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Aston Martin’s Rapide E electric car with 800V battery takes first steps in teaser video
With companies like Tesla proving that there is a very real demand for premium, high-performance electric cars, the auto industry’s veteran players are starting to embrace the EV transition. In the case of luxury automaker Aston Martin, the company has opted to start its all-electric push with a limited production run of its high-performance, Porsche Taycan-rivaling Rapide E.
Aston Martin President and Group Chief Executive Officer Andy Palmer recently took to Twitter to share a milestone in the Rapide E’s development. Palmer’s Twitter post featured a short video of a first validation prototype moving on its own for the first time with its 800-volt battery system. The Aston Martin CEO’s video was brief, but the short clip does provide an idea as to how the vehicle looks and sounds like when it’s moving.
Considering that the Rapide E in the video is a first validation prototype, it is quite understandable for the vehicle to move in a very deliberate pace. That said, it is quite interesting to hear what appears to be an audible whine from the car’s electric motors despite the Rapide E’s slow speed. It remains to be seen if the audible sounds from the EV’s motors are deliberate, but it does provide the Rapide E with a rather unique “exhaust note,” electric motors notwithstanding.
A moment of @astonmartin history. First Validation Prototype Aston Martin RapideE moves under its own power for the very first time with its breakthrough 800v battery. Great work from the development team which includes Williams Engineering. pic.twitter.com/b2mRaeCsNP
— Dr. Andy Palmer (@AndyatAuto) January 21, 2019
In the comments section of his post, the Aston Martin executive noted that the Rapide E’s 800-volt battery is a breakthrough in electric car technology, since it gives the vehicle a “significantly quicker fast charging time than any current technology.” Palmer also hinted at “another piece of Aston Martin history” being made on January 21, though the CEO noted that it would remain a “tightly-held secret” for the time being.
In a previous statement to Car and Driver, Palmer noted that the Rapide E would cater to a market that is beyond the premium segment being targeted by companies like Tesla. With a limited production run of 155 vehicles, the Rapide E is targeting customers who desire cars at the top end of the market.
“For me Tesla is a very credible competitor in the premium market, against Daimler, BMW, Audi, and the others. But they’re not in the (upper reaches of the) luxury market where we are. Most of the people who buy a Model S are buying it fully loaded. They’re not limited by their cash; they’re limited by the offer. They’re not a competitor of ours. We’re looking to those people looking for something above Tesla. That customer probably isn’t looking for Ludicrous mode. Our offer will have very credible acceleration, equal to a gasoline Aston Martin, but you’ll be able to drive the car rapidly all the way around the Nürburgring without it derating or conking out on you.”
Overall, it would be quite interesting to see how well the Aston Martin Rapide E stacks up against the competition. With vehicles like the Porsche Taycan Turbo and a possible updated Tesla Model S entering the market in the near future, the luxury carmaker’s flagship car would have to be excellent in all areas to stand out from the competition. In this sense, Aston Martin appears to have done its homework.
To help the company develop the vehicle, the luxury automaker opted to collaborate with Williams Advanced Engineering, the R&D and consultancy arm of the Williams Formula 1 team, to create the Rapide E’s electric powertrain. Aston Martin also noted that it is using an “800V battery electrical architecture with 65kWh installed capacity using over 5600 lithium ion 18650 format cylindrical cells.” The vehicle also packs serious power, with “two rear-mounted electric motors producing a combined target output of just over 610 PS and a colossal 950 Nm of torque.” In a press release last September, Aston Martin noted that the Rapide E would feature a range of over 200 miles per charge under the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).
Production for the Aston Martin Rapide E is expected to begin in Q4 2019. The vehicle’s price has not been announced by the luxury automaker, though speculations suggest that the all-electric car would cost somewhere in the $200,000 to $250,000 range. Reports have hinted that all 155 units of the Rapide E have already been reserved.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck is getting a big security upgrade
“Cybertruck was not 100% carryover in execution like S3XY, so it required work.”

Tesla confirmed today that a massive Cybertruck security feature is on the way soon, and it is one that owners have been asking about for a long time.
Like all Teslas, Cybertruck has the excellent security feature known as “Sentry Mode.” The feature essentially turns your Tesla into a moving security camera, recording any event that happens nearby.
It has been used to solve crimes such as vandalism and burglary, and even used by police departments to solve other, high-profile crimes.
Tesla quietly added this extra Sentry Mode feature to deter vandals
However, Cybertruck has been missing one key feature of Sentry Mode: the use of the B-Pillar camera has not been enabled, leaving one of the most vandalized and targeted vehicles in the United States with a weakness.
One person who has been vocal about it is Tesla Cybertruck enthusiast Greggertruck, who has been pushing for answers for months. He finally got his answer from Cybertruck Vehicle Program Manager Siddhant Awasthi:
“It will come soon! Cybertruck was not 100% carryover in execution like SX3Y so it required work. Team has finished work on this and just need to make sure it’s validated and runs reliably (which it should for its feature).”
It will come soon! Cybertruck was not 100% carryover in execution like SX3Y so it required work. Team has finished work on this and just need to make sure it’s validated and runs reliably (which it should for its feature)
— Siddhant Awasthi (@siddawa) August 14, 2025
It sounds as if Tesla’s issue was something they similarly experienced when deploying Full Self-Driving to Cybertruck. The other four Tesla vehicles were able to use FSD because they’re all relatively similar in ride height and overall functionality. They share tons of similarities.
Cybertruck did not get FSD right away because Tesla still had to work on the differences between it and the other cars in the lineup. As Awasthi said, “Cybertruck was not 100% carryover in execution like S3XY, so it required work.”
Tesla Cybertruck FSD release expected for Sept, Park Assist to come first
It sounds as if Tesla is close to resolving some of the more intricate details of adding the functionality, and it was just a matter of time before it figured out the issue.
The release of the B-Pillar camera being active during Sentry Mode events on Cybertruck will likely come in a software update in the coming weeks.
Investor's Corner
Tesla investors may be in for a big surprise
All signs point toward a strong quarter for Tesla in terms of deliveries. Investors could be in for a surprise.

Tesla investors have plenty of things to be ecstatic about, considering the company’s confidence in autonomy, AI, robotics, cars, and energy. However, many of them may be in for a big surprise as the end of the $7,500 EV tax credit nears. On September 30, it will be gone for good.
This has put some skepticism in the minds of some investors: the lack of a $7,500 discount for buying a clean energy vehicle may deter many people from affording Tesla’s industry-leading EVs.
Tesla warns consumers of huge, time-sensitive change coming soon
The focus on quarterly deliveries, while potentially waning in terms of importance to the future, is still a big indicator of demand, at least as of now. Of course, there are other factors, most of them economic.
The big push to make the most of the final quarter of the EV tax credit is evident, as Tesla is reminding consumers on social media platforms and through email communications that the $7,500 discount will not be here forever. It will be gone sooner rather than later.
It appears the push to maximize sales this quarter before having to assess how much they will be impacted by the tax credit’s removal is working.
Delivery Wait Time Increases
Wait times for Tesla vehicles are increasing due to what appears to be increased demand for the company’s vehicles. Recently, Model Y delivery wait times were increased from 1-3 weeks to 4-6 weeks.
This puts extra pressure on consumers to pull the trigger on an order, as delivery must be completed by the cutoff date of September 30.
Delivery wait times may have gone up due to an increase in demand as consumers push to make a purchase before losing that $7,500 discount.
More People are Ordering
A post on X by notable Tesla influencer Sawyer Merritt anecdotally shows he has been receiving more DMs than normal from people stating that they’re ordering vehicles before the end of the tax credit:
Anecdotally, I’ve been getting more DMs from people ordering Teslas in the past few days than I have in the last couple of years. As expected, the end of the U.S. EV credit next month is driving a big surge in orders.
Lease prices are rising for the 3/Y, delivery wait times are… pic.twitter.com/Y6JN3w2Gmr
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 13, 2025
It’s not necessarily a confirmation of more orders, but it could be an indication that things are certainly looking that way.
Why Investors Could Be Surprised
Tesla investors could see some positive movement in stock price following the release of the Q3 delivery report, especially if all signs point to increased demand this quarter.
We reported previously that this could end up being a very strong rebounding quarter for Tesla, with so many people taking advantage of the tax credit.
Whether the delivery figures will be higher than normal remains to be seen. But all indications seem to point to Q3 being a very strong quarter for Tesla.
Elon Musk
Tesla bear Guggenheim sees nearly 50% drop off in stock price in new note
Tesla bear Guggenheim does not see any upside in Robotaxi.

Tesla bear Guggenheim is still among the biggest non-believers in the company’s overall mission and its devotion to solving self-driving.
In a new note to investors on Thursday, analyst Ronald Jewsikow reiterated his price target of $175, a nearly 50 percent drop off, with a ‘Sell’ rating, all based on skepticism regarding Tesla’s execution of the Robotaxi platform.
A few days ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company’s Robotaxi platform would open to the public in September, offering driverless rides to anyone in the Austin area within its geofence, which is roughly 90 square miles large.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms Robotaxi is opening to the public: here’s when
However, Jewsikow’s skepticism regarding this timeline has to do with what’s going on inside of the vehicles. The analyst was willing to give props to Robotaxi, saying that Musk’s estimation of a September public launch would be a “key step” in offering the service to a broader population.
Where Jewsikow’s real issue lies is with Tesla’s lack of transparency on the Safety Monitors, and how bulls are willing to overlook their importance.
Much of this bullish mentality comes from the fact that the Monitors are not sitting in the driver’s seat, and they don’t have anything to do with the overall operation of the vehicle.
Musk also said last month that reducing Safety Monitors could come “in a month or two.”
Instead, they’re just there to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Jewsikow said:
“While safety drivers will remain, and no timeline has been provided for their removal, bulls have been willing to overlook the optics of safety drivers in TSLA vehicles, and we see no reason why that would change now.”
He also commented on Musk’s recent indication that Tesla was working on a 10x parameter count that could help make Full Self-Driving even more accurate. It could be one of the pieces to Tesla solving autonomy.
Jewsikow added:
“Perhaps most importantly for investors bullish on TSLA for the fleet of potential FSD-enabled vehicles today, the 10x higher parameter count will be able to run on the current generation of FSD hardware and inference compute.”
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