Lifestyle
Tesla Model Y hits a high note with Consumer Reports but with some criticism
The crew at Consumer Reports has been testing out Tesla’s Model Y, and while the all-electric crossover was pleasantly received, some mild criticisms were discussed in a recent Talking Cars podcast focused on their first impressions.
The Model Y being reviewed was a white, Dual Motor Long Range version of the vehicle with All-Wheel Drive and Full Self Driving option package, enabling a review of both the car’s driveability and currently available Autopilot features. Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ (CR) Auto Test Director, first noted the fun, sporty nature of the Model Y’s driving style, but all participants agreed that labeling the vehicle as an SUV was a misnomer.
“Big picture what you see is basically a Model 3 hatchback,” Fisher commented. The dispute over style classification, however, was put into a positive light. Specifically, adding the hatchback-type design features solved what the group characterized as “deficiencies” in Model 3. “The benefit is you get extra headroom and especially the rear seat room,” noted Mike Monticello, Autos Editor for CR. “It’s like it took all the good things about the Model 3, it kept them…but it took some of the bad things…and made them better… It’s an improved Model 3, if you think about it that way.”
Some deficiencies still carried over to the Model Y, though, according to the review. Fisher took issue with the center console screen carryover in particular. “They crammed everything into this one screen that is off-center,” he said, also noting that Tesla had “an opportunity” to improve the usability of the Model 3 features which were missed in the Model Y. In particular, the group wanted the ability to adjust the steering wheel, change the air vents without going through a screen menu, and add automatic rearview mirror adjustment a part of the driver profile functionality.
The actual road-handling and driving experience of the Model Y was also critiqued as failing to be improved from the Model 3 experience. Mike Monticello, also an Autos Editor with CR, noted the car’s stiff ride and wind noise in the cabin, both of which are not issues in the Model S or Model X. Monticello also noted the tire noise while traveling and encountering road bumps.
Tesla’s latest beta Autopilot feature made its way into the crosshairs during the talk as well, specifically the Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control function which can be toggled on and off. The feature previously caused the Model Y to stop at every red, yellow, and green light, but now only stops at a green light if there isn’t a car in front of the vehicle. “They keep on changing the behavior of how this car drives,” Fisher noted, also mentioning that the constant updates don’t add to the relaxation or sense of safety that Autopilot is supposed to provide.
Despite the noted criticisms from the Consumer Reports group, the review session still ended on a positive note for Tesla and the Model Y. They offered caution to consumers until the new crossover had been out on the market for about a year to judge first-run reliability issues, but they acknowledged that alternative electric vehicles were likely not up to par for those interested in Tesla specifically.
Although there are options when looking for a vehicle that supports environmental concerns, the mindset of a current Tesla owner likely won’t match the features offered by other automakers with electric vehicles such as the Hyundai Kona, Fisher summarized. “Other electric cars don’t have that ‘Tesla Mystique’ … [they don’t drive like] … a performance car.”
You can watch the Consumer Reports full Model Y podcast below:
Lifestyle
Tesla saves its passengers again – This time after a 300-foot cliff fall in Malibu
A Tesla Model 3 fell 300 feet off a Malibu cliff and both passengers survived.
A Tesla Model 3 plunged roughly 300 feet off a cliff on Mulholland Highway in Malibu on Friday morning, May 29, 2026, and both occupants survived. The crash was reported at approximately 7:30 a.m. near the 2500 block of Mulholland Highway, triggering a multi-agency rescue operation involving Malibu Search and Rescue, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the California Highway Patrol, and McCormick Ambulance.
When first responders arrived, the male driver was outside the vehicle shouting for help while the female passenger remained pinned inside the Tesla. Rescue crews rappelled down the cliffside on ropes to reach the wreckage. A flight medic was lowered by helicopter to begin treating both victims, and the driver was hoisted up to the roadway before crews used the Jaws of Life to free the trapped passenger. Both were airlifted to a local trauma center with moderate injuries despite a remarkable result for a fall that steep.
The outcome is not surprising, considering Model 3 earned an overall 5-star rating from NHTSA in every category and sub-category, and recorded the lowest probability of injury of any car ever evaluated by the U.S. New Car Assessment Program. The absence of a traditional engine in the front of the vehicle creates a longer crumple zone that absorbs impact energy before it reaches occupants, and the battery pack running along the floor gives the car an unusually low center of gravity that reinforces structural rigidity.
This is not the first time a Tesla has kept passengers alive after going off a cliff. A Tesla Model Y carrying a family of four survived a plunge off a cliff at Devil’s Slide near San Francisco in January 2023, with two adults and two children walking away from a 250-foot fall. That incident drew widespread attention to how the structural integrity of Tesla’s electric platform performs in extreme crash scenarios that most vehicles would not survive.
Tesla Model Y driver who drove off cliff with family attempts to avoid criminal conviction
Elon Musk
NASA’s first human outpost on the Moon starts now – SpaceX on deck
NASA named the rovers, landers, and vendors that will build America’s first Moon Base.
NASA has laid out its most detailed Moon Base plan to date, describing a permanent outpost near the Moon’s south pole that the agency intends to build over the coming decade as a direct stepping stone to Mars. “The Moon Base will be America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, adding that every mission crewed and uncrewed “will be a learning opportunity as we return to the lunar surface, build the infrastructure to stay, and master the skills required to live and operate in one of the most demanding and dangerous environments imaginable.”
The plan is structured in three phases involving both uncrewed and crewed missions to deliver equipment, vehicles, and infrastructure to the surface, with the first three moon base missions targeted to launch before the end of 2026.
Moon Base I, targeting fall 2026, will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to deliver scientific instruments to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge, the same region where Artemis astronauts will land. Moon Base II will send Astrobotic’s Griffin lander carrying more than 1,100 pounds of cargo including Astrolab’s FLIP rover to begin developing mobility systems on the surface. Moon Base III will carry the Lunar Vertex science mission on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lander to study lunar swirls near the south pole, with ESA and Korean science payloads aboard.
On the rover side, NASA awarded Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million to build the first phase of Lunar Terrain Vehicles, with both rovers targeted for deployment to the lunar surface by 2028. Astrolab’s crewed rover weighs roughly 2,000 pounds and can reach over 6 mph. Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus rover can operate autonomously or via remote control at over 9 mph. Blue Origin separately received $188 million with an option worth $280.4 million to deliver cargo landers for rover transport.
NASA also confirmed that MoonFall, a mission deploying four survey drones to scout Artemis landing sites, has selected Firefly Aerospace to build the transport spacecraft, with a 2028 launch target.
SpaceX sits at the center of that commercial layer. SpaceX holds the NASA Human Landing System contract for the Starship-derived lander that will put astronauts on the surface under Artemis IV, currently targeting 2028. Before that can happen, SpaceX must demonstrate in-orbit propellant transfer at scale, a process requiring multiple Starship tanker launches to fuel a single mission. Water ice at the lunar south pole is central to the base’s long-term viability, as it can be converted into drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket fuel, directly reducing dependence on Earth resupply. That resource loop becomes far more practical if Starship can land and be refueled on or near the Moon itself.
Elon Musk has publicly stated that Starship V3, which recently completed its first flight, should be capable enough for initial Mars missions. The Moon Base plan announced Tuesday is the infrastructure layer that connects everything between those two ambitions, and SpaceX is the only American company currently contracted to build the rocket that gets humans to either destination.
Elon Musk
Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises
Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.
Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.
Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.
Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15
India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.
First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.
The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.
Tesla saves its passengers again – This time after a 300-foot cliff fall in Malibu
Tesla Full Self-Driving expansion in Europe continues with new addition
