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Stellantis Leapmotor JV ships first EVs to Europe

(Credit: Stellantis)

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Stellantis and Leapmotor’s joint venture (JV) successfully shipped its first batch of electric vehicles (EVs) to Europe this month. 

Analysts and others closely following the Stellantis-Leapmotor JV are eager to see how the new EVs will perform, considering Europe’s latest tariffs on China-made EV imports

Stellantis’ joint venture with the Chinese automaker imported Leapmotor’s C10 and T03 models into the European market. The D-segment Leapmotor C10 is the first product from the joint venture built according to global design and safety standards. 

The C10’s estimated range is 260 miles or 419 km, based on the European WLTP standard. It has a 5-star E-NCAP rating.

The D-segment EV is based on Leaptmotors’ self-developed Leap 3.0 technology architecture, which features central integrated electronic and electrical architecture. The C10 also features cell-to-chassis (CTC) technology. The flagship C10 EV has an intelligent cockpit. 

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Then there is the A-segment Leapmotor T03, labeled a small 5-door urban commuter. The T03 boasts a B-segment interior space with a maximum range of 165 miles or 266 km based on the WLTP rating. A J.D. Power Initial Quality Study actually ranked the Leapmotor T03 number one in the BEV segment. 

“The shipment of Leapmotor C10 and T03 vehicles to Europe this month is a landmark moment in the partnership between Stellantis and Leapmotor. This demonstrates our commitment to providing innovative, affordable, and sustainable mobility solutions to our customers,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.

Tavares slammed US President Joesph Biden’s administration for its 100% tariff on Chinese EV imports. Stellantis will have to contend with similar tariffs in Europe. In July, the European Commission started imposing tariffs on China-made EV imports. The tariffs reach up to 38.1% and are placed on top of the EU’s current 10% rate. 

In June, Stellantis and Leapmotor announced plans to produce EVs in Poland. The joint venture has already started testing T03 production at Stellantis’ plant in Poland. The companies aim to reach mass production for the T03 by September 2024.

In October 2023, Stellantis invested €1.5 billion in Leapmotor. Stellantis acquired 20% of Leapmotors’ stock through its initial investment, making it a major shareholder. It also gained two seats on Leapmotor’s Board of Directors. As of this writing, Stellantis owns 51% of Leapmotor. 

If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via X @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’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations

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tesla diner
Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.

The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:

On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.

Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.

Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand

Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings

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A red Tesla Roadster driving around a turn
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.

Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to BloombergShares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.

Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.

However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.

S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.

Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue

Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.

Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.

At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.

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Tesla door handle saga gets its latest chapter and a big change is coming

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Credit: Tesla | Model 3 Owner's Manual

Tesla’s long-standing saga regarding its door handles and a manual release has entered its latest chapter, and as a result, a big change is coming.

On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied Tesla’s petition that was seeking a defect investigation into roughly 180,000 Model 3 vehicles for an issue involving the emergency mechanical door release.

NHTSA said that Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect in the door handles or their emergency releases. Instead, the agency determined that it would rather solve the issue of the lack of labeling or location of emergency mechanical door releases and the federal safety rules that govern them.

Essentially, the NHTSA wants to create and enforce rules that would require automakers to make emergency door latch releases more clearly labeled in a car. Despite a Tesla having manual door releases on all four passenger doors, many people do not know they exist or how they work.

Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix

In recent times, Tesla has faced some criticism involving its door handles, specifically because some occupants have reported that they are unable to exit their vehicles after losing power. The door handles on a Tesla are electronically operated, but in the event that the 12V battery dies, there is a manual release that can be used.

The NHTSA only identified a single complaint involving the mechanical door releases: a 2022 Model 3 owner said the release was concealed and unlabeled after the vehicle lost power after a front-end collision. It has also already started to create a separate rulemaking process to make emergency door-egress systems more obvious.

It should be noted that all Teslas have mechanical emergency door releases, but they are placed in various locations as the vehicles have aged and been redesigned from year to year. Refer to the safety manual for your vehicle if you have any confusion about where the emergency releases are and how they work.

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