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Tesla China is subtly flexing the MIC Model 3's stellar build quality
High-quality images of a recently-delivered Made-in-China Model 3 sedan have proven that potentially lower labor costs do not result in inferior products.
The latest photos of the MIC Model 3 shared by Tesla Model S and X owner and Twitter user Ray4Tesla featured immaculately-finished and perfectly-aligned panels and trims of a blue all-electric sedan.
If Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai will consistently produce top-quality vehicles, the mass-produced Model 3 sedan may indeed become a cash cow for the electric car maker in the biggest automotive market in the world.
- Tesla Model 3 in China. (Credit: Ray4Tesla/Twitter)
- MIC Model 3 panels and trim (Source: Ray4Tesla | Twitter)
- MIC Model 3 panels and trim (Source: Ray4Tesla | Twitter)
- MIC Model 3 panels and trim (Source: Ray4Tesla | Twitter)
MIC Model 3 panels and trim (Source: Ray4Tesla | Twitter)
The high-quality production of vehicles in China may also help improve the process of Tesla in its other factories as needed. Tesla has been known to listen to its customers and for its willingness to improve processes based on its experiences in past projects, just like how it solved production and logistics issues when it started making the Model 3.
Quality vehicles at this early stage of production at Gigafactory 3 ultimately proved that Tesla’s move to launch Model Y program in the country was indeed the next big step in the company’s plans to establish its presence in China.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk also announced during a recent Gigafactory 3 event that the company will launch a design and R&D center in the country that will design Chinese-style Teslas and other vehicles that can then be released to other markets.
Chinese equity firm Chuancai Securities recently published a study that stated that Tesla can further improve the profit margin for the locally-produced Model 3 when it increases the domestication of its components. At present, the firm estimated the gross margin of Tesla for the mass-produced sedan at 35% in China.
Last Nov, my friend, Tencent Auto chief editor, was the first one to review MIC M3, which was better in build qualities than his own imported M3. Now we have actual HD photos of a recently delivered MIC M3, showing perfect panel/trim alignment & flush to each other. #GF3 rocks. https://t.co/RVewiWRaix pic.twitter.com/5SHVuTQWIt
— Ray (@ray4tesla) January 19, 2020
“We assume that depending on the progress of Tesla’s parts domestication, the cost of raw materials will fall by 10%-20%. In this case, gross profit margin of Model 3 produced by the Chinese factory will reach more than 35%, which is much higher than the American factory by about 20% gross profit level,” the report stated.
Last December, Tesla posted 6,643 new vehicle registrations in China compared to November’s 5,597 units and posted a 161% increase year-over-year despite car sales slump in the country.
With car buyers knowing that they can trust the quality of the vehicles made from China’s shores, it will not be surprising to see Tesla sell even more vehicles in the country in the near future. If Elon Musk sees China as the gateway for the brand to dominate the rest of the region, the high-quality images of the recently delivered unit can be considered a very good sign that Tesla is ready to chomp a bigger chunk of the sales pie.
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Tesla Model Y L gets suspension complaints in over odd issue China
The Tesla Model Y L is arguably the most hyped trim of the all-electric crossover, other than the Performance configuration that comes with white-knuckle speed and sports car-level handling.
However, it is not all perfect. Tesla owners in China who took delivery of the Model Y L, denoted with an L to highlight its longer wheelbase, are experiencing what they are referring to as “collapsing” of the rear wheels, as suspension issues appear to be an issue with some of the builds.
🚨 Model Y L owners in China report rear suspension sag
• Six-seat long-wheelbase Y. Shanghai. On sale since August 2025
• Owners say the rear tire-to-arch gap shrinks after mileage or a full load. Some cases after about 9,000 km loaded. Others near 30,000 km
• Tesla service… pic.twitter.com/Lr6i5Tbi07— Joe Hansen (@joehansen) September 1, 2026
The gap between the wheel arch and tire has narrowed to the point that “not even a single finger” could fit, according to a report from Car News China. The failures are not tied to a specific mileage, as one owner said that after just 9,000 kilometers (5,600 miles), they noticed the suspension issue when their car was fully loaded.
Another one had the issue at 30,000 kilometers (18,640 miles) and noticed that the wheel gap shrank to two fingers, so not as drastic as the person who reported a similar issue at 9,000 km.
Tesla Model Y L is gaining momentum in China’s premium segment
Along with the visual recognition of the issue, others are saying the sagging is causing abnormal wear on the inside of the tires. Extra weight and instant torque already provide additional stress on the tires in electric vehicles during normal operation, so it is no surprise that this is another complaint.
There has been no recall issued by Tesla, and the company has not yet publicly acknowledged the issue.
Some are suggesting that owners use a “finger test” to self-diagnose whether there is an issue with the suspension. There should be four fingers between the tire and the wheel well; anything less than that starts to get dicey.
News
Tesla Cybercab event gains steam ahead of massive launch
Tesla is starting to truly tease and hype its groundbreaking Cybercab event, which takes place tomorrow in Austin, Texas. It will be the first time members of the public will be able to ride in a Cybercab, a vehicle without any manual controls, on public roads.
Tesla has been dropping some hype on X over the past several days, but this morning, the excitement has truly started to build up for the event. Although Cybercab has been unveiled before, this is truly Tesla’s announcement that it is ready to start offering autonomous rides for public passengers in its new ride-hailing-geared vehicle for the first time.
The hype has started with a variety of different social media posts that are a true indication that Tesla is preparing for something big. Teasing so much of the potential of Cybercab, including its ability to truly revolutionize how people hail rides for local travel, is what the big idea for the event entails. The time that many Tesla owners, fans, and investors have been waiting for is potentially here:
— Tesla (@Tesla) September 2, 2026
The event has remained slim on details. Even invitees are still awaiting true details about what the event will entail, where they’ll go, and what is in store for the evening. This is pretty typical for an event run by Tesla; they keep things under wraps for the most part until the very last minute.
However, there is no secret about what the real intention of Tesla is for this event: it is going to be a huge reveal party for a vehicle that has no steering wheel and no pedals. It is a truly massive step for the company moving forward.
No steering wheel, no pedals
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) September 2, 2026
Speculation persists as to whether this is going to be an event that simply announces that rides will begin with the Cybercab, or it will be something more substantial. Tesla has said in the past that they plan to sell the Cybercab to the general public in what could become a great way to earn passive income by adding it to a more global fleet of Robotaxi-geared vehicles.
Tomorrow, the show begins in Austin, and the Cybercab goes live at some capacity; we just don’t know exactly how quite yet.
News
SpaceX tells the FCC that Starship Flight 14 is going to orbit
SpaceX filed with the FCC for Starship Flight 14, its first true orbital launch attempt.
SpaceX has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to fly Starlink terminals during Starship’s fourteenth flight test, and the filing lays out a genuine trip to orbit, something the program has never attempted.
Every Starship flight so far, including Flight 13’s successful splashdown in the Indian Ocean on July 24, has flown a suborbital arc that ends with the ship reentering the atmosphere within the same hour it launches. The FCC paperwork describes a mission profile built around an actual orbital insertion instead.
The payload is the other half of the story. Flight 13 carried 20 production Starlink V3 satellites, but because that mission never reached orbit, the satellites reentered along with the ship rather than joining the constellation, something Teslarati covered in detail after SpaceX released footage shot from one of those satellites as it drifted away from Starship in space. Flight 14 is designed to close that gap. If the orbital insertion holds, the roughly 20 V3 satellites onboard would separate into an operational orbit and could eventually go into service, each one rated for about 1 terabit per second of downlink capacity by SpaceX’s own account.
SpaceX announces new Starbase for ‘thousands of Starship launches annually’
Elon Musk first flagged the orbital attempt during SpaceX’s August 4 earnings call, the company’s first as a public entity following its June IPO under the ticker SPCX. He also floated catching the ship with the Starbase tower on the same flight, an idea he walked back on August 20, saying the catch attempt would more likely come “in a few months,” as Teslarati reported at the time. Flight 14 will instead target a splashdown for the ship in the Indian Ocean, the same recovery method used since Flight 12.
Hardware has been catching up to the ambition. Booster 21 completed a full 33-engine static fire on August 28, and Ship 41 finished its own six-engine test the week before. An airspace briefing circulated to pilots on August 20 listed September 15 as the target date, later than the end of August window Musk mentioned on the earnings call, though SpaceX has not confirmed a launch date publicly and Starship schedules routinely slip while hardware and FAA paperwork line up.
The FCC filing itself does not guarantee a launch date. It covers communications authority, and not flight readiness, considering SpaceX still needs Ship 41 fully stacked and cleared by the FAA before Flight 14 can fly. But the filing is a real marker of intent and it puts a specific regulatory process behind what had so far only been Musk’s word on the earnings call.



