Investor's Corner
Tesla community comes together for final end-of-quarter Model 3 delivery push
Tesla is hours away from the end of the third quarter, and the carmaker is still pressing hard on its end-of-Q3 delivery push. While the past quarters have been all about the company’s challenges in production, Q3 appears to be all about the electric car maker’s capability to get its vehicles to as many reservation holders as possible. Tesla has adopted a series of programs that allow it to expedite deliveries, from extended operating hours in delivery centers, conducting handovers at customers’ homes, to allowing volunteer owners to aid the company by orienting newcomers with the features and functions of their electric vehicles.
Elon Musk himself has noted that Tesla has gone straight from “production hell” to “delivery logistics hell.” Considering recent estimates about Tesla’s production figures this Q3, this definitely appears to be the case. Even notable Tesla skeptics, after all, have noted that the company would likely reach its self-imposed and arguably ambitious target of producing 50,000-55,000 Model 3 this quarter. Thus, for Q3, at least, it appears that Tesla’s main challenge is really its capability to deliver the vehicles it produces.
Based on social media activity from members of the Tesla community, it appears that the company’s volunteer-boosted delivery initiative continues to be strong. While volunteer Model S, 3, and X owners are not able to help with paperwork, the assistance they provide to new owners is looking to be quite invaluable. This was perfectly captured in a picture shared by the N TX Tesla Owners group on Twitter, which depicted every volunteer helping new owners download the Tesla app even before they are checked in.
@elonmusk this is our favorite photo from today. Every existing owner is helping new owners download the app, before delivery or answering questions while waiting to be checked in. #goteamtesla #dallasdeliveries pic.twitter.com/gkaaFjBQKz
— Tesla Owners Club of North Texas (@NTXTeslaOwners) September 29, 2018
Tesla owner-enthusiasts in Colorado, including social media influencers, have also returned this weekend to aid the company in delivering vehicles. Posts on Twitter from some volunteer groups even mentioned that owners have been taking shifts to assist as many new owners as possible.
#Denver @tesla dominated deliveries this week. Unconfirmed reports of 200+ cars delivered both Friday, Saturday alone. Along side Tesla were 30 volunteers providing 40+ hours helping deliver and teach new owners, including a new #Model3 for @kimbal. Props to @elonmusk and team! pic.twitter.com/bmIaCZQNdg
— Sean Mitchell (@seanmmitchell) September 30, 2018
The @Tesla Owings Mills, Maryland volunteer owner delivery crew! @elonmusk @andrewket @jcadman22 pic.twitter.com/GOkp4BZ51m
— Tesla Mid Atlantic (@TeslaMdAtlantic) September 30, 2018
First and second volunteer shift at @Tesla North Houston. Lots of happy new owners even with the rain! pic.twitter.com/8kVnO0Jshx
— Stephen Pace ❄ (@StephenPace) September 29, 2018
Even in Canada, Tesla’s volunteer owners are out in full force. A Tesla owner from Ontario even noted that the electric car maker is adopting a pretty clever strategy in one of its delivery facilities to enable quick handovers.
#Tesla craziness in Ontario – four car carries arrived while I was attempting to volunteer – cars come in one side, get detailed, matched with the owners and drive out the other side of the complex pic.twitter.com/dUrQTm2vD6
— Avron (@Avron_p) September 29, 2018
Day 2 at the delivery centre helping with orientations on the Model 3. #weekendvibes pic.twitter.com/QCeBI9r60Z
— Aniseh (@ani_seh) September 30, 2018
@elonmusk tens of owner/volunteers from Tesla Owners Club of Ontario are spending countless hours to help @Tesla deliver hundreds of vehicles this week at the International Centre. #loyal #dedicated #enthusiastic pic.twitter.com/DERvHxWiSV
— Gary Mark⚡️Blue Sky Kites 𝕏 🈴 (@blueskykites) September 29, 2018
Tesla has only been in the auto business for 15 years, and as such, it is still a neophythe compared to veterans such as Ford and GM. Despite its short tenure, though, Tesla has developed a following that is almost comparable to some of the tech industry’s most iconic brands such as Apple. The company’s no-compromises approach with its cars, for one, has ultimately allowed it to grow from a niche carmaker that manufactures a small, two-seater electric sports car into a company that is creating what could very well be the electric-powered, second coming of the Ford Model T.
There is no doubt that Tesla still has a lot to learn, as evidenced by the “delivery logistics hell” that the company is currently addressing. But just like its CEO, as Tesla continues to fall forward, it becomes ever closer to achieving goals that were previously thought of as impossible.
Elon Musk
Tesla Cybercabs narrowly miss deadly Amazon cargo plane crash
An Amazon cargo plane crash near Miami’s airport stopped feet from dozens of Tesla Cybercabs.
An Amazon Prime Air Boeing 767 cargo jet overran the runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday afternoon, killing five people and injuring five more. The jet, operated by North Carolina based carrier 21 Air as Flight 7598, touched down around 2 p.m. after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, then crossed the airport perimeter, plowed across NW 67th Avenue and struck multiple vehicles before catching fire, according to the Associated Press.
Photos and video from the scene show the aircraft’s nose stopped within meters of a fenced staging lot holding dozens of gold painted Tesla Cybercabs, the steering wheel free robotaxi Tesla began putting on public roads in Austin last week. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has confirmed the plane struck “multiple vehicles” but has not said whether any Cybercabs were among them, and neither Tesla nor airport officials have addressed the fleet directly.
The Cybercabs had not yet entered commercial service in Miami. Tesla’s existing Robotaxi operation there runs on modified Model Y vehicles and has been unsupervised since Ashok Elluswamy confirmed the detail on X in July.
Footage of the plane crash from earlier today | #ONLYinDADE pic.twitter.com/iGoOtnd6cD
— ONLY in DADE (@ONLYinDADE) September 6, 2026
Elon Musk offered the briefest of reactions. Replying to a Zero Hedge post about the Cybercabs sitting so close to the wreckage, he wrote a single word: “Weird.” He has not commented further, and Tesla has not issued a statement.
The timing puts Tesla’s newest vehicle near an unrelated but highly visible tragedy just days after its Austin debut, a launch that had already drawn scrutiny from federal regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an audit how Tesla certified the Cybercab as compliant with federal vehicle safety standards, a process Teslarati covered after the vehicle’s September 3 launch event. That inquiry concerns the car’s lack of a steering wheel and pedals, not the Miami crash.
Investigators from the FAA and NTSB are focused on the plane, not the parking lot beside it. Flight data reviewed by outlets including Simple Flying show the 767 touched down around 170 knots, well above the 135 to 140 knot range typical for the aircraft, though investigators have not determined a cause. Amazon said it is working with authorities and that its priority is the safety of everyone affected.
Whether any Cybercabs were damaged, and what Tesla plans for the fleet parked near one of the country’s busiest airports, remain open questions.
Featured
Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins
Tesla Asia says Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai this month.
Tesla’s Cybercab is heading to Asia. The official Tesla Asia account posted on X Thursday, inviting Cybercab fans to “Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai.” The post went up within hours of Tesla’s own Cybercab milestone in Texas, where the company said Thursday it had begun offering rides in across Austin.
Exact dates and venues for the Asia tour haven’t been released yet, though Tesla Hong Kong replied to the announcement with “Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong soon,” while Tesla Japan’s response pointed fans to a sign up page for updates. Neither post mentions test rides or a service area, and nothing so far suggests Tesla is launching Robotaxi operations in any of the four cities. Based on how Tesla has run past Cybercab tours, in Europe in late 2024 and at US shopping centers that same December, the Asia stops are almost certainly static displays at Tesla stores or public venues as a means to stimulate buzz for its future driverless ride-hailing service in the big cities.
Cybercab will be on display in Asia this month!
Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai. pic.twitter.com/wGmmEastfX— Tesla Asia (@Tesla_Asia) September 4, 2026
The timing lines up with Tesla’s only prior Cybercab appearance in the region, a booth at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai last November, which Teslarati covered at the time. At that event, Tesla’s regional general manager for Shanghai framed the car as evidence of the company’s broader mission, a message Tesla has since formalized in its Master Plan Part IV, which states that “autonomous vehicles have the capacity to dramatically improve the affordability, availability and safety of transportation while reducing pollution, particularly in our increasingly dense global cities.” The same document is where Tesla lays out its “sustainable abundance” framing for Cybercab and Optimus alike, describing the two as the hardware behind an AI driven push to cut the cost of transportation and labor at scale.
Whether Cybercab actually operates as a robotaxi anywhere in Asia remains an open question, considering China has already pushed an autonomous ride-hailing market that’s run on homegrown players like Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony AI. For now, the four city tour reads as a marketing push timed to Austin’s momentum.
Elon Musk
OpenAI cites distrust of SpaceX in decision to drop Cursor partnership
OpenAI will cut SpaceX-owned Cursor’s model access in November, citing Musk’s history of broken contracts.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced late Friday that it is ending its partnership with Cursor, cutting off the coding tool’s access to its models on November 12. The move comes two weeks after SpaceX completed its $60 billion acquisition of Cursor’s parent company, Anysphere, folding the popular AI coding assistant into Elon Musk’s growing SpaceXAI division.
In a post on its website, OpenAI said the decision came down to trust, not technology. “We cannot be confident that SpaceX will use our technology within our terms of service, based on our experience with Elon Musk’s companies violating contracts,” the company wrote. OpenAI pointed to two specific incidents: X, now part of SpaceX, allegedly breaking the terms of an existing OpenAI contract after Musk bought Twitter.
That lawsuit is the backdrop for all of this. Musk cofounded OpenAI in 2015, left the board in 2018, and sued Sam Altman and Greg Brockman in 2024, arguing they abandoned the company’s nonprofit mission for profit. A federal jury sided with OpenAI in May, finding Musk waited too long to sue rather than ruling on the merits of his claims. Musk said at the time he would appeal to the Ninth Circuit, calling the outcome a “calendar technicality” rather than a real judgment.
SpaceX’s interest in Cursor predates that verdict by weeks. The company first struck a deal with Cursor in April, securing an option to acquire it for $60 billion or pay $10 billion for joint development work instead. As Teslarati reported at the time, the logic was straightforward: Cursor was paying retail prices to Anthropic and OpenAI, two of its most direct competitors, every time a developer used its product, while SpaceX had idle capacity on its Colossus supercomputer, roughly the equivalent of a million Nvidia H100 GPUs, that Cursor could use to train its own models instead. SpaceX exercised the option in June, days after its own IPO, and the deal closed in mid-August.
Once it closed, Musk moved fast. On an all-hands call with more than 1,000 Cursor employees, he reportedly told staff that SpaceXAI’s Grok was playing catchup in the AI race, unlike Tesla and SpaceX in their own markets, and singled out Anthropic as the company to catch. Cursor CEO Michael Truell now reports directly to Musk inside SpaceXAI.
Losing OpenAI’s models leaves Cursor leaning harder on Anthropic’s Claude, which has its own compute agreement with SpaceX, and on Cursor’s in-house Composer model, the one SpaceX’s compute was supposed to accelerate in the first place. OpenAI framed the November deadline as maximum notice under its contract, and said it wants to “go above and beyond” to help developers through the transition. Whether Anthropic makes the same call is now the open question in AI coding.