Racing
[Video] Tesla Model S put to the test on famed NASCAR track
The Circuit
Fontana Auto Club Speedway, also known as the California Speedway, is a 2.8 mile D-shaped oval track, with infield, that’s hosted some of the most epic NASCAR and IndyCar battles.
The Tesla Model S
This is a fast track that really tests the limits of the Tesla’s internal cooling system. The Model S keeps pace with the best of them within the curvy infield portion of the track when speeds are below 100 mph. Once the Model S reaches the outer portion of the track and able to reach speeds up to 125 mph, the vehicle will begin to cut power presumably as a precautionary measure. The combination of high level acceleration and high speed would trigger the power limiting function right before the 1 minute mark.
As a result, we began to lose track position and lap time, and experienced lap time differences by as much as 10 seconds.
Despite the power limiting, the Model S is nothing short of being the ultimate sports car, but in a 4,600 lb, 4-door kind of way. It garnered the respect of nearly every class participant there, including a modified 600+ hp Nissan GTR R35 (a beast) that you can see us chasing through the infield, and a handful of track-ready Ferrari Scuderias.
The Fun
This was a breathtaking experience for us to be able to drive on the same stadium track where the NASCAR series is held. The 14 degree banks were a thrill to drive and enabled us to pull 1 full lateral G at 105 mph into a turn. The sensation is exhilarating, but all the while a little voice in your head is constantly telling you that you must be crazy doing this. We can only begin to imagine what professional racers must experience as they whip through the track at near 200 mph speeds.
The Dangers
This track has walls which was a big concern to us. We began to experience a bit of tunnel vision as the serenity from the silent Model S left us in state of Zen. It was peaceful, it was tranquil, and it was dangerous. Any mistake here could result in a catastrophic date with a large retaining wall, a far departure from the dangers with spinning off track in a traditional road course.
Charging and Power Consumption
A 10 lap session, equivalent to 28 miles of actual distance, consumed 130 miles of range. Not surprisingly this track consumed the largest amount of energy over all other road courses that we’ve tested on before, due to the sustained high speeds.
The track has 240V 50amp NEMA 14-50 outlets at nearly every parking space; all free to use. Charging in between sessions, we were able to complete 2 full sessions of racing with each full session being 10 laps.
The Hawthorne Supercharger is 60 miles away.
Track Tips
- Take advantage of the first two laps and nail down your best lap times, before power limitation really kicks in.
- Run half of each session and recharge in between. This will leave you with enough power to run 4 sessions and stay competitive in the first half.
- Save power on warm-up and cool-down laps.
Summary
One of the most fun tracks to race on because of the high speeds and banked turns, but a little too fast for the Model S. The rumored Autobahn upgrade of the Model S or any future performance enhancements, also rumored to be in testing by renown tuner, Saleen, would allow the Model S to be more competitive on a track of this caliber.
By the Numbers
- Location: Auto Club Speedway
- Track Length: 2.8 miles
- Top Speed: 125 mph
- Lowest Optimal Tire Pressure (20” G-Force Rivals): 37 psi hot
- Max Later G: 1.5 Gs’ in the infield, 1G in turn #1
- Run Group: Purple (Solid Intermediate) with “Speed Ventures”
- Best Lap Time: 2:10.867 (for comparison, the fastest car in the class was 2:00 and the slowest – 2:25)
- Best Place in the Class: 4
- Lap Time Slip after Model S Power Limitation: 10 seconds
Also see: The “48″ Tesla Model S takes on Buttonwillow Raceway [Video]
[learn_more caption=”Disclaimer”] The information contained in the “48” Tesla Racing Series is for general information purposes only and is not meant to serve as an endorsement for track, competition or activities around racing. Our endeavor is to simply showcase the amazing performance capabilities of the battery powered Tesla Model S sedan.[/learn_more]
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybercab just rolled through Miami inside a glass box
Tesla paraded a Cybercab in a glass display at Miami’s F1 Grand Prix event this week.
Tesla set up an “Autonomy Pop-Up” at Lummus Park in Miami Beach from April 29 through May 3, 2026, embedded within the official F1 Miami Grand Prix Fan Fest. The centerpiece was a Cybertruck towing the Cybercab inside a glass display case marked “Future is Autonomous,” rolling through the beachfront crowd.
Miami is on Tesla’s confirmed list of cities for robotaxi expansion in the first half of 2026, making the promotion a strategic promotion that lays groundwork in a target market.
This was not Tesla’s first time using Miami as a showcase city. In December 2025, Tesla hosted “The Future of Autonomy Visualized” at its Miami Design District showroom, coinciding with Art Basel Miami Beach. That event featured the Cybercab prototype and Optimus robots interacting with attendees. The F1 pop-up this week marks Tesla’s return to Miami and follows a pattern Tesla has been running since early 2026. Just two weeks before Miami, Tesla stationed Optimus at the Tesla Boston Boylston Street showroom on April 19 and 20, directly on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon, letting tens of thousands of runners and spectators meet the robot for free, generating massive earned media at zero advertising cost.
Tesla is sending its humanoid Optimus robot to the Boston Marathon
Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year. On the production side, Musk told shareholders that the Cybercab manufacturing process could eventually produce up to 5 million vehicles per year, targeting a cycle time of one unit every ten seconds. Scaling robotaxis to 10 million operational units over the next ten years is a key condition of his compensation package, alongside selling 20 million passenger vehicles.
As for the Cybercab’s price, Musk has said buyers will be able to purchase one for under $30,000, with an average operating cost around $0.20 per mile. Whether those numbers hold through full production remains to be seen.
Cybercab at F1 Fan Fest in Miami
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u/Joshalander in
teslamotors
Elon Musk
Elon Musk talks Tesla Roadster’s future
Elon Musk confirmed the Roadster as Tesla’s last manually driven car, with a debut coming soon.
During Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings call on April 22, Elon Musk made a brief but notable comment about the long-awaited next generation Roadster while describing Tesla’s future vehicle lineup. “Long term, the only manually driven car will be the new Tesla Roadster,” he said. “Speaking of which, we may be able to debut that in a month or so. It requires a lot of testing and validation before we can actually have a demo and not have something go wrong with the demo.”
That single statement is the entire Roadster update from yesterday’s call, and while it represents another timeline shift, it comes as no surprise with Tesla heads-down-at-work on the mass rollout of its Robotaxi service across US cities, and the industrial scale production of the humanoid Optimus.
The fact that Musk specifically framed the Roadster as the last manually driven Tesla is significant on its own. As the rest of the lineup moves toward full autonomy, the Roadster becomes something rare in the Tesla-sphere by keeping the driver in control. Driving enthusiasts who buy a $200,000 supercar are not doing so to be passengers. They want the physical connection to the road, the feel of acceleration under their own input, and the experience of controlling something with that level of performance. FSD, however capable it becomes, removes that entirely. The Roadster signals that Tesla understands this distinction and is building a car specifically for the people who consider driving itself the point.
Tesla isn’t joking about building Optimus at an industrial scale: Here we go
The specs for the Roadster Musk has teased over the years are genuinely unlike anything in production. The base model targets 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, a top speed above 250 mph, and up to 620 miles of range from a 200 kWh battery. The optional SpaceX package takes it further, rumored to add roughly ten cold gas thrusters operating at 10,000 psi, borrowed directly from Falcon 9 rocket technology. With thrusters, Musk has claimed 0 to 60 mph in as little as 1.1 seconds. In a 2021 Joe Rogan interview he went further, stating “I want it to hover. We got to figure out how to make it hover without killing people.” Tesla filed a patent for ground effect technology in August 2025, suggesting the hover concept has not been abandoned. The starting price remains $200,000, with the Founders Series requiring a $250,000 full deposit. Some reservation holders placed those deposits in 2017 and are approaching a full decade of waiting.
With production now targeted for 2027 or 2028 at the earliest, the Roadster remains Tesla’s most audacious promise and its longest-running delay. But if what Musk is testing lives up to even half of what he has described, the demo alone should be worth waiting for.
Elon Musk says the Tesla Roadster unveiling could be done “maybe in a month or so.”
He said it should be an extraordinary unveiling event. pic.twitter.com/6V9P7zmvEm
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 22, 2026
Lifestyle
Tesla Model S Plaid battles China’s 1500 hp monster Nurburgring monster, with surprising results
There is just something about Tesla’s tuning and refinement that makes raw specs seem not as game-changing.
The Tesla Model S Plaid has been around for some time. Today, it is no longer the world’s quickest four-door electric sedan, nor is it the most powerful. As per a recent video from motoring YouTube channel Carwow, however, it seems like the Model S Plaid is still more than a match for some of its newer and more powerful rivals.
The monster from China
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is nothing short of a monster. Just like the Model S Plaid, it features three motors. It also has 1,548 hp and 1,770 Nm of torque. It’s All Wheel Drive and weighs a hefty 2,360 kg. The vehicle, which costs just about the equivalent of £55,000, has been recorded setting an insane 7:04.957 at the Nurburgring, surpassing the previous record held by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
For all intents and purposes, the Model S Plaid looked outgunned in Carwow’s test. The Model S Plaid is no slouch with its three motors that produce 1,020 hp and 1,420 Nm of torque. It’s also a bit lighter at 2,190 kg despite its larger size. However, as the Carwow host pointed out, the Model S Plaid holds a 7:25.231 record in the Nurburgring. Compared to the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra’s record, the Model S Plaid’s lap time is notably slower.
Real-world tests
As could be seen in Carwow’s drag races, however, Tesla’s tech wizardry with the Model S Plaid is still hard to beat. The two vehicles competed in nine races, and the older Model S Plaid actually beat its newer, more powerful counterpart from China several times. At one point in the race, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra hit its power limit due to its battery’s temperature, but the Model S Plaid was still going strong.
The Model S Plaid was first teased five years ago, in September 2020 during Tesla’s Battery Day. Since then, cars like the Lucid Air Sapphire and the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra have been released, surpassing its specs. But just like the Model Y ended up being the better all-rounder compared to the BYD Sealion 7 and the MG IM6, there is just something about Tesla’s tuning and refinement that makes raw specs seem not as game-changing.
Check out Carwow’s Model S Plaid vs Xiaomi SU7 drag race video below.
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