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Tesla Model 3 three-year anniversary: How one sedan changed cars forever

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The Tesla Model 3 was delivered for the first time three years ago today on July 28, 2017. The company’s first mass-market sedan was a product of years of hard work by Tesla engineers who worked to make electric vehicles fun and affordable for most families.

In the three short years that the Model 3 has been arriving in consumer garages, the car has changed the automotive industry as a whole, eliminating the belief that electric vehicles would always be inferior compared to their gas-powered counterparts.

The Model 3 was unveiled by Tesla on March 31, 2016. It was pegged as the car that would make Tesla a “mass-market” automaker and would be affordable and provide a sufficient range rating for owners everywhere.

The car was mentioned in Elon Musk’s 2006 document entitled “The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan (just between you and me).” Musk stated it was the third step of the company’s big picture blueprint to bring the world away from poisonous vehicle emissions that were destroying the Earth.

But since the first 30 Model 3 production units were given to owners on July 28, 2017, the mass-market sedan has changed the world’s automotive market in many ways.

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The Model 3 proved that electric cars could be affordable for everyone

Tesla’s first two vehicles in the Model S and Model X were fantastic luxury automobiles that are still recognized as the company’s flagship vehicles. While they introduced a new era of transportation by utilizing clean electricity as a power source, the two cars were expensive and out of many people’s typical price points. Both vehicles have decreased in price over the years, but the Model 3’s introduction proved that electric cars could provide sufficient range and performance without breaking the bank.

(Credit: Edmunds/YouTube)

The Model 3 made Tesla a household name and showed the company was here to stay

The Model 3 has consistently been the company’s top-selling vehicle throughout its three-year tenure in Tesla’s EV fleet. Its most successful quarter came in Q4 2019 when Tesla successfully delivered 92,620 units of the mass-market sedan. But more significant than the vehicle itself, it proved that Tesla could be a competitive automaker and stand toe-to-toe with some of the legacy car companies that the U.S. has relied on for the past 100 years.

(Photo: Andres GE)

The Model 3 showed it could hang with the highest performance cars in the world

The Model 3 Performance, the vehicle’s most superior variant, has outclassed many of the fastest cars in the world. From the Porsche 911 GT3 and the Lamborghini Huracan to the BMW M3, the Model 3 has shown it is one of the best cars to have in the quarter-mile drag.

Elon Musk once said on 60 Minutes that Tesla’s objective was to prove that electric cars did not have to be slow or boring like a golf cart. The Model S and Model X certainly proved that, but the Model 3 did too, all while being affordable for many people.

In three years, the Model 3 has become the most popular EV in many countries. It has developed Tesla into an automotive powerhouse that is now recognized as the most valuable car company in the world. Not only is the car affordable, but it has impressive performance and changed the way of how many car buyers look at electric transportation.

Happy three year anniversary to the Tesla Model 3!

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025

According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025.

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Credit: ANCAP

The Tesla Model Y recorded the highest overall safety score of any vehicle tested by ANCAP in 2025. The Tesla Model 3 also delivered strong results, reinforcing the automaker’s safety leadership in Australia and New Zealand.

According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025. ANCAP’s 2025 tests evaluated vehicles across four key pillars: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist technologies.

The Model Y posted consistently strong results in all four categories, distinguishing itself through a system-based safety approach that combines structural crash protection with advanced driver-assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring. 

This marked the second time the Model Y has topped ANCAP’s annual safety rankings. The Model Y’s previous version was also ANCAP’s top performer in 2022.

The Tesla Model 3 also delivered a strong performance in ANCAP’s 2025 tests, contributing to Tesla’s broader safety presence across segments. Similar to the Model Y, the Model 3 also earned impressive scores across the ANCAP’s four pillars. This made the vehicle the top performer in the Medium Car category.  

ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg stated that the results highlight a growing industry shift toward integrated safety design, with improvements in technologies such as autonomous emergency braking and lane support translating into meaningful real-world protection.

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“ANCAP’s testing continues to reinforce a clear message: the safest vehicles are those designed with safety as a system, not a checklist. The top performers this year delivered consistent results across physical crash protection, crash avoidance and vulnerable road user safety, rather than relying on strength in a single area.

“We are also seeing increasing alignment between ANCAP’s test requirements and the safety technologies that genuinely matter on Australian and New Zealand roads. Improvements in autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring systems are translating into more robust protection,” Hoorweg said.

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Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade

Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery.

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Credit: Tesla Charging/X

Tesla Sweden has successfully launched a new Supercharger station despite an ongoing blockade by Swedish unions, using on-site Megapack batteries instead of traditional grid connections. The workaround has allowed the Supercharger to operate without direct access to Sweden’s electricity network, which has been effectively frozen by labor action.

Tesla has experienced notable challenges connecting its new charging stations to Sweden’s power grid due to industrial action led by Seko, a major Swedish trade union, which has blocked all new electrical connections for new Superchargers. On paper, this made the opening of new Supercharger sites almost impossible.

Despite the blockade, Tesla has continued to bring stations online. In Malmö and Södertälje, new Supercharger locations opened after grid operators E.ON and Telge Nät activated the sites. The operators later stated that the connections had been made in error. 

More recently, however, Tesla adopted a different strategy altogether. Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery, as noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report. 

Because the Supercharger station does not rely on a permanent grid connection, Tesla was able to bypass the blocked application process, as noted by Swedish car journalist and YouTuber Peter Esse. He noted that the Arlandastad Supercharger is likely dependent on nearby companies to recharge the batteries, likely through private arrangements.

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Eight new charging stalls have been launched in the Arlandastad site so far, which is a fraction of the originally planned 40 chargers for the location. Still, the fact that Tesla Sweden was able to work around the unions’ efforts once more is impressive, especially since Superchargers are used even by non-Tesla EVs.

Esse noted that Tesla’s Megapack workaround is not as easily replicated in other locations. Arlandastad is unique because neighboring operators already have access to grid power, making it possible for Tesla to source electricity indirectly. Still, Esse noted that the unions’ blockades have not affected sales as much.

“Many want Tesla to lose sales due to the union blockades. But you have to remember that sales are falling from 2024, when Tesla sold a record number of cars in Sweden. That year, the unions also had blockades against Tesla. So for Tesla as a charging operator, it is devastating. But for Tesla as a car company, it does not matter in terms of sales volumes. People charge their cars where there is an opportunity, usually at home,” Esse noted. 

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Elon Musk’s X goes down as users report major outage Friday morning

Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.

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Credit: Linda Yaccarino/X

Elon Musk’s X experienced an outage Friday morning, leaving large numbers of users unable to access the social media platform.

Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.

Downdetector reports

Users attempting to open X were met with messages such as “Something went wrong. Try reloading,” often followed by an endless spinning icon that prevented access, according to a report from Variety. Downdetector data showed that reports of problems surged rapidly throughout the morning.

As of 10:52 a.m. ET, more than 100,000 users had reported issues with X. The data indicated that 56% of complaints were tied to the mobile app, while 33% were related to the website and roughly 10% cited server connection problems. The disruption appeared to begin around 10:10 a.m. ET, briefly eased around 10:35 a.m., and then returned minutes later.

Credit: Downdetector

Previous disruptions

Friday’s outage was not an isolated incident. X has experienced multiple high-profile service interruptions over the past two years. In November, tens of thousands of users reported widespread errors, including “Internal server error / Error code 500” messages. Cloudflare-related error messages were also reported.

In March 2025, the platform endured several brief outages spanning roughly 45 minutes, with more than 21,000 reports in the U.S. and 10,800 in the U.K., according to Downdetector. Earlier disruptions included an outage in August 2024 and impairments to key platform features in July 2023.

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