Nvidia has unveiled its Alpamayo technology for self-driving cars, which will provide "logic" in autonomous vehicles. The company is collaborating with Mercedes to create a self-driving car that will appear in the US in the coming months.
Hyundai Motor Co. , through Boston Dynamics, unveiled an updated version of the Atlas robot at CES, designed for integration into production at car factories. It is capable of lifting up to 50 kg and operating in extreme temperatures.
Asian stock markets opened higher, with the MSCI index for global equities reaching an all-time high. This happened amid the capture of Nicolás Maduro by US forces and rising oil prices and PDVSA default bonds.
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a new driver assistance system, MB. DRIVE ASSIST PRO, which allows vehicles to navigate US city streets autonomously. This technology, already operational in China, will be a direct competitor to Tesla FSD.
Xiaomi founder Lei Jun announced a goal to deliver 550,000 electric vehicles by 2026, a 34% increase over last year's figure. The company achieved profitability in this segment in 18 months, outperforming Tesla, and plans to expand its lineup to six models.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Tesla delivered 418,227 vehicles, a 15. 6% decrease compared to the previous year. Overall, for 2025, deliveries decreased by 8.5% to 1.636 million vehicles, and the company recorded its second consecutive annual sales decline.
In December, new Tesla car registrations fell by two-thirds in France and Sweden. At the same time, sales in Norway increased by 89%, setting a new annual record.
Chinese company BYD reported a 28% increase in EV sales last year, exceeding 2. 25 million units. This allowed it to overtake Tesla for the first time, which, according to analysts, sold about 1.65 million cars during the same period.
From 2027, cars sold in China will have manual door unlocking due to electronic handle failures during accidents. New regulations require all vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tons to have both internal and external handles with mechanical emergency release.
2025 was a record-breaking profitable year for billionaires: their combined wealth grew by $3. 6 trillion to $18.7 trillion, thanks to the boom in AI and tech sector investments. Elon Musk increased his fortune by $333.2 billion, reaching $754 billion, becoming the first person with a fortune exceeding $700 billion.
Volkswagen has unveiled the new ID. UNYX 08 electric crossover for the Chinese market. It features an 800 V ultra-fast charging architecture and a range of up to 730 km.
U. S. federal road safety authorities have launched an investigation into emergency door opening mechanisms in some Tesla Model 3 vehicles. This is due to a petition from an owner who claims to have been locked in his car.
Mercedes-Benz has reached a $149. 6 million settlement in the US over the use of illegal software that concealed the true level of pollution from diesel engines. Almost 40,000 cars in the US were equipped with devices that understated emissions during inspections.
Bloomberg found at least 15 deaths in 12 incidents over the past decade where passengers or rescuers were unable to open the doors of a crashed and burning Tesla. NHTSA has launched an investigation into the defects, and Tesla is considering changes to the door design.
Elon Musk's fortune grew to $749 billion after the court's decision on Tesla options was overturned. This allowed him to become the first person whose fortune exceeded $700 billion.
The Delaware Supreme Court overturned a lower court's decision, allowing Elon Musk to reclaim his 2018 Tesla compensation package. This stock-based compensation plan is valued at nearly $140 billion.
Tesla demonstrated its humanoid robot Optimus at a Christmas market in Berlin, where it handed out popcorn. Although Tesla did not comment on whether the robot was operating autonomously, Elon Musk predicts that the company's future lies in self-driving "robotaxis" and humanoid robots.
Morgan Stanley is the leading contender to be the lead underwriter for the SpaceX IPO due to long-standing ties with Elon Musk. The SpaceX offering in 2026 is expected to be the largest in history, exceeding $1.5 trillion in capitalization.
Tesla shares reached an all-time high of $489. 88 on December 16, up 3.1% for the day. The company's market value rose to $1.63 trillion, and Elon Musk's fortune reached $684 billion.
Chinese automaker BYD has significantly extended the battery warranty coverage for its electric vehicles in Europe to 8 years or 250,000 km. This new policy exceeds industry standards and puts pressure on competitors.
Musk became the first person in history whose fortune exceeded $600 billion, thanks to the increase in SpaceX's valuation to $800 billion. His stake in SpaceX is $336 billion, and in Tesla – $197 billion.
Tesla's board of directors earned over $3 billion in stock awards, significantly exceeding the value of competitors' awards. Elon Musk's brother, Kimbal, earned nearly $1 billion, while Ira Ehrenpreis and Robyn Denholm received $869 million and $650 million, respectively.
Elon Musk's xAI company and the government of El Salvador are launching a large-scale educational program for over a million schoolchildren in 5,000 public schools. The project will use the Grok chatbot for personalized learning, adapted to the individual pace and interests of students.
The 2026 Mazda CX-5 achieved a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, outperforming the Honda CR-V in all major categories. The car showed outstanding results, especially in protecting vulnerable road users.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Tesla's stock rating to "hold" due to the company's "full valuation," despite its pursuit of development in robotics and artificial intelligence. Analysts expect volatile trading and potential downgrades, forecasting a decline in electric vehicle sales in North America.
Tesla registrations in Europe fell by 12. 3% in November, reaching about 17,000 cars. Excluding Norway, the decline was 36.3%, while in Norway sales increased by 175%.
In Kyiv, a 23-year-old Tesla driver, while intoxicated, fatally injured a 13-year-old girl at a pedestrian crossing. The man was detained, charged, and remanded in custody.
The European Union car market grew by 5. 8% in October, with 916,609 new cars registered. In the first 10 months of 2025, 8.97 million new cars were registered, which is 1.4% more than last year.
A lawsuit has been filed against Tesla in the US after a fatal accident where the design of the Model 3's door handles blocked rescuers' access. As a result, a woman died and her husband was seriously injured.
Elon Musk stated that people will be able to upload their minds to Tesla's Optimus robot within 20 years. This will be possible through a combination of Optimus robots and the Neuralink brain-computer interface, which will allow the transfer of a "mind copy" into a robotic body.
