Mercedes-Benz EQC, VW ID 3, FCA emissions boost Tesla: Today’s Car News

Tesla Model Y  -  introduction, Hawthorne CA, March 2019Electric cars are starting to roll out from German automakers. Volkswagen gave a name to its new electric hatchback, and started taking orders. And Mercedes-Benz rolled the first electric EQC SUV off its assembly line in Germany. Details emerged of Fiat Chrysler's deal with Tesla to share emissions credits. All this and more on Green Car Reports...

Musk aims to transform Tesla into self-driving robo-taxi company

2017 Tesla Model S testing at Consumer ReportsAt an investor presentation on Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk laid out plans essentially to transition the company from a traditional car manufacturer to an operator of self-driving “robo-taxis.” Musk reiterated a statement he made in January that all Tesla cars built since last month will have “feature complete” full...

Tesla Model 3 updates: Leasing, Autopilot standard, base model limited

Tesla Model 3 bought [Photo by reader AH]Tesla announced major changes to its model lineup Thursday, especially the Model 3, in an effort to shore up sales. After the federal tax credit available on its cars halved Jan. 1, Tesla has dropped prices, added features, streamlined its model lineup, and introduced new lower-priced options for the Model 3, including the long-promised $35,000...

Tesla unleashes driver warnings from Navigate on Autopilot

Tesla Model 3 dashboard in Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]In a blog post on Thursday, Tesla announced that drivers will no longer have to approve lane changes when the car's Navigate on Autopilot system is engaged. It's a small step, but also a pretty big leap toward self-driving cars. Navigate on Autopilot is Tesla's "on-ramp to off-ramp" self-driving system, which allows its cars that have the feature...

Volkswagen ID Roomzz full-size electric SUV to bow in Shanghai

Volkswagen ID Roomz concept for Shanghai auto show 2019Last month, Volkswagen announced that it will expand its upcoming electric-car lineup from 50 new models by 2023 to 70 new models by 2028. But it gave no indication what many of those new models will be. On Tuesday, the brand revealed the sixth new member of its upcoming ID electric family: The VW ID Roomzz, a full-sized SUV will make its debut in...

Tesla starts Hardware 3 rollout: Enhanced Summon, red-light warnings

Tesla Model 3 Enhanced Summon video still [by YouTuber  Nagaraj Kelageri]Like Teslas rolling through parking lots on their own, the self-driving future is inching closer. This week, Tesla owners began to experience new features of the company's long-promised next update to its self-driving system, including Enhanced Summon, which is one of the first features of Tesla's planned Full Self-Driving capability to be...

Tesla Autopilot ranks next-to-last in study of self-driving systems

Tesla Model 3 dashboard in Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]Tesla, its owners and fans, and its CEO Elon Musk crow a lot about the capabilities of its Autopilot self-driving system. In independent comparisons, though, other autonomous driving systems keep coming out ahead. The latest is from Navigant Research, an automotive consulting firm, and the results aren't rosy for Tesla's Autopilot. It rated second...

2019 CES: Quiet year for green-car and self-driving news

2019 Nissan Leaf PlusAs always, the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show held this week in Las Vegas was massive. Hundreds of thousands of attendees, workers, and support staff converged at multiple venues to show off their latest wares, meet with clients, partners, and the media and try to break through the news clutter. For automotive news, however, this year’s CES...

Future Tesla Autopilot chips may come from Samsung self-driving push

2017 Tesla Model S testing at Consumer ReportsThe race to build self-driving cars is heating up, with Google (Waymo), Tesla, Uber, Lyft, Ford, GM (Cruise), and others all vying to build the first reliable self-driving system. Now add Korean electronics giant Samsung to that list—with a twist. Its first client could be one of the major competitors in the business, Tesla. Tesla once had a...

Tesla drivers log 1 billion miles on Autopilot

2017 Tesla Model S testing at Consumer ReportsSelf-driving systems are like teenage drivers: They get better with practice. Tesla announced in a Tweet on Thursday that its cars logged 1 billion miles driving on Autopilot. That's a key milestone, since Teslas driving on Autopilot (and driven by humans) send data about what they see on the road back to Tesla, so the company can address problems...

Another owner sues Tesla over Autopilot rear-end crash

Tesla Model 3 dashboard in Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]Another Tesla owner whose car crashed while Autopilot was engaged has sued the automaker claiming false advertising In September, a woman whose Tesla crashed into the back of a stationary fire truck at speed while driving on Autopilot in Utah sued the automaker with similar claims. On Tuesday, Florida resident Shawn Hudson sued Tesla after his...

Teslas to get new self-driving, Autopilot chip in spring 2019

Tesla Model 3 dashboard in Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk took to Twitter Tuesday to announce that owners will get a new Autopilot chip in about six months that will be much more powerful and enable the company's long-awaited Full-Self Driving Mode. In a series of tweets, Musk said that owners who have prepaid for the Full Self-Driving Mode feature in their...

Consumer Reports ranks Tesla Autopilot second among self-driving systems

Consumer Reports tests Tesla Model 3 braking [CREDIT: Consumer Reports]In the latest ranking of automaker self-driving systems, Tesla's popular Autopilot system ranked second to Cadillac's Super Cruise system. The ratings come from Consumer Reports, which tested the cars on its test track and on local highways, in both lead and following positions. The organization rated the systems on their capability and ease of...