News
Automakers Take Aim at Tesla’s Model 3
Source: Tesla Motors
At last year’s EV Roadmap conference in Portland, John Voelcker of Green Car Reports kicked off the conference with an opening plenary discussion on what the electric car industry would look like in 2017. Voelcker tossed questions to various automaker representatives and they discussed charging, sales projections and dealerships, among other topics.
However, Tesla was missing from this panel and, not surprisingly, the Model 3 mass market car was not a topic in the plenary discussion.
Fast forward to 2015 and the Model 3 is still not being mentioned by its competitors, although Nissan and GM are starting to position their 2017 EV cars. GM seems to be taking a “first-to-the finish line” strategy. Recent reports indicated that the Chevy Bolt is being track tested while Nissan recently “talked” about a possible jump in battery range for the 2016 or 2017 Leaf. (Not sure what BMW has in store for 2017, please comment below if you’ve heard news on that front)
Tesla and BMW take the stage at 2014 National Drive Electric Week in Huntington Beach, CA
The stakes are high and marketing narratives are being defined for a possible game-changing electric car.
To me, a trojan horse marketing strategy seems to be emerging for Tesla Motors with the Model 3. As mentioned in the Battery Pack to Have Huge Influence on Model 3 Design post, Tesla’s base Model 3 will be a single-motor, rear wheel car that will be priced at approximately $35,000. This base model, the trojan horse, will receive a lot of attention due to Tesla’s grand ambitions, but the media will also be covering a horse race this time around: three big automakers (maybe 4) going after the mass-market EV crown.
Tesla will receive free advertising and, in the process, slip in the all-wheel drive Model 3 versions into this possible media frenzy. Musk and Straubel have stated that the company will produce multiple Model 3 models. The higher-end models will include all-wheel drive, as mentioned, and possibly other options, like traffic aware cruise control and sunroofs. Analysts hint at $45,000 to 50,000 price points, which would help subsidize the base model and provide healthy margins.
>> Video: Traffic Aware Cruise Control for the Model S
These upgraded offerings would take dead aim at BMW’s 3 Series regular car segment, not to mention Infiniti and Lexus, too.
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There’s definitely an undercurrent of excitement on many discussion groups and social media discussing mass-market electric cars. EV early adopters seem to be most interested in Tesla, but where will early majority car buyers—the group after early adopters—go in 2017 or even 2016?
Will they lean on traditional automakers or the first mass-market EV released?
My guess is that a lot of opinions will be shaped by the Model 3 design that will be unveiled in the late spring or early summer 2016, according to Tesla. I like Tesla’s chances if that’s the case.
Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
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Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
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This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
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Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
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Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
Tesla briefly offered this Robotaxi part for your personal car
