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Tesla dominates ‘Luxury Brand’ segment in Kelley Blue Book’s Image Awards

Credit: TeslaOwnersOnline.com

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Tesla’s domination is getting felt even more in the luxury vehicle sector, with automotive research and valuation publication Kelley Blue Book (KBB) recently awarding the electric car maker five of its six luxury vehicle awards. Tesla’s performance in the awards indicates that the electric car company’s short but rich history is disrupting some of the most notable brands in the world.

KBB released its 2020 Brand Image Awards on April 7. The award is aimed at recognizing the automakers who “excel in creating and maintaining brand attributes that create excitement about their products.” The results come from over 12,000 new-vehicle shoppers who contribute to the company’s decisions on its awards for carmakers.

Tesla dominated the “Best Luxury Brands” portion of the awards, taking home the titles of Best Overall Luxury Brand, Best Value Luxury Brand, Most Refined Luxury Brand, Best Performance Luxury Brand, and Best Styling Luxury Brand. It fell just short of the Most Trusted award, which was given to Toyota-owned luxury carmaker Lexus.

(Photo: Andres GE)

The latest KBB awards marks the first time Tesla has won the Best Overall Luxury Brand title from the publication. While the automotive firm acknowledges Tesla’s presence as it has been knocking at the door for years, the company has demonstrated that it is “here to stay as a force in the new vehicle market.” Tesla has shown that its products appeal to all car buyers: The Model 3 for the mass-market, Model S for luxury and performance, and Model X for “people-moving.”

Tesla’s ability to offer vehicles with low operating costs is pivotal to KBB’s decision to award the company with its “Best Luxury Value” title. Tesla’s mass-market Model 3 has allowed more people to be able to afford its vehicles, as the Model S and Model X were costly for some. However, the Model 3 sedan and newly-released Model Y crossover have offered performance and spaciousness while offering some degree of affordability at the same time.

The company’s refinement in its vehicle design has deemed it the winner of another award. Tesla’s “clean, minimalist approach to interior design” has made it stand out amongst its competitors. “Tesla’s pioneering approach to consolidate virtually all controls and systems into a single, portrait-oriented center display screen is being copied by mass-market and luxury brands alike,” KBB wrote.

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(Photo: Andres GE)

Since Tesla’s introduction into the automotive sector in 2008 with the release of its original Roadster, the company’s electric cars have been known for their raw performance. While continuing its mission of sustainability and unmistakable design, its vehicles’ acceleration and speed puts the electric car maker at the top of the “Best Performing Luxury Brand” list. This is surprisingly the first time Tesla has won the award, despite its vehicles having a reputation for having straight-line performance that rivals that of supercars.

Finally, the “Best Styling Luxury Brand” was Tesla’s final award from KBB this year. Even though their vehicle’s designs have not changed much since their initial launches, KBB said the Model S and Model 3’s “timeless shapes” are sure to catch the attention of car buyers. Not to mention, the Model X’s falcon-wing doors are sure to turn heads, giving the electric car maker its fifth title out of six in 2020.

Tesla’s five out of six “Luxury” awards from KBB this year could mean that the widespread adaptation of electric cars from consumers is at. hand. As luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, and Infinity have dominated the sector for decades, it appears that a new sheriff may be in town. Tesla has established itself as a surefire competitor in this market by offering affordability, performance, versatility, and groundbreaking design within its vehicles.

Kelley Blue Book’s full list of winners could be accessed here here.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Insurance is heading to a new state for the first time in years

Tesla Insurance launched back in late 2019, and it was massive because it was the first time a company aimed to cover its vehicle owners in-house without the need for third-party companies.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Insurance is heading to a new state for the first time in years, as the company is aiming to launch its in-house coverage platform in Florida.

Tesla Insurance launched back in late 2019, and it was massive because it was the first time a company aimed to cover its vehicle owners in-house without the need for third-party companies.

Tesla Insurance goes live with claims of lower rates by 20-30%

However, it has struggled to expand and only offers insurance in twelve states currently.

Tesla Insurance is available in:

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  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Illinois
  • Maryland
  • Minnesota
  • Nevada
  • Ohio
  • Oregon
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Virginia

In California, Tesla cannot offer real-time insurance or telematics due to regulatory rules.

The company uses a Safety Score to adjust rates based on driving behaviors. The current version, which is called Safety Score Beta v2.2, tracks Hard Braking, Aggressive Turning, Unsafe Following, Excessive Speeding, Late-Night Driving, Forced Autopilot Engagement, and Unbuckled Driving to determine the rate it should charge.

Tesla is working to expand into new markets and has filed applications to launch the program into new U.S. states. Back in 2022, it filed to offer insurance to Florida drivers, but it did not launch.

However, the company just filed to update its Private Passenger Auto program in Florida, according to the insurance site CoverageR.

It would be the first new state to obtain Tesla Insurance since Utah and Maryland launched over three years ago.

Tesla Insurance is now in Utah and Maryland

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Tesla has its eyes on other states, including Georgia, New Jersey, Oregon, and Virginia.

It has also tried to expand to Europe, as it opened an office specifically for Insurance. It was also hiring for Legal Counsel specializing in Insurance on the continent, but nothing ever expanded to an actual offering of vehicle coverage.

Tesla Insurance is an advantage for owners specifically because the company is familiar with its vehicles, the parts, and the repair processes that are required to get a car back on the road.

This was a big reason some drivers switched from the previous providers to the in-house Insurance Tesla was able to offer.

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Tesla launches new interior option for Model Y

Tesla just launched a new light grey interior option for the Model Y L in China, which will cost $1,120.

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Credit: Tesla China

Tesla has launched a new interior option for the rare Model Y L trim that is available only in China, marking the first new color for the inside of a vehicle in some time.

Tesla has traditionally stuck with either Black or White interior options with the Model 3 and Model Y, although the Model S and Model X have had additional colors. The Model S and Model X still have a Walnut Cream interior option that costs an additional $2,000.

With the mass market models, however, Tesla has maintained the Black or White selections, until now, at least in China.

Tesla just launched a new light grey interior option for the Model Y L in China, which will cost $1,120.

It differs from the white interior slightly, but it is nice for buyers in China to have this third option:

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The new color is only available on the Model Y L in China, so customers who take delivery of other trim levels or in other regions will not have this color available to them, just as the vehicle configuration itself is exclusive to that market.

In terms of whether it will make its way to other markets, CEO Elon Musk has said that the Model Y L could potentially make its way to the United States at the end of 2026, but it is not a certainty.

Musk said:

“This variant of the Model Y doesn’t start production in the U.S. until the end of next year. Might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America.”

This came as a disappointment to many fans and owners in the U.S. because people here have been pushing Tesla to create and manufacture a new, full-size SUV, or at least something more traditional that competes with vehicles like the Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition.

While the Model Y L is not on par with the size of those vehicles, it is a longer and larger version of the best-selling Model Y.

Tesla China shows off Model Y L’s manufacturing process in new video

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Nevertheless, the new interior option is something we could hopefully see added to U.S. vehicles, although it seems Tesla’s focus is truly dialed in on the Cybercab and expanding Robotaxi and autonomy.

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Tesla Gigafactory Texas builds its half millionth vehicle

The milestone was shared via Twitter/X by the official @Gigafactories account.

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Credit: Tesla Manufacturing/X

Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas has officially rolled out its 500,000th vehicle, marking a significant achievement in the factory’s history and reinforcing its role as a central hub in Tesla’s vehicle manufacturing network. 

The milestone was shared via Twitter/X by the official @Gigafactories account. “Congratulations to the Giga Texas team for building 500k vehicles,” the company’s X post read.

As could be seen in Tesla Manufacturing’s post, the Gigafactory Texas team celebrated the milestone by posting for a photograph with the facility’s half millionth unit, a white Tesla Model Y. The team held balloons that spelled “500K” on its commemorative photo. 

Giga Texas, located near Austin, has ramped its operations since its launch, producing Tesla’s Cybertruck and Model Y. Crossing the half-million vehicle mark solidifies the facility’s importance to Tesla’s overall operations, especially considering the fact that the Model Y is the company’s best-selling vehicle.

While Giga Texas is just producing the Model Y and the Cybertruck for now, the facility is also poised to produce the Cybercab. The Cybercab is expected to be Tesla’s highest volume vehicle, with Elon Musk estimating that the company would be producing about 2 million units of the autonomous two-seater per year. 

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The Cybercab is unlike any vehicle that is currently produced today, and its production would be quite extraordinary. As per Elon Musk’s previous comments, the Cybercab’s manufacturing line would not look like an automotive production line at all. Instead, Musk noted that the Cybercab’s line in Gigafactory Texas would resemble a high-speed consumer electronics line instead.

“We do want to scale up production to new heights obviously with the Cybercab. Cybercab is not just revolutionary car design. It’s also a revolutionary manufacturing process. So I guess we probably don’t talk about that enough, but if you’ve seen the design of the Cybercab line, it doesn’t look like a normal car manufacturing line. It looks like a really high-speed consumer electronics line,” Musk previously stated.

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