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

Model Y – Long Range & Performance are $2k cheaper

The Model Y Long Range and Model Y Performance are both now listed for $2,000 less than they were earlier today, with the Model Y Long Range going for $48,490 and the Model Y Performance going for $52,490 on Tesla’s website.

Previously, the models started at $50,490 and $54,490 respectively.

The change comes days after Tesla introduced the cheapest Model Y the US has seen, the new Model Y Rear-wheel drive which starts at $43,990. That model was not subject to today’s $2k price drop, and remains at the same price it was introduced at earlier this week.

Model 3 is now the cheapest Tesla ever

The Model 3 has also seen a price reduction, with all three trims getting discounted as compared to earlier today. The Model 3 Rear-wheel drive and Long Range versions both get a $1,250 price cut, and the Performance model is down $2,250 from previous pricing.

These models now start at $38,990 for the RWD, $45,990 for the LR and $50,990 for the Performance model. Previously they sold for $40,240, $47,240 and $53,240 respectively.

The new prices mean that with even modest state, local or regional tax credits, on top of the $7,500 federal credit, a new Model 3 could cost less than $30k for the right buyer. This is the cheapest new Tesla ever, save the questionably briefly-available $35k Model 3 – though between inflation and lower tax credit availability, today’s Model 3 is an even better deal than that one would have been.

The Model 3 recently got a big refresh with lots of changes in foreign markets, though the refreshed “Highland” Model 3 is not expected to be available in the US until next year. So Tesla probably feels the need to sweeten the pot a little for buyers who might otherwise wait for the new version to come out.

This is the latest in a long line of Tesla price cuts, starting in January but continuing with several more this year. Most recently, the company took a big chunk off Model S and X prices and also cut the price of FSD by $3k.

In addition to this, most Teslas now qualify for Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, which Tesla previously could not access after it ran out of the previous EV credit, so many buyers can receive another $7,500 credit on their federal income taxes. Although this may not last forever – due to the way the tax credit law works, Tesla’s cheapest models which use LFP batteries made in China may lose access to half of the credit next year.

Electrek’s Take

Teslas now cost tens of thousands of dollars less than they did at the end of 2022. Sure, 2022 was on the tail end of a year or two of significant price increases, while the EV market was highly squeezed due to COVID-related supply disruptions, but these drops have still been drastic.

The price drops even resulted in owner protests as recent buyers felt aggrieved at their cars losing thousands of dollars of residual value overnight. Imagine that, protesting in favor of inflation.

The drops have also affected the rest of the EV market, as Tesla’s dominant position as the market and brand leader in EVs, along with its previously industry-high margins mean that it has more room to prevail in a price war against other manufacturers, while still maintaining a brand perception as being a higher class of electric vehicle.

This has resulted in difficulty for other manufacturers trying to sell similar vehicles. We just saw this earlier today, as VW ID.4 quarterly numbers came out. While the ID.4 saw record sales, VW only sold 10,707 EVs in the US in Q3. That’s less than a tenth of the number of EVs Tesla delivered in the US in the same time frame.

The ID.4 is currently cheaper than the Model Y, at a base price of $37,495 (plus destination), but every Tesla price drop eats away at that difference.

And this, I believe, is the source of the current complaints around the industry about “demand problems” with EVs. Many manufacturers are lamenting difficulty in growing sales after having no trouble selling every EV they made in 2021 and 2022. But those manufacturers largely have not been dropping their prices this year, whereas Tesla has (well, VW did offer a cheaper ID.4 model this year, just like Tesla has with the RWD).

To extend on the above example, an ID.4 is an incredibly attractive offer at ~$38k against a Model Y at $66k, especially if you can get the tax credit on the ID.4 and not on the Y. But if you shave an effective ~$25k off the price of that Model Y, that calculus is going to change. Maybe that’s why the Model Y is now the best selling car in the world.

Same goes for comparisons to other vehicles, most of which are around the same price they were last year. But if parts shortages are over, if component materials are much cheaper, and if your competition is shellacking you in sales while still managing to lower prices by five digits multiple times over, maybe a little price competition is in order (and the same applies to industries other than automotive, by the way…).

And despite my personal dislike of Elon Musk’s ridiculous shenanigans, at this point, I would be hard-pressed to say there is any better deal in EVs than the Model 3, or even in cars as a whole. Save perhaps for the excellent Chevy Bolt, which is a screaming deal at a base MSRP of $26,500 in its last quarter of production.

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This is it: the FIRST pure electric vehicle to wear a Lamborghini badge [video]

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This is it: the FIRST pure electric vehicle to wear a Lamborghini badge [video]

True to Lamborghini’s legacy of speed and excess, the first battery-electric vehicle to wear the raging bull is also the fastest of its kind. Only this time, the badge isn’t on a car — it’s on a personal watercraft. Meet the all-new Seabob SE63 jet sled.

Co-developed with the Italian supercar brand, the Lamborghini-badged Seabob SE63 features a more powerful jet propulsion system than any of the company’s existing personal jet sleds, and is fitted with a carbon fiber motor shaft as a further nod to the Italian luxury brand’s high-performance heritage.

Here’s the surprising thing, though: the new Seabob SE63 isn’t inspired by a specific road-going Lamborghini. Instead, it gets its name from the Tecnomar for Lamborghini 63 sport yacht built by the Italian Sea Group shipyards.

Tecnomar for Lamborghini 63


Tecnomar for Lamborghini Verde Citra; via New Atlas.

Why, yes – I will take just about any excuse to post pictures of sexy Italian super yachts in bright, vibrant colors. Thanks for asking!

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But we’re not here for superyachts. We’re here for super sleds, and German PWC specialist Cayago set out to make this one, “most powerful Seabob ever.” As such, the SE63 is designed to be grab-and-go personal jet sled that delivers significantly higher speeds than its Seabob stablemates. In fact, its makers say it’s fast enough to keep up with sharks and dolphins.

The riding experience is not just ‘a bit faster’, but thrillingly intense and unrestrained. Acceleration off the start line delivers an immediate adrenaline rush. Thrust, agility, top speed: everything is designed for maximum performance and pure emotion. 

LAMBORGHINI

The new SE63 backs up those claims with a 6.3 kW (~8.5 hp) electric motor. And, while that hardly makes it a supercar, in the world of ePWCs, it’s enough to make the SE63 a monster. The SE63 also features a bigger, more energy-dense battery than other Seabobs, a combination good for up to 60 minutes of go-fast, water-based fun.

Seabob SE63 Lamborghini


The SE63 can recharge its batteries with a standard power outlet in just 1.5 hours, and be back on the water for even more fun in the sun.

The Seabob SE63 made its debut earlier this week at the Cannes Yachting Festival. Production is set to begin in early 2026, meaning you’ll be able to get yours just in time for the summer 2026 beach season. Prices have yet to be announced – but, like any Lamborghini product, if you have to ask you probably can’t afford it.

Check out the world premier of the Seabob SE63 for Automobili Lamborghini (the sled’s official name) in the video, below, then let us know what you think of the brand’s first BEV in the comments.

World premier video


SOURCE | IMAGES: Lamborghini; via New Atlas.


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Tesla influencers tried Elon Musk’s coast-to-coast self-driving, crashed before 60 miles

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Tesla influencers tried Elon Musk’s coast-to-coast self-driving, crashed before 60 miles

A duo of Tesla shareholder-influencers tried to complete Elon Musk’s coast-to-coast self-driving ride that he claimed Tesla would be able to do in 2017 and they crashed before making it about 60 miles.

In 2016, Elon Musk infamously said that Tesla would complete a fully self-driving coast-to-coast drive between Los Angeles and New York by the end of 2017.

The idea was to livestream or film a full unedited drive coast-to-coast with the vehicle driving itself at all times.

We are in 2025 and Tesla never made that drive.

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Despite the many missed autonomous driving goals, many Tesla shareholders believe that the company is on the verge of delivering unsupervised self-driving following the rollout of its ‘Robotaxi’ fleet in Austin, which requires supervision from Tesla employees inside the vehicles, and improvements to its “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) systems inside consumer vehicles, which is still only a level 2 driver assist system that requires driver attention at all times as per Tesla.

Two of these Tesla shareholders and online influencers attempted to undertake a coast-to-coast drive between San Diego, CA, and Jacksonville, FL, in a Tesla Model Y equipped with the latest FSD software update.

They didn’t make it out of California without crashing into easily avoidable road debris that badly damaged the Tesla Model Y:

In the video, you can see that the driver doesn’t have his hands on the steering wheel. The passenger spots the debris way ahead of time. There was plenty of time to react, but the driver didn’t get his hands on the steering wheel until the last second.

In a follow-up video, the two Tesla influencers confirmed that the Model Y had a broken sway bar bracket and damaged suspension components. The vehicle is also throwing out a lot of warnings.

They made it about 2.5% of the planned trip on Tesla FSD v13.9 before crashing the vehicle.

Electrek’s Take

Tesla shareholders used to discuss this somewhat rationally back in the day, but now that Tesla’s EV business is in decline and the stock price depends entirely on the self-driving and robot promises, they no longer do.

I recall when Musk himself used to say that when you reach 99% self-driving, it is when the “march of the 9s” begins, and you must achieve 99.999999999% autonomy to have a truly useful self-driving system. He admitted that this is the most challenging part as the real-world is unpredictable and hard to simulate – throwing a lot of challenging scenario at you, such as debris on the road.

That’s where Tesla is right now. The hard part has just started. And there’s no telling how long it will take to get there. If someone is telling you that they know, they are lying. I don’t know. My best estimate is approximately 2-3 years and a new hardware suite.

However, competition, mainly Waymo, began its own “march of the 9s” about five years ago.

Tesla is still years behind, and something like this drive by these two Tesla influencers proves it.

I was actually in a similar accident in a Tesla Model 3 back in 2020. I rented a Model 3 on Turo for a trip to Las Vegas from Los Angeles.

I ended up driving over a blown-out truck tire in the middle of the road like this. I was Autopilot, but I don’t know if the car saw it. I definitely saw it, but it was a bit late as I was following a truck that just drove over it. I had probably less than 2 seconds to react. I applied the brakes, but my choices were driving into a ditch on the right or into a car in the left lane.

I managed to reduce the force of the impact with the braking, but the vehicle jumped a bit like in this video. There wasn’t really any damage to the front, but the bottom cover was flapping down. I taped it together at the next gas station and I was able to continue the trip without much issue.

However, after returning it to the Turo owner and having the suspension damage evaluated by Tesla, the repair job was estimated to be roughly $10,000. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a similar situation with this accident.

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Stellantis’ new EV battery tech will put it ahead of – well, EVERYONE [video]

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Stellantis' new EV battery tech will put it ahead of – well, EVERYONE [video]

Chrysler parent company Stellantis is calling its new, Intelligent Battery Integrated System (IBIS) system a breakthrough technology that will make future EVs lighter, more efficient, and quicker. Now, that “breakthrough” tech is now moving from concept to reality.

Co-developed with Saft, Sherpa Engineering, Université Paris-Saclay, and Institut Lafayette, Stellantis’ IBIS embeds the charger and inverter functions directly into the battery pack, an integration that results in reduced design complexity, interior space savings, and lifetime easier maintenance.

That improved efficiency carries on to the battery’s second life, too. IBIS facilitates the reuse of electric vehicle batteries in second-life battery energy storage systems (BESS) applications by reducing the need for extensive (and expensive) reconditioning.

“This project reflects our belief that simplification is innovation,” explains Ned Curic, Chief Engineering and Technology Officer at Stellantis. “By rethinking and simplifying the electric powertrain architecture, we are making it lighter, more efficient, and more cost-effective. These are the kinds of innovations that help us deliver better, more affordable EVs to our customers.”

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Key IBIS benefits

  • up to 10% energy efficiency improvement (WLTC cycle) and 15% power gain (172 kW vs. 150 kW) with the same battery size
  • reduces vehicle weight by ~40 kg and frees up to 17 liters of volume, enabling better aerodynamics and design flexibility
  • early results show a 15% reduction in charging time (e.g., from 7 to 6 hours on a 7 kW AC charger), along with 10% energy savings
  • easier servicing and enhanced potential for second-life battery reuse in both automotive and stationary applications

Those benefits stem from the fact that EVs spend a lot of time and energy converting Alternating Current (AC) to Direct Current (DC) and back again with the – that’s true whether we’re talking about a L2 home charger or energy harvested from regenerative braking. Doing away with that process and the hardware that goes along with it could unlocks significant weight and efficiency benefits, with some estimates indicating that an IBIS car could weigh in at 40 kg less than a conventionally-equipped BEV, while still offering similar range and performance. 

IBIS has been in development for several years, with the first proof-of-concept for stationary applications being built in 2022. The news today, however, is that the first fully functional, IBIS-equipped battery electric vehicle (BEV) is finally ready to hit the road.

Stellantis’ researchers installed the system under one of the company’s new Peugeot E-3008 electric crossovers. Guilt on the STLA Medium platform, the prototype follows years of design, modeling, and simulation by both Stellantis and Saft, and (if all goes well) could pave the way for the integration of IBIS technology into Stellantis’ electric and hybrid production vehicles by the end of this decade.

Stellantis IBIS EV battery tech


SOURCE | IMAGES: Stellantis.


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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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