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Tesla Model 3 gets CR recommendation after OTA brake update
The Tesla Model 3 has managed to earn a “Recommended” rating from Consumer Reports after a recent firmware update improved the vehicle’s braking distance by nearly 20 feet.
In a recently published update on its official website, Consumer Reports confirmed that its new test results for the Model 3 revealed that Tesla had reduced the braking distance of the compact electric car by nearly 20 feet through a recent OTA update. During the magazine’s retest of the vehicle, the Model 3 managed to hit a full stop from 60 mph in 133 feet, a 19-foot, or roughly 13%, improvement over its previous braking distance of 152 feet.
According to CR, the Model 3’s updated 133-foot braking distance now stands among typical compact luxury cars. The numbers also match Tesla’s own figures. Ultimately, the Model 3 firmware update pushed out this past weekend was enough to raise the compact electric car’s Overall Score enough to warrant a “Recommended” rating.
Consumer Reports Auto Test Director Jake Fisher noted that this is the first time he has seen a carmaker improve a vehicle’s braking system through an OTA software update.
“I’ve been at CR for 19 years and tested more than 1,000 cars, and I’ve never seen a car that could improve its track performance with an over-the-air update,” he said.
-->Consumer Reports noted in its updated score for the Model 3 that several points of concern still were still evident in the vehicle. Among these are wind noise, a stiff ride, and an uncomfortable rear seat. As we noted in a previous report, some of these were addressed by Elon Musk during a phone conversation with CR’s Jake Fisher.
According to Musk, some of these concerns had been addressed in the Model 3 production line over the past few months. With this in mind, Consumer Reports stated in its updated results that it would be renting another vehicle to validate Musk’s statements about the more recent improvements to the Model 3. Nevertheless, Musk has posted a few tips to improve the Model 3’s wind noise and ride quality.
Braking & UI upgrades apply to all Model 3s. Improved windshield for aero noise & suspension for ride comfort are major ops. Unless you’re really bothered by them, don’t replace. Best way to improve ride is drop tire pressure to ~39 psi. 45 psi is best range, but lower comfort.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 30, 2018
Also mentioned in CR’s updated Model 3 ratings were the difficulties associated with the car’s 15-inch center-mounted touchscreen, which handles almost all of the vehicle’s controls. Improvements to the touch panel and further automated features for the vehicle were discussed by Musk during his conversation with the CR Auto Test Director. According to the magazine, the recent OTA update already rolled out some changes to the electric car’s controls.
-->“Now, when drivers adjust their seat position using the power controls along the edge of the driver’s seat, prompts to adjust the car’s mirrors and steering-wheel position appear on the center touch screen. At first glance, these changes seem to be an improvement, but we need to spend more time evaluating them,” CR noted in its updated Model 3 ratings.
Consumer Reports has a mixed relationship with Tesla’s offerings so far, with the magazine dubbing the Model S as the best car it has ever tested. The Model X, however, did not get much approval from CR, with the magazine describing the vehicle as “fast and flawed.”
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Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month.
Tesla’s sales momentum in China strengthened in November, with wholesale volumes rising to 86,700 units, reversing a slowdown seen in October.
New data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shows a 9.95% year-on-year increase and a 40.98% jump month-over-month. This was partly driven by tightened delivery windows, targeted marketing, and buyers moving to secure vehicles before changes to national purchase tax incentives take effect.
Tesla’s November rebound coincided with a noticeable spike in Model Y interest across China. Delivery wait times extended multiple times over the month, jumping from an initial 2–5 weeks to estimated handovers in January and February 2026 for most five-seat variants. Only the six-seat Model Y L kept its 4–8 week estimated delivery timeframe.
The company amplified these delivery updates across its Chinese social media channels, urging buyers to lock in orders early to secure 2025 delivery slots and preserve eligibility for current purchase tax incentives, as noted in a CNEV Post report. Tesla also highlighted that new inventory-built Model Y units were available for customers seeking guaranteed handovers before December 31.
This combination of urgency marketing and genuine supply-demand pressure seemed to have helped boost November’s volumes, stabilizing what had been a year marked by several months of year-over-year declines.
-->For the January–November period, Tesla China recorded 754,561 wholesale units, an 8.30% decline compared to the same period last year. The company’s Shanghai Gigafactory continues to operate as both a domestic production base and a major global export hub, building the Model 3 and Model Y for markets across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, among other territories.
Tesla bear Michael Burry got blunt with his beliefs over the company’s valuation, which he called “ridiculously overvalued” in a newsletter to subscribers this past weekend.
“Tesla’s market capitalization is ridiculously overvalued today and has been for a good long time,” Burry, who was the inspiration for the movie The Big Short, and was portrayed by Christian Bale.
Burry went on to say, “As an aside, the Elon cult was all-in on electric cars until competition showed up, then all-in on autonomous driving until competition showed up, and now is all-in on robots — until competition shows up.”
Tesla bear Michael Burry ditches bet against $TSLA, says ‘media inflated’ the situation
For a long time, Burry has been skeptical of Tesla, its stock, and its CEO, Elon Musk, even placing a $530 million bet against shares several years ago. Eventually, Burry’s short position extended to other supporters of the company, including ARK Invest.
Tesla has long drawn skepticism from investors and more traditional analysts, who believe its valuation is overblown. However, the company is not traded as a traditional stock, something that other Wall Street firms have recognized.
While many believe the company has some serious pull as an automaker, an identity that helped it reach the valuation it has, Tesla has more than transformed into a robotics, AI, and self-driving play, pulling itself into the realm of some of the most recognizable stocks in tech.
Burry’s Scion Asset Management has put its money where its mouth is against Tesla stock on several occasions, but the firm has not yielded positive results, as shares have increased in value since 2020 by over 115 percent. The firm closed in May.
In 2020, it launched its short position, but by October 2021, it had ditched that position.
Tesla has had a tumultuous year on Wall Street, dipping significantly to around the $220 mark at one point. However, it rebounded significantly in September, climbing back up to the $400 region, as it currently trades at around $430.
It closed at $430.14 on Monday.
Tesla appears to be making a change to its exterior side repeater cameras, which are used for the company’s Full Self-Driving suite, and other features, like Sentry Mode.
The change appears to be a potential upgrade in preparation for the AI5 suite, which CEO Elon Musk said will be present on a handful of vehicles next year, but will not be widely implemented until 2027.
Currently, Tesla uses a Sony sensor lens with the model number IMX963, a 5-megapixel camera with better dynamic range and low-light performance over the past iteration in Hardware 3 vehicles. Cameras in HW3 cars were only 1.2 megapixels.
However, Tesla is looking to upgrade, it appears, as Tesla hacker greentheonly has spotted a new sensor model in its firmware code, with the model number IMX00N being explicitly mentioned:
Looks like Tesla is changing (upgrading?) cameras in (some?) new cars produced.
Where as HW4 to date used exterior cameras with IMX963, now they (might potentially) have something called IMX00N— green (@greentheonly) December 1, 2025
Sony has not announced any formal specifications for the IMX00N model, and although IMX963 has been used in AI4/HW4 vehicles, it only makes sense that Tesla would prepare to upgrade these external cameras once again in preparation for what it believes to be the second hardware iteration capable of fully autonomous self-driving.
Tesla has maintained that AI4/HW4 vehicles are capable of self-driving operation, but AI5 will likely help the company make significant strides, especially in terms of overall performance and data collection.
Tesla last updated its exterior cameras on its vehicles back in early 2023, as it transitioned to the 5-megapixel IMX963. It also added additional cameras to its vehicles in January with the new Model Y, which featured an additional lens on the front bumper to help with Full Self-Driving.
Tesla’s new self-driving computer (HW4): more cameras, radar, and more
Tesla sees sharp November rebound in China as Model Y demand surges
Tesla bear gets blunt with beliefs over company valuation
