News
I drove the new Tesla Model 3, here’s what got better
The new Tesla Model 3 is now available for test drives at several Tesla Showrooms. It was available just an hour from me, so I decided to drive up and give it a spin.
The first Tesla I ever drove was a Model 3 back in 2019 when I first started writing for Teslarati. Since then, I have had the chance to drive the four models in its lineup. The Cybertruck is not yet available near me, but when it is, I’ll be sure to take that for a spin, too.
My expectations going into the drive were pretty standard. I knew that Tesla had changed a lot about the car, and I really do love the new look of the Model 3; it’s sporty and sleek, and just a better aesthetic than what was previously offered. However, looks only go so far, and what I was really interested in was the true performance and interior changes that the new Model 3 equipped.
It definitely was not what I expected, and I was pleasantly surprised by some features but underwhelmed by others.
First Thoughts and Initial Impressions
When I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by the look. I really do like the new front end of the car. It looks sporty and tough and clean, but also it just seems more appealing. I think the legacy Model 3 is a good design, but it was just too generic when comparing it to this option.
The new headlight design is sleek and slim and, from the outside, you truly do think you’re getting into something that is super luxurious. I also loved this color in particular. I usually like white cars, but this Stealth Grey was super clean.
Getting In
The new interior is similar to the legacy Model 3 interior, but there are a few noticeable changes. I will say I don’t think I’d ever want to own a car without stalks. I totally understand the removal of things in preparation for Full Self-Driving, but we’re pretty far off from having a fully autonomous vehicle, so I think there should be an option for people to have traditional stalks.
Without them, and without a lot of other things, the interior of this car just feels empty. I am still a firm believer in having some more physical buttons and knobs because things are easier to adjust and are more accessible that way. In my car, I am able to change the climate, adjust which vents are active, and control other features, like my drive mode, with the touch of a button or the turn of a knob. It takes less than five seconds to do so.
In the Model 3, it takes a few touches on the center screen to adjust everything from the mirrors to the steering wheel. To me, it’s too much of a process to perform these simple tasks, and the lack of things to look at is something I personally do not enjoy. I do understand the appeal, though.
Tesla moved from haptics to physical buttons on this new steering wheel, which was an interesting touch. It only took me about three or four turns, or roughly ten minutes, to realize I needed to stop reaching for stalks. I feel like the buttons are super convenient, but there were times I would push the edges or corners, and the signal would not come on.
You have to push the center of the signal button for it to activate, and it also holds that hand captive on that portion of the wheel.
The high-beam button is also where things get dicey. During my drive, someone was attempting to merge over into my lane in front of me. I flashed my lights at him to get over, which he did. But it was more difficult than just flicking a stalk a couple of times.
I totally realize that these are pretty tedious complaints, but I do believe there are some people who would see this as such an inconvenience that it would stop them from buying a car.
A lot of things I liked, including the ventilated seats, the wireless charger, the center console, and the cup holder covers are a sleek touch. Everything felt very high-quality. There was not very much creaking or movement from these parts, which can sometimes be cheap and seem like an inferior quality. This was not the case in this car, I was really impressed with everything.
Driving
It is fun to drive an electric car. Every EV I have ever had the opportunity to drive has been more fun than a gas version that is similar. The Model 3 is definitely an improvement from its legacy build, and I was impressed by the suspension feel, the cabin noise reduction, and the overall ride quality in general.
I started on a four-lane highway that featured stoplights to test how it felt in traffic. It was as you’d expect. Where I really wanted to test it was on backroads in Pennsylvania, which there are plenty of. This is where the most fun driving is done, at least in my opinion.
I took it on some windy and tight backroads and it hugged the corners super well. The suspension kept the car feeling sporty and capable during some of the curves. I tried to push the car as much as I could responsibly, and it passed with flying colors. I will say there are only a handful of vehicles that have given be this amount of confidence when taking turns with some speed, one of them being the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Even the updated Model 3 outperformed the Mustang Mach-E, which was one of the most fun driving experiences I have had in recent memory.
I had a Rear-Wheel-Drive version of this car, and it was missing that truly face-melting instant torque that I have had in other cars, especially the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive and Performance configurations that I’ve driven in the past.
For me, I don’t drive super fast. I was in a couple of car accidents in high school as a passenger, and they taught me to be more responsible on the road. I know when I have to drive with some aggressiveness and with some speed, and it is not often. However, this configuration was just not enough pep for me. If I were to make an order, I’d be going a step up.
Other Thoughts
A couple of things worth mentioning are the rear legroom, the rear touchscreen, trunk and frunk space, and the road noise.
Rear Legroom
I am 5′ 8″, and I did not move the driver’s throne when I decided to hop in the backseat to see how much room there was.
There wasn’t much, and I don’t know if I could see myself being strong enough or patient enough to make it more than a few hours with such little space to move.
For a sedan, it’s pretty understandable to have limited space. You will be stuck in this generic position for most of the ride, but the back is definitely more suitable for children.
Rear Touchscreen
I think the rear touchscreen is a nice addition. A lot of cars have one now, and it is a good thing to have. It is packed with features to keep your rear occupants busy, but I feel that it is more of a novelty move than anything. It’s a decent size, can play some of the games in the Tesla Arcade, and streaming is available.
Trunk and Frunk
The frunk and power trunk are both spacious and provide room for a lot of things. I couldn’t get a good gauge on how much luggage you could fit in the trunk, but the frunk space would be nice for those daily trips to the grocery store to pick up odds and ends.
My biggest concern would be fitting a few golf bags in the trunk, and it seems like two or three would be the limit there.
Cabin Noise
Last week, I had to drive to Penn State to cover a wrestling match, and I went by myself. Spending 10-12 hours in front of a computer screen daily, constantly having to listen to things, living with a dog, and barely ever having peace and quiet prompted me to turn the stereo off and take the two-hour trip in silence. It was great.
One thing I truly love about this new Model 3 is the cabin noise. It was so quiet in the car and so peaceful, that it was undoubtedly my favorite part of the test drive. I never turned the music on once, I just chose to drive in the quiet, and I really liked how peaceful it was inside the cabin because road noise has been a huge complaint of some drivers in the past. I didn’t have that issue at all.
Closing Thoughts
Tesla did a good job of improving some of the parts of the Model 3 with this update. The sleek and sporty exterior look is great, the amount of noise in the cabin was excellent, and the suspension and ride comfort were top notch.
Were there things I wish were different? Yes. Absolutely. I wish stalks were still a thing, I wish changing climate control settings and other things that are commonly adjusted throughout the course of a drive were more easily accessible.
Do I think this is a mini Model S? It’s tough to say. Personally, the interior of this car makes me feel like I’m not getting much for the price. I didn’t feel blown away by the inside of the car from an aesthetic perspective. It just felt too minimalistic, and I’ve liked driving other Teslas more than this.
“Would I trade in my current car for this one?” is the question I ask myself when I have the opportunity to drive other vehicles. I did not get that impression from the Model 3. In fact, the Model X and Model Y are the only two cars I’d even remotely consider at this point from Tesla, but there are a few reasons for that.
- I prefer an SUV or something with more interior space than I truly need,
- I drive my car on the beach every year; I wouldn’t sacrifice that privilege for a sedan that doesn’t blow me away in every aspect,
- The minimalism truly is a major turn off for me. I liked the stalks, the display behind the steering wheel in the Model X and S, and more things to look at
Did Tesla improve this car? Yes. Was it the best EV I’ve ever driven? No. But it’s also the entry-level Tesla, and if you want more, you have to pay more, or settle for another car. It is unrealistic to expect this vehicle to check off all the boxes at this price. Is it a good car for a first-time/young driver? Absolutely. It is something I’d consider if I drove an hour to Baltimore or 45 minutes to Harrisburg for work. As someone who works from home and spends a limited amount of time behind the wheel, it would not be my first choice. But, it’s still a great car.
What did you think of my Model 3 review? Were there things I missed? Things you’d like to hear about further? Shoot me an email at joey@teslarati.com.
Elon Musk
The Boring Company’s Music City Loop gains unanimous approval
After eight months of negotiations, MNAA board members voted unanimously on Feb. 18 to move forward with the project.
The Metro Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) has approved a 40-year agreement with Elon Musk’s The Boring Company to build the Music City Loop, a tunnel system linking Nashville International Airport to downtown.
After eight months of negotiations, MNAA board members voted unanimously on Feb. 18 to move forward with the project. Under the terms, The Boring Company will pay the airport authority an annual $300,000 licensing fee for the use of roughly 933,000 square feet of airport property, with a 3% annual increase.
Over 40 years, that totals to approximately $34 million, with two optional five-year extensions that could extend the term to 50 years, as per a report from The Tennesean.
The Boring Company celebrated the Music City Loop’s approval in a post on its official X account. “The Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority has unanimously (7-0) approved a Music City Loop connection/station. Thanks so much to @Fly_Nashville for the great partnership,” the tunneling startup wrote in its post.
Once operational, the Music City Loop is expected to generate a $5 fee per airport pickup and drop-off, similar to rideshare charges. Airport officials estimate more than $300 million in operational revenue over the agreement’s duration, though this projection is deemed conservative.
“This is a significant benefit to the airport authority because we’re receiving a new way for our passengers to arrive downtown at zero capital investment from us. We don’t have to fund the operations and maintenance of that. TBC, The Boring Co., will do that for us,” MNAA President and CEO Doug Kreulen said.
The project has drawn both backing and criticism. Business leaders cited economic benefits and improved mobility between downtown and the airport. “Hospitality isn’t just an amenity. It’s an economic engine,” Strategic Hospitality’s Max Goldberg said.
Opponents, including state lawmakers, raised questions about environmental impacts, worker safety, and long-term risks. Sen. Heidi Campbell said, “Safety depends on rules applied evenly without exception… You’re not just evaluating a tunnel. You’re evaluating a risk, structural risk, legal risk, reputational risk and financial risk.”
Elon Musk
Tesla announces crazy new Full Self-Driving milestone
The number of miles traveled has contextual significance for two reasons: one being the milestone itself, and another being Tesla’s continuing progress toward 10 billion miles of training data to achieve what CEO Elon Musk says will be the threshold needed to achieve unsupervised self-driving.
Tesla has announced a crazy new Full Self-Driving milestone, as it has officially confirmed drivers have surpassed over 8 billion miles traveled using the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) suite for semi-autonomous travel.
The FSD (Supervised) suite is one of the most robust on the market, and is among the safest from a data perspective available to the public.
On Wednesday, Tesla confirmed in a post on X that it has officially surpassed the 8 billion-mile mark, just a few months after reaching 7 billion cumulative miles, which was announced on December 27, 2025.
Tesla owners have now driven >8 billion miles on FSD Supervisedhttps://t.co/0d66ihRQTa pic.twitter.com/TXz9DqOQ8q
— Tesla (@Tesla) February 18, 2026
The number of miles traveled has contextual significance for two reasons: one being the milestone itself, and another being Tesla’s continuing progress toward 10 billion miles of training data to achieve what CEO Elon Musk says will be the threshold needed to achieve unsupervised self-driving.
The milestone itself is significant, especially considering Tesla has continued to gain valuable data from every mile traveled. However, the pace at which it is gathering these miles is getting faster.
Secondly, in January, Musk said the company would need “roughly 10 billion miles of training data” to achieve safe and unsupervised self-driving. “Reality has a super long tail of complexity,” Musk said.
Training data primarily means the fleet’s accumulated real-world miles that Tesla uses to train and improve its end-to-end AI models. This data captures the “long tail” — extremely rare, complex, or unpredictable situations that simulations alone cannot fully replicate at scale.
This is not the same as the total miles driven on Full Self-Driving, which is the 8 billion miles milestone that is being celebrated here.
The FSD-supervised miles contribute heavily to the training data, but the 10 billion figure is an estimate of the cumulative real-world exposure needed overall to push the system to human-level reliability.
News
Tesla Cybercab production begins: The end of car ownership as we know it?
While this could unlock unprecedented mobility abundance — cheaper rides, reduced congestion, freed-up urban space, and massive environmental gains — it risks massive job displacement in ride-hailing, taxi services, and related sectors, forcing society to confront whether the benefits of AI-driven autonomy will outweigh the human costs.
The first Tesla Cybercab rolled off of production lines at Gigafactory Texas yesterday, and it is more than just a simple manufacturing milestone for the company — it’s the opening salvo in a profound economic transformation.
Priced at under $30,000 with volume production slated for April, the steering-wheel-free, pedal-less Robotaxi-geared vehicle promises to make personal car ownership optional for many, slashing transportation costs to as little as $0.20 per mile through shared fleets and high utilization.
Credit: wudapig/Reddit< /a>
While this could unlock unprecedented mobility abundance — cheaper rides, reduced congestion, freed-up urban space, and massive environmental gains — it risks massive job displacement in ride-hailing, taxi services, and related sectors, forcing society to confront whether the benefits of AI-driven autonomy will outweigh the human costs.
Let’s examine the positives and negatives of what the Cybercab could mean for passenger transportation and vehicle ownership as we know it.
The Promise – A Radical Shift in Transportation Economics
Tesla has geared every portion of the Cybercab to be cheaper and more efficient. Even its design — a compact, two-seater, optimized for fleets and ride-sharing, the development of inductive charging, around 300 miles of range on a small battery, half the parts of the Model 3, and revolutionary “unboxed” manufacturing — is all geared toward rapid production.
Operating at a fraction of what today’s rideshare prices are, the Cybercab enables on-demand autonomy for a variety of people in a variety of situations.
Tesla ups Robotaxi fare price to another comical figure with service area expansion
It could also be the way people escape expensive and risky car ownership. Buying a vehicle requires expensive monthly commitments, including insurance and a payment if financed. It also immediately depreciates.
However, Cybercab could unlock potential profitability for owning a car by adding it to the Robotaxi network, enabling passive income. Cities could have parking lots repurposed into parks or housing, and emissions would drop as shared electric vehicles would outnumber gas cars (in time).
The first step of Tesla’s massive production efforts for the Cybercab could lead to millions of units annually, turning transportation into a utility like electricity — always available, cheap, and safe.
The Dark Side – Job Losses and Industry Upheaval
With Robotaxi and Cybercab, they present the same negatives as broadening AI — there’s a direct threat to the economy.
Uber, Lyft, and traditional taxis will rely on human drivers. Robotaxi will eliminate that labor cost, potentially displacing millions of jobs globally. In the U.S. alone, ride-hailing accounts for billions of miles of travel each year.
There are also potential ripple effects, as suppliers, mechanics, insurance adjusters, and even public transit could see reduced demand as shared autonomy grows. Past automation waves show job creation lags behind destruction, especially for lower-skilled workers.
Gig workers, like those who are seeking flexible income, face the brunt of this. Displaced drivers may struggle to retrain amid broader AI job shifts, as 2025 estimates bring between 50,000 and 300,000 layoffs tied to artificial intelligence.
It could also bring major changes to the overall competitive landscape. While Waymo and Uber have partnered, Tesla’s scale and lower costs could trigger a price war, squeezing incumbents and accelerating consolidation.
Balancing Act – Who Wins and Who Loses
There are two sides to this story, as there are with every other one.
The winners are consumers, Tesla investors, cities, and the environment. Consumers will see lower costs and safer mobility, while potentially alleviating themselves of awkward small talk in ride-sharing applications, a bigger complaint than one might think.
Elon Musk confirms Tesla Cybercab pricing and consumer release date
Tesla investors will be obvious winners, as the launch of self-driving rideshare programs on the company’s behalf will likely swell the company’s valuation and increase its share price.
Cities will have less traffic and parking needs, giving more room for housing or retail needs. Meanwhile, the environment will benefit from fewer tailpipes and more efficient fleets.
A Call for Thoughtful Transition
The Cybercab’s production debut forces us to weigh innovation against equity.
If Tesla delivers on its timeline and autonomy proves reliable, it could herald an era of abundant, affordable mobility that redefines urban life. But without proactive policies — retraining, safety nets, phased deployment — this revolution risks widening inequality and leaving millions behind.
Elon on the MKBHD bet, stating “Yes” to the question of whether Tesla would sell a Cybercab for $30k or less to a customer before 2027 https://t.co/sfTwSDXLUN
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 17, 2026
The real question isn’t whether the Cybercab will disrupt — it’s already starting — it’s whether society is prepared for the economic earthquake it unleashes.
The Boring Company’s Music City Loop gains unanimous approval
Tesla announces crazy new Full Self-Driving milestone
