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Tesla Model 3 Mania: 1 year and 400k reservations later
March 31, 2016, the day otherwise known as Model 3 Mania drew thousands of eager Tesla enthusiasts worldwide who lined up during predawn hours at their local Tesla showroom, in hopes to become one of the very first to reserve Tesla’s highly anticipated mass market sedan. Many went as far as to camp out overnight in front of the storefront to get an early jump on placing their $1,000 reservation deposit when stores opened the following day.
The day of Model 3 Mania also saw Elon Musk making a surprise visit to the Century City Tesla Store and giving high fives to the hundreds of eager Model 3 reservation holders that were waiting in line. What followed that evening was Tesla’s official Model 3 reveal event. Invited guests were given the opportunity to test ride in the Model 3, but also witness arguably the most significant product launch in automotive history.
High-five from Elon Musk himself at Century City for the #Model3. Now THAT's a CEO!! pic.twitter.com/cwE38kmxp8
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 31, 2016
Now, one year later and with a presumed reservation count well north of 400,000 vehicles, Model 3 is set to take stage again at Tesla’s final ‘Part 3’ launch event.
We’ve outlined some of the milestones Tesla has been able to achieve for Model 3 in the short year following the vehicle’s debut.
Release Candidate video – The most recent Model 3 teaser came in the form of a video that Elon shared via Twitter. No new details were revealed other than the fact that this was the closest near production-ready Model 3 we have seen thus far. In true Tesla form, the release candidate looks similar to the vehicle the company showcased on March 31st of last year. There doesn’t seem to be any major updates on the aesthetics of the car other than a slightly revised nose.
Right Hand Drive Model 3 – Elon confirmed over Twitter that right-hand drive Model 3 won’t be arriving until the summer 2018.
Dual motor all-wheel drive option arriving later – Initial production run will be for the rear-wheel drive Model 3 with all-wheel drive models following 6 to 9 months after. It was communicated that this is to keep production as simple as possible from the outset.
Battery Size estimates – Model 3 battery will max out at 75kWh and have likely a 300+ mile range based on the current physical limitations of the chassis size.
Capital raise in preparation for Model 3 – Tesla kicked off another capital raise to rake in an additional $1.3 billion ahead of the start of Model 3 production. This was in addition to a $2 billion stock sale several months back.
Warehouse Expansion – Tesla signed a lease for 1.3 million square feet of warehouse space northeast of the Fremont factory. We expect that this warehouse will be used to store battery pack inventory moving from Gigafactory 1 in Spark, Nevada to the Fremont factory.
Gigafactory starts Model 3 battery cell production – Gigafactory 1 will begin production of Model 3’s high performance ‘2170 cell’ in Q2. Tesla is currently mass producing 2170 lithium ion cells for the company’s commercial and home battery storage systems.
Heads Up Display – Model 3’s gauge-less cluster has led many to believe that Tesla had plans for a HUD. However, that was quickly put to rest after Elon confirmed over Twitter that Model 3 will not have heads up display.
Supercharging congestion a concern in advance of Model 3 – Model 3 will add a significant number of Tesla vehicles to roads around the world, leaving many to wonder about the type of impact this will have on the Supercharger network. Mainly, how long do I need to wait before I can charge?
Tesla addressed these fears by implementing a new annual cap on Supercharging for all owners that purchased a Model S or Model X this year.
Model 3 Ludicrous Mode – For the performance junky out there, Ludicrous mode will indeed be available for Model 3, though Elon did note that it’s not going to be as fast as Model S.
All eyes are on the start of production for Model 3 that’s scheduled to take place in July. Employees will have the ultimate first shot at taking delivery of a new Model 3.
Happy 1 yr old birthday Model 3 Mania.
Tesla’s dreams of operating a fully autonomous ride-hailing platform just took a massive step toward reality, as two separate events have indicated the company is perhaps closer than ever to achieving self-driving as a product.
On Thursday, Tesla was granted authorization by the State of Texas to operate driverless vehicles in a commercial manner. On May 28, Senate Bill 2807, passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, took effect after being passed back on September 1, 2025.
The bill establishes a statewide regulatory framework requiring authorization from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles for companies to operate automated vehicles commercially on Texas roads.
This covers driverless, or SAE Level 4+, operations for passenger transport, meaning Robotaxi, or freight.
Tesla and other companies can self-certify their vehicles and tech as long as they:
- Operate in compliance with Texas traffic laws
- Maintain proper registration, title, and insurance
- Use compliant automated driving systems
- Record onboard activity and handle system failures and glitches safely.
The new authorization, which was first reported by James Stephenson on X, allows companies to utilize their own processes to determine if their vehicles are ready to operate without drivers.
🚨BREAKING:
Tesla has been authorized by the State of Texas to operate driverless vehicles commercially under the new law that took effect today, May 28th, 2026. Tesla has officially self-certified the software running on its robotaxis as Level 4. $TSLA pic.twitter.com/KSJdsvlaW5— James Stephenson (@ICannot_Enough) May 28, 2026
It is a rule that expedites the entire approval process, keeping agencies out of a usually long, lengthy, and frustrating task that is essential to technological advancements. It essentially means Tesla can launch commercial Robotaxi operations at this point.
On the very same day, Tesla continued the momentum as CEO Elon Musk shared a video of Cybercab units autonomously driving off the property at Gigafactory Texas. This is a major step in the story of the Cybercab.
Mass production of the Cybercab started at Giga Texas in April, and it is already heading out of the factory on its own.
Cybercab driving itself out of the GigaTexas factory pic.twitter.com/EwAMVVDjYy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 28, 2026
These two major events mark a drastic step forward in Tesla’s progress toward Cybercab and the permissions it needs to operate a self-driving ride-hailing service. Tesla is now able to operate autonomously under Texas law by self-certifying, and with the potentially imminent rollout of Cybercab, Tesla’s autonomous dreams are starting to take serious shape.
Elon Musk
The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building
Tesla and SpaceX may be closer to merging than Wall Street or either company is admitting.
Elon Musk has reportedly discussed merging Tesla and SpaceX with people close to him, according to CNBC, which cited sources familiar with the conversation. Tesla employees have long expected such a transaction and the topic is openly discussed internally, according to internal sources. With SpaceX is days away from kicking off its Wall Street roadshow for what could be the largest IPO in market history, this would be the first time the company will have public market currency to execute a stock-for-stock deal with Tesla.
The financial logic for a merger would make sense. A combined SpaceX and Tesla would create a conglomerate spanning rockets, satellites, electric vehicles, AI infrastructure, and energy storage valued at roughly $3.35 trillion to $3.6 trillion based on SpaceX’s IPO target range and Tesla’s current market capitalization. The two companies are already more intertwined than most people realize. SpaceX bought $697 million worth of Tesla Megapack systems for xAI data centers and $131 million worth of Cybertrucks. Tesla invested $2 billion in xAI, which subsequently merged with SpaceX. Past transactions also include Tesla selling solar equipment and parts to SpaceX, and SpaceX helping with Cybertruck materials.
Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI
Musk himself signaled where this was heading in November 2025 when he posted on X, “My companies are, surprisingly in some ways, trending towards convergence.” Tesla and SpaceX announced a joint semiconductor fabrication facility in Austin called Terafab on the Gigafactory Texas campus, covering two advanced chip factories, with one serving Tesla’s AI needs for vehicles and Optimus robots, the other targeting space-based data centers under SpaceX’s infrastructure vision.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives places the probability of a merger at 80% to 90% with a target completion in the first half of 2027. The mechanics of a deal became possible the moment SpaceX filed its S-1. Legal experts said a merger likely would not spark antitrust issues but would raise concerns among shareholders in each company, with questions around which company would be the parent, how a stock swap would take place, and who determines the appropriate price. Musk holds about 20% of Tesla’s equity but controls 85.1% of SpaceX’s voting power through a super-voting share class, meaning he would largely be negotiating the terms with himself.
Not everyone is convinced the timing is imminent. Traders on Kalshi place only 33% odds that a merger will happen before May 2027. The more immediate concern for Tesla shareholders is whether the SpaceX IPO pulls capital and Musk’s attention away from Tesla before any merger consolidates the upside for both.
What is clear is that the structural groundwork is already being laid. The Terafab announcement, the xAI merger, the shared supply chain, the cross-company balance sheet transactions, and now the IPO all point in the same direction. Whether the merger follows in 2027 or later, the two companies are already operating more like divisions of a single entity than independent competitors.
Elon Musk
SpaceX to become America’s Military data backbone for missiles, drones, and warfighters
The Space Force just handed SpaceX $2.29 billion to build the military’s space internet backbone.
The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $2.29 billion contract on May 26, 2026 to build the backbone of its Space Data Network, a satellite-based communications system designed to keep American military forces connected anywhere on Earth in real time. The contract is firm-fixed-price and requires SpaceX to deliver a fully operational prototype by the end of 2027.
In plain terms, the SDN Backbone is the plumbing behind the military’s space-based internet. It functions as a low Earth orbit satellite constellation providing robust, high-capacity, and low-latency data transport for the Joint Force, connecting sensors and weapons systems continuously, globally, and securely. Think of it as a private, hardened version of Starlink built specifically for battlefield communications, one that soldiers, ships, and aircraft can rely on even in contested environments where ground-based networks have been disrupted.
SpaceX is quietly becoming the U.S. Military’s only reliable rocket
The Space Force was direct about why SpaceX was selected. “The SDN Backbone leverages the best of commercial innovation and delivers a strong foundation for the SDN mission set — a huge benefit and enabler for our warfighters,” said USSF Col. Ryan Frazier.
“We aren’t trading speed for scale; we are demanding both. By using rapid prototyping and Other Transaction Authorities, we are ensuring our advanced solutions are integrated and delivered to the warfighter as fast as possible,” added USSF Lt. Col. Fry, SDN Backbone system program manager.
The SDN Backbone will work alongside the Space Development Agency’s Transport Layer, with the two systems forming a unified open architecture to provide critical data transport for current and future Department of War missions.
As Teslarati has reported, this is not SpaceX’s first Space Force contract of 2026. In April, the Space Force awarded SpaceX $178.5 million to launch missile tracking satellites, and SpaceX is already embedded in the Golden Dome missile defense software group. The $2.29 billion SDN Backbone award puts SpaceX at the center of how the American military communicates in space, a position with direct implications for its reported $1.75 trillion IPO valuation as the company heads toward a public offering as early as June 2026.
Tesla’s Robotaxi dreams just took a massive step toward reality
The Tesla and SpaceX merger everyone is talking about is quietly building
