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☆ The real reason Tesla may be giving free trials of its Full Self-Driving software
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tesla is offering a free monthlong trial of its Full Self-Driving software. FSD adoption could significantly increase Tesla's profit margins and improve the software. Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced on Monday that the electric carmaker would offer its US customers a free trial of the driver-assist software starting this week. "All US cars that are capable of FSD will be enabled for a one month trial this week," Musk wrote on X. Advertisement"Almost no one actually realizes how well (supervised) FSD actually works," Musk wrote in the email.

Persons: Tesla, —, Elon Musk, Musk, FSD, Brett Winton, Cathie Wood, I'm, I've Organizations: Service, Business, ARK Invest, Tesla, National, Traffic, Administration

☆ Elon Musk tells staff they must give new customers a demo of Full Self Driving mode before giving them their car
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk sent an email mandating Tesla staff give demos of Full Self-Driving mode to new customers. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . In an early morning email to staff, Musk said it was "mandatory" that staff install and activate the FSD software on the vehicle, as well as give a test drive. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, — Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Elon Musk requires 'FSD' demo for every prospective Tesla buyer in North America
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

While all new Tesla vehicles have a standard driver assistance system installed called Autopilot, the company's FSD option costs $199 per month for most customers in North America. Tesla's FSD system does not turn cars into autonomous vehicles. According to the Tesla owners' manuals, drivers must remain attentive to the road and ready to steer or brake at any time when using FSD or FSD Beta. Owners with FSD can also get access to the FSD Beta system, which allows them to test and help debug newer driver assistance features on public roads. Under pressure from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Tesla has implemented voluntary recalls to improve the safety of its Autopilot, FSD and FSD Beta systems in recent years.

Persons: Elon, Elon Musk, Musk, FSD, Tesla, Troy Teslike Organizations: Bloomberg, CNBC, Beta, National, Traffic Safety, Tesla Locations: Gruenheide, Germany, North America

☆ The Tesla Cybertruck can be difficult to maneuver, auto expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementAuto expert Sandy Munro took a Tesla Cybertruck on a mini road trip and had one main complaint — the truck can be difficult to maneuver at times. Instead, Tesla has a rearview camera that displays on the truck's massive infotainment system. The auto expert is far from the first to express frustration with backing up in the Cybertruck. "A camera feed constantly runs on the center screen, but I still checked the rearview mirror out of habit every few minutes." "You have to be cognizant all the time that this is a big truck," Munro said of the Cybertruck.

Persons: Sandy Munro, —, Tesla, Munro, I've, Pharrell Williams, Clint Simone, Edmunds, MotorTrend, Scott Evans, Marques Brownlee Organizations: Service, Ford Locations: CybertruckATX, Grand Rapids , Michigan

☆ Cybertruck engineer asks Tesla owners to please stop beating up the 'tortured' truck
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Cybertruck owners have been subjecting the vehicle to various damage tests, including shooting it. Tesla engineer Wes Morrill called for owners to stop beating up the truck on Wednesday. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementDon't be surprised if you see a brand new Cybertruck rolling around town with some bullet wounds or a cracked window. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Wes Morrill, Elon Musk, — Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Angela Chao's death comes after years of complaints to federal regulators about Tesla's reverse gear shift
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

She told a friend she often accidentally put the car in reverse instead of drive. But instead of putting the car into drive, she accidentally put it in reverse. Business Insider found 12 complaints related to the Tesla reverse function in a database of automobile consumer complaints kept by the US Department of Transportation. The other five complaints were from people who said their cars appeared to switch between drive and reverse without warning. The federal database where BI located 12 concerns about reverse shifting contained 4,228 total complaints related to Teslas.

Persons: Angela Chao, Tesla, —, Chao, they'd, Teslas, It's Organizations: Service, Street Journal, Business, US Department of Transportation, Regulators, Traffic Safety Administration, Department of Transportation, Tesla, Drivers Locations: Austin, Teslas

☆ Forget rust spots — handprints are the bigger headache for Tesla Cybertruck drivers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Some Tesla Cybertruck owners noticed their new stainless steel vehicles have small rust specks. A few months after deliveries began, some members of a Cybertruck-owners forum started complaining about rust spots on the vehicle. After all, the Cybertruck is the first stainless steel vehicle to be produced since DMC made the stainless steel DeLorean and later halted production in 1982. The extra upkeep isn't entirely unexpected for experienced Tesla owners, many of whom have taken on the role of early adopters. If Tesla hits Musk's ambitious production targets for the Cybertruck, Tesla is likely to face less forgiving buyers, automotive analyst Ivan Drury told BI.

Persons: Tesla, —, You've, Donald Green, Wes Morrill, Elon Musk, Dennis Wang, didn't, Wang, Cybertruck, Morrill, Jay Larson, Larson, Win Cramer, we're, Cramer, Ivan Drury, Green Organizations: Service, Business, Facebook, DMC, DeLorean, YouTube, BI Locations: League City , Texas, Arizona, California

☆ Where Electric Vehicles Are (and Aren’t) Taking Off Across the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Nadja Popovich | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Where Electric Vehicles Are (and Aren’t) Taking Off Across the U.S.Last year, Americans bought more than one million fully electric cars, trucks and SUVs, a record and a milestone for the country’s transition away from gas-powered vehicles. To fight climate change, the Biden administration and many state governments want to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles. experience from pretty easy and kind of hard,” said Ken Kurani, a researcher focused on electric vehicles at the University of California, Davis. Only two electric vehicles in the analysis, both made by Tesla, cost the same or less than similar gas models. But for now, “there are some very real ways in which, in comparison to conventional vehicles, electric vehicles either really are still struggling to be as good or better, or are struggling against the imagination that they’re not as good or better,” he said.

Persons: Tom Libby, Mr, Libby, “, ”, Biden, Ken Kurani, Kurani, Brittany Greeson, Philip Cheung, We’re, Tesla, “ We’re, Jessica Caldwell, Kelley, Davis Organizations: P Global Mobility, P, Pew Research Center, University of California, The New York Times, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, General Motors Locations: Florida, Texas, West Coast, California, San Francisco Bay, Los Angeles, Detroit, Bismarck, N.D, United States, Davis, Chicago, Norway, Edmunds, U.C

☆ Look closely: Tesla's video celebrating a Mustang EV using its Supercharger hides a potential pain point for other drivers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

15,000+ Tesla superchargers available for non-Teslas with an adapter starting todayOn the downside: Did you catch it? Many automakers have switched to Tesla's charging technology over the past year. Tesla's charging network is one of its biggest advantages over EV rivals — from faster and more accessible charging stations to more amenities. Non-Tesla EV owners can charge at updated Superchargers that have a Magic Dock adapter. On Thursday, Tesla opened V3 chargers to Ford owners who can use a NACS adapter supplied by Ford, according to Tesla's website.

Persons: —, Tesla, Marques Brownlee, Brownlee, ITuxtLsDju — Marques Brownlee, Elon Musk Organizations: Service, Ford, Business, Ford EV, Tech, Tesla EV, EV, — Locations: New York

☆ A Tesla Cybertruck was resold for more than twice its price
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Foundation series Cybertruck was sold at an auction for $244,500 on Wednesday — over $130,000 more than its sticker price. AdvertisementSince Tesla started deliveries of the Cybertruck on November 30, Give Me The Vin has received dozens of offers from Cybertruck owners, Wolfe said. It's not the first time Tesla owners have attempted to flip their cars. In 2022, some Tesla owners made up to $7,000 reselling their EVs. However, the resale market has been difficult for Tesla owners in recent years due to the company's recent series of price cuts.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, John Clay Wolfe, Tesla, Wolfe, We've, he's, GiveMeTheVin, Rolls Royce, It's Organizations: Service, Porsche, Cox Automotive's, Business, South Orlando, Elon, Tesla, Rolls Locations: Cox Automotive's Manheim, Dallas , Texas

☆ Cybertruck engineer addresses claims the Tesla EVs rust in the rain
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

One owner even said they'd been warned when the truck was delivered that it could rust in the rain. "The advisor specifically mentioned the Cybertrucks develop orange rust marks in the rain and that required the vehicle to be buffed out," a member of the Cybertruck Owners Club forum wrote. Stainless is reactive and free iron that sits on it will rust," the Cybertruck engineer said. Demaree said the latter method appeared to do the trick but advised Cybertruck owners to be careful using the polish on the truck. Tesla delivered its first dozen on November 30, and several celebrities have been spotted with their own Cybertrucks in the months since.

Persons: —, Wes Morrill, they'd, Morrill, Tesla, Elon Musk, Justin Demaree, Guy, he'd, Demaree, It's Organizations: Service, Business, Cybertruck Owners, Tesla, YouTube, Delorean

☆ Tesla's new update is designed to make charging in the cold less of a headache
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla's latest software feature should help prevent chargers from getting stuck in cold temperatures. Routing to a charging station now automatically warms the car's charging port in advance. AdvertisementNobody likes to drive in severe weather conditions — but for Tesla owners, cold weather can be enough to leave them stranded. Some new features in Tesla's latest software update could help. Tesla owners have long complained about issues they can run into during cold weather.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Business

☆ Some Cybertruck owners say their Teslas are starting to rust in the rain
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Some Cybertruck owners say their Tesla vehicles are developing rust spots from rain. At least two members of a Cybertruck owners' forum claim their vehicles have orange specks of rust. Cybertrucks do not have a clear coat on their stainless steel body, according to the owner's manual. AdvertisementSome Tesla owners claim their Cybertrucks are starting to rust after being caught in the rain. In a post on the Cybertruck Owners forum, a member called “Raxar” wrote that they'd collected their vehicle that day and were warned that rain could cause it to rust.

Persons: —, ”, they'd, Raxar, Vertigo3pc, Tesla, Elon Musk, Musk Organizations: Service, Delorean, ”, Mead Metals, Business

☆ Tesla owners share their tips on how to deal with extreme cold
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Grace Kay | Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewDriving an electric vehicle in the cold looks a lot different than driving a gas-powered car, but some Tesla owners — often among the most seasoned EV owners — say there are easy ways to avoid disaster. Last month, Tesla made headlines when dozens of EVs clogged a supercharging station in Chicago as Tesla owners struggled to charge in temperatures below zero degrees. AdvertisementInsider spoke with eight Tesla owners who shared some tips on how to own an EV during a bitter winter. Here's what Tesla owners say about how to deal with the cold. UCGOther Tesla owners say it's key to have a charger at home.

Persons: —, Tesla, Dennis Duncan, Leonard Zuga, he's, Zuga, I've, Richard Samuels, Nick Caracciolo, Caracciolo, Robbie Mack, Mack Organizations: Service, EV, Business, MediaNews, Orange, Register Locations: Chicago, Irvine , California, Washington, Ohio, Oregon, Canada

☆ U.S. auto safety agency upgrades probe into Tesla power steering loss
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. safety regulators have upgraded their probe into Tesla vehicles over power steering loss to an engineering analysis - a required step before the agency could demand a potential recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Friday said the investigation covers about 334,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from the 2023 model year. Some drivers reported harrowing tales of sudden power steering outages at speeds that nearly caused accidents. Some Tesla owners reported an inability to turn the steering wheel while others reported an increase in required effort. The latest recall includes vehicles across Tesla's various models, including the Model S, Model X, 2017-2023 Model 3, Model Y and 2024 Cybertruck vehicles, the NHTSA said.

Persons: Tesla, couldn't, NHTSA's, Sophie Shulman, Tesla's Cybertruck Organizations: Tesla, Traffic Safety Administration, Reuters, NHTSA, Consumer Locations: Encinitas , California, U.S, United States

☆ Tesla recalling another 2.2 million vehicles for warning lights that are too small
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Tesla is recalling 2.2 million of its vehicles on US roads because the font size of the warning lights on its display is too small, according to federal safety regulators. The recall was announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which said it discovered the problem during a routine audit of Tesla vehicles. “Warning lights with a smaller font size can make critical safety information on the instrument panel difficult to read, increasing the risk of a crash,” according to the agency’s notice. Tesla said it is not aware of any crashes or injuries caused by the problem. The problem will be fixed with an over-the-air software update that will not require Tesla owners to bring their vehicles into a Tesla service center.

Persons: New York CNN — Tesla, Tesla Organizations: New, New York CNN, National, Traffic Safety Administration, National Transportation Safety Board Locations: New York

☆ Tesla owners are peeved about an update that was meant to fix Autopilot
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewSome Tesla owners aren't too happy about a recent software update that targets the carmaker's driver-assist feature. AdvertisementAnother Tesla owner, Christian Fielden, told the Journal the update made him feel like his car was "bullying" him. The publication said it found at least 30 Tesla owners had filed complaints about the update with US automotive safety regulators. Tesla fans have also started criticizing the update on social media, with some blaming the update on safety regulators, who have been critical of Tesla's Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features. Tesla has warned that its Autopilot feature and its Full Self-Driving add-on require a licensed operator and are not a substitute for a driver.

Persons: —, Tesla, Larry Pecan, he's, Christian Fielden, Elon, @elonmusk, GtCZxtPrzu — Rodney Niya Organizations: Service, Business, Wall Street Journal, Safety

☆ It looks like Elon Musk is a bit envious of Mark Zuckerberg's control over Meta
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Musk appeared to give Tesla's board an ultimatum on Monday, saying he wants 25% voting control at Tesla or he'll stop growing AI development at the electric-car maker. One way of getting that would be via a dual-class stock structure. This isn't uncommon and could mean Musk wouldn't necessarily get more shares but that the ones he held would deliver more voting power. The company's dual-class stock structure provides Zuckerberg and select executive managers and directors with them. "Zuckerberg probably wouldn't have gone public without a dual-class structure," White said.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Musk, he's, Tesla, Zuckerberg, It's, Chester Spatt, Joshua Tyler White, doesn't, White, Ofer Eldar, Michael Dell, Anat Alon, Beck, Erik Gordon, Sam Altman's, Gordon Organizations: Service, Meta, Tesla, Business, Carnegie Mellon University, SEC, Vanderbilt, SpaceX, The Boring Company, UC Berkeley, Western Reserve University, University of Michigan's Ross School of Business Locations: Delaware, OpenAI

In frigid temperatures, it can take a half hour to warm the battery so it's ready to charge, Westlake said. Bansal, who has had her Tesla for only a week, didn't know about preconditioning the car before charging, but she does now. So she told the car she was going to the charging station and it was ready by the time she arrived and plugged in. The car, she said, will tell you where charging stations are and how much range you have left. Burney said she loses roughly 15% to 20% of her battery range in cold weather, but it gets dramatically worse in cold snaps like the one this week.

Persons: EVs, ”, Neil Dasgupta, “, Ann Arbor, Bansal's Tesla, Bansal, Bruce Westlake, Westlake, Tesla, Kim Burney's Tesla, Burney, Dasgupta Organizations: University of Michigan, University, Michigan, Bruce, Eastern Michigan Electric Vehicle Association Locations: PITTSFIELD, Mich, Chicago, Texas, Brook , Illinois, Ann Arbor , Michigan, Pittsfield Township , Michigan, Ann, Ann Arbor, Westlake

Tesla is recalling around 2 million of its vehicles in the U.S. to fix Autopilot features that auto safety regulators found to be confusing to drivers, or too easy for them to misuse and abuse. The NHTSA opened an investigation into 11 incidents involving Tesla cars where Autopilot and Autosteer were involved in 2021, a probe which ultimately led to today's voluntary recall. He hopes Tesla and NHTSA will pay special attention to roads with cross traffic, because there have been multiple fatal crashes with trucks in that situation involving Tesla vehicles with Autopilot engaged. If people need to steer, for instance, they must pay attention. The Autopilot system will still be helpful if it just does the accelerating and braking but people could not not pay attention."

Persons: Elon, Twitter —, Tesla, Autosteer, Philip Koopman, Koopman, hasn't, Erik Vinkhuyzen Organizations: SpaceX, Twitter, New York Times, National, Traffic, NHTSA, Federal Reserve, Carnegie Mellon University, CNBC, King's College London, CNBC PRO Locations: New York City, U.S

☆ Elon Musk called Tesla's Sweden strike 'insane' — now it's spreading to Denmark
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla faces a wave of strikes in Sweden, with unions calling for better pay and benefits. Elon Musk called the strikes, which have disrupted deliveries, "insane" in a post on X. Now they are spreading to Denmark, with Danish dockworkers also refusing to unload Tesla's EVs. AdvertisementTesla is embroiled in a growing battle with unions in Europe after the wave of strikes impacting the company in Sweden spread to Denmark. AdvertisementNine other Swedish unions have joined the strike in solidarity, with dockworkers refusing to unload Tesla's cars at ports and electricians refusing to repair the company's charging stations .

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk, Danish dockworkers, —, Jan Villadsen Organizations: Danish, Service, Reuters, Sweden's Transport Agency, Denmark aren't, United Auto Workers, UAW, Business Locations: Sweden, Denmark, Europe, Danish, Swedish, Sweden's

☆ The Cybertruck's lack of door handles confused its first buyers — leading Elon Musk to show them how to open the truck
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla's Cybertruck doesn't have door handles but a button along its window column. Musk first teased that the Cybertruck didn't have door handles over two years ago. Earlier prototypes of the Cybertruck appeared to have a door handle along the side of the car that would pop out similar to the Model S door handles. But Musk announced in 2021 that the vehicle wouldn't have door handles. Tesla owners have complained about the company's high-tech door handles in the past.

Persons: Tesla's, Marques Brownlee, —, Tesla, Elon, Musk, Brownlee Organizations: Service Locations: California

☆ A father-son duo took their Tesla on a 28-day road trip and slept in it every night
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Tesla owner took his 12-year-old son on a 28-day road trip. Wong said the experience was a major contrast to horror stories some have shared about EV road trips. AdvertisementWhile some EV owners have shared horror stories about taking an electric car on a road trip, other Tesla owners are bucking that narrative. Tesla owner Simon Wong told Business Insider, referencing an EV road trip where even Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he struggled to find working chargers. AdvertisementWong shared a map of the course his road trip followed.

Persons: Wong, —, Tesla, Simon Wong, Pete Buttigieg, he's, Simon Wong Wong, he'd Organizations: EV, Service, Trans, Google Locations: Canada, Montreal, Winnipeg, San Diego, Key West , Maine, Seattle, Teslas, Montana, America, Southern California, New York City

☆ Sam Altman's return to OpenAI doesn't necessarily mean a return to normalcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . In today's big story, we're looking at Sam Altman returning to the helm of OpenAI. Less than five days after his shocking ouster, Sam Altman is set to return to OpenAI as its CEO. Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella, a key figure in the past few days' drama, comes out a winner. By helping to reinstall Altman at OpenAI, he stabilizes a key piece of Microsoft's AI strategy.

Persons: —, NASA's James Webb, Sam Altman, JACK GUEZ, OpenAI, Altman, we're, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Taylor, Adam D'Angelo, Greg Brockman, OpenAI's confounder, They've, Tim Paradis, Satya Nadella, Kevin Scott, Insider's Ashley Stewart, Julie Bort, Darrin Zammit Lupi, Patrick T, Fallon Rivian, Elon Musk's, Jack Dorsey, Amr Bo Shanab, Madison, they're, Vladimir Putin, Billie Jean King, Jamie Lee Curtis, Scarlett Johansson, Hailey Bieber, John Deere, LongeviQuest's Ben Meyers, Yumi Yamamoto, Fabrizio Villatoro, Jack SteerLo, Fusa Tatsumi, they've, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, Getty, Silicon, Business, Microsoft, REUTERS, Elon, Madison Ave Locations: OpenAI, AFP, OpenAI's, India, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ Rivian is the real winner in Elon Musk's latest drama
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Nora Naughton | Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some Tesla owners said they'd ditch his car company in favor of Rivian as a result. AdvertisementAs Tesla CEO Elon Musk once again courts controversy on his social media platform X, rival EV startup Rivian stands to gain from the fallout. Other angry Tesla owners we spoke with also mentioned considering legacy brands like Ford's Mustang Mach-E or Volkswagen's ID.4. AdvertisementIn response, earlier this year some Tesla owners began putting bumper stickers on their EVs denouncing the CEO . In January, a handful of Tesla owners told Business Insider they'd ditched Tesla over Musk's antics .

Persons: Elon Musk, Tesla, —, Musk, Ross Gerber, Robert Kuhn, Kuhn, I've, Rivian, Joe Biden, they'd, Dan Ives, Ives, – Organizations: Rivian, Service, EV, Business, Tesla, Bloomberg, Twitter

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