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Tesla Model Y sales impact on Model 3, addressed by Elon Musk

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6 years ago

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated he does not expect the upcoming production and sale of the Model Y to cannibalize sales of the Model 3 during the company’s Q3 earnings call.

After being asked about the company’s concerns of Model 3 sales dropping amidst the upcoming release of the Model Y by New Street Research’s Pierre Ferragu, Musk responded that the company is not concerned about possible cannibalization of sales. “No, I don’t think we’re expecting to see cannibalization of Model 3, one is a sedan, one is an SUV,” Musk said. Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn added, “The best comparison we have for that is when we launched Model X, and we had Model S at the time. We didn’t see any cannibalization there.”

Musk added the sales of the Model S actually increased amidst the release of the Model X in 2015. According to Tesla’s 2015 quarter 3 and quarter 4 updates, upon initial deliveries of the Model X, Model S orders and deliveries increased by 49%. In the Q4 and 2015 full year update, Tesla stated “A total of 17,478 units were delivered globally during the fourth quarter of 2015, including 206 Model X vehicles. Model S sales in the United States totaled 16,689 units in 2014 and 25,202 in 2015.” Upon the release of the Model X, Model S sales did not halter or begin to slow down. The new vehicle actually encouraged sales of Tesla’s flagship sedan to increase. The Silicon Valley-based automaker is expecting with the Model 3 when the Model Y begins deliveries.

If the Model Y is supposed to discourage and eat away at the successful numbers of the Model 3, the Model X should have made the Model S trend in a negative fashion. However, the Model X and Model S differ in body type as one is a crossover and one is a sedan. The same scenario is true with the Model Y and Model 3. Tesla did try to keep the overall appearance of the Model Y similar to the Model 3, they are not the same vehicle. One is a sedan, the other is not.

The market for vehicles is big enough to support all of Tesla’s cars. The idea of Tesla’s new release slowing down the sales of a car recently named “Vehicle of the Year” by a popular automotive journal in the UK does not add up according to past data from the company’s quarterly earnings reports. Tesla announced and unveiled the Model Y in March 2019, and the company stated the Standard Range trim will begin production in early 2021. However, Long Range, Long Range AWD, and Performance variants will be available sooner according to the company’s projections, in late 2020.  The vehicle will be produced at Tesla’s main factory in Fremont, California, along with Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, China.

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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 CEO Elon Musk hits back at drug use claims, calls publications ‘hypocrites’

Elon Musk showed a clean drug test, dispelling any rumors of drug use that came from unfounded reports from two large media outlets.

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6 hours ago

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June 17, 2025

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Credit: Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to a report from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, as both publications claimed he was abusing drugs while being involved with President Trump on both the campaign trail and while he was active within the administration after the election.

A bombshell report from the New York Times, published in late May, stated that Musk was regularly using things like ketamine, ecstasy, and psychedelic mushrooms, and also stimulants like Adderall, during his time within the Trump administration.

The reports cited inside sources who claimed the Tesla and SpaceX frontman was using substances during his time with the government.

However, Musk published the results of a recent drug test performed at Fastest Labs of South Austin. They showed ‘Negative’ results across the board:

Musk was not done there.

He went on to say the New York Times “lies as easy as breathing. It’s normal for them.” He also said both the Times and Wall Street Journal reporters should also publish their own drug test results, stating, “They won’t, because those hypocrites are guilty as sin.”

Musk said years ago that he received ketamine prescriptions from doctors to treat depression. He said he had it “years ago and said so on X, so this is not even news.” He also said that ketamine “helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven’t taken it since then.”

Tesla fans and Musk enthusiasts have joked for days now that, if Musk were to be on drugs, other CEOs should also do them, considering his persistence on work-related projects, long hours, and commitment to his job.

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Musk has now proven that there has been no drug use with this test, and it seems as if the reports could have some sort of legal impact, although he has not said he will take any action.

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Tesla’s Grok integration will be more realistic with this cool feature

Tesla is preparing Grok for its first integration into vehicles, but it’s making it more robust than ever, firmware shows.

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8 hours ago

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June 17, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has not yet integrated the AI assistant Grok into its vehicles, but when it does, it will be even more realistic with a new feature that firmware coding shows.

CEO Elon Musk teased a few months back that Grok would be making its way into vehicles in the near future. The implementation has not yet occurred, but we are confident it will be rolling out soon, especially as Tesla has its sights set on a near-term rollout of the Robotaxi platform.

Tesla’s vehicles expected to get Grok voice assistant—but when?

Grok will enable AI assistance for drivers who are both manually operating Tesla vehicles or using the company’s Full Self-Driving suite. It has been widely popular and extremely useful for users on X, Musk’s social media platform.

However, Tesla hacker green has revealed through firmware that the company is planning to roll out Grok into vehicles with personalities, giving it an even more realistic tone that is totally customizable and catered to whatever the driver wants.

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There are also a handful of kids’ versions that will do things like tell stories or play trivia:

The true capabilities of Grok are nearly limitless. Back in January, Musk said on a livestream on X that, “You’ll be able to talk to your Tesla and ask for anything.”

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Grok appears to only be available on AMD-based vehicles, according to other things green found in the firmware. This means that Intel-based Teslas, which are usually older models, will not enable Grok support for right now.

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Tesla dominates Cars.com’s Made in America Index with clean sweep

Tesla continues to dominate Cars.com’s Made in America Index with a clean sweep of the Top 4 spots.

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10 hours ago

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June 17, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has dominated the Cars.com Made-in-America Index with a clean sweep of the top four spots. All four Tesla vehicles that were eligible for the analysis placed in the top four.

The Model 3 overtook the Model Y for first place this year. The all-electric crossover was first in 2024, but the Model 3 managed to overtake its sibling vehicle to claim the top spot in 2025. The Model Y took second, while the Model S took third, and the Model X took fourth.

This is an improvement from last year, as the Model Y took first, but the Model S and Model X placed fourth and ninth, respectively. The Model 3 was not in the Top 10 in 2024.

“Tesla continues to lead, claiming the top four spots and showcasing its commitment to domestic production. About 25% of the more than 400 vehicles on sale in the U.S. made this year’s AMI, and whether a vehicle is No. 1 or No.99, it contributes to the U.S. economy,” Patrick Masterson, lead researcher for the program, said.

More than 400 vehicles were analyzed for this year’s study, with Cars.com officially ranking 117 of them. There were two other EVs in the Top 10, as the Kia EV6 took sixth place, and the Volkswagen ID.4 finished in tenth.

This year’s study reflected major geographic and strategic shifts across the automotive industry. Of the 117 vehicles ranked in the program, they were produced at 36 domestic factories, leaving only 11 total factories that did not yield a car on the list. There are 47 assembly plants in operation in the U.S.

However, there still has not been a vehicle to quite reach the 100 percent domestic parts content, something that is extremely elusive. Masterson says the global supply chain is still extremely crucial to even the most American-built cars on the market.

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The average domestic parts content of the Top 10 cars was 83.4 percent in 2006, but that number has shrunk to 70.3 percent in this year’s rankings.

Some might wonder where cars like the Tesla Cybertruck or Rivian R1T are on the list. However, these vehicles did not qualify because the study only considers cars under a gross weight of 8,500 pounds.

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