News
Tesla may underpromise and overdeliver with the Model 3 Highland in the US
Tesla has not really “underpromised and overdelivered” since it started deliveries of the Model Y crossover earlier than expected in March 2020. At the time, Tesla had maintained that Model Y deliveries were due in Fall 2020. This same thing may be happening with the upgraded Model 3, better known in EV circles as the Model 3 Highland, in the United States.
The upgraded Tesla Model 3’s Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) and All Wheel Drive (AWD) versions were unveiled in late August 2022, but it soon became evident that the vehicle would only be available in territories that are supplied by Gigafactory Shanghai. The United States, which gets its Model 3 sedans from the Fremont Factory, still received the previous generation Model 3.
Reports also emerged then that the United States would not be getting the Model 3 Highland for a notable amount of time. Optimistic predictions from Tesla watchers suggested a release date for the upgraded vehicle sometime in 2024, while those who were more conservative suggested that the Model 3 Highland could arrive in the US even later. As of late, however, it is starting to seem that Tesla may be ready to release the upgraded Model 3 sooner than expected.
Sunnyvale, CA ? pic.twitter.com/FbRhvuutlV— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 7, 2024
Over the past weeks, sightings of fully uncovered Model 3 Highland vehicles have been reported on social media. The vehicles are quite unique, as they feature a Tesla badge written in Chinese characters, making them seem like they were produced at Giga Shanghai. Observations of the Model 3 Highland units’ VINs suggested that the cars were produced in the Fremont Factory, however. Interestingly enough, some of the upgraded Model 3 units were marked as engineering vehicles.
?NEW YEAR NEW FREMONT MODEL 3 ?
This refresh Tesla Model 3 was spotted with Shanghai badges but the VIN shows it was built in Fremont (F factory designation).
Maybe we will see deliveries in Q1 as called by @Scobleizer. https://t.co/D5j4zwXe31 pic.twitter.com/mFUNeD35pj— Matthew Donegan-Ryan (@MatthewDR) January 1, 2024
What is immediately noticeable from the vehicles that have recently been spotted in the United States is the fact that they are already very finely made. This suggests that if the vehicles are indeed manufactured in the Fremont Factory, the facility is already producing upgraded Model 3 units that are ready for customer deliveries. If this were indeed the case, it would not be surprising if customer deliveries of the Model 3 Highland in the United States start earlier than expected, perhaps as early as Q1 2024.
Tesla Model 3 Highland full walk around. I saw this today at the Firebaugh supercharger. #tesla #tsla #model3 #fyp #viral #cybertruck #teslacybertruck pic.twitter.com/Vi7h3u0FIf— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) December 29, 2023
A hint at such a timeline may have been dropped by Tesla in late November. At the time, Tesla Australia chief engineer and Model 3 program veteran Daniel Ho reportedly remarked that a revamped Model 3 Performance would make its way to Australia in the first half of 2024. The comments suggested that serious developments could be expected in the Model 3 program in early 2024. One of these may very well be the start of the revamped vehicle’s production at the Fremont Factory.
Tesla has been accused of overpromising and underdelivering as of late. Elon Musk’s FSD promises have proven inaccurate time and time again; the Model S Plaid+ was canceled before it was released; the next-generation Roadster is still nowhere to be found; the Semi is still not ramped; progress on Giga Nevada’s expansion and Giga Mexico has been practically nonexistent; and the Cyberbeast’s range is significantly lower than expected despite its notable price hike. If Tesla manages to release the Model 3 Highland earlier than expected in the United States, it could prove that the company can still exceed expectations, especially when it quietly executes on its goals.
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Elon Musk
Elon Musk confirms xAI’s purchase of five 380 MW natural gas turbines
The deal, which was confirmed by Musk on X, highlights xAI’s effort to aggressively scale its operations.
xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, has purchased five additional 380 MW natural gas turbines from South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility to power its growing supercomputer clusters.
The deal, which was confirmed by Musk on X, highlights xAI’s effort to aggressively scale its operations.
xAI’s turbine deal details
News of xAI’s new turbines was shared on social media platform X, with user @SemiAnalysis_ stating that the turbines were produced by South Korea’s Doosan Enerbility. As noted in an Asian Business Daily report, Doosan Enerbility announced last October that it signed a contract to supply two 380 MW gas turbines for a major U.S. tech company. Doosan later noted in December that it secured an order for three more 380 MW gas turbines.
As per the X user, the gas turbines would power an additional 600,000+ GB200 NVL72 equivalent size cluster. This should make xAI’s facilities among the largest in the world. In a reply, Elon Musk confirmed that xAI did purchase the turbines. “True,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
xAI’s ambitions
Recent reports have indicated that xAI closed an upsized $20 billion Series E funding round, exceeding the initial $15 billion target to fuel rapid infrastructure scaling and AI product development. The funding, as per the AI startup, “will accelerate our world-leading infrastructure buildout, enable the rapid development and deployment of transformative AI products.”
The company also teased the rollout of its upcoming frontier AI model. “Looking ahead, Grok 5 is currently in training, and we are focused on launching innovative new consumer and enterprise products that harness the power of Grok, Colossus, and 𝕏 to transform how we live, work, and play,” xAI wrote in a post on its website.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI closes upsized $20B Series E funding round
xAI announced the investment round in a post on its official website.
xAI has closed an upsized $20 billion Series E funding round, exceeding the initial $15 billion target to fuel rapid infrastructure scaling and AI product development.
xAI announced the investment round in a post on its official website.
A $20 billion Series E round
As noted by the artificial intelligence startup in its post, the Series E funding round attracted a diverse group of investors, including Valor Equity Partners, Stepstone Group, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX, and Baron Capital Group, among others.
Strategic partners NVIDIA and Cisco Investments also continued support for building the world’s largest GPU clusters.
As xAI stated, “This financing will accelerate our world-leading infrastructure buildout, enable the rapid development and deployment of transformative AI products reaching billions of users, and fuel groundbreaking research advancing xAI’s core mission: Understanding the Universe.”
xAI’s core mission
Th Series E funding builds on xAI’s previous rounds, powering Grok advancements and massive compute expansions like the Memphis supercluster. The upsized demand reflects growing recognition of xAI’s potential in frontier AI.
xAI also highlighted several of its breakthroughs in 2025, from the buildout of Colossus I and II, which ended with over 1 million H100 GPU equivalents, and the rollout of the Grok 4 Series, Grok Voice, and Grok Imagine, among others. The company also confirmed that work is already underway to train the flagship large language model’s next iteration, Grok 5.
“Looking ahead, Grok 5 is currently in training, and we are focused on launching innovative new consumer and enterprise products that harness the power of Grok, Colossus, and 𝕏 to transform how we live, work, and play,” xAI wrote.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock received a price target update from Pierre Ferragu of Wall Street firm New Street Research, citing the company’s growing lead in self-driving and autonomy.
On Tuesday, Ferragu bumped his price target from $520 to $600, stating that the consensus from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was that Tesla’s lead in autonomy has been sustained, is growing, and sits at a multiple-year lead over its competitors.
CES 2026 validates Tesla’s FSD strategy, but there’s a big lag for rivals: analyst
“The signal from Vegas is loud and clear,” the analyst writes. “The industry isn’t catching up to Tesla; it is actively validating Tesla’s strategy…just with a 12-year lag.”
The note shows that the company’s prowess in vehicle autonomy is being solidified by lagging competitors that claim to have the best method. The only problem is that Tesla’s Vision-based approach, which it adopted back in 2022 with the Model 3 and Model Y initially, has been proven to be more effective than competitors’ approach, which utilizes other technology, such as LiDAR and sensors.
Currently, Tesla shares are sitting at around $433, as the company’s stock price closed at $432.96 on Tuesday afternoon.
Ferragu’s consensus on Tesla shares echoes that of other Wall Street analysts who are bullish on the company’s stock and position within the AI, autonomy, and robotics sector.
Dan Ives of Wedbush wrote in a note in mid-December that he anticipates Tesla having a massive 2026, and could reach a $3 trillion valuation this year, especially with the “AI chapter” taking hold of the narrative at the company.
Ives also said that the big step in the right direction for Tesla will be initiating production of the Cybercab, as well as expanding on the Robotaxi program through the next 12 months:
“…as full-scale volume production begins with the autonomous and robotics roadmap…The company has started to test the all-important Cybercab in Austin over the past few weeks, which is an incremental step towards launching in 2026 with important volume production of Cybercabs starting in April/May, which remains the golden goose in unlocking TSLA’s AI valuation.”
Tesla analyst breaks down delivery report: ‘A step in the right direction’
Tesla has transitioned from an automaker to a full-fledged AI company, and its Robotaxi and Cybercab programs, fueled by the Full Self-Driving suite, are leading the charge moving forward. In 2026, there are major goals the company has outlined. The first is removing Safety Drivers from vehicles in Austin, Texas, one of the areas where it operates a ride-hailing service within the U.S.
Ultimately, Tesla will aim to launch a Level 5 autonomy suite to the public in the coming years.
Elon Musk confirms xAI’s purchase of five 380 MW natural gas turbines
Elon Musk’s xAI closes upsized $20B Series E funding round
