News
Tesla Stores Will Reportedly Take Model 3 Deposits 10am Worldwide
Following the widely reported news that Tesla will begin taking the first Model 3 deposits in stores beginning on March 31 at 10am Pacific Time, a new tip comes our way that suggests reservation deposits may begin 10am worldwide. According to Cesar Deschamps who inquired about the Model 3 reservation process while visiting his local Tesla Store, he was told by two staff members that Tesla Corporate had begun instructing stores to immediately process reservations upon store opening.
Deschamps tells us, “I was told they will open here in Miami [Dania] Beach Store at 10am to take reservations. They thought they would be opening at 1pm [ET] to coincide with California, but they confirmed that they heard this morning from Corporate that they will be processing reservations immediately upon opening.”
Existing Tesla owners were first informed through the Model 3 (lottery) invitation email that “reservations will open in Tesla stores on March 31 at 10am PST”, and priority would be given to existing owners. Not surprisingly the announcement was unpopular among non-Tesla owners, many of which have waited years to see the company approach its goal of producing an affordable $35,000 mass-market electric vehicle, and worried they would miss out on redeeming a diminishing electric vehicle tax credit.
Invitation to enter a Model 3 unveiling event lottery sent to existing Tesla owners on March 15, 2016
The latest update allowing Tesla stores to begin taking Model 3 reservation deposits during their local 10am might be a way to curtail some of the negative sentiment that’s developed from non-owners, according to Deschamps when speaking to the Tesla store rep.
“I spoke to two people at the store together, at the same time. They said the info came from their briefing. One said that Elon got a lot of emails complaining about the owners getting preference. This was their way of placating owners whilst pushing loaded cars.”
The strategy makes a lot of sense in many ways. By allowing all parties to place orders during their local time of 10am, this not only appeases those who live in time zones where 10am Pacific would translate to an inopportune local time, but it also incentivizes non-owners to ultimately configure highly optioned cars. By having two sets of variables to determine ones position in the Model 3 production queue makes it more of an equal playing field especially for non-owners.
Deschamps further tells us, from his dialogue with the Tesla store staff, “Each region in the country will have their own queue and yes owners will receive priority first, but only after optioned cars first. In other words, the optioned cars are grouped first (highest will be delivered first) but inside this sub-list owners will get theirs first. So, it will be possible to get my car before an owner if my car has more options and a higher list.”
-
Just this week Tesla released specifics through its blog on how to reserve a Tesla Model 3. Upon further analysis, there’s no indication of 10am Pacific Time – the time originally outlined by Tesla as when the Model 3 reservation window begins – listed anywhere within the announcement.
More Tesla Model 3 News
- Tesla Model 3 could dominate the entry level luxury class
- Scoring an invite to the Model 3 unveiling event
- Tesla will livestream the Model 3 event
- Analyst predicts Tesla Model 3 will see first deliveries in 2017
Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
-
Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
-
Elon Musk continues to tease the unveiling event for the Tesla Roadster, a continuing trend that has grown into a bigger game of “When” for fans who have been waiting years for the car to finally enter production.
A video shared on X of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that Musk appeared on last year, teasing the Roadster unveiling, was shared once again on the social media platform. The poster said the Roadster event will be “unforgettable.”
Musk agreed:
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2026
The timing is interesting because just yesterday, Musk said that we will be getting flying cars, and for years, Tesla has hinted that it could develop a SpaceX cold gas thruster package that would help the car float or fly for a short period of time.
It would be reasonable to assume Tesla’s major delays with this unveiling event are likely caused by the company’s need to break the rules and push the envelope on nearly everything. Last July, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, said:
-
“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind blowing. We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on and he got a little excited.”
The latest updates that Tesla has given us are that the Roadster is in design development, and it did have several potential dates for an unveiling event this year, including April. It was then pushed to August.
However, there are no clues as to when Tesla will be ready, and fans are certainly getting frustrated with the delays.
For what it is worth, Franz von Holzhausen told Jay Leno this week that the event would be “very soon.”
We sure hope.
Lifestyle
Tesla’s driverless Cybercab just passed a big test with State Governor
Florida’s governor rode Tesla’s Cybercab at a closed test track and called the experience impressive.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rode in a Tesla Cybercab on a closed test track this week and came away impressed, posting on X that the vehicle “successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.” He called the ride “impressive.”
The stop was part of a broader event Monday at SunTrax, a 775 acre state owned proving ground in Auburndale that Florida built specifically to test autonomous and connected vehicles before they reach public roads. Standing next to a gold Cybercab, DeSantis described the car in plain terms: “You go in there and you just sit. You have a screen. There’s no steering wheel, no pedals. Clearly these things could be very beneficial.”
We took a ride on a robotaxi on the Suntrax course and it successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.
Impressive! https://t.co/FVAkzFLz3r
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) August 11, 2026
DeSantis paired the praise with a caveat that has followed autonomous vehicles since the category existed. “You don’t want to be in an autonomous vehicle and it drives you into a ditch. That would not be good,” he said, framing safety validation as the gate before wider deployment.
SunTrax, the 2.25 mile oval which the state calls the only high speed autonomous vehicle test track in the Southeast, can simulate rain, pedestrian crossings, hills and crowded urban conditions at highway speeds, letting companies push a car past what an early public rollout would risk. Tesla, Waymo and Beep all use the facility, and Florida’s regulatory approach, among the most permissive for autonomous vehicles in the country, doesn’t require a human operator inside a fully autonomous car.
-
Tesla has reason to want the blessing of Florida and states beyond, as the Cybercab entered volume production at Gigafactory Texas this spring and has since self certified as SAE Level 4 under Texas law. Public road testing so far has kept a safety monitor in the passenger seat, and Florida is where Tesla has been expanding its existing Model Y based Robotaxi service instead, adding Miami in July and then Orlando and Tampa two weeks later. A closed track endorsement from a sitting governor doesn’t change any of that, but it does put Tesla’s newest hardware in front of a state that has already shown it will move fast on rules.
Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup
Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again
