Sup. This is Plugged In. We’re the TL;DR of EVs - 5 minutes to save you from time wasted reading irrelevant news.

Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• Tesla Model Y Absolutely Dominating Sales RIght Now 👑

• 2026 Mazda MX-5 Miata To Be Electrified ⚡️

• Aurora Innovation Raises $820 Million 📈

• Tesla to License FSD to Legacy Auto Manufacturers 🚗

Also… We’d love to hear from you below! Let us know your thoughts 🧐

Wham, bam, thank you fam: Tesla Model Y is the European King! Elon must be chuckling all the way to the charging station right now. Model Y, Tesla's savvy SUV, has zoomed straight to the top of Europe's new-car sales chart for not just June, but for the first half of 2023. That's right, the Model Y is officially the King of the Euro Car Castle!

Leaving competitors like Dacia’s Sandero hatch and the Volkswagen T-Roc crossover eating its dust, the Model Y was June's top dog. But the real cherry on top is the half-year results. Tesla’s electric chariot found 125,144 eager buyers between January and June, a whopping 211.7% hike from the 40,147 recorded during the same period last year. And that number could be even higher since the data only covers 94% of sales in the European Union, ETFA countries, and the UK, according to Auto News.

Hot on the Model Y's heels, Dacia’s Sandero scooped second place in the half-year table with a solid 25.9% boost in sales to 118,883. The bronze medal went to the T-Roc, clocking 107,249 units, up 30.2% over its 2022 first-half performance. The Opel Corsa revved into fourth place with 102,082 sales, a remarkable 18.1% improvement, despite its facelifted version still in the wings.

However, it wasn't all smiles and victory laps. Peugeot’s 208, also awaiting a facelift, saw sales dip by 5.1% to 101,151. Even the once-reigning Volkswagen Golf found itself in the unfamiliar territory of ninth place in both the June and half-year tables.

So, it's champagne all around at Tesla, as the Model Y leads the pack in the European market. Who knows what records it might shatter next? As Elon would say, it's all about the volume, and right now, Tesla's volume is cranked all the way up to eleven!

2026 MAZDA MX-5 MIATA TO BE ELECTRIFIED ⚡️

We have some electrifying news. Mazda has just confirmed that the beloved roadster, the MX-5 Miata, will be stepping into the future, and yes, it's going green! But before you get too excited, we have to tell you they're playing coy about what shade of green it'll be - fully electric, hybrid, or plug-in hybrid.

Here's the skinny: Mazda's entire lineup is on track to be at least partially electrified by 2030. If the next-gen Miata is to survive past this electrifying transition (and, seriously, it'd better!), it has to evolve, just like your phone did from the Nokia 3310 to the iPhone 14. This is merely the next chapter in the legendary sports car's epic journey.

Why should you care? The Mazda Miata has a reputation that's harder to shake off than that chewing gum stuck under your shoe. It's a blast to drive, easy on the wallet, and feels like it's straight out of an auto-enthusiast's dream. It’s a classic. So, an electrified Miata means our favorite roadster can zip around long into the future. It's like your favorite superhero getting an upgrade - same beloved character, just new superpowers!

Now here's where the plot thickens. Mazda, in cahoots with Rohm Co., is busy concocting electric powertrains and has enlisted Envision AESC to cook up batteries. But if you're expecting a fully electric Miata, hold your horsepower! The tiny Miata, with its "can't touch this" performance, might struggle to accommodate a heavy battery pack. Imagine trying to fit an elephant into a smart car - not exactly a match made in heaven! So, a hybrid version seems more probable.

How about the price tag? With all these high-tech goodies, you might expect the Miata's price to skyrocket like Elon Musk on a SpaceX mission. But Mazda plans to keep the Miata from becoming a wallet-busting beast. A ballpark figure? Around $33,000 sounds about right.

We expect the curtain to rise on the next-gen Miata in the summer of 2025, just in time for you to feel the wind in your hair, the sun on your face and the electricity in your fingertips.

AURORA INNOVATION RAISES $820M 📈

Hold on to your hats, truckers! Aurora Innovation, the high-rolling autonomous trucking developer, has just raised a mind-boggling $820 million in fresh capital. This shiny new cash injection propels them straight onto the freeway to launching driverless trucks in 2024 and cruises into 2025 without needing to hit the brakes for financial refueling.

Here's the breakdown: The Pittsburgh native bagged $600 million through private placement, dealing 222.2 million shares like a pro poker player at a mere $2.70 each. Aurora also plans to flog an additional 73.3 million shares to the public at a sweet $3 a pop.

Last we checked, Aurora shares (NASDAQ: AUR) closed Thursday at $2.92, more than doubling in price since December when they were selling at a bargain bin price of $1.19 per share. That's like buying a lottery ticket and hitting the jackpot!

Founded by autonomy virtuoso Chris Urmson in 2017, Aurora had a cool $966 million in cash and short-term investments tucked away at the end of Q1. But even with pockets this deep, Urmson confided that the company would need more dough to drive into commercialization.

Aurora's teamed up with heavyweights Paccar Inc. and Volvo Group to develop chassis with backup capabilities – because it's always smart to have a plan B. If there's a hiccup, these trucks can steer and stop themselves, and they can even pull to the side of the road like a polite driver.

And to make their trucks roadworthy, Aurora's joined forces with German supplier Continental AG. They'll build future iterations of the Aurora Driver integrated hardware and software systems, aiming to hit the U.S. streets by 2027. The future of trucking is close!

TESLA TO LICENSE FSD TO LEGACY AUTO MANUFACTURERS 🚗

Elon Musk, the fearless leader of Tesla, confirmed on Wednesday that Tesla is currently in powwows with major OEMs about adopting Tesla's Full Self-Driving system. That's right people - Other automakers could soon be cruising down Autonomy Avenue with Tesla's technology.

So what does this mean? If other automakers decide to jump on this bandwagon, they'll need to integrate both Tesla’s software and hardware suite into their rides. Tesla's unique approach to ADAS, and ultimately to autonomy, is to rely solely on computer vision processing, a.k.a cameras, instead of a gaggle of sensors like lidar and radar.

During the Wednesday earnings call, Musk split the tea that Tesla will allow the transfer of FSD software to new vehicles, but only for the third quarter. Consider it a "one-time amnesty," according to Musk. So, if you're thinking of ordering, Q3 is the perfect time, or else you risk losing access to that sweet $15,000 software you just shelled out for.

Currently, about 400,000 Teslas boast the FSD feature, as reported in Tesla's Q4 earnings. The plan to expand the number of FSD-equipped cars isn't just for bragging rights. It's all about data, baby! The more cars out there, the more real-world driving data they collect, perfect for refining FSD's training.

But what's a self-driving car without some serious brain power? Tesla has announced it'll soon start production of its Dojo training computer. Uh… what the heck’s Dojo? It's the shiny new tech toy announced at Tesla's AI Day in 2021, designed to train Tesla's neural nets. These neural nets are used to power, train, and improve FSD and Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus.

However, these claims should be taken with a grain of salt, or maybe a whole salt shaker. Tesla needs Dojo to be the Usain Bolt of computers so it can fulfill its promise of delivering full autonomy to the masses. Without FSD, Tesla would be just another carmaker, according to Musk.

Musk admitted to his track record of optimistic predictions and shrugged off being dubbed “The Boy Who Cried FSD”. But he's sticking to his guns, claiming FSD will outperform humans by the end of this year. For the tenth year in a row…

THE JUICE 🔋

Tesla FSD Avoids A Deer With Zero Human Input That’s a win for Bambi.

Tesla V4 Supercharger We had an error in our last edition… Oops. So here’s this one again!

Ford Not Concerned About EVs Piling Up On Dealer Lots Apparently rising EV inventory is a good thing?

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