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Tesla Project Loveday finalist Sonja Jasansky talks competition (video)

Source: Screen grab via Sonja Jasansky

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Beginning on March 4, Tesla announced it would be holding a competition to find the best homemade commercial. The contest came in response to a letter sent to Tesla CEO Elon Musk by 10-year-old Bria Loveday, suggesting the company hold a video contest. Musk responded in a tweet, and thus “Project Loveday” was born.

Tesla received hundreds of video submissions, but 10 stood above the rest, and later it was narrowed down to 3. One video to make the cut came from first-time YouTuber Sonja Jasansky of Minnesota. Jasansky’s super-quick and ultra-quirky video highlighting Model S specifications and debunking common misconceptions earned her a top-3 spot in the competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7N3y_5GXXA&t=12s

YouTube channel Everything Tesla welcomed Jasansky on the show to talk about her experiences as a Tesla owner and how she got the idea to enter the competition.

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“If I had to give my number one reason for driving a Tesla, I would say right now in my life because I have children, is safety,” Jasansky said. “It is the safest car you can drive.”

The videos were judged by Tesla execs and also were voted on by Twitter users. Jasansky claims she was new to Twitter and didn’t have much experience using the app.

The contest was won by Marques Brownlee, a familiar YouTube sensation whose channel has nearly 5 million subscribers. Brownlee’s video garnered over 999k views, while Jasansky’s had 146k.

While Everything Tesla host Alex Guberman was not pleased with the voting or selection process and took to Twitter to express his feelings.

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Jasansky on the other hand was at peace with the selection process.

“I think using Twitter was great way to get people engaged in this contest,” Jasansky said. “As we all know voting is never a perfect process but they did work to make sure the voting process was accurate”

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She was also extremely humbled by the outpouring of support she’s received since.

“It was an intense few days,” Jasansky said. “Everyone was thrilled and excited and it was amazing to see our video reach such a large audience. We’ve received so much love and support and congratulations, it’s been a really positive experience.”

Much to her fans pleasure and encouragement, Jasansky said she plans on creating more YouTube videos in the future, focused on Tesla and her experiences as an electric car owner, and also as she remodels her house to be 100% solar powered.

You can watch Jasansky’s and MKBHD’s videos below.

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East Coast reporter for Teslarati. Tips can be sent to pete@teslarati.com

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Tesla Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ for older cars finally gets released

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tesla model 3 model y
Credit: Tesla Inc.

Tesla has finally released its Full Self-Driving v14 ‘Lite’ suite for older cars that equip the Hardware 3 or AI 3 chip, which have not been able to handle the newest versions of the company’s driver assistance software.

Tesla officially started releasing the v14 Lite suite to owners in the Early Access Program last night. The company’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said that the rollout will continue over the next few weeks. The build distills the driving behavior from AI4’s v14 series into both the camera and compute configurations of an AI3 car.

It also includes a variety of new features that were available to AI4 cars running v14, including:

  • Start Self-Driving from Park
  • Arrival and Parking Options
  • Speed Profiles

The release is highly anticipated because those owners with AI3 vehicles were early adopters into the FSD platform and were promised that their cars would be capable of achieving Full Self-Driving.

However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk admitted during the company’s recent Q1 Earnings Call that these vehicles would not be capable of achieving unsupervised Full Self-Driving, which is what Tesla had originally said.

Owners were not pleased with this answer, or the idea that their commitment to buying the suite outright for thousands of dollars would not yield the ability to drive without operating the car. Tesla gave some solutions for this, including a discount on a new car, or an upgrade to an AI4 or AI5 self-driving computer and new, upgraded cameras.

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Tesla owners do not seem pleased with these options, as they require giving the company more money.

Nevertheless, it is important to note that Tesla came through for owners here by releasing v14 Lite before the end of Q2, something it had promised owners during the previous Earnings Call. Tesla has had trouble keeping up with timelines, but this is a big achievement for the team.

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Tesla Q2 delivery consensus confirms this long-standing theory

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Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer/X

Tesla released what analysts believe the company will report in terms of deliveries and energy deployments for Q2, but the figures seem to confirm a long-standing theory on the company’s vehicle division.

For years, Tesla was just looked at as a car company. Now that it has established itself as a powerhouse in energy, AI, and tech as a whole, the company is now less hellbent on achieving quarterly growth, on a sequential basis, at least from a major standpoint.

Tesla topped out its annual deliveries in 2023 at 1.81 million, and in the two years since, the company has reported a decrease in deliveries for the entire 12-month term both times.

With Tesla delivering 358,023 cars in Q1, a 6.3 percent increase over Q1 2025, but falling short of Wall Street expectations at 365,000-370,000 units, the narrative around vehicle deliveries and their importance continued to change earlier this year. Some might say it is convenient, but others might say it is the typical evolution of a company that continues to change over time.

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For Q2, Tesla’s delivery consensus estimates sit at 406,024 units, analysts believe. They were surveyed from Daiwa, DB, Wedbush, Cowen, Canaccord, Baird, Wolfe, BMP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, RBC, Evercore ISI, Barclays, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Truist, UBS, Jefferies, JPM, Needham & Co., HSBC, and William Blair.

Credit: Tesla

Tesla is also expected to report deployments of 13.8 GWh this quarter.

The change to Tesla’s overall narrative now leans less on vehicle deliveries and more on its other projects. Most notably, Tesla’s Robotaxi project has taken the priority over most of its other business ventures, and investors and the public are more concerned about the deployment of vehicles into the fleet, the operation of a driverless ride-hailing service, Cybercab production and operation, and expansion into new cities.

Tesla analyst realizes one big thing about the stock: deliveries are losing importance

This big narrative switch happened when Tesla indicated it was looking at making transportation a service by launching a ride-hailing service that will operate using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite. Once unsupervised operation begins, Robotaxi could be a new way for people to get around, all without a driver in their car.

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Instead, they will rely on the billions of miles Tesla has accumulated from its real-world fleet.

It is important to note that Tesla remains significant in the automotive sector, and deliveries must continue as they have for years. Tesla still has a strong automotive business and needs to execute further on all facets to keep its investors happy.

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Tesla looks keen to bring larger Model Y L to the U.S.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla launched the slightly larger Model Y L in China last year, and it became a hit in no time. The longer wheelbase, larger interior, and slightly more forgiving legroom area in the Model Y L became a sought-after possibility for U.S. buyers, who have been begging the company for a larger SUV.

Now, Tesla needs it more than ever, especially considering the Model X was discontinued alongside its Model S sibling earlier this year. It looks to be more likely than ever, and based on recent reports, it will fall in line with CEO Elon Musk’s prediction that it would arrive in the United States in late 2026.

Recent reports from Forbes and Not a Tesla App both have indicated Tesla plans to bring the Model Y L to the U.S. this year. The reports cite “credible sources,” and an analyst from AutoForecast Solutions named Sam Fiorani stated that the car would enter production later this year.

Fiorani said:

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“China, Australia, and India are supplied by the factory in China, which will not supply vehicles to the U.S. Production of the Model Y L is expected to begin in the U.S. in September, which will lead to sales beginning before the end of 2026.”

Production would take place at Gigafactory Texas.

Additionally, a few Model Y L units have been spotted under wraps in the United States, giving more indication that Tesla plans to bring the vehicle to the U.S. When Tesla is close to launching a vehicle in the U.S., it is not uncommon to see these models with the exact car covers that you see below:

It makes sense, especially considering Musk hinted the Model Y L would make it to the U.S. in late 2026, but it was up in the air. The CEO said the advent of self-driving might not warrant a larger SUV coming to the U.S. market specifically.

The problem is, consumers do not want to hear that. They love Tesla’s tech, FSD, and other features, but they need more space for growing families. The Model X is gone, and the most anyone can fit in a Tesla right now is seven people in the seven-seat Model Y. That back row is truly only large enough to fit small children comfortably.

Tesla fans have requested a full-size SUV, and the company has made some hints that it could be in the plans.

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The Model Y and Model Y L differ noticeably in size, with the Model Y L being a stretched, six-seat variant designed for great interior room. The Standard Model Y measures approximately 4,790mm in length, 1,982 mm in width with the mirrors folded, 1,624mm in height, and 2,890mm in wheel base.

In contrast, the Model Y L extends to be about 4,969–4,976mm long (roughly 179mm or 7 inches longer), stands 1,668mm tall (+44mm), and features a significantly longer 3,040 mm wheelbase (+150mm), while maintaining the same width.

This elongation primarily benefits rear passenger space and enables a 2+2+2 seating layout with captain’s chairs, though it slightly reduces maximum cargo capacity behind the rearmost seats and adds a bit of overall mass and turning radius. The result is a more spacious family hauler that still shares the core footprint and agile character of the original Model Y.

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