Tesla also cut the Model 3 base version by $3,000 to $43,990, according to its website. The Tesla Model 3 Performance variant saw a price cut of $9,000 to $53,990. Reuters reported that in Germany, Tesla cut prices on the Model 3 and the Model Y from 1% to around 17%, depending on the configuration. The Model Y will now sell for 44,890 euros ($48,499), down 9,100 euros.

Other configurations, including Performance models, have also received price cuts. The Tesla Model S Plaid has the largest price reduction – $21,000 (15%) reduction. However, there is one significant price hike – the seven-seat option on the Model Y is now $4,000, a $1,000 more than before.

Earlier this month, Tesla angered customers in China by slashing prices on its Model 3 and Model Y cars there after many had agreed to take delivery at higher prices before December 31. But according to a price sheet we reviewed, customers in the United States who placed an order in December 2022 have now received a revised price sheet. Of course, they have yet to take delivery of their cars.

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Furthermore, CATL wants to lower the cost of batteries, thanks to new materials. Yuqun said that costs will be lower as compared to both cobalt- and nickel-based batteries. CATL provides batteries to a wide range of automakers, from Volkswagen, BMW to Ford. CATL announced last week a new client: Geely Automobile Holdings. The Chinese automaker owns brands like Volvo, Polestar and Lotus.

Recently, rumors floated around in China that Tesla Giga Shanghai would launch new Model 3 and Model Y variants with CATL’s M3P batteries. Currently, Tesla China shows electric ranges between 345 and 419 miles, but those figures are used on the CLTC standard which is far more generous than the WLTP figures. In general, the M3P is designed for vehicles with a driving range of up to about 700 km (435 miles) CLTC.

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According tot he release notes, the updated FSD Beta brings a number of improvements: driving smoothness, lane centering and changing, unprotected left turns, protected right turns, false slowdowns, creeping for visibility at intersections, speed when entering highways and identification of red light runners. You can see the full update notes here.

The company also announced an upgrade to a new two-stage architecture to produce object kinematics. This improved velocity estimates for far away crossing vehicles by 20 percent, while using one tenth of the compute. The release notes also point out the improved recall of animals by 34% and improved geometry error of ego-relevant lanes by 34%.

Tesla is rolling out FSD Beta v.10.69 in phases, starting with ~1,000 testers over the weekend. The first car detected with this update was a Tesla Model 3 Performance from Oregon.  Other owners including some Tesla YouTubers have also started getting this update.

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How is BMW responding? By launching a flurry of models in the near future. Later this week, the i7 will receive its world premiere as a response to the Mercedes EQS and Model S. The end of 2022 will bring us the iX1 to serve as the EV equivalent of the next X1 compact crossover. Come 2023, the smaller i5 will follow as an electric variant of the next-generation 5 Series Sedan. The greater BMW Group is going to roll out the MINI Countryman EV and Rolls-Royce Spectre next year.

In the meantime, BMW just introduced an i3 Sedan as a Tesla Model 3 competitor, but only in China. Elsewhere, the i4 fulfills that role and is joined by the Model X-rivaling iX. While new EVs are being added to the lineup, the quirky-but-loveable i3 hatchback is being discontinued. For the time being, the i4 and iX are the commercial hits for the Bavarians. We mustn’t omit the iX3, but the company has decided against bringing it to the United States.

Indeed, Nota mentioned dealers have hundreds of orders for the two and the waiting time has increased to six months. CEO Oliver Zipse estimates demand for EVs will continue to grow. For this reason, preparations are being made to make the most of the available production capacity.

Despite the obvious electric push, BMW isn’t keen on dropping internal combustion engines in the foreseeable future. The luxury brand believes EVs are still not globally feasible, mainly because they’re still more expensive than ICEs and the charging infrastructure isn’t ready yet.

Source: Automotive News (subscription required)

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Tesla registrations went up by a massive 49% compared to the same month of 2021, reaching 37,162 units. In the same interval, demand for BMWs grew by 8.2% to 30,563 units. Lexus took the last spot on the podium with 24,483 registrations or 6% less than in January 2021. Mercedes saw the biggest drop, with registrations declining by 20% to 22,022.

The Tesla and BMW comparison is interesting considering it was an extremely close race last year. The German luxury marque ultimately won by delivering 347,453 cars in the United States. However, Tesla was right behind, with 342,412 units sold. 2022 isn’t looking too good for BMW considering Elon Musk’s company is opening a new plant in Texas and boosting output at its existing Freemont factory.

It’s worth noting the terms “sale” and “registration” are not interchangeable. Why is that the case? Because you can buy a car this month and register it in the next one. Since automakers release sales numbers, data providers such as Experian can only make estimations about registrations. It’s even more difficult to accurately observe Tesla’s performance since it doesn’t publish info on a monthly basis. In addition, the EV manufacturer doesn’t break out US sales numbers.

As you might have heard, Tesla is expanding its European presence by opening a new plant in Germany. A few days ago, the company received the necessary stamp of approval to kick off series production of the Model Y crossover. It goes without saying it will have a positive impact on the company’s sales performance on the Old Continent in 2022.

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Loosely related to the Lotus Elise from which it borrowed less than seven percent of parts, the Roadster Mk1 has been gaining value in the used car market. Case in point, Arizona-based Gruber Motor Company sold one for $190,000 a short while ago, only to break that record recently with an early example. VIN #013 with extremely low miles changed hands for a whopping $250,000.

Having covered only 840 miles (1,351 kilometers), the 2008 Roadster is a veritable time capsule and illustrates Tesla’s early and rather difficult days. Having a low production run and with even fewer cars still on the road after over 10 years, such a pristine example will probably only gain value in time. It’s especially true given the huge popularity of the brand, prompting more and more deep-pocketed people to grab Tesla’s very first EV. Consequently, increased demand drives up prices.

The car in question is a Signature One Hundred of which only 100 units were ever made. Back in the day, customers had to make an eye-watering $100,000 deposit to claim one. These cars came with a commemorative plaque inside the cabin, signed by Tesla’s principals and individualized for the buyer. In addition, the Roadster came bundled with a hardtop and all the available options, including a navigation system. To sweeten the deal, the company delivered the EV with a special Signature One Hundred trim package.

With a 0 to 60 mph sprint in four seconds, the original Tesla Roadster is still properly quick even by today’s standards. It was touted as having a 250-mile range on a single charge, which again, isn’t that bad for 2022. For example, the Mazda MX-30 has been rated by EPA at just 100 miles.

Source: Electrek

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FSD has been subjected to quite a lot of criticism, especially in terms of how it behaves in the city. Software updates have made the system better, but it’s still a level 2 since the person behind the wheel must always pay attention and intervene if necessary. Those who are willing to trust FSD should know it’s now available for the first time outside of the US.

As previously promised on several occasions by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, FSD has finally arrived in Canada. Those interested must know it comes bundled with the 2022.4.5.4 software version.

YouTuber Electric Canuck, a Model Y owner from Canada, has posted a video showing his electric crossover with the newly gained feature. It’s not immediately available as first you’ll have to “Request Full Self-Driving Beta.” After doing so, you’ll have to patiently wait for Tesla to approve your request, depending on the aforementioned safety score.

Tesla has been testing FSD in Canada for a while now with a fleet of approximately 60 cars. Customers have already been buying vehicles with the Full Sell-Driving feature, so it’s good to hear the company is finally being made available in the country. Ordering a new car – regardless of model – gives you the option of FSD for an extra $10,600 (Canadian dollars), enabling the following capabilities:

• Navigate on Autopilot
• Auto Lane Change
• Autopark
• Summon
• Full Sell-Driving Computer
• Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control
• Autosteer on city streets (listed as “coming soon”)

Meanwhile, the competition is also pressing ahead with a more sophisticated self-driving system. Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius told Automotive News Europe he hopes the German luxury brand will receive level 3 certification for the S-Class and EQS in the United States later this year. The Drive Pilot technology has already been certified in Germany last year. It works at speeds of up to 37 mph (60 km/h) on select highways in its home market.

Source: Electric Canuck / YouTube, Automotive News Europe

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The company isn’t stopping there as Reuters reports yet another factory will be built. According to the news agency, the existing Shanghai facility will be expanded to include another plant. As a matter of fact, construction work in Lingang, Pudong New Area could commence in March. If the two people familiar with the plan cited by Reuters are telling the truth, the new factory would enable an annual production output in China alone of two million vehicles.

It’s worth mentioning Tesla needed less than a year to kick off production at the existing Shanghai plant from the moment work started on the plant. That could mean the alleged second factory might be operational as early as March 2023. As to which model will be produced there, details are not available at this point, but the existing facility puts together the Model 3 and Model Y.

Meanwhile, the current factory is being upgraded to hike production beyond one million units this year provided the company has access to all the necessary parts. The immediate goal for the Shanghai factory is to boost production to approximately 22,000 cars per week in the following months.

That would take total annual capacity to around 1.1 million or more than double the original goal set by Tesla. However, none of these details have been confirmed yet by the EV manufacturer, nor by officials of the city government.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows for Elon Musk and his company since the Cybertruck has been pushed back yet again, much like the Roadster and the Semi.

Source: Reuters (subscription required)

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Plagued with this issue are the Model 3 and Model Y from all model years along with certain 2021-2022 Model S and Model X units. Thankfully, owners of affected vehicles won’t have to make the trip to a Tesla shop since the fix will be pushed OTA. Interestingly, the issue was originally discovered on January 10 by the Automobile Testing & Research Institute (KATRI) in South Korea. Since then, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has taken notice of the software bug.

According to the document released by the NHTSA, owners will receive notification letters from April. Needless to say, the software fix will be applied free of charge. The muted chime means these 817,143 cars fail to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, “Occupant Crash Protection.”

It should be mentioned this software glitch does not impact the audible seat belt reminder chime from kicking in once the vehicle reaches 14 mph (22 km/h) if the driver doesn’t have the seatbelt buckled in. In addition, the visual seatbelt reminder works at all times.

Tesla is already addressing the software problem courtesy of the 2021.43.101.1 software, which was made available for the Model Y and Model 3 on January 27. The very next day, a similar OTA update was introduced for the more expensive Model X and Model S. Early this month, Tesla will roll out the firmware release 2022.4.5, which will include the fix, for the vehicles delivered already.

As an owner, you won’t have to do anything, with the obvious exception of making sure you have a working Internet connection.

Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Speaking during the Q4 2021 earnings call, Tesla’s head honcho mentioned issues with the supply chain could once again cause bottlenecks in production. However, the 50-year-old businessman is confident annual production will exceed one million units by the end of the year: “We do expect significant growth in 2022 over 2021, comfortably above 50 percent growth.”

It seems like a plausible scenario considering volume production at the new factories in Berlin and Austin will begin in the coming months. The hugely popular Model Y will be built at the two locations, thus allowing Tesla to cut waiting times in Europe and North America where more and more people are eager to buy the electric crossover. Not only that, but the plant in California might assemble more cars than before as Tesla aims to make more than 600,000 units in 2022.

Elon Musk suggests new factory locations could be announced by the end of the year as part of Tesla’s greater goal to build millions of EVs annually. A cheaper car to slot below the Model 3 would fuel demand even further, but despite rumors, an entry-level model has recently been ruled out by the company. For the time being, the cheapest way to get behind the wheel of a Tesla is by purchasing the single-motor Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive from $44,990 in the United States before any applicable EV-related incentives.

While Tesla is ramping up production, the costs per car are coming down. As previously reported, 2021 was the year when the cost of goods sold (COGS) decreased to an average of $36,000 per vehicle built. However, COGS excludes distribution and marketing costs, although the latter should be insignificant given Tesla’s modus operandi of avoiding advertisements.

Source: Tesla via Automotive News Europe

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