*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)
Jill and Carlo cover the developing story out of suburban Milwaukee, where a speeding SUV careened through a Christmas parade. Looters get more brazen in San Francisco, the missing Chinese tennis star resurfaces, and more.
Alternative asset, sports cards-focused platform Alt recently raised $75 million in a Series B round. Alt's platform lets users research, trade, and securely store sports cards and other high-value assets. Right now, the company has more than $70 million worth of cards in its vault. The company is also hoping to get into other assets, including NFTs. Alt CEO Leore Avidar joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Bitcoin ticked higher Friday but still hit a one-month low amid a broader crypto slump. Investors are eyeing the potential liquidation of payments from collapsed exchange Mt. Gox, alongside the recent debut of three Bitcoin-linked futures ETFs as the SEC continues to avoid approving spot product ETFs. Steve Larsen, Co-Founder of PlannerDAO, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the broader crypto slump, why Mt. Gox is a concern, and more.
Wedbush Securities has raised its price target for Tesla stock to $1,400, among the highest on Wall Street. Analysts are pointing to an incoming green tidal wave as the main reason for their optimism, with President Biden's infrastructure bill expected to kick off a new era for electric vehicles in the U.S. Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why he's so bullish on Tesla even as competition from companies like Rivian heats up.
Streaming platform Roku announced plans to develop more than 50 original shows in a bid to become a destination for free content amid growing competition in the space. Shelly Kramer, co-founder and lead analyst at Futurum Research, spoke to Cheddar about the new offering "The transition here from hardware to adding a software component by way of original content, I think is smart," she said. "And it's all about the Benjamins." Kramer also noted that she doesn't necessarily think Roku is entering the content game too late.
The behind-the-scenes story of HBO's history is chronicled in the new book 'Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers.' The book tells the true story of how HBO came to dominate the television industry as we know it. The man behind the book has interviewed over 700 key sources to uncover a bottomless trove of secrets, surprises, and never before heard stories. James Andrew Miller joins Cheddar News to share more.
