Happy Birthday to Tesla’s Model 3. It’s hard to believe that five years ago, just 30 Model 3’s had rolled off the assembly line and been delivered. Now Tesla’s answer to a more affordable vehicle is the best-selling electric vehicle in the world, has been named car of the year, is considered one of the safest vehicles on the planet and has a long waiting list of eager buyers.
It’s a birthday, so we should reminisce about the early days. While this iconic car first appeared on the road in 2017, it was on Elon Musk’s to-do list for over a decade.
Elon Musk talks to Wired Science about the Model 3 in 2006
Years later, as it became more of a reality, the car was given the code name BlueStar. It was to be named the Model E, but Ford had already trademarked the wording. Then Musk turned the E into a 3, but he didn’t want the number; he envisioned 3 lines, similar to the current E in Tesla. But Adidas quashed that, arguing it was too close to that brand’s three stripes. So that’s how the 3 was named.
@awadsayeed Yes. Technically Model 3 or maybe three horizontal bars. Won't be three vertical bars.
The Model 3 was supposed to be the smaller, stripped-down version of the Model S to invite more buyers into Tesla and EVs. However, this more affordable, entry-level Tesla holds its own against luxury sedans and even its big sister, the Model S. Tesla has been rolling out several updates throughout the Model 3’s existence, allowing the vehicles to keep up and even pass the Joneses.
In 2019 the Model 3 received a significant software boost when the beta versions of Navigate on Autopilot and Smart Summon were added. Voice commands, a voice keyboard and new language supports were also implemented along with the popular Camp Mode. Once owners posted photos and videos of comfortable beds in the Model 3 with the backseat down, Tesla had to add climate control and a camp fire to complete the experience.
Tesla introduced Dog Mode in Teslas in 2019. In fact, the manufacturer used a Model 3 to unveil the feature to the world. With the help of a sleepy Husky and an excited German Shepherd, Dog Mode was demonstrated to the world on all of Tesla’s social media channels. This made Tesla a must-have for any dog lover!
Also included with the Model 3 in late 2019 and early 2020 was Sentry Mode. This all-encompassing security system records and notifies the owner if anything is happening around or to the Tesla. It’s arguably the most advanced stock vehicle alarm system on the market.
In 2020 the Tesla Toybox was overhauled and updated in all Model 3s. Emissions, sketchpad and many more favorites were revised and made even more fun. But it wasn’t just the games that have been updated; although plenty of games were added over time, Tesla improved it’s maps and dashcam. Later in the year, the Beta version of Full Self Driving was added to all Teslas, including the Model 3. While FSD is still a work in progress, for the system to be available in even the entry-level Model 3 was a big attraction.
A crowd pleaser is the Boombox. This was another addition in 2020 to all models. With the car in park, the boombox blasts music or sound effects through an external speaker. You can even add your own sounds through a USB drive. Perhaps the Boombox should be used by all Model 3 owners to wish their Tesla a happy 5th Birthday!
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The long long wait for FSD (Supervised) in Australia and New Zealand may be coming to an end. Thom Drew, Tesla’s Country Director for Australia & New Zealand, has confirmed on LinkedIn that Tesla has been working with local authorities in both countries and that there are no regulatory blockers for the release of FSD in the region.
The confirmation came in response to questions following Tesla’s FSD demo video in Sydney, Australia.
Hurdles Cleared
For many years, the main question surrounding the release of FSD in other Asia-Pacific countries, especially Australia, has been the status of regulatory approval. Drew’s statement provides the clearest answer yet regarding regulatory barriers, and it appears that the path is clear from a governmental standpoint.
“We have been working with local authorities across AU & NZ and there are no regulatory blockers for release. We are running through the final stages of validation prior to public release. Looking to start with HW4 on certain vehicles and then release in phases from there.”
Thom Drew, Tesla’s Country Director for Australia & New Zealand (LinkedIn)
With the regulatory question answered, the timeline for the release is now entirely in Tesla’s hands. According to his statement, Tesla is in the final phases before a public rollout, likely meaning Tesla is doing some final testing and veritifcation on local roads before flipping the switch.
— Tesla Australia & New Zealand (@TeslaAUNZ) July 17, 2025
The Rollout Plan: HW4 First
Drew also provided the first details on how Tesla plans to launch FSD in the two countries, and it seems to be a similar approach to the one Tesla took in China.
That means that the release will begin with AI4 (HW4) equipped vehicles first. Once those vehicles are up and running, they will slowly begin to phase in older AI3 (HW3) vehicles over the next few releases.
For owners of HW3 vehicles (everything we know about the HW3 upgrade), this phased release means that they’ll be waiting a little longer than other owners, but at least there’s progress and some clear next steps now. A little more waiting isn’t too bad, especially when you consider just how long many owners in Australia and New Zealand have been waiting for any semblance of FSD in their nations. Tesla initially outlined Q2 2025 as the target availability date for FSD in RHD markets, so this timing is roughly on track with what Tesla initially announced in September 2024.
Hopefully, Tesla also opens up the opportunity for FSD transfer for HW3 owners in both countries, as we’re sure many people would upgrade alongside the official release of FSD to the latest hardware.
And just in case you thought the first video wasn’t true because it wasn’t upside down - well, Tesla provided us the original too.
Another quarter has passed, and that means it’s time to submit questions and vote for Tesla’s Q2 2025 Earnings Call. While Q1 was a tough quarter for the company, Q2 saw some recovery in sales, although there’s still some work to be done.
However, there’s always a lot to be excited about during Tesla’s Q&A session, where we usually learn a lot about future software improvements and upcoming vehicles. We may hear more about FSD Unsupervised, Robotaxi, or the more affordable vehicle, or its upcoming larger 6-seater Model Y, the Model Y L. Tesla also mentioned a potential FSD price hike back in the Q1 2025 Earnings Call, so that could be something that is brought up as well.
Tesla’s Q2 So Far
Tesla has already released their Q2 2025 Production and Delivery numbers, which were up from Q1 of this year, but still down compared to Q2 last year.
Production
Deliveries
Model 3/Y
396,835
373,728
Model S, X, and Cybertruck
13,409
10,394
Total
410,244
384,122
How to Submit & Vote
Tesla lets shareholders submit a question that will be voted on and may be answered during the Q&A session. To submit your own question or vote on an already submitted question, you’ll need to be a verified shareholder. You can go to Say’s platform and link your brokerage accounts.
Once it is verified, you’ll be able to log in and vote your shares on your own question, or on someone else’s question.
Here’s the link to get started on Say’s Tesla Q&A. You must submit your questions and votes by July 23rd, 2025, at 4:00 PM EDT.
Top Questions So Far
Unsurprisingly, people have already been submitting questions, and here are the top ones so far.
Can you give us some insight how robotaxis have been performing so far and what rate you expect to expand in terms of vehicles, geofence, cities, and supervisors?
What are the key technical and regulatory hurdles still remaining for unsupervised FSD to be available for personal use? Timeline?
What specific factory tasks is Optimus currently performing, and what is the expected timeline for scaling production to enable external sales? How does Tesla envision Optimus contributing to revenue in the next 2–3 years?
Can you provide an update on the development and production timeline for Tesla’s more affordable models? How will these models balance cost reduction with profitability, and what impact do you expect on demand in the current economic climate?
Are there any news for HW3 users getting retrofits or upgrades? Will they get HW4 or some future version of HW5?
When do you anticipate customer vehicles to receive unsupervised FSD?
And here are some other ones we found interesting:
Have any meaningful Optimus milestones changed for this year or next and will thousands of Optimus be performing tasks in Tesla factories by year end?
Are front bumper cameras going to be necessary for unsupervised full self driving? If so, what is the companies plan to retrofit vehicles that do not have them?
Will there be a new AI day to explain the advancements the Autopilot, Optimus, and Dojo/chip teams have made over the past several years. We still do not know much about the HW4.
Earnings Call Details
Tesla will hold its earnings call on Wednesday, July 23rd, at 4:00 PM EDT. It's still early for an access link, but we’ll make sure we have a link up on the site before the earnings call that day.
If you do miss the earnings call, no worries. We will provide a full recap following the call, and we’ll also do some in-depth dives into what was said and what we know.
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