Tesla Model 3 News
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Only one topic really mattered in the Tesla third-quarter financial results call for analysts held Wednesday afternoon: Model 3. In light of far lower September deliveries than promised as late as July by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, all interest focused on the more-affordable, higher-volume electric car that's meant to catapult Tesla to selling half a million cars a year. The news for October deliveries was, to put it bluntly, not good. DON'T MISS: Parts order for Tesla Model 3 cut by 40 percent starting in December: report Model 3 deliveries had kicked off in late July with a highly touted ceremony...
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Parts order for Tesla Model 3 cut by 40 percent starting in December: report
Relatively few auto-company CEOs would publicly mention sleeping on the roof of one of their factory buildings. But Tesla CEO Elon Musk is not like most other chief executives of auto companies. Most also don't break news via tweet, for instance. A tweet by Musk Thursday evening referred to the...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3 fast-charging at Superchargers will not be free
Before production of the Tesla Model 3 began, company CEO Elon Musk promised Tesla would offer owners some sort of free Supercharger use. Specifically, Musk said, "free long-distance charging is [included]," which led many reservation holders to believe they would receive free Supercharger credits...
Sean Szymkowski -
Polestar's second, third cars will be all-electric, one to challenge Tesla Model 3
While Tesla works out the production bottlenecks that plague the Model 3, rivals continue to gear up to challenge the Silicon Valley maker's more affordable electric car. Specifically, Tesla's latest announced competitor comes from the new brand at Volvo Cars Group, named Polestar, which has become...
Sean Szymkowski -
How will Tesla Model 3 do over the next year? Poll results
If ever a car were in "production hell"—to use Tesla CEO Elon Musk's memorable phrase—the Tesla Model 3 is, right around now. From the first hand-built Model 3s delivered in late July through the end of September, fewer than 300 cars have gone to buyers—far short of the 1,500...
John Voelcker -
What's ahead for Tesla Model 3? Take our Twitter poll
Auto-industry CEOs virtually never admit that the new product that could make or break the company is "in production hell," but that's now obviously the case for the Tesla Model 3. Deliveries last months totaled just 220 units, far below Tesla CEO Elon Musk's July projection of 1,500 during...
John Voelcker -
One of the mere handful of Tesla Model 3 electric cars on the road made its way to Craigslist—very briefly—on Wednesday. But it wasn't the fact that the Model 3 was the only one on the open market at the time. It was its eye-popping price price tag: $150,000. That's enough to buy a very well-equipped Tesla Model S and it'll eventually be enough to buy a garage full of Model 3s once Tesla ramps up production. DON'T MISS: Tesla Model 3 rated at 126 MPGe, third-best after Ioniq Electric and Prius Prime The listing, found by Electrek, was briefly on the Monterey, California...
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Tesla Model 3 interior details, features emerge from pair of videos
While the 2017 Tesla Model 3 electric car is now being delivered in small numbers to company friends and employees, not all the specifications, features, and details for the electric car are available. Now more information has emerged, in the form of a pair of videos—one by a detailer and...
John Voelcker -
Which electric car will sell best in 2018? Take our Twitter poll
OK, now the 2018 Nissan Leaf has made its debut, and we know the prices, specifications, and standard and optional features of the updated electric car with a projected 150 miles of range. Deliveries of the 2018 Leaf will start early next year, but meanwhile the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV has been on...
John Voelcker -
What car is closest Tesla Model 3 competitor? Poll results
Much of the electric-car world is waiting to see how quickly production of the Tesla Model 3 will ramp up over the balance of this year. Will it reach the remarkable level of 5,000 cars per week by December 31 that CEO Elon Musk has set as a goal? Analysts and industry commentators are skeptical...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3: do design features point to self-driving car-sharing service?
The Tesla Model 3 continues to generate an inordinate amount of interest from electric-car advocates and the general public, as pretty much any Tesla model has in the past. But unlike the Model S in 2012, which broke new ground on multiple fronts, the lower-priced Model 3 appears to be less...
John Voelcker -
Does Tesla Model 3 compete with Bolt EV and Leaf, or BMW 3-Series?
There's a new generation of the BMW 3-Series sport sedan coming next year, and rumors suggest there will be an all-electric version in 2019 or 2020. If so, there's only one car that it would be targeting: the Tesla Model 3, the 220-mile or 310-mile electric sedan from the Silicon Valley carmaker...
John Voelcker -
Like the company's three previous electric cars, the Tesla Model 3 launched into production with a splashy media event during which owners received the keys to their new cars and the company's fans applauded. Like the Model S and Model X, production is starting at very low rates, with the rate of increase—to 5,000 cars a week by December 31, CEO Elon Musk says—closely watched by analysts, owners, and advocates. The Model 3 is the culmination of Tesla's August 2006 "Secret Master Plan," which has played out more or less as Musk envisioned it. DON'T MISS: Which electric car will...
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Tesla Model 3 won't be delivered in Michigan to buyers; lawsuit grinds on
An ongoing lawsuit continues to complicate life for potential buyers of the Tesla Model 3, and the automaker's other electric cars, who live in Michigan. Tesla and the state remain locked in a legal battle over the state's franchise law, which requires automakers to sell vehicles only via an...
Sean Szymkowski -
Tesla Model 3 battery cells will turn a profit for Panasonic by next year
Relatively few people focus on it, but the huge Japanese electronics company Panasonic is a minority shareholder in electric-car maker Tesla. The deal dates all the way back to November 2010, the same year that Tesla completed its initial public offering after Toyota took a stake in the company and...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3 Performance version coming, after 'production hell' ends
Now that the Tesla Model 3 has officially entered production, the electric-car maker's main goal will be to ensure the manufacturing process ramps up smoothly. With 1,800 new reservations reportedly placed each day for the affordable electric sedan, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter to confirm...
Sean Szymkowski -
Tesla Model 3 electric car: what's your take? Poll results
With the Tesla Model 3 electric car now in early production and an aggressive ramp rate targeted, it's getting lots of media attention. Part of that is due to the allure of the Tesla brand and fascination with company CEO Elon Musk. Some more may be due to the widespread misapprehension that the...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3 rated at 126 MPGe, third-best after Ioniq Electric and Prius Prime
Ten days ago, when the first 30 Tesla Model 3 electric cars were delivered to their owners at a much-publicized Handover Party, we didn't get full information on the latest Tesla model. The company didn't discuss battery capacity in kilowatt-hours, for instance, giving range in miles instead, nor...
John Voelcker -
Sometimes, if you ask a question often enough for long enough, an answer will eventually be forthcoming. In the case of the net number of $1,000 reservations for the Tesla Model 3 electric car, it took 16 months for the company to cough up the latest data. It came, not surprisingly, from CEO Elon Musk, speaking on a conference call for financial analysts yesterday afternoon. DON'T MISS: Tesla won't discuss net Model 3 reservations number; why? In April 2016, Tesla quoted a number of 373,000 reservations taken for the Model 3 following its splashy debut and enormous publicity. The company then...
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Tesla won't discuss net Model 3 reservations number; why?
One year ago today, a communications staffer (since departed) wrote that Tesla had received 373,000 reservations for its future Model 3—a number first issued in April 2016. In a splashy event for owners, fans, and media, a few dozen early-production Model 3 electric cars were delivered last...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3 Easter eggs, discovered by board member Steve Jurvetson
The few dozen 2017 Tesla Model 3 owners who've already taken delivery of their electric cars will find a few surprises inside if they look closely enough. The Silicon Valley automaker handed over the first examples of its new Model 3 to customers, one of whom happens to be Steve Jurvetson...
Sean Szymkowski -
Tesla Model 3 drive reports, reviews: raves for sporty electric car
The first, earliest production versions of the Tesla Model 3 electric car were delivered to their owners in a splashy "Handover Party" late last week. A few journalists got short drives at the event, but only one outlet was granted a Model 3 before the party to enable a more comprehensive review...
John Voelcker -
2017 Tesla Model 3 prices, features, details, specifications from Handover Party
Thirty of the earliest Tesla Model 3 buyers took delivery of their electric cars last night in a gala event for owners, investors, and friends the company had dubbed the Handover Party. The highly anticipated Model 3, the vehicle Tesla hopes will boost its production to hundreds of thousands of...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model 3 production to start Friday, deliveries July 28
As he had promised he would late one evening last week, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has tweeted out some updates on the upcoming Model 3. He expects first production Model 3 electric car, with serial number 001 ("SN1"), to be completed this Friday, July 7. The first 30 customers to buy Model 3s...
John Voelcker