

News
Tesla, VW and several other EVs that qualify for the new 2023 US EV tax credit
Tesla, Volkswagen, and several other EV manufacturers qualify for the new 2023 U.S. EV tax credit. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the vehicles that qualify for the 2023 EV tax credit. The full list of EV models eligible for the new and updated $7,500 U.S. federal tax credit includes EVs made by fourteen manufacturers.
The IRS noted that the vehicles on the list below don’t automatically qualify but must also have undergone final assembly in North America and not exceed a manufacturer-suggested retail price (MSRP) of $80,000 for vans, SUVs, and pickups or $55,000 for other vehicles. The full list is as follows:
- 2023 Audi Q5 TFSI e Quattro (PHEV)
- 2022-2023 Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid
- 2022-2023 Ford E-Transit
- 2022-2023 Ford F-150 Lightning
- 2022-2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E
- 2022-2023 Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring
- 2022-2023 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring
- 2021, 2022, 2023 Nissan Leaf
- 2021, 2022 Nissan Leaf S Plus
- 2021, 2022 Nissan Leaf SL Plus
- 2021, 2022 Nissan Leaf SV
- 2021, 2022, 2023 Nissan Leaf SV Plus
- 2022, 2023 Rivian R1S
- 2022, 2023 Rivian R1T
- 2022, 2023 Chrysler Pacifica PHEV
- 2022, 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe
- 2022, 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe
- 2023 Tesla Model 3 Rear Wheel Drive
- 2023 Tesla Model 3 Long Range
- 2023 Tesla Model 3 Long Range
- 2023 Tesla Model Y All-Wheel Drive – 7-seat variant (3-rows)
- 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range – 7-seat variant (3-rows)
- 2023 Tesla Model Y Performance – 7-seat variant (3-rows)
- 2023 Tesla Model Y All-Wheel Drive – 5-seat variant (2-rows)
- 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range – 5-seat variant (2-rows)
- 2023 Tesla Model Y Performance – 5-seat variant (2-rows)
- 2023 Volkswagen ID.4
- 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro
- 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 Pro S
- 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 S
- 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro
- 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 AWD Pro S
- 2022 Volvo S60 (PHEV)
- 2022 Volvo S60 Extended Range
- 2022 Volvo S60 T8 Recharge (Extended Range)
General Motors, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Proterra, and Subaru were also on the list. The IRS noted that these manufacturers entered into a written agreement with the agency and have plans to become a “qualified manufacturer” but haven’t submitted a list of specific makes and models that are eligible at this time.
Although there were several Tesla Model Ys on the list, not all of them qualified as SUVs, which would have enabled them to have a higher MSRP limit of $80,000. The IRS seems to only consider the seven-seat Model Y and the VW ID.4 AWD as SUVs.
If you’d like to see if your vehicle meets the requirements, you can use the vehicle identification number (VIN) decoder tool under “Specific Assembly Location Based on VIN” on the Department of Energy’s website.
Disclosure: Johnna is a $TSLA shareholder and believes in Tesla’s mission.
Your feedback is welcome. If you have any comments or concerns or see a typo, you can email me at johnna@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter at @JohnnaCrider1.
Teslarati is now on TikTok. Follow us for interactive news & more. Teslarati is now on TikTok. Follow us for interactive news & more. You can also follow Teslarati on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Elon Musk
SpaceX Starship Flight 10: What to expect
SpaceX implemented hardware and operational changes aimed at improving Starship’s reliability.

SpaceX is preparing to launch the tenth test flight of its Starship vehicle as early as Sunday, August 24, with the launch window opening at 6:30 p.m. CT.
The mission follows investigations into anomalies from earlier flights, including the loss of Starship on its ninth test and a Ship 36 static fire issue. SpaceX has since implemented hardware and operational changes aimed at improving Starship’s reliability.
Booster landing burns and flight experiments
The upcoming Starship Flight 10 will expand Super Heavy’s flight envelope with multiple landing burn trials. Following stage separation, the booster will attempt a controlled flip and boostback burn before heading to an offshore splashdown in the Gulf of America. One of the three center engines typically used for landing will be intentionally disabled, allowing engineers to evaluate whether a backup engine can complete the maneuver, according to a post from SpaceX.
The booster will also transition to a two-engine configuration for the final phase, hovering briefly above the water before shutdown and drop. These experiments are designed to simulate off-nominal scenarios and generate real-world data on performance under varying conditions, while maximizing propellant use during ascent to enable heavier payloads.
Starship upper stage reentry tests
The Starship upper stage will attempt multiple in-space objectives, including deployment of eight Starlink simulators and a planned Raptor engine relight. SpaceX will also continue testing reentry systems with several modifications. A section of thermal protection tiles has been removed to expose vulnerable areas, while new metallic tile designs, including one with active cooling, will be trialed.
Catch fittings have been installed to evaluate their thermal and structural performance, and adjustments to the tile line will address hot spots observed on Flight 6. The reentry profile is expected to push the structural limits of Starship’s rear flaps at maximum entry pressure.
SpaceX says lessons from these tests are critical to refining the next-generation Starship and Super Heavy vehicles. With Starfactory production ramping in Texas and new launch infrastructure under development in Florida, the company is pushing to hit its goal of achieving a fully reusable orbital launch system.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk takes aim at Bill Gates’ Microsoft with new AI venture “Macrohard”
It is quite an appropriate name for a company that’s designed to rival Microsoft.

Elon Musk has set his sights on Microsoft with a new company called “Macrohard,” a software venture tied to his AI startup, xAI.
Musk described the project as a “purely AI software company” that’s designed to generate hundreds of specialized coding and generative AI agents that could one day simulate products from companies like Microsoft entirely through artificial intelligence.
Macrohard‘s Purpose
Musk announced Macrohard on Friday, though xAI had already registered the trademark with the US Patent Office a few weeks ago, as noted in a PC Mag report. Interestingly enough, this is not the first time that Musk has mentioned such an initiative.
Just last month, he stated that xAI was “creating a multi-agent AI software company, where Grok spawns hundreds of specialized coding and image/video generation/understanding agents all working together and then emulates humans interacting with the software in virtual machines until the result is excellent.”
At the time, Musk stated that “This is a macro challenge and a hard problem with stiff competition,” hinting at the venture’s “Macrohard” moniker. A few years ago, Musk also posted “Macrohard >> Microsoft” on X.
Powered by xAI and Colossus
Macrohard appears to be closely linked to xAI’s Colossus 2 supercomputer project in Memphis. Musk has confirmed plans to acquire millions of Nvidia GPUs, joining rivals such as OpenAI and Meta in a high-stakes race for AI computing power. Colossus is already one of the most powerful supercomputer clusters in the world, and it is still being expanded.
xAI is only a couple of years old, having been founded in March 2023. During its Engineering Open House event in San Francisco, Elon Musk highlighted that the company’s speed will be its primary competitive edge. “No SR-71 Blackbird was ever shot down and it only had one strategy: to accelerate,” Musk said.

Elon Musk tends to use social media platform X as his personal platform to express himself, so much so that critics tend to allege that the CEO is no longer serious about his numerous companies.
As per Musk, he is still very much in wartime CEO mode, despite all the jokes and fun posts about Ani on X.
Elon Musk leads several prolific companies, much more than the average CEO. And while Tesla is the only publicly traded entity that he currently leads, Musk is so visible that everyone across the internet pretty much has a strong opinion of him one way or another. For his longtime supporters and followers, however, what truly matters is if Musk is locked in.
Considering that Elon Musk’s feed on X has recently been filled with AI imagery, a good portion of which involve AI-rendered women, some X users have expressed concerns that the CEO may be losing focus once more. Musk responded to one such user by highlighting his very busy schedule and his numerous active projects.
Needless to say, Elon Musk is still locked in. He is still in “wartime CEO” mode.
As per the CEO, even his recent AI posts about AI are “part of a broader vision and strategy.” He also highlighted that SpaceX’s Starship Flight 10 is launching in a few days, xAI’s Grok 5 is starting its training next month, and Tesla’s Autopilot V14 is also coming next month. As per Musk, “long-term strategy is compelling.”
Elon Musk’s comments are quite accurate. While he may seem to spend all his time on X, after all, he is very much still neck-deep in all his companies’ projects. There is a reason why Musk became known as a visionary, and a lot of it is because he really is intimately involved in all of his companies’ projects.
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Elon Musk confirms Tesla AI6 chip is Project Dojo’s successor
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla Model Y L reportedly entered mass production in Giga Shanghai
-
Elon Musk2 weeks ago
Tesla CEO Elon Musk details massive FSD update set for September release
-
Cybertruck2 weeks ago
Tesla’s new upgrade makes the Cybertruck extra-terrestrial
-
News2 weeks ago
Elon Musk reaffirms Tesla Semi mass production in 2026
-
News2 weeks ago
Elon Musk explains why Tesla stepped back from Project Dojo
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla Model 3 filings in China show interesting hardware addition
-
News2 weeks ago
Tesla Model Y L’s impressive specs surface in China’s recent MIIT filing