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Tesla Model 3 racing tires for ‘Track Mode Package’ spotted in official parts catalog
Tesla may be releasing racing-optimized tires for the Model 3 Performance as part of a dedicated “Track Mode Package” in the near future, if a recent find in the company’s official parts catalog for the vehicle is any indication.
A look at the tires for the Tesla Model 3 in the electric car maker’s online parts catalog reveals that a set of Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 – 245/35ZR20 (95Y) XL tires has been listed for the all-electric sedan. Interestingly, the words “Track Mode Package” were mentioned in the item’s description as well.
The current iterations of the Tesla Model 3 Performance are equipped with 235/35/20 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, which are great for daily driving and adequate for the track. The tires are sticky enough for the Model 3 Performance to attack corners at high speed with confidence, but they still have notable areas for improvement.
In comparison, the 20″ Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires listed in Tesla’s official parts catalog are more appropriate for track-heavy sessions. The Pilot Sports Cup 2 is created for optimum track driving, and this is evident in the fact that the tires were developed by Michelin in partnership with esteemed automakers such as Porsche and Ferrari. Pilot Sports Cup 2 tires are also noted for their capability to endure multiple hot laps without any issues.
Michelin’s Pilot Sports Cup 2 tires utilize an endurance racing compound in its outer tread and a rigid elastomer in its inner tread, allowing vehicles to complete faster laps on a dry track. Its deep tread depth also allows vehicles to remain stable despite wet track conditions. With these advantages, the tire-maker claims in its official website that Pilot Sports Cup 2 tires have the potential to give drivers 50% more laps around a closed circuit.
This suggests that Tesla’s yet-to-be-announced “Track Mode Package” is seriously dedicated for closed-circuit driving. One of the reasons behind the Model 3 Performance’s 20″ Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, after all, was their balance between track-capability and daily driving comfort. This does not seem to be the case with the Pilot Sports Cup 2 tires in the “Track Mode Package.”
Considering that Tesla has not announced a “Track Mode Package” for the Model 3 to date, one can only speculate about what the entire setup would entail. Tesla owners and enthusiasts of the r/TeslaMotors subreddit have suggested that the package could be a step towards the release of a more track-optimized Model 3 Performance.
While details about Tesla’s “Track Mode Package” for the Model 3 are scarce, the presence of racing-optimized tires for the all-electric sedan bode well for electric car buyers. By offering tires that are designed for multiple hot laps, Tesla appears to be suggesting that its most affordable Performance-branded vehicle will be able to perform well in a closed circuit, and complete several laps with no problems.
This might very well be the case. Tesla, after all, has likely gathered more data from the use of Track Mode by its Model 3 Performance fleet since the feature was released last year. Through this, it is plausible that the electric car maker is cooking up something even more special for owners who love to push their vehicles to their limit.
Investor's Corner
Tesla gets tip of the hat from major Wall Street firm on self-driving prowess
“Tesla is at the forefront of autonomous driving, supported by a camera-only approach that is technically harder but much cheaper than the multi-sensor systems widely used in the industry. This strategy should allow Tesla to scale more profitably compared to Robotaxi competitors, helped by a growing data engine from its existing fleet,” BoA wrote.
Tesla received a tip of the hat from major Wall Street firm Bank of America on Wednesday, as it reinitiated coverage on Tesla shares with a bullish stance that comes with a ‘Buy’ rating and a $460 price target.
In a new note that marks a sharp reversal from its neutral position earlier in 2025, the bank declared Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology the “leading consumer autonomy solution.”
Analysts highlighted Tesla’s camera-only architecture, known as Tesla Vision, as a strategic masterstroke. While technically more challenging than the multi-sensor setups favored by rivals, the vision-based approach is dramatically cheaper to produce and maintain.
This cost edge, combined with Tesla’s rapidly expanding real-world data engine, positions the company to scale robotaxis far more profitably than competitors, BofA argues in the new note:
“Tesla is at the forefront of autonomous driving, supported by a camera-only approach that is technically harder but much cheaper than the multi-sensor systems widely used in the industry. This strategy should allow Tesla to scale more profitably compared to Robotaxi competitors, helped by a growing data engine from its existing fleet.”
The bank now attributes roughly 52% of Tesla’s total valuation to its Robotaxi ambitions. It also flagged meaningful upside from the Optimus humanoid robot program and the fast-growing energy storage business, suggesting the auto segment’s recent headwinds, including expired incentives, are being eclipsed by these higher-margin opportunities.
Tesla’s own data underscores exactly why Wall Street is waking up to FSD’s potential. According to Tesla’s official safety reporting page, the FSD Supervised fleet has now surpassed 8.4 billion cumulative miles driven.
Tesla FSD (Supervised) fleet passes 8.4 billion cumulative miles
That total ballooned from just 6 million miles in 2021 to 80 million in 2022, 670 million in 2023, 2.25 billion in 2024, and a staggering 4.25 billion in 2025 alone. In the first 50 days of 2026, owners added another 1 billion miles — averaging more than 20 million miles per day.
This avalanche of real-world, camera-captured footage, much of it on complex city streets, gives Tesla an unmatched training dataset. Every mile feeds its neural networks, accelerating improvement cycles that lidar-dependent rivals simply cannot match at scale.
Tesla owners themselves will tell you the suite gets better with every release, bringing new features and improvements to its self-driving project.
The $460 target implies roughly 15 percent upside from recent trading levels around $400. While regulatory and safety hurdles remain, BofA’s endorsement signals growing institutional conviction that Tesla’s data advantage is not hype; it’s a tangible moat already delivering billions of miles of proof.
News
Tesla to discuss expansion of Samsung AI6 production plans: report
Tesla has reportedly requested an additional 24,000 wafers per month, which would bring total production capacity to around 40,000 wafers if finalized.
Tesla is reportedly discussing an expansion of its next-generation AI chip supply deal with Samsung Electronics.
As per a report from Korean industry outlet The Elec, Tesla purchasing executives are reportedly scheduled to meet Samsung officials this week to negotiate additional production volume for the company’s upcoming AI6 chip.
Industry sources cited in the report stated that Tesla is pushing to increase the production volume of its AI6 chip, which will be manufactured using Samsung’s 2-nanometer process.
Tesla previously signed a long-term foundry agreement with Samsung covering AI6 production through December 31, 2033. The deal was reportedly valued at about 22.8 trillion won (roughly $16–17 billion).
Under the existing agreement, Tesla secured approximately 16,000 wafers per month from the facility. The company has reportedly requested an additional 24,000 wafers per month, which would bring total production capacity to around 40,000 wafers if finalized.
Tesla purchasing executives are expected to discuss detailed supply terms during their visit to Samsung this week.
The AI6 chip is expected to support several Tesla technologies. Industry sources stated that the chip could be used for the company’s Full Self-Driving system, the Optimus humanoid robot, and Tesla’s internal AI data centers.
The report also indicated that AI6 clusters could replace the role previously planned for Tesla’s Dojo AI supercomputer. Instead of a single system, multiple AI6 chips would be combined into server-level clusters.
Tesla’s semiconductor collaboration with Samsung dates back several years. Samsung participated in the design of Tesla’s HW3 (AI3) chip and manufactured it using a 14-nanometer process. The HW4 chip currently used in Tesla vehicles was also produced by Samsung using a 5-nanometer node.
Tesla previously planned to split production of its AI5 chip between Samsung and TSMC. However, the company reportedly chose Samsung as the primary partner for the newer AI6 chip.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk: Tesla could be first to build AGI in humanoid form
Musk’s statement was shared in a post on social media platform X.
Elon Musk predicted that Tesla could become one of the developers of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) in humanoid form. Musk’s statement was shared in a post on social media platform X.
In his post, Musk stated that “Tesla will be one of the companies to make AGI and probably the first to make it in humanoid/atom-shaping form.”
The comment comes as Tesla expands development of its Optimus humanoid robot.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings report, Elon Musk stated that production of the Model S and Model X would be phased out at its Fremont, California, facility. The vehicles’ production line will then be converted to a pilot line for Optimus. Tesla is looking to produce 1 million units of the humanoid robots annually to start.
Musk has previously stated that Optimus could eventually function as a von Neumann probe. The concept, proposed by mathematician John von Neumann, describes a machine capable of replicating itself using planetary resources and sending those replicas to other worlds.
Optimus would likely only be able to achieve this potential if it manages to achieve Artificial General Intelligence.
Other leaders in the AI sector have also expressed strong expectations about AGI’s potential. Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, recently spoke about the technology at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, as noted in a Benzinga report.
“It’s going to be something like ten times the impact of the Industrial Revolution, but happening at ten times the speed,” Hassabis said.
Elon Musk’s recent comments about Tesla producing a product with AGI could hint at further collaboration among his companies. So far, Tesla is actively pursuing autonomous driving, but it is xAI that is pursuing AGI with its Grok program.
Considering that Elon Musk mentioned a Tesla humanoid product with AGI, it appears that an Optimus robot running xAI’s AI models could become a reality.
xAI had recently merged with SpaceX, though reports suggest that Elon Musk is also considering an even bigger merger for all his companies, including Tesla.
Tesla gets tip of the hat from major Wall Street firm on self-driving prowess
Tesla to discuss expansion of Samsung AI6 production plans: report
