News
Tesla’s Standard Model 3 is coming to Europe in 6 months, China in 6-8 months
Elon Musk has provided a quick update about the Model 3’s international ramp on Thursday, posting his estimates for the availability of the Standard and Standard Plus versions of the electric sedan in Europe and China. Musk also posted a reminder about the affordable Model 3’s price, which will be adjusted depending on country-specific taxes.
Sharing his thoughts on Twitter, Musk stated that he expects the base Model 3 to be available in Europe in around 6 months. The Tesla CEO also stated that the affordable Model 3 should be available for the Chinese market in 6-8 months, provided that Gigafactory 3’s electric car production begins on time.
Base Model 3 available in Europe in ~6 months, Asia 6 to 8 months. Latter contingent on Shanghai Gigafactory. Country-specific taxes & import duties mean price may be 25% or more above US number.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 1, 2019
Elon Musk’s estimated timeframe for the European and Chinese launch of the Model 3’s affordable versions bodes well for Tesla’s capability to produce and support an ever-growing ramp for the electric sedan. Considering that Tesla was able to introduce the $35,000 Model 3 earlier than expected, it appears that the company is now at a point where it can comfortably meet the production demands of the vehicle despite offering versions that cater to a much larger demographic.
It should be noted that the Model 3 is designed to be a mass-market electric car that can be competitive in price against ubiquitous passenger cars like the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. Since starting Model 3 production in 2017, skeptics have pointed at the vehicle’s price as a point of criticism against Tesla, especially considering that the first versions offered by the company were closer to $50,000 than Elon Musk’s target $35,000 price (the Long Range RWD Model 3, for one, was initially offered at $49,000 before incentives or add-ons). Eventually, the $35,000 Model 3 even became a favored point among Tesla bears on social media, when highlighting the company’s “broken promises” about the electric sedan. The recent launch of the Standard and Standard Plus Model 3 ultimately topples this bear thesis.
Model 3s now available
Standard Range: 220mi, $35k
Standard Range Plus: 240mi, $37k
Mid Range: 264mi, $40k
Long Range: 325mi, $43k
Long Range AWD: 310mi, $47k
Performance AWD: 310mi, $58k, 0-60 mph in 3.2s!
https://t.co/RNnGdonjSr(prices before incentives)
— Tesla (@Tesla) March 1, 2019
Tesla appears to be preparing itself for a massive influx of orders for the Model 3’s Standard and Standard Plus versions. Before launching the two new Model 3 variants, Tesla registered large groups of RWD Model 3 VINs. So far this quarter, Tesla had filed over 49,000 RWD Model 3 registrations, a significant number of which is likely intended for the US market (Europe only gets AWD vehicles for now, while the Long Range RWD version is available in China).
Tesla took the electric car community by surprise when it launched the $35,000 Standard Model 3 on Thursday. The company has been quite conservative about its updates on the affordable Model 3’s release date, with Musk not even giving an estimated timeframe for the vehicle in the fourth quarter earnings call. With deliveries of the Standard and Standard Plus Model 3 expected to begin within the next few weeks, Tesla’s end-of-quarter push this Q1 2019 will likely be the company’s most compelling yet.
News
Tesla Model Y and Model 3 named safest vehicles tested by ANCAP in 2025
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025.
The Tesla Model Y recorded the highest overall safety score of any vehicle tested by ANCAP in 2025. The Tesla Model 3 also delivered strong results, reinforcing the automaker’s safety leadership in Australia and New Zealand.
According to ANCAP in a press release, the Tesla Model Y achieved the highest overall weighted score of any vehicle assessed in 2025. ANCAP’s 2025 tests evaluated vehicles across four key pillars: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist technologies.
The Model Y posted consistently strong results in all four categories, distinguishing itself through a system-based safety approach that combines structural crash protection with advanced driver-assistance features such as autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring.

This marked the second time the Model Y has topped ANCAP’s annual safety rankings. The Model Y’s previous version was also ANCAP’s top performer in 2022.
The Tesla Model 3 also delivered a strong performance in ANCAP’s 2025 tests, contributing to Tesla’s broader safety presence across segments. Similar to the Model Y, the Model 3 also earned impressive scores across the ANCAP’s four pillars. This made the vehicle the top performer in the Medium Car category.
ANCAP Chief Executive Officer Carla Hoorweg stated that the results highlight a growing industry shift toward integrated safety design, with improvements in technologies such as autonomous emergency braking and lane support translating into meaningful real-world protection.
“ANCAP’s testing continues to reinforce a clear message: the safest vehicles are those designed with safety as a system, not a checklist. The top performers this year delivered consistent results across physical crash protection, crash avoidance and vulnerable road user safety, rather than relying on strength in a single area.
“We are also seeing increasing alignment between ANCAP’s test requirements and the safety technologies that genuinely matter on Australian and New Zealand roads. Improvements in autonomous emergency braking, lane support, and driver monitoring systems are translating into more robust protection,” Hoorweg said.
News
Tesla Sweden uses Megapack battery to bypass unions’ Supercharger blockade
Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery.
Tesla Sweden has successfully launched a new Supercharger station despite an ongoing blockade by Swedish unions, using on-site Megapack batteries instead of traditional grid connections. The workaround has allowed the Supercharger to operate without direct access to Sweden’s electricity network, which has been effectively frozen by labor action.
Tesla has experienced notable challenges connecting its new charging stations to Sweden’s power grid due to industrial action led by Seko, a major Swedish trade union, which has blocked all new electrical connections for new Superchargers. On paper, this made the opening of new Supercharger sites almost impossible.
Despite the blockade, Tesla has continued to bring stations online. In Malmö and Södertälje, new Supercharger locations opened after grid operators E.ON and Telge Nät activated the sites. The operators later stated that the connections had been made in error.
More recently, however, Tesla adopted a different strategy altogether. Just before Christmas, Tesla went live with a new charging station in Arlandastad, outside Stockholm, by powering it with a Tesla Megapack battery, as noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report.
Because the Supercharger station does not rely on a permanent grid connection, Tesla was able to bypass the blocked application process, as noted by Swedish car journalist and YouTuber Peter Esse. He noted that the Arlandastad Supercharger is likely dependent on nearby companies to recharge the batteries, likely through private arrangements.
Eight new charging stalls have been launched in the Arlandastad site so far, which is a fraction of the originally planned 40 chargers for the location. Still, the fact that Tesla Sweden was able to work around the unions’ efforts once more is impressive, especially since Superchargers are used even by non-Tesla EVs.
Esse noted that Tesla’s Megapack workaround is not as easily replicated in other locations. Arlandastad is unique because neighboring operators already have access to grid power, making it possible for Tesla to source electricity indirectly. Still, Esse noted that the unions’ blockades have not affected sales as much.
“Many want Tesla to lose sales due to the union blockades. But you have to remember that sales are falling from 2024, when Tesla sold a record number of cars in Sweden. That year, the unions also had blockades against Tesla. So for Tesla as a charging operator, it is devastating. But for Tesla as a car company, it does not matter in terms of sales volumes. People charge their cars where there is an opportunity, usually at home,” Esse noted.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s X goes down as users report major outage Friday morning
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Elon Musk’s X experienced an outage Friday morning, leaving large numbers of users unable to access the social media platform.
Error messages and stalled loading screens quickly spread across the service, while outage trackers recorded a sharp spike in user reports.
Downdetector reports
Users attempting to open X were met with messages such as “Something went wrong. Try reloading,” often followed by an endless spinning icon that prevented access, according to a report from Variety. Downdetector data showed that reports of problems surged rapidly throughout the morning.
As of 10:52 a.m. ET, more than 100,000 users had reported issues with X. The data indicated that 56% of complaints were tied to the mobile app, while 33% were related to the website and roughly 10% cited server connection problems. The disruption appeared to begin around 10:10 a.m. ET, briefly eased around 10:35 a.m., and then returned minutes later.

Previous disruptions
Friday’s outage was not an isolated incident. X has experienced multiple high-profile service interruptions over the past two years. In November, tens of thousands of users reported widespread errors, including “Internal server error / Error code 500” messages. Cloudflare-related error messages were also reported.
In March 2025, the platform endured several brief outages spanning roughly 45 minutes, with more than 21,000 reports in the U.S. and 10,800 in the U.K., according to Downdetector. Earlier disruptions included an outage in August 2024 and impairments to key platform features in July 2023.