MP Rupert Lowe alerted the coastguard to potential migrants on a boat – who turned out to be a charity rowing crew.

The independent Great Yarmouth MP posted a picture on social media on Thursday night of a boat near some wind turbines off the Norfolk Coast, saying he had alerted the authorities.

He wrote dinghies were coming into Great Yarmouth, “RIGHT NOW”.

“If these are illegal migrants, I will be using every tool at my disposal to ensure those individuals are deported,” he added.

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But the “dinghy” was actually an ocean rowing boat crewed by ROW4MND, a team of four attempting to row from Land’s End to John O’Groats for motor neurone disease research.

Mr Lowe, who was suspended from Reform UK in March, posted on Friday morning that it was a “false alarm” and was a boat of charity rowers, “thank goodness”.

He said he would donate £1,000 to their charity “as a well done” – but warned people to “watch out for any real illegal migrants”.

“We received a huge number of urgent complaints from constituents – I make no apologies over being vigilant for my constituents. It is a national crisis,” he wrote.

“No mass deportations for the charity rowers, but we definitely need it for the illegal migrants!”

Police wanted to send a boat to check

It is the first of four gruelling rows the crew will take over four years in an attempt to raise £57m for motor neurone disease research, inspired by the deaths of rugby players Rob Burrow and Doddie Weir from the condition.

Matthew Parker, Mike Bates, Aaron Kneebone and Liz Wardley said the coastguard initially contacted them and asked if they could see a dinghy nearby.

Ex-Royal Marine Mr Bates, a British record holder for rowing across the Atlantic solo, said it soon became clear the coastguard was asking about their boat.

“I looked to my right and there was maybe a dozen individuals stood on the shoreline staring at us,” he told the PA news agency.

After the coastguard accepted they were not carrying migrants, they rowed on through the night but hours later were contacted again by the coastguard because the police had “asked if they could send a lifeboat out to check who we were”.

‘I’ve not been mistaken for a migrant before’

A friend then forwarded Mr Lowe’s post, which Mr Bates said was “a moment of light relief”.

“We found it hilarious. I’ve not been mistaken for a migrant before,” he said.

“The best comment was the one asking where the Royal Navy were when you need them. I’m a former Royal Marine, so the Royal Navy were on the boat.

“But it was almost like a vigilante-style, people following us down the beach.

“They hadn’t twigged that we were parallel to the shore for hours and not trying to land.”

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Gruelling four-year challenge

The crew set off from Land’s End on 25 July, heading north, but bad weather forced them to stop, and they decided to return to Land’s End and start again, heading anticlockwise around the UK.

Next year, the team is hoping to row from John O’Groats to Land’s End, then from California to Hawaii in 2027 and New York to London in 2028.

Mr Bates said: “We’re rowing for hope, we’re rowing to find a cure, and hopefully we’ll raise £57m – we certainly will if MPs keep talking about us. Maybe Rupert will give us a donation.”

Tesla used car prices continue to plummet, while the average used car price is increasing. Despite being considered a premium brand, used Tesla vehicles are now cheaper than the used car sale price.

Isn’t this nuts?

Last year, Tesla’s used car prices started to drop along with the rest of the used car market in the US.

However, when the market started to recover in March 2025, Tesla’s used car prices didn’t. It continued to drop.

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In fact, it has now dropped so much that the average used Tesla vehicle costs less than the average used car on Car Gurus:

This is unprecedented. Although the brand has taken a significant hit over the last year, Tesla is still regarded as a premium brand in the industry. The fact that its average used car sale price would dip below the industry average, which includes inexpensive mass-market vehicles, is quite exceptional.

Used Tesla car prices are now down 4.59% year-over-year, compared to the market average being up 1.22%:

All Tesla vehicles are down year-over-year, with the Cybertruck unsurprisingly leading the charge.

However, Cybertruck has started to recover in the last few months, along with Model 3.

The Model Y, which is by far Tesla’s most popular model by volume, is dragging the average down as it continues to fall:

Electrek’s Take

Many Tesla owners have been selling their used vehicles and switching to new brands, increasing the supply and putting pressure on prices.

I expected this, but I didn’t expect the pressure to be so great that prices would dip below the average used prices.

This is significant.

It’s proof that the Tesla brand has taken a massive reputational hit and there’s no clear recovery in sight.