Todd Lassa, Detroit Bureau Chief for Automobile Magazine, discusses a recent downgrade to Tesla's Model 3 outlook for the fourth quarter as Elon Musk promises a pickup truck and new features to fans. Lassa adds that Musk's own ambition might be beginning to catch up with him as the Model 3 has not yet proven to be profitable. He notes its major miss of deliveries in the third quarter as well. Is there a place in the market for a Tesla pickup truck? Three major manufacturers are making $90 billion in that market, but Lassa notes how inexpensive a Ford F-150 is in comparison to the cost of a Tesla truck. He estimates that it would be several years before a car like that would become profitable for the company.

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Tesla sales jump after months of boycotts
Tesla reported a surprise increase in sales in the third quarter as the electric car maker likely benefited from a rush by consumers to take advantage of a $7,500 credit before it expired on Sept. 30. The company reported Thursday that sales in the three months through September rose 7% compared to the same period a year ago. The gain follows two quarters of steep declines as people turned off by CEO Elon Musk’s foray into right-wing politics avoided buying his company’s cars and even protested at some dealerships. Sales rose to 497,099 vehicles, compared with 462,890 in the same period last year.
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