Model 3 orders: Total orders for the Tesla Model 3 are now at 455,000 with about 63,000 cancellations having been made over the past year. CEO Elon Musk said that
cancellations came from people burning out over having to wait an hour and a half to complete the order process online. During a quarterly earnings call yesterday, the company announced that it had burned through about $1.16 billion in cash during Q2 to keep the Model 3 factory on schedule along with Gigafactory battery production. Stocks closed yesterday with a 7.4% jump to $350.13 as investors remained enthusiastic.
Used green car sales: CarMax reports that the Toyota Prius last year was the most popular used hybrid/EV sold at its nationwide chain of stores. That was followed by the Ford
C-Max, Ford Fusion, Lexus CT, and Kia Optima. Ford will be taking the C-Max hybrid and plug-in hybrid out of production but it has been doing better lately in new vehicle sales; the Fusion has done well, too, being very competitive with the Prius in the hybrid space. The Prius has seen a lot of fluctuation his year in hybrid hatchback sales. The Prius Prime has been doing very well, competing with the Chevy Volt and Bolt, and the Tesla Model S and X in U.S. new vehicle sales.
Tension between U.S. and China: U.S. relations with China continue to be tense under the Trump administration, with three leading Democratic senators urging the president to stand up to China. Trump’s issues have focused on protecting intellectual 
property and honoring trade practices between the nations. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was one of the three. Trump has been pressing China to cut steel production to cut oversupply and to rein in North Korea’s missile testing program. The Obama administration, while also concerned over high tariffs and equitable trade, had established strong relations with the country on vehicle electrification and renewable energy goals. Now it’s up to California and Gov. Jerry Brown to keep those goals going – electric cars, buses, and trucks. China is likely to adopt some version of California’s zero emission vehicle policy by the end of the year. But relations between the two nations could be a stumbling block.
