News
What We Know About the Tesla Model 3 and What We Don’t
We have some idea about the size and features of the upcoming Tesla Model III. What we don’t know is what it will look like or how much it will cost.
Tesla has been tight lipped about the Model 3 that is in the works. Elon Musk says it won’t look like any other car on the road, but what does that mean? Will it have 6 wheels or a raised seating platform so drivers can look down on the other, more mundane cars on the road? For guidance, we need to look at the words of Elon Musk himself.
Here’s what we know about the Tesla Model 3:
1. The Model 3 will be about 20% smaller than the Model S, says Musk. But in typical faction, he adds a hook to that statement. “One easy thing to do would be to make a 20 percent smaller Model S. That would be easy to do, but I think we might be able to do a few more interesting things than just that.”
2. It will probably be powered by the smaller of the two motors currently used by the Model S. “That smaller drive unit in many ways is a precursor for the Model 3. Because it represents a significant improvement in cost, and in steady state power, and a number of other factors. It’s a second generation motor, essentially, and that’s a good pathfinder for Model 3 on the powertrain side.”
3. It will have two separate versions, but not right away. “There are things we could do with the Model 3 platform that are really adventurous but would put the schedule at risk. So what we’re going to do is have something that’s going to be an amazing car, but it won’t be the most adventurous version the Model 3 to begin with. But we will then have the more different version of the Model 3, on the Model 3 platform, following the initial version.”
RELATED >>> Affordable Tesla Model 3Â will utilize steel construction
4. It will arrive on time. Tesla seems to have learned from the on again/off again scheduling of the Model X that it is important to get this car to market when promised. A concept version of the Model 3 is expected to appear early in 2016. “We don’t want the delays that affected the X to affect the Model 3. We’re really being quite conscientious about this.”
Here’s what we don’t know:
1. What will the Model 3 look like? Stumpf Studio has released some design studies that may — or may not — offer clues to the appearance of the Model 3. Auto Moto has also floated its notion of what the Tesla Model 3 might look like on the internet. Bear in mind that neither are officially sanctioned by Tesla, even though the Stumpf Studios efforts include the official company logo. The Auto Moto concept incorporates some of the design language of the latest Jaguar F Type coupe, especially at the rear.
The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the car will be a hatchback. Partly that’s because the Model S and the Model X have hatches and partly that’s because a a smaller car almost begs for a hatch in order to allow families to fit all their stuff inside.

One enthusiast’s rendition of what a Tesla Model 3 compact may look like. (Source: Autoevolution.com)
2. How much will the Model 3 cost? Elon Musk has said that Tesla will be selling “millions” of cars in a few years. But it won’t be selling millions of its Model S cars, despite the fact that the Model S is a wonderful automobile. Tesla needs a moderately priced car if it hopes to become a volume seller.
As far as anyone knows, the Model 3 is the car that will make Tesla a leader in the car business. That means getting the pricing right is critical to the company’s future. It is widely believed that the Model 3 will have about 200 miles of range and sell for around $35,000 after all federal and state incentives. But is that realistic?
One skeptic, Menahem Anderman, predicts Tesla will have to charge at least $50,000 for the Model 3 in order to make money. Anderman is not some flake. He has organized the Advanced Automotive Batteries Conference for almost two decades now.
3. When will it arrive? There are rumors that a concept car will appear in the spring of 2016, with production beginning sometime in 2017. But Elon Musk, despite his many good qualities, has always been overly optimistic about when Tesla products will be market ready. The Model S was almost two years late arriving and the Model X has had numerous delays.
How accurate is that “sometime in 2017” prediction for the Model 3? That’s anybody’s guess. One thing is for certain, though. The Model 3 will probably not feature anything resembling the “falcon wing” doors that are the trademark of the Model X.
Source: CleanTechnica
Elon Musk
Tesla says texting and driving capability is coming ‘in a month or two’
“In the next month or two, we’re going to look at the safety statistics, but we’re going to allow you to text and drive, essentially.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that within the next month or two, the company will be able to open the ability for people to text and drive because its Full Self-Driving suite will be robust enough to allow drivers to take their attention away from the road.
In its current state, Tesla Full Self-Driving is a supervised driver assistance suite that requires the vehicle operator to maintain control of the vehicle and pay attention to the road surroundings.
However, the company has been aiming to release a fully autonomous version of the Full Self-Driving suite for years, teasing its future potential and aiming to release a Level 5 suite as soon as possible.
CEO Elon Musk believes the company is on the cusp of something drastic, according to what he said at yesterday’s Annual Shareholder Meeting.
One thing Musk hinted at was that the company should be able to allow those sitting in the driver’s seat of their cars to text and drive “in the next month or two,” as long as the statistics look good.
He said:
“In the next month or two, we’re going to look at the safety statistics, but we’re going to allow you to text and drive, essentially.”
The company recently transitioned to its v14 Full Self-Driving suite, which is its most robust to date, and recently expanded to Cybertruck, completing its rollout across the vehicle lineup.
Currently, Tesla is running v14.1.5, and when major improvements are made, that second number will increase, meaning v14.2 will be the next substantial improvement.
Musk said that v14.3 will be when you can “pretty much fall asleep and wake up at your destination.”
🚨🚨 Elon Musk says Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.3 will be when you can “pretty much fall asleep and wake up at your destination.”
We are on v14.1 currently đź‘€ pic.twitter.com/KMkWh5Qa7T
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 6, 2025
We’ve heard a considerable amount of similar statements in the past, and Tesla owners have been conditioned to take some of these timeframes with autonomous driving with a grain of salt.
However, with the upgrades in FSD over the past few months, especially with the rollout of Robotaxi in Austin, which does not utilize anyone in the driver’s seat for local roads, it does not seem as if autonomy is that far off for Tesla.
News
Tesla Semi undergoes major redesign as dedicated factory preps for deliveries
The Semi has been one of the most anticipated products in the Tesla lineup due to the disruption it could cause in the trucking industry.
Tesla put its all-electric Semi truck through quite a major redesign as its dedicated factory for the vehicle is preparing for initial deliveries to the public starting next year.
The Semi has been one of the most anticipated products in the Tesla lineup due to the disruption it could cause in the trucking industry.
It has already been in numerous pilot programs for some pretty large companies over the past couple of years, PepsiCo. being one of them, and it is moving toward first deliveries to other companies sometime in 2026.
Yesterday at the 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Tesla unveiled its new Semi design, which underwent a pretty significant facelift to match the aesthetic and vibe of the other vehicles in the company’s lineup.
Additionally, Tesla announced some other improvements, including changes to efficiency, and some other changes that we did not get details on yet.
The first change was to the design of the Semi, as Tesla adopted its blade-like light bar for the Class 8 truck, similar to the one that is used on the new Model Y and the Cybertruck:
There also appear to be a handful of design changes that help with aerodynamics, as its efficiency has increased to 1.7 kWh per mile.
Tesla also said it has an increased payload capability, which will help companies to haul more goods per trip.
All of these changes come as the company’s Semi Factory, which is located on the same property as its Gigafactory in Reno, Nevada, is just finishing up. In late October, it was shown that the Semi facility is nearly complete, based on recent drone imagery from factory observer HinrichsZane on X:
The factory will be capable of producing about 50,000 Tesla Semi units annually when it is completely ramped. The company has major plans to help get the Semi in more fleets across the United States.
Other entities are also working to develop a charging corridor for electric Class 8 trucks. The State of California was awarded $102 million to develop a charging corridor that spans from Washington to Southern California.
Another corridor is being developed that spans from Southern California to Texas, and 49 applicants won $636 million from the Department of Transportation for it.
Tesla requested funding for it, but was denied.
The Semi has been a staple in several companies’ fleets over the past few years, most notably that of Frito-Lay and PepsiCo., who have reported positive experiences thus far.
Musk said last year that the Semi had “ridiculous demand.”
News
Tesla Cybercab production starts Q2 2026, Elon Musk confirms
Elon Musk highlighted that the fully autonomous vehicle will be the first Tesla designed specifically for unsupervised self-driving.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that production of the company’s autonomous Cybercab will begin in April 2026, and its production targets will be quite ambitious.
Speaking at Tesla’s 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, Musk highlighted that the fully autonomous vehicle will be the first Tesla designed specifically for unsupervised self-driving.
A robotaxi built for an autonomous world
Musk described the Cybercab as a clean-slate design optimized for autonomy, with no steering wheel, pedals, or side mirrors. “It’s very much optimized for the lowest cost per mile in an autonomous mode,” Musk said, adding that every Tesla produced in recent years already carries the hardware needed for full self-driving.
The Cybercab will be assembled at Giga Texas and will serve as the company’s flagship entry into the commercial robotaxi market. Musk emphasized that the project represents Tesla’s next evolutionary step in combining vehicle manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and mobility services.
One Cybercab every ten seconds
Musk reiterated that the Cybercab’s production process is more closely modeled on consumer electronics assembly than on traditional automotive manufacturing. This should pave the way for outputs that far exceed conventional automotive products.
“That production is happening right here in this factory, and we’ll be starting production in April next year. The manufacturing system is unlike any other car. The manufacturing system of the Cybercab, it’s closer to a high volume consumer electronics device than it is a car manufacturing line. So the net result is that I think we should be able to achieve, I think, ultimately, less than a 10-second cycle time, basically a unit every 10 seconds.
“What that would mean is you could get on a line that would normally produce, say, 500,000 cars a year at a one minute cycle time, Model Y. This would be maybe as much as 2 million or 3 million, maybe ultimately it’s theoretically possible to achieve a 5 million unit production line if you can get to the 5-second cycle time,” the CEO said.
-
News1 week agoTesla Cybercab spotted testing on public roads for the first time
-
Elon Musk4 days agoElon Musk subtly confirms one of Tesla AI8’s uses, and it’s literally out of this world
-
Elon Musk7 days agoNeuralink’s first patient could receive an upgrade: Elon Musk
-
News16 hours agoFord reportedly considers cancelling F-150 Lightning: ‘The demand is just not there’
-
News2 weeks agoTesla ‘Mad Max’ gets its first bit of regulatory attention
-
News2 days agoTesla Giga Berlin hits a sustainability milestone that’s so impressive, it sounds fake
-
News3 days agoTesla Cybertruck explosion probe ends with federal involvement and new questions
-
News1 week agoNeuralink’s first human patient reflects on 21 months with brain implant “Eve”



