Tesla is making some changes to its product lineup today, dropping some vehicles and tweaking prices for others. If you were considering buying a standard-range Model S or Model X, then this is bad news, as Tesla has dropped both vehicles from its product lineup. That leaves the long-range and performance models as the only available Model S and Model X variants.
The Tesla Model 3 has aced European crash safety testing, with the most affordable car in the EV automaker's line-up grabbing five stars out of five after Euro NCAP put it through its trials. The 2019 Model 3 scored a whopping 96-percent in adult occupant testing, while Tesla's safety assistance systems like automatic emergency braking came in only shortly behind that, with a score of 94-percent.
In an announcement on Monday, Tesla revealed record vehicle production and deliveries during its second fiscal quarter of the year. According to the automaker, it produced 87,048 vehicles during Q2 2019 and shipped around 95,200 vehicles during the same quarter. Of its quarterly deliveries, 77,500 were Model 3 and the remaining 17,650 were Model S and Model X cars.
Lucid Motors has grabbed Tesla's former vice president of production, with the electric car startup adding Peter Hochholdinger as its new VP of manufacturing. The former Tesla exec joined Elon Musk's EV business a little over three years ago, having spent 24 years prior to that with Audi.
Tesla is quietly developing its own battery cell production technology, despite a longstanding partnership with Panasonic, as the automaker takes clearing one key manufacturing bottleneck into its own hands. Panasonic and Tesla have worked together since 2014, and collaborate on the Tesla Gigafactory where batteries are made.
"Any color you like, as long as its black" didn't quite apply to Tesla, but expect to see more white cars on the road as the automaker changes up its standard paint and starts charging for what once came free. For some time now, Tesla has offered a single paint option at no extra cost, and that's been black: if you wanted another color from the palette, you had to pay.
Tesla drivers wanting to go racing are getting another option, and one which is a lot less demanding on the tires, with "Beach Buggy Racing 2" headed out to the EV's dashboards. The new game can be played with the Tesla's physical controls, for those wanting the most lifelike racing experience.
Elon Musk has been promising to make a Tesla pickup truck for years now, but robot-maker extraordinaire Simone Giertz couldn't wait any longer... so she made her own. The Tesla Truckla is her take on the pickup the electric automaker should be building, based on the Model 3 but after having a serious run-in with an angle grinder.
Sitting in your Tesla and not actually moving might seem like an odd way to pass the time, but the addition of Fallout Shelter along with a host of other time-wasting dashboard distractions could end up more fun than even Ludicrous Mode. Tesla CEO Elon Musk made an E3 2019 appearance this week to talk about new games and apps coming to the touchscreens of the EV-maker's cars.
A heavily updated Tesla Model S could go into production as soon as September, insiders say, as the automaker's most expensive sedan gets upgrades to better compete with luxury rivals. While not the first EV to bear the Tesla name, the Model S was Elon Musk's first vehicle for the mass-market, paving the way for the Model X SUV, the Model 3, and the upcoming Model Y crossover.
Elon Musk's Boring Company has run a race between a regular car and one of its LA tunnels, with the Top Gear-style challenge showing the potential speed improvements when you bypass road congestion. The video sees two Tesla Model 3 cars go head-to-head, one on a traditional road route while the other descends into a tunnel and accelerates up to 127 mph.
The latest version of Tesla Navigate on Autopilot finds itself in the crosshairs of Consumer Reports' criticism this week, with the testing organization singularly unconvinced that the automaker's promises of a "more seamless" drive hold up to scrutiny. The feature was tweaked earlier this year so that suitably-equipped EVs could automatically change lane while Autopilot was enabled.