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Rivian showroom to open in luxury Chicago neighborhood

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Rivian plans to open its first showroom in Chicago’s Gold Coast. The Gold Coast is marketed as an area for luxury lovers, befitting Rivian’s brand goals. 

Rivian will open a showroom at 871 N. Rush St. in Chicago’s Gold Coast area. The EV automaker initially planned to open a showroom in the Fulton Market district a few years ago but backed out of the deal for undisclosed reasons. Its current location in the Gold Coast area might be more fitting, though. 

“The Gold Coast is a luxury lover’s haven. Charming homes on picture-perfect streets, high-end boutiques, and restaurants favored by celebrities past and present all give this neighborhood its star power,” stated Choose Chicago. 

Rivian aspires to provide customers with the best off-roading, outdoor experience in the comfort of modern society through its R1T and R1S electric vehicles EVs. In the past, RJ Scaringe stated that R1 EVs would have a “Patagonia-like feel of enabling adventure.” 

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The Patagonia brand is well-known for providing durable equipment for outdoor explorers. A pair of shorts at Patagonia can range from $55 to $65 or more. Despite its premium price, however, Patagonia’s products are well-loved by its consumers. Statista estimates that about 15% of outdoor fashion users in the US use Patagonia products. 

While Rivian’s Gold Coast showroom is already impressive, it isn’t finished with Chicago yet. In a statement to CoStar News, the company noted it was “still exploring our options” for another space in Chicago. It should be noted that Rivian already has a service center located west of Fulton Market at 2033 W. Walnut St.

Rivian is still ramping up its first two consumer vehicles, the R1T pickup truck and the R1S SUV. Plans are also underway to release the R2 platform, which is expected to be more affordable. Last month, Rivian also announced that it would adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) for its vehicles. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has gone live with a link to its Q2 2023 earnings call. All eyes are on Tesla’s electric vehicle margins in the second quarter, as the company achieved record delivery numbers following the adoption of aggressive pricing strategies.

Similar to previous earnings calls, Tesla is also accepting questions from retail and institutional investors that would be asked during the session’s Q&A portion. A link to Say.com’s platform, which allows TSLA investors to post their inquiries to Tesla, is included in the Q3 2023 earnings call live-streams description on YouTube. 

Tesla shares are seeing momentum this week after the company announced during the weekend that the first production Cybertruck has been manufactured at Gigafactory Texas. The Cybertruck is highly-anticipated, with estimates suggesting that the vehicle has about 1.7 million pre-orders as of earlier this year. 

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The electric vehicle maker’s second-quarter production and delivery results were also impressive. Tesla produced nearly 480,000 vehicles and delivered over 466,000 cars from April to June. The lion’s share of these sales were from the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover, the company’s two mainstream vehicles. 

But while Tesla was able to sell a record number of vehicles worldwide in the second quarter, the company also adopted an aggressive pricing strategy that is expected to affect some of the company’s margins. Thus, while Tesla sold more vehicles than ever, its profit margin per vehicle sold likely declined in Q2. 

Tesla is expected to post its financial results for the second quarter of 2023 after markets close on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. The actual earnings call, livestreamed in the link below, is expected to start at 4:30 p.m. Central Time (5:30 p.m. Eastern Time). 

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.

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Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla launches solution to end Supercharger fights once and for all

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is launching its solution to end Supercharger fights once and for all, eliminating any confusion on who is to charge next at a congested location.

Last year, a notable incident at a Tesla Supercharger led to a fight, and it all stemmed from a disagreement over who arrived at the location first.

Congestion at Tesla Superchargers is a pretty infrequent occurrence for most of us, but there are more congested and popular areas where wait times can be extensive. An unfortunate growing pain of EV ownership is the plain fact that chargers are not as available as gas pumps, and there are, at times, lines to charge.

This can cause tensions to flare and people to get entitled when visiting Superchargers. Nobody wants to spend hours at a Supercharger, but now, there will be no more confusion when there is a queue, and that’s thanks to Tesla’s new Virtual Queue for Superchargers.

Tesla is finally starting to build out the Virtual Supercharger Queue, according to Not a Tesla App, but it still relies on drivers to make it work.

When a driver is near a Supercharger that is full, a message will pop up on the Tesla App, using the driver’s location to determine their eligibility to join the virtual queue.

The app states:

“While the app is closed, Tesla uses your location to notify you of accurate wait times at Superchargers when you arrive.”

Another message within the app states:

“There is a waitlist to charge. Are you sure you want to start a charging session now?”

This sounds as if it will require drivers to act appropriately and only plug in when the app prompts them to do so, by letting them know it is their turn.

The app will notify the driver of their position in the queue, as well as how many vehicles are ahead of them.

Tesla launches first ‘true’ East Coast V4 Supercharger: here’s what that means

The company announced a while back that it would be working on a solution for this issue. Personally, I’ve only had to wait at a Supercharger for a charge on one occasion, and there was a line of between 3 and 10 cars during this singular occurrence.

There were no conflicts or arguments about who had arrived first, but there was some discussion between several drivers during my time there about who was to charge first. Throw a non-Tesla EV into the mix, one that can only charge at a pull-in spot, and that causes even more of a complication.

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Tesla offers awesome Free Supercharging incentive on an unexpected vehicle

In the past, Tesla has used Free Supercharging to incentivize the purchase of its expensive vehicles, like the Model S and Model X. However, those vehicles are leaving the company lineup, and Tesla saw a benefit from applying the incentive to another car.

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Credit: Tesla Charging | X

Tesla is offering an awesome new Free Supercharging incentive on a vehicle that is sort of unexpected.

In the past, Tesla has used Free Supercharging to incentivize the purchase of its expensive vehicles, like the Model S and Model X. However, those vehicles are leaving the company lineup, and Tesla saw a benefit from applying the incentive to another car.

Tesla North America has introduced a compelling new incentive aimed at boosting Model 3 sales. Starting with orders placed on or after April 24, buyers of the Model 3 Premium (Long Range) and Performance variants in the United States will receive one full year of complimentary Supercharging.

The offer applies exclusively to new vehicle orders and does not extend to existing owners or other trims like the base Rear-Wheel Drive model.

The announcement underscores Tesla’s continued dominance in EV charging infrastructure.

While the incentive provides 12 months of zero-cost access to the Supercharger network, Tesla also reiterated its pricing structure: all Tesla vehicles receive the lowest Supercharging rates.

Non-Tesla EVs, by contrast, pay approximately 40 percent more per kWh or must purchase a subscription to access the network at standard rates. This tiered approach highlights the strategic value of owning a Tesla, where seamless integration with the world’s largest and most reliable fast-charging network remains a key differentiator.

For prospective buyers, the savings can be substantial. Depending on driving habits, a typical Model 3 owner might log 12,000–15,000 miles annually.

With average Supercharging costs around $0.40–$0.50 per kWh, one year of free sessions could translate to $800–$1,200 in avoided expenses.

That effectively lowers the total cost of ownership and makes long-distance travel more affordable from day one. Early delivery customers have already noted similar past incentives, with one Cybertruck owner reporting over $2,400 saved in just six months under similar offers that Tesla has deployed in the past.

The timing of the offer appears strategic. Tesla faces growing competition from other automakers expanding their own charging networks and offering aggressive EV incentives.

By bundling free Supercharging rather than discounting the vehicle’s MSRP, Tesla preserves perceived value while directly addressing one of the biggest barriers for new EV adopters: charging costs and convenience.

The move also encourages higher-mileage use of the network, generating valuable real-world data for Tesla’s autonomous driving development.

Why Tesla would apply this incentive to the Model 3 is pretty interesting. It usually is a pretty good incentive to move units out the door, so there’s some speculation whether Tesla is planning to launch new upgrades to the mass-market sedan in the coming months, and the company wants to move what will be outdated units from its inventory.

However, there is also just the idea that Tesla could be attempting to stimulate some early quarter demand for the Model 3, especially as the Model Y continues to sell very well. Tesla’s loss of the $7,500 EV tax credit last year had an impact on sales, and Tesla might be testing some formidable options to see if it can add some demand once again.

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Tesla Cybercab gets crazy change as mass production begins

Tesla has officially kicked off mass production of its groundbreaking Cybercab robotaxi at Giga Texas, and the first units rolling off the line feature a striking transformation that’s turning heads across the EV community.

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Credit: TechOperator | X

Tesla Cybercab has evidently received a pretty crazy change from an aesthetic standpoint, as the company has made the decision to offer an additional finish on the vehicle as mass production is starting.

Tesla has officially kicked off mass production of its groundbreaking Cybercab robotaxi at Giga Texas, and the first units rolling off the line feature a striking transformation that’s turning heads across the EV community.

VIN Zero—the very first production Cybercab—showcases a vibrant champagne gold exterior with a high-gloss finish, a dramatic departure from the flat, matte-wrapped prototypes that debuted at the 2024 “We, Robot” event.

This glossy sheen is a pretty big pivot from what was initially shown by Tesla. The company has maintained a pretty flat tone in terms of anything related to custom colors or finishes.

A specialized clear coat or process delivers the deep, reflective gloss without conventional painting. The result is a premium, mirror-like shine, and it looks pretty good, and gives the compact two-seater a more luxurious and futuristic presence than the subdued matte prototypes.

Photos shared by Tesla community members reveal VIN Zero in a showroom-like setting at Giga Texas, highlighting refined panel gaps, large aero wheel covers, and the signature no-steering-wheel, no-pedals interior optimized for full autonomy.

The open frunk in some images offers a glimpse of practical storage, while the overall build quality appears more polished than that of test mules.

This glossy evolution aligns with Tesla’s broader production ramp. After the first unit in February 2026, the company has shifted to volume manufacturing, with dozens of units already spotted in outbound lots. CEO Elon Musk and the team aim for hundreds per week, paving the way for unsupervised FSD robotaxi networks that could slash ride costs to pennies per mile.

The Cybercab holds Tesla’s grand ambitions of operating a full-service ride-hailing service without any drivers in its grasp. Tesla has yet to solve autonomy, but is well on its way, and although its timelines are usually a bit off, improvements often come through the Over-the-Air updates to the Full Self-Driving suite.

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