News
Tesla poised to bring Model 3 to Hong Kong as GM’s EV push falters in China
Tesla seems to have reached a point in the Model 3 production that it is now confident enough to start promoting the vehicle to other regions. Just a couple of weeks after bringing the car to Australia and New Zealand, Tesla seems poised to showcase the electric sedan in Hong Kong.
Invitations for the Hong Kong event were recently shared online. The Model 3 was not explicitly mentioned by the company in its communication, though the vehicle’s unmistakable outline could be recognized in the invite. The company’s email to the Tesla community in HK reveals that the “Tesla Hong Kong Special Event” will run until August 31, and would include four sessions, at 12 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. The special event would be held at Tesla The Pulse or TML.
The communication from Tesla indicates that attendees would have to RSVP. A product introduction would be conducted, followed by test drive sessions in the Model S and Model X. Following is a screenshot of the email the company sent out to the Tesla community in Hong Kong.
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- An invitation for a special Tesla event in Hong Kong. [Credit: Model 3 Owners Club/Twitter]
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- An invitation for a special Tesla event in Hong Kong. [Credit: Model 3 Owners Club/Twitter]
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- An invitation for a special Tesla event in Hong Kong. [Credit: Model 3 Owners Club/Twitter]
Tesla’s invitation for a special event in Hong Kong. [Credit: Model 3 Owners Club/Twitter]
It is now more than a year into the production of the Model 3, and Elon Musk’s self-imposed “production hell” appears to be nearing its end. Tesla is expected to produce and deliver record numbers of Model 3 this third quarter. Nomura Instinet analyst Romit Shah recently noted that the electric car maker could produce as much as 65,000-70,000 Model 3 this quarter, especially since Tesla appears to have breached the 6,000/week mark this August.
-->While Tesla appears to be preparing to showcase the Model 3 to Hong Kong, rival General Motors is running into problems with its EV push in China. GM is aiming to compete in the hyper-competitive EV sector in the country, and it has selected its plug-in hybrid Buick Velite 6 — a local variant of the Volt — as one of its key vehicles. An all-electric car is also planned for next year.
Unfortunately for GM, its EV initiative has hit a roadblock after it found that the battery packs supplied by A123 Systems, one of its suppliers, are not up to par in terms of performance and safety standards. A123 Systems is a Livonia, Michigan company that was bought out of bankruptcy by Chinese auto parts giant Wanxiang Group Corp. in 2013. The company operates a battery factory in the city of Hangzhou to supply packs for the Chinese market.
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Thomas Barrera, president of LIB-X Consulting, a battery consultancy based in Long Beach, CA, noted that there are risks to some of the inexpensive battery solutions being produced in the Asian country.
“There are concerns with the quality of Chinese-manufactured cells and batteries. Chinese cells are very attractive because they’re inexpensive, but people may not realize that these cells may not have gone through the necessary qualification testing before going to market,” he said.
Tesla is also looking to breach the Chinese electric car market, though it aims to accomplish this using its trademark in-house development strategy. The company is currently looking to start the construction of Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, which would produce its own batteries and be equipped to handle the production of electric cars. When complete, Tesla estimates Gigafactory 3 to build as many as 500,000 electric vehicles per year.
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News
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
The refreshed Tesla Model 3 has won the DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year 2025 award in the Passenger Car category, beating all traditional and electric rivals.
Judges praised the all-electric sedan’s driving dynamics, value-packed EV tech, and the game-changing addition of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) that went live in New Zealand this September.
Why the Model 3 clinched the crown
DRIVEN admitted they were late to the “Highland” party because the updated sedan arrived in New Zealand as a 2024 model, just before the new Model Y stole the headlines. Yet two things forced a re-evaluation this year.
First, experiencing the new Model Y reminded testers how many big upgrades originated in the Model 3, such as the smoother ride, quieter cabin, ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and stalk-less minimalist interior. Second, and far more importantly, Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
FSD changes everything for Kiwi buyers
The publication called the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version “good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money,” but highlighted that FSD elevates it into another league. “Make no mistake, despite the ‘Supervised’ bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it’s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios,” the review stated.
-->At NZ$11,400, FSD is far from cheap, but Tesla also offers FSD (Supervised) on a $159 monthly subscription, making the tech accessible without the full upfront investment. That’s a game-changer, as it allows users to access the company’s most advanced system without forking over a huge amount of money.
News
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out.
It appears that the Tesla AI team burned the midnight oil, allowing them to release FSD V14.2.1 on Thanksgiving. The update has been reported by Tesla owners with AI4 vehicles, as well as Cybertruck owners.
For the Tesla AI team, at least, it appears that work really does not stop.
FSD V14.2.1
Initial posts about FSD V14.2.1 were shared by Tesla owners on social media platform X. As per the Tesla owners, V14.2.1 appears to be a point update that’s designed to polish the features and capacities that have been available in FSD V14. A look at the release notes for FSD V14.2.1, however, shows that an extra line has been added.
“Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”
Whether this could lead to more drivers being alerted to pay attention to the roads more remains to be seen. This would likely become evident as soon as the first batch of videos from Tesla owners who received V14.21 start sharing their first drive impressions of the update. Despite the update being released on Thanksgiving, it would not be surprising if first impressions videos of FSD V14.2.1 are shared today, just the same.
-->Rapid FSD releases
What is rather interesting and impressive is the fact that FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out. This bodes well for Tesla’s FSD users, especially since CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that the V14.2 series will be for “widespread use.”
FSD V14 has so far received numerous positive reviews from Tesla owners, with numerous drivers noting that the system now drives better than most human drivers because it is cautious, confident, and considerate at the same time. The only question now, really, is if the V14.2 series does make it to the company’s wide FSD fleet, which is still populated by numerous HW3 vehicles.
News
Waymo rider data hints that Tesla’s Cybercab strategy might be the smartest, after all
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota Connected Europe designer Karim Dia Toubajie has highlighted a particular trend that became evident in Waymo’s Q3 2025 occupancy stats. As it turned out, 90% of the trips taken by the driverless taxis carried two or fewer passengers.
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota designer observes a trend
Karim Dia Toubajie, Lead Product Designer (Sustainable Mobility) at Toyota Connected Europe, analyzed Waymo’s latest California Public Utilities Commission filings and posted the results on LinkedIn this week.
“90% of robotaxi trips have 2 or less passengers, so why are we using 5-seater vehicles?” Toubajie asked. He continued: “90% of trips have 2 or less people, 75% of trips have 1 or less people.” He accompanied his comments with a graphic showing Waymo’s occupancy rates, which showed 71% of trips having one passenger, 15% of trips having two passengers, 6% of trips having three passengers, 5% of trips having zero passengers, and only 3% of trips having four passengers.
The data excludes operational trips like depot runs or charging, though Toubajie pointed out that most of the time, Waymo’s massive self-driving taxis are really just transporting 1 or 2 people, at times even no passengers at all. “This means that most of the time, the vehicle being used significantly outweighs the needs of the trip,” the Toyota designer wrote in his post.
-->Cybercab suddenly looks perfectly sized
Toubajie gave a nod to Tesla’s approach. “The Tesla Cybercab announced in 2024, is a 2-seater robotaxi with a 50kWh battery but I still believe this is on the larger side of what’s required for most trips,” he wrote.
With Waymo’s own numbers now proving 90% of demand fits two seats or fewer, the wheel-less, lidar-free Cybercab now looks like the smartest play in the room. The Cybercab is designed to be easy to produce, with CEO Elon Musk commenting that its product line would resemble a consumer electronics factory more than an automotive plant. This means that the Cybercab could saturate the roads quickly once it is deployed.
While the Cybercab will likely take the lion’s share of Tesla’s ride-hailing passengers, the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover would be perfect for the remaining 9% of riders who require larger vehicles. This should be easy to implement for Tesla, as the Model Y and Model 3 are both mass-market vehicles.
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
