The Tesla Model 3 was voted as the number one most satisfying car across four different age groups, a new study from Consumer Reports recently revealed.
The study from CR surveyed over 420,000 owners across four different age groups, ranging from the youngest drivers to the most seasoned automotive users. It was unanimous that the Model 3 was the preferable car across all of the groups.
Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation were all surveyed for the study, proving that no matter what age was being talked about, one thing could be agreed upon: The Model 3 is the most satisfying vehicle out there.
The survey asked owners if they would buy the same car twice. It also asked for ratings in terms of driving experience, comfort, value, styling, and audio controls.
Millennials
The term millennial refers to anyone who was born from 1981 to 1996. It was widely accepted by this age group that the Tesla Model 3 was the most favorable vehicle. The affordability of the Model 3, along with its appeal, makes it an ideal choice for those who are grouped into this category.
Honda held the majority of the top ten, with the Japanese carmaker holding four spots with its Accord, CR-V, Civic, and Odyssey.
- Tesla Model 3
- Subaru Ascent
- Mazda CX-5
- Honda Accord
- Subaru Forester
- Ford F-150
- Honda CR-V
- Honda Civic
- Honda Odyssey
- Subaru Impreza
Generation X
Generation X includes any person born from 1965 to 1980. This group also chose the Model 3 as their preferred vehicle, but the Model S and Model X were also included in the list at the second and fourth place spots, respectively.
- Tesla Model 3
- Tesla Model S
- Audi A5
- Tesla Model X
- Volkswagen Golf
- Toyota Prius
- Toyota RAV4
- Subaru Ascent
- Jeep Wrangler
- Volkswagen GTI
Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers were born from 1946 to 1964 and grew up driving some of the most notorious cars that have ever been made. The Ford Mustang, for example, was produced for the first time in March 1964 and is still among the most popular vehicles on the road today. The muscle car from the American car company took the 10th place spot on this list, but it was no match for the Model 3, which once again reigned supreme. The Model S also was preferred by this age group, sitting in the fourth position.
- Tesla Model 3
- Ford Expedition
- Porsche 718 Boxster
- Tesla Model S
- Mazda MX-5 Miata
- Volvo XC40
- Dodge Challenger
- Toyota Prius
- BMW X5
- Ford Mustang
Silent Generation
The Silent Generation precedes the Baby Boomers and includes those who were born from 1928 to 1945. The Model 3, once again, was most preferred by this age group, with the Model S taking third place. Two different variants of the Toyota Prius were included on the list, but neither outshined two of Tesla’s pure electric vehicles that were included on the list.
- Tesla Model 3
- Genesis G90
- Tesla Model S
- Toyota Prius V
- Honda Ridgeline
- Toyota Prius
- Subaru Forester
- Hyundai Santa Fe
- Mazda6
- Ford Mustang
Consumer Reports study shows that the Model 3, despite its new, high-tech functionality, is still widely considered the best vehicle across any age group. Younger people on stereotypically tighter budgets chose the car, and the “Silent Generation” also felt it was the best choice overall. The Model 3 was geared toward mass-market appeal, and the results of the survey undoubtedly prove the car’s versatility across the various age groups who chose it as the most satisfying vehicle on the road.
Lifestyle
NTSB findings on fatal Tesla crash tell a very different story
The NTSB confirmed the driver, not Tesla’s FSD, caused the fatal Texas house crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board released preliminary findings Wednesday confirming that a Tesla driver, not the vehicle’s software, caused a fatal crash in Katy, Texas in June. The driver, 44-year-old Michael Butler, had engaged Full Self-Driving Supervised mode on Rose Hollow Lane, a residential street with a 30 mph speed limit, before manually overriding the system by pressing the accelerator pedal all the way to 100%. Data recovered from the 2025 Tesla Model 3 showed the vehicle was traveling over 70 miles per hour when it struck a home and killed 76-year-old Martha Avila, who was inside. Weather was clear, the road was dry, and it was daylight.
Texas man charged in fatal Tesla crash where he blamed Autopilot
Butler told authorities he had passed out at the wheel. But security camera footage obtained by the NTSB told a different story, and showed the car accelerating through an intersection before leaving the road entirely. Police also found that Butler’s phone had Google searches including the terms “Tesla FSD not aggressive enough 2026” and “Tesla FSD too timid,” raising serious questions about how he was using the system before the crash. Butler has since been charged with manslaughter. The victim’s family has filed a lawsuit against both Butler and Tesla, alleging negligence.
The NTSB findings aligned directly with what Tesla VP of AI Software Ashok Elluswamy had already stated publicly on X in the weeks after the crash, writing that “the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100%.” The data confirmed his account.
Yup. In this case, the driver manually overrode self-driving by pressing the accelerator all the way to 100% of the accel pedal in this residential area. They reached a speed of 73 mph during the crash, and had the accelerator pressed even after the crash.
— Ashok Elluswamy (@aelluswamy) June 22, 2026
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Texas ranch to showcase the lifelong work that changed the world
Elon Musk is building a product gallery at his Texas ranch spanning his lifelong inventions.
Elon Musk took to X earlier today, noting “Am putting together a product gallery at my ranch in Texas.” in response to a resurfaced famous quote from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon’s wherein he draw parallels of the Tesla CEO to legendary physicist Albert Einstein.
Dimon made the remark at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland back in January 2025, telling CNBC at the time, “SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, I mean, the guy is our Einstein.” The remark seemingly ended a long-time feud between the two high profile execs.
While details are thin about the exact location of Elon Musk’s Texas ranch and any pending projects that would serve as a gallery and homage to his portfolio of revolutionary product inventions spanning from 1984 to 2025, land acquisition records point to roughly a location of several thousand acres in Bastrop County, east of Austin near the Colorado River and held through an LLC called Horse Ranch LLC that’s managed by Musk’s longtime personal friend and family wealth manager Jared Birchall. Birchall also serves as the CEO of Neuralink.
Tesla’s “ecological paradise” in Giga Texas may be larger than expected
The broader Bastrop County footprint surrounding the ranch has grown significantly. Entities tied to Musk have accumulated approximately 2,000 acres in Bastrop County as of mid-2026, up from 700 acres earlier in the year, with possibly as much as 6,000 acres acquired in total across Bastrop and Travis counties based on deed records.
No completion date for the gallery has been announced and Musk has not confirmed whether it will be open to the public. As Teslarati has reported, SpaceX just completed the largest IPO in history raising $75 billion, a milestone that makes this particular moment in Musk’s career a natural inflection point for looking back at what he has built through the years.
Am putting together a product gallery at my ranch in Texas https://t.co/xQf5FRy4uz
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2026
Starting with Blastar, a simple space shooter game Musk coded at 12 years old and sold to a South African magazine for $500. From there the timeline moves through a commercial career that started with Zip2 in 1995, a city guide software company sold to Compaq for roughly $300 million in 1999. That was followed by X.com in 1999, which merged with Confinity to become PayPal, acquired by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. SpaceX came in 2002, Tesla in 2003, SolarCity in 2006, the Supercharger network in 2012, Neuralink in 2016, The Boring Company in 2016, OpenAI co-founded in 2015, X acquired in 2022, xAI in 2023, Optimus in 2024, the Cybercab in 2026, and most recently SpaceXAI following the SpaceX and xAI merger. The gallery will also likely include items that blur the line between product and cultural artifact, among them The Boring Company’s Not-a-Flamethrower from 2018, Tesla Short Shorts from 2020, and Burnt Hair perfume released under X in 2022.
Lifestyle
Tesla makes the cut on California’s newest EV Rebate program
California just signed a $270 million EV rebate into law and it starts this summer.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 168 into law on Monday, July 13, 2026, creating a $270 million EV rebate program that delivers money directly at the dealership rather than as a tax credit applied months later. The program, called MyFirstEV, is funded equally by California’s state budget and participating automakers, with each contributing $135.5 million to make the math work.
The timing is directly tied to the loss of federal support when the $7,500 federal EV tax credit ended, removing the most significant consumer incentive that had driven EV adoption in the U.S. California, which accounts for roughly one-third of all EVs sold nationally, moved to fill that gap with a state-level replacement.
The rebate structure is straightforward. First-time EV buyers can receive $3,500 off any new battery-electric vehicle with an MSRP up to $50,000. Used EVs priced at $25,000 or below qualify for a $1,750 rebate. The credit is applied at the point of sale, which removes the friction of the old federal system where buyers had to wait for tax season to see the benefit. The program goes live later this summer, with the California Air Resources Board expected to release full participation details next month.
California hits Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi driverless cars with new law
For Tesla buyers, the implications are mixed. The Tesla Model 3 RWD at $42,490 and the Model 3 Long Range at $47,490 both fall under the $50,000 cap and would qualify for the full $3,500 rebate for first-time buyers. The Model Y, which starts at $44,990 after Tesla’s recent price adjustment, also qualifies. The Model X, Model S, and Cybertruck all exceed the cap and receive no benefit. As Teslarati has reported, the program also includes a carve-out exempting California-based automakers like Rivian and Lucid from the price cap entirely, a provision that puts Tesla at a disadvantage since it relocated its headquarters to Texas in 2021.
Other qualifying vehicles include the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Volkswagen ID.4.
Elon Musk says your Tesla will start to learn your individual preferences
Ron DeSantis calls out media bias in Tesla crash coverage
