CAFE Standard is History - Will the PowerBoost be cancelled

[UGADawg96]

Maybe it should be moved from a hard button, to a switch in Sync. under driver assistance, or whatever. Choose it once and be done.

The implementation by the aftermarket folks to maintain memory of the button is all OEMs need to do. But instead of throwing more hardware at it, it would just be a simple software change.

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[UGADawg96]

I believe you

I just haven't experienced those problems and disabling it, is just a switch away, so it seems pretty radical, to want it removed for everyone.

And that is part of my preflight routine on our 25 explorer. Start, seat belt, turn off ASS, put in gear. Same for rental cars when traveling for work. You see, it is called Auto Stop Start or ASS for short.

 

[SumGuy]

EPCA and EISA are already laws passed by Congress. NHSTA turning the dial on the Standards and enforcement doesn't change that. Realistically this can all be turned back on in January 2027 with simple Congressional oversight.

Unless I missed something, CAFE penalties were changed to $0 for most everything via the BBB, not administratively. So to change it back would require inclusion in a bill.

however, since the BBB was passed via reconciliation, it would be a lower threshold than traditional senate passage, however, it seems most bills are passed via reconciliation these days. Especially post ACA.

 

[Ricksc]

Fords money would be better spent on a better battery charging system that does not kill batteries.

 

[XLT22]

Unless I missed something, CAFE penalties were changed to $0 for most everything via the BBB, not administratively. So to change it back would require inclusion in a bill.

however, since the BBB was passed via reconciliation, it would be a lower threshold than traditional senate passage, however, it seems most bills are passed via reconciliation these days. Especially post ACA.

It's a meaningless gesture. The statues are still on the books and corporate entities are bound to follow the law.

Maybe in a less visible industry some might try to skirt it, but a public company can't do that.

 

[XLT22]

I believe Robotaxi is near Level 4 and Tesla seems to be the winning approach. Just a matter of time, and they seem to be making leaps and bounds in the forward direction. 14.2.1 looks pretty interesting from the limited videos I've seen. Haven't experienced myself. As you say, "perceived" perception on my part

The issue with Tesla specifically is they're very averse to testing their systems to established standards. That's how everything works in the automotive world. Gotta show evidence you meet the standard otherwise the claims are just claims.

 

[PaulGrun]

I believe Robotaxi is near Level 4 and Tesla seems to be the winning approach. Just a matter of time, and they seem to be making leaps and bounds in the forward direction. 14.2.1 looks pretty interesting from the limited videos I've seen. Haven't experienced myself. As you say, "perceived" perception on my part

I don’t closely track developments in FSD, but I was under the impression that Tesla is at pretty much a dead end because of Elon’s decision to forego LIDAR in favor of optical sensors?

The issue with Tesla specifically is they're very averse to testing their systems to established standards. That's how everything works in the automotive world. Gotta show evidence you meet the standard otherwise the claims are just claims.

I trace this back to Musk’s poor engineering skill, “move fast and break things” might work in some places but it’s a shitty approach to engineering.

 

[eharri3]

I think people overestimate the impact of this change. Manufacturers may dump one-2 features, models or motors that were money losers. But after being burned by the fake government generate EV trend the smart business play is to design overall to the higher standards assuming they'll come back

 

[FORDTEXAS]

https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emi...ule-multi-pollutant-emissions-standards-model

i don't know why so many people overlook this...

too many people are obsessed with CAFE standards but aren't looking at the bigger picture

 

[JCsTruck]

I trace this back to Musk’s poor engineering skill, “move fast and break things” might work in some places but it’s a shitty approach to engineering.

Think about that for a minute. The guy came to this country from Africa with nothing and became the richest man in the world. He has the most successful electric car company with technology 10 years ahead of every other electric car company making an electric car right now. He owns and participates in SpaceX which is the most successful privately owned space rocket company in the world.

Lets summarize his engineering impressive achievements from #1 through #10, judged by technical difficulty, scale of impact, real-world results, and how directly his engineering leadership drove the outcome.

1. Reusable orbital-class rocket (Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy) – SpaceX.
- First stage landing and re-flight (2015–present)
- Over 400 successful booster landings, ~350 re-flown boosters
- Cut launch cost from ~$400M (legacy expendable) to ~$30–40M internal cost for Falcon 9
- Enabled Starlink constellation and made SpaceX the world’s most active launch provider by far.

2. Mass production of long-range, affordable electric vehicles (Model 3 / Model Y) – Tesla.
- Model 3/Y became the best-selling premium sedan and best-selling vehicle (any powertrain) globally in 2023–2025
- 4680 structural battery pack + gigacasting reduced manufacturing cost and complexity
- Over 7 million cumulative Model 3/Y produced by late 2025.

3. Starlink global satellite internet constellation – SpaceX.
- ~7,000+ LEO satellites launched (largest constellation ever)
- Laser inter-satellite links (v2) achieving ~100 Gbps per satellite
- Serving >5 million customers, profitable, and providing broadband in remote/antartic/arctic regions and Ukraine battlefield.

4. Full re-usability architecture with rapid turnaround (Starship system).
- First full-stack orbital test flight success (IFT-4, June 2024)
- First booster catch with “chopstick” arms (IFT-5, October 2024; IFT-6, November 2025)
- On track for <24-hour re-flight cadence; projected cost <$10M per 150-ton-to-orbit launch.

5. Autopilot / Full Self-Driving hardware-software stack (Tesla).
- First production car with custom neural-net chip (HW3 2019 → HW4 2023 → AI5 2025)
- Trained on >50 billion real-world miles; end-to-end neural networks (v12–v13)
- Robotaxi unveiling (October 2024) and unsupervised FSD rollout in multiple U.S. states and China by 2025.

6. Vertical integration of battery supply chain (Tesla).
- Co-developed 2170 and 4680 cells with Panasonic and CATL
- Built multiple multi-GWh battery factories (Nevada, Texas, Shanghai, Berlin)
- Drove lithium-ion pack cost from ~$350/kWh (2014) to ~$80–90/kWh (2025).

7. The Boring Company’s Vegas Loop (practical urban tunneling).
- Demonstrated 2–3× faster tunneling than traditional methods with Prufrock-3
- 5+ miles of operational tunnels under Las Vegas with 70+ stations by 2025.

8. Hyperloop concept → catalyst for high-speed transport.
- 2013 white paper directly led to Virgin Hyperloop, Hardt, Swisspod, etc.
- While Elon never built it himself, the open-source concept accelerated the entire industry.

9. high-bandwidth brain-machine interface.
- First fully wireless, 1,024+ channel human implants (2024–2025n).
- Demonstrated cursor control, gaming, and speech decoding in multiple patients.

10. PayPal (X.com) early online banking & payment system.
- While not “hard” engineering by today’s standards, merging X.com with Confinity and scaling PayPal to millions of users in 1999–2001 was a major software-engineering success at the time.

Clear top tier (undisputed world-firsts)
1. Reusable orbital rockets
2. Mass-market long-range EVs
3. Starlink constellation

Everything else is impressive, but those three fundamentally changed their industries and would not have happened (or would have taken decades longer) without Elon’s direct, hands-on engineering leadership.

So I’m sorry to pick on the internet guy who thinks Elon has poor engineering skills but I guess anyone with a half decent brain already knows these things and I don’t really need to list them and therefore call you out, but just in case some lame brain is fooled by your short sighted statement then they are listed above.

 

[XLT22]

I don’t closely track developments in FSD, but I was under the impression that Tesla is at pretty much a dead end because of Elon’s decision to forego LIDAR in favor of optical sensors?

I trace this back to Musk’s poor engineering skill, “move fast and break things” might work in some places but it’s a shitty approach to engineering.

Not sure but what I do know is the OEs are running Chinese trucks/SUVs around their test tracks and sending them to 3rd party calibrators for more. We need our homegrown brands to invest in R&D like the Chinese are because eventually they'll be building vehicles here that will leave Ford/GM/etc in the dust and for far cheaper.

BYD and Great Wall are the two brands that seem to be popular to benchmark these days.

 

[XLT22]

I think people overestimate the impact of this change. Manufacturers may dump one-2 features, models or motors that were money losers. But after being burned by the fake government generate EV trend the smart business play is to design overall to the higher standards assuming they'll come back

Nothing about EVs is a fake trend. Government subsidies are there to kickstart an industry when it's relevant to future national economic security. Everyone knows they're the future and we can't be left behind with old technology. Not for 100% of all use cases but definitely for the overwhelming majority of use cases.

Trends in electric car markets – Global EV Outlook 2025 – Analysis - IEA

 

[js312]

An automotive company that ignores fuel economy is going to lose sales (minus a purely performance oriented brand).

A few trucks ago, I had a Tacoma that I loved but it was getting up there in age and miles and I was looking at full size trucks to replace it. The primary thing that turned me away from the Tundra at the time was that it only got 15 MPG. The F-150, on the other hand, had the 2.7 that got better fuel economy than my Tacoma did, all while being more capable and powerful.

It's the same reason I think a 2.7 PowerBoost would sell well. You could potentially get diesel-like power and MPG numbers out of it without the drawbacks. For what I do, I'd gladly trade a little power and towing capacity for a few more MPGs. As long as they can keep payload above about 1400 and towing at or above 7000, it'd do what I need it to do.

 

[WalterMitty]

If they keep the cadence of the last two generations (Gen 12: 09-14, Gen 13: 15-20), 2026 will be the last model year of Gen 14. I don’t own a Powerboost, but I agree. I’d like to see them take it a step further with a Plug-In version with enough range for the short trips around town (30ish miles). After upgrading our family hauler to a PHEV, I see the value in having some local electric range. An increase in PPoB capacity would be a welcome feature as well.

What did you go with?

The PHEV really intrigues me. Almost the perfect concept for my wife. She takes many little short trips each day during the week (workout, shop, pickleball, etc.). She could putt around most days and I’m sure wouldn’t go over 30miles….so full electric. Then when she wants to go on a long trip, no problem.

 

[FirstTimeFord]

Think about that for a minute. The guy came to this country from Africa with nothing and became the richest man in the world. He has the most successful electric car company with technology 10 years ahead of every other electric car company making an electric car right now. He owns and participates in SpaceX which is the most successful privately owned space rocket company in the world.

Lets summarize his engineering impressive achievements from #1 through #10, judged by technical difficulty, scale of impact, real-world results, and how directly his engineering leadership drove the outcome.

1. Reusable orbital-class rocket (Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy) – SpaceX.
- First stage landing and re-flight (2015–present)
- Over 400 successful booster landings, ~350 re-flown boosters
- Cut launch cost from ~$400M (legacy expendable) to ~$30–40M internal cost for Falcon 9
- Enabled Starlink constellation and made SpaceX the world’s most active launch provider by far.

2. Mass production of long-range, affordable electric vehicles (Model 3 / Model Y) – Tesla.
- Model 3/Y became the best-selling premium sedan and best-selling vehicle (any powertrain) globally in 2023–2025
- 4680 structural battery pack + gigacasting reduced manufacturing cost and complexity
- Over 7 million cumulative Model 3/Y produced by late 2025.

3. Starlink global satellite internet constellation – SpaceX.
- ~7,000+ LEO satellites launched (largest constellation ever)
- Laser inter-satellite links (v2) achieving ~100 Gbps per satellite
- Serving >5 million customers, profitable, and providing broadband in remote/antartic/arctic regions and Ukraine battlefield.

4. Full re-usability architecture with rapid turnaround (Starship system).
- First full-stack orbital test flight success (IFT-4, June 2024)
- First booster catch with “chopstick” arms (IFT-5, October 2024; IFT-6, November 2025)
- On track for <24-hour re-flight cadence; projected cost <$10M per 150-ton-to-orbit launch.

5. Autopilot / Full Self-Driving hardware-software stack (Tesla).
- First production car with custom neural-net chip (HW3 2019 → HW4 2023 → AI5 2025)
- Trained on >50 billion real-world miles; end-to-end neural networks (v12–v13)
- Robotaxi unveiling (October 2024) and unsupervised FSD rollout in multiple U.S. states and China by 2025.

6. Vertical integration of battery supply chain (Tesla).
- Co-developed 2170 and 4680 cells with Panasonic and CATL
- Built multiple multi-GWh battery factories (Nevada, Texas, Shanghai, Berlin)
- Drove lithium-ion pack cost from ~$350/kWh (2014) to ~$80–90/kWh (2025).

7. The Boring Company’s Vegas Loop (practical urban tunneling).
- Demonstrated 2–3× faster tunneling than traditional methods with Prufrock-3
- 5+ miles of operational tunnels under Las Vegas with 70+ stations by 2025.

8. Hyperloop concept → catalyst for high-speed transport.
- 2013 white paper directly led to Virgin Hyperloop, Hardt, Swisspod, etc.
- While Elon never built it himself, the open-source concept accelerated the entire industry.

9. high-bandwidth brain-machine interface.
- First fully wireless, 1,024+ channel human implants (2024–2025n).
- Demonstrated cursor control, gaming, and speech decoding in multiple patients.

10. PayPal (X.com) early online banking & payment system.
- While not “hard” engineering by today’s standards, merging X.com with Confinity and scaling PayPal to millions of users in 1999–2001 was a major software-engineering success at the time.

Clear top tier (undisputed world-firsts)
1. Reusable orbital rockets
2. Mass-market long-range EVs
3. Starlink constellation

Everything else is impressive, but those three fundamentally changed their industries and would not have happened (or would have taken decades longer) without Elon’s direct, hands-on engineering leadership.

So I’m sorry to pick on the internet guy who thinks Elon has poor engineering skills but I guess anyone with a half decent brain already knows these things and I don’t really need to list them and therefore call you out, but just in case some lame brain is fooled by your short sighted statement then they are listed above.

Great list! Maybe calling him a bad dancer makes sense, that's fair, his style is pretty unique lol. However, questioning his intelligence? That's blind hate blocking reality. Few have advanced so many industries and changed so many lives for the better. He's done the impossible repeatedly. Catching the Super Heavy Booster alone deserves universal respect, especially from engineers! The world's richest man doesn't even care about money; it's just fuel for his goals. He's risked everything, all of his own money, and won. I would add Neuralink and xAI to your list. Enabling paralyzed people to control computers with their thoughts and offering hope of restoring sight and movement for the blind and paralyzed. Truly life-changing! Not to mention, he has most likely saved free speech for the greatest country on earth and is helping to do the same in other countries. But hey, it's a lot easier for some to throw shade and rocks, I guess. Whatever!!

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