Latest news with #TeslaCars
The Independent
5 days ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
Self-driving Tesla tackles the UK's most confusing roundabout
Elon Musk 's self-driving Tesla car has taken on one of it's biggest challenges yet - Swindon 's notorious 'Magic Roundabout'. The M4 roadway, composed of five mini roundabouts orbiting one central island, has earned itself the reputation as one of Britain's most confusing junctions. In a post on the company's European X account, Tesla posted footage of one of their cars in a driver-supervised self-driving mode, navigating the roundabout with ease. Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving'-capable cars have not yet been given full approval in UK, despite the government fast-tracking test pilots of self-driving taxi and private hire cars from 2026.
India.com
5 days ago
- Automotive
- India.com
Elon Musk's big bet! Tesla to bring ‘cheap' electric cars to increase…, know when will they be launched
Tesla's sales have been declining, and to counter this, the company is preparing to launch more affordable electric cars. After falling demand for Model 3 and Model Y, Tesla is facing challenges in markets like China and Europe. Production of the new, cheaper model is expected to begin in 2025. Tesla's sales are dropping, and to tackle this issue and boost overall sales, the company will enter the market with cheaper EVs. In its Q2 2025 financial results, Tesla informed investors that it had 'begun manufacturing a more affordable model in June.' Due to the low demand for Model 3 and Model Y, Elon Musk's company is struggling in key markets like China and Europe. Elon Musk's Plan For Tesla Cars Tesla stated that it has begun work on a more affordable model that will be positioned below the Model 3 and Model Y. The company revealed that large-scale production of this new EV is scheduled for the second half of 2025, wherein initial production will begin in the first half of 2025 (1H2025). Initially, Tesla had planned to build the affordable EV on a new platform. However, the new model will now use the existing architecture of the Model 3 and Model Y. It is expected to be a stripped-down version with fewer features. In terms of size, the new EV will be smaller than the Model Y. Testing of this affordable model has also begun. Elon Musk Hopes For Comeback This isn't the first time Tesla has announced plans to enter the affordable EV segment. According to Electrek , the company had earlier worked on a similar plan, which was later scrapped by Musk. That project was popularly referred to as the '$25,000 Tesla' with the codenames NV91 and NV92. Tesla was initially developing it on a new platform, but Musk eventually rejected it. However, Musk is now hopeful that Tesla will make a strong comeback in the European market, especially as he anticipates approval for the company's autonomous self-driving technology.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's latest blending of business interests puts his Grok AI chatbot in Teslas—and raises questions around data and privacy
This week, owners of Tesla cars learned that they were getting a freebie: Starting July 12, all new Tesla vehicles have automatically had the Grok AI chatbot installed and available to use. Grok, of course, is the chatbot created by xAI, the privately-held AI company launched two years ago by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Like a gas station offering a free car wash with a fill-up, Musk appears to be leveraging his various assets and business endeavors to give customers extra value. In this case, however, it's fair to wonder who is getting more value out of this 'gift,' which further intertwines Musk's businesses. Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! The Insurance Savings You Expect Great Rates and Award-Winning Service Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You With the update, Grok is now a button on the Tesla in-car display's homescreen. Users can ask it questions or give it tasks to perform, just like they would with any other LLM, be it OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini. For now, Grok cannot control any vehicle functions like windows or AC, but it's not hard to imagine users coming up with plenty of handy uses for an in-car LLM, from responding to an email to summarizing a book. The new arrangement between Tesla and xAI will likely make Tesla a significant customer for xAI, though neither company has disclosed any financial details surrounding the partnership. For reference, Tesla sold nearly 1.8 million vehicles just last year, meaning that this new partnership will open the door for millions of customers to start using Grok. Should even a small percentage of new Tesla owners utilize the feature, it could ramp up computing costs for xAI, which is already reportedly spending some $1 billion a month to build out its data centers and buy up enough computer chips to compete with other AI companies. But it's important to think about what data sharing may occur now that Grok is installed in Tesla vehicles. In disclosures, Tesla says that driver conversations with Grok will be 'securely processed by xAI' in line with xAI's privacy policy, noting that conversations will be anonymized and not linked to individual vehicles. A look at xAI's privacy policy says the company collects personal information, user content, social media information, and other data points for its service and that it will share data with contracted service providers, its 'related companies,' and to third-parties customers choose to share information with. But what exact data will xAI get access to when Grok is used in vehicles? Elon Musk has suggested a 'wake-word' will be added, but will that limit which snippets of conversation it captures, or does it listen to everything said in the car once it's been activated via the homescreen? And conversations are just part of the data that's out there. After all, automobiles have become some of the most powerful data-collecting devices in day-to-day life. Vehicles contain multiple computers and sensors, with some estimates indicating that they generate about 25 gigabytes of data every hour—data that could be particularly valuable to a company with a large language model to train. Tesla discloses in its own privacy policy that it uses vehicle data for its own self-driving AI models, and it allows customers to download copies of the data that it collects for themselves. But Tesla doesn't go into specifics about which data it uses for what purpose, and it hasn't updated its privacy policy since the July 12 addition of Grok so it's unclear how conversations may be used. Tesla and xAI did not respond to requests for comment. 'This is part of a larger trend we see within the automotive industry,' says Albert Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, a public interest, advocacy, and legal services organization focused on how technology can be used to target individuals. 'Cars have been transformed from this emblem of independence on the open road to the most heavily monitored parts of our lives. There is a huge amount of risk that the data that is collected in the privacy of our own cars will be used against us, whether by law enforcement or immigration officials or simply being monetized without our consent.' Tesla vehicles, specifically, have series of cameras and they collect data from video and camera feeds, ultrasonic sensor data, GPS and location information, vehicle telemetry data such as speed, battery use, and odometer readings, event logs like collisions or breaking data, and user interaction data—data that Tesla has provided to government authorities to find criminals or assist law enforcement with investigations. It's unclear whether conversations with Grok may be permissible to use in investigations as well. Particularly as vehicles are installed with more cameras and sensors for self-driving capabilities, more and more data points are being collected from drivers, Cahn says. 'These companies are quick to claim that our data is being anonymized, but it's really hard to actually anonymize this sort of information in a way where it can't be re-identified,' he says. Every new technology comes with privacy trade-offs, of course. The GPS that gives you directions also leaves digital footprints that reveal your wanderings and whereabouts. As the person behind some of today's most popular tech products—from EV, self-driving tech, and LLMs to social media and Starlink internet satellites—Musk appears increasingly intent on fusing and intermingling the various components of his business empire to give consumers something new and unique. It will be up to consumers to decide if the trade-offs are worth it. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Jordan News
02-03-2025
- Automotive
- Jordan News
Protests Against Elon Musk Outside Tesla Headquarters in New York - Jordan News
Protests Against Elon Musk Outside Tesla Headquarters in New York The police arrested nine individuals during a noisy protest outside a Tesla headquarters in New York City, protesting Elon Musk's role in extensive workforce reductions within the federal government, as per instructions from President Donald Trump. اضافة اعلان According to the police, hundreds participated in the protest, which was one of a wave of "Dump Tesla" protests organized across the country against Musk, who heads the Office of Efficiency in the Trump administration, according to Reuters. Crowds of protesters also gathered outside Tesla showrooms in Jacksonville, Florida, Tucson, Arizona, and other cities, disrupting traffic, chanting, and waving signs that read, "Burn Tesla Cars: Save Democracy" and "No to Tyrants in the U.S." Musk is leading an unprecedented campaign to reduce the size of the federal government, which has resulted in the firing of thousands of employees and the termination of hundreds of federal assistance and rental contracts. Tesla or the White House spokesperson have not yet responded to requests for comment via phone or email as of Saturday evening. – (Agencies)
