Jameson Dow

Tesla has started selling a limited-edition “CyberBeer + CyberStein” product, the latest in a line of funky products, and like many others, this one isn’t cheap.

Hot on the heels of a price drop that makes the Model 3 the cheapest Tesla yet, Tesla has also cut the base lease pricing for Model 3 and Y by $90/month and $100/month respectively.

But the company also now says that it “expects” to lose access to half of the US $7,500 federal tax credit on the Model 3 at year’s end, reducing that credit down to $3,750.

Tesla has started selling wraps for Model 3 and Model Y in seven different colors in its online shop and Tesla app.

Waymo’s completely driverless taxi is coming to Los Angeles, and will be open to the public starting this week. We got an advance ride in these self-driving electric cars and a sense of what this level 4 system can do in one of the more chaotic driving situations in a city full of chaotic driving situations: a Santa Monica and Venice Beach weekend.

United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain announced today that GM has “leapfrogged” other automakers in strike negotiations by agreeing to place all EV battery plant workers under the union’s national master agreement.

The IRS released new guidance on the EV tax credit today, and the changes mean that starting next year, low- and middle-income buyers will be able to get the full $7,500 credit even if they don’t have enough tax liability.

Tesla prices have been falling all year, and today we’ve got another price cut to report on most trims of Tesla’s most popular models, leaving the Model 3 at the lowest price it’s ever been.

GM has released its Q3 delivery numbers and EV sales are plugging along, most notably with a huge increase in deliveries of GM’s first Ultium vehicles, the Cadillac Lyriq and Hummer EV, suggesting that GM might finally be getting Ultium off the ground.

But compared to GM’s overall non-EV sales, the Q3 total of just over 20,000 EVs sold represents a rather small percentage for a company that has repeatedly stated it is “all-in” on EVs.

Rivian has added the “Max pack” option to its R1S configurator, and added “Max pack” as a filter criteria to its R1 shop, suggesting that vehicles with the massive 400+-mile pack will be shipping soon.

Update: Oct 3: Rivian has made it official, the Max pack is here, and deliveries have started for Max pack R1Ts.

A short video was posted to the internet today with the best view of Cybertruck’s interior yet, including a glimpse at the car’s main interface in action.

Tesla has updated its US website to add a cheaper Model Y RWD with a base price of $43,990 which, after incentives, might make it the cheapest Model Y ever available in the US.

Hyundai, Kia and Genesis vehicles were spotted doing a photoshoot while “charging” at a Supercharger today, leading to speculation about whether the brands may be ready to announce a joint move to Tesla’s NACS charging connector.

Rove, a new developer of full-service charging stations, broke ground today on its first charging station in Santa Ana, California, which will include 40 charging spots, a grocery store, indoor and outdoor seating, and a car wash.

In the midst of the United Auto Workers’ strike, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was asked on Face The Nation whether she plans to trade in her Tesla Model 3 for a union-built EV.

However, there really aren’t many EVs she could pick from, and that’s a problem for the Big Three, the UAW, the American auto industry, and US workers in general. And also for AOC.

Mercedes invited us out to Santa Monica to drive its EQS in some of the worst possible traffic conditions – and we were happy about it, because it let us test its new DRIVE PILOT system, the first actual hands-free “Level 3” autonomous drive system certified to operate in the US.

Tesla’s Virtual Power Plant program, a way for Powerwall owners to make money selling energy to the grid in times of need, is rolling out to San Diego Gas & Electric utility customers now.

Drive Electric Week kicks off this Saturday with over 200 online and in-person events celebrating electric vehicles. Events will be held for the next two weekends, from September 23 through October 1, in the US & Canada… and one in Mexico City.

Elon Musk pushed to use Tesla’s internal driver monitoring camera to record video of drivers’ behavior, primarily for Tesla to use this video as evidence to defend itself from investigations in the event of a crash, according to Walter Isaacson’s new biography of the Tesla CEO.

Tesla has started selling a powered liftgate retrofit for the Model 3 for $800 on its online shop.

The United Auto Workers union has begun a strike against all three major American automakers, with about 12,700 workers currently on strike, and the potential for up to 146,000 total to go on strike in the future if automakers do not offer the union a satisfactory agreement.

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety has awarded three new EVs with its top award, the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award.

Tesla’s Cybertruck is just about ready to enter production, but a test vehicle was caught on video causing a potentially dangerous situation as its aerodynamic wheel cover came off in traffic, striking another vehicle and flying into the sky.

Tesla is conducting testing on its upcoming Cybertruck, and a video was posted today showing the aftermath of a “ditch rollover” crash test, including a look at the rear seat and included 8-inch screen, like on the Model S/X and refreshed Model 3.

Tesla revealed the Model 3 Highland refresh last week with a lot more features than we expected, but one oft-requested feature was missing. But now, Tesla has updated the Model 3 Owner’s Manual in the EU, which shows that a genuine blind spot indicator is included with the refresh.