News
Tesla Model S, 3, X among ‘Top 10 American-Made’ vehicles in Cars.com list
Tesla’s Model S, Model 3, and Model X broke into Cars.com’s “Top 10 American-Made Index” list, taking three out of ten places in the motoring resource’s rankings. This was quite a debut for Tesla, as this year marks the first year that the Silicon Valley-based automaker made its first appearance in Cars.com’s rankings.
The annual survey ranks new vehicles that “contribute most to the U.S. economy” through U.S.-based factory jobs, manufacturing plants, and parts sourcing. Frequently, American automakers like Ford and Chevrolet dominate the list due to their mass-market pickups. Other popular manufacturers, like Honda, for example, have become listed more frequently in the last few years of the rankings.
Tesla, with its growing popularity and expanding fleet of mass-market vehicles, cracked the Top 10 for the first time. However, it was not just the ultra-popular Model 3 that appeared. The flagship Tesla Model S and Model X made the list as well, tying Honda for the most number of vehicles in the 2020 Top 10 rankings, USA Today reports.
The Tesla Model S, Model 3, and Model X finished third, fourth, and ninth, respectively, in the rankings. The Ford Ranger, a product of Wayne, Michigan, and the Jeep Cherokee, made in Belvidere, Illinois, edged out Tesla’s flagship sedan, which is built in Fremont, California.
According to Cars.com’s senior consumer affairs and vehicle evaluations editor Kelsey Mays, Tesla made the list this year because it was the first time the automaker supplied the appropriate information to qualify its vehicles for the rankings.
Mays added, “Tesla is the only automaker on the list to built 100% of the cars in America that it sells here.”
Cars.com told Teslarati that Tesla’s identification with Americans has grown considerably since last year. According to a survey that the automotive resource conducted, only 10% of American car buyers recognized Tesla as a “California-made” vehicle in 2019. About 18% of respondents now identify Tesla as a California-based company. However, only half of the survey’s total respondents knew that Tesla was American, and only a third of those who participated thought the Model S was built within the United States.
Mays indicated that where a car is produced is becoming a more important factor to consumers, and Cars.com created the list to highlight what vehicles are manufactured within the United States. The impact of COVID-19 on the American economy has contributed to that, and American car buyers are more focused on buying locally to support the automotive sector, which employs 9.9 million people, according to AutoAlliance.org.
“We live in a global economy, but Cars.com’s research found 70% of American shoppers consider a car’s U.S. economic impact a significant or deciding factor in their vehicle purchase,” Mays said. “The COVID-19 pandemic is increasing Americans’ desire to buy local, with 37% reporting they are more likely to buy an American-made vehicle in light of the economic disruption of COVID-19.”
Tesla’s Fremont facility employs 12,000 people, providing a sizable number of manufacturing jobs for Northern Californians. It is currently the only facility in the U.S. where Tesla builds its vehicles, but the company is looking to open a second facility in the Central United States soon.
Tesla had already reopened its Giga Shanghai production facility in mid-February by implementing a series of new health codes that would preserve the safety of its workforce. The same strategies are being used in Fremont, where Tesla is focusing on ramping up the production rates of its Model 3 and Model Y while maintaining steady build rates for the Model S and Model X.
Cars.com’s Top 10 American-Made Index list is below.
Cars.com 2020 American-Made Index top 10
- Ford Ranger (Wayne, Michigan)
- Jeep Cherokee (Belvidere, Illinois)
- Tesla Model S (Fremont, California)
- Tesla Model 3 (Fremont, California)
- Honda Odyssey (Lincoln, Alabama)
- Honda Ridgeline (Lincoln, Alabama)
- Honda Passport (Lincoln, Alabama)
- Chevrolet Corvette (Bowling Green, Kentucky)
- Tesla Model X (Fremont, California)
- Chevrolet Colorado (Wentzville, Missouri)
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Boring Company opens Vegas Loop’s newest station
The Fontainebleau is the latest resort on the Las Vegas Strip to embrace the tunneling startup’s underground transportation system.
Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, The Boring Company, has welcomed its newest Vegas Loop station at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
The Fontainebleau is the latest resort on the Las Vegas Strip to embrace the tunneling startup’s underground transportation system.
Fontainebleau Loop station
The new Vegas Loop station is located on level V-1 of the Fontainebleau’s south valet area, as noted in a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. According to the resort, guests will be able to travel free of charge to the stations serving the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as to Loop stations in Encore and Westgate.
The Fontainebleau station connects to the Riviera Station, which is located in the northwest parking lot of the convention center’s West Hall. From there, passengers will be able to access the greater Vegas Loop.
Vegas Loop expansion
In December, The Boring Company began offering Vegas Loop rides to and from Harry Reid International Airport. Those trips include a limited above-ground segment, following approval from the Nevada Transportation Authority to allow surface street travel tied to Loop operations.
Under the approval, airport rides are limited to no more than four miles of surface street travel, and each trip must include a tunnel segment. The Vegas Loop currently includes more than 10 miles of tunnels. From this number, about four miles of tunnels are operational.
The Boring Company President Steve Davis previously told the Review-Journal that the University Center Loop segment, which is currently under construction, is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026. That extension would allow Loop vehicles to travel beneath Paradise Road between the convention center and the airport, with a planned station located just north of Tropicana Avenue.
News
Tesla leases new 108k-sq ft R&D facility near Fremont Factory
The lease adds to Tesla’s presence near its primary California manufacturing hub as the company continues investing in autonomy and artificial intelligence.
Tesla has expanded its footprint near its Fremont Factory by leasing a 108,000-square-foot R&D facility in the East Bay.
The lease adds to Tesla’s presence near its primary California manufacturing hub as the company continues investing in autonomy and artificial intelligence.
A new Fremont lease
Tesla will occupy the entire building at 45401 Research Ave. in Fremont, as per real estate services firm Colliers. The transaction stands as the second-largest R&D lease of the fourth quarter, trailing only a roughly 115,000-square-foot transaction by Figure AI in San Jose.
As noted in a Silicon Valley Business Journal report, Tesla’s new Fremont lease was completed with landlord Lincoln Property Co., which owns the facility. Colliers stated that Tesla’s Fremont expansion reflects continued demand from established technology companies that are seeking space for engineering, testing, and specialized manufacturing.
Tesla has not disclosed which of its business units will be occupying the building, though Colliers has described the property as suitable for office and R&D functions. Tesla has not issued a comment about its new Fremont lease as of writing.
AI investments
Silicon Valley remains a key region for automakers as vehicles increasingly rely on software, artificial intelligence, and advanced electronics. Erin Keating, senior director of economics and industry insights at Cox Automotive, has stated that Tesla is among the most aggressive auto companies when it comes to software-driven vehicle development.
Other automakers have also expanded their presence in the area. Rivian operates an autonomy and core technology hub in Palo Alto, while GM maintains an AI center of excellence in Mountain View. Toyota is also relocating its software and autonomy unit to a newly upgraded property in Santa Clara.
Despite these expansions, Colliers has noted that Silicon Valley posted nearly 444,000 square feet of net occupancy losses in Q4 2025, pushing overall vacancy to 11.2%.
In Pennsylvania, we got between 10 and 12 inches of snow over the weekend as a nasty Winter storm ripped through a large portion of the country, bringing snow to some areas and nasty ice storms to others.
I have had a Model Y Performance for the week courtesy of Tesla, which got the car to me last Monday. Today was my last full day with it before I take it back to my local showroom, and with all the accumulation on it, I decided to run a cool little experiment: How long would it take for Tesla’s Defrost feature to melt 8 inches of snow?
Tesla’s Defrost feature is one of the best and most underrated that the car has in its arsenal. While every car out there has a defrost setting, Tesla’s can be activated through the Smartphone App and is one of the better-performing systems in my opinion.
It has come in handy a lot through the Fall and Winter, helping clear up my windshield more efficiently while also clearing up more of the front glass than other cars I’ve owned.
The test was simple: don’t touch any of the ice or snow with my ice scraper, and let the car do all the work, no matter how long it took. Of course, it would be quicker to just clear the ice off manually, but I really wanted to see how long it would take.
Tesla Model Y heat pump takes on Model S resistive heating in defrosting showdown
Observations
I started this test at around 10:30 a.m. It was still pretty cloudy and cold out, and I knew the latter portion of the test would get some help from the Sun as it was expected to come out around noon, maybe a little bit after.
I cranked it up and set my iPhone up on a tripod, and activated the Time Lapse feature in the Camera settings.
The rest of the test was sitting and waiting.
It didn’t take long to see some difference. In fact, by the 20-minute mark, there was some notable melting of snow and ice along the sides of the windshield near the A Pillar.
However, this test was not one that was “efficient” in any manner; it took about three hours and 40 minutes to get the snow to a point where I would feel comfortable driving out in public. In no way would I do this normally; I simply wanted to see how it would do with a massive accumulation of snow.
It did well, but in the future, I’ll stick to clearing it off manually and using the Defrost setting for clearing up some ice before the gym in the morning.
Check out the video of the test below:
❄️ How long will it take for the Tesla Model Y Performance to defrost and melt ONE FOOT of snow after a blizzard?
Let’s find out: pic.twitter.com/Zmfeveap1x
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 26, 2026
Elon Musk’s Boring Company opens Vegas Loop’s newest station
Tesla leases new 108k-sq ft R&D facility near Fremont Factory
