Sandy Munro, a teardown specialist and auto industry veteran, is releasing the results of a study he conducted with battery expert Mark Ellis comparing the motors inside four electric vehicles, one of which was a Tesla Model 3. Despite analyzing the vehicle for a long time, the auto expert states that there are still mysteries that he is yet to uncover on the electric sedan.
“The Tesla has a lot of stuff hidden. The Tesla is a big mystery. It’s not obvious sometimes what clever things they’ve done, ” he commented about the California-based car maker’s motor in a recent interview summarized by Industry Week. “There’s mysteries every day. We thought we were clever, but we’re not that clever.”
One of the clever features Munro and Ellis discovered in their Model 3 teardown was the disconnect device for the high voltage. “It’s not really a fuse…It’s like a little explosion. If the car rolls over, they have a little disconnect that blows up, [cutting] all the power to everything and that way you don’t have an electric nightmare,” he revealed. Also, the inner magnets of the Model 3 motor were found to be under a lot of stress, which is not something other manufacturers have learned to do in high volume production. “We’ve talked to lots of magnet manufacturers, but this might be another one of these made-in-Tesla kind of deals. They make a lot of stuff in-house,” Munro guessed.
Another innovation that impressed the teardown team was how advanced the inverter/convertor device was that provides power to the motor, particularly in the use of silicon carbide on the devices’ integrated circuits. “It creates a lot less heat and is a lot faster than the Chevy and BMW,” Ellis added to the discussion. “Silicon carbide is the latest and greatest and Tesla so far is the only vehicle out there with it.” Munro and Ellis further noted the high level of tech Tesla’s motor contained, all while being considerably smaller than the competition.
The study will be released in a few weeks and also includes detailed information about the motors inside the Chevy Bolt, BMW i3, and Jaguar I-Pace. Munro had very positive things to say about Tesla’s technology, but the electric vehicles produced by industry giants did not receive quite the same accolades. “It looks like the other guys just went around and glued together whatever they could find off the shelf,” Munro jabbed at Tesla’s competition.
The BMW i3 was hit particularly hard and cited as the heaviest, most expensive, and very inefficient overall. “It’s not designed for… I don’t know what it’s designed for, really,” Munro swiped in the interview. “While everything on Tesla is…very, very efficient engineering.” Munro still isn’t sold on the Model 3 body, though, and takes issue with the complexity of the process it takes to manufacture it thanks to the number of parts, materials, and fastenings involved.
Munro has a history of strong opinions on Tesla’s car intended for the mass market. After completing an initial teardown of a 2017 version of the vehicle, he infamously commented that the car’s panel gaps could be seen “from Mars” among other very critical remarks about the way the car was manufactured. Tesla eventually issued a statement in response to the criticisms, indicating that significant improvements had been made to its Model 3 manufacturing process which would render moot many of the issues identified.
Once the Model 3 teardown was complete, Munro later admitted to eating “a lot of crow” in response to the technology installed and implemented throughout the car. He praised the Model 3 battery pack and the way it handles on the road, in particular, and also estimated Tesla was turning a 30% profit on the vehicle. Munro ultimately concluded that everything from the car’s suspension and down was perfect, but everything about its bodywork was questionable.
While the study Sandy Munro and Mark Ellis have conducted has not yet been released, from the sounds of it, crow seems to have still been on the menu for Tesla’s inner workings while old criticisms still stand about its outer packaging.
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Tesla Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD estimated delivery slips to early fall 2026
Tesla has also added a note on the Cybertruck design page stating that the vehicle’s price will increase after February 28.
Tesla’s estimated delivery window for new Cybertruck Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive (AWD) orders in the United States has shifted to September–October 2026. This suggests that the vehicle’s sub-$60,000 variant is now effectively sold out until then.
The updated timeline was highlighted in a post on X by Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt, who noted that the estimated delivery window had moved from June 2026 to September-October 2026, “presumably due to strong demand.”
The Dual Motor AWD currently starts at $59,990 before incentives. Tesla has also added a note on the Cybertruck design page stating that the vehicle’s price will increase after February 28.
If demand remains steady, the combination of a later delivery window and a pending price increase suggests Tesla is seeing sustained interest in the newly-introduced Cybertruck configuration. This was highlighted by Elon Musk on X, when he noted that the Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD’s introductory price will only be available for a limited time.
When the Cybertruck was first unveiled in November 2019, Tesla listed the Dual Motor AWD variant at $49,990. Adjusted for inflation, that figure equates to roughly $63,000 in 2026 dollars, based on cumulative U.S. inflation since 2019.
That context makes a potential post-February price in the $64,000 to $65,000 range less surprising, especially as material, labor, and manufacturing costs have shifted significantly over the past several years.
While Tesla has not announced a specific new MSRP, the updated delivery timeline and pricing note together suggest that the Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD could very well be the variant that takes the all-electric full-sized pickup truck to more widespread adoption.
Elon Musk
SpaceX targets 150Mbps per user for upgraded Starlink Direct-to-Cell
If achieved, the 150Mbps goal would represent a significant jump from the current performance of Starlink Direct-to-Cell.
SpaceX is targeting peak download speeds of 150Mbps per user for its next-generation Direct-to-Cell Starlink service. The update was shared by SpaceX Spectrum & Regulatory Affairs Lead Udrivolf Pica during the International Telecommunication Union’s Space Connect conference.
“We are aiming at peak speeds of 150Mbps per user,” Pica said during the conference. “So something incredible if you think about the link budgets from space to the mobile phone.”
If achieved, the 150Mbps goal would represent a significant jump from the current performance of Starlink Direct-to-Cell.
Today, SpaceX’s cellular Starlink service, offered in partnership with T-Mobile under the T-Satellite brand, provides speeds of roughly 4Mbps per user. The service is designed primarily for texts, low-resolution video calls, and select apps in locations that traditionally have no cellular service.
By comparison, Ookla data shows median 5G download speeds of approximately 309Mbps for T-Mobile and 172Mbps for AT&T in the United States, as noted in a PCMag report. While 150Mbps would still trail the fastest terrestrial 5G networks, it would place satellite-to-phone broadband much closer to conventional carrier performance, even in remote areas.
Pica indicated that the upgraded system would support “video, voice, and data services, clearly,” moving beyond emergency connectivity and basic messaging use cases.
To reach that target, SpaceX plans to upgrade its existing Starlink Direct-to-Cell satellites and add significant new capacity. The company recently acquired access to radio spectrum from EchoStar, which Pica described as key to expanding throughput.
“More spectrum means a bigger pipeline, and this means that we can expand what we can do with partners. We can expand the quality of service. And again, we can do cellular broadband basically, cellular broadband use cases, like AI or daily connectivity needs,” he stated.
SpaceX has also requested regulatory approval to deploy 15,000 additional Direct-to-Cell satellites, beyond the roughly 650 currently supporting the system. The upgraded architecture is expected to begin rolling out in late 2027.
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Tesla seeks approval to test FSD Supervised in new Swedish city
Tesla has applied to conduct local Full Self-Driving (Supervised) testing in the city of Jönköping, Sweden.
Tesla has applied to conduct local Full Self-Driving (Supervised) testing in the city of Jönköping, Sweden.
As per local outlet Jönköpings-Posten, Tesla has contacted the municipality with a request to begin FSD (Supervised) tests in the city. The company has already received approval to test its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software in several Swedish municipalities, as well as on the national road network.
Sofia Bennerstål, Tesla’s Head of Public Policy for Northern Europe, confirmed that an application has been submitted for FSD’s potential tests in Jönköping.
“I can confirm that we have submitted an application, but I cannot say much more about it,” Bennerstål told the news outlet. She also stated that Tesla is “satisfied with the tests” in the region so far.
The planned tests in Jönköping would involve a limited number of Tesla-owned vehicles. Trained Tesla safety drivers would remain behind the wheel and be prepared to intervene if necessary.
Tesla previously began testing in Nacka municipality after receiving local approval. At the time, the company stated that cooperation between authorities, municipalities, and industry enables technological progress and helps integrate future transport systems into real-world traffic conditions, as noted in an Allt Om Elbil report.
If approved, Jönköping would become the latest Swedish municipality to allow local Full Self-Driving (Supervised) testing.
Tesla’s Swedish testing program is part of the company’s efforts to validate its supervised autonomous driving software in everyday traffic environments. Municipal approvals allow Tesla to gather data in urban settings that include roundabouts, complex intersections, and mixed traffic conditions.
Sweden has become an increasingly active testing ground for Tesla’s driver-assistance software in Europe, with regulatory coordination between local authorities and national agencies enabling structured pilot programs.
Tesla Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD estimated delivery slips to early fall 2026
SpaceX targets 150Mbps per user for upgraded Starlink Direct-to-Cell
