

News
Tesla Shanghai export lot shows Model 3 Highland production ramp is going smoothly
Tesla Giga Shanghai’s export lot is full of the automaker’s new Model 3, suggesting that the production ramp of the “Highland” vehicle is going smoothly in its early days.
Tesla launched the Model 3 Highland earlier this month, offering the new vehicle to several markets in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The Shanghai factory is responsible for producing the vehicle as of right now, and many units are being shipped to customers in markets outside of China.
Recent drone footage from the Shanghai factory shows the property’s export lot is full of Model 3 Highland vehicles, indicating the production ramp has been a smooth transition from that of the old Model 3 design, which Tesla planned to abandon as early as mid-2022.
The drone footage from WuWa, an observer of Tesla’s Shanghai facility, shows hundreds of Model 3 Highland units preparing to be loaded onto ships and delivered to customers in markets outside of the country.
- Credit: WuWa | YouTube via Sawyer Merritt
- Credit: WuWa | YouTube via Sawyer Merritt
- Credit: WuWa | YouTube
What appears to be a seamless production ramp was not always a walk in the park for Tesla. Although the company’s innovation has continued to progress through the years, the initial Model 3 manufacturing process was not simple for Tesla and CEO Elon Musk.
Often referred to as “Production Hell,” the 2017 and 2018 manufacturing ramp of the Model 3 was one of the more trying times in Tesla’s history. However, it seems that it has bypassed any major stoppages or bottlenecks in early production, and the Model 3 Highland has already been produced thousands and thousands of times as customers await the first deliveries, which are slotted for next month.
Last week, we also reported on the export lot being full as demand for the new Model 3 continues to be stimulated by customers in various markets. It is evident that the newly designed all-electric sedan will be appearing in customer driveways soon enough, and we’re interested to see when Tesla makes first contact with those who will have the vehicle before others.
Check out WuWa’s full video below:
https://youtu.be/-wtnKFRF2u0
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Elon Musk
Tesla rolls out Steer-by-Wire improvements to Cybertruck

Tesla is rolling out some improvements to the Steer-by-Wire system on Cybertruck, which is one of the features exclusive to the vehicle as it is not active on any other vehicle in the company’s all-electric lineup.
Steer-by-wire is a steering system that turns the direction of wheels mechanically. It differs from vehicles with typical electric power steering systems in the way that those rely on the steering wheel column to transfer steering torque to the wheels.
There are a handful of EVs that use steer-by-wire, including the Cybertruck, Hummer EV, and Silverado EV. The latter two use a traditional steering column and only have steer-by-wire on their rear wheels, so they differ from the system the Cybertruck uses.

Credit: Tesla
The system has made the massive Cybertruck have better steering, and although its size is large, it is one of the easier Tesla vehicles to steer through tight spaces — granted you have the room.
Tesla is making an improvement to the system, according to a new update that will roll out in the 2025.8.4 Software Update as the steering wheel is now going to give more realistic feedback by adapting to road surfaces, the company said (via Not a Tesla App):
“The steering wheel now gives you more realistic feedback, adapting to different road surfaces for a better driving experience.”
This feature will work alongside another improvement as the Cybertruck’s air suspension ride height is now adjustable through the Tesla App.
Tesla Cybertruck steer-by-wire system helps avoid potential collision
The changes from the update, in terms of the more realistic feedback, will improve the overall feel of the road for drivers, making for a better driving experience.
News
Rivian startup spinoff raises $105M in funding for micro EV production
Meet Also, Rivian’s micro EV spinoff, now a full-fledged startup with $105M in funding. It’s adapting Rivian’s tech for compact EVs.

Rivian’s skunkworks program has turned into a full-blown startup called Also. The new startup, which is separate from Rivian, raised $105 million from Eclipse Ventures. Also will focus on micromobility or the development of micro electric vehicles.
Also started within Rivian, aiming to figure out if the electric vehicle company’s technology could be condensed to fit smaller EVs, including vans, trucks, and SUVs. Eventually, the skunkworks program discovered it could, indeed, fit Rivian’s technology in smaller, more compact electric vehicles, but the project was bigger than Rivian.
“We’ve been taking the Rivian technology stack and adapting it to much smaller form factors and then coming up with some incredibly exciting embodiments of that technology in these very small form factors,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told Reuters.
Rivian will always be part of Also. It holds a minority stake in Also and Rivian’s VP of future programs, Chris Yu, will be the startup’s president.
According to Scaringe, Also plans to debut its first vehicle designs later this year. One of the designs seems to be a bike, as Scringe described it having a seat, two wheels, and a screen with a few computers and a battery.
Also aims to start producing its flagship product by 2026 for customers in the United States and Europe. In addition, it plans to launch consumer and commercial vehicles made for Asia and South America.
Investor's Corner
Financial Times retracts report on Tesla’s alleged shady accounting
“Turns out FT can’t do finance,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk quipped on X.

The Financial Times has issued a retraction for an article it recently published that accused the electric vehicle maker of shady accounting practices.
The FT’s retraction has been appreciated by the electric vehicle community in social media, though many highlighted the fact that the publication’s initial erroneous allegations have already been spread across numerous other media outlets.
The Allegations
In an article published on March 19, the Financial Times pointed out that if one were to compare “Tesla’s capital expenditure in the last six months of 2024 to its valuation of the assets that money was spent on,” “$1.4 billion appears to have gone astray.”
The FT article highlighted that Tesla reported spending $6.3 billion on “purchases of property and equipment excluding finance leases, net of sales” in the second half of 2024. However, in that period, the company’s property, plant, and equipment only rose by $4.9 billion. As noted by members of the r/Accounting subreddit, this appeared to be the basis of the FT‘s article, which seemed careless at best.
Unfortunately, the publication’s allegations were quickly echoed by other news outlets, many of which proceeded to accuse Tesla of implementing shady accounting practices.
The Retraction
In its retraction, the Financial Times explained that Tesla’s payments for assets already purchased and the possible disposal of depreciated property could help explain the alleged discrepancy in the company’s numbers. With these in consideration, the publication noted that the “crack we’re left with at Tesla is now small enough — just under half a billion dollars — to be filled with some combination of foreign exchange movements, non-material asset write-offs, or the sale of machinery or equipment close to its not-fully depreciated value.”
“As we sound the Alphaville bugle while lowering this particular red flag, one unavoidable conclusion is that at a certain point it’s necessary to trust the auditor’s judgment,” the publication noted.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has responded to the Financial Times‘ retraction, commenting, “Turns out FT can’t do finance” in a post on social media platform X.
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