Euro NCAP investigating Tesla for potentially modified testing software
Euro NCAP
Tesla hacker Greentheonly recently discovered Tesla added various testing agencies’ names into some of its development software, sparking an investigation by Euro NCAP, Europe’s government-supported organization that thoroughly tests vehicles for safety.
Tesla just added ANCAP support in their code. This is in addition to already existing "I VISTA" (Chinese testing grounds), Euro NCAP and Korea NCAP
One wonders why do it (they also give testing houses one-off builds with the testing house in the name (with tweaked settings?) )
Green found Tesla recently added ANCAP, Australasia’s testing agency, to its software. I VISTA, which is China’s testing grounds, Euro NCAP, and Korea NCAP were already mentioned in the vehicle's code. The addition of ANCAP into the software aligns with Tesla beginning sales of the Model Y in Australasia.
Although Green was able to find these references in Tesla's software, he wasn't able to determine what they're being used for since they're run on Tesla's FSD hardware, which has limited access.
No Evidence of Any Attempt to Cheat
After Green's tweet, Euro NCAP took a closer look at Tesla’s software and their testing results and found no evidence that Tesla attempted to cheat in any of the agencies' tests.
“The integrity of its star-rating scheme is of utmost importance to Euro NCAP and we will continue to do all we can to ensure the rating reflects the safety which consumers can expect from their vehicles,” Aled Williams, Euro NCAP’s program director, told CNN Business. “So far, Euro NCAP’s investigations have not revealed any evidence of an attempt to ‘cheat’ the tests by Tesla.”
Euro NCAP Testing
Tesla does use geofencing to enable and disable its Full Self-Driving software. Notably, the company does this in Toronto, and owners are anticipating Tesla to remove the geofence in version 10.69.3.
“It is possible that GPS location is used to identify that the car is at a specific test track,” Williams added. “It’s one of the possibilities we put to Tesla and they absolutely deny that this is done.”
Others are speculating that adding agencies’ names to the code is likely for Tesla to contain the data at these testing sites. Tesla could gather test data so they can make improvements to both the hardware and software of their fleet.
It's important to note that the vehicle's software could not impact any of Tesla's safety crash tests done by these agencies as all vehicle sensors are covered before crash tests are performed.
The only testing that relies on the vehicle's software is software-assisted tests such as automatic emergency braking, pedestrian avoidance, lane departure, etc.
Tesla would be putting too much at risk by trying to cheat during any of these tests. Their vehicles are already some of the safest vehicles on the road, and they continue to improve their safety by making improvements to seat belt tensioning systems and improving the vehicle's hazard lights.
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Tesla has issued a strong denial in response to a Wall Street Journal report (Paywall) which claimed that Tesla’s Board of Directors had initiated a search for a new CEO.
In a statement posted directly on Tesla’s X account, Board Chair Robyn Denholm denied the report unequivocally. As per the statement, Tesla’s board did not reach out to recruiting firms in search of a new CEO.
Earlier today, there was a media report erroneously claiming that the Tesla Board had contacted recruitment firms to initiate a CEO search at the company.
This is absolutely false (and this was communicated to the media before the report was published).
The statement reaffirmed the board’s position on Tesla’s current leadership and that the board is highly confident in Elon’s ability to continue executing Tesla’s plans and future growth.
This confidence behind Elon follows his recent statements made during the Q1 2025 Earnings Call that he would be stepping back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the coming days and significantly reducing time spent there. Instead, he would be returning to focus on Tesla’s operations and the upcoming deployment of Robotaxi.
Shortly after the denial was posted, Elon Musk also commented on the report, specifically tagging the Wall Street Journal and criticizing their handling of the report.
It is an EXTREMELY BAD BREACH OF ETHICS that the @WSJ would publish a DELIBERATELY FALSE ARTICLE and fail to include an unequivocal denial beforehand by the Tesla board of directors! https://t.co/9xdypLGg3c
We’re glad to see Tesla and Elon set the matter straight, but there could have been a better way to spread this message and maybe even prevent the report from WSJ from going out.
We recently published an opinion piece on why Tesla needs its PR team back, and this specific incident is a good example. Relying solely on platforms like X for critical corporate communications - and in this case, late at night (1 AM EST), with limited reach outside the existing follower base seems like an ineffective way of communicating important company information.
We’d love to see Tesla really put some thought into managing its image, as it seems that several recent reports from major financial news organizations have apparently been wrong.
Either way, the board’s stance is clear - there is no active search underway, and Elon has the full backing and support of the board to lead Tesla toward the future.
Tesla’s Megapack is rapidly becoming a key component in energy storage and grid modernization efforts worldwide. Though often associated with powering AI infrastructure or industrial operations, Megapack’s true strength lies in its ability to stabilize electrical grids during blackouts and brownouts.
In a recent behind-the-scenes reveal, Tesla showcased the impressive scale of Megapack production at its Mega Lathrop facility, along with real-world examples of how these systems are already transforming energy resilience across the globe.
Mega-Scale Megapack
Tesla is operating the largest utility-scale battery manufacturing facility in North America at Mega Lathrop, which has the capacity to produce 10,000 Megapacks annually. Thanks to a highly automated assembly process that uses over 30 welding robots to assemble the core Megapack structure. This is the largest manufacturing fixture Tesla uses— likely to only be matched by future developments at Mega Shanghai.
Tesla uses a highly automated powder coating process, utilizing over 90 robotic paint atomizers to apply more than 140 pounds of powder coat to each Megapack. This process delivers Tesla’s signature white reflective finish, engineered for long-term durability and corrosion resistance that lasts up to 20 years, even in harsh coastal or high-heat environments.
All of Megapack’s power electronics are designed and built in-house. Each Megapack uses 24 battery modules, electrical busing, and thermal management systems to ensure grid reliability and help to maximize energy density. The architecture pairs each inverter with a battery module to maximize energy availability and overall uptime. Plus, before each Megapack ships its way across the world, Tesla performs rigorous on-site quality control to ensure that the installation process is as seamless as possible.
Watch Tesla’s video of the manufacturing process below:
Megapack’s Real-World Impact: Hawaii
The core purpose of Megapack is to make power grids more stable and resilient while also reducing reliance on dirty peak power plants like coal. They achieve this by balancing energy supply and demand in real-time, smoothing out fluctuations from variable renewable sources like solar and wind, which helps to prevent grid shortages.
Hawaii actually provides the most real and down-to-earth example of Megapack’s impact. In mid-2024, the Kapolei Energy Storage facility in Hawaii came online. Hawaii utilized 258 Megapacks with a combined capacity of 565 MWh, successfully replacing the state’s last coal-fired power plant. This single facility can power approximately 20% of Oahu’s peak electricity needs by itself for approximately 4 hours.
The project is more than just removing coal plants, though. It serves as an example of Megapack’s grid integration and grid forming technology. The Kapolei Energy Storage facility can manage grid fluctuations caused by weather changes impacting renewable energy, improving stability and preventing blackouts. Thanks to their rapid inverter response times of under a millisecond, Megapacks participate in complex grid balancing activities, including fast frequency and voltage support, which helps to maintain grid balance throughout the day. Beyond that, Kapolei also allows Hawaii to black-start the grid in case of a major power outage that takes out a large section of the grid.
This functionality would be especially useful in Spain, where black-starting the grid took over eight hours recently and is still disrupting the day-to-day life of people there.
You can check out Megapack’s real-world impact in this video from Tesla below:
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