Tesla's Dilbert Cartoon Moment - Penalized for Being Too Efficient

January 4, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Legacy auto still leaves many things to be desired in terms of electric vehicles

Not a Tesla App / Dilbert

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk has frequently referred to the popular Dilbert cartoon. In a memo to employees in 2018, he wrote: "In general, use common sense as your guide. If following a 'company rule' is obviously ridiculous in a particular situation, such that it would make for a great Dilbert cartoon, then the rule should change."

Only Tesla could be penalized for being too environmentally friendly, too efficient and too far ahead of the competition, but that is what the Inflation Reduction Act is doing. Twitter user @farzyness tweeted a very Dilbert-like post, but it's not a cartoon.

The tweet reads: The car on the left (hybrid Jeep) has a gas engine and gets 20 MPG. It has 21 miles of electric range. It gets a $7,500 EV Tax Credit. The car on the right (Tesla Model Y) is electric only and gets 113 MPEe. It has 330 miles of range. It does not get a $7,500 EV tax credit.

Brett Winston, the chief Futurist with ARK Invest, added more layers to this already Dilbert classic. He tweeted: A recipe for misaligned incentives: Take 1 ICE SUV Add $2,500 of batteries (for a whopping 21 miles of electric range) Get a $7,500 subsidy (Meanwhile a true EV SUV with 15x the range and more cargo capacity doesn't qualify because it's not "SUV enough").

Tesla's Dilbert Cartoon Moment - Penalized for Being too Efficient

Not a Tesla App

Farzad Mesbahi has started a Change.org petition to right this obvious wrong. His petition, Fix the Inflation Reduction Act EV Tax Credit, has some harsh words for those who wrote the legislation. He states, "At best, this is a pretty severe lack of negligence by the IRS to properly categorize vehicles. At worst, it's corruption against companies like Tesla in order to benefit a dying legacy auto industry by giving them EV tax credits for vehicles that are anything but EVs. Instead of funding the next generation of the American economy, tax payers are now funding old technology in large, inefficient gas vehicle auto makers. This is a gross miss use of taxpayer dollars."

But not all hope is lost — yet. The IRS allows public input on the "Qualified Plug-in Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit." Americans have until February 28, 2023, to provide comments. There is even an email address to make it easier: pra.comments@irs.gov. Make sure to include "OMB Control No. 1545-2137" in the subject line.

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Norway Approves Tesla’s FSD Testing on Public Roads; Potential for Europe-Wide Deployment

April 26, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

According to filings found by Kees Roelandschap on X, Tesla has obtained a 2-year exemption from UNECE autonomy regulations to run FSD Supervised on public roads in Norway. This marks one of the first positive developments for regulations and autonomy in Europe — great news for European customers.

Previously, European transportation agencies stressed additional caution and requested more time to legislate, further delaying the widespread UNECE regulation changes for autonomous vehicles.

Norwegian FSD - Employees Only

Following the recent approval from the Norwegian Road Authority, Tesla will be permitted to use its Supervised vehicles on public roads in a testing capacity. This exemption does not yet apply to customers, so we will have to wait and see how testing progresses.

Tesla will specifically be allowed to run FSD V13 and its derivative builds (meaning AI4 vehicles only) with automated steering and speed controls on EU-registered and approved vehicles.

Tesla will also be required to have Tesla-trained drivers (employees) conduct the testing. There is no specific policy in place that enables the use of FSD for customers at this time. However, as testing is conducted and bureaucratic hurdles are overcome across various transportation departments, Tesla may be able to extend the offer to European customers. According to Tesla’s latest earnings call, the company still plans to release FSD in Europe by the end of the year.

Tesla has already begun testing in the Netherlands, showing off FSD’s capabilities in Amsterdam.

FSD Supervised in Europe, pending regulatory approval pic.twitter.com/PYkcATjSUN
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) April 5, 2025

Article 39 Exemption

The UNECE can grant exemptions for innovative technologies that move faster than legislation under Article 39. However, Tesla requires the backing of a national ministry of transport to bring this to the UNECE’s attention. The next round of voting on critical issues is expected on May 12, 2025, which may not leave Tesla much time to present its findings to UNECE.

We don’t expect Tesla to receive authorization immediately. It may take several weeks or months of testing from the Netherlands or Norway teams before one of the two countries is willing to support Tesla’s exemption bid.

However, if Tesla achieves an Article 39 exemption, it could allow Tesla to roll out FSD to customers across Europe, provided there are no country-level exemptions.

Tesla Reintroduces FSD Transfers in North America

April 25, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Following customer requests, Tesla has once again returned FSD Transfers for North America. This comes after some new details we received on FSD Supervised and Unsupervised at the recent Q1 2025 Earnings Call.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei … FSD Transfer is back

All countries (in NA), all S3XY + @cybertruck (excl Foundation Series & Launch Series)
— Tesla North America (@tesla_na) April 25, 2025

FSD Transfers

This latest round of FSD transfers doesn’t have a specific time limit - so if you’re in the market for a new vehicle and were worried about transferring FSD from a HW3 vehicle - now is the best chance.

This transfer opportunity is applicable for any new vehicle purchases, including the Model S, 3, X, Y, as well as the Cybertruck. The only vehicles it doesn’t apply to are the Foundation-Series Cybertruck or a Launch-Series Model Y, which already come with FSD included.

If you’re conducting an FSD transfer, you’ll need to reach out to your Tesla delivery coordinator through the Tesla app to confirm you’re eligible and to get the process started.

Note that once you take delivery, FSD access is removed from your older vehicle, regardless if you plan to trade in your vehicle or keep it.

Canada and Mexico

For those in Canada and Mexico, there’s some good news. This opportunity is available for customers in those countries as well, however, new vehicle orders are currently paused in Canada and Mexico for unknown reasons.