tesla model y

The Tesla Model Y SUV is expected to arrive in Australian showrooms during late 2021 or early 2022, according to several employees of the electric vehicle manufacturer. Exact timing will not be officially confirmed – even to staff – until the vehicle appears on Tesla’s online configurator. However, CarAdvice understands local service centres are operating under instruction delivery is likely within six to nine months.

Elon Musk now sits behind only Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos on the international rich-list, following a sharp rise in the valuation of Tesla this week. In the last seven days alone shares in the electric vehicle manufacturer rose from $447 (approximately AU$607) to $558 (approximately AU$758), representing an increase of approximately 25 per cent. Market capitalisation now sits at $526.45 billion (approximately AU$715 billion).

The rear bumper of a Tesla Model 3 was torn off during a storm in Florida earlier this month, once again bringing the build quality of the US-made electric vehicles under scrutiny. Logan Derouanna, who owns the damaged vehicle, told carscoops.com he was decelerating while attempting to change lanes – in heavy rain – when he heard a “huge noise,” and eventually discovered the rear bumper had torn loose, possibly from a build-up of water.

Tesla will build its next Gigafactory near Berlin, as it looks to tap into the huge pool of automotive engineering talent in Germany. The factory will be Tesla's fifth, following facilities in Nevada, New York, and California, USA, and Shanghai, China. It will also up the pressure on European carmakers, as they look to rapidly develop and roll out their pure-electric line-ups.

Elon Musk says Tesla cars could be able to drive themselves by the end of 2019, on the back of today's full self-driving computer reveal. According to the outspoken CEO, the new computer is "the best chip in the world... objectively". It was unveiled at an investor day in Palo Alto, California. It'll be built in Texas by Samsung, with the company suggesting supply shouldn't be an issue. We've heard that before, though.