News
Tesla Model 3 first impressions show that it’s better than Model S in some aspects
The end of 2017 marked a great time for Tesla Model 3 reservations holders in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay area, with the carmaker ramping up its non-employee deliveries for the mass market electric car. Among these proud, new Model 3 owners is Mel Herbert of Talking Tesla podcast, who recently uploaded a video on his YouTube channel about his first impressions of the vehicle. Apart from providing a brief walkthrough of some of Model 3’s features, Herbert also gave some useful comparisons between his newly-acquired Tesla and its larger sibling, the Model S.
One thing that immediately struck Herbert was how the Model 3, which is nearly 12″ (304mm) shorter in length than the Model S, has impeccable visibility. According to the Talking Tesla host, Model 3’s lack of an instrument cluster and minimalistic dashboard provides drivers with an excellent view of the road. Coupled with the design of the car’s hood, the Model 3 actually provides better visibility than its larger, more premium siblings — the Model S and the Model X.
“There is so much visibility out of here even compared to the S, and I would say even compared to the X. You can see so much more out of this car because this (the hood) also seems to drop off faster than on the S, so it sort of gets out of the way.”
Talking Tesla’s show host emphasized his point by providing a first-person view from inside both the Model 3 and the Model S. True to his observations; Model 3’s windshield does offer a better view of the road than the Model S’ windshield, which, while far wider, is also significantly narrower.
Apart from Herbert’s observations about the Model 3’s excellent windshield and trunk space that passes the “golf club test”, he also took special notice of the vehicle’s ease of entry. Herbert notes that the vehicle’s open cabin design, which has enough headroom to support a driver as tall as 6’7″, feels easier to enter than the Model S.
The resolution and dynamic range of Model 3’s display is also significantly higher than the screens found in the Model S and Model X, says Herbert. Despite lacking a driver’s instrument cluster, as found in the Model S and Model X, the touchscreen is still easy to see from the driver’s seat. However, Herbert notes that not all areas of the screen are easily visible while driving because of the landscape orientation.
The reason for Model 3’s one-touchscreen-for-all-riders design is likely because the vehicle was built with self-driving in mind. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for one, has stated that the car would play an important role in the Tesla Network, an upcoming ride-sharing network that would enable commuters to summon a car to pick them up and drop them off at a designated location. According to Musk, Tesla owners would have the option to allow their car to participate in the Tesla Network, enabling their vehicles to pretty much pay for themselves.
Tesla is currently ramping up the production of the Model 3, with new locations such as the Marina Del Rey delivery center starting operations. The carmaker is expecting to hit its target production rate of 5,000 units a week at some point in the first quarter of 2018.
Energy
Tesla meets Giga New York’s Buffalo job target amid political pressures
Giga New York reported more than 3,460 statewide jobs at the end of 2025, meeting the benchmark tied to its dollar-a-year lease.
Tesla has surpassed its job commitments at Giga New York in Buffalo, easing pressure from lawmakers who threatened the company with fines, subsidy clawbacks, and dealership license revocations last year.
The company reported more than 3,460 statewide jobs at the end of 2025, meeting the benchmark tied to its dollar-a-year lease at the state-built facility.
As per an employment report reviewed by local media, Tesla employed 2,399 full-time workers at Gigafactory New York and 1,060 additional employees across the state at the end of 2025. Part-time roles pushed the total headcount of Tesla’s New York staff above the 3,460-job target.
The gains stemmed in part from a new Long Island service center, a Buffalo warehouse, and additional showrooms in White Plains and Staten Island. Tesla also said it has invested $350 million in supercomputing infrastructure at the site and has begun manufacturing solar panels.
Empire State Development CEO Hope Knight said the agency was “very happy” with Giga New York’s progress, as noted in a WXXI report. The current lease runs through 2029, and negotiations over updated terms have included potential adjustments to job requirements and future rent payments.
Some lawmakers remain skeptical, however. Assemblymember Pat Burke questioned whether the reported job figures have been fully verified. State Sen. Patricia Fahy has also continued to sponsor legislation that would revoke Tesla’s company-owned dealership licenses in New York. John Kaehny of Reinvent Albany has argued that the project has not delivered the manufacturing impact originally promised as well.
Knight, for her part, maintained that Empire State Development has been making the best of a difficult situation.
“(Empire State Development) has tried to make the best of a very difficult situation. There hasn’t been another use that has come forward that would replace this one, and so to the extent that we’re in this place, the fact that 2,000 families at (Giga New York) are being supported through the activity of this employer. It’s the best that we can have happen,” the CEO noted.
News
Tesla avoids California sales suspension after DMV review
The agency confirmed Tuesday that Tesla has taken “corrective action.”
Tesla will not face a 30-day sales suspension in California after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) stated that the company has come into compliance regarding the marketing of its automated-driving features.
The agency confirmed Tuesday that Tesla has taken “corrective action” following a prior ruling over how it promoted Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (FSD), as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
The California DMV had previously given Tesla 90 days to address concerns that were raised by an administrative judge. Regulators had alleged that Tesla overstated the capabilities of its driver-assist systems, which were branded as Autopilot and Full Self-Driving.
A potential 30-day suspension of vehicle sales in California was on the table if Tesla had failed to comply. On Tuesday, however, the DMV stated that Tesla had met the requirements to avoid that penalty, though it did not provide detailed specifics about the changes that were made.
That being said, Tesla did discontinue its standalone Autopilot product in January and has ramped the marketing of its most advanced driver-assistance package available to consumers today, Full Self Driving (Supervised). From its naming, FSD (Supervised) clearly emphasizes that the system, despite its advanced features, still requires driver attention.
Following reports of a potential sales ban in California, Tesla clarified the matter on X, stating that the issue “was a ‘consumer protection’ order about the use of the term ‘Autopilot’ in a case where not one single customer came forward to say there’s a problem.” Tesla also noted that “Sales in California will continue uninterrupted.”
Tesla has not issued a comment about the matter as of writing.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk confirms Tesla Cybercab pricing and consumer release date
Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla does intend to sell a version of the Cybercab for less than $30,000 by 2027.
Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla does intend to sell a version of the Cybercab for less than $30,000 by 2027. He shared the update in a post on social media platform X.
Amidst Tesla’s announcement that the first Cybercab has been produced at Giga Texas’ production line, some members of the Tesla community immediately started joking about how the milestone will affect a wager shared by popular YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee (MKBHD.)
Following Tesla’s We, Robot event in October 2024, MKBHD noted that while the Cybercab was impressive in a lot of ways, he is very skeptical about Elon Musk’s estimate that the autonomous two-seater could be sold to consumers for below $30,000 around 2027.
“I think the obvious red flag, the biggest red flag to me is the timeline stuff. This is notorious Elon stuff. He gets on stage, he says we’re going to have this vehicle out for $30,000 before 2027,” he said, adding “No, they’re not. There’s just no way that they’re actually going to be able to do that. I mean, if they do, let’s say they do, I will shave my head on camera because I’m that confident.”
It was then no surprise that meme images of MKBHD with his head shaved immediately spread on X following Tesla’s announcement that the first Cybercab has been built at Giga Texas. One of these, which was posted by longtime FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog, received a response from Elon Musk. The CEO responded with the words “Gonna happen,” together with a laughing emoji.
Apart from riding jokes about MKBHD’s wager, Musk also confirmed that Tesla will be selling a Cybercab to regular consumers before 2027, and the vehicle will be priced for $30,000 or less. In response to an X user who asked if the exact scenario will be happening, Musk responded with a simple “Yes.”
While the first Cybercab has been produced at Giga Texas, it would not be surprising if the following months will only see low volumes of the autonomous two seater being produced. As per Elon Musk in previous comments, the Cybercab’s early production will likely be slow, but it will eventually be extremely fast. “For Cybercab and Optimus, almost everything is new, so the early production rate will be agonizingly slow, but eventually end up being insanely fast,” he said.
Tesla meets Giga New York’s Buffalo job target amid political pressures
Tesla avoids California sales suspension after DMV review
