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Tesla Model Y first deliveries expected in February, Performance variants first

Tesla Model Y (Credit: Teslarati)

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Tesla Model Y deliveries will reportedly start next month with customers who ordered the Performance variant of the much-awaited electric crossover getting the first dibs. The Long Range All-Wheel Drive version will arrive in March or April, and deliveries of the full lineup set to be completed by Q3 this year.

The latest Model Y news was shared by Redditor u/Quaf4 who got a call from an employee at Tesla Oakville in Ontario, Canada on Tuesday.

β€œI just received a phone call from an employee at Tesla Oakville, ON who was calling to guide me through the upcoming delivery process for my Model Y. I asked when to expect delivery and he told me that the Performance variant will start deliveries next month, and that I could expect my LR AWD in March/April,” u/Quaf4 wrote. β€œInteresting to hear it officially from an employee, rather than pure speculation from media sources. NEXT MONTH.”

UPDATED:Β Tesla $TSLA shares soar followingΒ confirmation of Model Y first deliveriesΒ andΒ breakout Q4 2019 results

With this confirmation from a presumed Tesla employee, it appears Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his team underpromised and will over-deliver in terms of the Model Y production schedule. The electric crossover was first set to hit production in Fall 2020 and it was later moved up to Summer 2020. And now, it seems Model Y buyers will get their units sooner than expected.

Every Tesla Model Y sighting so far: Subtle refinements from unveiling event to today

If Tesla indeed delivers soon, the Silicon Valley-based electric carmaker might have hit a jackpot in terms of production efficiency. Elon Musk said during a recent Gigafactory 3 event in China that they use advanced manufacturing technologies for the Model Y.

β€œModel Y will also have some advanced manufacturing technology that we will reveal in the future. I think it will be exciting to show the kind of manufacturing technology associated with the Model Y and it will be exciting to learn about these technologies,” Musk said.

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There have been Tesla Model Y rumors recently that deliveries will happen in two weeks and this latest information from a soon-to-be Tesla Model Y owner seems to corroborate that earlier report. Coincidentally, the Tesla Q4 2019 Financial Results and earnings call is set for 3:30 PM PST on Jan. 29 and the electric vehicle community might officially hear an announcement they have been waiting for from Elon Musk and his team about the imminent Model Y delivery.

The confirmation from the Tesla employee is also consistent with the estimate that the Model Y Performance version will be delivered soon following the publication of its certificate from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on Jan. 9. Tesla fans recalled that the first deliveries of the Model 3 in 2017 also happened less than a month after its CARB certificate was published. Likewise, the VINs have also been registered by Tesla with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), another hint that Model Y deliveries are really happening soon.

The recent sightings of Tesla Model Y units that are almost production-ready could have been a big clue that the next big thing of Tesla will soon officially hit the road. Perhaps imminent delivery could also be the reason why a Tesla employee allowed a Tesla Model 3 owner to check out the interior of the Model Y while Supercharging in San Luis, Obispo California over the weekend.

Tesla’s Fremont factory will produce the Model Y units but the carmaker is also getting ready for its production at the Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai. Once operational, the Gigafactory 4 in Germany will also produce about 150,000 Model Ys during its initial phase of production.

A curious soul who keeps wondering how Elon Musk, Tesla, electric cars, and clean energy technologies will shape the future, or do we really need to escape to Mars.

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Tesla starts testing its Starlink-integrated Cybercab on public roads

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Credit: lottherm | TikTok

Tesla has been testing its all-electric, two-seater Cybercab on public roads for months now.

Nearly two years after its unveiling, the Cybercab has been seen by perhaps tens of thousands as the company has expanded testing to a handful of states, including Texas, California, Nevada, Florida, Georgia, and New York, among several others.

However, nobody has seen one like this quite yet.

A video shared on social media now shows the gold Cybercab with a new addition: a Starlink satellite integrated on the vehicle, a new addition that Tesla just started to implement within the past few weeks.

@lottaherm More cybercabs being spotted now with Starlink integrated πŸ‘€ #cybercab #tesla #elonmusk #houston #htx ♬ original sound – π—™π—Όπ—Ώπ—”π—Ήπ—Ήπ—§π—΅π—²π—’π˜„π—Ήπ˜€|π“…“

Just a week ago, Tesla announced that it had built its first Cybercab with Starlink integration and showed it off at Gigafactory Texas. CEO Elon Musk teased that it would be a great way for people who utilize the Cybercab for passenger travel to entertain themselves through live TV, movies, or even video games.

Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said it is also a huge advantage for Tesla as it will enable constant connectivity between the company and the fleet of Cybercabs it has. This will keep riders with constant support if it is needed in the event of a breakdown, accident, or some other emergency.

Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you

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It appears that this particular unit was spotted in Houston, Texas, a location where the company’s Robotaxi platform is already active. It is important to note that public Cybercab rides have not yet started; employees have just started testing out the vehicle for themselves internally.

Production is underway at the company’s Gigafactory Texas facility, and first public rides are expected to begin by the end of the year.

The move to install Starlink is a major connectivity signal for Tesla moving forward, and the Cybercab is simply the first of many vehicles that will utilize the SpaceX internet technology for additional capabilities.

Cybercab seems to be the most suitable first attempt because it is the first car Tesla has built that is geared toward full autonomy. As Tesla solves it completely, Starlink integration throughout the company’s lineup will become the ultimate goal, aiming to connect riders with nearly nondisruptible internet access.

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Tesla is building its largest Supercharger on the East Coast in New York City

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tesla store in New York City
Credit: Tesla

Tesla is building its largest East Coast Supercharger in New York City, planning to bring a 64- to 68-stall station to Queens, New York.

It will end up being tied for the largest Supercharger on the East Coast with this number of stalls. The largest on the Eastern Seaboard is located in Halifax, North Carolina, and is also 68 stalls.

The location is also set to be fitted with two pull-through stalls for EVs with trailers. We’ve seen Tesla implement these types of parking spots at newer locations as EV ownership continues to expand to those who do more than simply drive their cars.

There are plenty of Superchargers in the New York City metro, but they are mostly located in boroughs outside of Manhattan. There are five Superchargers in various neighborhoods of Manhattan, but there are limited plugs; usually only four per location. There are plenty of Destination Chargers in the Big Apple, though.

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Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn have become popular locations for companies to build out charging infrastructure for those who live in the highly populated boroughs. There is simply much more real estate to build effective EV charging stations.

Tesla spends $18M to expand Supercharging in New York City

The Supercharger will be located in Maspeth, Queens, at 48-26 54th Road. Maspeth has I-495 running through it, so this will be a great location for Tesla owners to hop off the highway on their way to Long Island or to Manhattan to charge up before continuing their journey.

Tesla has done a really great job of expanding its charging footprint throughout the past several years, especially by building large-scale projects that cater to areas that have a high volume of traffic and are main routes of travel to major areas. Tesla is making an effort to make charging less stressful and more widely available in these concentrated regions.

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SpaceX just launched a secret payload from California

SpaceX launched a classified Space Force mission from Vandenberg, revealing almost nothing about its payload.

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Space Force officials say the Falcon 9 booster pictured here in SpaceX's rocket factory will have to wait a few months longer for its launch debut. (SpaceX)

SpaceX launched a classified Falcon 9 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday night, and the government released almost nothing about what was on board. The mission, designated USSF-366, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E with a window that opened at 9:52 p.m. ET and ran into the early hours of Sunday, according to SpaceX’s own mission page, which described the payload only as classified. SpaceX confirmed the launch on its X account and pointed viewers to a livestream that began roughly ten minutes before liftoff.


The lack of detail did not stop analysts from filling in the blanks. Independent tracking of the rocket’s stage drop zones matched the pattern SpaceX has used on previous Starlink Group 15 missions, according to reporting from Outer Space Today, which pointed to Starshield as the likely payload rather than a one off government satellite. Starshield is SpaceX’s national security product, a version of the Starlink satellite bus built to Pentagon specifications for earth observation, communications and hosted payloads. Unlike consumer Starlink, government agencies do not have to disclose what Starshield satellites are actually doing once they reach orbit.

USSF-366 is the latest entry in a steady flow of classified and semi classified work between SpaceX and the Space Force. The company picked up a $178.5 million task order in April to launch missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency, as Teslarati reported at the time, and followed that in July with a $1.6 billion award covering 18 more Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg through the end of 2027, also detailed by Teslarati. Add those contracts up and SpaceX’s Pentagon business for 2026 alone tops $8 billion.

SpaceX scores another massive Pentagon deal to support military satellites

The Falcon 9 that flew Saturday landed back near the launch site, producing the sonic booms that have become routine for residents near Vandenberg. What is less routine is how little the public will likely ever learn about what the rocket carried. SpaceX and the Space Force have not confirmed the Starshield connection, and government satellite programs built on commercial buses rarely get identified beyond a mission number and a general orbit. For a company that live streams almost everything else it does, from Starship test flights to Optimus robot demos, USSF-366 is a reminder that some of SpaceX’s busiest work now happens entirely out of public view.

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