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Signature Model X Deliveries Sighted Across North America

Sightings of Model X cars in shipment are beginning to occur in various parts of the country. Here are photos of one car headed for Florida at a stopover in Salt Lake City taken by a Teslarati tipster.

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Signature Red Tesla Model X [Source: Christian Staples via tips@teslarati.com]

Tesla has begun deliveries of the Model X Signature Series electric crossover to early reservation holders that placed the initial $40,000 deposit, some as far back as three years ago. Christian Staples, whose business is across the street from the Tesla Service Center in Salt Lake City, spotted a truck full of new Teslas being unloaded. According to Christian, he approached the Service Center as he normally does when new Teslas arrive, only to notice that one of them had a different paint color. It was a rare Signature Red Model X being unloaded from the truck.

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Signature Red Tesla Model X in Salt Lake City [Source: Christian Staples via tips@teslarati.com]

The car was quickly surrounded by Tesla employees who told Christian that the Model X was being temporarily rolled off the truck in order to make room for the truck full of Model S to be unloaded.

Christian a Model X reservation holder himself (#18557) was told by Tesla employees that the Signature X was making its way to an owner in Florida, and currently in “factory mode” meaning it was limited to a maximum of 10 mph with only the driver’s door being operational.

When questioning the Tesla employees about the popularity of the Model X, they further mentioned that the Model X is outselling the Model S by 3 to 1 in the Northwest region including Utah, though Utah had 40 Model X orders pending with 12 of them already configured.

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Expectant Tesla owners are normally contacted by the company about one week before their car is ready to be delivered. Many are expecting calls this week, but so far few such calls have been received. Two members have posted on the TMC forum in the past few days that they have been contacted by Tesla and expect their cars before the end of the year.

Updated December 17, 2015 9:25pm – Signature #2 holder Bonnie Norman announces via Twitter that her Signature Model X will be available for pickup this coming weekend.

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Another owner recently took delivery of his Signature Model X at the Syosset, NY Tesla Service Center and posted a photo of it on Plugshare.

 

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Model X Panoramic Windshield as seen looking in from the driver’s side door [Source: Christian Staples via tips@teslarati.com]

Tesla delivered a handful of Founders Series Model X during the unveil event back in September. Mark Templeton, former CEO of Citrix was one of them that took delivery of #00003 who recently shared his impressions of the Model X.

“It’s a sports car, a sedan, and an SUV. The multi-purpose aspect of the X is stunning. The storage space is amazing. In fact, the deep trunk allows two of the 34″ rolling luggage pieces to stand side-by-side! Add the folding third row — it far exceeds SUVs of similar size. The underseat space is great – more comfortable for passengers and added space for storage. The seats are by far the best of any vehicle I’ve owned – design, comfort and function. And, I love how the middle row sets tilt and slide.”

Templeton raves about the performance of his cobalt blue Model X. “As Elon said, it’s FAST! Ludicrous mode makes acceleration from 30 mph just like at 0 mph! Smooth, continuous, multi-G acceleration – pure joy at the tip of your foot!” The one word of caution he has for any new Model X owner is to be prepared for how much attention the car generates. According to Templeton, the Model X will draw a crowd everywhere it goes.

 

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Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX decline after Democratic Midterm sweep

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Credit: Grok

Tesla and SpaceX shares fell on Wednesday after Democrats swept both chambers of Congress. The decline stood out as broader market securities recovered and turned positive, while both of Musk’s publicly traded companies lagged.

CEO Elon Musk already joked about the unsuccessful campaigning for the Republicans, but now the new party will make pretty drastic changes to how it handles Tesla and SpaceX, and those companies will adjust their outlook.

Elon Musk hilariously comments on Midterm election results

Let’s take a deeper look.

Tesla ($TSLA)

Tesla shares traded lower during the regular session after Democrats secured both the House and Senate. The stock was down 2.32 percent at around 1:45 p.m. on the East Coast, trading at around $389.30.

The pressure is tied to more than the raw scale of Musk’s political spending, estimated at $450–474 million this cycle with roughly $224 million directed at Texas. In that state, Tesla now faces a Democratic governor and a Democratic senator after Gina Hinojosa unseated Greg Abbott and James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton.

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The Austin Gigafactory, Robotaxi pilot programs in multiple Texas cities, and any related AI compute expansion sit under a new state executive who campaigned against certain corporate subsidies and floated a moratorium on new data-center construction.

Federally, Democratic control of key committees opens the door to deeper examination of Tesla’s autonomous-driving safety record, federal energy-storage and manufacturing incentives, and the national-security implications of any combination with SpaceX.

Investors are also weighing whether the company’s historically close alignment with the prior Republican leadership will invite slower permitting, additional hearings, or tighter rules on Full Self-Driving deployment.

For Tesla, the political shift adds near-term friction around state permitting and federal regulatory approvals for autonomy and energy storage. A potential merger with SpaceX may face slower review even if it proceeds.

Core growth drivers such as vehicle deliveries, energy deployments, and robotaxi rollout remain intact, yet the stock now carries a higher political-risk premium that could weigh on valuation until the company demonstrates workable relationships with the new Texas leadership and congressional majorities.

SpaceX ($SPCX)

SpaceX shares also declined in live trading on November 4 following the Democratic midterm sweep. The stock traded at $134.97, down 4.49 percent. The drop occurred even as broader indexes stabilized, highlighting a company-specific reaction to the election outcome.

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Musk’s large contributions, concentrated in Texas races that both companies lost, place SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility and headquarters under a new Democratic governor.

At the federal level, Democratic control of Congress enables greater scrutiny of NASA, the Department of Defense, and other contracts that support a meaningful share of revenue, along with reviews of Starlink national-security uses and any Tesla merger. Analysts have noted that empowered committees can hold hearings and request documents on these relationships.

For SpaceX, the results raise the risk of delayed contract awards, higher compliance costs, and tighter constraints on AI and satellite infrastructure expansion, particularly in Texas where a data-center moratorium has been discussed.

A merger with Tesla could encounter political friction that slows integration of launch, connectivity, and autonomy capabilities.

While Starlink growth and launch cadence continue as primary drivers, the company faces a more contested path for federal funding and state-level operations, requiring management to rebuild ties with the new congressional majorities and Texas leadership to limit the overhang.

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Tesla registrations in Germany nearly quadruple in October

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Credit: Tesla Manufacturing | X

Tesla’s new vehicle registrations in Germany rose sharply in October, nearly quadrupling from the same month a year earlier. That’s according to data from the KBA, Germany’s federal motor transport authority.

The KBA reported 2,932 Tesla vehicles registered in October, a 290.9 percent year-over-year- increase. For the first ten months of the year, Tesla’s cumulative registrations reached 47,742 units. This number is up 206.1 percent compared with the January-October period of 2025. These gains occurred against a backdrop of strong overall growth in the BEV sector as a whole.

Germany registered 94,086 new BEVs in October, a 79.5 percent rise that brought the BEV share of the passenger car market to 37 percent of the 254,492 total cars registered that month.

Despite the percentage surge, Tesla’s absolute numbers left it with a 1.2 percent share of all new car registrations for October. Chinese competitors did record higher volumes, as BYD registered 5,173 vehicles, a 2 percent share, Leapmotor with 3,661 cars, which equates to 1.4 percent, and Xpeng had a 0.5 percent share.

Year-to-date through October, BYD edged ahead of Tesla with 47,961 registrations versus Tesla’s 47,742.

The October results follow a notably strong September for Tesla in Germany, when it registered 12,552 vehicles, an increase of roughly 269 percent year-over-year and one of its strongest monthly totals on record in the country. That month, the Model Y led all EVs and ranked among the top-selling vehicles of any powertrain.

The figures form part of a broader recovery in Tesla’s European registrations after an extended period of softer demand. While monthly volumes remain subject to typical quarter-end patterns and competitive pressure from both established European brands and rapidly expanding Chinese manufacturers, the year-to-date growth indicates improved traction in Europe’s largest car market.

Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg continues to supply the region, positioning the company to capture a share of the expanding German BEV market as overall EV adoptions looks to be accelerating.

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Elon Musk hilariously comments on Midterm election results

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Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

In the early hours of Wednesday following the 2026 midterm elections, Elon Musk took to X with a characteristically irreverent reaction to the results.

“Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO posted, generating hundreds of thousands of likes and widespread attention.

The quip landed after Democrats secured control of both the House and Senate in a sweeping victory. Musk, the largest individual donor of the cycle, had directed an estimated $440–474 million toward Republican candidates and aligned groups—more than any non-candidate in modern history.

Much of the spending targeted Texas, where Musk’s companies have significant operations. There, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott, and James Talarico ousted Ken Paxton in the Senate race.

Musk’s “space lasers” joke playfully referenced conspiracy theories that have circulated since the 2024 election, falsely claiming he used Starlink satellites or other technology to influence vote totals. By leaning into the accusation with a shrug emoji, he turned potential criticism into self-deprecating humor:

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He followed up with another post observing that “Data centers in space looking pretty appealing right now,” a pointed nod to possible regulatory and infrastructure challenges for data-center projects in Texas under the new Democratic leadership.

Critics quickly highlighted the scale of the spending relative to the outcome. One reply noted that Musk had “dropped half a fucking BILLION on this shit and got dog walked,” underscoring the disconnect between financial outlay and electoral returns. Musk later shared a vintage-style “technical difficulties” image, extending the humorous tone.

The posts arrived as markets reacted: shares of Tesla and SpaceX-related entities dipped in premarket trading amid concerns over heightened scrutiny and shifting state-level politics. Democrats had previously signaled plans to examine Musk’s government ties, DOGE involvement, and business conflicts if they regained congressional majorities.

Musk’s response stands out for its light touch amid high-stakes political setbacks. Rather than offering a detailed defense of his spending or a sober analysis of voter sentiment, he chose sarcasm—consistent with his long-standing style of public communication.

Whether the comments signal a retreat from large-scale political donations ahead of 2028 or simply a momentary shrug remains unclear, but they captured the attention of millions in the immediate aftermath of election night.

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