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Tesla Model 3’s touchscreen control panel detailed in new video
Shortly after Tesla rolled its first eagerly-anticipated Model 3 off the assembly line back in July, we got a ride in the car and were impressed. But we were skeptical of the decision to forgo a traditional dashboard cluster and cram all the instrument readings into the single center-dash touchscreen, which yanks the driver's attention away from the road. We haven't seen much about how it will work in the interim. But last weekend, a video popped up showing off the Model 3's screen interface, giving us a first look at how drivers will monitor and control the whole car through the touchpad.
Tesla's music streaming service pops up in software update (update: a joke?)
Tesla has continued its foray into safe, eco-friendly and autonomous electric vehicles of late, as well as moves into the solar roof, municipal energy station and home-based power markets. Last month, however, was rumored that the energy company was in talks with major music labels to create a proprietary streaming service it could bundle with its cars. It looks like the reports were true, as a reader of website Electrek has found a spot for a new app, TTunes, in Tesla's most recent auto software update.
Tesla quietly upgrades Autopilot hardware in new cars
Tesla may have promised that all its newly-made vehicles from October 2016 onward would have the groundwork for self-driving capabilities, but that doesn't mean its technology is set in stone. Electrek has learned that Tesla is quietly equipping new Model 3, S and X production units with upgraded Autopilot hardware (HW 2.5). Don't put your barely-used P100D up for sale, though, as this isn't a night-and-day upgrade. Although Electrek says the new gear includes a secondary node to enable more computing power, a spokesperson says 2.5 is really about adding "computing and wiring redundancy" that "very slightly" boosts reliability.
EPA docs reveal how Tesla's long-range Model 3 covers 310 miles
Elon Musk once said that Tesla couldn't fit a 100kWh battery into the Model 3, but he didn't specify what kind of battery the car will have. Now, a bunch of EPA certification documents have finally revealed that the long-range version of the all-electric sedan is equipped with a 350-volt, 230-amp-hour battery pack. If you compute for the battery's kilowatt-hour value using those numbers, you'll get 80.5kWh of max capacity. That's what gives the long-range Model 3 variant the power to travel 310 miles between charges, only 5 miles shorter than the 315-mile range of the Model S and X. Tesla upgraded those vehicles' batteries to 100kWh in late 2016.
Tesla is getting 1,800 Model 3 reservations per day
After narrowly meeting its promise to launch the Model 3 in July, Tesla has released its latest earnings report (PDF). Other than slightly higher than expected revenue, the company says that since the delivery event, it has averaged 1,800 Model 3 pre-orders per day. Of course, if you're getting in line now you could be in for quite a wait. The company expects to build about 1,500 Model 3s during the third quarter, but is maintaining its prediction that it will expand production to reach 5,000 of the cars per week by the end of this year.
I took a ride in Tesla's new Model 3
After celebrating the delivery of its first 30 Model 3's to eagerly awaiting pre-order customers, Tesla invited attendees at Friday night's event to take a spin in the brand new vehicles. So of course, we took them up on the offer.
Tesla just delivered the first round of Model 3s
As Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised earlier this month, the company handed over the first 30 Model 3s to their new owners at a delivery ceremony in Fremont, California this Friday. Update: And we took our first ride -- find out more details about the Model 3 right here.
YouTube video maker MKBHD wins Tesla's 'Project Loveday' ad contest
Tonight at 11:45 PM ET Elon Musk will deliver the first production Tesla Model 3s during a livestreamed event, and now the company has some new ads to play during any down time. Fans of its cars and technology submitted their own advertisements for the Project Loveday contest, which was inspired by a 10-year-old's letter. Musk announced the three winners tonight on his Twitter account, with YouTuber and tech reviewer Marques Brownlee aka MKBHD nabbing the top spot. The winner has been promised a trip to a Tesla product launch, and Tesla said it will play the most popular videos on the stream tonight. The winning isn't just a slick look at the car, it also shows off some of the high tech features like Summon and its appropriately-named Ludicrous Mode acceleration. Tesla has eschewed traditional advertising for its vehicles so far, but now that it has so many high quality videos to pull from -- and a car with a price closer to the mainstream -- maybe that could change.
Tesla will livestream the first Model 3 deliveries tomorrow
Elon Musk promised to hand over the first 30 Tesla Model 3s at a special soirée tomorrow (July 28th), and buyers and fans of the EV are psyched. Rightfully so -- it's the most important electric car ever, with sales estimated at around 400,000. To help more folks join the fun, Tesla says it will livestream the event at 8:45 PM PT (a quarter to midnight on the East coast) on the home page at Tesla.com.
Tesla will open '2 or 3' more Gigafactories in the US
It's no secret that Tesla wants to open Gigafactories around the world to keep up with demand for electric cars and storage batteries, but how many of those will open in the US? Now we know: Elon Musk has confirmed that "2 or 3" additional factories will open in the US over the "next few years." He's not offering a firm timetable, to no one's surprise (the first factory isn't even finished yet), but the news makes it clearer than ever that Tesla expects plenty of demand.
See how Tesla’s Model 3 has changed since its debut
EV fans and some 400,000 buyers are excited about Tesla Model 3 production and upcoming first deliveries, largely because it's one of the first affordable, long-range electric cars. There's also the Tesla mystique -- with the comely Model S and X EVs, Musk & Co. showed they have serious design chops. However, some folks were underwhelmed with the Model 3 design, particularly the stubby front end.
Tesla is building more service centers alongside Model 3 launch
Tesla just completed its first batch of Model 3s and 30 cars are scheduled to be in their owners' hands on the 28th. But with an estimated 400,000 orders waiting to be filled, Tesla's production ramp up is going to put many more Model 3s on the road in the very near future. In preparation for those added vehicles and the demand they're sure to put on Tesla service centers, the company is working to expand its service facilities.
Tesla makes its first Model 3
After months of waiting and no shortage of hype, Tesla's first Model 3 is finally rolling off the production line. Elon Musk has revealed that the initial production unit is ready (not pictured as of this writing) pending a "final checkout." Musk will get the first car, as he has with earlier models, but he didn't call dibs -- while Ira Ehrenpreis was the first to plunk down a full deposit, he gave that spot to Musk as a birthday present. It's safe to say that either would be part of an exclusive club given that a mere 30 Model 3s will reach buyers by the end of July.
Tesla will deliver the first 30 Model 3s on July 28th
Tesla will start delivering its much-anticipated Model 3 EV this month, as promised. CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company will have a "handover party for [the] first 30 customer Model 3s on the 28th." He added that production will grow exponentially, "so August should be 100 cars and September above 1,500." By December, the company will be building 20,000 Model 3s per month, he said in a subsequent tweet. The goal is to produce up to 10,000 Model 3 EVs per week by 2018.
Elon Musk says all Superchargers will run on solar and battery power
According to a tweet from Elon Musk this morning, Tesla's Supercharger stations are all being converted to solar and battery power. Musk added that eventually, most of them will be completely disconnected from the electricity grid.
Tesla says it's still on track to build the Model 3 in July
As customers holding pre-orders wait for the Model 3 to arrive, Tesla says everything is proceeding according to plan. In today's Q1 earning report (PDF), the company announced it's still on track to start production in July, and will be able to build up to 5,000 of the cars per week this year, with plans to scale production up to 10,000 per week next year. To service all those EVs (plus the ones already on the road, some of which will soon start to outlive their manufacturer warranties), it's massively expanding that department.
Tesla Model 3 'release candidate' drives off the lot
As Tesla continues its march towards producing a mass-market electric vehicle, CEO Elon Musk gave us a brief glimpse at the latest prototype. This Vine-length clip showed the first drive of a "release candidate" Model 3. Autoblog explains that unless there's some unforeseen problem, it's unlikely there will be any major styling or content revisions from this before the car goes into production, but engineers can still test and tweak things like brake calibration.
Tesla: Model 3 production is on track to start in July
Tesla's final earnings report for 2016 is most notable for what it tells us to expect in the upcoming year. In a letter to shareholders (PDF), Elon Musk & Co. report that Model 3 production is on track to start in July, ramping up to full-scale production in September. As our friends at Autoblog note, that means the earliest pre-ordering customers could see their cars by the end of this year.
Panasonic's indoor farm, and more in the week that was
Tesla's groundbreaking affordable electric car is nearly here. This week the automaker announced plans to begin production on the Model 3 by the end of the month. Meanwhile, environmental champion Leonardo DiCaprio just signed up as the official ambassador for BYD's new line of EVs. Georgia broke ground on a road paved with 18 miles of solar panels, and the tiny TigerMoth camper is an off-grid shelter that generates power while it's being towed.
Adidas thinks Tesla's old Model 3 logo is a little too familiar
Would you confuse the Tesla Model 3's three-bar logo with Adidas' signature stripes? No? Don't tell that to Adidas. The apparel giant has filed a challenge to prevent Tesla from registering the Model 3's logo as a trademark. It's similar enough to Adidas' stripes that it's "likely to cause confusion" and suggest the two brands are connected, according to the filing. While it seems like a tenuous claim at first blush (most people can tell the difference between athletic wear and cars), Adidas says it's pursuing the case because Tesla was looking to put the logo on clothing and other products. The gap between the two brands was about to blur, in other words. However, the dispute may not amount to much given Tesla's recent actions.
