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Tesla's China factory fills up with Model 3 days after securing sales permit

Gigafactory 3 Body Shop (Source: Tesla)

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Tesla’s Made-in-China Model 3 units are filling up the parking lot of the Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, a sign that the electric car maker has ramped up its production after receiving a permit from the government to sell and deliver its locally-made electric cars to customers across the country.

Tesla owner and Twitter user @JayinShanghai shared a photo on Monday showing roughly 500 Model 3 units occupying practically all parking spaces at Gigafactory 3, a big difference from an image posted a few days ago showing roughly a hundred or so units on the ground.

It appears Tesla has stepped on the pedal to ramp up the production of the Model 3 units to meet the demand of the largest market for mid-sized premium sedans. In its Q3 2019 update, the American electric car maker shared the notion that China could become the Model 3’s biggest market.

Tesla Model 3 Units at Gigafactory 3 Shanghai (Source: @JayinShanghai|Twitter)

Earlier this week, there were sightings of transport trucks carrying Tesla Made-In-China Model 3 out of the Shanghai facility and most likely on their way to customer showrooms and delivery centers. 

On Dec. 6, Tesla China announced that the carmaker’s Model 3 was included in the list of new electric vehicles receiving incentives released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, hinting that the electric car manufacturer was given the green light to deliver the Model 3 to customers.

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The Tesla Made-in-China Model 3 will be sold for around $50,000 while announced subsidies for two variants of the vehicle may potentially save buyers around $3,500.

Delivery dates might have been moved up from the earlier estimate of late January 2020 as well.

The Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai broke ground in January this year and was ready for production in 10 months. The latest developments in China further proves that Elon Musk’s electric car company can compete in the global market and will soon start to get a share of the pie in the biggest EV-hungry automotive market in the world.

As consumers get their first taste of the Tesla Model 3, the brand is planning to increase the number of its fast charging stations to 362, an increase of 39%. It will also double its service centers from 29 to 63 in the coming months. Tesla executives in China have also created Weibo accounts through which customers can get directly in touch with them.

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H/T to @JayinShanghai

A curious soul who keeps wondering how Elon Musk, Tesla, electric cars, and clean energy technologies will shape the future, or do we really need to escape to Mars.

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Lemonade launches Tesla FSD insurance program in Oregon

The program was announced by Lemonade co-founder Shai Wininger on social media platform X.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla drivers in Oregon can now receive significant insurance discounts when using FSD, following the launch of Lemonade’s new Autonomous Car insurance program. 

The program was announced by Lemonade co-founder Shai Wininger on social media platform X.

Lemonade launches FSD-based insurance in Oregon

In a post on X, Wininger confirmed that Lemondade’s Autonomous Car insurance product for Tesla is now live in Oregon. The program allows eligible Tesla owners to receive roughly 50% off insurance costs for every mile driven using Tesla’s FSD system.

“And… we’re ON. @Lemonade_Inc’s Autonomous Car for @Tesla FSD is now live in Oregon. Tesla drivers in Oregon can now get ~50% off their Tesla FSD-driven miles + the best car insurance experience in the US, bar none,” Wininger wrote in his post. 

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As per Lemonade on its official website, the program is built on Tesla’s safety data, which indicates that miles driven using FSD are approximately twice as safe as those driven manually. As a result, Lemonade prices those miles at a lower rate. The insurer noted that as FSD continues to improve, associated discounts could increase over time.

How Lemonade tracks FSD miles

Lemonade’s FSD discount works through a direct integration with Tesla vehicles, enabled only with a driver’s explicit permission. Once connected, the system distinguishes between miles driven manually and those driven using FSD, applying the discount automatically to qualifying miles.

There is no minimum FSD usage requirement. Drivers who use FSD occasionally still receive discounted rates for those miles, while non-FSD miles are billed at competitive standard rates. Lemonade also emphasized that coverage and claims handling remain unchanged regardless of whether a vehicle is operating under manual control or FSD at the time of an incident.

The program is currently available only to Teslas equipped with Hardware 4 or newer, running firmware version 2025.44.25.5 or later. Lemonade also allows policyholders to bundle Tesla insurance with renters, homeowners, pet, or life insurance policies for additional savings.

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Tesla exec: Preparations underway but no firm timeline yet for FSD rollout in China

The information was related by Tesla China Vice President Grace Tao in a comment to local media.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla has not set a specific launch date for Full Self-Driving in China, despite the company’s ongoing preparations for a local FSD rollout. 

The information was related by Tesla China Vice President Grace Tao in a comment to local media.

Tesla China prepares FSD infrastructure

Speaking in a recent media interview, the executive confirmed that Tesla has established a local training center in China to support the full adaptation of FSD to domestic driving conditions, as noted in a report from Sina News. However, she also noted that the company does not have a specific date when FSD will officially roll out in China.

“We have set up a local training center in China specifically to handle this adaptation,” Tao said. “Once officially released, it will demonstrate a level of performance that is no less than, and may even surpass, that of local drivers.”

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Tao also emphasized the rapid accumulation of data by Tesla’s FSD system, with the executive highlighting that Full Self-Driving has now accumulated more than 7.5 billion miles of real-world driving data worldwide.

Possible 2026 rollout

The Tesla executive’s comments come amidst Elon Musk’s previous comments suggesting that regulatory approval in China could arrive sometime this 2026. During Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting in November 2025, Musk clarified that FSD had only received “partial approval” in China, though full authorization could potentially arrive around February or March 2026.

Musk reiterated that timeline at the World Economic Forum in Davos, when he stated that FSD approval in China could come as early as February.

Tesla’s latest FSD software, version 14, is already being tested in more advanced deployments in the United States. The company has also started the rollout of its fully unsupervised Robotaxis in Austin, Texas, which no longer feature safety monitors.

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Tesla Semi lines up for $165M in California incentives ahead of mass production

The update was initially reported by The Los Angeles Times.

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Credit: @HinrichsZane/X

Tesla is reportedly positioned to receive roughly $165 million in California clean-truck incentives for its Semi.

The update was initially reported by The Los Angeles Times.

As per the Times, the Tesla Semi’s funding will come from California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Incentive Project (HVIP), which was designed to accelerate the adoption of cleaner medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Since its launch in 2009, the HVIP has distributed more than $1.6 billion to support zero-emission trucks and buses across the state.

In recent funding rounds, nearly 1,000 HVIP vouchers were provisionally reserved for the Tesla Semi, giving Tesla a far larger share of available funding than any other automaker. An analysis by the Times found that even after revisions to public data, Tesla still accounts for about $165 million in incentives. The next-largest recipient, Canadian bus manufacturer New Flyer, received roughly $68 million.

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This is quite unsurprising, however, considering that the Tesla Semi does not have a lot of competition in the zero-emissions trucking segment.

To qualify for HVIP funding, vehicles must be approved by the California Air Resources Board and listed in the program catalog, as noted in an electrive report. When the Tesla Semi voucher applications were submitted, public certification records only showed eligibility for the 2024 model year, with later model years not yet listed.

State officials have stated that certification details often involve confidential business information and that funding will only be paid once vehicles are fully approved and delivered. Still, the first-come, first-served nature of HVIP means large voucher reservations can effectively crowd out competing electric trucks. Incentive amounts for the Semi reportedly ranged from about $84,000 to as much as $351,000 per vehicle after data adjustments. 

Unveiled in 2017, the Tesla Semi has seen limited deliveries so far, though CEO Elon Musk has recently reiterated that the Class 8 all-electric truck will enter mass production this year.

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