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Tesla announces that it increased the size of its Robotaxi fleet by 50%, but it never confirmed the original fleet size.

It appears Tesla was only operating about 20 vehicles in its “robotaxi” fleet so the number likely only rose to about 30 cars.

In late June, Tesla launched its ‘Robotaxi’ service to paying customers under an invite-only program.

We have warned that the launch of Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ is more about optics, giving the impression that Tesla is leading in autonomy, rather than advancements in deploying a safe autonomous ride-hailing system.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been making predictions about the automaker solving unsupervised self-driving by the end of every year for the last 6 years, and it never happened.

He and Tesla badly needed a win to save face, as Waymo is now rapidly expanding its own autonomous ride-hailing service across half a dozen US cities.

To give the impression that it was also ready to deploy such a system, Tesla took a similar approach to selling self-driving technology in consumer vehicles – namely, doing it before it is ready.

Tesla began offering a ride-hailing service in Austin, utilizing vehicles equipped with an updated version of its consumer Supervised Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. Instead of Tesla owners being supervisors and responsible for the cars like in the consumer version, Tesla installed employees in the front passenger seats with their fingers on a kill switch, ready to stop the car at any moment.

To give the impression that it is scaling faster than Waymo, Tesla quickly expanded its Austin service area to become bigger than Waymo’s.

However, it didn’t expand its fleet of Robotaxis, often resulting in wait times of more than 20 minutes to get into a vehicle.

This week, Tesla expanded its service area again to include its local factory and finally announced an increase in the number of cars in the fleet:

The problem is that Tesla never confirmed the initial size of the fleet in Austin. The automaker is purposely keeping this vague by mentioning a percentage increase rather than a new total number of vehicles in the fleet.

The best-supported baseline is 15 to 20 vehicles, based on initial images from the Robotaxi control room and sightings of cars, which would result in a maximum of approximately 30 vehicles in the fleet now.

In comparison, Waymo is already operating more than 100 vehicles in Austin.

Electrek’s Take

Tesla shareholders are celebrating this as a victory: ‘Tesla is scaling faster than Waymo in Austin’, they claim.

This is a fallacy. There’s a big difference between the two here.

Tesla can expand the service area rapidly, as it doesn’t operate a fully autonomous driving system in the Robotaxi fleet. It’s still very much a supervised system, and the bottleneck is the supervisors; hence, why Tesla operates only a small fleet, about one-third the size of Waymo’s.

Waymo ensures that its system operates autonomously without requiring supervisors in the vehicle before welcoming paying customers and expanding in a specific market, such as Austin.

In short, Tesla is doing this to give the impression that it is competing with Waymo, but the truth is that they haven’t even started competing. Once they can drive autonomously without supervision, that’s when the race begins, and Tesla is already about 5 years behind on that.

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Royal Enfield unveils Flying Flea S6 scrambler-style electric motorcycle built for urban adventure

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Royal Enfield unveils Flying Flea S6 scrambler-style electric motorcycle built for urban adventure

Royal Enfield’s new electric motorcycle brand, Flying Flea, just pulled the wraps off its second model – the scrambler-inspired FF.S6 – at EICMA 2025, and it’s an agile, tech-packed machine that brings serious trail-ready vibes to city streets.

Inspired by the iconic 1940s Flying Flea motorcycle (which was literally parachuted into battle, hence the logo), the FF.S6 is a modern reimagining with off-road chops and futuristic tech. Royan Enfield assures us that this is a far cry from an average urban electric motorcycle. Instead, it’s a lightweight, connected, and capable machine that blends classic scrambler style with serious smart features.

Built on a lightweight frame with staggered 19-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels, a USD front fork, and chain final drive, the FF.S6 is ready for both tight urban corners and loose gravel backroads. A high-torque electric motor paired with a magnesium finned battery case keeps weight low while enhancing cooling, and the long enduro-style seat offers comfort for longer rides.

Tech-wise, the FF.S6 goes way beyond what you’d expect from a typical commuter. A circular high-res touchscreen display nods to the original Flying Flea while delivering fully connected features, including lean-angle sensing ABS, traction control, off-road mode, and built-in navigation. Voice Assist lets riders launch music or maps hands-free through their phone, and OTA updates ensure the bike gets smarter over time.

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The system is powered by a Snapdragon QWM2290 processor, the same class of chip you’d find in advanced smartphones. Riders can use a smartwatch or phone app to manage everything from keyless start to charging status and diagnostics.

Production of the FF.S6 is expected to begin by the end of 2026.

Electrek’s Take

Sure, this is largely just an experiment in applying some mods to the same motorcycle prototype that Royal Enfield showed us last year, but it’s a cool-looking example of it! And while we’re still waiting to see what these bikes will cost (not to mention a few more hard and fast tech specs), I’m glad to see that Royal Enfield’s Flying Flea team is jumping in with bold design and bleeding-edge software. The FF.S6 looks like a scrambler but thinks like a smartphone and rides like an urban bike – likely. And for a new wave of connected urban riders, that might be the perfect combination.

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Orsted swings to quarterly net loss as Trump’s offshore wind battle takes its toll

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Orsted swings to quarterly net loss as Trump's offshore wind battle takes its toll

A turbine blade is lifted onto a rack near tower sections at the Revolution Wind project assembly site at State Pier in New London, Connecticut, US, on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Danish renewables giant Orsted on Wednesday reported a quarterly net loss as the beleaguered company continues to battle U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-wind policies.

The world’s biggest offshore wind farm group posted a net loss of 1.7 billion Danish kroner ($261.8 million) for the July-September period. The result, which was slightly better than analysts feared, was significantly down from profit of 5.17 billion Danish kroner in the same period last year.

Orsted flagged third-quarter impairment costs of nearly 1.8 billion Danish kroner.

The company, however, reiterated its full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance of 24-27 billion Danish kroner, excluding earnings from new partnerships and cancellation fees.

It comes shortly after the company announced it had reached a deal to sell a 50% stake in its Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm in the U.K. to Apollo Global Management in a deal worth $6 billion.

“I’m satisfied with the good progress across our entire construction portfolio and our solid operational performance,” Orsted CEO Rasmus Errboe said in a statement.

“Our key focus is to continue delivering on our business plan, which will enable Ørsted to remain a global leader of offshore wind with a strong foothold in Europe,” he added.

Shares of Orsted were 1.2% higher on Wednesday morning. The stock price has fallen sharply this year amid concerted efforts from the White House to halt several ongoing developments and suspend new licensing.

Vestas shares pop

Danish wind turbine firm Vestas, meanwhile, reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings.

The firm on Wednesday said that operating profit came in at 416 million euros ($477.8 million) for the July-September period, above expectations of 305 million euros estimated by analysts in a company-compiled consensus.

Shares of Vestas jumped more than 14% on the news, soaring to the top of the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, as investors welcomed signs of a successful turnaround following years of losses.

Asked about some of the headwinds facing the wind industry, notably from the Trump administration, Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen said the company has a “well-established” supply chain in the U.S.

“For us, we see the U.S., both customers and the buildout in the U.S., as some of our core responsibility to help the U.S. with,” Andersen told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.

“Then sometimes maybe we have to get a bit of a slap that it is not everyone that likes the nature of a wind turbine. But I think, in general, … energy drives decision making and [the] cost of energy drives decision making,” he added.

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NIU’s scooter-sized electric microcar is actually headed for production

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NIU's scooter-sized electric microcar is actually headed for production

Earlier this year, we covered the unveiling of the NIUMM, an electric microcar designed for urban residents (and especially those with a NIU scooter already, since it shares the same batteries). Now the company is actually bringing it to market.

The electric microcar was on display at EICMA 2025, the Milan Motorcycle Show, where NIU showed off how it shares the same drivetrain as its NQi-series scooters.

The small format L6e quadricycle uses a pair of NQi batteries – the same ones from NIU’s scooters – to power the little not-a-car up to around 70 km (43 miles) at speeds of up to 45 km/h (28 mph). That’s the maximum allowable speed for the L6e class.

For anyone who already owns the scooter, those two batteries may be sufficient. But the range can be nearly doubled by carrying a second pair of batteries in the convenient extra battery slots built into the vehicle.

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When the NIUMM was originally launched, it wasn’t yet clear if it was actually headed for production, or at least when that may be. But NIU’s Director of International, Sieghart Michielsen, explained that the vehicle is finishing homologation testing now, marking the last major obstacle to its commercial launch.

L6e quadricycles have carved out a unique and growing niche in European cities, where their compact size, low speed, and lightweight classification make them ideal for navigating dense urban environments. These light four-wheeled vehicles are limited to a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) and a maximum weight of 425 kg (excluding batteries), allowing them to be driven with a moped license in many countries.

That accessibility, combined with their affordability and electric drivetrains, has made L6e quadricycles especially popular among teenagers, city dwellers, and older adults looking for an easy-to-use alternative to cars.

One of the most iconic examples is the Citroen Ami, a no-frills, ultra-compact electric vehicle that has gained cult status in urban areas thanks to its minimalist design, €7,000 price tag, and availability through subscription or car-sharing services. My wife and I spent a week living with a Citroen Ami while on vacation in Greece, and it proved to be a fascinating way to navigate around.

Other standout L6e models like the Renault Twizy, the Microlino, and the Eli Zero, have helped demonstrate real demand for niche, small vehicles. These vehicles offer just enough comfort and protection from the elements for short city trips, while avoiding the cost, complexity, and parking headaches of full-size cars –making them an increasingly attractive option in Europe’s car-light future.

NIU could leverage the growing momentum for these types of vehicles if it can stick the landing with the NIUMM. While we still don’t have solid pricing or availability timelines yet, it looks like we’re looking at sooner rather than later.

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