News
Tesla Model X frozen lake mystery gets solved, and the truth is stranger than fiction
Back in 2019, a picture of a charred Tesla Model X in the middle of a frozen lake in Vermont resulted in a lot of electric vehicle enthusiasts scratching their heads in confusion. Very few details were made public, though the police noted back then that the owner of the vehicle drove the Model X to the lake, where it supposedly struck a rock and caught fire.
The incident was pretty strange, partly because the car fully burned up without melting the ice and falling into the frozen lake. Little information was also available about the owner of the vehicle, though it was reported that no one was injured in the incident. Recently, the mysteries surrounding this peculiar Model X fire were explained, and by the Department of Justice, no less. Needless to say, the truth in this particular Model X fire was stranger than fiction.
According to the US Attorney’s Office in Vermont, the Model X was actually part of a pretty expansive scam executed by 32-year-old Michael A. Gonzalez of Colchester, Vermont. The scam involved Gonzalez acquiring Teslas by exploiting a procedure adopted by the company that allowed him to take deliveries of vehicles before his bank transfer was fully cleared.
As per a report from Seven Days, Gonzalez’s breakthrough came in September 2018, when he reserved a Tesla Model 3 that cost $58,200. To acquire the vehicle, the scammer paid Tesla a $2,500 downpayment and set up an automated payment scheme to draft the vehicle’s monthly payments. Tesla delivered the Model 3, and days later, Gonzalez’s fund transfers were rejected by the bank. The vehicle was taken around December 2018 to a used car dealership, where Gonzalez sold it for $42,500.
Fresh from his successful scam, Gonzalez decided to go for a bigger prize next: a Tesla Model X. Using the same playbook, he was able to acquire a Model X worth $144,200. Tesla delivered the vehicle, and weeks later, Gonzalez was able to sell the all-electric SUV through Craigslist for $90,000.
According to investigators, the Model X that ended up on the frozen lake was actually the third Tesla in Gonzalez’s scheme. It was a vehicle worth $152,663, the scammer’s most expensive yet. But while he was able to pick up the car in Tampa, Tesla did not provide Gonzalez with the ownership paperwork needed to register or resell the car. In response to this, Gonzalez reportedly took the car to a frozen section of Shelburne Bay, where it was later found in flames.
The gutsy Gonzalez actually filed an insurance claim for the Model X’s loss, but he never showed up for a required examination under oath where he was required to bring the electric vehicle’s certificate of ownership. Ultimately, the claim was denied.
Not to be discouraged, Gonzalez went for a fourth Tesla in March 2019, another Model X for $136,710. This time around, he used another person’s driver’s license and another address. Tesla delivered the vehicle, and it was registered with the Vermont DMV. Gonzalez then transferred the Model X’s title under his own name, claiming that he had acquired it through an “even trade” with an $8,200 2013 Kia Optima. The Model X was sold on eBay for $99,400.
Unfortunately for Gonzalez, his streak ended when he initiated his scam for the fifth time in July 2019. Tesla eventually hired a repossession company, and the vehicle was tracked to a Burlington garage. The scammer fled, though he was later arrested in February 2020 on a separate gun charge. Upon his release, he had the Tesla towed from a storage facility for what he believed was another sale. The Seabrook Police Department was not having it by this time, and they proceeded to impound the Model X.
As per the US Department of Justice, Gonzalez is currently being charged with five counts of possessing and selling stolen motor vehicles. He is ordered detained by United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle pending a detention hearing next week, and he is at risk of facing ten years in prison for each count of possessing and selling stolen cars.
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Tesla Model Y L attracts crowds across China stores
The Tesla Model Y L is shaping up to be a big hit in China.
Tesla has officially rolled out the Model Y L, a six-seat variant of its best-selling SUV, across all showrooms in China, and it is getting a lot of attention from potential buyers.
Images and videos from Tesla stores in China show crowds of people checking out the recently released extended wheelbase all-electric crossover.
Model Y L details
The vehicle, which carries a starting price of RMB 339,000 ($47,180), went live in Tesla China’s configurator this week. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in September, and early media reviews have already been released following the lifting of an embargo.
Unlike a full model refresh, the Model Y L is positioned as a new variant within the existing Model Y lineup. It joins the five-seat rear-wheel drive (RWD) and long-range all-wheel drive (AWD) Model Y variants currently available in China.
The six-seat Model Y L features dual-motor all-wheel drive, a 0–100 km/h time of 4.5 seconds, and an 82.0-kWh battery pack from LG Energy Solution. Its CLTC-rated range reaches 751 km, the highest among Tesla’s Model Y trims.
So far, the reception to the Model Y L appears to be very warm, with photos and videos of stores in locations such as Shanghai and Shenyang showing numerous people checking out the recently released vehicle. Reports from industry watchers in China also suggest that Tesla received about 35,000 orders for the Model Y L on its first day of release.
Market backdrop
The timing of the Model Y L’s release comes as Tesla faces headwinds in China’s competitive SUV segment. Between January and July, Model Y retail sales in the country reached 202,257 units, a 17.15 percent decline compared to the same period last year, according to data cited by CNEVPost. It should be noted, however, that a good portion of this decline was due to the retooling of Tesla’s factories to make way for the new Model Y.
Despite the slowdown, the Model Y remains one of Tesla’s strongest performers globally. By introducing a higher-range, six-seat option, Tesla appears to be positioning the Model Y L as a way to boost demand and appeal to new buyers in a market that was previously only accessible to the much more expensive Model X.
News
Tesla Model Y L gets disappointingly far production date in the United States
Fans of the extended wheelbase six-seater in the United States are in for a long wait.
The Tesla Model Y L is making a lot of waves in the electric vehicle community, but fans of the extended wheelbase six-seater in the United States are in for a long wait.
This was, at least, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who provided a disappointingly long timeline for the Model Y L’s production in the United States.
The Model Y L
The Model Y L has received near universal acclaim from electric vehicle enthusiasts and auto reviewers in China alike. Priced at just RMB 339,000 ($47,180) and fitted with a spacious and comfortable cabin, the Model Y L seemed destined to become a segment killer. And since the vehicle is also produced in Tesla’s existing Model Y lines, it seemed like the vehicle would be released worldwide soon.
It was then no surprise that many Tesla community members were keen on asking if the Model Y L will be released in the United States anytime soon. Others also wondered why CEO Elon Musk was very quiet about the vehicle despite all the buzz it was generating. Eventually, Musk did share an update about the Model Y L, but it was not what many expected.
Elon Musk’s update
Amidst the conversations on X about the Model Y L, longtime FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog noted that Elon Musk would not be saying anything about the vehicle until its international release, likely because he would like to avoid an Osbourne Effect on the standard Model Y. Tesla’s sales today are still highly dependent on the standard Model Y, after all, as it is the company’s best-selling vehicle.
Musk responded to the FSD tester, stating that the Model Y L will not start production in the United States until the end of 2026. He also noted that the vehicle might not even make it in America at all, considering Tesla’s focus on self-driving. “This variant of the Model Y doesn’t start production in the US until the end of next year. Might not ever, given the advent of self-driving in America,” Musk wrote in his post.
Musk’s post was received with much disappointment from many X users, some of whom joked that the CEO was risking alienating families with three kids with his comments. The Model Y L, after all, is a legitimate family car that can comfortably seat six, and it seemed like a vehicle that Musk would prioritize considering his stance on people having bigger families. Of course, the CEO might still just be preventing an Osbourne Effect with his comments, but it’s difficult to deny that a 2026 U.S. production date for the Model Y L is still disappointing.
Elon Musk
Tesla’s Elon Musk considers insane Cybertruck mod: ‘Maybe we should make this’
The Cybertruck won’t do what the video shows (at least not in our lifetime), but a very entry-level version of it could be developed.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has teased what could potentially be the company’s next big project, and while it is likely many, many years away, it shows the company truly has its sights set on the craziest things the world has seen.
Musk shared a video created by Grok Imagine, the AI tool that is able to take images and turn them into videos, showing a Cybertruck flying above the clouds and buildings of what appears to be a very futuristic city.
There are also massive robots roaming around in the video, so it is obviously an illustration of what life could look like in several generations.
However, Musk, who does not shy away from some really optimistic projects and goals, shared the video on X and said, “Maybe Tesla should make this.”
Maybe Tesla should make this https://t.co/9ieoqM03Wu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 19, 2025
What is depicted in the video is not what we’d see Tesla create anytime soon. However, the company could potentially engineer something to make the Cybertruck hover, as it plans to do with the Roadster.
Of course, this is likely a huge “if” considering the current state of the car industry. Vehicles are becoming more advanced with every passing day as companies like Tesla, Waymo, and others are working to sort out things like autonomous and driverless travel.
Tesla has been working on somewhat of a similar idea with the Roadster, a vehicle that has been delayed on several occasions because of Musk’s spectacular imagination. Earlier this year, Tesla’s Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen, revealed Musk wanted to push the limits of that vehicle even more.
It seems it could be on the way soon, considering Tesla has teased an “epic” demo for the car, which could come before the end of the year.
Tesla has been working to make the Roadster hover, using SpaceX cold gas thrusters. It will also utilize these for what could be an incredibly fast 1.1-second 0-60 MPH acceleration rate that has been teased countless times.
This project that Musk is teasing with the Cybertruck is likely one that we will not see in our lifetimes. However, this is just one example of the outlandish ideas Musk continues to tease for Tesla in the future.
Tesla Model Y L attracts crowds across China stores
Tesla Model Y L gets disappointingly far production date in the United States
Tesla’s Elon Musk considers insane Cybertruck mod: ‘Maybe we should make this’
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