The Tesla Model 3 has claimed Edmund’s Top Rated 2021 award for Best Electric Vehicle. It marks the second-consecutive year the all-electric sedan has claimed the honor of being the best EV on the market.
Edmunds announced that the Model 3 had won the award on December 16th, stating that Tesla’s most-affordable car had once again impressed the team and had proven itself as the best electric car available to consumers.
“More EVs have come out for 2021, yet no other manufacturer to date has been able to match the all-around excellence of the Tesla Model 3,” Edmunds wrote about Tesla’s most affordable vehicle.
Edmunds Top Rated 2021 award for Best EV for the second year in a row: @Tesla Model 3 https://t.co/z2kq02z2NA pic.twitter.com/j8poQMe2Om
— Edmunds (@edmunds) December 16, 2020
Paired with affordable pricing points, the Model 3’s big claim to fame in Edmunds’ perspective is its performance specifications. It’s instant torque from the all-electric powertrain, combined with “nimble handling and impressive practicality,” is enough to win over consumers, and it has. The Model 3 has been Tesla’s most popular car since its initial release in 2017. In 2020, three years later, it has continued this trend and has been the automaker’s claim to fame in an ever-changing automotive market. Tesla even “refreshed” the car this year, adding a more efficient heat pump and refining some of the interior features.
Additionally, the sedan’s cosmetic features have revolutionized the overall appeal of what is accepted in the industry. A minimalistic interior, void of the typical knobs and buttons that traditional car interiors are consumed by, is dominated by the large, centrally-located touchscreen, which houses GPS capabilities, and what seems like an endless number of infotainment features.
Tesla’s clean exterior and minimalist interior are now preferred by luxury buyers
But, as the old saying goes, “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.” Even if someone did not like the look of the Model 3, they certainly couldn’t ignore the highly-attractive range ratings and widely-available Supercharging network that Tesla offers owners. Tesla’s introductory Model 3 variant offers 263 miles of driving capability on a single charge. In comparison, the Long Range configuration gives owners 353 miles of traveling after plugging in until the battery pack reaches its 100% capacity. Where many EV makers fall short is in the focus of range. Performance is important, but with charging points hard to come by with other manufacturers, Tesla holds a significant advantage as the company offers over 20,000 Supercharging locations globally.
Perhaps the most impressive feat of the Model 3 thus far is its ability to fend off a quickly-growing EV market that established automakers are just now entering. While there is no indication of whether the Model 3 will hold the top spot in 2021 because of more competition heading into the market, Tesla’s tech advantage and access to extremely convenient Over-the-Air updates give some indication that the three-peat is certainly within reach.
“In the next couple of years, we’ll see more and more competition from big-name brands such as Volkswagen, but for now at least, the Tesla Model 3 remains unbeatable,” Edmunds said.
Edmunds’ full list of 2021 Top Rated Award Winners is available here.
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.
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.
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.
Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations
Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings
