Germany

I’ve been following the German government’s slow drift away from Microsoft for a while now, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern just made a move that caught my attention. They’re not just talking about open source — they’re actually rolling it out.

What’s Happening

The state is replacing Microsoft SharePoint with Nextcloud for its entire administration. We’re talking about more than 50,000 public employees eventually. Around 5,000 are already on it, and the roadmap includes chat, video meetings, and full groupware — essentially rebuilding the Microsoft 365 stack with open-source tools.

OpenProject handles their project management. And here’s the part I really like: they built their own AI assistant called LEA, based on OpenWebUI. No ChatGPT. No Copilot. They’re using European AI models like Mistral and Tilde — keeping everything away from US providers entirely.

Why This Matters

As someone who self-hosts as much as possible, I love this. Data sovereignty isn’t just a buzzword when a government actually acts on it. When your collaboration platform, your AI tools, and your project management all run on infrastructure you control, you own the whole chain.

The officials behind this say they expect greater control, improved security, and long-term cost savings. That tracks. When you’re not paying per-seat licensing to a single vendor, the economics shift. And when you can audit every line of code, security becomes something you verify, not something you trust.

The Bigger Picture

This isn’t happening in isolation. Schleswig-Holstein already pulled off a similar migration successfully, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern took inspiration from that. Multiple German states are now actively reducing their Microsoft dependency. It’s becoming a trend.

They’re not replacing Windows with Linux on desktops — yet. That’s still a bridge too far for most government IT departments. But the backend infrastructure is shifting, and that’s where the real power lives anyway.

Competition Is Good

I think this is healthy for the whole ecosystem. Having a different provider gives users a different approach to the same problem. Microsoft isn’t going to disappear, but when governments have real alternatives, the pressure to innovate and respect user data goes up for everyone.

Whether you care about open source, data privacy, or just want to see big tech face some real competition — what’s happening in northern Germany is worth watching. This isn’t a fringe experiment. It’s a state government betting that open source can run at scale, and putting 50,000 employees on the line to prove it.

I’m rooting for them.

Let me be honest: I don’t enjoy driving. I like to sit in the front seat and enjoy the view, but driving itself is fatiguing. So when Tesla announced Full Self-Driving is now live in Germany, I thought — this is it.

What Is FSD?

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is the car doing the driving for you — highways, lane changes, exits, city streets — while you stay alert. It’s not fully autonomous yet, but it’s the closest thing to a personal driver in a production car.

FSD is now subscription-only. Tesla dropped the one-time purchase, and as of May 2026, you’re paying €99/month in Germany.

Why I’m Not Upset About the Subscription

Subscriptions are exhausting. But let’s look at the alternatives:

• Personal chauffeur: Roughly €3,000-5,000/month in Germany — absurd money
• Taxis: Fine for quick trips, but longer drives cost €200+, usually not clean, long wait times
• FSD at €99/month: Unlimited usage, no surge pricing, no dirty backseats

I also think of FSD like an expensive insurance policy — where the car handles driving better than I do. Even in my VW Golf, I use adaptive cruise control and lane assist all the time. The machine doesn’t get tired. It only gets wear and tear, and then one day it breaks down.

Germany Finally Has It

After months of waiting, FSD is now approved in Germany as of May 2026. German Tesla owners can activate it directly from their Tesla account.

From what I’ve read, the EU rollout seems to be moving fast — reportedly, the Netherlands was first in April 2026, followed by Germany and Sweden in May.

The Bottom Line

FSD is the future of not driving. And now it’s finally here in Germany.

€99/month to never sit in traffic anxiety again? That’s a price I’ll happily pay.

This is my personal opinion, not official Tesla communications. Pricing and availability may change.

If you’re eyeing a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range and wondering how it holds up in German winter, I’ve got real-world data for you. I spent two months — December and January — putting 2,000 km on my Tesla Model 3 RWD Standard through temperatures ranging from -5°C to 5°C. The official WLTP range is 534 km, but here’s what actually happened.

Real Winter Range Results

• 100% SoC on a mild day (2°C): 427 km actual range
• Highway at 120 km/h in -3°C: 350 km
• City driving at 50 km/h: 400–420 km
• Mixed driving: 370–390 km
• Cold start penalty: 15–20 km lost on the first trip after sitting overnight

That highway number is the one that really matters for road trips — and 350 km at 120 km/h is a 34% loss compared to the WLTP claim. Significant, and worth being honest about.

LFP Battery Chemistry — Why It Matters

The Standard Range uses a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery — durable and affordable, but it has a well-documented cold-weather weakness. LFP cells have higher internal resistance at low temperatures, meaning less stored energy is usable. Compared to the nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery in the Long Range variants, LFP loses roughly 5–10% more range in cold conditions. On days between 0°C and 5°C, I saw losses around 20%. Below -3°C, it was consistently 25–35%.

The upside? LFP tolerates frequent charging to 100% without degradation, so you can start every morning at full charge — a real winter advantage.

Tips That Actually Work

1. Pre-condition while plugged in. The single biggest tip. Warm the cabin via the app while still on grid power. It preserves battery for driving and makes the car comfortable before you get in.

2. Use seat heaters instead of cabin heat. The seat heater uses a fraction of the energy. I set the cabin to 18°C and rely on the heated seat and steering wheel — warm without the massive HVAC drain.

3. Keep highway speed at or below 110 km/h. The aerodynamic penalty at higher speeds is brutal in cold air. Dropping to 105–110 km/h gave me 20–30 km of extra range consistently.

4. Plan charging stops every 300–350 km, not 500. Better to arrive with 10% and find a charger than to stretch it.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

My Take

Honestly? The range loss is something I can live with. It requires more planning than summer driving, but it’s not a dealbreaker. Once I stopped comparing to the spec sheet and started planning around 350 km highway range, road trips became stress-free.

Is the Model 3 Standard still a great value at €36,990? Absolutely. You just need realistic expectations. Plan for 350 km of real-world highway range, use the tips above, and the LFP battery will last for years with minimal degradation.

Note: Prices may vary by region and are subject to change. Check your local Tesla website for current pricing. All range figures are based on my personal testing under specific conditions. Your results may vary depending on driving style, terrain, tire selection, and local weather.