Tesla News
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Last Wednesday, during Tesla's earnings call, we learned that CEO Elon Musk planned to restructure the company and to cut the number of contractors used at Tesla's factories. That day came suddenly this morning. Electrek reported this morning that it had obtained an internal memo from Musk noting that contractors' time was up, and that a Tesla employee would have to vouch for every individual contract worker before that worker would be allowed into Tesla facilities this morning. According to Electrek, the memo from Musk reads: "Please note my comment below about contractor companies and...
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Report: Tesla kicked out from official investigation over fatal Model X crashBloomberg reported Wednesday that the National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt called Tesla CEO Elon Musk to tell him that the automaker would be removed from an investigation surrounding a fatal crash in March that killed its driver, 38-year-old Walter Huang.
Aaron Cole -
Tesla earnings, cash-burn up; Model 3 production, barelyThe company has not reached its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 cars a week, reporting a maximum production of 2,270 cars a week the week before it shut down the line the third week in April, which it said was to remove production bottlenecks.
Eric C. Evarts -
British man caught on video leaving driver's seat after turning on Tesla autopilotPatel set the Autopilot while he was driving up the country's busy M1 motorway, then climbed out of the driver's seat while the car piloted itself down the road.
Eric C. Evarts -
If you can't order your Tesla Model 3 yet, how can you pick up a used Model S (or X) instead?We checked out several used Model Ses on Tesla's website, and found several in the Northeast for around $55,000, reportedly about the going rate for today's new Model 3s with the big battery pack, Autopilot, and a few sundry options.
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla shuts down Model 3 production for five days amid quality concernsThe company says the shutdown has been long-planned and that it will not affect the ramp-up in Model 3 production to the company's long-promised 5,000 cars a week.
Eric C. Evarts -
At this point, the variable build quality of early Tesla Model 3 electric cars has been well documented. One of the main issues is the "phantom touch" on the car's all-important central display. The phantom touch is what Green Car Reports reader Jeff Southern of Atlanta suffered in his car before he invited us to drive it for our full review. Like many Model 3 owners, Southern had to have his car's central touch screen replaced after the screen started randomly "touching" a point at the side of the screen, as described by several owners from January through this month in a post on the Tesla...
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When will Tesla Model 3 all-wheel-drive, lower-range models be available?Musk says the problem is that adding additional configurations with all-wheel drive would make production so much more complicated that it would jeopardize the company's ability to build up Model 3 production to levels that would bring in the revenue the company needs to stay afloat.
Eric C. Evarts -
Audi, BMW, Mercedes large electric luxury sedans to aim above Tesla Model S?The Tesla Model S occupies an interesting position among "luxury" sedans and hatchbacks. It's far from the best-equipped vehicle compared to mid-size and full-size competitors from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz, but that doesn't seem to matter to its 200,000 or so buyers to date. The good...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model Y production to start Nov 2019 (also, Musk doesn't have time to shower): reportsAmidst nine months of "production hell" for the Tesla Model 3 electric car, the company's next vehicle has somewhat fallen off the radar. According to a report Wednesday by Reuters, Tesla has now put out requests to suppliers for initial bids on parts for the Tesla Model Y, its high-volume...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla founder, Chinese company launch SF Motors electric carsSF Motors revealed its first two electric cars, to be produced next year at the Hummer factory in South Bend Indiana
Eric C. Evarts -
Why I traded my Chevy Bolt EV for a Tesla: one reader's storyAs a nation, the U.S. takes lots of road trips, because most of the country has no viable mass transit between city pairs. If electric cars are ever to enter the mass market in North America, they have to be usable on those road trips. Last year, our reader Jay Lucas of Alexandria, Virginia, wrote...
John Voelcker -
Tesla reported Tuesday that it built 34,494 electric cars in the first quarter of 2018, by far its largest quarterly production total ever. But all eyes were on one number: the production of Model 3 sedans, which was 9,766 vehicles out of that total. Of the rest, 11,730 were Model S hatchback sedans and 10,070 were Model X crossover utility vehicles. DON'T MISS: 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range: first drive review of 310-mile electric car For more than eight months after the first Model 3 cars were delivered to buyers at the end of July 2017, Tesla has struggled to get Model 3 production rates...
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Tesla recalls 123,000 Model S electric cars over steering-bolt corrosionTesla will recall roughly 123,000 of the Model S electric cars it built from 2012 through April 2016 to replace bolts in the power-steering units of the electric cars. The company said the bolts could corrode in cars used on roads where calcium or magnesium salts are used to melt ice. The Model S...
John Voelcker -
Tesla sales: how much do rebates matter to buyers in Canada?The government of Ontario amended its plug-in electric vehicle incentive program in March, eliminating incentives for vehicles with a recommended price of $75,000 or more. What effect will this have on demand for Tesla’s Model S and X? Two years ago, this site analyzed the impacts on...
Matthew Klippenstein -
2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range: first drive review of 310-mile electric car“The Tesla Model S was a moment. The Model 3 is a product.” That pair of sentences perfectly summarized the several hours we spent last month with the 2018 Tesla Model 3 kindly loaned to us by reader Jeff Southern of Atlanta. We’d covered more than 100 miles on a variety of...
John Voelcker -
Tesla employees say Model 3 parts need substantial rework after productionElectric-car maker Tesla is known for troubled launches, at least for the four products it's offered since the first Roadster in 2008. But the launch of the Tesla Model 3, its lower-priced electric sedan, may be the most challenging yet—and it may be the Tesla with the highest expectations...
John Voelcker -
Electric car sales in Germany finally start to soar: Tesla leadsIt's starting to look like China will lead the world in adoption of plug-in electric cars, but which carmaking nations will follow it? While electric cars were launched simultaneously in Japan and the United States, Europe lagged somewhat behind. Now, however, Germany—home to the largest...
John Voelcker -
So we've finally had the chance to spend time with a 2018 Tesla Model 3, courtesy of a generous and devoted Green Car Reports reader. We'll have our first-drive report and a full review of the car within a day or two—but that's not what this article is about. The build quality of the early Model 3 we tested in late February was, in a word, appalling. DON'T MISS: Tesla now makes almost 1,000 Model 3s a week, Bloomberg tracker estimates (Feb 2018) Before we were even able to visit the owner, the car had to go back to the Tesla service center to have the central touchscreen replaced. You...
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Tesla expects 200,000th U.S. sale this year, electric-car tax credits to start phaseoutIt's been a topic of discussion for years: What will happen when a carmaker reaches the cap on U.S. sales of electric cars that qualify for the full federal tax credit of $7,500? That number is 200,000; after the rest of that calendar quarter and the one following, the credit is halved for a...
John Voelcker -
Tesla offers some employers at-work charging stations, for its cars onlyToday, most people charge their electric cars at home, overnight. That's much harder for residents of multiple dwellings or those without dedicated off-street parking, increasing numbers of whom instead recharge during the day while parked at their workplace. Now Tesla plans to make it easier for...
John Voelcker -
Nissan, Tesla surpass 300,000 electric cars; one started later, one did it with a single modelOnly two automakers have built and sold more than 300,000 battery-electric cars to date. One is from Japan, the other from Silicon Valley. And each can claim a specific distinction within those totals. DON'T MISS: 300,000th Nissan Leaf sold as new electric car deliveries start We know that the...
John Voelcker -
Will Tesla Model S be a "collector car"? Tuckers are, but Kaisers aren't: why?Startup carmaker Tesla is just coming up on the 10th anniversary of its first delivery, the first of the 2,500 Roadster two-seat electric sports cars that launched it into world awareness. The company recently delivered its 300,000th car, putting it well ahead of all but one other startup carmaker...
John Voelcker -
Tesla now makes almost 1,000 Model 3s a week, Bloomberg tracker estimatesProduction numbers for Tesla electric cars have always been slightly murky. The company announces deliveries only quarterly and refuses to break them down by country, meaning there are no sales figures that directly compare with those routinely issued by other makers. The Tesla Model 3 has endured...
John Voelcker