Tesla Inc. is offering ride-hailing services in the San Francisco Bay Area, the birthplace of ride-sharing and where the EV maker has plenty of competition from services with drivers at the wheel as well as from self-driving cars.

California officials said that Tesla was not permitted to offer transportation to the public without a driver in a self-driving vehicle.

With a potential asking price under $40,000, this skeletonized SUV could be the lifeline Tesla needs. Here’s what you’ll learn reading this story. For the first time, Tesla’s new affordable vehicle has been spotted in public.

According to Alexandra Flores, a psychologist at Williams College and lead author of the study, the team initially expected that liberals’ views on EVs would remain stable over time, whereas conservatives would start to become more positive about EVs—or at least Teslas—given Musk’s politically rightward lurch in recent years.

The Elon Musk backlash has hammered Tesla sales. How are fans of the company holding up? I went to find out.