News
Tesla engineers share Model 3 steering, drivetrain, and suspension secrets
The Tesla Model 3 is practically taking over the electric car market, establishing a strong presence in every region where it is released. A key reason behind this lies in the fact that the Model 3 happens to be a really fine automobile that just happens to be electric. It’s quick on its feet, handles nimbly despite its weight, and it provides a ride that is both sporty and comfortable.
One of the UK’s most established motoring magazines, Autocar, spoke with a number of Tesla engineers to gain some insights on the design and development process of the Model 3. The result was an extensive discussion in how a clean-sheet design and a serious commitment to safety could make all the difference when creating a car that is, for all intents and purposes, intended to reinvent the automobile.
Tires
Immediately emphasized by the Tesla engineers was that the Model 3’s chassis and suspension were designed using a ‘first principles’ clean-sheet approach. This started with the Model 3’s tires, which the engineers fondly described as the “unsung heroes” of the vehicle, being critical to its feel and drivability. The development of the Model 3’s tires began back in 2015, when Tesla started working with manufacturers to create the ideal tires for the electric sedan.
The engineers noted that the tires of a high-performance electric car like the Model 3 are challenged in different ways compared to gas-powered automobiles. This is due to a number of factors, including the vehicle’s weight and its instant torque. Since the bulk of an EV’s mass is situated lower down compared to a vehicle with an internal combustion engine, there is less vertical force buildup on the outside pair of tires to generate grip when cornering.
To address this, Tesla focused on tread stiffness, even developing new compounds to deliver a good combination of cornering grip and low rolling resistance for the Model 3’s tires. Sound-absorbing foam placed inside the tire cavity further increases comfort during driving by suppressing noise. The Model 3’s rear wheels hold some interesting secrets as well. The engineers revealed that each rear wheel of the electric sedan has six degrees of freedom, with five links and one damper, though the links are split to allow superior control over forces that are transmitted through the vehicle’s tire contact patch.
Safety Systems and Steering
The Model 3 has earned a perfect 5-Star Safety Rating from the NHTSA, the Euro-NCAP, and the ANCAP. This comes as no surprise, considering that the vehicle is designed from the ground up to emphasize safety. The Model 3’s front suspension, for example, was specifically designed to provide maximum protection in small-overlap frontal collision crash tests.
Sacrificial links that are designed to snap when the front wheel and suspension get damaged are also integrated into the vehicle, allowing the Model 3’s front wheels to rotate. This moves the front wheels outside the Model 3’s body, while pushing the car, its occupants, and its battery pack from the point of impact. These safety systems extend to the Model 3’s dual-motor AWD variants as well.
Tesla designed the Model 3’s electric power steering system to have a rapid 10:1 ratio. The power steering is equipped with full redundancy with separate power feeds taken directly from the vehicle’s high-voltage battery. The engineers also mentioned two electronic modules and two inverters providing “hot backup” to the system if one fails.
Brakes
The Model 3’s braking system is quite unique, in the way that Tesla opted to equip the electric sedan with more expensive four-pot brake calipers at the front wheels instead of a single-piston sliding mechanism. This gives the Model 3 superior pedal response, and it opened the door for the electric car maker to design its own piston seals that fully retract the brake pads after braking; thus, boosting available driving range and cutting drag. Such a system adds to the Model 3’s efficiency, which has proven superior to other premium electric vehicles like the Audi e-tron and the Jaguar I-PACE.
Elon Musk has mentioned multiple times in the past that brake pads in a Tesla will last for the lifetime of a vehicle. This is no exaggeration, according to the Tesla engineers, who noted that the Model 3’s discs and brake pads are designed to last for around 150,000 miles. This is made possible by the Model 3’s regenerative braking system, which allows drivers to slow down the vehicle without using its physical brakes. As for rust issues, the engineers pointed out that Tesla has developed new anti-corrosion techniques for its electric cars.
Suspension
Perhaps the most interesting tidbit discussed by the Tesla engineers involved the Model 3’s suspension. In true Elon Musk fashion, Tesla actually used concepts from NASA when it was refining the suspension settings of the electric sedan. The electric car maker based the Model 3’s suspension settings on a study by the space agency about how long the human body can be subjected to a certain frequency without feeling uncomfortable. Considering that the vertical frequency of a suspension’s movement affects comfort and drivability, Tesla engineers settled on a vertical frequency that is equivalent to a brisk walk or a slow run to give the Model 3’s chassis a comfortable, sporty feel.
The Model 3’s suspension has impressed a number of industry experts, among them being automotive veteran and teardown expert Sandy Munro of Munro and Associates. During his teardown of the vehicle, Munro noted that the Model 3 has areas of improvement in its body and finish, but everything from the electric car’s suspension, all the way down to its tires, is flawless. In a segment on YouTube’s Autoline TV, Munro mentioned that the person who tuned the Model 3’s suspension could easily be an “F1 Prince.”
During the electric car maker’s second-quarter earnings call, Elon Musk mentioned that the “story for Tesla’s future is fundamentally Model 3 and Model Y.” While the Model S and Model X were made to prove that electric vehicles could be superior alternatives to gas-powered premium sedans and SUVs, the more affordable Model 3 — and in extension, the Model Y — would likely be the cars that could reinvent the automobile and encourage mass-market car buyers to rethink what a vehicle could be like. Based on the Model 3’s success so far, it appears that Tesla is so far succeeding in this endeavor.
H/T to JPR007.
Ferrari’s first electric vehicle, the Luce, is fully sold out for 2027, according to CEO Benedetto Vigna.
Presenting third-quarter results, he stated: “Everything we plan to sell next year is already fully allocated. Client test drives, scheduled for next year, will help further boost demand. We have no critical issues, neither on manufacturing nor on the demand side. Obviously, the car is more complex because it has many new parts and many new technologies.”
First customer deliveries are expected before the end of 2026, with the model already commanding waitlists despite a turbulent debut.
The Luce is a five-seat, four-door liftback saloon—the longest Ferrari ever produced—powered by four electric motors producing approximately 1,035 horsepower.
It features an 800-volt architecture, a 122-kWh battery, a claimed WLTP range of around 329 miles, 0-62 mph acceleration in 2.5 seconds, and a starting price near €550,000 in Europe (roughly $560,800–$615,000 in the U.S. depending on configuration).
Developed in collaboration with Jony Ive and Marc Newson’s LoveFrom studio alongside Ferrari’s own Centro Stile, it represents a deliberate departure from the brand’s traditional mid-engine sports cars toward a more spacious, grand-touring format.
Its exterior has proven deeply polarizing. Unveiled in Rome in May 2026, the design features smooth, sweeping surfaces, a large glass roof, and restrained detailing that critics described as bland, generic, or more reminiscent of an Apple product or mass-market EV than a Ferrari.
Ferrari unveils its Luce EV, and its reception has been a disaster
Online reactions included memes comparing it to a Nissan Leaf or Polestar, while former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo publicly warned of “the destruction of a myth” and suggested the prancing horse logo be removed. Italian politicians and longtime owners joined the chorus of disappointment, and Ferrari’s shares dropped roughly 8% in a single day, erasing billions in market value.
Design experts noted the absence of the brand’s signature tension, aggression, and emotional drama.
Yet the controversy has not translated into weak demand among the ultra-wealthy clientele who actually buy Ferraris. Production volumes remain tightly limited, as reports suggest fewer than 500 units in the current year and a longer-term pace of roughly 600 annually through 2030, preserving exclusivity.
One early chassis sold for $40 million at auction. Vigna has indicated that seeing the car in person, along with upcoming client test drives, is expected to strengthen rather than weaken interest. Ferrari aims for fully electric models to comprise 20 percent of its lineup by 2030, with a second EV now delayed to 2028.
For a brand defined by scarcity and desirability, the Luce’s sell-out status suggests that among those who can afford it, the polarizing design has not proven to be a commercial liability.
Tesla and SpaceX shares fell on Wednesday after Democrats swept both chambers of Congress. The decline stood out as broader market securities recovered and turned positive, while both of Musk’s publicly traded companies lagged.
CEO Elon Musk already joked about the unsuccessful campaigning for the Republicans, but now the new party will make pretty drastic changes to how it handles Tesla and SpaceX, and those companies will adjust their outlook.
Let’s take a deeper look.
Tesla ($TSLA)
Tesla shares traded lower during the regular session after Democrats secured both the House and Senate. The stock was down 2.32 percent at around 1:45 p.m. on the East Coast, trading at around $389.30.
The pressure is tied to more than the raw scale of Musk’s political spending, estimated at $450–474 million this cycle with roughly $224 million directed at Texas. In that state, Tesla now faces a Democratic governor and a Democratic senator after Gina Hinojosa unseated Greg Abbott and James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton.
The Austin Gigafactory, Robotaxi pilot programs in multiple Texas cities, and any related AI compute expansion sit under a new state executive who campaigned against certain corporate subsidies and floated a moratorium on new data-center construction.
Federally, Democratic control of key committees opens the door to deeper examination of Tesla’s autonomous-driving safety record, federal energy-storage and manufacturing incentives, and the national-security implications of any combination with SpaceX.
Investors are also weighing whether the company’s historically close alignment with the prior Republican leadership will invite slower permitting, additional hearings, or tighter rules on Full Self-Driving deployment.
For Tesla, the political shift adds near-term friction around state permitting and federal regulatory approvals for autonomy and energy storage. A potential merger with SpaceX may face slower review even if it proceeds.
Core growth drivers such as vehicle deliveries, energy deployments, and robotaxi rollout remain intact, yet the stock now carries a higher political-risk premium that could weigh on valuation until the company demonstrates workable relationships with the new Texas leadership and congressional majorities.
SpaceX ($SPCX)
SpaceX shares also declined in live trading on November 4 following the Democratic midterm sweep. The stock traded at $134.97, down 4.49 percent. The drop occurred even as broader indexes stabilized, highlighting a company-specific reaction to the election outcome.
Musk’s large contributions, concentrated in Texas races that both companies lost, place SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility and headquarters under a new Democratic governor.
At the federal level, Democratic control of Congress enables greater scrutiny of NASA, the Department of Defense, and other contracts that support a meaningful share of revenue, along with reviews of Starlink national-security uses and any Tesla merger. Analysts have noted that empowered committees can hold hearings and request documents on these relationships.
For SpaceX, the results raise the risk of delayed contract awards, higher compliance costs, and tighter constraints on AI and satellite infrastructure expansion, particularly in Texas where a data-center moratorium has been discussed.
A merger with Tesla could encounter political friction that slows integration of launch, connectivity, and autonomy capabilities.
While Starlink growth and launch cadence continue as primary drivers, the company faces a more contested path for federal funding and state-level operations, requiring management to rebuild ties with the new congressional majorities and Texas leadership to limit the overhang.
Tesla’s new vehicle registrations in Germany rose sharply in October, nearly quadrupling from the same month a year earlier. That’s according to data from the KBA, Germany’s federal motor transport authority.
The KBA reported 2,932 Tesla vehicles registered in October, a 290.9 percent year-over-year- increase. For the first ten months of the year, Tesla’s cumulative registrations reached 47,742 units. This number is up 206.1 percent compared with the January-October period of 2025. These gains occurred against a backdrop of strong overall growth in the BEV sector as a whole.
Germany registered 94,086 new BEVs in October, a 79.5 percent rise that brought the BEV share of the passenger car market to 37 percent of the 254,492 total cars registered that month.
🇩🇪 Tesla’s new registrations in Germany nearly quadrupled in October, according to KBA data.
October: 2,932 units, +290.9% YoY Jan–Oct: 47,742 units, +206.1%
Germany’s overall BEV market grew 79.5% to 94,086 units last month. https://t.co/GMwNqsFAOC
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 4, 2026
Despite the percentage surge, Tesla’s absolute numbers left it with a 1.2 percent share of all new car registrations for October. Chinese competitors did record higher volumes, as BYD registered 5,173 vehicles, a 2 percent share, Leapmotor with 3,661 cars, which equates to 1.4 percent, and Xpeng had a 0.5 percent share.
Year-to-date through October, BYD edged ahead of Tesla with 47,961 registrations versus Tesla’s 47,742.
The October results follow a notably strong September for Tesla in Germany, when it registered 12,552 vehicles, an increase of roughly 269 percent year-over-year and one of its strongest monthly totals on record in the country. That month, the Model Y led all EVs and ranked among the top-selling vehicles of any powertrain.
The figures form part of a broader recovery in Tesla’s European registrations after an extended period of softer demand. While monthly volumes remain subject to typical quarter-end patterns and competitive pressure from both established European brands and rapidly expanding Chinese manufacturers, the year-to-date growth indicates improved traction in Europe’s largest car market.
Tesla’s Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg continues to supply the region, positioning the company to capture a share of the expanding German BEV market as overall EV adoptions looks to be accelerating.
Ferrari Luce sold out for 2027 after design controversy
Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX decline after Democratic Midterm sweep
