Lifestyle
Tesla Model 3: A change is coming and it will be huge
As I’ve mentioned before, I started fantasizing about attending this event long before we knew invites would come by way of a lottery system. I stashed my little fantasy football championship winnings to help soften the blow of last minute airfare in case of a miracle. That miracle happened and the significance of it all is really starting to sink in.
What it means to Tesla
Thursday’s event will be the start of Tesla’s next chapter; their most important one yet. That is, developing a compelling and affordable long range EV. Tesla’s secret master plan, which shows a publication date of nearly 10 years ago, boils down to:
- Build sports car
- Use that money to build an affordable car
- Use that money to build an even more affordable car
- While doing above, also provide zero emission electric power generation options
- Don’t tell anyone.
This is finally it. Their moment in the spotlight is finally coming. Their mass-market car will be shown to the world, live on the internet, to the joy of enthusiasts and pain of (I presume) auto and oil execs everywhere. Once unveiled, the clock starts ticking. Tesla has but one shot to get it right. That not only means building a compelling car, which I have no doubt they will, but producing it efficiently, with a high level of quality, on time and within their promised price point. They will have to ramp up production in a manner not yet seen in automotive history, communicate at a caliber far beyond their corporate age, and figure out how to do it all while still continuing their current miracles of pushing out two of the best vehicles money can buy while simultaneously building a charging infrastructure from scratch. That was a mouthful to say so imagine what it really means for Tesla to do.
What it means to the world
Never before have we seen such a frenzied environment surrounding the ability to pay $1,000 for a place in line to buy a car that won’t even exist for 18-24 months. I’ve known of people reserving vehicles or being put on a waiting list for a future offering, such as the Hummer H2. I’ve also known scores of people who know of and await the coming of a future car model, if only to admire it. But again, we’ve never seen anything like this. I can say that before even knowing the magnitude of “this” because I, like Steve Hanley, think we will see 100,000 reservations by the end of April 1st. We’ll know the number eventually, and thus start to truly appreciate the magnitude. Here’s the thing though, Tesla’s goal was never to rule the world or be the biggest or best or most profitable automaker in the world. In fact, their mission is quite simple:
To accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible.
Without the Model 3 even being seen yet, Tesla is already well on their way to achieving that mission. Everyone and their mother is putting out an EV, compliance car or otherwise, and we all know this little “insignificant” start up from California is a primary reason. People are starting to get it. The P85D YouTube videos went viral immediately and even the most critical gear heads can’t deny the awesomeness of that kind of acceleration. Lawmakers are starting to get it, in some cases, and are enacting laws to protect charging spaces, give parking or tax incentives or access to HOV lanes. The press is starting to get it. Most of what I come across about Tesla these days is positive. A change is coming and it will be huge. An increase in the expectation of car quality, efficiency and dealership experience will force change in the industry. A decrease of the use of gasoline could lead to political, economic and environmental changes. The implications of electrification of cars are larger than we can even imagine at this point. How many current Tesla owners invested in home solar panels after getting the car that would not have otherwise thought of doing so? How many future owners will do the same? How many new jobs can come from an increased demand in green energy? The Tesla Model 3 means exponentially more to the world than just what it as a car can offer.
Component of a Ford Model T battery
What it means to the United States
A certain mogul turned reality star turned presidential candidate likes to claim that we don’t win anymore. When it comes to the auto industry, it’s sort of true. Credit where credit is due (Ford especially) but the past few decades have seen our dominance in the industry threatened, if not decimated. Tesla is a force to be reckoned with and people across the globe are clamoring for this American car. I’ll repeat that – there is world wide demand for a car designed and built right here in the United States. Apple, should they get in the game, is also an American company. Google is too. We could be on the verge of another major shift, in that America could become the country to beat in the car game. And the Gigafactory? Thousands of jobs. A second (or third or fourth) factory elsewhere in the states would mean thousands more. More competition in the world of autonomous driving could also shape the landscape of the way our cities and people move. Again, the implications are huge and almost certainly unknown at this point, and it all rests in the hands of a successful Model 3.
Displayed next to a football signed by Connor Barwin, Philadelphia Eagle, environmentalist and Tesla owner.
What it means to me
I’ve loved cars my whole life. My first dream car was a mid 90s Dodge Intrepid. (“4.5 liter 32 valve engine”, I used to repeat to anyone who would listen.) Mine was going to be neon green with tinted windows that had rainbow sparkles. The first car I designed myself was named the Chinchilla and had a “computer” that would give you directions. The first Supercar I remember reading about in Car and Driver was the Vector Avtech, which until searching it just now, I remember as being named Antech. (Google also informed me I was 9 when it appeared at the Geneva Auto show.) A favorite memory of my late father was him taking my arm and walking me away when, at 22, my eyes widened upon the site of a t-tops Firebird at a used car lot. (I’ll admit that he was right. For my $2200 budget, that dinky 1998 Ford Escort ZX2 coupe was perfect.)
I am now fully submerged in the Tesla Kool-Aid in that I believe the Model 3 will be as significant to the history of automobiles as the Model T. Knowing that I will be there, in person to witness the unveiling, is a privilege that I will cherish for the rest of my life. In fact, it’s no accident that when someone gave me a wooden piece that belonged to a Model T’s battery system, I immediately found a prominent place to display it in my home. I’m a car nerd that has evolved into an EV nerd and can hardly put into words my excitement about being a part of history. Not just as an attendee on Thursday night but as an early Tesla owner. Yes, I realize my 2014 Model S is not considered early to this crowd, but in 30 years any Model S, Model X and even Model 3 owner will be considered an early adopter of EV technology. I will wear as a badge of honor the story of that time I got to witness history unfold before my eyes.
On a more personal level, this event also means a lot to me. I am now connected to, and greatly enriched by, every single person who has read my posts, commented, reached out to arrange to get together and even offered to pick me up from LAX. I’ve sipped tea with wonderful people, shared meals with owners’ families, spoken to curious school children and immensely enjoyed every single interaction – both online and in person – with fellow owners and enthusiasts. While Tesla in general and Model S ownership specifically has contributed to this more than the Model 3 event itself, this event is an extension of it all, a pathway to Tesla’s survival and thus the survival of this community that has taken me in and given me a voice.
Some of the features of my “Chinchilla” concept car.
Investor's Corner
Tesla Robotaxi gets a massive upgrade in Nevada
Nevada regulators just approved a massive expansion of Tesla’s robotaxi fleet across the entire county.
Tesla’s robotaxi footprint in Nevada just grew by roughly 500 times in a single regulatory vote.
The Nevada Transportation Authority approved Tesla’s full Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit on Thursday, clearing the way for the company to deploy up to 5,000 driverless vehicles across Clark County over the next 12 months. The decision came during a four hour general session meeting that Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt watched live and reported on X, noting the vote replaces the interim order that had limited Tesla to just 10 robotaxis on a narrow stretch of the Las Vegas Strip.
EXCLUSIVE: Tesla has just officially received approval for its full Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit in Nevada, clearing the way for Tesla to launch a paid public Robotaxi service in Las Vegas.
This officially allows @Tesla to deploy up to 5,000 robotaxis over the next… pic.twitter.com/DPs5UtUlrE
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 20, 2026
That earlier cap, covered here after it surfaced on August 13, came with restrictions that looked stricter than what Tesla runs in Austin: a 45 mph speed ceiling, no airport pickups, and a geofence confined to the Strip corridor. The new approval extends Tesla’s operating authority to all of Clark County, with room to request an even wider geofence across the state.
Tesla representatives at the meeting said they have no intention of putting 5,000 cars on the road right away. Commercial rides are expected to start within 30 days, pending vehicle inspections, insurance filings, and fare approval, the standard steps every robotaxi operator in Nevada has had to clear.
Tesla’s own Robotaxi account replied to the news with a short line, The golden future is upon us.
The timing lines up with Tesla’s broader robotaxi push this month. The company is preparing to open Cybercab rides to the public in Austin as soon as this month, and it opened a sweepstakes for riders to win a seat at the launch event. Tesla filed its original application for a 5,000 vehicle Nevada fleet back in June, a request regulators trimmed to 10 vehicles when they issued the interim order in July. Thursday’s vote effectively grants the number Tesla asked for from the start.
Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi operator, has run in Nevada since 2025 and was capped at 100 vehicles before Thursday’s decision. Tesla’s new ceiling puts it well ahead of that comparison on paper, though the company has said its actual fleet size will depend on how quickly FSD v15 rolls out, the software update executives have called the gateway to scaling unsupervised robotaxi operations nationwide.
Elon Musk
India tells Elon Musk’s X to “Follow the Law” in latest censorship update
Elon Musk says X now exposes government censorship, but India’s secrecy laws complicate that promise.
Elon Musk’s promise to make government censorship requests on X “clearly visible” is running into a wall in India, where the law forbids the very disclosure Musk is promising.
On August 15, Musk responded to an update from X’s open-source algorithm team by writing “Any censorship required by governments is now clearly visible.” The claim referred to a change X pushed two days earlier to its public xai-org/x-algorithm repository, which now includes a controversial filter written directly into the code. The filter suppresses posts from 665 accounts flagged by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court from appearing in the For You feed of any viewer located in Brazil, unless the viewer already follows the account. The election tied to the filter is scheduled for October 4.
India’s government wasn’t as impressed, and responded on Monday that “X will have to follow the law of the land,” in response to Musk’s transparency push covered by the Times of India. The problem is structural rather than political. India issues content blocking orders under Section 69A of its IT Act, and Rule 16 of the accompanying 2009 Blocking Rules requires those orders to stay confidential. Publishing an India equivalent of the Brazil filter, naming specific accounts and citing specific government orders, would itself violate Indian law. Government use of Section 69A has grown from roughly 6,000 orders a year between 2018 and 2023 to about 24,300 in 2025, according to a Tech Times report.
The contrast puts Musk’s transparency pledge in an odd spot. It works largely as advertised in Brazil, where electoral law requires disclosure and X can point to specific account IDs and a specific court order in public code. It cannot work the same way in India, where the law requires the opposite. X users in India will keep seeing content disappear from search and their feeds without any public accounting of why, even as X tells the rest of the world that its censorship compliance is now inspectable.
This isn’t the first time X’s fights with a national government have shaped how the platform operates. Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered X to suspend the accounts of sitting lawmakers and journalists in 2024, a standoff that cost X its Brazilian revenue for months and froze Starlink’s local accounts before the investigation into Musk and X was closed in March with no evidence of wrongdoing found. X also sued California over a state law requiring moderation disclosures, arguing the mandate itself violated the First Amendment.
Whether India’s government pursues anything beyond a public statement remains to be seen. For now, the mismatch between what X can legally publish and what different governments legally allow it to publish is the real story behind Musk’s seven word claim.
Lifestyle
Tesla’s driverless Cybercab just passed a big test with State Governor
Florida’s governor rode Tesla’s Cybercab at a closed test track and called the experience impressive.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rode in a Tesla Cybercab on a closed test track this week and came away impressed, posting on X that the vehicle “successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.” He called the ride “impressive.”
The stop was part of a broader event Monday at SunTrax, a 775 acre state owned proving ground in Auburndale that Florida built specifically to test autonomous and connected vehicles before they reach public roads. Standing next to a gold Cybercab, DeSantis described the car in plain terms: “You go in there and you just sit. You have a screen. There’s no steering wheel, no pedals. Clearly these things could be very beneficial.”
We took a ride on a robotaxi on the Suntrax course and it successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.
Impressive! https://t.co/FVAkzFLz3r
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 11, 2026
DeSantis paired the praise with a caveat that has followed autonomous vehicles since the category existed. “You don’t want to be in an autonomous vehicle and it drives you into a ditch. That would not be good,” he said, framing safety validation as the gate before wider deployment.
SunTrax, the 2.25 mile oval which the state calls the only high speed autonomous vehicle test track in the Southeast, can simulate rain, pedestrian crossings, hills and crowded urban conditions at highway speeds, letting companies push a car past what an early public rollout would risk. Tesla, Waymo and Beep all use the facility, and Florida’s regulatory approach, among the most permissive for autonomous vehicles in the country, doesn’t require a human operator inside a fully autonomous car.
Tesla has reason to want the blessing of Florida and states beyond, as the Cybercab entered volume production at Gigafactory Texas this spring and has since self certified as SAE Level 4 under Texas law. Public road testing so far has kept a safety monitor in the passenger seat, and Florida is where Tesla has been expanding its existing Model Y based Robotaxi service instead, adding Miami in July and then Orlando and Tampa two weeks later. A closed track endorsement from a sitting governor doesn’t change any of that, but it does put Tesla’s newest hardware in front of a state that has already shown it will move fast on rules.
Tesla will launch Cybercab on September 3
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