The demand for the Tesla Model Y Long Range variant is skyrocketing as the company now outlines the soonest possible date to take delivery in September, meaning the vehicle is nearly sold out in Q3, even though it is still Q2.
After releasing the all-electric crossover last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk predicted that the Model Y would overtake the Model 3 in terms of popularity. In several markets, like China and more locally in California, the Model Y has already established itself as the overachieving little brother because people are tending to buy the all-electric crossover more than the all-electric sedan.
As Tesla continues to ramp up its manufacturing efforts for all of its vehicles, the Model Y is the main focus of the automaker as it expands into new regions. In Austin at Giga Texas, the Model Y and the Cybertruck will take center stage when the facility begins manufacturing the vehicles by the end of 2021. This plan is reflected with the Model Y in Europe, where Tesla’s first Gigafactory on the continent in Germany will manufacture the Model Y straight out of the gate later this year.
However, demand is becoming a bit overwhelming for Tesla as it aims to complete two new factories by the end of 2021. The company’s cars are becoming so popular in so many regions that delivery dates are becoming more prolonged, meaning the need for additional production facilities is becoming more apparent as the transition to sustainable energy continues to leap forward.
It was hinted in early May that Tesla had already sold out of Q2 production volume because of increasing demand. While that is still an amazing accomplishment, Tesla is already starting to sell out for the next quarter with at least one of its cars. The Model Y Long Range is proving to be Tesla’s biggest seller, it appears, as the company is estimating the earliest delivery date will be September, the final month of 2021’s Q3.
Credit: Tesla
The demand has led to Tesla increasing the prices of the Model Y by $3,500 so far this year, after cutting the cost of the car significantly in February. Tesla has avoided encountering severe problems due to the global chip shortage. Still, demand and some parts shortages have resulted in Tesla hiking the prices of its two mass-market vehicles in 2021.
Tesla has made several changes to the Model Y this year, including removing a lumbar-support option in the passenger’s seat. One of the biggest changes, however, is Tesla’s removal of radar equipment in the Y and the 3, a move that Tesla has long considered in its quest for Full Self-Driving.
Nevertheless, the demand for the Model Y is skyrocketing based on recent registration figures. The Model Y overtook the Model 3 in April, according to the EV Sales Blog’s Global sales figures. It sold 16,232 units compared to the Model 3’s 14,980. The Model 3 retained the title of most popular EV in 2021, but the Model Y sits in third, just behind the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV from the GM-SAIC-Wuling venture in China.
CEO Elon Musk predicted earlier this year that the Model Y would be the best-selling vehicle globally in 2022. “When it comes to Model Y, we think Model Y will be the best-selling car or vehicle of any kind in the world and probably next year,” he said during the Q1 2021 Earnings Call. “So I’m not 100% certain next year, but I think it’s quite likely. I’d say more likely than not that in 2022, Model Y is the best-selling car or truck of any kind in the world.”
The Model Y was the first vehicle in Tesla history to be profitable in its first quarter of production. The demand for the Model Y and its evident growth through sales figures from various outlets bodes well for Tesla’s financials. The company will aim for its eighth-consecutive profitable quarter when it reports its earnings sometime next month.
Tesla has reopened reservations for its long-delayed next-generation Roadster, asking buyers for a $50,000 deposit just days before an October 1 reveal event in Waco, Texas. The move revives a reservation process first launched in 2017 and later paused when Tesla pulled pricing from its website in 2021.
The reservation page requires an immediate $5,000 credit-card payment, described as fully refundable, followed by a $45,000 wire transfer due within 10 days, which is identical to what was expected previously. Reservations are not considered final until the wire clears.
The structure matches the 2017 terms Tesla used when it first collected deposits after unveiling a prototype. Tesla has not published a confirmed retail price or production start date on the order page.
Go buy a Roadster pic.twitter.com/n7rhouAmIS
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 21, 2026
The October 1 event is scheduled in Waco, about 90 minutes north of Tesla’s Austin headquarters and near SpaceX’s McGregor rocket test site. Tesla sent invitations to existing reservation holders and posted a “Go for launch” teaser on September 12.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) established a temporary flight restriction over the McGregor area from September 18 through October 2, consistent with plans for a demonstration involving SpaceX-designed cold-gas thrusters. Elon Musk has previously described the optional package as enabling extreme acceleration or brief hovering. Tesla has said the event will include pricing, specifications, and production targets.
The second-generation Roadster was first shown in November 2017 during Tesla’s Semi launch. Musk promised production in 2020, with claimed performance of 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds, more than 250 mph top speed, and roughly 620 miles of range.
Those targets have slipped repeatedly.
Tesla later pointed to 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025-2026 before indicating production would not begin until 2027 or 2028 at Gigafactory Texas. Design work has continued, with reports of a sharper, Cybertruck-influenced look replacing the original curvy prototype.
Original reservation holders who paid $50,000 in 2017, or $250,000 for the Founders Series, have waited nearly nine years without a production car. Some high-profile customers canceled. Tesla’s decision to reopen orders now, after previously shutting them down, tests whether new buyers will commit substantial funds before seeing a finalized production vehicle. The October 1 event is intended to answer remaining questions about what those buyers will actually receive and when.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is heading to Czechia after the Czech Ministry of Transport recognised the Dutch RDW’s provisional type approval, making the country the seventh EU member state to clear the system for public roads. Tesla Europe announced on 21 September 2026 that “FSD Supervised is now approved in Czechia” and that rollout “will begin soon.”
The decision marks a notable reversal. Earlier in 2026, Prague had declined to automatically recognise the Netherlands’ April approval, citing concerns over speed-limit compliance, traffic-sign recognition and driver-attention monitoring, and arguing that a coordinated EU approach was preferable. Officials said months of expert review, talks with Tesla and other member states, and real-world data from countries already using the system resolved those issues.
🚨 Tesla FSD heading to Czechia 🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/mkzlM9QjrB
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) September 21, 2026
“Safety remains the top priority,” the ministry stated.
FSD Supervised remains a Level 2 driver-assistance system: the driver must stay engaged and is legally responsible. Eligible vehicles need AI4, the company’s most up-to-date hardware version. Tesla is expected to push the feature over the air in the coming days, following the pattern seen after earlier national approvals.
Europe’s rollout began when Dutch regulator RDW issued a provisional EU type approval on 10 April 2026 after extensive testing. Mutual recognition then produced a rapid cascade: Lithuania (20 May), Estonia (29 May), Denmark (9 June), Belgium (10 June) and Slovenia (7 September). Czechia now completes that list of seven.
The approvals cover only a modest share of the EU population, but they add political weight ahead of a 6 October vote by the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles. A qualified majority, at least 15 of 27 member states representing 65 percent of the EU population, could open the remaining markets, including large ones such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain that have so far preferred to wait for a bloc-wide decision.
For Czech Tesla owners, the immediate prize is access to the same supervised highway and city driving already available in the other six countries. For Tesla, each new market generates additional European driving data and strengthens the case that FSD Supervised can operate safely under the continent’s varied road rules. The Czech approval is therefore both a local milestone and another incremental step toward a wider European launch.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has established a Temporary Flight Restriction over SpaceX’s McGregor, Texas, rocket development and test facility, a move widely viewed as preparation for Tesla’s October 1 Roadster reveal. The restriction took effect September 18 and runs through October 2.
NOTAM FDC 6/3825 covers a 1.5-nautical-mile radius around the site near Waco and extends from the surface to 10,000 feet above ground level. The FAA cited hazards under 14 CFR 91.137(a)(3) and barred aircraft and drones from the zone. Tesla’s invitation to reservation holders already placed the event in Waco, about 20 minutes from McGregor, making the timing and location more than coincidental.
A TFR has appeared around SpaceX’s McGregor Testing Site up to 10,000ft and runs through until the 2nd of October 👀 pic.twitter.com/rcZ4p4JkLm
— Niall Anderson (@INiallAnderson) September 18, 2026
What stands out is the altitude. Typical recent TFRs at McGregor for engine static fires and component tests have used far lower ceilings, often around 2,000 feet. Raising the limit to 10,000 feet is unusually high even compared with some Starbase restrictions and signals operations that go beyond a standard ground-level engine test.
That extra airspace has fueled speculation about the long-promised SpaceX Package for the Roadster. Elon Musk has described cold-gas thrusters that could deliver sub-one-second 0-60 times and, more dramatically, brief lift-off. Reports earlier this year indicated Tesla planned a remote-controlled demonstration at McGregor in which the car would leave the ground with no one inside; spectators kept hundreds of yards away because of the noise.
The 10,000-foot envelope would give operators a large safety buffer even if the vehicle only hovers a short distance.
Tesla has not confirmed a flight demo. The company has only used the phrase “Go for launch” and posted a teaser image of the car on what looks like a launch pad. The TFR itself mentions only hazards. Still, closing airspace this high and this close to the reveal date strongly suggests the event will include more than a static display.
Whether the Roadster actually hovers on October 1 remains to be seen. What is certain is that the FAA has cleared a large vertical slice of Texas sky for whatever Tesla and SpaceX intend to show. Reservation holders heading to Waco will be among the first to find out if the car can do more than drive.
Tesla Roadster is available for order once again following brief hold
Tesla Full Self-Driving expands to another European country
