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Tesla Model 3 midnight grey spotted near Tesla HQ

Source: Brian Armer via Twitter

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A new color option for Model 3 fans has been spotted: midnight grey.

Brian Armer spotted the beautiful new Tesla vehicle on his way to work on Page Mill Road heading west near Tesla’s Palo Alto headquarters.

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Armer, who is a Model 3 fan with a reservation for the vehicle, got an up close and personal look at the Tesla vehicle that could revolutionize the EV market.

“I was extremely excited just to see the car at all,” Armer said in a Twitter direct message. “Being near HQ, I thought I’d see one by now.”

Armer, who is also an avid Model S fan, said that he was a bit surprised by the size of the vehicle compared to the Model S.

“Initial thought was it’s smaller than I expected. BMW 3 series-ish, which I guess shouldn’t be a surprise, but I’m used to seeing so many Model S out here I’ve gotten used to full sedan size,” said Armer. It’s “probably because I was secretly hoping Model 3 was just a cheaper model S.”

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The new color sparked discussion on social media as well, as Tesla fans everywhere began discussing how this would influence their potential choice for which Model 3 they would choose as their own.

“Yup… This makes the decision harder,” wrote Aboveliquidice on a Tesla Subreddit. “Thanks!…!”

Tesla unveiled the Model 3’s red, silver and matte black options to fans last March. This new midnight grey color choice has excited a lot of fans who are delighted by the fresh, modern feel of the color scheme.

In addition to the colors, black, white and blue models have been spotted and are considered to be a part of the official color offering.

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Model 3 midnight grey

(Source: SpiedBilde)

Model 3 midnight grey

Model 3 midnight grey

(Source: Teslarati)

We also reported on a “Signature Red” Model 3 sighting in May, which features a darker red than the standard model.

The Model 3 also has a fan-made design studio so anxious reservation holders can see what their new Tesla will look like once production ramps up.

While CEO Elon Musk has said that an official design studio will be up and running as production continues through the end of July, for now fans can visit Model3Config for an opportunity to customize a Model 3’s color. The site also provides options for changing the style of the interior.

Once the official Tesla design studio is up and running, Musk said the studio will only allow people to pick a color and decide between 18- or 19-inch wheels.

The various colors, albeit limited at first, are “critical to achieving a rapid production ramp,” according to Musk. The number of configurable options will likely allow Musk and Tesla to achieve their volume goals before they embrace the fun of intricate color schemes and vehicle design.

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However, with red, sliver, black, blue, white and now midnight grey options, Tesla customers will have a fairly diverse palette to choose from when it comes time to personalize their Model 3 design.  

I'm an East Coast reporter for Teslarati. Contact me at matt@teslarati.com

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Tesla launches new Model 3 financing deal with awesome savings

Tesla is now offering a 0.99% APR financing option for all new Model 3 orders in the United States, and it applies to all loan terms of up to 72 months.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched a new Model 3 financing deal in the United States that brings awesome savings. The deal looks to move more of the company’s mass-market sedan as it is the second-most popular vehicle Tesla offers, behind its sibling, the Model Y.

Tesla is now offering a 0.99% APR financing option for all new Model 3 orders in the United States, and it applies to all loan terms of up to 72 months.

It includes three Model 3 configurations, including the Model 3 Performance. The rate applies to:

  • Model 3 Premium Rear-Wheel-Drive
  • Model 3 Premium All-Wheel-Drive
  • Model 3 Performance

The previous APR offer was 2.99%.

Tesla routinely utilizes low-interest offers to help move vehicles, especially as the rates can help get people to payments that are more comfortable with their monthly budgets. Along with other savings, like those on maintenance and gas, this is another way Tesla pushes savings to customers.

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The company had offered a similar program in China on the Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, but it had ended on January 31.

The Model 3 was the second-best-selling electric vehicle in the United States in 2025, trailing only the Model Y. According to automotive data provided by Cox, Tesla sold 192,440 units last year of the all-electric sedan. The Model Y sold 357,528 units.

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Tesla hasn’t adopted Apple CarPlay yet for this shocking reason

Many Apple and iPhone users have wanted the addition, especially to utilize third-party Navigation apps like Waze, which is a popular alternative. Getting apps outside of Tesla’s Navigation to work with its Full Self-Driving suite seems to be a potential issue the company will have to work through as well.

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Credit: Michał Gapiński/YouTube

Perhaps one of the most requested features for Tesla vehicles by owners is the addition of Apple CarPlay. It sounds like the company wants to bring the popular UI to its cars, but there are a few bottlenecks preventing it from doing so.

The biggest reason why CarPlay has not made its way to Teslas yet might shock you.

According to Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, Tesla is still working on bringing CarPlay to its vehicles. There are two primary reasons why Tesla has not done it quite yet: App compatibility issues and, most importantly, there are incredibly low adoption rates of iOS 26.

Tesla’s Apple CarPlay ambitions are not dead, they’re still in the works

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iOS 26 is Apple’s most recent software version, which was released back in September 2025. It introduced a major redesign to the overall operating system, especially its aesthetic, with the rollout of “Liquid Glass.”

However, despite the many changes and updates, Apple users have not been too keen on the iOS 26 update, and the low adoption rates have been a major sticking point for Tesla as it looks to develop a potential alternative for its in-house UI.

It was first rumored that Tesla was planning to bring CarPlay out in its cars late last year. Many Apple and iPhone users have wanted the addition, especially to utilize third-party Navigation apps like Waze, which is a popular alternative. Getting apps outside of Tesla’s Navigation to work with its Full Self-Driving suite seems to be a potential issue the company will have to work through as well.

According to the report, Tesla asked Apple to make some changes to improve compatibility between its software and Apple Maps:

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“Tesla asked Apple to make engineering changes to Maps to improve compatibility. The iPhone maker agreed and implemented the adjustments in a bug fix update to iOS 26 and the latest version of CarPlay.”

Gurman also said that there were some issues with turn-by-turn guidance from Tesla’s maps app, and it did not properly sync up with Apple Maps during FSD operation. This is something that needs to be resolved before it is rolled out.

There is no listed launch date, nor has there been any coding revealed that would indicate Apple CarPlay is close to being launched within Tesla vehicles.

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Starlink restrictions are hitting Russian battlefield comms: report

The restrictions have reportedly disrupted Moscow’s drone coordination and frontline communications.

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A truckload of Starlink dishes has arrived in Ukraine. (Credit: Mykhailo Fedorov/Twitter)

SpaceX’s decision to disable unauthorized Starlink terminals in Ukraine is now being felt on the battlefield, with Ukrainian commanders reporting that Russian troops have struggled to maintain assault operations without access to the satellite network. 

The restrictions have reportedly disrupted Moscow’s drone coordination and frontline communications.

Lt. Denis Yaroslavsky, who commands a special reconnaissance unit, stated that Russian assault activity noticeably declined for several days after the shutdown. “For three to four days after the shutdown, they really reduced the assault operations,” Yaroslavsky said.

Russian units had allegedly obtained Starlink terminals through black market channels and mounted them on drones and weapons systems, despite service terms prohibiting offensive military use. Once those terminals were blocked, commanders on the Ukrainian side reported improved battlefield ratios, as noted in a New York Post report.

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A Ukrainian unit commander stated that casualty imbalances widened after the cutoff. “On any given day, depending on your scale of analysis, my sector was already achieving 20:1 (casuality rate) before the shutdown, and we are an elite unit. Regular units have no problem going 5:1 or 8:1. With Starlink down, 13:1 (casualty rate) for a regular unit is easy,” the unit commander said.

The restrictions come as Russia faces heavy challenges across multiple fronts. A late January report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimated that more than 1.2 million Russian troops have been killed, wounded, or gone missing since February 2022.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War also noted that activity from Russia’s Rubikon drone unit declined after Feb. 1, suggesting communications constraints from Starlink’s restrictions may be limiting operations. “I’m sure the Russians have (alternative options), but it takes time to maximize their implementation and this (would take) at least four to six months,” Yaroslavsky noted. 

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