Tesla Model 3, Semi Truck, Model Y, and Big Insurance Rate Increases

Tesla Motors will begin shipping Model 3 cars to its employees in late July. Call us jaded, but a company that launches a new car with sales to people it employs seems like a weak way to show off a technology. Our favorite Tesla Expert, and three-time Model S owner, Alex Guberman, says that the first cars that are built will be "simple" and will thus avoid many of the launch problems that Tesla has become known for following the Model X launch disaster.

With the Tesla Model 3 still having never been shown in a production trim, and still not listed on the EPA's site, we will be happy to see it in six weeks. Those without orders already placed may not see theirs until 2019, given the long waiting list and slow production pace Tesla has come to be known for.
- See our predictions from last year regarding the Model 3

Tesla is already planning its next vehicle, a semi-tractor that Alex says we will see in September. What exactly, we will see is still a question. A mock up? A one-off? Most likely.

Tesla's model Y is also now a topic for discussion. We know almost nothing except that Tesla says it will not be based on the Model 3 platform.

Next up, Alex parses words regarding the possible 30% increase on Tesla Model S insurance from one large insurer.

Last, Alex revisits the discontinuation of Toyota and Tesla's partnership. Since the partnership ended, Toyota's Prius Prime EV has passed the Model X in sales year to date and the Prius Prime has outsold the Model S in three of the five months of 2017.