Tesla News

It’s happening. The first electric vehicles with 1000km of driving range are starting to hatch.What seemed like an out-of-reach fantasy just a few years ago has become reality with auto manufacturers now beginning to launch their next-gen EVs which can out-drive the range of combustion cars. So which brands are doing it and how far can these electric long haulers really go? In January, Chinese carmaker Chery announced that this year it would launch the Exeed Liefeng - one of the world’s first production models with a solid state battery - which would give the electric vehicle a range of 1500km.Solid state has long been the holy grail form of batteries and for the past five years car manufacturers have been on a crusade to find how to cost-effectively use the technology on a large scale for EVs. Chery appears to be one of the first to make it there, but you can bet the rest will follow quickly. Currently the longest-hauling electric vehicles in Australia are the Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor with its 706km range and Tesla’s Model 3 Long Range AWD with 629km. Both use the tried-and-tested lithium ion batteries which have been the go-to for the industry for decades but it appears the limits are being reached.China’s rising star brand Xiaomi is even pushing the lithium ion limits further however, announcing this week that it was taking orders for its new SU7 sedan with a 902km (CLTC) range. While the SU7 uses an 101.7kWh lithium ion battery, the vehicle's new silicon carbide platform in 752V and 897V forms, as well as its aerodynamic performance, has returned improved efficiency.  CLTC is the China Light Duty Vehicle Test Cycle which isn’t as strict as the Worldwide Harmonised Light Duty Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). So 902km equates to about 750km in the real-world.The 1500km range of Chery’s  Exeed Liefeng is likely to be calculated using the CLTC criteria, too, but that is still equal to 1230km WLPT and that’s beyond remarkable, even compared to combustion engines.The distance you can drive on a full tank of petrol depends on the kind of engine you have, the size of the fuel tank, and the type of driving you do.It’s pretty obvious but big engines use more fuel, so do high-performance engines which prioritise output, and stop-start traffic on urban roads uses more than fast moving motorways. New engines are super fuel efficient these days compared to what they were 20 or even 10 years ago and hybridisation with electric motors in all their forms can significantly reduce fuel consumption. In my own testing, large mid-sized SUVs with four-cylinder petrol engines get no more than about 700km from a 60L tank, with the average being about 500km with the mainly urban driving I do. So some electric vehicles you can buy right now have the same range as the equivalent petrol cars. The benefit of petrol though is clearly the speed at which you can refuel and the accessibility with up to 8000 service stations each with multiple pumps in Australia.Charging times have improved greatly but 30 minutes is about average to charge from 10-80 percent with a 150kW DC charger. In Australia there are only about 550 chargers capable of 100kW or more.Solid state batteries not only offer great ranges but super quick charging - 10-80 per cent in about five minutes. It's still slower than filling a 60L tank with petrol, but not much slower.What about hybrids? Hybrids add a lot more range, especially the new generation of "super hybrids" which are the plug-in kind equipped with larger batteries and clever management systems which can do what was unthinkable a few years ago.My current long-term test car is a Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid which has a 18.4kWh battery and a 60-litre petrol tank. A 1.5-litre four cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor drive the front wheels.According to Chery the combined range of the Tiggo Super Hybrid is 1200km with fuel consumption as low as 1.3L/100km.In my first month with the Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid I drove 869km before I needed to refuel, but I did charge it during that time, occasionally. Still, that’s outstanding. If I was to charge it regularly then the 1200km seems absolutely attainable. But regularly means every two to three days, otherwise fuel consumption increases dramatically. That’s inconvenient to say the least if you don’t have a home wall unit.It seems inevitable electric will take the place of petrol and solid state batteries will mean 1000km from a full charge. Ultimately this could mean petrol becomes the new source of range anxiety, as service stations swap fuel pumps for chargers, making 500km on a single tank seem concerning.Before you hop in the comments, understand I’m by no means an EV fan girl. I love the drama that comes with petrol. My own car has a 5.8-litre V8 that I rebuilt myself.However, I truly think most people don’t care what powers their car and if solid state batteries only take a few minutes to charge and you only need to do it once a month then petrol is a goner.

Tesla’s electric vehicle dominance came to an end in 2025, losing its global sales crown to BYD as it experienced its second consecutive year of declining sales.But most worryingly for the American brand, there is no reason to believe 2026 will be any better.For the first time official sales data credited BYD with 2.24 million electric vehicle sales, comfortably ahead of Tesla’s 1.64 million. While a win is a win, it’s the reasons why BYD trumped Tesla that should be of most concern to Elon Musk and his team.BYD out-performed Tesla despite suffering its weakest sales growth in its domestic market, but while enjoying sales growth in Europe and Australia. Notably, while Tesla remained Australia’s biggest seller of electric vehicles, with 28,856 recorded sales, BYD closed in dramatically, notching 25,207 EV sales (for direct comparison, that figure excludes its plug-in hybrid models).What really helps BYD’s cause moving forward is its focus on expanding its offerings and markets globally. Canada recently removed some of its restrictions on Chinese-made cars, which opens up a new growth region, and Europe has eased its hardline stance too.BYD has already confirmed the Atto 1, Atto 2, Sealion 5 and Sealion 8 will all be in Australian showrooms shortly, joining the Atto 3, Dolphin, Seal, Sealion 6 and 7 as well as the Shark 6. And that’s just the models confirmed, with either all-new or already available options likely to be added when the time is right.In contrast, Tesla is betting, once again, on technology. Musk’s current focus (at least in terms of Tesla) is growing both its robotaxi business and developing humanoid robots. Not a new, more-affordable car to compete with the Atto 1, but robots. BYD, on the other hand, is focused on making cars and expanding its portfolio to reach new customers. It doesn’t take a deep automotive industry analysis to assess which plan is the more likely chance of success.While there may well be a need for millions of humanoid robots suddenly over the next decade, the more humble reality is most people will be happy with a new car - even one they have to drive themselves.Which is really the difference between the two companies. BYD is a car manufacturer, Tesla is a technology company that happens to make cars. Musk has always seen Tesla as something different, something unconventional and the hard reality is that will ultimately limit its potential as a car maker. Don’t believe me? Well, just look how much time and resources Toyota, the world’s biggest car company, is investing in humanoid robots…That’s the underlying goal for BYD - beating Toyota. Becoming the biggest EV brand is merely a stepping stone along the way to its end goal. Although, achieving that will be a much harder task.In the short-term, there is seemingly little chance Tesla can recover the lost ground to BYD. The Chinese brand should be able to grow further in 2026, while Tesla faces an uncertain year ahead with no brand-new products coming and seemingly waning interest in what is already available.What Tesla needs in the short-term (and long-term) are more vehicles to sell. The Model 3/Y market is saturated, particularly in Australia, and the much-hyped Cybertruck has been a sales flop. Without new products to drive sales, Tesla will have to get comfortable not being the world leader in electric cars.

Tesla will end production of its groundbreaking Model S sedan and its Model X SUV spin-off, the two models that put the brand on the map and arguably started the global electrification push.Controversial CEO Elon Musk said the Model S and Model X will reach the end of the line before the middle of this year as the company reconfigures its California factory to produce its Optimus home assistant robot.The Model S and X were discontinued in Australia in early 2023, and our market never saw the significantly updated models that were sold only in left-hand-drive markets over the last few years of their production run.“It’s time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end with an honorable discharge,” Musk said during the brand’s fourth quarter earnings call.“If you’re interested in buying a Model S and X, now would be the time to order it.”However, while the Model S and X might go down in history as one of the most influential duos ever built, ushering in the age of electrification, the writing has been on the wall for the larger Tesla models for some time.According to Tesla’s Q4 2025 Production, Deliveries & Deployments statement, the Model 3 and Y accounted for 97 per cent of the brand’s global footprint last year.According to Musk, once the Model S and X factory is re-purposed for Optimus robots, it is targeting a production of one million units a year. The home assistant robot will apparently be in its as-yet-unrevealed third-generation form, which Musk says is the first version meant for mass production.Meanwhile, the Tesla factory in Texas will begin producing the brand’s latest model, the driverless Cybercab, over the course of the first half of the year.According to Musk, the Cybercab won’t have “human controls” and a recent pre-production version spotted testing in the wild stuck relatively closely to the cars shown at the company’s I, Robot reveal event in 2025.While driverless trials have already started in the US for Tesla’s pilot robotaxi service without back-up drivers, the path to implementing driverless taxis in Australia is much less clear.Although Tesla has launched its self-driving software, styled FSD (Supervised) into our market, it currently exists in something of a legaslative grey area, specifically requiring the driver to be aware at all times. As long as the driver meets the monitoring conditions in the car, it can fully navigate of its own accord simply based on the in-car navigation software.It is unclear what happens in the event of an accident, although regulators are working on a legal framework, aware that more autonomous vehicles will be on our shores before long.Tesla is not the only automotive company with a stake in robotics or autonomous vehicles. While almost every brand, especially Chinese carmakers, are developing autonomous vehicle tech, other companies like Hyundai are heavily invested in robotics.The South Korean giant purchased US robotics firm Boston Dynamics, which is known for its humanoid and quadruped robots, used for a variety of industrial and military applications.Tesla’s local operation continues to tick along nicely, with the Model Y retaining the title of the best-selling electric car in Australia by a healthy margin. It was also the 10th best-selling vehicle in Australia overall in 2025.Its Model 3 isn't faring as well, down 61.3 per cent year-on-year, although it is still the third best-selling EV in Australia.The biggest threat to Tesla is the rise of Chinese rival BYD, which stormed the charts in 2025 off the back of its popular and competitively priced range of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.While the Model Y kept its closest competitor, the BYD Sealion 7, at bay last year, it’s hard to imagine the pioneering American brand staying ahead of its competitors for long with little in the way of new product on the horizon.

Xiaomi’s updated SU7 electric sedan launches this April in China and while the order numbers are enormous there’s another huge figure grabbing people’s attention - its 900km-plus driving range.The order books for Xiaomi’s new SU7 opened on January 7, 2026 and within two weeks nearly 100,000 pre-orders have been taken. That’s big even for the Chinese market, which sees 34 millions cars sold in a year. But part of the drive in sales is the massive leap in spec for the SU7 particularly when it comes to driving range.Pricing in China for the entry grade SU7 starts at the equivalent of A$46,500, an increase of $2800 over the hugely popular outgoing model.The SU7 now has a range of 902km (CLTC), up from 830km in the previous model. CLTC (China Light Duty Vehicle Test Cycle) criteria isn’t as strict or real-world applicable as the WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Duty Vehicle Test Procedure) rating which is generally about 18 per cent less. Still, even if the SU7’s WLTP range is about 750km that would still see it beat the best electric long-haulers the world currently has to offer including the Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor with its 706km and Tesla’s Model 3 Long Range AWD with 629km.The longer range of the new SU7 is reportedly not due to a larger battery (a 101.7kWh battery capacity remains in the top grade model), but is down to a new silicon carbide platform in 752V and 897V forms which return improved efficiency.Other upgrades for the new SU7 include more advanced driving assistance systems, laser radar, and 700 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second) AI computing power for autonomous driving functions.Xiaomi has yet to launch in Australia with the company likely to enter the European market first in 2027 and then the rest of the world including Australia. Right now, the fledgling tech-brand-turned-automaker's factory capacity is exceeded for over a year with back orders for both the SU7 and its YU7 SUV sibling, both of which have created massive hype in China's domestic market.If and when Xiaomi makes it here, the sporty Chinese marque would join a multitude of new brands in Australia with electric vehicles over the past two years.The SU7 would go up against rivals such as the BYD Seal and MG’s IM5, as well as the ever-popular Tesla Model 3.Xiaomi isn’t the only brand coming up with super long-range EVs with Chery also recently announcing progress on solid state batteries which it claims will offer up to 1500km of driving range on a single charge.

Autonomous driving in Australia is already here… sort of. But it should arrive in full by 2027.Most new cars offer some form of self-driving functionality, such as lane keep assist or adaptive cruise control.Tesla unveiled its 'Full Self-Driving (Supervised)' system late last year.Supervised is the key word because autonomous driving is not legal in Australia.According to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts, automated vehicles (AVs) can only operate in Australia under state or territory trial frameworks. There are currently no large-scale trials on Australian roads. Maybe not large-scale, but there are trials.A driverless bus taking passengers to and from the Darwin Waterfront was tried in 2017 and deemed "successful".There are also automated trucks working on mine sites in the north-west of Western Australia. So what is it going to take to see autonomous driving cars on our roads?Whose laws matter?Our driving laws are generally state-based. Your speeding fines go to the state you are in, not the Federal Government.Consequently, some inconsistencies exist between various state driving rules, notably fine amounts.Mostly though, driving laws are formed on the same basis: the Australian Road Rules.These are updated every couple of years, so in theory AVs rules could be slipped in, right? That is the plan according to Executive Leader, Regulatory Reform and Emerging Technologies at the National Transport Commission (NTC) Aaron de Rozario. The NTC has been commissioned to put together a regulatory system before we have AVs on the road.“We’ve got all the Australian governments involved in the process of deciding ‘yes, these are the road rules that apply to an automated driving scenario’,” de Rozario said. The NTC puts together these road rules and all transport ministers will vote on whether to approve, before implementing into respective state laws.A key proposal currently put forward from the NTC is to have a ‘Commonwealth in-service regulator’.The regular will aim to fuse federal and state responsibility on AVs.One of its main tasks will be due diligence on new AV technologies coming into Australia to determine whether safe operation can be demonstrated. Once AV technologies enter Australia, the regulator will investigate issues and complaints about programming and incidents concerning AVs. Who is responsible? AVs on Australian roads raise issues with the establishment of causation of accidents. The NTC will target clear distinctions on responsibility between drivers/passengers and the automated driving system. Some of those distinctions are simply resolved such as wearing a seatbelt. That responsibility rests with those travelling in the car. The complexity is apparent when considering post-accident liability. How to overcome these issues remains murky, with hard-and-fast solutions still some way off.“There is a bit of work determining what happens if there is a motor vehicle accident,” de Rozario said.“Drivers have certain legal responsibilities to take action and we need to work out what happens in the case of an automated vehicle and whether there are any responsibilities for passengers.”One solution being proposed is to clearly specify where and on which roads certain types of AVs can be used safely, and legally.Something that has been made clear is companies will not be able to escape responsibility for their AVs.Providers of automated driving systems will have to have a registered corporate presence in Australia.“We’re deliberately setting this up so there isn’t a ‘Sorry I’m overseas. I don’t need to comply with your law’.”This mandate facilitates the full application of the national corporations legislation onto directors of AV companies, giving authorities powers to enforce findings and decisions.It would include enforcement of duty of care and diligence principles, including criminal punishment for dishonest and reckless conduct. At this stage, AV conversations remain in a preliminary phase, with the ATC targeting 2027 for a system framework.Tesla’s latest technology represents a window into the future of AVs. But you should not expect to see someone reading a newspaper as their personally-owned car drives them to work in the morning anytime soon.The government says the framework "will enable conditional deployment of automated vehicles in select locations".Automated taxi systems remain the most likely to come to Australia first. “From what we see overseas, the two areas which are likely to be the first movers would be the robo-taxi model or an urban taxi rideshare service,” de Rozario said.“The other one that keeps coming up is freight and that could be parcel delivery type services.”

Tesla’s Cybercab has been spotted testing in the USA as the company forges ahead with its plans to produce a fleet of driverless vehicles rather than expand on its range of popular EVs.The Cybercab was spotted on the streets of Chicago where it can be seen with a few design changes since its controversial debut in 2025.The test car features wing mirrors for a start, but also forges ahead with the concept’s lack of a rear window, meaning it relies on a camera for its rear vision, in much the same was as the Polestar 4.The car builds on the stark and nearly featureless body panels Tesla first showed on the Cybertruck, and then rolled out to the updated Model Y in 2025. The spotted prototype maintains the fully covered wheels.Tesla has previously confirmed the Cybercab can be fitted with a steering wheel and pedals even if it wants the design to be entirely driverless, adding fuel to rumors the Cybercab is a re-purposed take on the ‘affordable’ sub-Model 3 car Musk long said the brand was working on.According to a report in 2025, the so-called ‘Model 2’ was personally cancelled by Musk to make way for the driverless Cybercab. Musk then denied it was cancelled, which alarmed employees and shareholders who knew the company had already severed supply contracts relating to the Model 2.Another reason for Tesla going all-in on autonomous vehicles rather than produce a more affordable Model 2 is because of the surging competition in the affordable EV space.It was claimed the cheapest Tesla would be a US$25,000 (AU$36,743) pitch to buyers, although in many parts of the world there are now even more affordable EVs in this space.In this price range just in Australia for example, there is now the option of the Leapmotor C10 (from $45,888), Geely EX5 (from $40,990), and BYD Atto 3 (from $39,990), all of which are in the more popular family SUV size-bracket.Instead, as a short-term solution, Tesla is in the process of rolling-out more affordable base Standard versions of the Model 3 and Model Y in global markets, featuring cloth seats, solid roof panels rather than a panoramic sunroof, and with some stripped-out interior tech like the rear climate and entertainment screen, as well as ambient lighting and electric steering column adjust.It is unclear whether the entry-level versions of the Model 3 or Model Y will debut in Australia. It also remains unclear if our market will ever see the rest of the brands catalogue, like the Cybertruck or Cybercab.Tesla has had a relatively strong innings in 2025 off the back of the arrival of its much-anticipated Model Y update. The updated SUV remained the top-selling electric car in Australia in 2026, selling 22,239 units. It is significantly more than the next most popular model, the BYD Sealion 7, which moved 13,410 units in the same period.The Model 3 also remains a popular option in third place, moving 6617 units over the year, but is tumbling down in raw numbers (-61.3 per cent year-on-year) despite a well-received update launching in early 2024.

Toyota has taken the top spot in terms of global new car sales for the sixth consecutive year, beating its closest competitor, Volkswagen Group, once again.The news comes after the Toyota RAV4 was reported as the best-selling car globally in 2025, beating the Tesla Model Y which had recently laid claim to the title.The Toyota Corolla, which has in some years been the best-selling car in the world, also helped Toyota’s total 10.32 million sales with its enduring popularity.According to Nikkei Asia, Volkswagen’s total sales of 8.98 million for 2025 were down 0.5 per cent on the year before, but this was due in part to increased competition in China where VW has a major market share, leading to an 8.0 per cent sales dip.Donald Trump's tariffs in the US also meant the brand’s sales dipped in North America by 10.4 per cent.Toyota’s global figures include compact car brand Daihatsu, its truck arm Hino and premium marque Lexus, while Volkswagen Group’s sub-brands include brands like Skoda and Cupra. The VW marque itself delivered around 4.73 million vehicles to customers worldwide, it claims.In Australia, Toyota's dominance is similarly unmatched. The brand delivered 239,863 new cars to Australians in 2025 with around a fifth of the market share, while the next-closest brands are Ford (94,399 sales in 2025) and Mazda (91,923).

Rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants of the Tesla Model Y will now feature a larger central vertical touchscreen as part of a mild upgrade for 2026.The 16.0-inch touchscreen used to only be available on the Model Y's top-spec Performance variant.The change has not bumped up the price for the Model Y.The entry-level rear-wheel drive Model Y remains a price competitive option in the EV space, starting from $58,900, before on-road costs.It is slightly more than the BYD Sealion 7 starting at $54,990 and Kia EV5 at $56,770. Meanwhile, the mid-spec long-range Model Y starts at $68,900.The previous touchscreen in those Model Ys measured at 15.4 inches, smaller than a comparative Sealion 7 at 15.6-inches.Kia’s EV5 has a digital display spanning across the dashboard. It comprises dual 12.3-inch digital driver and central touchscreen displays, along with a 5.0-inch climate control screen. The other change on the Model Y RWD and AWD long-range is both are now fitted with a dark headliner, replacing the light grey headliner.RWD and AWD long-range variants of the Model Y are built in China, with the Performance version is built in Germany. The Model Y was the best-selling electric car in Australia in 2025, with more than 22,000 sales across the year, receiving the nameplate's first major update early in the year. Its strong sales performance last year was boosted by a late flurry, including a bumper September with nearly 4000 units sold - one of the best of any car on sale in that period. 

If there is one word to describe the Australian car industry in 2026, it’s diversity.

The US carmaker’s outspoken CEO Elon Musk has announced via X that it will stop selling its FSD semi-autonomous driving software outright to buyers from February 14, 2026, instead pivoting to a subscription-only model.At this stage it’s unclear whether this will be a global directive or something specifically for the US market. We’ve reached out to Tesla Australia and will update this story once we hear back.Tesla rolled out its FSD (Supervised) software in Australia last year as the first right-hand drive market.It’s currently available to purchase outright on Model 3 and Model Y with Hardware 3 and 4 camera systems for $10,100, or $149 per month.FSD (Supervised) is a Level 2 advanced driver assist system which requires you to comply with all current state and federal laws. According to Tesla, “Under your supervision, your car will be able to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal driver intervention”.Tesla also stipulates this does not make the car autonomous. While using the software you need to be fully attentive, have your hands on the steering wheel and be ready to take over at any point.It uses the car’s interior camera to ensure you’re paying attention to the road ahead and after a number of strike-outs for not obeying the rules, it’ll lock you out of the software for a number of days.All you need to do to start FSD (Supervised) is input a destination into the navigation system then either press the start button on the touchscreen or the right scroll wheel on the steering wheel while driving.It’s unclear why Tesla is moving to a subscription-only model for its FSD software, but it follows a decline in new vehicle sales globally. It sold a total of 1.64 million cars during 2025, which is down 8.3 per cent year-on-year.It has also been dethroned by BYD as the best-selling EV carmaker in the world. The Chinese carmaker sold a total of 2.26 million EVs during 2025, which is up 27.9 per cent year-on-year.It’s worth noting that BYD did sell a total of 4.6 million vehicles globally, including plug-in hybrid vehicles and commercial vehicles like buses and trucks.