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Early Insight into Tesla Model 3 Most Popular Configurations

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Let’s cut to the chase. 90% of Tesla Model 3 reservations holders are willing to pay extra for Supercharger access. 22% want the standard rear wheel drive configuration and 88% want Autopilot even if it’s an optional upgrade. That is according to early stats compiled by crowd sourced database Model3Tracker.info.

Based on a sample of 1637 entries from Model 3 reservation holders, we’re able to obtain early insight on how Tesla might prioritize production of its mass-market electric vehicle come next year.

Let’s take a deeper look at what Model 3 owners want.

Tesla Model 3 Battery Size

There’s no hiding the fact that most Model 3 owners will want a larger battery. Despite the announcement that the base Model 3 will have a minimum of 215 miles of range per single charge, 75% are willing to upgrade to a larger-sized battery pack. Many will be first-time electric vehicle owners, and presumably willing to pay a little extra for peace of mind in the form of extended driving range.

Tesla-Model-3-Battery-Options

Drivetrain and Performance

Tesla has confirmed that the Model 3 will have a standard rear wheel drive configuration, but it appears that most reservation holders will opt for the D: dual motors and all wheel drive. 78% want a Model 3 <insert battery size>D.

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A little over a third of the entrants will want the option to do more spirited driving with a performance version of the Model 3, while 15% of that will want some form of Ludicrous.

Tesla-Model-3-Drivetrain-Options

Model 3 Roof Option

Apparently everyone is in love with the Model 3 all glass roof and rightfully so. 72% of reservation holders polled would pay extra to have an all glass panoramic roof seen on the Model 3 prototypes at the reveal event.

Though Tesla CEO Elon Musk indicated that the Model 3 would have the ability to tow, only 15% would be interested in upgrading the vehicle with a tow-capable hitch.

Tesla-Model-3-Roof-Options

To Autopilot or Not to Autopilot?

An overwhelming number of Model 3 reservation holders want Autopilot capabilities and willing to hand over the extra money to do so. 88% of those polled via Model3Tracker.info indicated that they want the convenience of having Tesla’s self-driving and self-parking capabilities.

With the ability to improve itself through fleet learning, Tesla’s Autopilot continues to get better and will likely become fully autonomous by the time first Model 3 vehicles roll off the assembly line in late 2017.

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Tesla-Model-3-Autopilot-Smart-Air-Suspension

Wheels, Interior, and Sound

The remaining options are, for the most part, equally split with the exception of wheels. 78.5% of Model 3 reservation holders polled will want to keep the standard wheel offering.

If you’re a Model 3 reservation holder, please help Model3Tracker.info increase its sample size by contributing your own preferences through their platform.

We’ll provide a closer look at each of the available options, and the choices people made, once additional data has been collected.

 

Tesla-Model-3-Wheels-Interior-Options

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Tesla is coming to Estonia and Latvia in latest European expansion: report

Tesla seems to be accelerating its regional expansion following its recent launch in Lithuania.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Recent reports have indicated that Tesla has taken a step toward entering the Baltic states by registering new subsidiaries in Latvia and Estonia.

Filings suggest that Tesla is accelerating its regional expansion following its recent launch in Lithuania, with service centers likely coming before full sales operations.

Official entities in Latvia and Estonia

Tesla has established two new legal entities, Tesla Latvia SIA and Tesla Estonia OÜ, both owned by Tesla International B.V., as noted in an EV Wire report. Corporate records show the Estonian entity was formed on December 16, 2025, while the Latvian subsidiary was registered earlier, on November 7.

Both entities list senior Tesla executives on their boards, including regional and finance leadership responsible for new market expansion across Europe. Importantly, the entities are registered under “repair and maintenance of motor vehicles,” rather than strictly vehicle sales. This suggests that Tesla service centers will likely be launched in both countries.

The move mirrors Tesla’s recent Baltic rollout strategy. When Tesla entered Lithuania, it first established a local entity, followed by a pop-up store within weeks and a permanent service center a few months later. It would then not be surprising if Tesla follows a similar strategy in Estonia and Latvia, and service and retail operations arrive in the first half of 2026.

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Tesla’s European push

Tesla saw a drop in sales in Europe in 2025, though the company is currently attempting to push more sales in the region by introducing its most affordable vehicles yet, the Model 3 Standard and the Model Y Standard. Both vehicles effectively lower the price of entry into the Tesla ecosystem, which may make them attractive to consumers.

Tesla is also hard at work in its efforts to get FSD approved for the region. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Tesla rolled out an FSD ride-along program in several European countries, allowing consumers to experience the capabilities of FSD firsthand. In early December, reports emerged indicating that the FSD ride-along program would be extended in several European territories until the end of March 2026. 

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s X will start using a Tesla-like software update strategy

The initiative seems designed to accelerate updates to the social media platform, while maintaining maximum transparency.

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Ministério Das Comunicações, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Elon Musk’s social media platform X will adopt a Tesla-esque approach to software updates for its algorithm.

The initiative seems designed to accelerate updates to the social media platform, while maintaining maximum transparency.

X’s updates to its updates

As per Musk in a post on X, the social media company will be making a new algorithm to determine what organic and advertising posts are recommended to users. These updates would then be repeated every four weeks. 

“We will make the new 𝕏 algorithm, including all code used to determine what organic and advertising posts are recommended to users, open source in 7 days. This will be repeated every 4 weeks, with comprehensive developer notes, to help you understand what changed,” Musk wrote in his post.

The initiative somewhat mirrors Tesla’s over-the-air update model, where vehicle software is regularly refined and pushed to users with detailed release notes. This should allow users to better understand the details of X’s every update and foster a healthy feedback loop for the social media platform.

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xAI and X

X, formerly Twitter, has been acquired by Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI last year. Since then, xAI has seen a rapid rise in valuation. Following the company’s the company’s upsized $20 billion Series E funding round, estimates now suggest that xAI is worth tens about $230 to $235 billion. That’s several times larger than Tesla when Elon Musk received his controversial 2018 CEO Performance Award. 

As per xAI, the Series E funding round attracted a diverse group of investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX, and Baron Capital Group, among others. Strategic partners NVIDIA and Cisco Investments also continued support for building the world’s largest GPU clusters.

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Tesla FSD Supervised wins MotorTrend’s Best Driver Assistance Award

The decision marks a notable reversal for the publication from prior years, with judges citing major real-world improvements that pushed Tesla’s latest FSD software ahead of every competing ADAS system.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system has been named the best driver-assistance technology on the market, earning top honors at the 2026 MotorTrend Best Tech Awards

The decision marks a notable reversal for the publication from prior years, with judges citing major real-world improvements that pushed Tesla’s latest FSD software ahead of every competing ADAS system. And it wasn’t even close. 

MotorTrend reverses course

MotorTrend awarded Tesla FSD (Supervised) its 2026 Best Tech Driver Assistance title after extensive testing of the latest v14 software. The publication acknowledged that it had previously criticized earlier versions of FSD for erratic behavior and near-miss incidents, ultimately favoring rivals such as GM’s Super Cruise in earlier evaluations.

According to MotorTrend, the newest iteration of FSD resolved many of those shortcomings. Testers said v14 showed far smoother behavior in complex urban scenarios, including unprotected left turns, traffic circles, emergency vehicles, and dense city streets. While the system still requires constant driver supervision, judges concluded that no other advanced driver-assistance system currently matches its breadth of capability.

Unlike rival systems that rely on combinations of cameras, radar, lidar, and mapped highways, Tesla’s FSD operates using a camera-only approach and is capable of driving on city streets, rural roads, and freeways. MotorTrend stated that pure utility, the ability to handle nearly all road types, ultimately separated FSD from competitors like Ford BlueCruise, GM Super Cruise, and BMW’s Highway Assistant.

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High cost and high capability

MotorTrend also addressed FSD’s pricing, which remains significantly higher than rival systems. Tesla currently charges $8,000 for a one-time purchase or $99 per month for a subscription, compared with far lower upfront and subscription costs from other automakers. The publication noted that the premium is justified given FSD’s unmatched scope and continuous software evolution.

Safety remained a central focus of the evaluation. While testers reported collision-free operation over thousands of miles, they noted ongoing concerns around FSD’s configurable driving modes, including options that allow aggressive driving and speeds beyond posted limits. MotorTrend emphasized that, like all Level 2 systems, FSD still depends on a fully attentive human driver at all times.

Despite those caveats, the publication concluded that Tesla’s rapid software progress fundamentally reshaped the competitive landscape. For drivers seeking the most capable hands-on driver-assistance system available today, MotorTrend concluded Tesla FSD (Supervised) now stands alone at the top.

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