CES 2026 Showed Tesla Is the Legacy Company Now

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Table of Contents

• CES 2026 Shows Tesla Is the Legacy Company Now, Wi …

• Inside the 2026 F1 Engine War: Mercedes vs. Ferrar …

• What's Next in 2026: Batteries and EV Tech

• Automotive Autopsy: The One and Done Tale of the A …

• Auto Evolution: Kia Telluride, From Underdog to On …

• A Foldable… Steering Wheel + More CES 2026 Stuff

• The finish line 🏁

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CES 2026 Shows Tesla Is the Legacy Company Now, With Little Hope of Leading in Anything

By: Cristian Agatie

Elon Musk abandoned plans to further expand Tesla's EV lineup and instead pivoted to autonomous vehicles and robotics, where he believed Tesla could lead the pack. However, CES 2026 showed that competition in those fields is already fierce, and Tesla might find itself trapped in between two worlds: one that it abandoned, and one that it's unable to conquer.

Only two years ago, Tesla had the world at its feet, with a solid vehicle roadmap, an autonomous driving program that started to show some progress, and expansion plans into energy storage and robotics, among other ventures that Tesla pioneered or revolutionized. However, at the end of 2023, something broke, and a chain of seemingly inexplicable events unfolded.

The first quarter of 2024 proved very difficult for Tesla, with sales plummeting across the board. This prompted Elon Musk to warn investors that Tesla is between two growth cycles. Musk hinted at the launch of new models, including an affordable, mass-market EV that would provide fuel for a new growth wave. Tesla investors were used to seeing double-digit sales growth, but Q1 2024 results were not in line with expectations.

That's when everything went sideways, and Elon Musk's handling of the situation led key Tesla executives to leave the company. Among them were its chief engineer Drew Baglino, Tesla's Bizdev director Rohan Patel, and the VP of Investor Relations Martin Viecha. Soon after, Musk fired Rebecca Tinucci, alongside 500 employees from her Supercharger team. Tesla's director of vehicle programs Daniel Ho also lost his seat, together with most of his team.

Consumed by chaos
Soon after that, sources inside Tesla indicated that Musk scrapped plans to launch an affordable EV. Instead, Tesla would only build a two-seater robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals. The news caught Musk off guard, so he denied that he canceled plans for the low-cost EV. This was a lie, as another report showed in 2025. Immediately, Musk hastily announced an unveiling event for the Cybercab.

The event was rushed without considering the circumstances or even Tesla's ability to deliver. The initial date was delayed to allow the team to actually build some prototypes. During the event, neither Tesla nor Musk could offer an official name for the driverless coupe. They oscillated between Cybercab and Robotaxi, although they failed to trademark either of the names.

For the full article, please continue reading on our site. 

Inside the 2026 F1 Engine War: Mercedes vs. Ferrari vs. Honda vs. Audi vs. Red Bull-Ford

By: Ed Spencer

In just 16 days, the newest generation of Formula 1 cars will take to the track for the first time at Barcelona, commencing a new era.  Not only do the new chassis feature active aerodynamics, but also new engines, which are a near split 50-50 between an internal combustion engine and a battery.

The new engine regulations have also seen the most manufacturers in the sport since 2009, with five bringing new power units, while the sixth, Cadillac, enters as the sport's 11th team with their bespoke engine debuting in 2028.

The five engine manufacturers have had varying amounts of development time and differing expectations. However, as pre-season testing continues and the engines are tested harder, some manufacturers should perform strongly while others might find the going tough.

But who goes into the new era at the front of the pack, and who has work to do?

Mercedes remains the firm favourite

The last time F1 introduced new engine regulations in 2014, Mercedes had the strongest power units, allowing them to dominate the first seven years of the turbo-hybrid era. Going into the new era, Mercedes remains the favourite with their power unit likely to be the strongest of the five when testing gets underway.

Mercedes' power unit has also proven controversial, with the German marque alleged to have found an extra performance advantage through its compression ratio, giving them an additional two-tenths over their rivals. The loophole has generated complaints from rivals, who are trying to close it before the season's first race in Melbourne to prevent the 2026 season from becoming one-way traffic.

With Mercedes customers including reigning Champions McLaren and midfield leaders Williams, it's little wonder the competition is concerned the top 10 could be dominated by Mercedes-powered cars.

Ferrari's agony looks set to continue

Ferrari has long struggled with turbo engines. In the first era, between 1977 and 1988, they won just two Constructors' championships, and in the second, in the 1980s, they were the third-best manufacturer, failing to win a title.

The failure of 2025, which saw Ferrari finish a dismal fourth in the Constructors' Championship, has increased the pressure on the Maranello-based concern to return to form in 2026.

But hopes the near 20-year wait for a title are bleak after sources told autoevolution the prancing horse's new engine isn't a world beater. Not only will Ferrari find it hard to fight for victories, let alone a podium, casting further doubt on the future of team principal Fred Vasseur. Ferrari's woes will cause headaches for their customers, Haas and Cadillac, who are also concerned about the performance of their 2026 chassis.

For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

What's Next in 2026: Batteries and EV Tech

By: Cristian Agatie

Throughout history, progress has not always been linear. There were times when things appeared stagnant (although they rarely are), and times when things seemed to move at a dizzying pace. This is true for many industries and technologies, although, as a general trend, we're moving much faster nowadays than we used to a few decades ago.

Even in the golden years of the 20th century, most people would not have to go through more than an industrial revolution in their lifetime. Baby boomers had difficulties adjusting to the new computer era, which, for most, overlapped with the rise of the internet. However, later generations would often live through several revolutions.

Instead of going from coal to steam to gas, the world is now living through several technological revolutions at once. We're already replacing fossil fuels with solar and wind, while electricity trumps all other energy sources. We have several computers strapped to our bodies, and soon, many will have brain implants of some sort. Everything is connected in the cloud, and what we know as "Internet of Things," or IoT, is automating every aspect of our lives.

Huge amounts of data are collected and processed in data centers that threaten to swallow every computing and energy resource we have. Artificial Intelligence is threatening to replace most jobs, while autonomous vehicles are already roaming our cities. Soon, robots would replace us physically, in factories, around the house, and in the military.

Considering all this, it's not surprising that the auto industry has evolved. However, since this is a very conservative industry, things aren't moving as fast as people expected, and certainly not as fast as they should. Disruptors like Tesla have lost their momentum, while newcomers are struggling to gain a foothold. 

Not all cars are yet autonomous, as Elon Musk promised every year for the past decade. And not all vehicles are powered by a battery, as many EV fans wished. In this case, the industry has moved sideways, if not backwards. Politics, which initially contributed to an accelerated EV adoption, is now putting the brakes on it. 

Uncertainty has also caused some legacy carmakers to cancel battery and EV projects. Tesla, the dominant player in the EV market, made no exception. In fact, it set the tone as it backtracked on EV manufacturing to focus on autonomous vehicles and robots. When it comes to EV and battery tech, Tesla turned from a trendsetter into a laggard, with hardly any improvements in these areas. 

However, this doesn't mean that the world stopped spinning to wait for Tesla to do its homework. In some ways, it started spinning faster. Other carmakers took over from where Tesla stopped innovating. There are still breakthroughs in battery chemistries, charging, autonomous driving, and infotainment systems. Continue on our website if you are curious to see what technologies and trends will shape the EV industry in 2026. 

For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

Automotive Autopsy: The One and Done Tale of the Acura ZDX

By: Benny Kirk

Remember when Acura's crossover SUV lineup was like, two models big? You know, back when the MDX and RDX were the only names in town. Nowadays, Acura offers what's effectively an entire sub-brand of crossovers that serve as their bread and butter sales movers. Well, that lineup recently became one model smaller. After a single model year, the all-electric ZDX is no more.

It's almost unheard of for an OEM to pull the plug on a vehicle after little more than 12 months anymore. Generally, they only ever do it when sales figures are so low that the accountants on staff can't even envision breaking even, let alone turning a profit. That said, the ZDX didn't exactly have an orthodox path to production in North America. Namely, because it's not an Acura, let alone a Honda underneath.

It's fair to call people's reaction to Honda and GM's partnership to deliver affordable EVs to both brands a head scratcher when it was announced. Back in April 2022, OEMs the world over were running around like headless chickens, figuring out how to supply each new car off the production line with enough microchips. Back then, the world at large was convinced internal combustion would be an extinct medium by 2035, maybe even a little bit sooner.

The move was a follow-up maneuver to a 2018 partnership between the two parties to develop what they considered next-generation battery technology. Paramount to this union was Honda's GM's Ultium battery and electric motor architecture. With all-new lithium-ion battery cells developed in-house by GM, it was hoped that Ultium's modular platform could scale up or down to accommodate a range of vehicles from mid-sized to large.

Knowing this, it's fair to say this assumption was at the heart of Honda and GM's little bromance. Certainly, it wasn't an attempt at a quasi "merger of equals," where it's immediately clear which side wears the pants in the operation. Truly, this Japanese-American odd couple was a partnership of convenience, one where Honda could bridge the gap in its battery-EV technology through direct access to GM's proprietary BEV3 skateboard platform.

A stalwart platform for GM's hard pivot towards an all-electric future that never came, the BEV3 platform breathed new life into brands like Chevrolet, with the Blazer and Equinox EV, and Cadillac through the Lyriq, Optiq, and Vistiq crossovers, and the flagship Celestiq sedan. Even across the world in China, the BEV3 architecture champions the Buick Electra E5, a vehicle that sells far more units in East Asia than anything they sell in North America.

Through the related dual or triple-motor BT1 platform, the Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra EV, GMC Hummer EV, and the Cadillac Escalade IQ/IQL carry more weight in batteries than some entire cars. For a company like Honda, which contributed to the early CARB-era EV craze through the EV Plus in the '90s but largely missed out on the modern boom, Ultium seemed like a pretty sweet deal.

For the entry-level Honda brand, its efforts with GM culminated in the Prologue mid-size crossover. Plain-Jane in appearance but no more offensive than an equivalent Pilot or CR-V, the Prologue was assembled at GM's Ramos Arizpe in Coahuila, Mexico, alongside the Cadillac Optiq, the ICE Chevy Blazer, and the tandem duo of the Blazer and Equinox EVs. With an 85 kWh Ultium battery pack and up to 288 horsepower in its dual motor trims, you could squeeze as much as 296 miles out of a single-motor variant, and an estimated 281 miles with two drive axles.

Note: please continue reading the full article on our site.

Auto Evolution: Kia Telluride, From Underdog to One of America's Top Favorite Family SUVs

By: Elena Luchian

The Kia Telluride arrived in 2020, in a segment that was already crowded. How was it going to stay afloat among a segment where the Hyundai Palisade, the Honda Pilot, and the Toyota Grand Highlander had been making the rules for ages? Well, somehow, the underdog made it and is one of America's top favorite family SUVs.

Positioned above the Sorento and below the Carnival, at the top of Kia's SUV lineup, the Telluride has a few aces up its sleeve: it's spacious with room for up to eight occupants, has a premium feel and generous cargo space, features innovative tech and advanced safety features, and we must admit, it doesn't look bad at all. All these factors make it a top-tier product in the segment.

The Telluride soon gained traction on the market, as Kia sold almost 100,000 units in 2022, 110,765 in 2023, and 115,504 in 2024, while 2025 is expected to maintain the growing sales trend.

The Telluride is the largest vehicle manufactured by Kia in the United States. The model was named after the town of Telluride, Colorado, as a clear statement of the brand's interest in the American market. The Telluride was, in fact, Kia's first model specifically designed for the U.S. market at the Kia Design Center in Irvine, California.

The Telluride rolls off the production line of the West Point plant in Georgia and is not marketed in its home country, South Korea. It is, though, delivered to the Middle East. Kia exports approximately 3,000 units per year.

Kia unveiled the production version of the Telluride at the 2019 North American International Auto Show, based on a concept it had shown at the same event three years prior. The design of the production SUV was similar to that of the concept car, with one small exception. A big one, actually, considering the size of the upright grille: the front end was completely restyled.

The Telluride came with a 3.8-liter Lambda II V6 Atkinson cycle gasoline engine under the hood, which is rated at 291 horsepower (295 metric horsepower) and 262 pound-feet (355 Newton meters) of torque. An eight-speed automatic transmission put the power down either through the front wheels or in an all-wheel-drive setup.

Drivers could select one of the four driving modes: Smart, Eco, Sport, and Comfort, while Snow and AWD Lock modes are also available for specific driving conditions. Standard towing capacity is rated at 5,000 pounds (2,268 kilograms). This means that the families will be able to bring along boats, campers, or trailers on their outdoor adventures.

 Note: please continue reading the full article on our site.

A Foldable… Steering Wheel + More CES 2026 Stuff

By: Bogdan Popa

This year's CES showcased devices that nobody imagined would exist 10 years ago. 

Autoliv, the company best known for supplying some of the most advanced vehicle safety systems, joined the event with a foldable steering wheel. As weird as that may sound, its engineers came up with an idea that makes perfect sense: a steering wheel has no use in an autonomous car, so why not make it go away when Level 4 is activated?

Vantrue unveiled the Pilot 2, a dash cam that combines highly desirable features for drivers. In addition to typical dash cam capabilities, it also features Android Auto and CarPlay support, as well as a thermal camera. Vantrue promises that the device sees through anything happening in front of your car, so say goodbye to struggling with low light or bad weather.

Garmin also unveiled a new camera, this time intended for use on trailer trucks. Its purpose is to eliminate blind spots on large vehicles. Very specific, but very useful for truck drivers.

Moving forward, Gentex is a name with a well-deserved place in the automotive space thanks to its mirror display tech. To nobody's surprise, Gentex has prepared a new mind-blowing device for 2026: a digital mirror fitted with an integrated display, which includes blind spot monitoring, dash-cam support, parking assistance, and cargo monitoring.

Congratulations for reaching the finish line!

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