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Tesla applies to sell new China-Made Model 3s with ternary batteries
Tesla China has applied for the approval to sell and receive subsidies for two new Model 3 variants. The two new configurations of the sedan will use lithium-ion ternary batteries that would be more favorable across China as varying weather conditions can affect the performance of the vehicles.
Documents found on the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website show the company wants to sell two new Dual Motor variants of the electric sedan. It appears that the electric automaker could bring two new configurations of Tesla’s most popular vehicle could make their way to China shortly.
The chart found by @DKurac shows the two vehicles, “TSL7000BEVBA0” and “TSL7000BEVBA1,” along with their specifications.
The vehicles would use lithium-ion ternary battery packs instead of the lithium-ion phosphate power sources that Tesla used in its Made in China Model 3 Standard Range version.
Tesla Shanghai applies for approval of two M3 versions for sales and subsidies in #China, MIIT document shows.#LFP version gets approved for #auto purchase tax exemption. pic.twitter.com/Er2fysiQjY
— Moneyball (@DKurac) July 21, 2020
According to Large.net, lithium-ion ternary batteries are better for household electric vehicles because they can perform more efficiently with low-temperature resistance and ample rate charging.
Because of China’s massive land spread and vastly differing climate from area to area, the use of ternary batteries could be more beneficial to owners in the country. In Beijing, the highest temperature during the Summer months is around 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). The lowest temperature in the winter can get down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 4 degrees Celsius.
The use of the ternary batteries could be more suitable for the wide temperature ranges that the Chinese climate has to offer. Lithium-ion phosphate batteries with a high-temperature resistance are not capable of performing as well in cold climates, which eventually leads to range depletion.
This issue was confronted by Tesla with the Model Y. The company, instead of modifying battery cells, installed a heat pump into the all-electric crossover that would increase efficiency while traveling in colder climates.
Still, the exact configurations of both vehicles listed are not definite.
Both of the cars that appear on the chart are Dual Motor configurations of the Model 3. Interestingly enough, the Performance variant is already for sale in China because it is listed on Tesla’s website. This development begs the question of which two dual-motor configurations are listed on the above application.
Interestingly enough, the vehicle recognized as “TSL7000BEVBA1” on the chart has a more robust rear motor than the other car that is listed. However, it also has less energy consumption per 100 kilometers and a higher range rating, which means it would not line up with the Performance variant’s characteristics.
Meanwhile, the Dual Motor Long Range All-Wheel Drive version of the Model 3 remains off of the website, for now.
In March, Tesla enthusiast @JayInShanghai spotted a fleet of Model 3 Performance vehicles leaving Giga Shanghai on a tractor-trailer. At the time, Tesla had not yet announced the Model 3 Performance to be available in China. Still, it was evident that the company was testing the configuration ahead of its production in China.
Tesla will expand the production of its vehicles in Shanghai as it begins to offer more Model 3 variants and is currently working on building the second phase of its Chinese Gigafactory for the Model Y.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s X will start using a Tesla-like software update strategy
The initiative seems designed to accelerate updates to the social media platform, while maintaining maximum transparency.
Elon Musk’s social media platform X will adopt a Tesla-esque approach to software updates for its algorithm.
The initiative seems designed to accelerate updates to the social media platform, while maintaining maximum transparency.
X’s updates to its updates
As per Musk in a post on X, the social media company will be making a new algorithm to determine what organic and advertising posts are recommended to users. These updates would then be repeated every four weeks.
“We will make the new 𝕏 algorithm, including all code used to determine what organic and advertising posts are recommended to users, open source in 7 days. This will be repeated every 4 weeks, with comprehensive developer notes, to help you understand what changed,” Musk wrote in his post.
The initiative somewhat mirrors Tesla’s over-the-air update model, where vehicle software is regularly refined and pushed to users with detailed release notes. This should allow users to better understand the details of X’s every update and foster a healthy feedback loop for the social media platform.
xAI and X
X, formerly Twitter, has been acquired by Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI last year. Since then, xAI has seen a rapid rise in valuation. Following the company’s the company’s upsized $20 billion Series E funding round, estimates now suggest that xAI is worth tens about $230 to $235 billion. That’s several times larger than Tesla when Elon Musk received his controversial 2018 CEO Performance Award.
As per xAI, the Series E funding round attracted a diverse group of investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX, and Baron Capital Group, among others. Strategic partners NVIDIA and Cisco Investments also continued support for building the world’s largest GPU clusters.
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Tesla FSD Supervised wins MotorTrend’s Best Driver Assistance Award
The decision marks a notable reversal for the publication from prior years, with judges citing major real-world improvements that pushed Tesla’s latest FSD software ahead of every competing ADAS system.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system has been named the best driver-assistance technology on the market, earning top honors at the 2026 MotorTrend Best Tech Awards.
The decision marks a notable reversal for the publication from prior years, with judges citing major real-world improvements that pushed Tesla’s latest FSD software ahead of every competing ADAS system. And it wasn’t even close.
MotorTrend reverses course
MotorTrend awarded Tesla FSD (Supervised) its 2026 Best Tech Driver Assistance title after extensive testing of the latest v14 software. The publication acknowledged that it had previously criticized earlier versions of FSD for erratic behavior and near-miss incidents, ultimately favoring rivals such as GM’s Super Cruise in earlier evaluations.
According to MotorTrend, the newest iteration of FSD resolved many of those shortcomings. Testers said v14 showed far smoother behavior in complex urban scenarios, including unprotected left turns, traffic circles, emergency vehicles, and dense city streets. While the system still requires constant driver supervision, judges concluded that no other advanced driver-assistance system currently matches its breadth of capability.
Unlike rival systems that rely on combinations of cameras, radar, lidar, and mapped highways, Tesla’s FSD operates using a camera-only approach and is capable of driving on city streets, rural roads, and freeways. MotorTrend stated that pure utility, the ability to handle nearly all road types, ultimately separated FSD from competitors like Ford BlueCruise, GM Super Cruise, and BMW’s Highway Assistant.
High cost and high capability
MotorTrend also addressed FSD’s pricing, which remains significantly higher than rival systems. Tesla currently charges $8,000 for a one-time purchase or $99 per month for a subscription, compared with far lower upfront and subscription costs from other automakers. The publication noted that the premium is justified given FSD’s unmatched scope and continuous software evolution.
Safety remained a central focus of the evaluation. While testers reported collision-free operation over thousands of miles, they noted ongoing concerns around FSD’s configurable driving modes, including options that allow aggressive driving and speeds beyond posted limits. MotorTrend emphasized that, like all Level 2 systems, FSD still depends on a fully attentive human driver at all times.
Despite those caveats, the publication concluded that Tesla’s rapid software progress fundamentally reshaped the competitive landscape. For drivers seeking the most capable hands-on driver-assistance system available today, MotorTrend concluded Tesla FSD (Supervised) now stands alone at the top.
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Elon Musk’s Grokipedia surges to 5.6M articles, almost 79% of English Wikipedia
The explosive growth marks a major milestone for the AI-powered online encyclopedia, which was launched by Elon Musk’s xAI just months ago.
Elon Musk’s Grokipedia has grown to an impressive 5,615,201 articles as of today, closing in on 79% of the English Wikipedia’s current total of 7,119,376 articles.
The explosive growth marks a major milestone for the AI-powered online encyclopedia, which was launched by Elon Musk’s xAI just months ago. Needless to say, it would only be a matter of time before Grokipedia exceeds English Wikipedia in sheer volume.
Grokipedia’s rapid growth
xAI’s vision for Grokipedia emphasizes neutrality, while Grok’s reasoning capabilities allow for fast drafting and fact-checking. When Elon Musk announced the initiative in late September 2025, he noted that Grokipedia would be an improvement to Wikipedia because it would be designed to avoid bias.
At the time, Musk noted that Grokipedia “is a necessary step towards the xAI goal of understanding the Universe.”
Grokipedia was launched in late October, and while xAI was careful to list it only as Version 0.1 at the time, the online encyclopedia immediately earned praise. Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger highlighted the project’s innovative approach, noting how it leverages AI to fill knowledge gaps and enable rapid updates. Netizens also observed how Grokipedia tends to present articles in a more objective manner compared to Wikipedia, which is edited by humans.
Elon Musk’s ambitious plans
With 5,615,201 total articles, Grokipedia has now grown to almost 79% of English Wikipedia’s article base. This is incredibly quick, though Grokipedia remains text-only for now. xAI, for its part, has now updated the online encyclopedia’s iteration to v0.2.
Elon Musk has shared bold ideas for Grokipedia, including sending a record of the entire knowledge base to space as part of xAI’s mission to preserve and expand human understanding. At some point, Musk stated that Grokipedia will be renamed to Encyclopedia Galactica, and it will be sent to the cosmos.
“When Grokipedia is good enough (long way to go), we will change the name to Encyclopedia Galactica. It will be an open source distillation of all knowledge, including audio, images and video. Join xAI to help build the sci-fi version of the Library of Alexandria!” Musk wrote, adding in a later post that “Copies will be etched in stone and sent to the Moon, Mars and beyond. This time, it will not be lost.”
Elon Musk’s X will start using a Tesla-like software update strategy
Tesla FSD Supervised wins MotorTrend’s Best Driver Assistance Award
