Two Tesla Model 3s have been spotted and Tesla fans are roaring about two things: a spacious back seat and the 7th production vehicle off the line.
Photos surfaced early Thursday morning on Reddit of a midnight silver Model 3 and one in blue, the same color as the one we first spotted in April. A photo of the vehicle’s temporary registration ID affixed to the lower right corner of the windshield reveals the VIN. Using the Model 3 VIN decoder, we see that 5YJ3E1EABHF000007 is Tesla’s 7th production car built in its Fremont factory.
- Source: Rajkhaitan via Reddit
- Source: RajKhaitan via Reddit
The post also gave us yet another great look at Model 3’s interior, including the touchscreen display, center console, and an adequate back seat. Looking at the photos of the front seat, it’s worth noting that they appear to be pushed-back, leading us to believe that the actual legroom of Model 3’s rear seat is substantial.
“Wow thats a lot of leg room in the back!” wrote Revo_7 on Reddit.
As the affordable, high-volume Tesla, the leg room signals Musk’s promise to deliver an affordable, practical vehicle for families, but more importantly accommodation for the Tesla Network.
- Source: Rajkhaitan via Reddit
- Source: Rajkhaitan via Reddit
As release candidates and production vehicles are produced, Musk and the manufacturing teams could be taking their time to ensure everything is perfect before production jumps to higher volumes.
Either way, it does show that multiple vehicles have been produced. Musk and Tesla’s processes will be put to the test as production exponentially increases leading up to the July 28 delivery event.
Photos of the production line were featured on instagram earlier this month, depicting a tarp strewn across the “alien dreadnaught” autonomous robots tasked with constructing the Model 3.
The midnight silver vehicle is likely to be a release candidate. The sleek, modern look for the space-age vehicle also features matte-gray wheel covers that some have said could possibly be removed for maintenance.
So far, Tesla fans have spotted the Model 3 in red, white, silver, blue, black and midnight silver.
- White Tesla Model 3 VIN 000316 production car spotted in Bakersfield, CA [Source: WattLOL8 via Imgur]
- Source: via Twitter @BrianArmer
- Red Tesla Model 3 at the Fremont Factory test track [Credit: Tesla Owners Club BE]
Rumors earlier this week were also sparked after a fan found a vehicle that could have been Elon Musk’s SN1 personal Model 3.
Jeff Meinke found the vehicle at a Tesla headquarters charging station. The car was charging before 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday morning, and Meinke even had the opportunity to tinker with the door handle as he checked out the vehicle.
The Model 3 delivery event, which will feature an official key handover to the first 30 owners as well as a presentation from Musk about Tesla’s sustainable goals, is only eight days away. Excitement among Tesla fans continues to bubble as more vehicles in unique colors surface.
News
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations
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:
Tesla Diner opened exactly 1 year ago. Inspiring that futuristic places like this exist.
It’s our highest usage Supercharger in the world: 21.2 GWh delivered in a year, 1.6k sessions/day.
Top 10 Superchargers by energy delivered: https://t.co/9YvJ8lw696 pic.twitter.com/koB3AUJHws
— Max (@MdeZegher) July 21, 2026
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.
Investor's Corner
Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings
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 Bloomberg. Shares 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.
News
Tesla door handle saga gets its latest chapter and a big change is coming
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.
🚨 The NHTSA denied a petition from Tesla that would have thrown out concerns regarding its door handles.
NHTSA said Tesla’s petition did not present evidence of a safety-related defect warranting an investigation. The agency said a rulemaking process would be a better strategy. pic.twitter.com/j6PzUBM1mT
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 24, 2026
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.









