Enlarge (credit: Tesla)

In the past, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly claimed that his company's cars are appreciating assets . But this week, Tesla dropped the prices of its cars—and not for the first time this year. As we reported on Monday , despite sales growing by 36 percent globally, the automaker missed its ambitious target and will need to grow even faster in the remaining months of the year to satisfy investors.

Perhaps these cuts will help. The biggest price decreases are for the Model S sedan and Model X SUV. All versions of these electric vehicles are now $5,000 cheaper than they were last week, following similar $5,000 price cuts a month ago and much larger price cuts in January that saw the Model S Plaid shed $21,000 from its MSRP.

Model 3 sedans are now $1,000 cheaper across the board, marking their third price cut in recent months. A rear-wheel-drive Model 3 now starts at $41,990—in January, this version cost $43,990; it then dropped another $500 in February . Tesla notes that the RWD Model 3 will also lose half of the IRS clean vehicle tax credit starting on April 18, although all-wheel drive Model 3s and all Model Ys will still be eligible for the full $7,500 credit.

Enlarge / The Tesla Model Y earned a good rating in IIHS' rear seat protection crash test. (credit: IIHS)

Only four of 13 midsize SUVs earned good ratings when it came to protecting rear-seat passengers in an impact, according to new crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Of that 13, two were battery-electric vehicles—the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model Y—and both achieved good ratings, as did the Ford Explorer and Subaru Ascent.

The IIHS has been crash-testing cars at its Vehicle Research Center in Virginia since the early 1990s after noticing that most head-on collisions were offset, something the federal government's crash tests did not account for. Since then, the organization has added several other crash tests that car manufacturers are eager to pass in order to earn a coveted "Top Safety Pick" rating.

The IIHS updated its moderate overlap front crash test in 2022 after becoming frustrated that front-seat safety gains made by the industry have not been shared with those sitting in the back of a car.

Mistorqued bolts may need to be fixed in some Model Y second rows. (credit: Tesla)

Rivian was not the only electric vehicle startup to feature in my weekly recall email from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this morning. Both Electra Mecchanica and Lordstown are recalling a small number of EVs, but, more significantly, Tesla has issued yet another recall , and this time there's no software patch that can remedy the problem; affected cars have to actually be physically inspected.

Tesla is recalling 3,470 Model Y crossovers built between May 2022 and February 2023 in order to check that the bolts that secure the frame of the second-row seats are properly torqued. Those that aren't could potentially increase the risk of injury to occupants of the second row during a crash.

For owners worried their cars may be affected, Tesla says that a "second-row seat back frame that has this condition may not fold properly or may be loose and rattle during normal vehicle operation."

Tesla a mis à jour le configurateur européen du Model Y. Le SUV compact commencera à être produit à partir du milieu de cette année, au sein de l'usine actuellement en construction en Allemagne. [Lire la suite]

Voitures, vélos, scooters... : la mobilité de demain se lit sur Vroom ! https://www.numerama.com/vroom/vroom//

L'article Le Tesla Model Y européen sera produit à partir du milieu de l’année 2021 est apparu en premier sur Numerama .

Tesla démarre l'année 2021 par le lancement d'un Model Y plus abordable. Aux États-Unis, son SUV 100 % électrique est désormais disponible en version propulsion avec une autonomie standard, version qui avait été annulée. [Lire la suite]

Voitures, vélos, scooters... : la mobilité de demain se lit sur Vroom ! https://www.numerama.com/vroom/vroom//

L'article Tesla lance quand même son Model Y plus abordable, censé être annulé est apparu en premier sur Numerama .