Connect with us

News

August Best Month Ever For Model X Reservations

Reservations for the Tesla Model X spiked in August after Elon Musk said the first cars would be produced soon. Those cars will be Signature Series models.

Published

on

August best month for Tesla Model X Reservations
August best month for Tesla Model X Reservations

Credit: Paul Carter, TMC

Paul Carter, possibly the hardest working Tesla Motors Club forum moderator, tracks global reservations for the Model X and posts his results monthly. His findings show that there were more reservations made in August than in any prior month. As of August 31*, his data shows Tesla had about 27,000 Model X reservations.

* Note: large spike in China in August 2015 is due to first update since Nov 2014.
August 3

Credit: Paul Carter, TMC

Interest in the Model X turned white hot after Elon Musk told investors during a conference call early in the month that the first Model X cars would be delivered in the third quarter. In fact, that promise will be kept when Tesla delivers the first Model X to customers at the factory in Fremont, California on September 29.

Up to that point, there was some skepticism about when production of the Model X might actually begin. Musk himself contributed to that feeling by referencing delays in receiving critical parts for the production line despite a ramp up in customer reservations in August.

Credit: Paul Carter, TMC

Credit: Paul Carter, TMC

Not surprisingly, most of the reservations for the Model X have been made by people living in the United States, including Paul Carter, who’s one of the lucky few to have committed to a Signature Series. Reservations of the Model X soared once Tesla revealed its online configurator to early reservation holders, giving insight to how the production version of the electric crossover will look.

But the question remains, when will the backlog of Model X reservations get built and delivered? Elon’s words at the last conference call seemed to suggest that full production will not begin until late 2015. Some observers speculate it could be early 2016 before regular production gets started.

The first orders to be filled will be for those who put up a $40,000 deposit, some of them almost 2 years ago. These early reservation holders will receive a limited-run Signature Series that comes loaded with options, driving the price up to $132,000 and beyond. But Elon tweeted last week that the regular Model X will be priced just $5,000 more than a comparably equipped Model S.

Other auto manufacturers, particularly Audi, are rushing competing models to market in hopes of tapping into the demand for an electric SUV. But for now, the Tesla Model X is the hottest car on the planet.

It, just, may take a while before there are enough cars manufactured to satisfy the demand for it.

Advertisement
-

"I write about technology and the coming zero emissions revolution."

Advertisement
Comments

Cybertruck

Tesla upfitter offers to keep Cybertruck alive

Published

on

Credit: Unplugged Performance

A Tesla upfitter has offered to take over Cybertruck lines from the company in a last-ditch effort to save the all-electric pickup from being completely canceled in the middle of 2027.

Unplugged Performance, the Hawthorne, California-based Tesla aftermarket specialist, has publicly offered to take over Cybertruck production from Tesla, funding the effort “through a consortium of investors.”

The proposal comes as Tesla prioritizes its Cybercab Robotaxi program and prepares to wind down Cybertruck assembly at Gigafactory Texas around mid-2027.

Founded in 2013 by Ben Schaffer and located adjacent to Tesla’s Design Studio and SpaceX, Unplugged Performance has become a leading provider of premium upgrades for Tesla vehicles, including extensive Cybertruck packages under its UP INVINCIBLE line.

Advertisement
-

Through its UP.FIT division, the company has also developed purpose-built police and fleet versions of the Cybertruck, including deliveries to agencies such as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

In an X post on Tuesday, Unplugged said:

“An open offer to Tesla: We fully support putting Cybercab first, and we’d be glad to take the Cybertruck line off your hands. We’d fund it with a consortium of investors and run it at no cost to Tesla’s floor space, headcount, or focus. All of that goes to Cybercab. Cybercab gets first call on battery cells too. We’ll wait our turn. Tesla gains incremental profit: a license fee, plus FSD and Robotaxi network revenues on every vehicle built. We’d build the Cybertruck, a three-row CyberSUV, and an unmanned CyberCargo hauler. More autonomous miles, across every surface of this planet and beyond. Worth a conversation?”

The arrangement would free Tesla resources and manufacturing capacity for Cybercab while allowing continued production of the stainless-steel pickup and expanded variants. Unplugged Performance indicated it would wait for battery cells after Cybercab needs are met and would generate ongoing revenue for Tesla through licensing and software/network services on the vehicles it produces.

Following strong initial interest, Unplugged Performance posted a follow-up inviting potential investors and strategic partners to email cyber@unpluggedperformance.com. The company clarified that the outreach is solely to gauge interest and does not constitute an offer to sell securities or acceptance of funds at this stage.

The proposal arrives shortly after Elon Musk indicated that Cybertruck production in Texas would be phased out by roughly the middle of 2027 to expand Cybercab output.

Advertisement
-

Whether Tesla engages with the offer remains to be seen, but the public overture highlights both the aftermarket specialist’s deep experience with the Cybertruck platform and the growing focus on autonomy within Tesla’s manufacturing plans.

Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Elon Musk says Tesla Cybercab future is ‘obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain’

Published

on

Elon Musk said the Tesla Cybercab will perform “a majority of all passenger miles” where it is allowed to operate and that point is “obvious to anyone with eyes and a brain.”

Musk used the point to double down on the company’s decision to ax the cult-favorite Cybertruck, as its production space will be removed and transitioned into additional Cybercab lines. The move has catalyzed a polarizing conversation on whether its right or wrong.

Whatever side you are on — it’s happening.

Regardless, Musk seems to be getting to the point that he is done talking about the choice. At some point, you have to think that this was truly a difficult decision for him and the company as well, and this is not something he took lightly. In fact, he’s probably a little bit disappointed with it, too.

But the point remains that the Cybertruck is gone. Musk’s focus is purely on developing an autonomous platform that the world will utilize for transportation, and he’s telling you that anyone “with eyes and a brain” can see it:

Tesla is betting that all of its passengers in the future will be okay with not owning their own personal cars and will be fine with ride-hailing for the rest of their lives. Every dinner, every errand, every trip to the airport and transportation thereafter, will all be operated by ride-sharing, and in Tesla’s perfect world, it will happen in a Cybercab.

As of now, Cybercab is only active in Austin, but it has been spotted all over the country with a driver behind the wheel in those prototypes. In Austin, the car has no steering wheel or pedals for people to control the vehicle.

The Cybertruck dilemma is one that has truly come across the entire Tesla community and while it seems to be a great idea to keep it because people love it, the business side of things is steering Musk and Tesla in another direction.

Advertisement
-
Continue Reading

Elon Musk

Tesla slims Cybertruck offerings to only its most expensive trim

Published

on

Credit: u/dregonzz/Reddit

Tesla has slimmed its Cybertruck offerings to offer only its most expensive trim: the Cyberbeast.

After announcing that the Cybertruck would no longer be produced and the company would wind down manufacturing sometime in the middle of 2027, Tesla started to eliminate some of the configurations offered to customers.

Advertisement
-

Now, only one remains: the $109,990 Cyberbeast. This is truly what seems like Tesla’s last effort to deter any remaining orders from coming in: eliminate the cheap trims and leave only the high-dollar vehicle within the lineup of Cybertruck options.

Those who want to take advantage of this last-ditch opportunity to own Tesla’s symbolic pickup have to pay to play.

Tesla says the reason for the wind down is truly because of Cybercab and its importance to the future.

Despite cries for Tesla to continue production of the pickup, Musk says it is too difficult to ramp a high-volume line instead of ending the truck altogether. He also says Cybercab is what will take passengers around for the “majority of all miles in any jurisdiction where it is not prohibited by law.”

Tesla is going all in on autonomy, and that’s never been a secret. But the commitment to a two-door, two-seat Cybercab truly limits people from having options for labor or hobbies. It also limits people from having their entire family in a single car.

Parents with even a single child will be required to take multiple vehicles if Cybercab is truly the only option Tesla plans to have.

Elon Musk keeps justifying Tesla Cybertruck’s cancelation, but it’s confusing

Tesla has stated the Robovan will also be in production eventually, but it still does not seem like the most ideal vehicle to own. It seems like it is geared more toward commercial uses, but Tesla might have something in the pipeline for families.

Advertisement
-
Continue Reading