Ah, Tesla. They’re a little bit wild, aren’t they? While there are very few people who would turn down owning one of the best electric cars on the market, we do wonder if they will ever be able to screw their heads on straight. We’ve seen cars catching fire, people protesting against their faulty vehicles, and Elon Musk being Elon Musk. However, now we’re in the midst of a pricing sage for their special-order-only Model 3. Here’s a timeline of what has happened so far…

September 2016

Elon Musk announces the Model 3, which he promised would be an affordable $35,000 to start with. This didn’t include the mandatory destination charge, but fans were excited nonetheless. After all, there are very few cars like the Tesla that you can buy for that price.

Mid-2017

Finally, the Model 3 was available to buy! Only, there was a catch… Only the Long Range battery and Premium Interior options were available to the market. This meant that the once promised $35,000 price was actually $50,000.

February 2019

After a long wait, Tesla announces that their Model 3 would finally be available at the promised price of $35,000. It was a stripped out version of the car, with a standard interior and features. With the destination charge, you could get your hands on one for $36,200.

April 2019

Tesla change their minds and pull the Model 3 Standard Range from their online ordering system. They explain it’s now a special-order-only which you could get at physical Tesla stores. They then raised the price in May 2019 to $36,600.

Recently, the price of the Model 3 Standard Range has dropped back down to the $36,200 with destination charge… We have no idea how long for, though…

If it were not for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, I Love Lucy would’ve never existed. These are the hidden facts the studio stashed far away from the fans, and once reading through, you”ll understand why.

At first, Lucille did not want to work with Vivian Vance, claiming she didn’t have the comedic presence or acting skills necessary for the show. But eventually, the two became close, and Lucy and Ethel’s wacky dynamic became just as important as Lucy and Ricky’s.

Desi’s performing style was a unique one – Desi would memorize the entire script with just one read. He would not need to prepare for the scenes for an extended amount of time since his memory never let him down. On the other hand, Desi’s co-star, William Frawley, was exactly the opposite. As Fred Mertz, the actor struggled to remember his lines after numerous script readings, and apparently ripped sheets out of the script on account of being given “too many lines.”

Ethel, who was portrayed by Vivian Vance, was one half of the other distinguished duo on the show. The other half was Fred, who William Frawley played. Sadly, there was a major issue that caused the two to constantly get into arguments and cause a tense environment on set – the fact that Vance and Frawley had a 22 year age gap between them. The gap acted as a catalyst between them, and so many on set complained about how the relationship was toxic for everyone around.

Some of the conditions in the casts’ contracts were simply bizarre. For instance, allegedly, Vivian Vance’s contracted noted that at all times, she needed to be 10 pounds heavier than the star of the show, Lucille. Vivian and Lucille never confirmed this allegation, but they did occasionally joke about it in interviews, making many fans of the show believe it was a real term. You would expect the producers of the show to care more about the performance of the actors than their weight, but that’s Hollywood.

More than a decade previous to making I Love Lucy, actress Lucille Ball and co-star Desi Arnaz decided it was time to take their relationship to the next level and spontaneously eloped in 1940. “The most daring thing I had ever done,” Ball said. But the marriage did not start honestly, as both actors lied about their ages. Desi claimed to be 25 despite actually being 23, and 29-year-old Ball said she was only 26. Eventually, the two had a void divorce, but they kept at it when they reached fame.

Come 1952, Ball had shocking news. The actress announced that she with child, much to the producers’ dismay. At the time, being pregnant was considered taboo – even the term was forbidden. To avoid it, the producers made sure the term used was “expecting” when making Lucille’s character pregnant, too. This was so groundbreaking, that Ball was the first real pregnant woman to ever play a pregnant female on TV. Since pregnancy was an intimate concept, Ball was rebellious in stating that she wanted to show off her growing belly.

As a result of Ball’s pregnancy, the producers felt that extra measures needed to be taken in order to make sure that the audience was not offended by what was considered at the time, a contentious topic. Every episode involving Lucy as a pregnant lady had to be double-checked by a priest, a minister, and even a rabbi. This was so that the show remained safe and inoffensive for as many viewers as possible. Oh, how times have changed.

Nine months went by faster than Ball and the producers expected, and when the time came for Lucille to give birth, her character did too. The episode titled “Little Ricky” was such a huge hit, it brought in 44 million viewers. It was watched by more people than those who viewed the inauguration of President Eisenhower, which was anything but ordinary. Another popular episode was the series finale, titled “The Ricardos Dedicate A Statue,” which was ranked number one in the Nielsen ratings.

Ball nearly died in one of the episodes filmed for I Love Lucy, and the crew had no idea their star of the show was in an actual life-threatening situation. During the filming of the episode “Lucy’s Italian Movie,” Ball was seen choking on a grape – but everyone on set thought this was just another improvisation made by the talented Lucille. It wasn’t until filming was complete that the rest of the crew realized that Ball was actually unable to breathe.

Those on the outside looking in could have sworn Lucy and Ricky were a match made in heaven, but the truth was that after six amazing seasons of being inseparable, the two could not ignore their problems anymore. Fame and fortune wasn’t enough to keep the couple together. For this reason, the minute the show came to an end, their marriage did as well. The day after the finale aired, on March 3rd, 1960, Ball filed for divorce from her long-time husband.

Things did not get much simpler for divorced Lucille and Desi, despite going through with the official procedure. Two years post-divorce, Desi, the actor known widely for his role as Ricky, declined to work on their production company, titled Desilu, saying that “the work ceased to be fun, I was happier cleaning birdcages and chasing rats.” Desi ended up selling all of his company shares to former wife Ball for $3 million, seeing as how he no longer enjoyed working with the woman he used to call his spouse.

Rumor has it that Lucille, although she filed for divorce, was not the one to blame for the end of their marriage. Apparently, it was Desi who had a hard time laying off the booze and his philandering ways. His weaknesses were referenced in his autobiography, where Desi admitted that, “the more our love life deteriorated, the more we fought, the more unhappy we were, the more I drank.” By the sound of things, the two never really had a chance.

It seemed as though things could not be getting worse for Desi, but his life spiraled into a dark abyss when he picked up smoking, too. The actor smoked five Cuban cigars a day for many years, an unwise act that eventually took its toll on his health. Desi was diagnosed with lung cancer, and in 1986, he fell into a coma. Desi died in his daughter’s arms, who wrote that: “He was a good daddy, but a lonely man at times, one who chose a difficult path.”

Although Lucille made a name for herself in the 50s, she did not have an easy start in life. In fact, Ball struggled to get herself a decent education, and eventually dropped out of high school when she was 15-years-old. Ball was so determined to get into the world of acting, she didn’t care about not graduating or receiving her diploma. Although dropping out might not have been the smartest idea, things ended up working out for the best for Lucille.

Lucille had one main contributor towards her early success – her mother. Whenever the character of “Lucy” was getting ahead of herself on set, there was Lucille’s mother, letting out a shout of “Uh-Oh!” from behind the scenes. Ball’s mother was alongside her daughter every step of the way, encouraging her to do the best that she could and pushing her beyond her limitations. Sound producer Glen Glenn even used Lucille’s mother’s catchphrase for other sitcoms, saying he was greatly inspired by its sincerity.

The names of the characters on I Love Lucy were not randomly chosen, despite what many might think. Lucy’s partner was originally going to be called Larry Lopez, but the producers thought “Larry and Lucy” didn’t sound quite right, so they shut it down. Lucille wanted to use her friends’ and family’s names for the show too, which is why Fred was chosen (named after her brother). Ethel was, apparently, named after Lucille’s friend Ethel Merman.

Much like Lucille, Desi did not have an easy start in life, which is why his family came to America – in search of a better one. Because of his heavy Cuban accent, I Love Lucy producers feared to let someone distinctly foreign on their show, especially alongside an American redhead, but Desi didn’t give up. Because they knew of its potential, the couple decided to invest $39,000 of their own savings to get the first few episodes going. As we know, their perseverance ultimately paid off.

Thinking of a name for the show, I Love Lucy was not the only option on the table. Few people know this, but before the show was given its iconic name, Lucille played a character named Liz on a show called My Favorite Husband. Richard Denning was the actor who played Lucille’s on-screen partner, and not Desi. Ultimately, Lucille decided that the best move was to bring Desi on the show instead, as she would perform more naturally that way.

Rewatching I Love Lucy episodes, fans would be thrilled to hear that the gasps, “aw”s and laughter heard in the background are all authentic. I Love Lucy filmed every single episode in front of a live audience consisting of 300 guests. The show was so successful that audience tickets were sold out regularly. Also, the producers favored taking “one-shot” scenes, in order to keep a certain real flow to the film. As for the actors on the show? They admitted to working better in front of a live audience.

In the episode “Lucy Does a TV Commercial,” Lucy is seen hilariously attempting to promote a health product called Vitameatavegamin. Yet, no one ever revealed what the talented actress was actually sipping on, nor what the exact ingredients of the fictional health tonic consisted of. As it turns out, in spite of Lucille pretending to get drunk from the product, it turns out the only thing she was chugging down was Apple Pectin. An apple a day might keep the doctor away, but they say laughter is the best medicine too.

Although the tune of the I Love Lucy theme song can be hummed by many, few know the actual words. In fact, the one time the secretive lyrics were heard was during an episode titled “Lucy’s Last Birthday.” The lyrics go as follows: “I love Lucy, and she loves me. We’re as happy as two can be. Sometimes we quarrel but then. How we love making up again.” Not exactly juicy stuff, which explains why the show’s producers preferred to keep the lyrics to themselves.

Reruns of shows are nowadays a common thing, but back in I Love Lucy‘s day, hearing Desi request the show would take a break from filming until Lucille was back on her feet (since she just gave birth to their son) was unheard of. Desi eventually managed to make the network skip a couple of weeks of broadcasting, which lead the way for reruns in the future, too. I Love Lucy reruns are still played to this day and are watched by more than 40 million viewers each year.

After Lucille and Desi called it quits, the dazzling femme continued to conquer one professional task after another, reaching new heights in her career. Come 1962, Lucille became the first woman ever to run a TV studio in the form of Desilu. The sci-fi hit Star Trek and The Untouchables are only some of the major shows filmed under Desilu, and by 1967, Lucille managed to transform Desilu once again into a profitable company. She sold her shares to Gulf+Western for $17 million – which in today’s financial climate terms translates into $122 million!

When Lucille and Desi created I Love Lucy, they had an absolute masterstroke. However, a different picture is painted of Ball once realized that show was probably the sole successful piece of entertainment she ever produced in her career. It might not seem like it now, but the limelight did not follow Ball. She was often referred to as a one-trick pony, which aided in landing her roles in B movies at the very best. Because of this, Ball was referred to as “The Queen Of B’s.”

I Love Lucy put both Desi and Lucille on the map. They were both given the prestigious title of being two of America’s biggest celebrities of their era. Nevertheless, initially, the producers intended on basing the show on the couple’s genuine lifestyle, as they argued the show must portray a common, mediocre American household. Lucille and Desi, on the other hand, refused to believe that the public would be able to relate to their celebrity lifestyle, which is why the original concept was scrapped.

Seeing as how it is her most recognized trait, it is hard to believe that Lucille Ball wasn’t actually a redhead. In fact, she only went red in 1942, and previously lived her life as a brunette. Going ginger was a conscious decision as Ball dyed her hair for a role in the film DuBarry Was A Lady. Surprisingly, after that performance, her brown roots were forgotten. Bell also had a blonde spell, but this was short-lived as it didn’t “feel right” for Lucille.

The I Love Lucy cast experienced varying degrees of success from a critical standpoint. It is no surprise that Lucille received the most praise for her performance as Lucy, which was evident in the form of being nominated for 13 Emmy Awards and winning 4 in total. Desi, however, was the only one who never received an Emmy nomination. Even William Frawley and Vivian Vance were nominated for Emmy Awards, and Vance was fortunate and talented enough to land one, too. However, poor Desi remained unrecognized.

Making history was a hobby of Lucille’s, who took great pride in being able to break standards. One of the best examples of this was when Ball became the first person to ever to appear on the cover of TV Guide. Lucille also made headlines as she topped the list of celebrities who had the most amount of cover appearances, as Ball’s face was featured a staggering 39 times. This just goes to show to what extent I Love Lucy was a revolutionary show.

Despite her enthusiasm and sheer resolution on screen, Lucille Ball was refreshingly shy and humble. As a matter of fact, Ball was so insecure about her skill and talent that she was very pessimistic about her chances of succeeding as an actress. That is, until one eventful day when everything changed – Lucille had a vivid dream, where notable actress Carole Lombard encouraged her to transition from radio to TV. Lombard died in a plane crash in 1942, but this did not stop Lucille from citing her as her main inspiration.

Desi was not the only one on set who had an alcohol abuse problem. As it turns out, William Frawley was also prone to have more than one drink at dinner, and the addiction affected his performance noticeably. Frawley was told to either get his act together, or he would be fired from the show, so he attempted to stay clear of the bottle. However, the withdrawal symptoms caused his hands to shake uncontrollably, so the director advised him to put his hands in his pockets during filming.