News
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.
News
Tesla finally brings a Robotaxi update that Android users will love
The breakdown of the software version shows that Tesla is actively developing an Android-compatible version of the Robotaxi app, and the company is developing Live Activities for Android.
Tesla is finally bringing an update of its Robotaxi platform that Android users will love — mostly because it seems like they will finally be able to use the ride-hailing platform that the company has had active since last June.
Based on a decompile of software version 26.2.0 of the Robotaxi app, Tesla looks to be ready to roll out access to Android users.
According to the breakdown, performed by Tesla App Updates, the company is preparing to roll out an Android version of the app as it is developing several features for that operating system.
🚨 It looks like Tesla is preparing to launch the Robotaxi app for Android users at last!
A decompile of v26.2.0 of the Robotaxi app shows some progress on the Android side for Robotaxi 🤖 🚗 https://t.co/mThmoYuVLy
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 13, 2026
The breakdown of the software version shows that Tesla is actively developing an Android-compatible version of the Robotaxi app, and the company is developing Live Activities for Android:
“Strings like notification_channel_robotaxid_trip_name and android_native_alicorn_eta_text show exactly how Tesla plans to replicate the iOS Live Activities experience. Instead of standard push alerts, Android users are getting a persistent, dynamically updating notification channel.”
This is a big step forward for several reasons. From a face-value perspective, Tesla is finally ready to offer Robotaxi to Android users.
The company has routinely prioritized Apple releases because there is a higher concentration of iPhone users in its ownership base. Additionally, the development process for Apple is simply less laborious.
Tesla is working to increase Android capabilities in its vehicles
Secondly, the Robotaxi rollout has been a typical example of “slowly then all at once.”
Tesla initially released Robotaxi access to a handful of media members and influencers. Eventually, it was expanded to more users, so that anyone using an iOS device could download the app and hail a semi-autonomous ride in Austin or the Bay Area.
Opening up the user base to Android users may show that Tesla is preparing to allow even more users to utilize its Robotaxi platform, and although it seems to be a few months away from only offering fully autonomous rides to anyone with app access, the expansion of the user base to an entirely different user base definitely seems like its a step in the right direction.
News
Lucid unveils Lunar Robotaxi in bid to challenge Tesla’s Cybercab in the autonomous ride hailing race
Lucid’s Lunar robotaxi is gunning for Tesla’s Cybercab in the autonomous ride hailing race
Lucid Group pulled back the curtain on its purpose-built autonomous robotaxi platform dubbed the Lunar Concept. Announced at its New York investor day event, Lunar is arguably the company’s most ambitious concept yet, and a direct line of sight toward the autonomous ride haling market that Tesla looks to control.

At Lucid Investor Day 2026, the company introduced Lunar, a purpose-built robotaxi concept based on the Midsize platform.
A comparison to Tesla’s Cybercab is unavoidable. The concept of a Tesla robotaxi was first introduced by Elon Musk back in April 2019 during an event dubbed “Autonomy Day,” where he envisioned a network of self-driving Tesla vehicles transporting passengers while not in use by their owners. That vision took another major step in October 2024 when, Musk unveiled the Cybercab at the Tesla “We, Robot” event held at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California, where 20 concept Cybercabs autonomously drove around the studio lot giving rides to attendees.
Fast forward to today, and Tesla’s ambitions are finally materializing, but not without friction. As we recently reported, the Cybercab is being spotted with increasing frequency on public roads and across the grounds of Gigafactory Texas, suggesting that the company’s road testing and validation program is ramping meaningfully ahead of mass production. Tesla already operates a small scale robotaxi service in Austin using supervised Model Ys, but the Cybercab is designed from the ground up for high-volume, low-cost production, with Musk stating an eventual goal of producing one vehicle every 10 seconds.

At Lucid Investor Day 2026, the company introduced Lunar, a purpose-built robotaxi concept based on the Midsize platform.
Into this landscape steps Lucid’s Lunar. Built on the company’s all-new Midsize EV platform, which will also underpin consumer SUVs starting below $50,000. The Lunar mirrors the Cybercab’s core philosophy of having two seats, no driver controls, and a focus on fleet economics. The platform introduces Lucid’s redesigned Atlas electric drive unit, engineered to be smaller, lighter, and cheaper to manufacture at scale.
Unlike Tesla’s strategy of building its own ride hailing network from scratch, Lucid is partnering with Uber. The companies are said to be in advanced discussions to deploy Midsize platform vehicles at large scale, with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi publicly backing Lucid’s engineering credentials and autonomous-ready architecture.
In the investor day event, Lucid also outlined a recurring software revenue model, with an in-vehicle AI assistant and monthly autonomous driving subscriptions priced between $69 and $199. This can be seen as a nod to the software revenue stream that Tesla has long championed with its Full Self-Driving subscription.
Tesla’s Cybercab is targeting a price point below $30k and with operating costs as low as 20 cents per mile. But with regulatory hurdles still ahead, the window for competition is open. Lucid’s Lunar may not have a launch date yet, but it arrives at a pivotal moment, and when the robotaxi race is no longer viewed as hypothetical. Rather, every serious EV player needs to come to bat on the same plate that Tesla has had countless practice swings on over the last seven years.
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.



