10 Biggest News Stories of the Week: Tesla Model X, Model Y Take Cheap Shots at Toyota Tacoma

Elon Musk is pretty much doing everything but twirling a giant cardboard arrow on the street corner or appearing on low-budget local TV commercials exclaiming, “We’re slashing prices left and right down here at Crazy Elon’s during the Tesla clearance sale going on right now — where prices are insane!” Both buyers of new Tesla vehicles as well as some owners of recent model-year Teslas won’t need to so much as drive themselves down to “Crazy Elon’s” in order to save big on the Full Self-Driving semi-autonomous system, while shoppers in the market for a new 2024 Tesla Model X or Model Y will enjoy a starting-price reduction of more than $2,000 and around $1,000, respectively.

Related: How Does the Tesla Model Y’s Autosteer System Operate Post-Recall?

On the autonomous front — per the top news article on Cars.com’s countdown of most read stories — Tesla is reducing the monthly subscription fee for Full Self-Driving by nearly half to $99, while the activation fee will drop by a full third to $8,000. That means that, in your first full year of having the feature, you’ll pay just $9,188 versus $14,388 — a 36% discount. For those inclined to cry, “Elon, take the wheel” — or, rather, a complex system of cameras, sensors and other mechanisms — those kinds of prices drive themselves. For would-be Tesla SUV buyers, the Model X’s new $79,380 starting price and Model Y’s $44,380 entry sum (each including destination charges) are new lows for both.

For full details on Tesla’s cheap moves of late, follow the link below to Cars.com’s No. 1 news article of the past week.

Further down this week’s roster of well-read news is our rapid-fire rundown of the pros and cons for the redesigned-for-2024 Toyota Tacoma. The well-loved mid-size pickup truck returns for the new model year — overhauled for the first time since 2016 — and is eagerly welcomed back with an increasingly uncommon abundance of cab configurations, bed lengths, powertrains, and other packages and options; improved space and comfort for front-seat occupants; increased dimensions and capabilities thanks to sharing a platform with its full-size Tundra sibling; adequate oomph from its new base engine; more communicative steering and confident braking; and an expanded emphasis on off-road abilities and add-ons. Our editors weren’t as enamored of that new aerodynamics-enabling air shield mounted under the front bumper, which is a body-shop visit waiting to happen; an unimpressively par-for-the-course manual transmission; and a lackluster infotainment experience.

To learn more about what we loved and what we loathed about the 2024 Toyota Tacoma, follow the link below to the No. 6 news story of the week.

Beyond that, we hav headlines on the Toyota Camry, cheap new cars, cheap electric vehicles, cheap SUVs, cheap pickup trucks and much more — so don’t stop reading till the digits double. Here are the top 10 news stories Cars.com readers couldn’t get enough of in the past week:

1. Tesla Slashes Full Self-Driving Cost by a Third, Drops Prices for Model X and Y

2. Here Are the 10 Cheapest New Cars You Can Buy Right Now

3. Which Electric Cars Are Still Eligible for the $7,500 Federal Tax Credit?

4. 2025 Toyota Camry Review: Thank Goodness for Sedans

5. Here Are the 11 Cheapest Electric Vehicles You Can Buy

6. Is the 2024 Toyota Tacoma a Good Pickup Truck? 6 Pros, 3 Cons

7. Here Are the 10 Cheapest New SUVs You Can Buy Right Now

8. Here Are the 10 Cheapest Pickup Trucks You Can Buy Right Now

9. 2024 Toyota Tacoma Hybrid Review: A Lot More Power, a Little More MPG

10. What a Week Commuting in a Tesla Model Y Looks Like

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