Tesla Leads As 25% of Countries Commit to Phasing Out Gas Vehicles: A Look at Each Country's Commitment

By Kevin Armstrong
Countries around the world are phasing out gas vehicles in favor of EVs
Countries around the world are phasing out gas vehicles in favor of EVs
Statista

Nearly 25 percent of countries have announced plans for phasing out gas-powered vehicles. This international shift towards EVs is advantageous for Tesla, which continues to lead the electric car revolution. As countries enforce stricter emission standards and incentivize the adoption of EVs, Elon Musk and the Tesla team, who almost went broke 15 years ago, will continue to be in demand, setting the bar for a future of sustainable transportation.

United States Phase Out

The U.S., with California setting the ambitious goal of phasing out sales of new combustion engine vehicles by 2035. Several states, including Washington, Oregon, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, and Delaware, align their vehicle standards with California, solidifying the nation's commitment to cleaner air and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Global Commitment

Not to be left behind, Canada is also championing the transition to EVs. However, the nation favours hybrids in its phase-out strategy, aiming for 2035.

Crossing the Atlantic, the European Union approved a law to ban combustion engine car sales in all member states by 2035. Despite some initial resistance from Germany and Italy, all 27 member states eventually backed the proposal, marking a significant step in reducing CO2 emissions across Europe. Countries like the Netherlands, Belgium's Flanders region, Sweden, Greece, and Slovenia are even more ambitious, targeting the end of gas-powered car sales between 2029 and 2030.

Countries around the world are phasing out gas vehicles in favor of EVs
Countries around the world are phasing out gas vehicles in favor of EVs
Tesla

Norway is an electric mobility pioneer, with approximately 80 percent of new cars sold being fully electric. The country aims for 100 percent of new cars to be electric by 2025, showcasing a commitment that outshines many others.

Countries like China, Japan, and Singapore have proposed bans or are implementing 100% sales of zero-emission vehicles in Asia. Despite being one of the largest car markets, China, alongside Hong Kong and Macau, is steadfast in its commitment to phase out gas-powered vehicles, setting an example for the region.

Sri Lanka and Cape Verde are setting challenging goals. Sri Lanka aims for a full road ban for combustion engine cars, tuk-tuks, and motorcycles by 2040. Despite being a smaller country, Cape Verde internally set the goal to ban the sale of new combustion engine cars by 2035.

International Agreements

The global commitment to a cleaner, sustainable future was highlighted at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, where multiple governments and companies signed the Glasgow Declaration, aiming for 100% zero-emission cars and vans by 2035 in leading markets and by 2040 globally.

In the wake of these global transitions, Tesla stands to gain substantially. The company's innovative technology, expanding production capabilities, and growing global presence position it perfectly to meet the rising demand for EVs. Tesla's diverse range of electric vehicles, from luxury to more affordable models, caters to a broad spectrum of consumers, ensuring its continued market dominance.

Infrastructure Advancement

The phase-out of gas-powered vehicles necessitates advancements in EV infrastructure. Tesla's ongoing investments in supercharging stations and battery technology place the company at the forefront of addressing the infrastructural challenges of widespread EV adoption. It recently turned on its 50,000 supercharger and opened the stations to allow non-Tesla to charge. Plus, the company opened up the patent for the North American Charging Standard, allowing other companies to use its advanced technology to further the ability to power up EVs.

The global shift towards electric vehicles is not just a trend but a commitment to a sustainable future. With countries worldwide, from the U.S. and Canada to Norway and Sri Lanka, phasing out gas-powered cars, Tesla's innovative approach and market readiness position it as a critical player in this electric revolution.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the commitments countries have made to a sustainable transportation future:

United States has an Executive Order mandating all new light-duty vehicles added to the government fleet to be 100% zero emissions by 2027, with the entire fleet of government-owned vehicles with ICE engines to be phased out and replaced with all-electric cars by 2035-2040.

The United Kingdom has a government plan to stop new non-electric and hybrid car sales by 2035 and new CO2-emitting lorry and bus sales by 2040.

Canada aims to phase out new light-duty vehicle sales of diesel, petrol, and non-electric cars by 2035 and aims for all light-duty vehicles to be electric by 2050.

Belgium plans to end tax deductions for diesel and petrol employee company cars by 2026 and stop new car and van sales in the Flanders region that run on these fuels by 2029.

Chile and the People's Republic of China are targeting 2035 to cease new vehicle sales of diesel and petrol cars.

Costa Rica has proposed to stop new light vehicle sales of diesel and petrol cars by 2050.

Denmark intends to halt new diesel and petrol vehicle sales by 2030, allowing hybrid vehicles until 2035.

Egypt has a government plan to cease new car sales of diesel, petrol, and non-electric vehicles by 2040.

According to a Bundesrat decision, Germany aims to stop new car sales of emitting vehicles by 2030.

Greece plans to halt new vehicle sales of emitting and non-electric cars by 2030.

Hong Kong (PRC) and Macau (PRC) aim to stop new private vehicle sales and registration of diesel and petrol cars by 2035.

Iceland is targeting 2030 to end the sale of new cars and vehicles that run exclusively on diesel or petrol, with some regional exceptions.

As a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration, India plans to halt new vehicle sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2040.

Indonesia has proposed to cease all motorcycle sales by 2040 and all car sales of diesel and petrol vehicles by 2050.

Israel aims to stop new car sales and imports of emitting, non-electric vehicles by 2030, although the citation is needed for confirmation.

Italy intends to stop new private vehicle sales by 2035 and recent commercial vehicle sales of emitting vehicles by 2040.

Japan plans to cease sales of new diesel- and petrol-only cars by 2035, with diesel and petrol-hybrid cars continuing to be sold indefinitely.

The Republic of Korea aims to halt new vehicle sales of petrol and diesel cars by 2035.

Malaysia plans to stop new vehicle sales emitting vehicles by 2050 as part of the Malaysia Net-Zero Emission by 2050 initiative.

The Netherlands is targeting 2030 to cease new passenger car sales of diesel and petrol vehicles, with commercial vehicles continuing to use these fuels until 2040.

Norway plans to stop all new passenger car sales of diesel and petrol vehicles by 2025, with commercial vehicles following suit by 2035.

Portugal has a government climate plan to stop new car sales of diesel and petrol vehicles by 2035.

Singapore has a phased plan starting in 2023, targeting zero tailpipe emission public sector vehicles by 2023, ceasing sales and registration of diesel-only cars and taxis by 2025, and implementing a complete phase-out of internal combustion engines by 2040.

Slovenia aims for new car registrations to have emissions below 50 g/km by 2031, allowing diesel and petrol if they meet this criterion.

Sweden has a coalition agreement to stop new car sales of diesel and petrol vehicles by 2030.

Taiwan plans a phased approach, stopping all bus and government-owned car use of diesel and petrol by 2030, all motorcycle sales by 2035, and all car sales by 2040.

Thailand has proposals to stop new car sales and registrations of diesel and petrol vehicles by 2035, although these are not yet effective.

Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Finland, Ghana, The Holy See, Ireland, Kenya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Paraguay, Poland, Rwanda, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uruguay have all signed the Glasgow Declaration, committing to stop the sales of new emitting vehicles by 2040.

Tesla’s LFP Factory in North America Almost Complete — More LFP Vehicles Could Follow

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

In a new video posted to X, Tesla is showing the progress of its first Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) cell manufacturing factory in North America. The facility, located in Sparks, Nevada, will be used to produce LFP battery cells for Megapacks and Powerwall.

However, the implications of this new factory extend beyond Tesla Energy. By on-shoring the production of these cost-effective batteries, Tesla is not only securing its energy supply chain but also opening the door to potentially reintroducing LFP-based vehicles in North America.

Megapack First

The immediate beneficiary of the new Nevada LFP facility is Tesla’s Energy division. LFP chemistry is ideal for stationary storage products like Megapack and Powerwall. It offers a very long life cycle, is extremely thermally stable and safe, and is significantly cheaper to produce than nickel-based batteries, partly because it contains no cobalt.

Until now, Tesla has relied on suppliers like CATL in China for these cells. A dedicated, domestic supply will enable Tesla to dramatically ramp up Megapack production to meet North America’s increasing demand for grid-scale energy. On the other hand, Megafactory Shanghai continues to utilize CATL’s LFP batteries and will support the rest of the world. 

Tesla first revealed that they were planning to onshore LFP production in North America at the Q1 2025 Earnings Call, which will help them avoid costs, innovate in new technology, and insulate themselves from geopolitical supply chain risks.

A Potential Return for LFP Vehicles?

Another exciting application for Tesla is what this new factory means for Tesla’s budget-oriented lineup. For years, Tesla has been constrained in its ability to offer LFP-based vehicles in North America. While LFP packs are used in other markets for specific standard-range RWD vehicles, tariffs on important Chinese cells made it difficult to import these cells for use in North America.

With a domestic supply of LFP cells produced in Nevada, this tariff-related barrier will be mostly eliminated, pending the sourcing of lithium from a North American site. This is likely to lead to the reintroduction of LFP-based vehicles to the North American market, possibly in late 2026 or 2027.

An American-made LFP pack could lead to a more affordable base Model 3 or Model Y, or potentially help Tesla cut costs on the next-generation Affordable Model even further. This helps to give customers a lower-cost entry point without sacrificing a lot of range, and with the added benefit of being able to regularly charge to 100%.

Mega Nevada

With Mega Nevada now progressing well, Tesla is in an excellent position to continue iterating on its vertical integration and scaling Megapack and Powerwall—two of Tesla’s fastest-growing businesses—further. There are tons of benefits for consumers in the future as Tesla continues down this path, with more affordable Powerwalls for the home, cheaper electricity prices thanks to grid-forming Megapacks, and cheaper LFP vehicles.

Tesla Grok App: First Look at Its Interface and Features

By Karan Singh
@greentheonly on X

The next major upgrade for Tesla’s in-car experience is pretty much already here - just hiding beneath the surface, awaiting the flick of a switch. According to new details uncovered by Tesla hacker Greentheonly, a fully functional version of the Grok conversational AI assistant is already present in recent firmware builds, just waiting for Tesla to activate it.

The feature, which is currently behind a server-side switch, could be enabled at any time by Tesla for vehicles running update 2025.20 and newer. The findings provide a better picture of what we already learned from Green’s breakdown on Grok last month.

Grok’s Requirements

@greentheonly on X

According to what Green determined from the latest software builds, the foundation for Grok was laid with update 2025.14, with more abilities and functionality added in 2025.20 to flesh it out. He also determined exactly which vehicles will be receiving Grok.

In terms of hardware, any vehicle with a Ryzen-based infotainment computer will receive Grok. This means that vehicles with the older Intel Atom processor will not be supported, at least initially. The underlying Autopilot hardware is not a factor, as Grok’s processing is not done in-vehicle.

Grok will also require premium connectivity or a Wi-Fi connection for the vehicle. At this point, we’re not sure whether Grok in your Tesla will also require you to sign up for SuperGrok, X Premium, or X Premium+, but Tesla is requiring you to sign into your Grok account. It’s just not clear whether the free version of Grok will work, or if you’ll need the premium version.

Grok User Experience

@greentheonly on X

Green also revealed the user interface for Grok for the first time. You’ll find many of the same features from the Grok app, but surprisingly, it looks like it’ll have a dark UI, even if you’re using light mode in your vehicle.

It appears that there will be a Grok app, likely for settings. However, Grok will largely operate in a modal, similar to voice commands, which are displayed near the bottom left corner of the screen.

There’s an on-screen microphone button, as well as drop-down menus for the voice and type of assistant you’d like to use. 

Similar to the Grok app currently on mobile devices, you’ll be able to select from a set of voices and then define their personality. The available voices for now are the standard Ara (Upbeat Female), Rex (Calm Male), and Gork (Lazy Male).

There’s also a settings button, which, when expanded, allows you to enable or disable NSFW mode (including swearing and adult topics), as well as a Kids Mode, which will tone Grok down to be suitable for when kids are in the car.

@greentheonly on X

How Grok Will Work (Button / Wake Word)

Users will be able to activate Grok by pressing a button, likely the same one that activates voice commands today. Grok will then remain enabled for the duration of your conversation, allowing you to go back and forth, asking and answering questions. To end your conversation, you’ll press the mic button again.

While it doesn’t appear to use a wake word yet, Green says that some code refers to a wake word, so it’s possible that this could be an option Tesla plans to activate in the future.

Replacing Voice Commands

The most significant implication of Grok’s future integration is in its potential to fully replace the existing and relatively rigid voice command system. Green notes that internally, this feature is part of the car assist module, and that eventually, the plan is for Grok to take over car control functions.

Unlike the current system, which requires specific phrases, a true conversational AI like Grok can understand natural language. This will enable more intuitive requests, completely changing how drivers interact with their car.

Language Support

@Greentheonly/X

Grok will also launch with multi-language support, similar to its current abilities in the Grok app. Green says that it already appears to have support for English and Chinese and one or two other languages.

Release Date

Grok appears ready to go from a vehicle standpoint, but Green wasn’t able to actually test it out. While development appears to be nearly complete in the vehicle, Tesla and xAI may still be working on some server-side changes to better integrate with the vehicle. If they plan for Grok to replace voice commands on day one, then it’ll need to be trained and be able to execute a variety of vehicle commands.

It’s possible Tesla is actively testing Grok or adding server-side changes to replace voice commands. However, it looks like vehicle development is nearly complete and Grok could launch as soon as the next major Tesla update, which is expected to be update 2025.24.

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