud!” So maybe, just maybe, this foul managed to avoid an untimely fate. It almost certainly hit the windshield at the very least. What’s curious, though, is that FSD evidently didn’t even notice the impact. This brings up a good question. Shouldn’t the vehicle register an event like this?
Cybertruckownersclub
Turns out, small animals might be a blind spot for FSD. Another person responded in the thread about a recent encounter with an Owl. “A few weeks ago I was FSDing on a rural road at 45 MPH and had to slam on the brakes for a cute owl feasting on a rodent in the middle of the road,” they say. Sure enough, they backed it up with video. They’re not alone either, others report similar findings where the vehicle just didn’t react.
Cybertruckownersclub
Still, it’s not all bad news. One user shared a video showing their Cybertruck successfully stopping for a Canadian Goose standing in the middle of the lane. Interestingly, the goose looked a lot like typical road damage, blending into the pavement just enough to confuse a less attentive system. Yet in this case, FSD recognized the obstacle and slowed the truck down.
That’s encouraging, especially compared to other moments where the system didn’t react at all. Situations like this continue to highlight where lidar or radar might still offer real advantages. Until then, birds may want to reconsider their flight paths, or at the very least, remember to look both ways.
New York City’s mayor says he wants to restrict electric pedal cycles to 15 mph.
Eric Adams’ move comes after residents complained of e-bikes going too fast.
The city previously capped e-bikes at 25 mph and stand-up e-scooters at 15 mph.
The electric mobility industry is booming, and so are the sectors now relying on it, including urban deliveries. But New York City’s mayor says things have gotten out of control and wants to introduce a tough speed limit for e-bikes to cut down on accidents.
Mayor Eric Adams is proposing a 15 mph (24 km/h) speed limit for electrically-assisted pedal cycles in response to pleas from NYC residents worried about fast-moving bikes which often end up traveling where pedestrians are walking. That’s just over half the 28 mph (45 km/h) sprinter Usain Bolt reached when running the 100m.
“I’ve heard it in every neighborhood: New Yorkers are worried about e-bikes flying by and putting their families and children at risk,” Adams said in on X.
“Enough is enough. We will soon be implementing a 15 mph speed limit on e-bikes, so pedestrians AND riders can be safe on our streets.”
New York legislators already have regulations in place restricting e-scooters to 15 mph, but e-bikes were capped at 25 mph (40 km/h). The proposal would give both devices the same speed limit, one that broadly matches the rules in place in the European Union.
Scooters and bikes are restricted to 15.5 mph (25 km/h) in the EU and bikes aren’t allowed to have electric motors making more than 250 W. Adams hasn’t mentioned wanting to introduce any kind of power restriction to New York, and although it won’t be difficult to apply the planned speed limits to new bikes, it’s unclear how it can be policed on existing bikes.
The mayor also claimed the city is exploring adding more physical safety measures in its parks to protect both pedestrians and e-bike riders and he called on council members to get behind his plan to introduce a license for delivery operators that he says could reduce crashes and battery fires.
That proposal, part of his Department of Sustainable Delivery initiative, has been sitting idle in the City Council for nine months. Still, his administration has pushed forward with infrastructure upgrades, adding nearly 88 miles (142 km) of new protected bike lanes and updating another 20 miles (32 km) of existing routes.
I’ve heard it in every neighborhood: New Yorkers are worried about e-bikes flying by and putting their families and children at risk.
Enough is enough.
We will soon be implementing a 15-MPH speed limit on e-bikes, so pedestrians AND riders can be safe on our streets. pic.twitter.com/VMy9Xiy3T2
A 2023 fatal crash in Arizona is linked to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software system.
The incident raises questions about Tesla’s vision-only autonomous driving strategy.
It coincides with Tesla’s Robotaxi push and sparks concerns over autonomous readiness.
When tech collides with the real world, the consequences are rarely theoretical. In late 2023, a tragic accident happened in Arizona. Of 40,901 traffic fatalities that year, it was unique. It was the only one that involved a pedestrian and a Tesla reportedly running on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) mode. Now, as Tesla begins its Robotaxi launch in Austin, it’s raising questions about safety now and in the future.
The accident happened in November of that year when Johna Story, a 71-year-old grandmother, was pulled over on the interstate. She was stopped in an effort to help others who had already been in an earlier accident. Video from the Tesla shows that the roadway leading up to the crash was obscured by direct sunlight on the horizon.
That said, the video obtained by Bloomberg of the crash does show warning signs that something was wrong. While the roadway is impossible to see, the car in the right lane slows down. Other vehicles are parked on the right shoulder. A bystander was waving their hands for traffic to slow down.
Before he knew it, Tesla driver Karl Stock was veering left, then back toward the road before hitting a parked Toyota 4Runner and Story head-on. She passed away at the scene. “Sorry everything happened so fast,” Stock wrote in a witness statement for police. “There were cars stopped in front of me and by the time I saw them, I had no place to go to avoid them.”
Notably, Bloomberg claims that FSD was engaged at the time of the accident. “He [Stock] had engaged what the carmaker calls Full Self-Driving, or FSD,” the report claims. This isn’t substantiated by the police report. Neither the reporting officers nor Stock mentions FSD, Autopilot, or any sort of cruise control or autonomous system. That said, it’s possible that the publication gained access to the non-public NHTSA crash report and that more data is available there.
Vision Vs. Lidar & Radar
Ultimately, crashes like this highlight what seems like the most obvious concern for Tesla’s FSD. Vision-based systems aren’t wildly dissimilar from the way that humans perceive the road. That means that when humans struggle to see the roadway ahead, as is the case with bright sunlight on the horizon, or in smoke-filled or foggy conditions, vision-based systems can struggle too.
As mentioned, it seems unclear when exactly FSD was engaged and when it wasn’t. That said, even if the system disengaged in time for Stock to avoid the crash, it’s unclear how he would’ve seen what was coming to do so. In fact, this crash and others like it, albeit without additional fatalities, led the NHTSA to kick off an investigation into FSD that is still ongoing.
“A Tesla vehicle experienced a crash after entering an area of reduced roadway visibility conditions with FSD -Beta or FSD -Supervised (collectively, FSD) engaged. In these crashes, the reduced roadway visibility arose from conditions such as sun glare, fog, or airborne dust,” the investigation called out.
On the flip side, systems that rely on radar or lidar can ‘see’ beyond fog, light glare, and smoke. They can pick up on obstacles that vision-based systems sometimes have real trouble with. In this case, a lidar-equipped system could’ve potentially alerted Stock to the stopped obstacles. That doesn’t make them perfect.
Cruise famously shut down after billions worth of investment because of crashes. Those cars all used radar and lidar and still failed. All of that said, it’s still a bit of a wonder as to why Tesla and its CEO, Elon Musk, are so staunch in their use of vision-only systems. Only time will tell if that changes.
The Robot Elephant In The Room
We might learn sooner rather than later whether or not Tesla sticks with its vision-only system. The automaker is already testing robotaxis and driverless cars and is set to expand that this month in Austin, Texas. Musk has promised that the program will expand throughout the year and that Level 5 autonomous driving is coming soon.
Of course, Tesla has continually improved FSD over the years. It’s a dramatically more capable system than it was in 2023 but it still has some major issues. Just a few weeks ago, a Tesla, reportedly with FSD engaged, crashed on an open road with no obstacles, no visual queues, or any other explicable reasoning. We’ve yet to confirm the details, but in the video, the car literally drove off of the road and into a tree at around 55 mph. These two crashes are things that Tesla’s Robotaxis cannot do if the automaker ever wants them to be mainstream. For now, there’s little more to do than to wait and see what happens.
— Jaan of the EVwire.com ⚡ (@TheEVuniverse) June 4, 2025
The automaker is famous for its lack of a PR department [until it really wants to get a message out]. That said, it does sometimes speak about why it continues to push for Autopilot and FSD usage among its customers.
Two years ago, when it recalled over a million cars, it said, “We at Tesla believe that we have a moral obligation to continue improving our already best-in-class safety systems. At the same time, we also believe it is morally indefensible not to make these systems available to a wider set of consumers, given the incontrovertible data that shows it is saving lives and preventing injury.”
While Tesla is notoriously opaque about the safety data it gathers, it does claim that its cars are safer on average than human drivers. Since third parties don’t have full access to that data to validate it, it’s hard to simply accept those claims. Nevertheless, if they’re accurate, Tesla has a point. At the end of the day, nobody in this equation wants to risk lives. The question is, which route is the safest, not just in the future, but right now?
Edmunds recently experienced unintended acceleration in its Charger Daytona test vehicle.
Similar issues have been reported online, prompting a response from automaker Stellantis.
It says this is a ‘drive-by-brake’ safety feature that has been on combustion cars for years.
For most folks, a car that accelerates on its own is a dangerous proposition. Just ask Toyota — those unintended acceleration headlines weren’t exactly a PR dream. According to Stellantis, though, that’s a meticulously engineered safety feature. It just happens to be one that we haven’t really heard about before today.
In fact, it only entered the spotlight after Edmunds experienced the issue firsthand with its Dodge Charger Daytona long-term tester, which began picking up speed without the driver’s input.
To put things lightly, the launch of the Charger Daytona hasn’t gone as well as Stellantis might have hoped. That said, it’s still a vehicle worthy of testing and reviewing, and that’s why Edmunds has one. What they likely never expected was that it would speed up on its own one day.
An Unexpected Moment
According to the tester who was behind the wheel at the time, things went sideways almost immediately:
“I was pulling out onto a thoroughfare street from a strip mall parking lot when warning lights appeared on the Charger’s instrument panel for the stability control, frontal collision warning system, regenerative braking, and more. There was also a short-lived message — it might have been something about the forward collision warning system — and that the car would be in low power mode. This wasn’t good. I could tell something was wrong because the car accelerated sluggishly.
Once up to speed, the Charger did the thing we’re all here to talk about. It kept accelerating even after the driver lifted their foot off of the pedal. That’s weird in any car, but even stranger in an EV, where regenerative braking usually slows the car down faster than in a combustion car.
According to the driver, this wasn’t rapid acceleration, but more akin to the speed one typically gains in an automatic car when letting off of the brakes from a dead stop. Except, rather than only being capable of picking up a little speed, it managed to add around one mile per hour each second that the brakes weren’t applied. That said, the brakes did work, albeit with more force necessary (according to the driver) than normal.
“I let the car accelerate by itself as a test. It reached about 45 mph before I had to apply the brakes again for another stop sign. That was enough. Using the time-tested fix for all things tech. I pulled off onto a side street from the stop sign and parked. Fortunately, the acceleration stopped when I put the transmission in Park.”
For its part, Stellantis says that this is the way it’s designed, but we’ll circle back to that. First, it’s important to point out that Edmunds isn’t alone. Thomas Hundal over at The Autopian compiled a list of similar instances documented online.
That included one complaint directly to the NHTSA, where a driver claimed that the car sped up even after they were off the accelerator. They finished their complaint with an important detail. “I regained control using the brake alone.” When confronted with this evidence, Stellantis responded, and the statement it gave was a whopper.
All Of This Is Intentional, Says Stellantis
Here’s the statement in full before we break it down a little.
“In the rare event of an accelerator pedal fault, Stellantis has implemented a ‘drive-by-brake’ safety feature, which allows the driver to control speed through the brake pedal. In this instance, the feature worked as intended, and the driver was able to safely maneuver the vehicle off the road. This feature has been in Stellaris internal combustion engine vehicles for many years and has been carried over to battery electric vehicles.”
That’s right, folks, nothing to see here. “The feature worked as intended.” This is especially gobsmacking because the car doesn’t tell the driver what is happening. It doesn’t alert drivers to, you know, drive via the brake pedal. Of course, many electric cars now feature one pedal driving, but those ones use active regenerative braking to slow down when no input is provided.
It seems that the Charger Daytona is fitted with technology that does the exact opposite. It’s worth noting that while Stellantis says this is a feature carried over from combustion cars, we can’t find any examples of it. There’s no mention of it in past press releases, owner’s manuals, or any other documentation we’ve checked up until now, though we’re still digging, and if anything turns up, we’ll update the story.
For now, at least, several outlets are trying to get the word out to Charger Daytona owners that if their cars accelerate when they don’t expect it, it’s totally normal. Honestly, this doesn’t sound like a totally terrible feature so long as owners know what to expect and when to expect it. We’ve reached out to Stellantis in hopes of learning more about the situation. If we hear back, we’ll update you here.
The EVs were driven off a train at GM’s Factory Zero plant, but didn’t get very far.
It appears both Hummers lost their tires while driving on the train tracks.
There’s no indication as to how the thieves managed to get into the train.
Sometimes ambition outpaces planning, and nowhere is that more obvious than in the story of two would-be car thieves who bit off way more than they could boost.
In Detroit last month, a pair of would-be car thieves tried their luck with two brand-new GMC Hummer EVs, and let’s just say, it didn’t exactly go as planned. While most car thieves stick to dealership lots in search of easy targets, this crew aimed higher. They went straight to the source: GM’s Factory Zero plant in Detroit. Maybe it was the irresistible lure of that fresh-off-the-assembly-line smell, but for whatever reason, they decided to swipe the EVs directly from a train.
There is no word on how they managed to gain entry to the GM plant, let alone access the train yard on site, but somehow, they succeeded. After entering the train yard, they were able to open the doors to one of the trains and attempted to drive off in two Hummer EVs. Presumably, the duo was left unlocked and had the keys inside.
We don’t have any security camera footage, but we do have a clip that shows the aftermath of the failed theft. One of the Hummers, finished in black, can be seen stranded on the train tracks after it appears that the passenger-side front tire was ripped off the wheel.
Train Hopping, Minus the Grace
Meanwhile, the second GMC didn’t even make it off the train. It appears that the thieves attempted to simply drive the EVs off the edge of the train, without using any ramps. The silver model appears to have slammed down into the tracks, and once again, a tire was ripped from the wheel. It has also suffered extensive damage to the front fascia and some damage to the rear quarter panels as well.
According to The Metro Detroit News, the incident is being investigated, but it doesn’t appear as though any arrests have been made at this stage.
New Jersey canceled Tesla’s charging contract on the Turnpike with little public explanation.
Applegreen was selected despite having far fewer charging stations and higher electricity rates.
Tesla added 116 off-Turnpike chargers and remains open to negotiations with state officials.
Electric vehicle drivers in New Jersey may want to rethink their charging routines. A major shakeup is underway on the New Jersey Turnpike, and it involves the one company that’s basically synonymous with EV charging.
The state’s Turnpike authority isn’t renewing a contract with Tesla but is instead going to employ chargers from Applegreen. The move could prove more costly and trialsome for New Jersey residents, but Tesla appears ready for anything.
The automaker, rather than the state, actually announced the change on Friday. “The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (“NJTA”) has chosen a sole third-party charging provider to serve the New Jersey Turnpike and is not allowing us to co-locate. As a result, NJTA requested 64 existing Supercharger stalls on the New Jersey Turnpike to not be renewed and be decommissioned,” it said in a statement on X.
A Smaller Network With Higher Prices
It went on to claim that it offered the state “above-market commercial terms” and access for all EVs to keep the contract going. It would’ve built more stations and upgraded existing ones with screens and CCS1 ‘magic docks’ as well. For whatever reason, the state said no and instead went with Applegreen for the foreseeable future. That’s a fascinating decision since Applegreen’s network is almost comically smaller than Tesla’s.
At present, in the USA, it only serves a few states like New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In New Jersey, it has only a few stations installed. Elon Musk went as far as to posit that “corruption” played a part in the decision. Even after it finishes installing the chargers it plans to put in place, things might be worse off for most drivers.
Notably, a little number crunching from InsideEVs suggests that this won’t help consumers. “Superchargers along the NJ Turnpike range from $0.20 to $0.45 per kWh, depending on the time of day. Applegreen, on the other hand, varies from $0.35 to $0.59,” it found.
If those figures hold, drivers could end up paying more to power their cars than they did before. It’s possible the state stands to gain more financially under the new arrangement, though no public statements have been made by the NJTA to confirm or clarify that.
Tesla Already Moving On
All of that said, Tesla says it knew this was a potential outcome and has already supplemented the decommissioning of 64 charging bays with the creation of 116 stalls off of the turnpike. Interestingly, this might not be how the story ends. Tesla says it’s willing to return to the negotiating table should NJ authorities change their tune.
“We are still willing to invest in New Jersey Turnpike sites if the NJTA or Governor Murphy decide to reverse this decision. Otherwise, we will continue expanding the best charging infrastructure off the Turnpike to serve EV drivers in New Jersey,” the automaker said. In a part of the world where charging infrastructure isn’t exactly super-reliable, this could be a step in the wrong direction. Only time will tell.
Tesla’s repair quote for a minor Model Y incident could leave drivers with a hefty bill.
Insurance claims may raise premiums, making out-of-pocket repairs a better option.
DIY repairs or independent shops may offer cheaper alternatives to Tesla’s pricing.
We can all agree that this Tesla Model Y has certainly seen better days. After the driver hit a bright yellow bollard in a parking lot, the passenger-side rear door has been dented and scratched. The plastic fender? Completely ripped off. Oh, and there are some scratches on the rear quarter panel too.
But in the grand scheme of things, it’s not catastrophic damage, just a bit of a rough day for the car. So, naturally, Tesla quoted a repair bill of $11,671, which has understandably left the owner with a few more scratches, this time, on his head.
It’s no secret that car repairs have gotten a lot more expensive in 2025 compared to a decade ago, even more so when it comes to EVs. This helps explain why insurance companies are quick to total cars over what seems like minimal damage. Still, the quoted price for this repair is nothing short of insane.
Roughly half of the quoted repair is for labor, totaling $5,486 for a claimed 60.7 hours of labor, working out to be $91 an hour. Now, if you’re the owner of this Model Y, you’re probably doing the math in your head and thinking that it doesn’t look like this car needs 60 hours of labor. But the service center begs to differ.
sgrinavi/Reddit
When presented with a repair bill like this, many car owners would simply let their insurer pay for the repairs, and get on with their lives. However, doing so could cost in the long run. Writing on Reddit, the owner of the car says that if he makes an at-fault claim with his insurance, his premium will increase by $1,000 per year for the next five years. And on top of that, they’ll lose their good driver discount. Oh, and don’t forget that $1,000 deductible they’d need to cough up.
In an ideal world for the owner, the insurer would decide Tesla repair costs are too high and decide to total the car. But, that doesn’t appear likely. As such, the best option is likely for the owner to go to an independent repair shop who can replace the door, fender, and perhaps the quarter panel, likely for far less than Tesla would charge the insurer.
Or, for all the DIYers out there, there’s always the option of fixing it themselves. Used Model Y rear doors can be found for just a few hundred dollars, and a new fender shouldn’t break the bank either. Maybe it’s time to roll up your sleeves.
Farmington Hills officials are fuming over a glut of unsold Cybertrucks being stored in the city.
Tesla has been parking the EVs at a shopping center earmarked for major redevelopment.
Officials say the electric vehicles violate zoning codes and are warning the property owner.
Tesla’s Cybertruck is a big silver sales flop and that’s given the company several problems, including working out what to do with all the electric pickups it can’t sell. Some of those trucks ended up stored at a run-down mall in Farmington Hills outside of Detroit in Michigan. Unsurprisingly, local officials are not happy about it.
Dozens of Cybertrucks and some other Tesla models are currently occupying several rows of parking bays at the Hunter’s Square shopping center, Crain’s Detroit Business reports. The lot is home to a now-closed Bed, Bath and Beyond, an also-shuttered Torrid, and a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant that’s still open, and has plenty of space for the EVs. But using the land for vehicle storage is against city code.
The shopping center landlord has already been informed of the violation, according to comments made by Charmaine Kettler-Schmult, director of planning and community development for Farmington Hills, Michigan to CDB. But she admitted to reporters that the enforcement process “takes time.”
The report notes Tesla recently opened a brand new showroom close to the Hunter’s Square shopping center in West Bloomfield, which could be the source of the idled Cybertrucks. Crain’s Detroit Business reached out to both the registered owner of that site and the landlord of Hunter’s Square, which is due to get a major overhaul, but neither responded.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk once bragged of having 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck, but the much-delayed EV has failed to live up to sales expectations since its official debut in late 2023. Only 40,000 were sold last year, well short of the 250,000 Tesla predicted, according to Forbes. And recently the Cybertruck was outperformed by its more conventional-looking Ford F-150 Lightning rival.
Tesla has made moves to open up the Cybetruck’s appeal, however. In April it finally unveiled a single-motor, rear-wheel drive, entry-level model for $69,990 and buyers of other grades have been offered discounts, lease deals and free supercharging.
The YU7’s massive aluminum clamshell hood spans nearly 34 square feet in total.
Xiaomi has confirmed three versions of the SUV, with single- and dual-motor options.
Pricing for the all-electric model that rivals Tesla’s Model Y will be revealed in July.
Xiaomi clearly decided that making one of the fastest and most powerful EVs on the market wasn’t enough. Earlier this month, the company launched the long-awaited YU7, its second model and first-ever SUV, following the SU7. While it shares many design elements with the sedan, the YU7 is larger and packed with its own unique features. And, just to top it off, it also boasts the largest clamshell hood on any production car currently on the market.
New details from China reveal that the YU7’s massive clamshell hood spans a hefty 3.11 square meters (33.5 square feet or 4,820 square inches). That’s a solid jump over the Genesis G90’s impressive 2.6 square meters (28 square feet or 4,030 square inches). Just what the EV world was missing, a full-blown hood-measuring contest.
Normally, a hood as big as the YU7’s should weigh a lot. But, instead of steel, Xiaomi has made it out from aluminum and, thus, reduced its weight by half. Despite its lightweight construction, though, it still needs to be supported by a pair of massive struts just to keep it from collapsing like a flimsy lawn chair.
Beneath all that metal, the YU7 houses a 141-liter (4.9 cubic-foot) storage compartment, or “frunk” if you want to get technical. It’s not the biggest frunk in the EV world, but it’s decent enough. However, there’s a little mystery here, as it’s unclear if this is the frunk for the single, rear-wheel drive model, or if it’s also present in the two dual-motor, all-wheel drive versions.
Xiaomi / Autohome
One of the most interesting features of the YU7 is the narrow, 43.3-inch HyperVision Panoramic display that’s positioned at the base of the windshield. It includes all important car information and a multi-media screen in front of the passenger. BMW is also working on a similar panoramic display, but its solution has yet to grace a production model.
Entry-level versions of the YU7 use a 96.3 kWh battery pack. The base model pairs this battery with a 316 hp and 389 lb-ft (528 Nm) motor that drives the rear wheels, while the mid-level YU7 gets all-wheel drive thanks to its two motors producing a combined 489 hp and 509 lb-ft (690 Nm). Meanwhile, the flagship YU7 Max uses a 101.7 kWh battery and two motors with a total of 681 hp and 639 lb-ft (866 Nm). There’s no word on whether the YU7 will also get a 1,526 hp Ultra version like its sedan sibling.
The YU7 is set to launch in China this July, with Xiaomi promising to share more details at that time, including pricing and any plans for availability outside its home market.
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