News
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 expanded the footprint of a massive safety feature worldwide with a recent Software Update labeled as 2026.20.6. The expansion of the “Blind Spot Warning While Parked” feature represents the more widespread availability of the feature, which aims to prevent “dooring.”
Dooring is when a driver or passenger opens a car door into the path of an oncoming road user, usually a cyclist or motorcyclist. It is among the most common types of cycling accidents, the League of American Bicyclists says.
For this reason, Tesla created a feature that warns occupants not to open the door because an object is approaching. The feature will sound a chime, and it will also delay the opening of the door to prevent an incident.
The release notes state (via Not a Tesla App):
“If you attempt to open a door while an approaching object is detected in your blind spot (for example, a bicyclist approaching from behind) a chime sounds, and your door will not open upon initial button press. Wait a short time and press the button a second time to override the warning.”
Tesla initially rolled out this feature back in 2024 with the Model 3 “Highland.” However, it remained with the Model 3 exclusively for over a year; that was until Tesla added it to the Cybertruck this past Spring.
Now, it is making its way to the new Model Y, 2021 and newer Model S, and 2021 or newer Model X.
The prevention of dooring incidents could eliminate many injuries to cyclists, especially in an urban setting. Dooring accounts for 10-20 percent of bike-related crashes in major cities, and over 17,000 dooring-related incidents were treated in the U.S. over the course of a decade. These usually involve fractures, contusions, and head trauma.
Tesla confirmed this morning that it has sent the first production units, manufactured with no steering wheel or pedals, to on-road testing in Austin, sharing video of the first rides with no human controls.
The lack of steering wheels and pedals in the Cybercab aligns with Tesla’s self-certification of Robotaxi as Level 4 SAE, a platform it plans to make widespread through internal vehicles and customer-owned cars that will operate and generate revenue for individuals.
The start of these engineering tests is a major signal for Tesla, which plans to bring driverless, wheel-less, and pedal-less Cybercabs to market in the coming months. With production already well underway at Gigafactory Texas, where the Cybercab is built, there is some inclination to believe the first public rides could happen sooner rather than later.
Engineering tests of the first production Cybercab have begun in Austin pic.twitter.com/fk3KQvcE8a
— Tesla (@Tesla) June 30, 2026
Tesla’s engineering tests will put the Cybercab in real-world scenarios, testing not only the hardware, but more importantly, the software that drives the car around Austin with nobody supervising it within the car.
This is perhaps the biggest part of the internal testing process, especially prior to allowing regular, everyday people to hail the Cybercab for an autonomous ride. These early rides serve as a true benchmark for Tesla: How many rides can it achieve safely? How many miles did it travel consecutively without needing an intervention? What scenarios challenge the Full Self-Driving suite the most?
The proper precautions have already been put into place as well, as Tesla released the First Responders Guide to Cybercab over the weekend, ensuring that emergency services have 24/7 access to Robotaxi Assistance, as well as other boundaries, such as Geofencing features that can be used to redirect autonomous vehicle traffic due to accidents, road closures, construction, or maintenance.
Cybercab seems genuinely close to being added to the Robotaxi fleet in Austin, but Tesla has prioritized safety throughout this entire process. Therefore, we think it could be months before it truly starts giving rides to the public. People have been frustrated with this, but Robotaxi in Austin has a tremendous safety record so far, so the slow rollout has kept people safe and accidents to a minimum.
The most important thing is that Tesla continues to show consistent progress in the Cybercab’s ramp-up toward fleet addition. A few weeks back, we saw the EPA reward the Cybercab a Certificate of Conformity, allowing it to enter the stream of commerce. Then, we saw Tesla add decals, signaling that it was likely about to start testing it publicly. That has now happened.
The next big move will be the announcement of the first rides, so this Summer should be filled with anticipation.
For years, there have been images and videos across social media platforms that have reminded me of when I was a 15-year-old kid teased by “Xbox 720” videos on YouTube. These videos are of the supposed “Tesla Phone” that Elon Musk was secretly developing in between leading Tesla with its electric cars and SpaceX with its reusable rockets.
Would you buy a Tesla phone ? pic.twitter.com/aaTwvvIJit
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 6, 2023
Although Musk has put those rumors to bed several times, it was never completely out of the realm that he could get involved in cell phones in some capacity. Think outside the box and more macro-level, though. Instead of reinventing the computer, Musk reinvented connectivity by developing Starlink with SpaceX.
It could be something similar, TD Cowen analyst Gregory Williams said in a note last week, where he hinted SpaceX could be gathering some steam to acquire T-Mobile.
Williams said it would be the “clear choice” for SpaceX if it decided to go through with a network acquisition. He also suggested AT&T.
The move would be possible through selling more of its own stock, which would help SpaceX raise the money to purchase T-Mobile, which would cost roughly $300 billion. It could be one of the moves SpaceX makes post-IPO in terms of an acquisition: it already acquired Cursor AI for $60 billion.
Other analysts, like Dan Ives of Wedbush, believe SpaceX and Tesla will eventually merge into one anyway, and that conglomeration could come as soon as this year, some have said.
The implications of SpaceX purchasing T-Mobile are massive. A combined entity would create a truly ubiquitous network: T-Mobile’s terrestrial 5G towers and Starlink’s growing constellation of Direct-to-Cell satellites. This would essentially eliminate dead zones across the U.S. and potentially globally.
SpaceX would instantly become a full-scale facilities-based carrier with satellite differentiation; a huge advantage. This would pressure AT&T and Verizon heavily.
There are also concerns like a potential reduction in long-term competition, and of course, a deal of that size would face intense scrutiny from government agencies.
The strategic fit is compelling due to the existing Starlink–T-Mobile partnership and complementary technologies (space + terrestrial). It could create a dominant integrated communications player. However, the regulatory, financial, and execution hurdles are enormous — this remains highly speculative with no indication SpaceX is actively pursuing it right now.
Tesla expands massive safety feature worldwide in latest update
Tesla sends production Cybercab with no steering wheel, pedals to on-road testing
