Lifestyle
Around the world in 80 Days in a Tesla Model S

On June 15, Alan Soule of Sebastopol, California left Barcelona, Spain in his 2012 Tesla Model S. Over the next 80 days, he will travel more than 15,534 miles through 20 countries and across North America, Asia, and Europe before arriving back in Barcelona on September 4.
Soule is part of an event called 80dDays designed to demonstrate that electric cars can be used to travel long distances sustainably. In all, drivers from 7 countries — Switzerland, Germany, China, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, and the US — are entered in the event.
The route will cross the Alps and the Rockies, traverse the Gobi desert, and visit many of the world’s major cities before ending back where it started. If all goes as planned, all 11 teams will drive together through the Arco de Triunfo in Barcelona 80 days after their journey began.
Soule, a 66 year old retired commercial building contractor, has been planning his journey for more than a year. “I have always been interested in alternative energy for vehicles,” he said. “I had a car that ran on propane back in the ’70s, and then when General Motors came out with the EV1, I leased one of those, and that was in 1999.”
He purchased a Tesla Roadster when they were first introduced in 2008 and took it on a trip down Route 66 in 2012. “From all the research that I’ve done, I’m almost positive it’s the first electric vehicle to drive Route 66,” he said. That same year, he bought his Model S.
One day at the Tesla Service Center in Menlo Park, California, he met Rafael de Mestre. The Spaniard was attempting to drive his Tesla Roadster around the world in 80 days. He failed in his quest but the two men kept in contact. When de Mestre mentioned the 80eDays event, Soule decided he and his Model S would join the fun.
Preparing for the trip has been a full-time job, Soule says. Obtaining visas from China, Kazakhstan, and Russia took quite a lot of time, as did planning the route they would take. “I originally wanted to go through Turkey because I like Turkey, but there are problems there,” Soule says.
“And I’ve been told that Belarus has a lot of gangs. And the southeastern portion of Ukraine is where the Russians are trying to make a stronghold. But if you go up through Latvia, that’s an extra 600 miles, and we don’t want to do that, so we’re going to take a chance and go through northern Ukraine and see what happens.”
The route from Barcelona leads southwest to Lisbon, Portugal, where the teams have chartered a plane to take their cars to Halifax, Nova Scotia. From there, they head west to New York, Chicago, and Denver. After making their way to Los Angeles, they will again go by plane to the southeastern edge of China in Guangzhou. From there, they will continue their journey west across Asia and Europe before arriving back in Barcelona.
Soule has lined up a rotating crew of five co-drivers who are friends and friends of friends. They will meet him and his Model S at various places along the route. To help people follow his journey, set up a Twitter account, Periscope, and a team website. His car is equipped with a 360 degree camera which he will use to upload video as he travels.
Photo courtesy of Alan Soule
Lifestyle
Tesla brings perhaps the coolest interior feature to cars in latest update
Tesla adds on to the “fun” aspect of its vehicles.

Tesla has brought perhaps the coolest interior feature to its cars in a new update that is rolling out to vehicles now.
The feature will require a newer vehicle that has interior ambient lighting, which is present on the new Model S, Model X, Model 3 “Highland,” and Model Y “Juniper.” The Cybertruck also has ambient lighting strips throughout.
Tesla Model Y’s ambient lighting design changes revealed in leaked video
With the Version 2025.26+ Software Update, Tesla is rolling out a new “Sync Accent Lights w/ Music” feature, which is available on the Tesla Toybox:
Turn your Tesla into a rave cave with the new Light Sync feature 🎶
Rolling out now in software update 2025.26+ pic.twitter.com/IIsQxZ9jDP
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 29, 2025
To enable the feature, you’ll access the Toybox, choose “Light Sync,” and then choose “Sync Accent Lights w/ Music.”
Although it does not improve the performance of the vehicle, it is yet another example of Tesla making one of the coolest cars out there. This is truly a cool add-on that can be used to impress your friends and family.
Elon Musk
xAI, Musk Foundation helps schools near Memphis supercomputer site
Reports of xAI and the Musk Foundation’s work were recently posted by local news media.

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI and the Musk Foundation have been supporting Memphis-Shelby County Schools with HVAC repairs and facility upgrades, while also funding youth programs for students in the area.
Reports of xAI and the Musk Foundation’s work were recently posted by local news media.
xAI’s school visits lead to facility repairs
Representatives from xAI visited John P. Freeman Optional School, Fairley High School, and Westwood High School, all of which are located near its Colossus supercomputer site, to assess HVAC systems, plumbing, gym facilities, and athletic fields. The visits resulted in a list of priority repairs, some of which were completed in April and May.
In addition to the repairs, xAI also shared a number of initiatives that are planned for students in the area, as stated in a Commercial Appeal report.
“xAI is working on providing STEM workshops for local students, donating equipment to technical training programs, and supporting job fairs to boost employment opportunities. These initiatives reflect xAl’s commitment to fostering education and economic growth in Memphis,” xAI noted in a statement.
Musk Foundation donation
Apart from xAI, the Musk Foundation also donated $350,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis, enabling the reopening of two club sites located at Booker T. Washington High School and Westwood High School. Both locations had closed earlier this year due to lapses in funding. As per xAI, the Musk Foundation’s donation allows clubs to reopen for almost 1,000 students.
The donation will fund staffing, supplies, and transportation, among others. “Kids are the future of humanity,” Elon Musk said in a statement, adding that students need “every chance to shoot for the stars.”
“We’re honored to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis in reopening these sites, giving kids in underserved communities the tools to build brighter futures,” Musk said.
The gift was praised by local officials, including Boys & Girls Clubs board chair Michael Garriga, who stated that the “commitment will ensure the youth of our community have the opportunities they need to develop their skills and talents to become successful students and future citizens.”
Lifestyle
EV fans urge Tesla to acquire Unplugged Performance for edge in fleet and security industry
Unplugged Performance has built a name for itself by producing performance upgrades for Tesla vehicles.

A growing number of Tesla enthusiasts and longtime community voices are calling on the electric vehicle maker to acquire Unplugged Performance, a California-based aftermarket company best known for tuning Tesla vehicles and developing specialized government fleet solutions under its UP.FIT division.
The idea was once considered a niche proposal among EV fans, but it is now gaining serious attention not just as a performance play but as a strategic move to deepen Tesla’s roots in the fleet and security industry.
A strategic fit
Unplugged Performance has built a name for itself by producing performance upgrades for Tesla vehicles, from track-optimized components to visual and aerodynamic upgrades. But in recent years, its UP.FIT division has pivoted toward a more functional future by outfitting Tesla vehicles like Model Ys for police, military, and government use.
That work has sparked growing calls for closer collaboration with Tesla, especially as the EV maker increasingly leans into autonomy, AI, and fleet services as core components of its next chapter.
“I posted this four years ago, but I think it’s more true now than ever,” wrote Whole Mars Catalog, a well-known Tesla investor and FSD Beta tester, on X. “Tesla should buy Unplugged. But not just as a Performance division. What they are doing with UP.FIT unlocks large government and commercial fleet purchases that can improve utilization.”
Tesla fans such as shareholder Sawyer Merritt echoed the sentiment, calling Unplugged a “great fit within Tesla.” adding, “They are literally located directly next to Tesla’s design studio in Hawthorne.”
Enabling the next wave
Supporters of the idea noted that integrating Unplugged into Tesla’s corporate structure could help accelerate the adoption of autonomous technologies in government sectors. With UP.FIT patrol cars already in use across some U.S. police departments, Tesla fans envisioned a future where self-driving Teslas could potentially revolutionize law enforcement, search-and-rescue, and public service logistics.
“Just imagine how autonomous patrol cars could transform policing and bring us into a safer future,” the veteran FSD tester wrote.
The benefits could also extend to Tesla’s existing consumer base. “They also have some incredible products in the works that I think will appeal to many ordinary Tesla drivers — not just those looking for performance or mods. Stuff that’s so good it should have come straight from the design studio next door,” Whole Mars Catalog noted.
Unplugged Performance, founded in 2013, shares not just a product vision with Tesla, but also geography. Its Hawthorne headquarters sits directly adjacent to Tesla’s design studio, and the two companies have maintained a close working relationship over the years. The aftermarket firm has long positioned itself as a “mission-aligned” partner to Tesla.
In response to the recent calls for acquisition, Unplugged Performance acknowledged the support from the community. “Our very existence is to support the Tesla mission with @UpfitTesla and @UnpluggedTesla,” Unplugged CEO Ben Schaffer posted on X. “We love working with Tesla and are grateful for the community’s support since 2013!”
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