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Pencils down on Tesla Model 3: here’s what I hope to see
From what tidbits Tesla has shared, it’s already “pencils down” on the Model 3 design. We’ve seen the prototype, we’ve poured over spy spots and video stills. We’ve even accidentally drooled on our copy of a Franz print. (Oh, that was just me?) In fact, there are quite a few things we already know.
But because this is the age of instant information and chronic impatience – and because I have an enormous amount of faith in Tesla – I’ll pass the time by sharing 10 things I hope to see on the smaller and much more affordable Model 3 that if true, would arguably make owning it an even better experience than the Model S.
Efficiency
The Model 3 will require a smaller battery to go 200 miles on a single charge than a Model S would require. What this should also mean is that on a miles per kWh basis, it’s cheaper to drive than the Model S. I’ve already figured out using very rough and imperfect math that it costs me $.06/mile to drive the Model S given our just slightly above average electricity rates. That is about 1/3 the cost to run my ICE. It’s a bit closer now as gasoline prices have dropped, but the Model S still wins by plenty. If the Model 3 does what I think it will, it should cost even less.
Wheelbase
Maybe it’s me, maybe it’s my age, or maybe it’s the fact that I’ve never owned a 4-door car before the Model S but I really crave a slightly shorter wheelbase in a car. The Model S is a phenom in acceleration at any trim level. The Model 3, especially in a dual motor Performance version, will be no different. Pair this with the agility that comes with having a lighter, shorter car and perennial favorite “car guy” cars like the BMW 335 or Mustang GT will be made to look a fool.
Steering Feel
This right here. Of all the goofy things a person can insist upon when picking out a car, a tightly tuned steering situation is inordinately high on my list. In fact, I almost ended up in a Camaro or Mustang in late 2012. My machismo really wanted to like them. Aside from the fact that I couldn’t actually see over the hood scoop in certain models, I loathed feeling like I was steering a minivan and thus opted for neither. Well, what I assume a minivan feels like. I’ve never actually had the pleasure (?) of driving one. It should go without saying that Tesla will offer driver selectable steering on the Model 3 like it does on the Model S. This pairs nicely with my wheel base argument.
Kicking the Clutter
I’m anti a lot of stuff: Anti “big oil,” anti the color olive green, anti waiting in line at a chain restaurant when you live in a major city with approximately 17,045 better places to eat. One of the other things I’m against is something that our Model S has not only indulged me on but has made me more so. I’m of course talking about car clutter: unnecessary buttons, knobs, cupholders, nooks, crannies and dust magnets. I do expect a center console of some sort, as well as some semblance of perceived normalcy regarding cupholders but I trust Tesla will maintain their trademark lack of crap.
Ease of manufacturing was a major cornerstone of designing the Model 3. It needs to be given Tesla’s ambitious plans to ramp up production. Cupholders aside, I expect the Model 3 to have an even cleaner cabin. There may be a HUD, may be a simpler instrument cluster (if one at all) and there may even be super minimalistic HVAC vents. As if driving a Tesla isn’t calming and soothing enough, the modern, clean and clutter free interior I’m expecting will probably transport me to an even happier place than a Model S can. The Model S design, while utterly amazing and thus far ageless, was still made to look like a car. The original front end, for example, gently lulled first time EV owners away from the look and feel of a gasoline powered car. Model 3 will have to do no such thing in order to sell.
More Power
Tim the tool man Taylor would be proud that anyone who may own a non-performance Model S or X and chooses to add a performance Model 3 to their garage, may have a hard time going backwards. I don’t imagine it will be quite as stark a contrast as when a Model S owner jumps into a rental ICE, but it’ll surely be plenty to make you want pickup your 3 fob when given the choice.
Next-gen Autopilot
A series of recent Elon tweets speaks to at least a moderate upgrade being possible for Autopilot on today’s equipped cars via software update. Because Tesla is Tesla, I also expect that some hardware refinements will be present by the time the Model 3 rolls off the line. Also because Tesla is Tesla, if the Model 3’s Autopilot isn’t better than a an early AP Model S at the moment you get the Model 3, it probably will be eventually. If my hopes and dreams estimations are correct, I should have a Model 3 around my the third birthday of my Model S. (December 2017.) It speaks to reason that once my youngest Tesla grows up just a bit, he may even exceed the skills of his older sister.
Fit and Finish
Disclaimer: I have never owned a luxury car. The Model S replaced a Jeep Wrangler and to me, it’s perfect. It’s gorgeous, flawless even, elegant and comfortable. The leather, despite not being my choice, is soft and the cabin seems well put together. There are no rage-inducing rattles, nothing has faded or worn or cracked. The car is a real gem, at least in the eyes of someone with my car history. I fully expect the Model 3 will be manufactured with a fit and finish quality on par with an automaker far more experienced than Tesla. Even if it’s not, the many owners who have never had a luxury car before will probably, like me, assume it’s perfect!
Comfort
See: fit and finish above. 30,000 miles later and I still have no idea why people say the seats in the Model S aren’t comfortable. I don’t pretend to be old or tall or especially large so maybe that’s it. All I do know is that the people have spoken and Tesla has listened. Next-gen seats now exist for the Model S and Tesla will certainly keep seat comfort in mind. For anyone with a Model S with standard seats, the Model 3 may very well be more comfortable.
Booster Seat Ease
I can count on one hand how many times I’ve had kids in the Model S but I can already tell you that installing a car seat or worse, using a booster seat, sucks big time. The seat belts are so deeply recessed (which looks great, by the way) that it makes buckling them over a booster require a circus act of contortion and a whole lot of force. Actually, I hope Tesla is listening to this one because aren’t kids supposed to be able to buckle themselves in? I don’t mean babies, I mean kids. (Aren’t you now required to use a booster seat until Junior Prom?) Neither my 5 or 7-year-old nephew would be able to do it in our S and I imagine having to buckle it for them would get old quickly.
Recognizability
I’m not going to lie here. I love when people recognize our Model S. I sometimes get smiles, raised thumbs and even compliments as I drive the car and there are few things in life I enjoy more than answering questions about it. I expect that to skyrocket in the Model 3. As I learned at the car show, Average Jane already knows about Model 3. If the aforementioned hopes and dreams do come true, I will be a very early Model 3 owner. I can not wait to be stopped and questioned, nodded to and waved at because people recognize the car. The Model S, despite being immensely gorgeous and still well ahead of it’s technological time, will be overshadowed by the excitement of the first Model 3 cars to hit the road.
It’s hard to imagine having a car that is better to drive than the Model S, but boy does it sound like that’s exactly what is going to happen.
Tesla has officially expanded its Full Self-Driving (FSD) suite in Europe once again, as it will now be offered to customer vehicles in Lithuania, marking a significant milestone as the second European Union country to offer the system.
Tesla confirmed FSD’s rollout in Lithuania this morning:
FSD Supervised now rolling out to Teslas in Lithuania 🇱🇹!
Making European roads safer, one by one pic.twitter.com/Uuj0bNG7pP
— Tesla Europe, Middle East & Africa (@teslaeurope) May 20, 2026
Tesla showed several clips of Full Self-Driving navigation in Lithuania to mark the announcement, while Lithuanian Transport Minister Juras Taminskas highlighted the system’s potential to assist with lane-keeping, speed adjustment, and traffic tasks on longer drives, while emphasizing that drivers must stay alert and ready to intervene.
Just a few weeks ago, Tesla officially entered Europe with Full Self-Driving in the Netherlands. The expansion of FSD on the continent is now officially underway.
Full Self-Driving’s European Journey
Europe has long posed one of the toughest regulatory challenges for Tesla’s autonomy ambitions due to stringent safety standards under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) framework, particularly UN Regulation 171 for Driver Control Assistance Systems.
The Netherlands’ RDW authority granted the pioneering approval after over 18 months of rigorous testing, including 1.6 million kilometers on European roads and extensive data submissions.
This approval enables mutual recognition across the EU, allowing other member states to adopt it nationally without full re-testing. Lithuania quickly leveraged this mechanism, becoming the second adopter. Tesla positions FSD Supervised as a tool to incrementally improve road safety, with the company claiming it reduces incidents when used properly.
Bottlenecks slowing broader European deployment include fragmented national regulations, varying levels of regulatory skepticism, and requirements for robust driver monitoring. Some EU officials have raised concerns about performance in adverse conditions like icy roads or speeding scenarios, alongside frustrations over Tesla’s public advocacy approach.
Additional hurdles involve data privacy, liability frameworks, and the need for EU-wide harmonization. While countries like Belgium appear to be fast-tracking adoption, larger markets such as Germany, France, and Italy are expected to follow in the coming months, with potential EU-wide progress targeted for later in 2026.
Tesla Full Self-Driving Across the World
As of May, Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is available in approximately ten countries.
In North America, it has been live for years in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Asia-Pacific additions include Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, while China utilizes what Tesla calls “City Autopilot.” In Europe, the Netherlands and now Lithuania join the list, with more countries mulling the possibility of also approving FSD.
Tesla offers FSD via monthly subscriptions (around €99 in Europe) or one-time purchases (with deadlines approaching in many markets), shifting toward recurring revenue models. Today is the final day Europeans will be able to purchase the suite outright.
This expansion underscores Tesla’s push for global autonomy, starting with supervised and building toward greater capabilities. With Lithuania now online, momentum is building across Europe, though regulatory caution will continue shaping the pace. Owners in approved regions report smoother highway and urban driving, but the system remains Level 2, which requires human oversight.
Elon Musk
Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises
Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.
Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.
Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.
Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15
India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.
First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.
The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.
SpaceX has revealed the date for the maiden voyage of Starship v3, its newest and most advanced version of the rocket yet.
Starship v3 represents a significant leap forward. At 124 meters tall when fully stacked, it stands taller than previous versions and boasts substantial upgrades.
The vehicle incorporates next-generation Raptor 3 engines, which deliver higher thrust, improved reliability, and simplified designs with fewer parts. Both the Super Heavy booster (Booster 19) and the Starship upper stage (Ship 39) feature these enhancements, along with structural improvements for greater payload capacity—exceeding 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit in reusable configuration.
SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk have announced that the company aims to push the first launch of Starship v3 this Thursday. Musk included some clips of past Starship launches with the announcement.
Now targeting launch as early as Thursday, May 21 → https://t.co/2gZQUxS6mm
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 19, 2026
First Starship V3 launch later this week! pic.twitter.com/JFX4CrSfnY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 19, 2026
There are a lot of improvements to Starship v3 from past builds. Key hardware changes include a more robust heat shield, upgraded avionics, and modifications optimized for orbital refueling, a critical technology for future missions to the Moon and Mars. This flight marks the first launch from Starbase’s second orbital pad, allowing parallel operations and accelerating the cadence of tests.
This will be the 12th Starship launch for SpaceX. Flight 12 objectives include a full ascent profile, hot-staging separation, in-space engine relights, and reentry testing. The booster is expected to perform a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the ship will deploy 20 Starlink simulator satellites and a pair of modified Starlink V3 units before attempting reentry.
Success would validate V3’s design for operational use, paving the way for rapid reusability and higher flight rates.
The rapid evolution from V2 to V3 underscores SpaceX’s iterative approach. Previous flights demonstrated booster catches, ship landings, and heat shield advancements. V3 builds on these with nearly every component refined, supported by an expanding production line at Starbase that churns out vehicles at an unprecedented pace.
Starship V3 is here putting SpaceX closer to Mars than it has ever been
This launch comes amid growing momentum for SpaceX’s ambitious goals. Starship is central to NASA’s Artemis program for lunar landings and Elon Musk’s vision of making humanity multiplanetary. A successful V3 debut would boost confidence in achieving orbital refueling and crewed missions in the coming years.
As excitement builds, enthusiasts and engineers alike await liftoff. Weather and technical readiness will determine the exact timing, but the community is optimistic. Starship V3 is poised to push the boundaries of spaceflight once again, bringing reusable interplanetary transport closer to reality.
Tesla Full Self-Driving expands in Europe, entering its second country
Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises
