Tesla News

Tesla will begin producing a seven-seater Model Y in China, according to reports.

American electric car specialist Lucid is gearing up to take on Tesla at its own game. The start-up has confirmed one more affordable mid-size SUV, priced from about US$50,000 (A$74,000), is on the way for 2026.There are two more mystery models in Lucid’s ‘mid-size’ plan according to a new report from CarBuzz, which spoke to Lucid Lucid Motors Senior Vice-President of Design and Brand Derek Jenkins.Lucid has not announced what kind of model it is developing yet beyond that it is definitely not going to be a station wagon.Instead, the two hats in the ring seem to be a dedicated sports car or a more hardcore off-road model. Regardless, Lucid knows to make inroads against Tesla “you have to do that by blowing people away and alleviating any fear or doubt that they have in their mind about going to EV," said Jenkins."The off-road space is going to continue to morph and evolve,” Jenkins told Carbuzz. “You're going to have products that are trying to cater to the fringe of off-roading, like rock crawling, and then you have your normal crossover products." Undertaking a fully-fledged off-roader to challenge the Toyota LandCruiser doesn’t seem like Lucid’s bag. It has explored a small pick-up truck, a Ford Maverick rival if you like, however Jenkins’ words hint more at a Ford Bronco Sport-type vehicle that matches some extra off-road capability with the comfort of a monocoque SUV. "You get the benefit of something that is ever so slightly sleeker and ever so slightly car-like to get the efficiency, both the space and the aero efficiency, but you ruggedize it to give you a little bit more of that robustness and durability,” Jenkins said. The other reported avenue is a sports car, a true coupe or convertible. Adding fuel to this is that Lucid partnered with Aston Martin last year. Could an MX-5 and GR86-rivalling EV sports car be on the way? It seems unlikely that would be the case, certainly in the marque’s next stage of affordable expansion. Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson has previously announced an affordable Tesla Model Y rival and the general consensus is it will be partnered with a mid-size sedan to compete with the Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal competitor. This also means the mystery third mid-size model Jenkins mentioned could be a Sapphire version — Lucid’s answer to Tesla Performance and BMW M — of the upcoming mid-size sedan. "It's not going to be as quick as Air, but it's going to be impressive, and it's going to be at a value that many more people can access,” Jenkins told CarBuzz of the new mid-size platform. “The whole idea is to take our technology and hit a wider swathe of consumers and accelerate that transition. We're creating a range of personalities around that program.”Headquartered in California, Lucid only sells one model, the Air. It’s sold exclusively in the United States where it’s priced from US$71,400 to directly target the Tesla Model S. It is the most efficient in its class and can travel 676km from a single charge, or develop up to 920kW in flagship Sapphire guise. Lucid is still a minnow in global EV sales. It aims to sell just 9000 Air sedans in the US by the end of this year. The company is majority owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) which announced a US$1.5 billion funding boost last week.This is to aid Lucid in producing its new Gravity SUV that will be built in Saudi Arabia. ‘AMP-2 factory’. The Gravity SUV is expected to boost sales and profits, with the company targeting production of 150,000 units each year. The electric car specialist has announced no further plans to launch in Australia. It’s understood Lucid is waiting for these smaller models before gearing up, with a local presence expected towards the end of the decade.

Canada has followed the lead of the US and European Union in announcing it will impose a big tariff on Chinese-made EVs. According to the Canadian government, the 100 per cent tax will apply to all vehicles imported from China, including those built by Tesla, who currently ships its Chinese-made EVs to Canada.

Is Tesla’s electric car sales dominance starting to falter?

The new Tesla Model Y 'Juniper' is shaping as the electric car brand's most important car ever, with the brand's best-selling model also its key weapon in the face of increased competition from legacy car makers and slew of Chinese brands like BYD, MG and Geely.

A new study by the team which brought you the 'Dieselgate' discovery has conducted research into how polluting EVs are compared to their petrol cousins.

The Toyota RAV4 was Australia’s favourite vehicle last month, overtaking the incumbent utes and notching up 5933 sales. The Ford Ranger (4915) and Toyota HiLux (4747) trailed Australia’s favourite SUV, with Toyota once again taking overall honours. Mazda managed to keep its head above Ford with both maintaining a solid gap back to fourth-placed Kia. It was another record-breaking July with 99,486 registrations recorded enough to beat last year’s result by 2.7 per cent. Year-to-date, sales are at 731,898 — up 7.9 per cent on last year’s record numbers.“This is a remarkable achievement in an economy featuring widespread cost of living pressures,” noted Federal Chamber of Automobile Industries (FCAI) head Tony Weber. “It was also interesting to note that while sales in the Business and Government segments were up 13.7 per cent and 37.5 per cent respectively, Private sales were down 4.2 per cent,” added Weber. Hybrid sales were also buoyant up 88.4 per cent on last year with plug-in hybrid sales up 128.9 per cent. The share of electric cars fell slightly to 6.6 per cent. “While the first seven months of 2024 have exceeded expectations, the industry remains cautious about the future pending the implementation of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard coupled with the economic conditions,” cautioned Weber.Toyota is riding the popularity of hybrid vehicles keeping its head in first place with 22,705 sales last month and climbing back to an impressive 22.8 per cent market share.The battle between Ford (57,371) and Mazda (57,023) is nail-bitingly close, the former having a slower July (7749 vs 8476) but managing to hold second place year-to-date by a slim 348 car margin. Kia remains in a strong fourth followed by Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Isuzu, MG, Nissan and Subaru.As for models, the Corolla hatch and sedan had an extremely strong sales month with 2688 registrations with its sparring partner, the Hyundai i30 (663), nowhere to be seen as the company waits for the updated hatch to arrive (though with Kia Cerato sales up significantly to 1592). Then came the Isuzu D-Max ute, Ford Everest large SUV, the Mitsubishi Outlander and Mazda CX-5 mid-size SUVs and the MG ZS small SUV. The Toyota Kluger rounded out the top 10, beating the LandCruiser to the punch. Tesla’s sales were weaker in July with just 1353 Model Y and 1239 Model 3 registrations not enough to see either model climb into the overall top 10. By state and territory, the Northern Territory, South Australia, New South Wales and Western Australia all improved their positions while the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria had small sips (less than two per cent). Sales in Tasmania were down 12 per cent.

Autonomous vehicles are touted as the silver bullet to mobility yet anyone who has experienced even the best systems currently available should have doubts.

Following a near two-million vehicle recall in the United States, Tesla has issued an Australian bulletin concerning 34,993 Model Ys and Model 3s sold in Australia – around a third of all vehicles the brand has delivered. 

It appears the upcoming facelift to the Tesla Model Y could arrive with some of its own unique flair compared to the Model 3 that arrived here in late 2023.