News
Porsche begins to market the Taycan in dealerships through customer deposit program
The Porsche Taycan is expected to be released sometime next year, but the German legacy automaker is already starting its marketing efforts for the all-electric car. The stakes are high for the carmaker — if it can design the Taycan in such a way that it rivals the best electric vehicles on the market like the Tesla Model S, the company can establish itself as a leader in the emerging EV market. If the car comes up short of expectations, the Taycan will end up being delegated as a footnote in the list of electric cars that never reached their potential.
Porsche started accepting pre-orders for the vehicle earlier this year, though the company initially extended the offer to several selected countries such as Norway, partly due to the country’s open support for electric mobility. The pre-orders for the vehicle were extended to the United States recently as well, by means of a Deposit Option Program for customers residing in the country. Interested buyers can fill up an online form to be part of the program, after which they will be sent information and updates about the electric car from a selected Porsche dealer. An example of a pre-order form for US-based Porsche Taycan customers can be accessed here.
Porsche is yet to reveal the final production version of the Taycan. The legacy carmaker still uses the Mission E sedan concept in its promotional materials for the upcoming electric car. A number of camouflaged test mules have been made, but the test vehicles are disguised with elements that will surely not make it to the production model, such as twin exhaust pipes at the rear. Despite not revealing the car’s final production model, Porsche Managing Director Alexander Pollich announced last month that the company is seeing a strong, positive reception to the vehicle so far.
Among the legacy automakers that are currently developing an all-electric car, Porsche appears to be one of the most serious about its desire to transition into the electric mobility age. As details of the Taycan trickled out over the years, it became quite evident that the all-electric, four-door sedan would be a serious competitor to the mainstays of the EV industry like the Model S. Porsche even notes that the Taycan will have the same soul and pedigree found in its iconic gas-powered vehicles such as the Porsche 911. Former race car driver Mark Webber echoed this sentiment during a test drive of the car, stating that the Taycan handles and feels very much “like a Porsche.”
Back in 2014, Elon Musk stated that the hoped Tesla “could address the false perception that people have that an electric car had to be ugly and slow and boring like a golf cart.” Just a year after that, Porsche debuted the Mission E sedan concept car at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, and it has become a poster child for Porsche’s transition to electric mobility ever since. Porsche even expanded the Mission E line earlier this year, revealing a more rugged, off-road version of the vehicle dubbed as the Mission E Cross Turismo. The company also stated that by 2025, it aims for “every second Porsche sold to have an electric drive unit,” meaning half of its offerings would be fully electric while the other half will be plug-in hybrids.
-->The Porsche Taycan is expected to feature the legacy carmaker’s trademark performance, with the vehicle listed with a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds, a range of 310 miles per charge, and a top speed of 155 mph. The electric car is expected to be produced at a facility located at Zuffenhausen, a suburb in Stuttgart, Germany — the same factory where Porsche manufactures some of its finest vehicles like the 911, 718 Boxster, and the 718 Cayman. Porsche is expecting to manufacture 20,000 Taycans per year when it begins production.
News
Tesla Europe rolls out FSD ride-alongs in the Netherlands’ holiday campaign
The festive event series comes amid Tesla’s ongoing push for regulatory approval of FSD across Europe.
Tesla Europe has announced that its “Future Holidays” campaign will feature Full Self-Driving (Supervised) ride-along experiences in the Netherlands.
The festive event series comes amid Tesla’s ongoing push for regulatory approval of FSD across Europe.
The Holiday program was announced by Tesla Europe & Middle East in a post on X. “Come get in the spirit with us. Featuring Caraoke, FSD Supervised ride-along experiences, holiday light shows with our S3XY lineup & more,” the company wrote in its post on X.
Per the program’s official website, fun activities will include Caraoke sessions and light shows with the S3XY vehicle lineup. It appears that Optimus will also be making an appearance at the events. Tesla even noted that the humanoid robot will be in “full party spirit,” so things might indeed be quite fun.
“This season, we’re introducing you to the fun of the future. Register for our holiday events to meet our robots, see if you can spot the Bot to win prizes, and check out our selection of exclusive merchandise and limited-edition gifts. Discover Tesla activities near you and discover what makes the future so festive,” Tesla wrote on its official website.
-->This announcement aligns with Tesla’s accelerating FSD efforts in Europe, where supervised ride-alongs could help demonstrate the tech to regulators and customers. The Netherlands, with its urban traffic and progressive EV policies, could serve as an ideal and valuable testing ground for FSD.
Tesla is currently hard at work pushing for the rollout of FSD to several European countries. Tesla has received approval to operate 19 FSD test vehicles on Spain’s roads, though this number could increase as the program develops. As per the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), Tesla would be able to operate its FSD fleet on any national route across Spain. Recent job openings also hint at Tesla starting FSD tests in Austria. Apart from this, the company is also holding FSD demonstrations in Germany, France, and Italy.
News
Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month.
Tesla’s sales momentum in China strengthened in November, with wholesale volumes rising to 86,700 units, reversing a slowdown seen in October.
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month. This was partly driven by tightened delivery windows, targeted marketing, and buyers moving to secure vehicles before changes to national purchase tax incentives take effect.
Tesla’s November rebound coincided with a noticeable spike in Model Y interest across China. Delivery wait times extended multiple times over the month, jumping from an initial 2–5 weeks to estimated handovers in January and February 2026 for most five-seat variants. Only the six-seat Model Y L kept its 4–8 week estimated delivery timeframe.
The company amplified these delivery updates across its Chinese social media channels, urging buyers to lock in orders early to secure 2025 delivery slots and preserve eligibility for current purchase tax incentives, as noted in a CNEV Post report. Tesla also highlighted that new inventory-built Model Y units were available for customers seeking guaranteed handovers before December 31.
This combination of urgency marketing and genuine supply-demand pressure seemed to have helped boost November’s volumes, stabilizing what had been a year marked by several months of year-over-year declines.
-->For the January–November period, Tesla China recorded 754,561 wholesale units, an 8.30% decline compared to the same period last year. The company’s Shanghai Gigafactory continues to operate as both a domestic production base and a major global export hub, building the Model 3 and Model Y for markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, among other territories.
Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.
“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Short, and was portrayed by Christian Bale.
Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”
Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation
For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.
Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.
While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.
Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.
In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.
Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.
It closed at $430.14 on Monday.
Tesla Europe rolls out FSD ride-alongs in the Netherlands’ holiday campaign
Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
