Last Wednesday, Elon Musk received an offer for the company’s possible privatization. The proposal was presented to Musk by advisers from Goldman Sachs and Silver Lake, and included a roster of prolific investors willing to contribute as much as $30 billion to Tesla. A day later, Musk met with the company’s Board of Directors at the Fremont factory and announced that he is withdrawing his proposal to take the company private.

The story of Tesla’s attempted privatization started off with a tweet. On August 7, Elon Musk announced on Twitter that he was considering taking Tesla private at $420 per share. Musk also added that funding had been secured for the deal. Later tweets during the day further suggested that the deal was quite certain and that Tesla’s privatization only needed a shareholder vote. Musk eventually published a blog post explaining his tweet a few days later, stating that his reference to funding being secured came from talks with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. The weeks following Musk’s initial announcement were volatile. SEC investigations were reportedly started, lawsuits were filed, and the company’s shares took a deep dive, at one point dipping below $290 per share.

Musk had been thinking of taking Tesla private for a while now. Being a public company, Tesla is subjected to the wild swings of the stock market, relentless attacks from short-sellers, and quarterly pressures from Wall Street. Musk’s other company, SpaceX, is private, and it pretty much runs like a far better-oiled version of Tesla. In an email to the Wall Street Journal this past weekend, Elon Musk explained that Tesla’s privatization was only feasible now, as the company is poised to rise considerably in the coming months.

“In my opinion, the value of Tesla will rise considerably in the coming months and years, possibly putting any take-private beyond the reach of any investors. It was now or perhaps never,” Musk wrote.

Elon Musk hired several high-profile advisers for Tesla’s possible privatization, including bankers from Goldman Sachs, as well as attorneys from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Musk also hired Egon Durban of Silver Lake Partners, who had brokered and helped bankroll the buyout of computer maker Dell when it went private. Musk also kept close counsel with Tesla executives such as Chief Technology Officer J.B. Straubel, Attorney Todd Maron (who was once his divorce lawyer), finance chief Deepak Ahuja, and his brother Kimbal, who also holds a seat at Tesla’s board.

On August 18, Elon Musk presented ideas about how Tesla’s privatization could be done. According to the Wall Street Journal, the members of the Board were in support of Musk’s go-private initiative, though some had reservations about the CEO’s actions on Twitter. Musk reportedly admitted to his rashness and pledged to exercise more self-control on the social media platform. Musk then went over to the Fremont factory, where he worked until past midnight, tweeting past 2 a.m. that he had just gotten home. He was able to rest the following day.

Tesla’s advisers went into overdrive on August 20 and 21, coming up with a list of possible investors that would provide funding for the company to go private. By August 22, advisers from Goldman Sachs and Silver Lake had a list of interested investors who were willing to fund Tesla’s privatization at $420 per share. Among them were Silver Lake itself, as well as German auto giant Volkswagen AG. The investors have reportedly agreed to contribute as much as $30 billion for the deal. Elon Musk had reservations.

Musk was reportedly suspicious of rival car companies taking a stake in Tesla, particularly since they could piggyback on what the CEO called the “Tesla Halo.” Musk was also bothered by the notion that some of Tesla’s most ardent supporters would likely be pushed out of the privatization deal. For one, Fidelity Investments, which has supported Tesla over the years, would not be able to roll its entire stake in the company due to regulatory constraints.

Retail investors — individual shareholders who believe in Tesla’s mission and are putting in their hard-earned money into the company — might be in jeopardy as well. Then there was the photo. Earlier this month, Musk received a photo emailed to him by an elderly couple dressed in Tesla t-shirts with a handwritten sign congratulating the company for producing 7,000 electric cars in seven days. The message in the photo was short, simply saying “Thanks, Elon! Two happy stockholders!” Musk reportedly forwarded the email to a friend, writing that the picture “Made my day.”

After giving him the $30 billion offer, the privatization deal team advised Musk that the funding would likely come with several strings attached, as some major investors might want to have specific terms for themselves. Some would also demand to have a lot of say in the company.

The day after, a board meeting was held in a conference room at the Fremont factory — one that still had a used sleeping bag from Musk’s overnight working sessions at the facility. The company’s financial advisers stated that they were confident that Tesla’s privatization could be done. Then, it was Musk’s turn to speak.

“Based on the latest information I have, I’m withdrawing the proposal,” Musk said.

Elon Musk’s blog post explaining his decision to keep the company public was published on Tesla’s official website a day later.

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As Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) continues to deal with the aftermath of its privatization attempt, all eyes are once more on the Model 3 production ramp and the company’s attempt at profitability this Q3. Fortunately for Tesla, the Model 3 ramp appears to have gone strong despite the drama that ensued after Elon Musk announced his initial intentions to take the company off the public markets.

Tesla’s progress with the Model 3 ramp was the focus of Nomura Instinet analyst Romit Shah during a recent segment of Bloomberg Markets. While speaking with the segment’s host, the analyst noted that his firm is optimistic about Tesla’s Model 3 production numbers for this quarter.

“It’s changing. I mean, this quarter, we think that Tesla is gonna produce around 65,000 or 70,000 Model 3. That’s a big increase from a quarter or two ago. The whole production issue with Model 3 today is very different than what’s been going on over the last several quarters,” the analyst said.

While the Nomura analyst’s forecast for the Model 3’s production for Q3 might seem optimistic, it is pertinent to note that Tesla has been showing signs that it sustained an optimal production rate for the electric sedan at multiple points over the past two months. During the first weeks of July, for example, Tesla began earnestly pushing the Model 3 to consumers through test drive programs and initiatives like a 5-Minute Sign & Drive delivery system. More than 18,000 new Model 3 VINs were also filed in a two week period. Elon Musk highlighted the company’s progress during Tesla’s Q2 2018 earnings call, when he stated that production hit 5,000/week during “multiple weeks” in July.

The Model 3 ramp appears to have been sustained this August as well, as this month saw Bloomberg‘s Model 3 tracker breach the 6,000/week-mark for the first time since the electric car started production last year. Model 3 VIN registrations were even more impressive this month, with the company filing 16,000 new vehicles in a seven-day period. Perhaps even more encouraging was a report from Evercore ISI analysts, who noted that they “did not see anything to suggest that Model 3 cannot reach 6k units per week and 7k to 8k with very little incremental capital expenditure.”

In a way, the cancelation of its privatization attempt enables Tesla to focus on its fundamentals, which Baird analyst Ben Kallo described as “underappreciated” in a recent note. For the near future, Romit Shah of Nomura Instinet even believes that if Tesla stays focused and determined, reaching a share price of $400 should be no problem.

“They were at $350 prior to the tweet, so they were within, call it 10,15%. I think the company just needs to continue to improve production, show that demand for the vehicle is strong, which we believe is the case, and then start selling the vehicle internationally, both in Europe and China, and I think if they can do that, $400 is probably right around the corner,” the analyst said.

As of writing, Tesla shares are trading -1.32% at $315.06 per share. 

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.

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Elon Musk appears to be hitting his stride in his social media use once more. Since announcing that Tesla would remain publicly traded, Musk has been his charming self on the social media platform, even clarifying his demeanor during his fateful interview with the New York Times earlier this month.

The past month has been quite difficult and stressful for Elon Musk, and just like Tesla’s struggles with the Model 3 ramp, much of his stress were pretty much self-inflicted. Musk found himself in the middle of controversy after he announced on Twitter that he was considering taking the company private at $420 per share, and that he had “funding secured.” In the weeks that followed, Tesla was attacked by a fresh wave of criticism from dedicated short-sellers and at some point, even the mainstream media. SEC investigations were reportedly started, and lawsuits were reportedly filed against Musk as well.

Tesla is now dealing with the aftermath of the privatization attempt and its subsequent cancelation, but during the height of the go-private drama, Musk opted to give an interview to the New York Times. The interview, which reportedly lasted an hour, featured Musk discussing the events that led up to his tweet about Tesla’s privatization attempt, as well as his struggles in the weeks that followed after. The NYT piece was extensive, though it included more references to unnamed sources than it did of Musk’s actual statements. What’s more, the piece painted a picture of a man who was on the verge of a breakdown, with the article stating that during the course of the interview, “Mr. Musk alternated between laughter and tears” and that the CEO “choked up multiple times” while talking about the difficulties he was facing.

Musk’s depiction in the NYT interview affected Tesla’s stock. In the days that followed, the company’s shares tanked more than 12% as investors started having second thoughts about Musk’s ability to lead the company. New York Times reporter David Gelles, one of the publication’s staff who penned the interview, when posted a tweet stating that “Tesla $TSLA stock now down close to 4 percent in premarket trading. Wonder why?” — seemingly as a direct reference to the interview’s effect on Tesla stock.

Musk recently issued a clarification about his composure during the NYT interview. In a statement on Twitter, Musk noted that his voice cracked once during the conversation, though he maintained that he did not shed any tears.

For the record, my voice cracked once during the NY Times article. That’s it. There were no tears.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 28, 2018

Elon Musk’s recent clarification does stand in line with his demeanor and composure during an interview filmed in roughly the same time period as the New York Times article. In the same week as his interview with the publication, Musk also had an interview with noted YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee. Musk seemed incredibly tired in his conversations with the YouTuber, but he did not look like he was, in any way, close to having a breakdown. If any, Musk’s interactions with Brownlee showed classic Elon Musk — overworked, inherently nerdy, and even a bit charming. Overall, the contrast between the Elon Musk in the MKBHD video and the Musk depicted in the NYT article was pretty much night and day.

If there is one thing that seems to be accurate in the New York Times piece, it is that Elon Musk appears to have pledged to keep his behavior in check on Twitter. This was reiterated by the Wall Street Journal as well, in a recent report about how Musk walked away from $30 billion of funding for Tesla’s privatization. Both articles noted that Musk pledged to Tesla’s Board of Directors that he would exercise more restraint in social media. So far, Musk appears to be doing just that.

Since announcing the end of Tesla’s privatization attempt, Musk has maintained a witty, polite tone on Twitter, at one point even responding to child actor and Fresh Off the Boat star Ian Chen, who asked if Musk could sign his Model 3.

Sure

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 28, 2018

Watch Elon Musk’s interview with YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee in the video below.

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Tesla seems to have reached a point in the Model 3 production that it is now confident enough to start promoting the vehicle to other regions. Just a couple of weeks after bringing the car to Australia and New Zealand, Tesla seems poised to showcase the electric sedan in Hong Kong.

Invitations for the Hong Kong event were recently shared online. The Model 3 was not explicitly mentioned by the company in its communication, though the vehicle’s unmistakable outline could be recognized in the invite. The company’s email to the Tesla community in HK reveals that the “Tesla Hong Kong Special Event” will run until August 31, and would include four sessions, at 12 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. The special event would be held at Tesla The Pulse or TML.

The communication from Tesla indicates that attendees would have to RSVP. A product introduction would be conducted, followed by test drive sessions in the Model S and Model X. Following is a screenshot of the email the company sent out to the Tesla community in Hong Kong.

Tesla’s invitation for a special event in Hong Kong. [Credit: Model 3 Owners Club/Twitter]

It is now more than a year into the production of the Model 3, and Elon Musk’s self-imposed “production hell” appears to be nearing its end. Tesla is expected to produce and deliver record numbers of Model 3 this third quarter. Nomura Instinet analyst Romit Shah recently noted that the electric car maker could produce as much as 65,000-70,000 Model 3 this quarter, especially since Tesla appears to have breached the 6,000/week mark this August.

While Tesla appears to be preparing to showcase the Model 3 to Hong Kong, rival General Motors is running into problems with its EV push in China. GM is aiming to compete in the hyper-competitive EV sector in the country, and it has selected its plug-in hybrid Buick Velite 6 — a local variant of the Volt — as one of its key vehicles. An all-electric car is also planned for next year.

Unfortunately for GM, its EV initiative has hit a roadblock after it found that the battery packs supplied by A123 Systems, one of its suppliers, are not up to par in terms of performance and safety standards. A123 Systems is a Livonia, Michigan company that was bought out of bankruptcy by Chinese auto parts giant Wanxiang Group Corp. in 2013. The company operates a battery factory in the city of Hangzhou to supply packs for the Chinese market.

In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, Thomas Barrera, president of LIB-X Consulting, a battery consultancy based in Long Beach, CA, noted that there are risks to some of the inexpensive battery solutions being produced in the Asian country.

“There are concerns with the quality of Chinese-manufactured cells and batteries. Chinese cells are very attractive because they’re inexpensive, but people may not realize that these cells may not have gone through the necessary qualification testing before going to market,” he said.

Tesla is also looking to breach the Chinese electric car market, though it aims to accomplish this using its trademark in-house development strategy. The company is currently looking to start the construction of Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, which would produce its own batteries and be equipped to handle the production of electric cars. When complete, Tesla estimates Gigafactory 3 to build as many as 500,000 electric vehicles per year.

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Tesla is preparing to roll out the first Full Self-Driving features of its fleet with the upcoming release of Software Version 9. While Tesla has not revealed the features that would comprise the first capabilities of its FSD suite, an automated turn signaling system appears to have been teased in a patent filing, which was published today.

The patent filing is simply dubbed as “Vehicle Technologies for Automated Turn Signaling,” and it describes a system that utilizes the electric cars’ suite of cameras, radar, and ultrasonic sensors to enable the vehicle to activate its turn signals without human input. The patent’s international filing date was listed on February 22, 2018, and its inventor was listed as Sean Haight, Ph.D., a Staff Passive Safety Test Engineer at Tesla.

Tesla notes in its patent filing that turn signals today, including those that are equipped with smart features, still rely on human input to be activated. Since manual activation of the turn signals is still required, it is not rare for the safety feature to be enabled too late when drivers navigate into a turn. The electric car maker notes that this creates a dangerous situation, particularly in areas where vehicles are traveling at high speeds.

The patent filing outlines a system that uses a processor that would analyze input from the electric cars’ suite of sensors to determine if the vehicle is turning left or right. By analyzing a series of factors such the movements of the steering wheel, the vehicle would be able to activate its turn signals automatically. Following is a diagram outlining how Tesla’s Automated Turn Signaling system would work. 

Tesla describes the system in the following excerpt from the patent filing.

“An embodiment includes a method of automated turn signaling, the method comprising: determining, via the processor, that a vehicle will cross a lane line or turn based on a measured steering angle value that is within a value range stored in a memory, wherein the car includes the processor, the memory, and the turn signal source; and activating, via the processor, the turn signal source based on the determination that a vehicle will cross a lane line or turn.

“An embodiment includes a storage device having stored therein a set of processor executable instructions which, when executed by an electronic processing system, cause the electronic processing system to: determine a path of travel of a first vehicle relative to a lane line based on a first set of data received from an image capture device of the first vehicle; determine that a second vehicle is present within a predetermined distance from the first vehicle based on a second set of data received from a reflective wave detector; activate a turn signal source of the first vehicle when (a) the first vehicle has a travel path and a steering angle such that the first vehicle will cross the lane line or effect a turn, and (b) the second vehicle is present within the predetermined distance from the first vehicle.”

The full text of Tesla’s patent on Automated Turn Signaling could be viewed here.

Automated Turn Signaling is a feature that would be incredibly useful for drivers, particularly those who travel through high-speed highways on a consistent basis. The automatic feature outlined in the patent filing is also a perfect fit for Tesla’s Autopilot and its upcoming Full Self-Driving suite. Autopilot, after all, has already reached a certain level of refinement on freeways, but the driver-assist system still leaves much to be desired when attempting to perform actions such as highway on-ramp to off-ramp maneuvers. This capability was specifically mentioned by Stuart Bowers, a member of Tesla’s Autopilot team, back in the company’s Q2 2018 earnings call.

“A lot of the focus is on Autopilot V9, which is our sort of on-ramp to off-ramp solution that’s going to automatically attempt to change lanes, understand what lane the car is in, understand the route the user wants to travel and take that route for the user and ultimately hand back control to that user which is kind of stay in control,” Bowers said.

Automated Turn Signaling also appears to be a perfect fit for a feature teased by Elon Musk himself in the most recent earnings call. While speaking about Tesla’s upcoming Full Self-Driving suite and the upcoming improvements to Autopilot, Musk teased a feature called Integrated Navigation, which would allow vehicles to navigate towards a set destination.

“Integrated navigation. So, you’d like by the way, a little tip for if you’re driving Model S or X or 3, is if you just tap the Navigate button and just drag down, it will automatically navigate you to your home or work, depending upon where you are. That’s a pretty cool feature,” Musk said.

Tesla’s Software Version 9 is expected to see a wide rollout sometime in September. Apart from improved Autopilot capabilities and the introduction of the first Full Self-Driving features, Tesla is also introducing some fun, new Easter Eggs for V9’s release. Among these are some classic Atari titles such as Pole Position, which would have its controls linked to the electric cars’ steering wheel.

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It is not difficult to see that Tesla is an extremely polarizing company. Headed by a polarizing figure such as Elon Musk, it is no surprise to see the electric car maker attracting a devoted group of supporters and an equally dedicated group of critics. Among Tesla’s staunchest critics are short-sellers betting against the company, some of whom maintain an active presence on Twitter.

One of Tesla’s most prominent short-sellers on Twitter is Mark Spiegel of Stanphyl Capital, who has a heavy bet against the electric car maker. Spiegel has become a mainstay in anti-Tesla discussions, frequently posting incendiary tweets on his account and appearing on television to air his thesis about the company. One of Spiegel’s recent tweets, a screenshot of which could be found below, involves him proudly blocking a Supercharger station with his Porsche Boxster S — an act intended to inconvenience owners and incite reactions from Tesla supporters.

Just yesterday, Reuters published a report about the work being done by a number of Tesla bears. Unlike Spiegel, the subjects of the article were small-time investors who are personally betting against the company. Among these were Brodie Ferguson, a 25-year-old Canadian with a short position on TSLA, and small business owner Paul Shust, who also maintains a critical stance against the company.

Surprisingly, the Reuters report also included the work of an anonymous but self-proclaimed Tesla short, called @Latriffe, who has taken it upon himself to track the activity in Tesla’s overflow lot at the Burbank Airport. After the Q2 2018 earnings call, Latriffe announced on his Twitter account that he would be putting the Burbank Airport lot under 24/7 surveillance since he hypothesized that the mass number of vehicles being taken to the location was proof that demand for the Model 3 was declining, or that cars being produced were defective. This argument was contradicted by Tesla in the second quarter earnings call, when Tesla worldwide head of sales Robin Ren stated that demand for the electric sedan remains high.

Reuters writers Michelle Price and Sarah Lynch, who penned the article, celebrated the efforts of the Tesla short-sellers on Twitter, dubbing the piece as a “story on the fascinating world of amateur sleuthing and research on Tesla that some would say puts most Wall Street analysts to shame.” The reaction from Tesla’s supporters on the social media platform was immediate, with many calling out the writers for including the still-anonymous Latriffe as a valid source in the article. As it turns out, the TSLA bear’s interactions with Tesla’s supporters online were questionable at best.

Big thanks to @Latrilife @brodieferguson @Paul_M_Huettner and many others for sticking with me and @SarahNLynch on this story on the fascinating world of amateur sleuthing and research on Tesla that some would say puts most Wall Street analysts to shame https://t.co/WfOCsFPmaq

— Michelle Price (@michelleprice36) August 29, 2018

Tesla bull @tslalytix has compiled a number of the short-seller’s messages sent to the company’s supporters, and they are quite disturbing. Included in his posts are homophobic slurs, misogynistic messages, and sexual innuendos addressed to Tesla supporters and Elon Musk (to name a few). Tslalytix’s compilation of the short-seller’s screenshots could be accessed here, but be warned as a number of the posts include strong language. Amidst the complaints from Tesla supporters, Michelle Price clarified in a later tweet that they followed due procedure when they cleared the Tesla short as a source for the article.

Ha, I love the assumption of knowledge in this tweet accusing us of making assumptions of knowledge about anonymous Twitter accounts. For the record, we did multiple and varied checks on the one anonymous source we quote.

— Michelle Price (@michelleprice36) August 30, 2018

As Tesla approaches the final month of the third quarter, the heat surrounding the company is only bound to increase. Tesla is currently attempting to hit profitability, while hitting new production records for the Model 3. The company’s production rate during the first two months of Q3 is somewhat encouraging, particularly since Elon Musk confirmed in the Q2 earnings call that Tesla was able to hit a pace of 5,000 Model 3/week during “multiple weeks” in July. August’s production figures could be a pleasant surprise as well, as Bloomberg‘s Model 3 production tracker registered a production rate of 6,000 Model 3 per week at one point. VIN registrations are also encouraging, as Tesla passed the 100,000-vehicle mark during the month.

Being the most shorted stock in the market, it is not surprising to see the amount of vitriol directed at Tesla. That said, there are times when TSLA bears miss their mark. Last July, for example, Gordon L. Johnson, an analyst from Vertical Research Group and one of the company’s more vocal critics in Wall Street, made a grave mistake when he published a note to clients based on a fallacious report against Tesla. He later apologized to his firm’s clients about his error.

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Tesla appears to be laying the foundations for its upcoming international Model 3 push. Amidst the company’s ongoing initiative to produce the Model 3 at scale, Tesla has registered a batch of 1,481 new Model 3 VINs, 19 of which include references suggesting that the electric cars could be intended for the EU region.

The latest batch of Model 3 VINs filed by the company was posted by watchdog group @Model3VINs on Twitter. The group noted in a follow-up post that 19 of the new VINs are listed with a different code (“7”) for their “Restraint System.” The “7” code for the Restraint System has been used by Tesla in the past, particularly when denoting a Model S configured for the EU.

“The first 19 VINs (108730-108748) contain a new code (‘7’) in the 6th position, which represents the “Restraint System” for the vehicle. Although the code is not incl. in the decoder submitted to NHTSA, it appears to be used in Model S to denote an EU car.“

#Tesla registered 1,481 new #Model3 VINs. ~50% estimated to be dual motor. Highest VIN is 110210. https://t.co/jT70ob6Z7o

— Model 3 VINs (@Model3VINs) August 31, 2018

That said, the 19 Model 3 VINs with “7” listed in their Restraint System were still Left Hand Drive, suggesting that the release of the region’s highly-anticipated Right Hand Drive variants would likely still follow Elon Musk’s mid-2019 estimate. Among the EU-designated vehicles are Model 3 that are RWD and AWD. A list of the VINs with EU references provided to Clean Technica indicates that no Model 3 Performance (“4” in the 8th digit of the VIN) has been registered for the region yet.

Tesla appears to be preparing the Model 3 for an international release. Earlier this month, the electric car maker brought over the electric sedan to Australia and New Zealand to give reservation holders and potential customers a hands-on experience with the vehicle. The Model 3 unveiling events were quite successful, with some reservation holders from Australia traveling for hours just to see the electric car in person.

Following up on the success of its Australia and New Zealand event, Tesla also appears to be bringing the Model 3 to Hong Kong. This was revealed in an email sent to the Tesla community in the Asian nation, inviting them to a “Special Event.” A header in the invite for the Hong Kong event featured the outline of a vehicle that is unmistakably a Model 3.

This third quarter appears to be a breakthrough period for Tesla, which has struggled since July 2017 to mass produce the electric car. After missed deadlines and a series of manufacturing problems that comprised Elon Musk’s self-dubbed “production hell,” the company finally seems to have hit its stride this Q3. Since producing 5,000 Model 3 per week at the final week of June, the company has not let up in its efforts, with Elon Musk confirming during the Q2 2018 earnings call that the 5,000/week pace had been sustained during “multiple weeks” in July.

Tesla’s Model 3 production this August also shows encouraging signs. During the month, Tesla’s Model 3 VIN filings passed the 100,000-vehicle mark. Bloomberg‘s Model 3 production tracker, which has gotten more accurate over the past few months, also estimated that Tesla was able to manufacture 6,000 of the electric cars in one week. The company’s progress in the production of the Model 3 has become a point of confidence for Nomura Instinet analyst Romit Shah, who recently noted that Tesla could produce as many as 65,000-70,000 of the electric cars this third quarter.

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Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) recently lost its place as the most shorted company in the US stock market. With short interest slightly declining this third quarter, Tesla has handed over the title of most-shorted publicly-traded company to Amazon, which currently has a $9.97 billion short interest.

The update on Tesla’s shorted shares was posted on Twitter by Ihor Dusaniwsky, Managing Director of Predictive Analytics at S3 Partners LLC, a financial analytics firm based in New York. Dusaniwsky noted in his update that Tesla short interest currently stands at $9.83 billion, which translates to around 32.43 million shares shorted, or 25.43% of the company’s float. The S3 Partners executive further noted that Tesla shorts are up $638 million this week amidst TSLA’s -6.02% price move.

Dusaniwsky also noted to Reuters that there was some short covering during the aftermath of Elon Musk’s fateful “funding secured” tweet last August 7. Despite this, most of the shorts that covered their positions then appear to have been replaced by new short-sellers.

“While there was some short covering the week after the tweet, there has still not been any significant net Tesla short covering on the Street. Any traders who have closed down their positions to realize some profits have been replaced by new ones looking for continued price weakness,” he said.

August has proven to be a challenging month for Tesla investors, who saw the company’s shares exhibit even more volatility than usual in the days and weeks following Musk’s announcement and eventual cancellation of his go-private effort. Amidst reported SEC investigations, lawsuits, and increased attacks from critics and short-sellers, Tesla stock has remained resilient nonetheless, staying in the ~$300 range despite dipping as low as $288.20 on August 20.

The S3 Partners executive believes that the resilience of TSLA stock might become a trigger for increased short-selling activity against the electric car maker. Thus, it would not be surprising if Tesla ends up reclaiming its spot as the most-shorted publicly-traded US stock in the near future.

“A $300 Tesla price may be a signal of increased short selling since when Tesla’s stock price dipped below $300 per share in March, shares shorted climbed from 30.0 million to 41.6 million in just over two months,” he said.

Tesla is a polarizing company, attracting an equal number of supporters and critics, and this is particularly evident in the company’s stock. Back in May, there were 39 million TSLA shares held short — the highest in Tesla’s history. That said, the number of shares held short has since exhibited a slight yet seemingly steady decline, dropping to 32.72 million on August 15 and 32.43 million as of this week.

While Tesla continues to deal with the aftermath of Elon Musk’s privatization attempt, the progress of the company’s Model 3 production push is quite encouraging. Over the past two months, Tesla has showed signs that it is capable of maintaining a sustained optimum rate for the production of the electric car — a feat confirmed by Elon Musk in the Q2 2018 earnings call when he announced that Model 3 production hit 5,000 vehicles per week during “multiple weeks” in July. Tesla’s VIN registrations also went into overdrive in August, passing the 100,000-vehicle mark. Baird analyst Ben Kallo referenced the Model 3 in a recent note as well, stating that Tesla’s fundamentals, such as its progress in its mass-production efforts for the electric sedan, is still “underappreciated.”

As of writing, Tesla shares are trading down 0.73% at $300.93 per share. 

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.

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The Tesla community is home to a number of very creative DIY enthusiasts, many of whom have come up with clever projects to make their vehicles even more attractive and useful than they already are. One of these projects was showcased recently in YouTube, in a collaboration between Teslanomics host Ben Sullins and tech teardown expert JerryRigEverything.

The Model 3 has not been given an official tow rating yet, but the vehicle’s powerful electric motors invoke the idea that the electric sedans are fully capable of hauling some serious cargo. This was the focus of the recent DIY project involving the two YouTube hosts, as they installed a tow hitch on a Long Range RWD Model 3. With a tow hitch installed, the Model 3 would have the capability to tow trailers, carry bikes, and become an all-around more productive electric car. 

The pair opted to install the Stealth EcoHitch on the Model 3, since the contraption is practically invisible when it’s not being used.  The hitch itself has a towing capacity of 2,000 lbs and a tongue weight of 200 pounds. Installing the hitch was a simple and straightforward process, starting with the removal of the tail lights and the car’s rear bumper. The plastic plate at the bottom of the Model 3 was also removed.

Once the rear bumper was taken off, it was just a matter of removing the Model 3’s crash bar and replacing a couple of metal plates with the tow hitch itself, followed by cutting a hole into the plastic plate at the bottom of the vehicle. With these steps done, the DIY installation of the Model 3 tow hitch was completed.

The two YouTube hosts tested out the vehicle’s towing capabilities by hooking up the electric sedan with a 1,700-lb trailer. A Radio Flyer Model S for Kids and the JerryRigEverything host himself were also on the trailer, which likely (or closely) maxed out the towing capacity of the Stealth EcoHitch installed on the Model 3. After driving around hauling the trailer and its cargo, the Teslanomics host noted that he did not feel any lag in the vehicle’s performance at all.

Tesla’s vehicles are incredibly powerful. Thanks to the instant torque provided by their electric motors, Tesla’s electric cars are capable of pulling some serious weight. Just like the acceleration figures of its vehicles, Tesla is quite conservative with the listed towing capacity of its cars. The Model X, for one, is listed with a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs when equipped with 20″ wheels.

As later feats would indicate, the Model X is actually capable of hauling far more than 5,000 lbs of cargo. Earlier this year, Tesla YouTube host Bjorn Nyland’s Model X successfully pulled a 95,000-lb semitrailer across an icy road. Not long after that, the Boring Company, Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, posted a video of a Tesla Model X pulling 250,000 lbs of dirt (that’s 50 times the rated towing capacity for the SUV) from a tunnel.

The tow hitch installation is just one of several cool DIY projects that have been shared online for the Model 3. Just recently, a Model 3 owner figured out a way to give the electric sedan an automatic frunk through the use of aftermarket gas spring struts. A simple wood staining DIY project earlier this year also gave the Model 3’s ubiquitous wooden dash a unique splash of elegance.

Watch the Tesla Model 3’s DIY tow hitch installation in the video below.

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The Tesla Model 3 Performance might not have the Model S P100D’s Ludicrous Mode, but the instant torque from its two all-electric motors is still enough to give the midsized premium sedan the capability to launch like a rocket from a dead stop. This explosive acceleration was recently featured in an in-car video of a Model 3 Performance competing against a Chevrolet Corvette C7 in a standing quarter mile drag race.

The Model 3 Performance that competed in the video was not equipped with Tesla’s optional $5,000 Performance Upgrade package, which boosts the electric car’s top speed to 155 mph and adds 20″ Performance Wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires, a carbon fiber rear spoiler, and aluminum alloy pedals. The owner of the Model 3 Performance is the owner of the Chill Cars YouTube channel, which previously uploaded a video of the Aero Wheels-equipped electric car competing against an Infiniti G35 Coupe.

This time around, the stock Model 3 Performance’s opponent was more challenging. The Chevrolet Corvette C7, after all, is a serious American sports car that pretty much borders on supercar territory. The Chevrolet C7 polarized the brand’s ardent fans when it was first unveiled due to its rear design elements, which were considered a departure from the brand’s past design language. But behind the criticism over the car’s controversial rear end, it was evident that the vehicle was one impressive high-performance car.

The C7 featured Chevrolet’s all-new LT1 6.2-liter Small Block V8 engine that produces 455 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque, which gives the front-engine, rear-wheel drive vehicle the ability to hit 60 mph from a stop in just 3.9 seconds. The American sports car also has a top speed of 175 mph, higher than the Model 3 Performance’s 155 mph top speed (with the $5,000 Performance Upgrade). Being a drivers’ car, the Chevrolet Corvette C7 is offered in either a 7-speed manual transmission or an 8-speed automatic transmission.

Even without the Performance Upgrade, the Tesla Model 3 Performance is capable of sprinting from 0-60 mph in just 3.5 seconds, thanks to its dual motors that produce a combined 450 hp and 471 lb-ft of torque. The Model 3 Performance is designed to compete against other high-performance sedans like the BMW M3, but in true Tesla fashion, the electric car is proving to be a legitimate competition to cars above its class. Just recently, the Model 3 Performance raced a McLaren 570S on the quarter mile, and it gave the British-made “baby” supercar a run for its money.

As its battle against the Corvette C7 reveals, the Model 3 Performance is quick enough to give the Chevrolet a good battle, and then some. The in-car video of the drag race between the two vehicles showcased the electric car’s explosive launch, which immediately allowed the Tesla to leave the C7 behind. The electric car just continued pulling from that point, finishing the quarter-mile run in 11.74 seconds at 114.12 mph. The Corvette C7 completed the race in 13.28 seconds at 113.19 mph.

Watch the in-car footage from the Model 3 Performance as it battled the Chevrolet Corvette C7 in the video below.

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Veteran talk show host and iconic comedian Jay Leno knows a thing or two about cars. Before he made a name for himself on television, Leno had his start as a “lot boy” in a Ford dealership. His first forays into stand-up comedy were also supported by work he did at another auto dealership.

Now 68-years-old, Jay Leno is retired from regular TV work, but not from his passion for cars. He currently hosts Jay Leno’s Garage on CNBC, a show where he showcases vehicles that are unique and noteworthy. Among these were the Tesla Model S, which was featured back in a segment back in 2012, and more recently, the next-generation Tesla Roadster, which unleashed the iconic host’s inner child.  

Being a veteran of the auto industry and a man who has interacted with thousands of vehicles during his long and storied career, Jay Leno’s views on the future of cars are something that deserves much consideration. Some of these were recently related in a segment of CNBC Make It, where Leno discussed what he believes the auto industry will be like 20 years from now, and how people would likely adapt to the emergence of self-driving technologies.

During the segment, Leno noted that vehicles would likely abandon the ignition key in 20 years. The veteran talk show host believes that the auto industry would probably transition to using systems similar to what Tesla is adopting today.

“I think you’ll lose the ignition key. That will be gone in 20 years. You just get in your car and either through your phone or some electronic device; it knows it’s you and you pull away, much like Tesla does now,” Leno said.

Leno believes that self-driving cars are indeed the future, though the transition to their widespread use will likely take some time. That said, the auto veteran noted that the reservations of people over self-driving technologies are similar to the pushback the car industry felt when it was introducing features that have now become standard.

“It’s not like all of a sudden people flip over to self-driving cars. But it’s the same thing that happened when anti-lock brakes came out: People said, ‘I don’t want some computer doing the braking in my car. I want to step on my car.’ Or power steering: ‘I like to feel the road. I’m not going to get power steering.’ Well, all these things eventually become — well, they just get adapted to cars and you sort of move on.”

“People don’t realize, in the old days, you had to adjust the choke, you had to adjust the spark advance to retard or advance the ignition. There are a lot of things to do in a car. You had to shift gears by hand, and eventually, all of those things happened automatically. And I think that’s what will happen.”

Ultimately, Leno believes that the shift of the auto industry towards autonomy and the emergence of companies like Tesla, which are as focused on software as they are on hardware, are bound to encounter some pushback. Leno compared the upcoming shift in the auto sector with the developments in life-saving medical procedures, particularly those that have triggered strong adverse reactions in the past.

“I can remember when Barney Clark, who was the world’s oldest living heart transplant, got a heart transplant. People were protesting: ‘You’re taking the heart from one man and putting it in another. It’s the work of the devil. It’s a horrible thing.’ Now heart transplants are as common as any other kind of medical procedure. So I think it just takes a while, but eventually it becomes evolutionary,” he said.

Jay Leno owns a Tesla himself, driving up to the company’s design center to experience the next-generation Roadster in his very own original Tesla Roadster. In previous interviews, Leno has openly expressed his support for the company, stating that he does not understand the overwhelming amount of flak that Tesla is receiving. The veteran host also aired his thoughts on some of the criticisms being directed towards Tesla, particularly around the federal tax credit being extended towards the company’s buyers.

“I do own a Tesla. I like them very much. I mean, I think it really is the future. I like the fact that Tesla is an American company, using American workers, using locally-sourced materials. So I never quite understand the negative vibes you sometimes get.

“People push back; they don’t like the fact that you get money back from the government. You know, I don’t really go to sporting events, but I have to pay for stadiums. I don’t have kids, but I have to pay for schools. So, I don’t mind some of my tax dollars contributing to infrastructure to make air cleaner and cars more efficient. So no, I’m a big fan,” he said.  

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A sneak peek featuring the first images of Tesla’s upcoming Software Version 9 have emerged online, providing a brief teaser of some design elements and features that can be expected in the upcoming update.

The sneak peek images were recently shared on Twitter by Jason Hughes, a notable member of the Tesla community. The uploaded pictures do not provide a full walkthrough of Software V9’s ins and outs, but it does confirm several features that have been speculated for the firmware release. Immediately noticeable is V9’s User Interface, which has been updated to the look and theme of the UI found in the Model 3. The sneak peek featured images from a Model S’s media control unit, and based on the photos, the layout of the new UI works pretty well with the vehicle’s 17″ portrait display.

The images uploaded of Software Version 9 also show that the App Bar, which used to include buttons for the car’s main features, has been removed. Navigation is always displayed as well. Just like the theme of the UI, buttons in the new Software V9 interface are very similar to those found in the Model 3.

Screenshots of Tesla’s Software Version 9. [Credit: Jason Hughes/Twitter]

Particularly noteworthy in the sneak peek images were Nav waypoints, as well as a feature for Autopilot called “Drive On Nav.” Very little is known about the Drive On Nav feature, though it does seem to be related to a capability that Elon Musk dubbed as “Integrated Navigation” during the company’s Q2 2018 earnings call.

“Integrated navigation. So, you’d like by the way, a little tip for if you’re driving Model S or X or 3, is if you just tap the Navigate button and just drag down, it will automatically navigate you to your home or work, depending upon where you are. That’s a pretty cool feature,” Musk said.

A screenshot showing Drive On Nav, a new Autopilot feature. [Credit: Jason Hughes/Twitter]

On the more fun side of things, the Software Version 9 sneak peek also included a screenshot of Asteroids, a classic Atari game from 1979, being emulated on the Model S’ media control unit as an Easter Egg. Asteroids would likely be only one of several titles that would be rolled out with Version 9, particularly since Elon Musk noted that Tesla would be including games like Pole Position, Tempest, and Missile Command with the upcoming update. Musk even noted that Pole Position, a popular racing game, could be controlled using the electric car’s actual steering wheel.

While the Software Version 9 sneak peek images are already compelling, Hughes noted in his Twitter updates that the software itself is still under development and that there are more features set to be added in the near future. The Tesla enthusiast further mentioned that what he saw so far in the Model S’ Version 9 software is akin to Tesla’s strategy when it transitioned its fleet from Software V7 to V8, in the way that the initial update mostly included UI changes, followed by feature rollouts in succeeding patches.

Tesla’s Software Version 9 is expected to be one of the most notable updates to the company’s software, particularly since Elon Musk noted that it would include the first of the company’s Full Self-Driving features. The full rollout of Software V9 is expected this September.

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Just a little over a week after Elon Musk walked away from Tesla’s privatization deal, Goldman Sachs has resumed its coverage of the company. With this renewed coverage comes a strong Sell rating, citing increasing competition from rival carmakers as a reason behind a possible decline in Tesla’s share in the EV market.

A recent note penned by Goldman Sachs analyst David Tamberrino stated that the financial firm believes Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) would drop 30% in the next 6 months due to the arrival of competing electric vehicles over the next few years. Amidst the release of Goldman Sachs’ note, Tesla shares have taken a 3% drop during Tuesday’s intraday.

“We see the medium-to-longer term industry backdrop as challenging for Tesla’s products; this follows from an increasing number of EV launches from both traditional OEMs and other start-up competitors — at a time when the company’s product cadence hits a gap. We believe the company will see pressure to its lead in EVs as competition catches up,” Tamberrino wrote.

The Goldman Sachs analyst provided a list of some of the electric car makers he believes would be a legitimate threat to Tesla, among them vehicles from BMW, Jaguar, and Porsche, as well as other legacy carmakers that have pledged to release electric cars over the next few years.

“With regional mandates and tightening CO2 standards, both traditional and new entrants are expected to launch several EVs in the coming years — with a large crescendo in the early-to-mid 2020s. Altogether, we remain bearish on the company’s ability to execute, achieve its targeted production ramp/margins, and sustain FCF [free cash flow] generation,” Tamberrino wrote.

It should be noted that the Goldman Sachs analyst has maintained a firm Sell rating on Tesla for a while now. David Tamberrino, for one, has kept his Sell rating on the company since last year, partly causing his rankings in websites such as the TipRanks to suffer. So far, Tamberrino has an average return of -9.0, ranking him as #4,553 out of 4,875 among TipRanks‘ list of Wall St. analysts.  

The idea of rival car companies coming up with “Tesla Killers” has been around for a very long time, and over the years, these vehicles have taken many forms. Last year, it was the Chevy Bolt EV being hailed as the Model 3 killer. This year, it’s the Jaguar I-PACE. Next year, it will probably be the Porsche Taycan.

While it is true that these vehicles are legitimate competition for Tesla’s electric cars in terms of quality and performance, their usually limited production numbers prevent them from actually having a shot at toppling the Model S, X, and 3 from their spots at the top of the premium EV market. Chevy, for one, has not really pushed the production of the Bolt this year, Jaguar is reportedly planning to produce up to 30,000 units of the I-PACE annually, and Porsche has revealed that the initial production of the Taycan would be at 20,000 cars per year. Tesla, even at its present state where it is still refining its Model 3 production, is looking to produce around 50,000-55,000 Model 3 this Q3 2018. That’s practically the planned annual production of the Taycan and the I-PACE combined.

Besides, the idea of electric cars “killing” an electric car maker is flawed at its core. Tesla’s electric vehicles, after all, are a step towards sustainability. Thus, if other manufacturers are designing their electric cars in the same way that Tesla is, then they should not be releasing vehicles that are designed to “kill” other electric cars — they should be creating vehicles that are designed to “kill” gas and diesel-powered automobiles.

As of writing, Tesla shares are trading down 3.25% at $291.70 per share.

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.

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Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) recently lost its place as the No.1 most shorted company in the US stock market, giving away the position to Amazon. Even more recently, Apple also overtook Tesla in the US market’s rankings for most-shorted companies, making the electric car maker as the 3rd most-shorted stock in the US market as of writing.

The updates to Tesla’s short interest was posted yesterday by S3 Partners LLC Managing Director of Predictive Analytics Ihor Dusaniwsky, who shared Tesla’s latest stats on Twitter. Dusaniwsky noted that Tesla’s short interest currently stands at $9.6 billion, which corresponds to 31.83 million shares, or 24.96% of the company’s float. The S3 Managing Director also noted that Tesla shorts are currently up $1.68 billion since Elon Musk announced his intentions to take the company private last month. 

$TSLA short interest $9.60 bn, 31.83 mm shares short, 24.96% of float. Shs shorted down 2.9mm since The Tweet.#tesla is now only the 3rd largest U.S. short behind $AMZN & $AAPL. Shorts are up $404mm in MTM profits today,up $1.68 billion since The Tweet & down only $27 million YTD pic.twitter.com/coB9E3pTtb

— Ihor Dusaniwsky (@ihors3) September 4, 2018

Tesla’s latest stats on its short interest shows what appears to be a slight yet consistent decline in the number of TSLA shares that are held short. Just last week, for example, the S3 Partners executive noted that Tesla’s short interest stood at $9.83 billion, which translates to around 32.43 million shares, or 25.43% of the company’s float.

Back in May, there were 39 million TSLA shares that were held short — the highest in Tesla’s history. That being said, as Tesla started to find its footing with the production of the Model 3, the number of Tesla shares that are held short have seen a steady decline, dropping to 34.9 million shares at the end of July. Even amidst the controversy surrounding Elon Musk’s attempt to take Tesla private in August, Tesla’s short interest seems to have continued its slight decline, falling to 32.7 million shares by the middle of the month.

Tesla is currently attempting to hit its Model 3 production targets for the third quarter. After hitting its then-elusive goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 per week at the end of Q2 2018, Tesla is now looking to sustain and ramp the manufacturing of the electric sedan. This is highlighted in the company’s production target of building 50,000-55,000 Model 3 in Q3 2018.  As of Friday last week, reports have claimed that Tesla had produced more than 34,700 Model 3 in the quarter so far. That’s less than 16,000 vehicles away from the lower end of the company’s Q3 target for the Model 3.

The final months of Tesla’s quarters usually correspond to unorthodox measures that the company adopts to meet its self-imposed targets. Back in Q1 2018, Tesla’s goal was only to build 2,500 Model 3 in a week — a feat that was almost achieved after a seven-day blitz that saw the company manufacture just over 2,000 of the electric cars in one week. In Q2 2018, Tesla adopted even more radical strategies to hit its goal of producing 5,000 Model 3 per week. Some of these strategies involved building GA4, an entirely new assembly line set up at the grounds of the Fremont factory, as well as air-freighting robots and equipment from Europe to the United States to quickly address production bottlenecks in Gigafactory 1.

With these in mind, it would not be surprising if Tesla initiates an aggressive push for the Model 3 and its operations this September. With less than four weeks to go before the end of Q3, and with the company actively trying to become profitable this quarter, the coming days would likely be very compelling. 

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.

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Tesla took longer than expected to ramp the production of the Model 3, but now the company is finally hitting its manufacturing stride, and the electric sedan is starting to make waves in the US auto industry — some very serious waves.

Auto sales tracking website GoodCarBadCar has posted the estimated sales figures of car manufacturers currently operating in the United States in August. Based on their August 2018 data, the Tesla Model 3 has become America’s 5th best-selling passenger car. The electric car’s rankings for August is up two places from its rank in July, when the Model 3 was listed as the 7th best-selling passenger car in the US.

The auto sales tracking website now lists the Model 3 directly behind the big four of the US passenger car segment — the Toyota Camry, the Honda Civic, the Honda Accord, and the Toyota Corolla Family — all of which are lower-priced than the electric car. The Model 3’s strong August sales figures allowed it to overtake two more affordable vehicles in GCBC‘s rankings as well, the Hyundai Elantra and the Nissan Altima.

The Tesla Model 3 is not just establishing itself as a formidable competitor in the US’ passenger car market, either. The Model 3 also made it to the Top 20 of GoodCarBadCar‘s overall rankings for US auto sales, which include SUVs and trucks such as the best-selling Ford F-150, the Dodge RAM, the Toyota Rav4, and the Honda CR-V. So far, the Model 3 is 15th on the overall list for August, beating out popular SUVs such as the Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the Subaru Outback.

The Model 3’s estimated August sales are quite impressive, considering that Tesla is still in the process of ramping the production of the electric car. Tesla, after all, plans to eventually build 10,000 Model 3 per week, and so far, the company is only producing around half of that number weekly.

Tesla ended Q2 2018 on a strong note, producing 5,000 Model 3 vehicles in a seven-day period. Despite this milestone, the company’s critics are highly skeptical that Tesla would be able to maintain its optimum production numbers. That said, over the first two months of Q3, Tesla appears to have taken it upon itself to prove its critics wrong.

During the Q2 2018 earnings call, Elon Musk mentioned that Tesla was able to maintain a production rate of 5,000 Model 3 per week during “multiple weeks” in July. In August, the company also showed encouraging signs about the electric car’s production. Tesla’s VIN registrations for the Model 3, for one, rocketed past the 100,000-vehicle mark, and Bloomberg‘s online Model 3 production tracker even showed a week where the company seemed to have produced more than 6,000 units of the electric sedan in a seven-day period.

Perhaps the most notable vote of confidence for the company’s Model 3 production ramp came from veteran auto analyst George Galliers from Evercore ISI, who was given an extensive tour of the Fremont factory, including the newly built GA4 set up on the grounds of the facility. The analyst later published a report about his visit, noting that Tesla is well on its way to sustaining a weekly production rate of 5,000-6,000 Model 3 per week.

“Tesla seems well on the way to achieving a steady weekly production rate of 5,000 to 6,000 units per week. We are incrementally positive on Tesla following our visit. We have confidence in their production. We did not see anything to suggest that Model 3 cannot reach 6k units per week and 7k to 8k with very little incremental capital expenditure. Focusing on the fundamentals and setting aside talk of privatization, we are incrementally positive on Tesla following our visit,” Galliers noted.

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Tesla shares (NASDAQ:TSLA) are showing some recovery after taking a tumble yesterday amidst Elon Musk’s apparent support of a positive report estimating the sales figures of the Model 3, S, and X in August 2018, as well as an announcement of new orders for the Tesla Semi.

Musk’s Twitter update was posted as a retweet of sales estimates published by electric vehicle-themed website InsideEVs, which posted its monthly US EV sales scorecards for August. The website estimates that Tesla’s entire line of vehicles dominated the country’s electric car sales during the month, with the Model 3 being 1st, the Model S being 2nd, and the Model X being the 3rd best-selling EV in the US.

Tesla 1st, 2nd & 3rd in August sales https://t.co/npDKC9QEpP

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 6, 2018

While InsideEVs‘ scorecards do not include the official August sales figures from Tesla and other vehicles like the Chevy Bolt EV, the publication’s estimates appear to have been approved by Musk in his tweet. This seems to have positively affected investor sentiment, as the company’s shares recovered as much as 2.05% in Thursday’s pre-market.

Tesla might have hit a breakthrough with Model 3 production after the end of Q2 2018, but the company is still only around halfway through its target of ultimately manufacturing 10,000 Model 3 per week. Evercore ISI analysts who visited the Fremont factory last month noted that Tesla would likely be able to ramp to 7,000-8,000 Model 3 per week with minimal CapEx, and with the $35,000 base Model 3 still on the horizon, it appears that Tesla’s electric sedan is just getting started in its disruption of the passenger car market.

Apart from the positive August sales estimates for the Model 3, S, and X, Tesla also received a new set of orders for a vehicle that is still waiting for release. In an update on Thursday, Walmart Inc’s Canadian unit announced that it would be buying an additional 30 units of the Tesla Semi as part of its initiative to launch an emissions-free fleet by 2028. The 20 new orders for the Tesla Semi are set to be added to the 5 trucks Walmart ordered for its US fleet and the first 10 it ordered for its Canadian unit back in November. Walmart Canada noted that it is planning to utilize 20 Tesla Semis to support its fleet base in Mississauga, Ontario. The remaining 20 left for the Canadian fleet will be moved to Surrey, British Columbia.

The Tesla Semi is expected to begin production sometime in 2019, and Tesla is already on full throttle testing the vehicle on America’s roads. The Semi’s hand-built, carbon-fiber prototype has been making the rounds in several states lately, and it even visited some of the companies that have placed reservations for the vehicle, such as UPS, Ruan Transportation Management Systems, and J.B. Hunt.

The Tesla Model 3 is already disrupting the US’ passenger car market. GoodCarBadCar, an auto sales tracking website, ranked the electric sedan as the country’s 5th best-selling passenger car in August, up two places from its rank last July. The Model 3 is also the only electric vehicle that made it to GCBC‘s overall Top 20 best-selling vehicles list for the past month, which includes trucks like the Ford F-150 and SUVs like the Honda CR-V.

In the same way that the Model 3 is disrupting the passenger car segment, the Tesla Semi also has the potential to disrupt the US’ trucking industry. The trucking market is vast, handling the transportation of 71% of food, retail goods, construction supplies, and other cargo delivered every day — and it is still growing. The American Trucking Associations’ American Trucking Trends 2018 report, for one, revealed that the US trucking market generated $700.3 billion in economic activity in 2017, 3.5% more compared to 2016 when the trucking industry generated $676.6 billion. If Tesla can tap into this market with the Semi, the all-electric truck could prove to be a very lucrative vehicle for the company.

As of writing, Tesla shares are up 3.36% at $290.16 per share.

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.

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Tesla is preparing to release Software Version 9 to early access users within the next couple of weeks. Apart from a sleek, new UI similar to the one utilized in the Model 3, Software V9, which is expected to be a significant upgrade over Version 8, is also set to introduce a series of new features designed to make Tesla’s electric cars safer, more fun, and more useful.

Elon Musk teased one such feature in an update on Thursday while responding to Tesla owner Andrew Gold on Twitter. Gold asked Musk if Tesla could include an option that would allow his car to dim its screen when it’s being driven.  Musk responded, stating that Tesla would be introducing a “Fade Mode” for its fleet, which would allow vehicles to display only the essential information on their screens.

Will add a fade mode with only essential info

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 7, 2018

Fade Mode would be a perfect feature for the Model 3, which relies on a single 15″ screen to display all the information about the electric car. The quality of the Model 3’s screen is top-notch, but there is no denying that the brightness of the display could be a bit distracting to passengers, particularly when the car is being driven at night. With Fade Mode activated, the cabin of the Model 3 would likely be more comfortable for those driving and riding on the vehicle.

Tesla’s Software Version 9 would be released a little bit later than Elon Musk’s initial estimates. During the Q2 2018 earnings call in early August, Musk noted that the initial rollout of Software V9 to early access users would probably happen in four weeks, which translates to late August to early September. Just a couple of days ago, Musk posted an update on this timetable, stating that Version 9’s rollout would likely be released to “advanced early access users” in a week or two instead, which translates to the second or third week of September.

While the slight delay in the initial rollout of Software Version 9 is quite disappointing, Musk did note that V9’s wide rollout would probably still happen this month. This means that before the third quarter ends, a significant number of Tesla users would likely receive an update that revamps their vehicle experience. Such a strategy could translate well for Tesla, especially since a positive reception of V9 from its user base would likely improve investors’ sentiment towards TSLA stock.

Software Version 9 is expected to include several notable upgrades over Version 8. As revealed in a sneak peek of a vehicle reportedly running an early build of the software, Version 9 features a completely revamped UI that features similar elements to the Model 3’s user interface. New Autopilot features are set to be added as well, including one dubbed “Drive On Nav.” Tesla is also introducing a number of fun, new Easter Eggs for its fleet, in the form of emulated classic Atari games like 1979’s Asteroids. In a series of previous tweets, Musk also named other Atari titles that would also be making their way to Tesla’s electric cars, such as Pole Position, Tempest, and Missile Command.

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Tesla stock (NASDAQ:TSLA) is down 6% in Friday’s intraday amid reports that the company lost two more executives, with Chief Accounting Officer David H. Morton, Jr. leaving his post after just two months and Chief People Officer Gabrielle Toledano confirming that she would not be coming back from a leave. Today also stands as Tesla VP of Comms Sarah O’Brien’s last official day at the company.

The latest round of executive departures comes after Elon Musk opted to walk away from his initiative to take the company private last month. Tesla noted in a statement to Reuters that Morton opted to depart from the company due to his discomfort with the level of public attention and Tesla’s overall pace of work. Morton is a veteran in the tech sector, serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Seagate before starting his employment at Tesla. That said, his experience was probably not a good fit for the electric car maker’s startup culture, which is characterized by its flat organizational structure and its fast pace.

Overall, Morton appears to have parted ways with Tesla amicably, stating that he still believes in the company’s overall mission, as well as its future prospects.

“I want to be clear that I believe strongly in Tesla, its mission, and its future prospects, and I have no disagreements with Tesla’s leadership or its financial reporting,” he said.

Statements from Chief People Officer Gabrielle Toledano have not been reported as of writing.

Even before the announcement of Morton’s departure, the company’s shares were already seeing a slight decline in Friday’s pre-market trading as reports of Elon Musk’s behavior in a podcast with comedian Joe Rogan emerged. During the 2.5-hr podcast, the two men talked about several topics, from AI to time management to vertical liftoff airplanes and Japanese feudal weapons. At one point, Rogan, who was smoking cannabis, invited Elon Musk to take a puff. Musk did, and the image of the CEO smoking cannabis immediately spread on social media like wildfire.

The latest drop in Tesla’s stock has caused Consumer Edge analyst James Albertine to call for the company to appoint another senior leader to support Elon Musk. Musk has admitted that running an electric car and energy company like Tesla is exhausting, and in an interview with the New York Times last month, Musk stated that anyone who could do a better job can take over for him anytime. Considering the recent stock drop, as well as the apparent effects of Musk’s little cannabis puff to Tesla shareholders, Albertine noted that the time might be right for Tesla’s Board to step in.

“We have been calling for a Co-CEO or COO to assist to codifying the leadership structure and in so doing, the culture at Tesla. We think this is further evidence that the time is now for management and the Board to address these issues,” Albertine said.

The plunge in Tesla’s stock comes just a day after Elon Musk expressed his support for a report estimating the US sales figures for electric cars currently available in the United States. The report, which was published by electric car-themed news site InsideEVs, estimated that the Tesla Model 3, Model S, and Model X, were the Top 3 electric cars in the US in August. A report from auto sales tracking website GoodCarBadCar also listed the Model 3 as the 5th best-selling passenger car in America last month, in a list that included mainstream vehicles like the Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, and the Honda Accord.

As of writing, Tesla stock is down 6.64% at $263.13 per share.

Disclosure: I have no ownership in shares of TSLA and have no plans to initiate any positions within 72 hours.

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The Tesla Model 3 Performance might be the most affordable among the company’s performance-branded vehicles, but it is still a very quick driving machine in straight line races. This was recently proven on the drag strip, where the electric sedan battled a series of opponents including a Dodge Challenger R/T, a Tesla Model X 100D, and a Tesla Model S P100D with Ludicrous Mode.

The video of the races was posted by Tesla owner-enthusiast Erik Strait, who is also the host of YouTube’s DÆrik channel. The Model 3 Performance that Erik took to the strip was the same vehicle that he used for acceleration tests before. In a past test with the electric car’s battery fully charged, the Model 3 Performance was able to run from 0-60 mph in as little as 3.18 seconds according to VBOX data — and that’s with the vehicle being completely stock.

This time around, the Model 3 Performance was taken to the drag strip to compete, and its first challenger was a fellow Tesla — a Model X 100D. The Model 3 Performance’s 0-60 mph acceleration, which is listed at 3.5 seconds by Tesla, beats the Model X 100D’s listed 0-60 time of 4.7 seconds. The two electric cars battled each other twice, and on both times, the Model 3 Performance came out on top, finishing the quarter mile in 11.81 seconds at 114.64 mph compared to the Model X 100D’s 12.86 seconds at 109.73 mph. 

Perhaps the most notable rival of the Model 3 Performance in DÆrik’s recent upload was a vehicle that is the complete antithesis of the electric sedan — a Dodge Challenger R/T. The Dodge Challenger is an iconic American muscle car with a lot of history, and its current iterations stay true to its roots. The Challenger R/T is equipped with either a 375 hp 5.7-liter or 485 hp V8 engine paired with a 6-speed manual or 9-speed automatic transmission.

Both drivers of the gas-powered Dodge Charger and the all-electric Model 3 Performance launched at the same time. Just a fraction of a second later, it was evident that the Tesla’s dual electric motors, which produce a combined 450 hp and 471 lb-ft of torque, was a key difference-maker. The Model 3 Performance got a headstart on the Challenger R/T, and then it just kept pulling away from there. The electric car finished the race in 11.85 seconds at 114.06 mph, while its gas-powered rival completed the run in 14.42 seconds at 99.53 mph.  

After beating the Model X 100D and the Dodge Challenger R/T, the Model 3 Performance prepared to race Tesla’s fastest vehicle in the market today — the Model S P100D with Ludicrous Mode. The Tesla Model S P100D is a legendary electric car, capable of humiliating supercars in a consistent basis on the drag strip. The electric sedan is listed with a 0-60 mph time of below 2.5 seconds with Ludicrous Mode, which is a full second faster than the Model 3 Performance’s 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds.

Unfortunately for the Model S P100D’s driver, he ended up having a hard time setting up the vehicle for a launch in Ludicrous Mode before the light turned green; thus, preventing the cars from having a proper side-by-side race. The results of the two runs show that the Model S P100D completed the quarter mile in 11.14 seconds at 121.17 mph, while the Model 3 Performance finished the run in 11.79 seconds at 115.07 mph.

The Model 3 Performance seems to be the first of Tesla’s new breed of vehicles. Equipped with the company’s newer, larger 2170 cells, the Model 3 Performance is actually capable of being driven on the track. The car even has an upcoming feature dubbed as “Track Mode,” which Elon Musk described as an “Expert User Mode” for the vehicle’s drivers.

Watch the Model 3 Performance battle a Dodge Challenger R/T, a Model X 100D, and a Model S P100D in the video below. 

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This Q3 2018 would likely be one for Tesla’s history books, since this could be the time when the company hits a breakthrough point in its journey towards becoming a mainstream carmaker. Amidst the noise last Friday resulting from the departure of two executives and Elon Musk’s actions during a podcast, the company released an update stating that it would likely deliver twice as many cars this third quarter as it did in Q2 2018.

Tesla’s optimistic and bold forecast for the third quarter, which was authored by Elon Musk, was published on the company’s official blog. The post was a letter sent to Tesla employees, and it noted that the company is “about to have the most amazing quarter in (its) history, building and delivering more than twice as many cars as (it) did last quarter.”

Tesla delivered a total of 40,740 vehicles in Q2 2018, of which 18,440 were Model 3, 10,930 were Model S, and 11,370 were Model X. The company was able to manufacture a total of 53,339 vehicles during Q2 as well, comprised of 28,578 Model 3 and 24,761 Model S and X. Considering Musk’s recent letter to Tesla’s employees, it appears that Tesla is attempting to deliver more than 80,000 Model 3, Model S, and Model X this Q3.

It took a lot of pain and effort to get to this point. Tesla’s trials and Elon Musk’s tribulations since the company started manufacturing the Model 3 are well-documented. Since July 2017, Tesla faced bottleneck after bottleneck in its Fremont factory and at Gigafactory 1 in Nevada. The progress of Tesla’s Model 3 push was nothing short of “production hell,” and CEO Elon Musk was not exaggerating when he described the past year as one of the “most painful” 12 months of his career.

The second quarter appears to have been a pivotal point in Tesla’s Model 3 push, as it was the quarter when it was finally able to hit its manufacturing targets for the first time. Tesla was able to produce 5,000 Model 3 during the final week of June, on top of 2,000 Model S and X. This 7,000-vehicle week was considered a milestone by the company, though it was considered unremarkable by Ford Europe CEO Steven Armstrong, who stated that the legacy automaker could produce 7,000 vehicles in 4 hours. Tesla’s critics were also dismissive of the production milestone, stating that the company would probably not be able to maintain its optimum production rate for the Model 3 during the following months of Q3.

Tesla appears to have taken these criticisms as a personal challenge to prove its critics wrong. During the company’s Q2 2018 earnings call, Elon Musk noted that Tesla was able to produce 5,000 Model 3 per week during “multiple weeks” in July. In August, Tesla showed even more signs that the Model 3’s production was still going full throttle. The Model 3’s VIN filings rocketed past the 100,000-mark, and Bloomberg‘s production tracker, which has only gotten more accurate during the past months, estimated that at one point in August, Tesla produced more than 6,000 Model 3 in a week. Evercore ISI analysts who visited the Fremont factory also concluded that Tesla could ramp to 7,000-8,000 Model 3 per week with minimal CapEx.  

September is the final month of the third quarter, and Tesla is already showing indications that its Model 3 push would only get more aggressive. Reports have emerged that Model 3 VINs in the 100k range are already being assigned to reservation holders. A Tesla employee who works at Fremont’s paint shop has also teased on Twitter (in a post that has since been deleted) that production is going well, and that the company is “smashing records.”

During the past two quarters, Tesla has shown a tendency to adopt radical and unorthodox strategies to push its manufacturing capabilities during the final month of a quarter. In Q1, the last week of March saw Tesla going all-in to produce more than 2,000 Model 3 in a week. In Q2, June saw the company setting up GA4 inside a sprung structure as a means to hit its production target of building 5,000 Model 3 in one week. It remains to be seen if Tesla would adopt something similarly unique for Q3, but one thing seems certain — the company is about to go on a production blitz at a scale unmatched in the company’s history. 

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