There is a red Model S, white Model 3, blue Model Y and a Cybertruck pickup on the upper deck of the Tesla Semi’s trailer, while on the bottom, we can see a white Model X, accompanied by some more Model 3s, we believe.

The photo was taken at Tesla’s main factory in Fremont, California, which can be recognized by the test track.

We don’t know what type of family trip it was. It was probably a marketing shot, rather than an actual trip, but who knows?

Anyway, two electric vehicles are missing in the photo – the original Tesla Roadster, which was discontinued a decade ago, and the new Tesla Roadster, which was unveiled in 2017 and postponed to focus on other areas of the business.

These several EVs represent about 20 years of the company’s history (since 2003) and about 5 million units sold.

• Tesla Roadster (original) – 2008
• Tesla Model S – 2012
• Tesla Model X – 2015
• Tesla Model 3 – 2018
• Tesla Model Y – 2020
• Tesla Semi – 2022
• Tesla Cybertruck – to be launched in late 2023

Originally, Tesla intended to name the Model 3 the Model E, to form a “S E X Y” lineup, but the Model E was Ford’s trademark.

In the longer term, Tesla is expected to expand its lineup with two new EVs – an affordable model (potentially offered at $25,000 or so) and a Robotaxi, which both will be based on the next-generation platform.

At the same time, there is a potential that we will see some additional versions of the Tesla Semi and Tesla Cybertruck for the European market.

Even with the additional EVs, Tesla’s lineup will remain relatively small as the company is clearly prioritizing volume, rather than several body types or even brands, as many other OEMs do.

The Model 3/Model Y duo reached over 3.9 million sales cumulatively as of the end of June 2023, and currently, it’s well above 4 million. We guess that soon we will hear something about officially crossing the 5 million sales for all of its BEVs.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/5iG1xKOaeXE
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According to an exclusive excerpt from Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk, published by Axios, Tesla was weighting options over the past two years.

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk outlined in November 2021 a vision to develop a fully autonomous Robotaxi electric vehicle – smaller, less expensive and not as fast as the Model 3. However, his focus was to go right away with the fully autonomous approach – no steering wheel, pedals or mirrors – and high volume, “Someday we want to be at twenty million a year.”

“Let me be clear,” he said slowly. “This vehicle must be designed as a clean Robotaxi. We’re going to take that risk. It’s my fault if it f–ks up. But we are not going to design some sort of amphibian frog that’s a halfway car. We are all in on autonomy.”

However, Musk’s vision appeared to be too risky for most of the other Tesla execs and engineers, who spent quite some time to convince him to work also on the affordable ($25,000) electric car, based on the same next-generation platform. According to Walter Isaacson, at the end of the summer of 2022, Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen together with others tried to persuade Elon Musk to “cover his bet”.

Their arguments were that Full Self-Driving (FSD) might not be ready or it will be ready, but not approved for use internationally by the law. Another thing was that there is a huge market for an affordable car, which also might be crucial to achieve the long-term goal to increase the production volume by 50 percent per year on average.

Elon Musk opted for “a historically mega-revolutionary product”, which would “transform everything” and potentially made “Tesla a ten-trillion company”, but maybe it’s still too early to exclude a more conventional approach?

Ultimately, Franz von Holzhausen and others convinced Elon Musk to develop both – the Robotaxi and the affordable model – on the next-generation platform, rather than focusing solely on the Robotaxi.

The models of the two new EVs were shown internally to Elon Musk in February 2023. The article notes: “Both had a Cybertruck futuristic feel. Musk loved the designs. “When one of these comes around a corner,” he said, “people will think they are seeing something from the future.””

Tesla Giga Mexico or Texas?

Another important thing is where the new EVs will be produced. Initially, it was announced that Tesla will build a new gigafactory in Mexico to produce the next-generation EVs.

However, it turned out that the company’s top engineers would have to relocate to Mexico to develop the manufacturing lines, which they are unwilling to do.

Walter Isaacson noted: “”Tesla engineering will need to be on the line to make it successful, and getting everyone to move to Mexico is never going to happen,” he told me.”

Because of that, in May 2023, Tesla decided to change the initial build location for the next-generation from Mexico to Austin. It seems that development and initial production will take place at the Giga Texas factory, before the working production lines will be copied to other places – Mexico and maybe somewhere else.

It would also explain why the construction of the Giga Mexico does not start. The project appears delayed – due to lack of permits, according to some reports, but very likely also because of the changed plans.

Tesla Giga Mexico in brief:

• announced on March 1, 2023
• location: in the Santa Catarina municipality near Monterrey (Nuevo Leon)
• construction was initially expected to start within about three months (Summer 2023)
• purpose: next-generation EVs
• info from Mexico’s government:
  nearly 4,200 acres
  initially: $5 billion investment and 5,000 people
  ultimately: $10 billion investment and 10,000 people
  production output of 1 million vehicles annually

Source: Axios

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While these culprits should have learned that Teslas are equipped with a software feature called Sentry Mode that utilizes all onboard cameras to enhance security measures, some will never learn. One of these culprits was broadcasted to the world in a recent stunt.

On Labor Day, a Tesla owner parked his car outside Millerton Marina, located just Northeast of Fresno, California. When he returned to his car, he noticed a sharp scratch on the side, and his Tesla’s Sentry Mode feature recorded the incident. It revealed a middle-aged man who keyed the side of his EV twice in broad daylight. 

While there could have been a personal reason for this culprit to target the car besides being a Tesla, the point is clear: someone vandalized someone else’s car. In the state of California, the location in which this specific incident took place, vandalism is considered a property crime. Depending on the severity, vandalism charges can result in infractions, misdemeanors, or even felony charges. 

However, this shouldn’t detract from the fact that numerous Tesla keying incidents have been reported. Located all across the country, some people don’t like it when others have nice things. 

Moreover, this isn’t something exclusive to Tesla vehicles. Polestar owners have reported their cars being keyed on forums. Porsche Cayenne drivers and others have said the same. This is simply an unwanted perk of driving a vehicle that implies wealth. 

Thankfully, Tesla products come equipped with Sentry Mode free of charge. The only other automaker that offers a nearly as adept system is Rivian. Including these onboard security features will prove very useful in the grievous case of vehicle vandalism. Regardless, it is truly unfortunate that people will resort to keying others’ cars out of jealousy, among other emotions. 

Here’s a new rule: leave other people’s cars and possessions alone. 

Source: ABC7 Chicago

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The video was shared by Greggertruck (@greggertruck / X), who points out that both pickups are marked as Release Candidate (RC), which means potentially the final version before series production.

The night scenery allows us to take a closer look at the rear and front lights and to see how the angular pickups look.

One thing that we noticed is that the upper part appears very dark, compared to the silver bottom part. The Cybertrucks also look quite futuristic, kind of like what you might see in a video game.

Another fresh video reveals the Tesla Cybertruck in city scenery, also at night time. We can see how the rear lights change when the vehicle brakes before a speed bump.

It seems that there are no turn signals integrated in the side mirrors.

In one more dark video, this time while maneuvering, we can hear the artificial sound when reversing.

The Tesla Cybertruck is expected to be relatively agile for its size, thanks to rear-wheel steering.

The Tesla Cybertruck is expected to enter production later this year, but initially, it might be very limited, especially since it’s quite a unique vehicle with a high number of new solutions. High-volume production probably will be possible at some point in 2024.

We are eager to see the specs, pricing, and some info about the number of orders/estimated delivery time. We know that there was a very long queue of people (some say that almost two million orders were placed) but with a very low deposit of $100, which is not enough to determine the real interest in the vehicle.

As we understand, the Tesla Cybertruck introduction is very closely researched by other manufacturers, especially those for which pickups are the core business with high margins. The Cybertruck, if successful, might significantly affect other OEMs.

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As we can see in the flyover video, shared by Wu Wa, the new Highland cars are stored separately from the other ones in one big square. The cars have various colors – although it seems that white is the most popular one, some are black, blue, and red. We are not sure whether silver is present as well.

Wu Wa noted that the new cars are equipped with EU logos and thus it’s believed that those are cars envisioned for export to Europe. Europe might become the first market where Tesla will begin customer deliveries of the Tesla Model 3 Highland or it will be on schedule with China (because we need to add a few weeks for shipping). In China, deliveries are expected to begin in the fourth quarter.

Additional input from Troy Teslike suggests that the new Tesla Model 3 shipments to Europe will probably appear in sales stats no earlier than in Q4. Export from the Tesla Giga Shanghai was already affected in August by the launch of the new version, but it might improve as soon as in September.

According to unofficial reports, mentioned by Wu Wa, Tesla is currently producing approximately 300 new Model 3 per day, which is just a fraction of the site’s full capacity.

The Tesla Giga Shanghai plant recently produced its two millionth electric car. Most of the production right now happens to be the Model Y, but the upgraded Model 3 still should play a very significant role (potentially at least a third of the production there).

At some point in the future, the Model Y also is expected to be refreshed (code name Juniper), matching the changes applied to the Model 3. But the first task is to ramp up production of the Highland in China and start production of the Highland in the United States.

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According to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)’s data, the overall wholesale vehicle shipments (local retail sales and exports) of MIC Model 3/Model Y amounted to 84,159 units (up 9 percent year-over-year).

* CPCA reports wholesale shipments, not registrations/customer deliveries.

While the overall result is positive, it turns out that the exports were significantly lower, and the growth comes solely from higher local sales.

During the first eight months of the year, the total wholesale sales amounted to 624,983, which is 56 percent more than a year ago at this point.

Retail Sales in China

Last month, the company’s local sales in China amounted to 64,694 MIC cars (almost 88 percent more than a year ago).

That’s an interesting outcome, suggesting that the manufacturer focused on local sales while preparing the significantly upgraded new Tesla Model 3 (aka Highland).

Tesla MIC retail sales in China are usually the highest in the final month of a quarter (the first half of a quarter is usually focused on exports).

So far this year, Tesla locally sold over 390,000 MIC electric cars in China, which is 62 percent more than a year ago.

In other words, after applying several price cuts and incentives, Tesla is selling better than ever in China, although the margins are most likely affected.

Export

According to the report, last month, 19,465 Tesla MIC cars were exported (54 percent less than a year ago).

We guess that the reason was the switch from the old to the new Model 3, which is exported in high volume to Europe (and other markets, at a lower scale). Once the new Model 3 is ready for export, we might see a significant increase in the following months.

Tesla usually exports the highest number of cars in the first month of a quarter, and a substantial number of cars also in the second month of a quarter.

So far this year, Tesla exported 234,761 MIC cars from China, which is 47 percent more than a year ago.

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The Plaid’s setup allows for a zero to sixty time of around 2 seconds using the (arguably devious) industry standard one-foot rollout. After launching to sixty, the Model S Plaid can demolish the quarter mile in 9.23 seconds at 155 miles per hour, according to Tesla. For a starting price of $89,990, the Model S Plaid gives the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 a run for its money. The iconic French hypercar finishes the quarter mile 9.9 seconds at 148 miles per hour.

While the Plaid is certainly fast enough, it begs the question: how much faster could it be if someone modified it? YouTuber Boosted Boiz put that idea to the test. This Tesla in question was entirely gutted, leaving just one racing seat for the driver. The team removed the doors, leaving what was essentially a drivable chassis.

Enclosing the chassis, the YouTubers implemented a thin metal shell, which likely helped significantly cut the weight. To further reduce the quarter mile time, the team added ultra-sticky race tires and employed their friend Greg, a racing driver who weighs 79.2 pounds.
It took a few tries at the drag strip, but the Model S shattered a record. Reaching the quarter-mile mark from a standstill in just 8.71 seconds, the modded Plaid reached a speed of 158 miles per hour.

While a fascinating experiment, most Plaid owners would likely rather stick with the stock design than sacrifice .52 seconds. It seems that equipped, with all of its creature comforts, the Model S Plaid is within 94% of its peak performance potential.

Source: BoostedBoiz

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The news was shared by the company on September 8, 2023, about 11 years after the first batch of six Supercharging locations was officially launched on September 2012.

Since then, the number of stations increased to well over 5,000, which makes the Tesla Supercharging the largest fast-charging network in the world. Most of the sites are located in North America (over 2,000) and in the Asia-Pacific region (over 2,000), followed by Europe (over 1,000).

According to the data, on average, there are roughly nine Supercharging stalls per site, although the exact number might vary significantly from just two stalls to over 80.

The number of Tesla Superchargers – stalls (globally):

• 1st: September 2012
• 10,000: June 2018
• 20,000: November 2020
• 30,000: November 2021 (+10,000 in 1 year)
• 35,000: June, 10 2022 (+5,000 in roughly 7 months)
• 10 years: September 2012-2022
• Europe (10,000): October 5, 2022
• 40,000: November, 22 2022 (+10,000 in 1 year)
• China (10,000): December 26, 2022
• 45,000: April 9, 2023 (+5,000 in less than 5 months, +10,000 in 10 months)
• 50,000: September 8, 2023 (+5,000 in roughly 5 months, +10,000 in less than 10 months)

When analyzing the Tesla Supercharging network, we have to remember that it’s not one consistent network, but rather three different networks – with physically different plugs, depending on the market – under one nameplate.

In North America and in some other markets, Tesla uses its in-house developed charging connector (named NACS). In China, the Superchargers are compatible with the GB/T standard, while in Europe and in most of the rest of the world, Tesla uses CCS2-compatible plugs.

The two countries with the highest number of Superchargers, according to supercharge.info are:

• United States: 1,937 stations and 21,481 stalls
• China: 1,815 stations and 11,076 stalls

In terms of power output, the current standard is 250 kilowatts (V3 version), although with the introduction of the V4, Tesla is expected to increase the power – potentially to 350 kW and beyond, as well as deploy power electronics, supporting high-voltage battery systems (up to 1,000 V).

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Initially posted on social media by @ctllogisticsinc, the video reveals that the Austin-based EV brand sent this particular prototype to MGA Research Corporation, seeing how there’s a sticker on the side of the truck that pretty much sums everything up.

Tesla Cybertruck after rollover ditch crash test (Source: Cybertruck Owners Club)

According to MGA’s website, ditch testing recreates a common rollover situation along a road where a steep embankment can easily trip cars into a roll situation. To recreate this in a controlled environment, MGA’s ditch wall uses hydraulic rams to adjust the wall angle from 35 degrees to 55 degrees, while the angle the car approaches the ditch wall is adjustable from 5 degrees to 20 degrees.

Besides ditch testing, MGA can also perform ramp testing, which consists of propelling half of a vehicle over an adjustable ramp, soil or curb testing, which is performed by placing a vehicle on a cart, and dolly rollover testing, which requires the vehicle to rest upon a cart that is set to 23 degrees and then quickly decelerates, causing the vehicle to continue forward and roll.

Getting back to this particular crashed Cybertruck, the video (and screenshots) show how the top of the roof bent after the impact, how the airbags deployed, and what windows and trim elements were affected.

Both so-called bulletproof rear windows are nowhere to be seen, presumably because they broke on impact, the massive windscreen is cracked but otherwise in one piece, and the curtain airbags are deployed.

Tesla Cybertruck after rollover ditch crash test (Source: Cybertruck Owners Club)

There’s also a sneak peek at the rear seat and its accompanying display, plus the central armrest with two cup holders, and we can see that the floor is completely flat. Several trim pieces that look like they belong on the wheel arches can be seen thrown in the bed (or Vault, as Tesla likes to call it).

On the same car hauler, there’s another Cybertruck, but it’s covered and the video doesn’t give any indication of what this second pickup might have gone through.

It’s worth noting that the look of a car after a crash doesn’t give a clear indication as to how safe it is. Instead, data from dummies and all sorts of sensors can give the manufacturer and agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration an idea of the injuries that could result after a real-world collision.

Last month, a Cybertruck prototype was spotted seemingly intact on a car hauler with a handwritten note on one of its windows that said, “Completed Crash Ready.”

As always, we’d like to know what you think about this latest development regarding the upcoming all-electric pickup, so head over to the comments section below to give us your thoughts.

Source: Cybertruck Owners Club forum

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The company intends to deploy up to 20,000 Tesla Universal Wall Connectors, introduced last month (watch first use video), at 2,000 hotels in the United States, Canada and Mexico, to create the largest EV charging network within the hospitality industry.

Installations will begin in early 2024 with a plan to offer at least six units at each of the selected hotels.

Let’s recall that the key feature of the 11.5-kilowatt charging points is that they can recharge both Tesla and non-Tesla electric vehicles. That’s because besides the Tesla NACS-compatible plug, there is also a built-in J1772 adapter.

The flexibility of the new charging points is crucial for Hilton, which will be able to offer charging services for all its customers. In the longer term, all EVs will be compatible with the NACS charging standard, but until then, a universal solution is the preferred one.

Hilton notes that its network – with hotels alongside roadways and in key urban destinations across North America – is uniquely suited to provide charging access at scale for travelers on long-haul trips. Of course, we are talking about overnight charging, or at least a few hours stay, which is classified as a destination charging point.

According to the company, in 2023, “the website’s EV charging search attribute had the fastest volume of growth to-date, jumping from fourth to second highest in converting searches to stays.”

Tesla Universal Wall Connector

The retail price of the Tesla Universal Wall Connector is $595 and shipping is expected to start in October.

Rebecca Tinucci, senior director of charging infrastructure at Tesla said: “A key priority for Tesla Charging is installing low-cost, convenient AC charging anywhere electric vehicles are parked for more than an hour or two. To ensure electric vehicle adoption at scale, our joint industry goal must be to vastly improve upon the traditional gasoline vehicle ownership experience, not just meet it. Installing infrastructure at popular destinations like Hilton hotels enables EV owners to charge where they park, meaning no unnecessary refueling stops along their journey. We applaud Hilton for their leadership in the space and look forward to continuing to ramp this critical program with other industry leaders.”

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