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Tesla Model 3 has an Easter Egg too and it’s a team photo with Elon Musk

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8 years ago

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Tesla’s vehicles, apart from being wicked fast on the roads, are also known for their fun Easter Eggs. Over the past few years, Tesla owners have managed to uncover many of their vehicles’ fun, quirky secrets, including James Bond references and “Mario Kart”-esque animations. With this in mind, it was only a matter of time before the first Model 3-specific Easter Egg was discovered. Never to disappoint, the Tesla community has already found the first cool secret of the company’s mass market vehicle.

The Model 3 Easter Egg features a picture of the vehicle’s development team, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the company’s chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen.

The team photo could be accessed by first pressing the “T” at the top of the Model 3’s center touchscreen. Doing this brings up the standard “About” dialog box, which displays the current status of the vehicle, from its model type and the software it is currently running. The Easter Egg is activated by pressing and holding the “3” in the Model 3 label for about 10 seconds, which causes the car in the display to zoom off the screen and get replaced by the development team’s photo. 

Teslarati’s Marco Papa posted a video of how this Model 3 Easter Egg can be accessed.

Tesla has hidden similar Easter Eggs on its previous vehicles in the past. Both the Model S and the Model X, for one, have comparable Easter Eggs, with the vehicles displaying the photo of Tesla’s factory team members after following a series of steps from the “About” dialog box. As could be seen in this video, the Model S’ Easter Egg is accessed by following an almost identical process as the one utilized for the Model 3.

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The Tesla Model 3 is currently being built at the carmaker’s Fremont factory, while several of its most pertinent parts, such as its battery modules and drivetrain, are being produced at the Gigafactory in Nevada. Over the past few years, Tesla’s Nevada facility has enabled the carmaker to establish a close working relationship with the state’s government, with Gov. Brian Sandoval specifically praising Tesla for being a valuable contributor to Nevada’s economy during the 2017 NV State of the State Address.

Not everything has been easy with the rollout of the Model 3, however, as manufacturing bottlenecks due to issues related to the automation of its battery production line. This has caused the Elon Musk-led electric car firm to miss its goal for the third quarter of 2017. Since then, however, Tesla has seemingly ironed out the kinks in its production line, and deliveries are starting to ramp up.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla Cybertruck police cruisers from noted tuner arrive to Las Vegas PD

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34 minutes ago

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September 30, 2025

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Tesla Cybertruck police cruisers from noted tuner Unplugged Performance arrived to the Las Vegas Police Department this week.

The fleet will have ten total Cybertrucks, outfitted and equipped with all of the trimmings of a normal cruiser, but packed inside the polarizing but useful exoskeleton of the all-electric pickup.

Back in February, it was announced by Las Vegas Metro Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill that they would be specially fitted as a SWAT vehicle. Sheriff McMahill said that the Cybertrucks will keep officers safe because of their unique engineering:

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“The cop inside will be safe no matter what; it will stop bullets.”

The Department was gifted the ten vehicles by Ben Horowitz, a billionaire businessman. The donation came shortly after a Cybertruck exploded outside of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on January 1. Only the suspect was killed in the explosion.

Sheriff McMahill has big plans for the Cybertrucks in the police fleet:

“Imagine when we’re out and we’re charging these things, and officers will be approached by people from all over the community to see this thing. It’s an opportunity [to] inject humanity, to increase our community partnerships.”

The introduction of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department Cybertrucks is just one way the law enforcement agency is using technology to its advantage. The Department also said in February that it would be using new drone technology to triangulate gunshots.

Police departments from all over the United States and even the world have adopted Tesla vehicles for their law enforcement fleets. Many agencies cite cost-effectiveness, affordability, performance, and charging as significant advantages for why EVs make sense for their fleets.

Some Cybertrucks have been utilized as police vehicles as well. Qatar used them to create a motorcade for President Donald Trump during a visit to the Middle East, and the Jalisco, Mexico PD will utilize several Cybertrucks while patrolling the FIFA World Cup.

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Tesla eyes Los Angeles for Robotaxi operation, job posting suggests

LA is also an ideal location for Robotaxi expansion because of its reputation as a hotspot for ride-sharing services.

Published

4 hours ago

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September 30, 2025

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Credit: @TerrapinTerpene/X

Tesla is eyeing Los Angeles for its Robotaxi operation, a new job posting from the company suggests, as it aims to expand its service area in California.

Tesla has been operating its Robotaxi platform in California for several months now, first launching it in July in the Bay Area, spanning from San Francisco to San Jose, giving those who have access to the ride-hailing suite a pretty substantial service area to travel within.

However, the California operation is far from complete, as Tesla is aiming to expand to Los Angeles, a city that sits roughly seven hours south of San Francisco, but is among the most popular markets for its vehicles.

LA is also an ideal location for Robotaxi expansion because of its reputation as a hotspot for ride-sharing services.

Tesla is hiring a Vehicle Operator for its Robotaxi program in Marina Del Rey, a seaside community in Los Angeles County, located near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and several other hotspots. It is a frequent location of travel for tourists, making it ideal for Robotaxi:

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There is a substantial difference between how Tesla operates Robotaxi in California compared to Texas, the other state that currently allows passengers to hail a ride through the Tesla Robotaxi app.

In Texas, the majority of rides are considered “driverless,” as there is nobody sitting in the driver’s seat.

This applies to any ride that does not utilize any of the Texas freeways, as highways will require a driver in the seat, something Tesla did when its geofence in Austin expanded to include interstates.

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Tesla adjusts Robotaxi safety monitor strategy in Austin with new service area

In California, things are a bit different. The “Safety Monitor” sits in the driver’s seat, regardless of destination or route. This has drawn some criticism, but Tesla has taken this step in an effort to keep passengers and traffic as safe as possible, recognizing that this is essential for these early rides.

Eventually, and potentially as soon as the end of this year, Tesla could remove Safety Monitors from vehicles altogether, as CEO Elon Musk has hinted this is a possibility.

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Elon Musk says Tesla is bringing a huge improvement to its coolest feature

Published

6 hours ago

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September 30, 2025

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk says huge improvements are coming to what is arguably its coolest feature: Actually Smart Summon (ASS).

Last September, Tesla finally launched ASS, a widely anticipated improvement from its previous Summon iteration, which aims to allow owners to literally summon their vehicle in locations like parking lots.

Tesla finally launches Actually Smart Summon and Dumb Summon

It is one of the most unique things Tesla offers with its Full Self-Driving program.

However, it is still definitely a work in progress. ASS provided owners with a wide variety of improvements, including better range, more accuracy, and better overall performance. It still has its shortcomings, though.

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Personally, I’ve found it to be a useful feature, but I also have my own complaints with it. Sometimes, I find it to be too hesitant, or not work at all:

It seems Tesla is working to improve ASS as much as possible, and one of these improvements includes the ability to summon your car from a different level in a parking garage.

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The goal would be to wait at the ground floor, where the exit is, and use ASS from the Tesla app to have the car arrive without having to deal with the elevators, stairs, and other inconveniences.

One owner said ASS would be most useful in a multi-level garage, but it currently does not function as intended. They suggested an altitude sensor “to make it possible to use FSD reliably in garages.”

Musk agreed and said that the inability to use ASS in multi-level garages would not be an issue for long:

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This would be an incredible improvement from what ASS is currently capable of. Of course, it has shown to be greatly improved since its early iterations.

However, there are still some things that need to be fixed in terms of its overall performance and its ability to handle less straightforward scenarios.

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