Tesla Green Cars

One of the coolest advantages of electric powertrains over internal combustion engines is that power and torque are available instantly. And this is one of the reasons why the Tesla Model S is the quickest production car with a 0-to-60 benchmark of only 2.5 seconds. Now, Tesla wants to put the Model 3’s instant torque to good use on the race track through a new driving mode. It’s called Track Mode and turns the compact sedan into a drift machine.

Tesla’s back in the news and, lo and behold, it’s again because they have to pay a few million dollars back. This time, the money will go to aggravated customers who bought the $5,000-worth Autopilot 2.0 suite only to find out that they have to wait months before it actually becomes available.

As part of the $5,400,000 settlement, which will see Tesla pay back customers anywhere between $25 and $280 depending on when they purchased the car. Basically, Tesla announced they will release the Autopilot 2.0 group of functions in December of 2016 in two separate packages: the ’Enhanced Autopilot’ package which was priced at $5,000 and the ’Fully Self-Driving’ package which cost $2,000 less. Sadly for customers, Tesla couldn’t keep up to its side of the bargain so lawsuits were filed aplenty.

Electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular these days, and manufacturers are responding by pouring in the investment and releasing oodles of new models. As such, competition between EV’s is growing, and 2018 was no exception. But the question is, which of these machines is the “best”? To find out, we lined up the usual suspects up and looked at all the critical specs, including range-per-charge, battery capacity, charge times, interior space, interior tech, and more. Read on to see which EV came out on top!

Did you know Mercedes-Benz and Tesla worked together closely back in 2009? In fact, the German automaker saved Tesla from bankruptcy by acquiring almost 10-percent stake in the company. Since then, both companies have grown apart and taken their own paths, but Mercedes-Benz is still open to working with Tesla in the future.

You could argue that the original automobile was invented to get around the hassle of dealing with horses and all the difficulties associated with using a giant mammal to get from A to B. Sure, that’s a gross simplification, and there were certainly other factors at play, but convenience undoubtedly played a major role all the same. Now, with the advent of autonomous drive systems, our lives are about to get a whole lot easier, as evidenced by this Tesla owner’s novel use of the Summon feature.

RevoZport already provides kits to fit the Tesla Model S and Model X, but now they’ve launched one for the smaller Tesla Model 3 too. They call it the R-Zentric Model 3R Aerokit, and it is essentially a widebody aero kit for Tesla’s smallest offering, one that completely transforms how the EV sedan is perceived.

Tesla has been changing Model 3 prices very frequently lately. In its latest change, the automaker has added the $5,000 performance upgrade package as standard equipment on the top-trim of the Model 3 without any increase in the price. This time, the change is a good thing!

Lately, Tesla has been talking about ‘Right to Repair,’ and how it is trying to get on board with the idea. Now, Tesla has taken the first step by releasing its parts catalog for Model 3, Model S, Model X, and Roadster. There’s even a tool catalog that will allow you to, eventually, order all the specialized tools you need to tear down and rebuild any Tesla model.

This is good news for you if you like to work on your own car, or if you prefer to have a mechanic outside of Telsa perform maintenance and repair.

Hot Wheels is reissuing the Tesla Roadster to commemorate the launch of Elon Musk’s Falcon Heavy rocket earlier this year. The 1:64 scale die-cast comes in a Metallic Dark Red paint, drawing similarities to Elon Musk’s own Roadster, which made the trip to space inside Falcon Heavy. Unfortunately, neither “Starman” nor a 1:4096 miniature Roadster on the dashboard are included in 1:64 scale Roadster

Despite all the controversy, things seem to be going well for Tesla. A couple of days back, CEO Elon Musk announced that Tesla has achieved a $312 million profit in the third quarter of 2018 - only the third time it has achieved a quarterly profit in its history of 15 years. However, this was not the only announcement made in the meeting. Musk spoke about Tesla Network – an upcoming self-driving ride-hailing service that could pose a serious threat to Uber and Lyft.

Are you worrying about your four-legged companion’s well-being while waiting for you back in your Tesla? Well, soon, you’ll have no reason for concern as Tesla’s poised to introduce a "Dog Mode" to keep dogs cool and calm inside while they wait for your return.

Following a series of tweet exchanges between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and some inquiring users, it seems like Tesla looks at ways to implement a "Dog Mode" that will keep the temperature inside the car cool, or warm, depending on the season, to have them relaxed until the owners come back.

While it’s unknown when will this mode will drop, supposedly as part of an upcoming system update; it isn’t Tesla’s first feature of this kind. The American manufacturer released two years ago the Cabin Overheat Protection mode which does exactly what its name suggests it would.

A new Model 3 is now available to order. It’s called the “Mid Range,” and it offers 260 miles per charge, a top speed of 125 mph, and a 0-to-60 mph time of 5.6 seconds, all for $45,000. Factor in the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit and $4,300 in average fuel savings, and the final price comes to $33,200, which makes it quite tempting for those looking to live the Tesla lifestyle without dropping a ton of coin. However, with the base Model 3 not hitting production until next year and the Federal Tax Credit on its way out the door, will the Mid Range be the best Tesla you can buy?

Tesla’s compact Model 3 sedan is clearly one of the safest cars on the market today, receiving a perfect 5-star safety rating after being tested by the NHTSA. To add to that, Tesla has claimed that the Model 3 scored the lowest probability of injury score ever recorded by the NHTSA.

The Model 3 is fresh off receiving a 5-star rating from the NHTSA after completing the full NCAP tests earlier this year. The smallest Tesla was awarded five stars across the board, including each sub-category, and for standard safety equipment. Now, Tesla posted on their blog that the Model 3 is also the car with the lowest likelihood of injury in case of a crash out of all the cars ever tested by the NTHSA.

Learn more about how safe the Model 3 is and why NHTSA doesn’t quite agree with Tesla

This is the latest Autopilot crash; but it wasn’t the system’s fault. A couple, who was too busy engrossed in something else other than focusing on the road, rear-ended a Nissan SUV despite the system warning and chiming its brains out. How can one trust a machine blindly?

James Murdoch, the son of billionaire mogul Rupert Murdoch, reportedly has the inside track to replace Elon Musk as chairman of Tesla. The report comes from the Financial Times, which is quoting two people familiar with the matter. Tesla has not issued a comment on the report, though Musk, who is still the current CEO and chairman of the company, categorically denied the report, saying that it was “incorrect.” As it is, the younger Murdoch is a non-executive director at Tesla’s board.

As the electric car market becomes bigger and more populated these days, Porsche is looking for a way to stand out from competition, and a big part of that approach is developing technologies that will allow it to claim the industry’s quickest charging times. The Porsche Taycan electric sports car — it’s Porsche’s first all-electric model ever — is expected to showcase that with the ability to charge 80 percent of its battery in just 15 minutes.

Tesla keeps on improving its Autopilot system and the new version is now able to overtake other cars in traffic with the "Navigate with Autopilot" function. It features a "Mad Max" mode for more assured passes.

Tesla cars have been driving themselves around and about for quite a while now, but passing hasn’t been anywhere near second nature for the American EVs. To initiate an overtake when navigating with the Autopilot system turned on, you had to toggle the turn signals yourself. Now, with version 9 of the system being available, this is no longer the case.

Elon Musk is stepping down as chairman of Tesla as part of a settlement reached with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The man behind companies like Tesla, SpaceX, and The Boring Company will be allowed to remain CEO, but he must vacate his position as chairman of the board within 45 days and cannot seek re-election for three years. Tesla has also agreed to pay a $20 million fine as part of the settlement stemming from a tweet he posted announcing that he had secured funding to take Tesla private.

Elon ‘Controversy’ Musk is in the news yet again. This time, it seems serious. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused Musk of fraud. What fraud, you ask? The agency says he made a series of “false and misleading” tweets about potentially taking Tesla private last month. They want him fired from Tesla.

The Tesla Model 3 has passed the NHTSA test with flying colors. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has tested the rear-wheel-drive Tesla Model 3, and the car has scored a five-star rating across all the categories. This is not something new for Elon Musk’s company, though, as all Tesla cars previously have done the same.

Thanks to the magic of over-the-air updates, Tesla has once again stepped up to the plate and delivered extra range, as well as free supercharging, to its customers in the path of Hurricane Florence. This move mirrors the same move the company made just last year for Florida residents right before Hurricane Irma made landfall. This special update has left Carolina-based customers with the following surprise message:

“We are temporarily enabling your car to access additional battery capacity, as well as free Supercharging, in preparation for Hurrican Florence. We hope this gives you the peace of mind to get to a safe location and will notify you before returning your car to its original configuration in mid-October. Badging on your display may adjust during this period. Safe travels.”

This temporary OTA update only affects those that previously purchased a Tesla Model S or Model X with a 75 kWh battery that was “software locked” to a capacity of 60 kWh. The option at the time made the car more affordable at the cost of a shorter range. It has, however, proven as-as a way that Tesla can offer some of its customers an unexpected and very much appreciated act of faith they need the extra go-juice the most. There’s no word as to when Tesla will return the cars to their original configuration or begin charging for Supercharging in the area again, but changes are the temporary update will remain in effect until long after the storm has passed.

Kudos to Tesla – it’s always nice to see an automaker help out its customers when it can. It costs the company next to nothing but can mean so much to those who have a desperate need for a few extra miles of range when getting out of mother nature’s way.