Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) is stagnating with no real improvement in miles between disengagement in months just as CEO Elon Musk said it is going exponential.
The stagnation of FSD could be explained by Tesla making a pivot and focusing on its geo-fenced ride-hailing service instead of its long-standing promises.
Since 2016, Tesla has claimed that all it vehicles produced onward have all the hardware capable of self-driving at a level enabling a robotaxi service and that a software update would eventually enable it.
For the past six years, CEO Elon Musk has claimed that Tesla would achieve that goal by the end of the year, and he has been wrong every time.
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Lately, Musk has been focused on hyping Tesla’s latest Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) updates.
FSD is technically a level 2 advanced driver assist system (ADAS). It requires driver supervision at all times, and Tesla takes no responsibility in the case of a crash.
Miles between critical disengagement is the primary metric used to track progress with each FSD update. Tesla and Musk have both used the metric in the past.
In January, we reported on Musk sharing a crowdsourced FSD dataset, claiming that it showed Tesla had now reached “exponential improvement” with FSD v13. We noted that this was both false since exponential improvement would require an extra data point that he didn’t have and misleading since he focused only on highway miles between disengagement and Tesla had just introduced its long-used city driving neural network stack to highway driving.
FSD v13 has now been out for 3 months, and it received several point updates, but the same data praised by Musk a few months ago shows that it is stagnating – not going exponential:
Musk had previously claimed that v13 would enable “a 5 to 6x increase in miles between disengagement compared to v12.5.”
The data now shows that v13 barely brought a 2x improvement, going from ~200 miles to ~400 miles.
After over 33,000 miles reported through all versions of FSD v13, the datasets now point to 495 miles between critical disengagement on average:
Ashok Elluswamy, the head of FSD at Tesla, has previously stated that for Tesla to enable unsupervised self-driving, Tesla needs to achieve the average in miles per critical intervention “equivalent of human miles between collision,” which stands at 700,000 miles, according to NHTSA.
Musk is moving the goal post on Tesla Full Self-Driving
The current stagnation is disappointing for Tesla fans and surprising even to critics. Even those who don’t believe Musk’s ambitious timelines for Tesla to achieve self-driving believed that the system would improve faster.
It needs to improve faster if Tesla wants to go from ~500 miles between critical disengagement to 700,000 miles – the company’s own goal of being safer than humans.
We believe that a possible reason for the current stagnation is that Tesla is focusing on a new strategy for self-driving.
That’s why instead of delivering on its long-stated promise of consumer vehicles achieving unsupervised self-driving, Tesla is shifting to releasing a ride-hailing service in a geo-fenced area around Austin, Texas in June.
Using an internal fleet of vehicles helped by teleoperation in a limited area is a complete change of plan for Tesla self-driving, and it is a service similar to what Waymo has been offering for years. Musk has even thrown colder water on Waymo’s approach, calling it “too difficult to scale.”
We believe that part of the reason why Tesla FSD is stagnating is that the automaker is currently using its engineering power as well as its training compute toward this new program rather than its broader FSD product.
Electrek’s Take
You know my take on FSD. I think that if it was developed in a vacuum without Tesla selling it as “Full Self-Driving” and Musk promising that it would be unsupervised by the end of every year for the last 6 years, I think it would simply be praised as the best level 2 ADAS system out there.
Unfortunately, it’s not the case.
Instead, Musk has tainted the product with lies and false promises and we are not even getting into HW3 in this post.
I think Musk has been really successful at misleading people with FSD, and now he thinks that this pivot to a Waymo-style product will enable Tesla to claim a win on self-driving without most people realizing that it’s actually a loss for millions of Tesla owners.
He might be able to pull it through, but we are going to keep reporting it for what it is on Electrek.
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A new review of US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data by the SUN DAY Campaign reveals that solar delivered almost 9% of US electricity in the first half of 2025. Wind and solar combined produced just over one-fifth of the country’s electricity, while renewables as a whole hit nearly 28%.
Solar’s record-breaking growth
EIA’s latest monthly Electric Power Monthly report (with data through June 30, 2025) confirms that solar kept its streak as the fastest-growing major source of US electricity. In June 2025 alone, solar soared. Utility-scale solar power plants cranked out 30.1% more electricity than in June 2024, while rooftop and other small-scale solar systems grew by 10.5%. Combined, solar generation jumped 25% year-over-year and made up 10.2% of US electricity that month.
Looking at the first six months of 2025, utility-scale solar expanded by 37.6%, and small-scale systems rose 10.7%. Together, they grew nearly one-third (29.7%) compared to the same period in 2024. That meant solar provided 8.7% of all US electricity in January-June, up from 6.9% the year before.
That’s a milestone: Solar is now producing almost 45% more electricity than hydropower (6.0%), and it’s generating more than hydropower, biomass, and geothermal combined.
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Wind is still a front-runner
Wind turbines supplied 11.6% of US electricity in the first half of 2025 — a 2.4% boost compared to the same time in 2024. Wind’s output was almost double hydropower’s contribution.
Wind + solar are beating coal and nuclear
Together, wind and solar accounted for 20.3% of total US electricity in the first half of 2025, up from 18.6% last year. That’s a bigger share than coal or nuclear. In fact, wind and solar generated 25% more electricity than coal and 15.6% more than nuclear over the same period.
Renewables overall are surging
All renewable sources combined – wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal – generated 27.7% of US electricity from January through June 2025, up from 26.1% a year ago. Their output grew three times faster than total US electricity generation overall (9.2% vs. 3.0%). Renewables are now second only to natural gas, whose generation actually dropped 3.7% in the first half of the year.
Ken Bossong, executive director of the SUN DAY Campaign, added that this growth happened before the passage of the Trump/Republican “megabill,” which could slow future renewable expansion. “Nonetheless, EIA notes that US developers expect half of new electric generating capacity to come from solar in 2025 and another 13% from wind.”
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The new and improved Hyundai IONIQ 5, or the hot-selling Chevy Equinox EV? Which electric SUV makes the smarter lease? Here’s the rundown.
Over 607,000 electric vehicles were sold in the US in the first half of 2025, thanks to some big discounts. Many automakers are currently offering generous savings, as Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” is set to end federal EV incentives at the end of September.
According to Cox Automotive’s latest EV Market Monitor report, EV incentives reached a record of nearly $8,500 in June, or about 15% off the average transaction price (ATP).
That’s more than double the incentives offered on gas-powered vehicles. Seven electric vehicles had an ATP below $40,000, including the Chevy Equinox EV. The Equinox EV was the top-selling EV in the price range.
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Starting at just $34,995, GM calls it “America’s most affordable 315+ range EV.” The electric Equinox has already propelled Chevy to become the number two EV brand in the US behind Tesla.
2025 Chevy Equinox EV LT (Source: GM)
Through the first half of the year, the Chevy Equinox EV accounted for nearly a third of GM’s electric vehicle sales. And it could have sold even more. A dealer in California reached out to Electrek, claiming they had to wait over a month to receive Equinox EV models. It’s now on track to be among the top three selling EVs in the US.
Chevy Equinox EV interior (Source: GM)
Which EV to lease: Chevy Equinox EV or Hyundai IONIQ 5
With leases starting at just $289 per month, it’s no wonder the electric SUV is flying off the lot. The offer is for 24 months with $3,909 due at signing.
Alternatively, you can opt for 0% APR financing for 60 months, which Chevy is offering on all 2025 electric vehicle models.
2025 Chevy Equinox EV trim
Starting Price
EPA-estimated Range
Monthly lease Price (August 2025)
LT FWD
$34,995
319 miles
$289
LT AWD
$40,295
307 miles
$351
RS FWD
$45,790
319 miles
$416
RS AWD
$49,090
307 miles
$453
2025 Chevy Equinox EV prices, range, and lease price (Including $1,395 destination fee)
The base 2025 Chevy Equinox EV LT starts at $34,995 with up to 319 miles of range. The interior boasts up to 57.2 cu ft of space and a 17.7″ infotainment screen.
How does it compare to the IONIQ 5? Hyundai has upgraded its best-selling electric SUV with major improvements, including increased range (now up to 318 miles), a revamped interior and exterior, and a built-in NACS port to access Tesla Superchargers.
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Hyundai)
After cutting lease prices again last month, the new and improved 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 is now listed at just $179 per month.
In some places, such as California and other ZEV states, Hyundai is offering leases starting at as low as $159 per month.
However, that’s for the base SE mode, which has an EPA-estimated driving range of 245 miles. The longer-range IONIQ 5 SE RWD, with 318 miles range, can still be leased for just $199 per month right now. Both offers are for 24 months with $3,999 due at signing.
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Trim
EV Powertrain
Driving Range (miles)
Starting Price*
Monthly lease price August 2025
IONIQ 5 SE RWD Standard Range
168-horsepower rear motor
245
$42,500
$179
IONIQ 5 SE RWD
225-horsepower rear motor
318
$46,550
$199
IONIQ 5 SEL RWD
225-horsepower rear motor
318
$49,500
$209
IONIQ 5 Limited RWD
225-horsepower rear motor
318
$54,200
$309
IONIQ 5 SE Dual Motor AWD
320-horsepower dual motor
290
$50,050
$249
IONIQ 5 SEL Dual Motor AWD
320-horsepower dual motor
290
$53,000
$259
IONIQ 5 XRT Dual Motor AWD
320 horsepower dual motor
259
$55,400
$359
IONIQ 5 Limited Dual Motor AWD
320-horsepower dual motor
269
$58,100
$299
2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 price, range, and lease price
Hyundai is also throwing in a complimentary ChargePoint Level 2 home charger with the purchase or lease of a new 2025 IONIQ 5. All IONIQ 5 trims are listed with 1.99% APR financing for up to 60 months.
The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 offers up to 59.3 cu ft of cargo space with a dual 12.3″ driver display and infotainment system setup.
Nissan has officially confirmed the icon will be making a comeback. Although Nissan is no longer building GT-R models, CEO Ivan Espinosa said Godzilla will “evolve and reemerge” in the future. Here’s what we know so far.
Nissan confirms the GT-R will evolve and reemerge
It seems like we’ve been talking about the next-gen Nissan GT-R for years now. After the last model rolled off the production line at the automaker’s Tochigi plant in Japan on Tuesday, Nissan’s CEO made it clear that the GT-R will be making a comeback.
After bidding farewell to the R35, Espinosa gave the many GT-R fans worldwide hope, saying, “I want to tell you this isn’t a goodbye to the GT-R forever.”
He added that it’s Nissan’s “goal for the GT-R nameplate to one day make a return.” Although this is the end of the line for the R35, the company remains committed to the GT-R nameplate and wants to “reimagine it for a new generation.”
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According to Espinosa, Nissan doesn’t have any finalized plans yet, but he promised that “the GT-R will evolve and reemerge in the future.”
Nissan’s new N7 electric sedan alongside the GT-R (Source: Dongfeng Nissan)
Nissan says the next Godzilla will ensure the GT-R’s legacy lives on, but will pack even more performance. The big question is, what type of powertrain will it arrive with? Will it be electric? A hybrid? Or, will it still be gas-powered?
At the New York Auto Show in April, Ponz Pandikuthira, Senior Vice President and Chief Planning Officer for Nissan North America, told The Drive that the next GT-R will be a hybrid, rather than an all-electric.
Nissan’s new N7 electric sedan alongside the GT-R (Source: Dongfeng Nissan)
However, Nissan previewed an electric GT-R a few years ago with the Hyper Force EV concept. The electric sports car concept was promoted as a “game-changing hyper EV” with over 1,300 horsepower (1,000 kW).
All that power is expected to come from solid-state batteries. Just last week, Nissan secured a partnership with LiCAP Technologies to produce all-solid-state EV batteries on a mass scale, one of the biggest hurdles to getting the new technology to market.
Nissan Hyper Force EV concept (Source: Nissan)
Since Nissan aims to launch its first EV powered by solid-state batteries in 2028, we could see the GT-R reemerge as a plug-in hybrid until the technology is ready.
Either way, it will likely be a few years before we see an electrified Godzilla. If it evolves into an EV or hybrid, it remains up in the air for now.
While Nissan says an all-electric GT-R won’t deliver the performance needed to live up to the nameplate, others are proving otherwise. BYD’s first electric supercar, the Yangwang U9, set a new EV speed record this week after hitting nearly 300 mph.
How do you feel about it? Should the GT-R go all-electric? Or will Nissan settle for a hybrid? Drop us a comment below and let us know which one you’d buy.
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