Elon Musk will reveal the second half of Tesla’s Model 3 plans tonight

By Andrew Hard Published October 19, 2016

Updated on 10-19-2016 by Andrew Hard: Tesla’s announcement wasn’t specific to the Model 3, but the brand revealed its entire fleet will be fitted with full self-driving hardware moving forward. Read the full post here.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk loves a good tease and his platform of choice is usually his Twitter account. The exec previously revealed a new Tesla product would be unveiled on Monday and he sweetened the deal by saying the debut would be “unexpected by most.” But on Sunday, Musk took to Twitter again to inform eager fans that there would be a slight delay in the unveil — until Wednesday at 5:00 pm Pacific Time.

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Moving the Tesla announcement to Wednesday. Needs a few more days of refinement.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 16, 2016

There are countless products that would fall into the category of “unexpected” — a Tesla-branded hair dryer, for instance — but Musk revealed today the announcement would center on the highly-anticipated second half of the Model 3’s reveal, something the exec has been promising since the original launch on March 31.

Read more: A hearse to die for: Get buried in style in this stretched Tesla Model S by RemetzCar

We know a fair amount about the vehicle by now — check out our full news and rumor roundup here — but specs regarding all the available powertrains are still under wraps and we have not seen the car’s full insides yet. Rumors of a spartan driverless cabin are swirling, so it is possible the interior of the future is just around the corner.

@elonmusk This is also what I was alluding to by Model 3 part 2

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 19, 2016

Musk’s original Twitter message also confirmed that a major announcement concerning Tesla and SolarCity will go down on October 28. We expect a new Powerwall to show its face alongside the beefier Powerpack 2.0 energy storage system, both compete with new 2170 cells from the brand’s gargantuan Gigafactory. We are hoping to get a glimpse of a new solar roof or Tesla charging unit as well, but if Musk’s tweet is anything to go by, join us in expecting the unexpected.

Article originally published on 10-10-2016. Updated on 10-19-2016 by Andrew Hard: Added confirmation that the “unexpected” reveal will be the second half of the Model 3’s debut.

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Tesla has released a cheaper Model 3 — and I really hope it comes to the U.S.

Tesla Model 3 Highland Front

The Tesla Model 3 is already one of the most popular electric vehicles, thanks to its large selection of great EV features and a reasonably low price compared to other electric cars. But it seems like Tesla is working on making the car even cheaper and has released a more affordable Model 3 with a downgraded interior in Mexico.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad that the Model 3 is available at a lower price in Mexico (it cuts the price of the current base Model 3 by around $4,000). But I really hope the vehicle makes it to the U.S.
What's different?
There are a few things that set the cheaper Model 3 variant apart from the current base Model 3 in the U,S. Most of these have to do with a regression of features compared to the Model 3 Highland update that was released last year. For example, the new passenger display in the back seat has been removed, and the accent lighting in the car is white only. Additionally, the seat coverings are a cheaper fabric instead of the faux leather available in the current Model 3. And there are no options for heated seats or a heated steering wheel.

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The base Tesla Model 3 isn’t bad, but you should probably upgrade

Tesla Model 3 Highland Front

Tesla is expanding the available options for the Model 3. Some time ago, Tesla stopped selling the Model 3 Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive, but the company has rereleased that version of the Model 3 in the form of the new Model 3 Highland design. This expands the number of Model 3 options available to four.

There are plenty of good reasons to buy a Tesla Model 3, but one of them is most certainly the price. The base version of the Model 3 starts at $38,990 before any tax incentives or other discounts. Sure, that’s not cheap, but it does make the Model 3 one of the least expensive high-end EVs out there right now. If you’re interested in the Model 3, however, I don’t think you should buy the base model. I think you should upgrade.

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Tesla delaying the launch of its next big thing, report claims

A Tesla steering wheel.

Tesla is delaying the unveiling of its robotaxi by a couple of months, according to a Bloomberg report citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Tesla boss Elon Musk said three months ago that the robotaxi would be unveiled at a special event on August 8, but sources said the event has now been pushed to October, apparently to give engineers more time to get the prototype right.