News
New Model 3 photos surface, pointing to 300+ mile range and interior details
New photos have surfaced on Reddit of the Model 3 at a supercharging station. Unlike past photos, these show the Model 3’s charging screen and several crucial details around the vehicle. The Tesla engineer driving the test vehicle didn’t seem to mind photos being taken and even mentioned that they were driving the vehicle home for the night. Take a look at the different photos and features below.
(Photo: You You Xue @youyouxue)
The Model 3 was seen with full autopilot hardware and this close-up of the front-facing cameras. The Tesla vision system looks nearly identical to the current Model S and X system, but with a new rain sensor added (top right sensor). The Tesla Model S and X previously had rain sensors like this one, but disappeared with the Autopilot 2 hardware.
(Photo: You You Xue @youyouxue)
This is one of the first great images of the Model 3’s seats and roof. You can clearly get a sense of the vehicle’s headroom and the thickness of the center roof panel, which looks thinner than the Model S/X’s. It’s unclear from the photo if the headrests are adjustable.
(Photo: You You Xue @youyouxue)
Nothing much has changed with the Model 3’s simplistic steering wheel design. It’s still unclear which controls the scroll wheels activate since there isn’t a screen in front of the steering wheel. It’s worth noting that the center console area looks well thought out, compared to the Model S’s lack of a center console at launch.
(Photo: You You Xue @youyouxue)
Now for the most important photo out of the bunch, the charging screen. The screen clearly shows the vehicle’s charge level at 95 miles and was charging at 169 mph (worth noting that the stall next to the Model 3 was drawing power as well). After taking a closer look at the vehicle’s charge level, it looks to us that this particular vehicle has a range over 300 miles (312 miles to be exact). Sources at Tesla have previously told us that the Model 3 will launch with 60kWh and 75kWh batteries, so it can be assumed that this vehicle was equipped with the larger 75kWh battery.
This charging screen should also give Model 3 buyers a good sense of the layout; we have previously seen photos of the Model 3’s center screen, but with far less detail. The controls at the bottom of the screen appear easy to reach, and the screen seems well divided from left t0 right.
(Photo: You You Xue @youyouxue)
This white Model 3 was sporting new gray/black aerodynamic wheels. The Tesla Model S briefly had an option for aerodynamic wheels, but Tesla didn’t offer the wheels for long. This picture also gives a great look at the camera/turn signal unit on the side of the vehicle, which is similar to or the same as the Model S/X’s unit.
(Photo: You You Xue @youyouxue)
While we have known the location of the Model 3’s charging port for a few months, this image shows Tesla’s new charging indicator. Unlike the Model S/X’s flashing indicator ring, the Model 3 sports a subtle glowing Tesla logo just left of the port. The photographer noted that the Model 3’s charging port pops open remotely, but doesn’t open all the way like the Model S/X.
Check out the rest of the photos below of the Model 3’s white exterior:
Photos taken by You You Xue @youyouxue
Elon Musk
Tesla’s Elon Musk: 10 billion miles needed for safe Unsupervised FSD
As per the CEO, roughly 10 billion miles of training data are required due to reality’s “super long tail of complexity.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has provided an updated estimate for the training data needed to achieve truly safe unsupervised Full Self-Driving (FSD).
As per the CEO, roughly 10 billion miles of training data are required due to reality’s “super long tail of complexity.”
10 billion miles of training data
Musk comment came as a reply to Apple and Rivian alum Paul Beisel, who posted an analysis on X about the gap between tech demonstrations and real-world products. In his post, Beisel highlighted Tesla’s data-driven lead in autonomy, and he also argued that it would not be easy for rivals to become a legitimate competitor to FSD quickly.
“The notion that someone can ‘catch up’ to this problem primarily through simulation and limited on-road exposure strikes me as deeply naive. This is not a demo problem. It is a scale, data, and iteration problem— and Tesla is already far, far down that road while others are just getting started,” Beisel wrote.
Musk responded to Beisel’s post, stating that “Roughly 10 billion miles of training data is needed to achieve safe unsupervised self-driving. Reality has a super long tail of complexity.” This is quite interesting considering that in his Master Plan Part Deux, Elon Musk estimated that worldwide regulatory approval for autonomous driving would require around 6 billion miles.
FSD’s total training miles
As 2025 came to a close, Tesla community members observed that FSD was already nearing 7 billion miles driven, with over 2.5 billion miles being from inner city roads. The 7-billion-mile mark was passed just a few days later. This suggests that Tesla is likely the company today with the most training data for its autonomous driving program.
The difficulties of achieving autonomy were referenced by Elon Musk recently, when he commented on Nvidia’s Alpamayo program. As per Musk, “they will find that it’s easy to get to 99% and then super hard to solve the long tail of the distribution.” These sentiments were echoed by Tesla VP for AI software Ashok Elluswamy, who also noted on X that “the long tail is sooo long, that most people can’t grasp it.”
News
Tesla earns top honors at MotorTrend’s SDV Innovator Awards
MotorTrend’s SDV Awards were presented during CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
Tesla emerged as one of the most recognized automakers at MotorTrend’s 2026 Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) Innovator Awards.
As could be seen in a press release from the publication, two key Tesla employees were honored for their work on AI, autonomy, and vehicle software. MotorTrend’s SDV Awards were presented during CES 2026 in Las Vegas.
Tesla leaders and engineers recognized
The fourth annual SDV Innovator Awards celebrate pioneers and experts who are pushing the automotive industry deeper into software-driven development. Among the most notable honorees for this year was Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s Vice President of AI Software, who received a Pioneer Award for his role in advancing artificial intelligence and autonomy across the company’s vehicle lineup.
Tesla also secured recognition in the Expert category, with Lawson Fulton, a staff Autopilot machine learning engineer, honored for his contributions to Tesla’s driver-assistance and autonomous systems.
Tesla’s software-first strategy
While automakers like General Motors, Ford, and Rivian also received recognition, Tesla’s multiple awards stood out given the company’s outsized role in popularizing software-defined vehicles over the past decade. From frequent OTA updates to its data-driven approach to autonomy, Tesla has consistently treated vehicles as evolving software platforms rather than static products.
This has made Tesla’s vehicles very unique in their respective sectors, as they are arguably the only cars that objectively get better over time. This is especially true for vehicles that are loaded with the company’s Full Self-Driving system, which are getting progressively more intelligent and autonomous over time. The majority of Tesla’s updates to its vehicles are free as well, which is very much appreciated by customers worldwide.
Elon Musk
Judge clears path for Elon Musk’s OpenAI lawsuit to go before a jury
The decision maintains Musk’s claims that OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure violated early assurances made to him as a co-founder.
A U.S. judge has ruled that Elon Musk’s lawsuit accusing OpenAI of abandoning its founding nonprofit mission can proceed to a jury trial.
The decision maintains Musk’s claims that OpenAI’s shift toward a for-profit structure violated early assurances made to him as a co-founder. These claims are directly opposed by OpenAI.
Judge says disputed facts warrant a trial
At a hearing in Oakland, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stated that there was “plenty of evidence” suggesting that OpenAI leaders had promised that the organization’s original nonprofit structure would be maintained. She ruled that those disputed facts should be evaluated by a jury at a trial in March rather than decided by the court at this stage, as noted in a Reuters report.
Musk helped co-found OpenAI in 2015 but left the organization in 2018. In his lawsuit, he argued that he contributed roughly $38 million, or about 60% of OpenAI’s early funding, based on assurances that the company would remain a nonprofit dedicated to the public benefit. He is seeking unspecified monetary damages tied to what he describes as “ill-gotten gains.”
OpenAI, however, has repeatedly rejected Musk’s allegations. The company has stated that Musk’s claims were baseless and part of a pattern of harassment.
Rivalries and Microsoft ties
The case unfolds against the backdrop of intensifying competition in generative artificial intelligence. Musk now runs xAI, whose Grok chatbot competes directly with OpenAI’s flagship ChatGPT. OpenAI has argued that Musk is a frustrated commercial rival who is simply attempting to slow down a market leader.
The lawsuit also names Microsoft as a defendant, citing its multibillion-dollar partnerships with OpenAI. Microsoft has urged the court to dismiss the claims against it, arguing there is no evidence it aided or abetted any alleged misconduct. Lawyers for OpenAI have also pushed for the case to be thrown out, claiming that Musk failed to show sufficient factual basis for claims such as fraud and breach of contract.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers, however, declined to end the case at this stage, noting that a jury would also need to consider whether Musk filed the lawsuit within the applicable statute of limitations. Still, the dispute between Elon Musk and OpenAI is now headed for a high-profile jury trial in the coming months.
Tesla’s Elon Musk: 10 billion miles needed for safe Unsupervised FSD
Tesla earns top honors at MotorTrend’s SDV Innovator Awards
