*By Michael Teich*
Tesla's Model 3 Performance vehicle is bad news for the company's haters, said Wall Street Journal auto columnist Dan Neil.
"Tesla runs their company in a different way, and it drives people crazy. But you can't argue with the results," Neil told Cheddar in an interview Friday.
Earlier this year, CEO Elon Musk announced the high-performance Model 3 Performance vehicle on Twitter. According to Musk, the dual-motor, all-wheel drive car "will beat anything in its class on the track." Neil was the first person to test drive it, and he was thoroughly impressed.
"This thing is magnificent, a little rainbow-farting space ship," he said in his review. "They have a schedule of innovation ahead of them."
Sans additions, the base price of the Tesla Model 3 Performance is $64,000, but it may sell for $78,000 with certain upgrades. The car is advertised with a 0 to 60 mph acceleration time of 3.5 seconds.
Whether reviews of the souped-up version will make up for recent struggles at Tesla remains to be seen. Many Wall Street analysts have grown skeptical of the company's capacity to meet expectations for even the regular version of the Model 3, which is supposed to cost as little as $35,000, though that configuration isn't available yet. And CEO Elon Musk's latest [blunders](https://money.cnn.com/2018/07/17/technology/elon-musk-twitter-investors/index.html) on Twitter aren't helping. Even if Tesla overcomes the hurdles of production, investment bank Needham says consumers are losing patience: the analyst estimates that about one in every four Model 3 orders is canceled, about twice the rate of late year's reports.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/behind-the-wheel-of-the-tesla-model-3-performance-vehicle)
Jack Dorsey is officially out as Twitter's CEO. Dorsey said in a statement that the platform is ready to move away from its founders and now will be led by current CTO Parag Agrawal.
The ocean is an important topic when it comes to the climate. It plays a vital role in shaping our environment, with rising sea levels causing a 35% increase in natural disasters around the world, affecting 1.7 billion people. Dr. Sylvia Earle has been called perhaps the greatest advocate our oceans have ever had, with Time magazine dubbing her its first 'hero of the planet' and the Library of Congress naming her a living legend. She is also the founder of Mission Blue, an organization that inspires action to explore and protect the ocean. Dr. Earle joined Cheddar Climate for more on the importance of caring for the ocean and its impact on climate change.
This holiday season, e-commerce sales are expected to hit 207 billion dollars, with17 percent of that chunk will occuring between the days of the deals - black friday and cyber monday. Deren Baker, CEO of edge by ascential, joins Cheddar News to give a Cyber Monday preview.
Zoom reported solid third quarter earnings, with a beat on revenue and EPS, but did warn of slowed growth as the pandemic wanes. For more on the company’s third quarter earnings and their innovation plans post-pandemic, Kelly Steckelberg, CFO, Zoom joined Cheddar’s Opening Bell to discuss.
Portion is the 21st-century auction house and collector’s community for rare high-end physical and digital art items. Whether you're a creator or a collector, Portion focuses on enabling users to flourish while offering a dependable marketplace to buy or sell NFTs. Jason Rosenstein, founder of Portion, joins Cheddar News to disucss.
According to recent data, Americans are pulling away from their television screens in a big way. In the last few months, people have returned back to more normal activities, spending time with friends and less time doom scrolling on Instagram, it's a favorite pastime. Licensed Psychotherapist and Author of "Disconnected" Tom Kersting, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Over the years, vertical farming has seen a growing trend. The use of this technique allows growers to combine environmental and financial sustainability. While vertical farming is still a relatively young concept, one industry has been utilizing the technique, the cannabis world. As states across the country continue to legalize medical and recreational cannabis, more and more cannabis distributors are pivoting to vertical farms like one local black-owned hemp farm in Wilmington, Delaware.CEO and Co-founder of EternelHemp Michael Brown, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
One former employee at Sony Playstation has just filed a lawsuit against the company on allegations of gender discrimination and wrongful termination. According to Emma Majo, the company says she was terminated as a result of the company's decision to phase out a team she was only temporarily working with. Executive Director at International Game Developer's Association Renee Gittins, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
