The Tesla Arcade is likely one of the most unique additions to a car in recent memory. The addition of Tesla’s gaming console adds something to do when Supercharging or could be a source of entertainment for when Tesla vehicles are fully autonomous (although that could be some years away). It truly revolutionized the experience of owning a vehicle for entertainment purposes.
However, some games require a controller, and there are plenty of options on the market. However, each controller has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages, and there are some products that are better in a pinch, and others that are better for a more enjoyable gaming experience. Whether you need a last-second Christmas gift or you just picked up your first EV and you want a controller in case slower charging methods are only available during your first road trip, here’s the perfect list of what you can expect from each option:
The Best Bargain: EasySMX Wired Gaming Controller
Amazon
The EasySMX Wired Gaming Controller is only $20 on Amazon and is even included in the e-commerce giant’s Prime program, so it can be at your front door in as little as a few days. It features dual vibration, one motor on each side, and an ergonomic design that will give comfortability while gaming for your thumbs. (Sounds like a reach, but if you’re at a destination charger, you’ll thank me later).
It features a sub-par compatibility profile, however. So if you intend on using it for your Tesla, but you’re at a buddy’s house who only has one controller, you won’t be able to run to your car and grab this. It will work on Windows, PS3, and Android, but not Xbox One or Mac. It also won’t work on newer, updated PlayStation models.
You get what you pay for. This won’t be the best option if you are used to the high-quality gaming pads on the market, but it will definitely get the job done.
The Best Quality: Xbox Elite Series Controller
Microsoft
The Xbox Elite Series Controller is the best of the best. It starts at $179.99, which is a lot of money for a controller. However, this thing will likely last as long as your Tesla will. Despite Xbox having a somewhat poor reputation for its quality of gaming controllers, this might be the best option for those who want longevity. It would probably be best to buy this if you’re a regular gamer, however, because you might not get your money’s worth if you’re not gaming on a somewhat regular basis.
It features an adaptable hand zie feature that improves accuracy and speed of gaming. It has metal and rubber joysticks, which are interchangeable based on your playing style. Yes, this is an excessive buy for a Tesla only, but it’s also the best quality controller you can buy. You will need either a Bluetooth Controller Adapter or a USB-C cord for connectivity. You might be able to find one of these at a GameStop or BestBuy, but chances are you will be ordering directly from Microsoft.
This is for the real gamers out there.
The Most Available: Xbox One Wireless/Wired Controller
Microsoft
If you need something today, the Xbox One Wireless or Wired options are the best bet. You can find these controllers literally anywhere: Wal-Mart, Best Buy, you might even find one in an Ollie’s Bargain Store if you’re lucky enough. You can also find affordable used versions at gaming retailers. It is similar to the Elite Controller, but with fewer options and lower quality. It is a perfectly reasonable option for short-term gaming in your Tesla.
However, if you are a more regular gamer, expect to buy around two of these a year. A common issue (that I’ve felt personally for many years) is stick drift or catchy joysticks. Stick Drift is when your controller is not being utilized but is turned on and connected to a game, and your player moves without you touching the joystick. After hours of use and pushing a joystick in one direction, let’s say forwards for a driving game, for example, these $60 controllers will begin to catch this problem. It can be fixed temporarily, but it is better to just move on to a new one, at least in my opinion.
If you forgot your gaming nephew who owns a Model 3 a cool controller for Christmas, you can run over to any large retailer and find one of these. We won’t tell them that you forgot to buy them a gift.
The Best Value: PowerA Enhanced Wired Controller for Xbox
Amazon
If you want the Xbox One Wireless/Wired Controller, but can accept slightly lower quality and an awesome price tag, this is the choice for you. It feels, looks, and reacts just like a regular Xbox Controller, and it comes in many different colors. It simply plugs right into the USB port, and you can start gaming, it’s that easy!
For only $37.99, it’s available on Amazon and it is Prime-eligible; this is the best bang for your buck. It might be too late to snag this to have it under the tree in time for Christmas, but it would be a great alternative to those who just are not convinced that the regular Xbox controller is any better (It’s a good compromise).
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
Lifestyle
Tesla hit by Iranian missile debris in Israel
A Tesla in Israel absorbed a direct hit from missile debris, and the glassroof held.
On March 30, 2026, Lara Shusterman was in Netanya, Israel when Iranian ballistic missiles triggered air raid sirens across the city. While she remained in safety, her 2024 Tesla Model Y did not escape untouched. A heavy piece of missile debris struck the car’s massive glass roof, leaving a deep crater but without shattering. In a Facebook post to the Tesla Israel community the following morning, Shusterman described what happened: “The glass did not shatter into dangerous shards. She stopped the damage and pushed the metal part to the ground.” She closed by thanking Elon Musk and the Tesla team for building what she called “security and a sense of trust even in extreme situations.”
Netanya is a coastal city in central Israel, roughly 18 miles north of Tel Aviv and has been among the areas most frequently struck during Iran’s ongoing missile campaign, following coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military infrastructure. Falling shrapnel from intercepted missiles is a common occurrence.
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- Tesla Model Y glass roof shattered from a piece of falling Iranian missile debris
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- A piece of Iranian missile debris that struck Lara Shusterman’s Tesla Model Y in Netanya, Israel on March 30, 2026, after being intercepted by Israeli air defenses.
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- Tesla Model Y glass roof shattered from a piece of falling Iranian missile debris
Source: Tesla Israel Facebook Group
The incident is a testament to Tesla’s structural engineering. Tesla’s glass roof is designed to support over four times the vehicle’s own weight. That strength has shown up in real-world accidents too. In 2021, a Model Y in California was struck by a falling tree during a storm, with the glass roof holding firm and the cabin remaining intact. In another widely reported incident, a Tesla Model Y plunged 250 feet off the cliff at Devil’s Slide in California in January 2023, with all four occupants, including two young children, surviving.
Disturbing details about Tesla’s 250-foot cliff drop emerge amid initial investigation
Tesla officially launched sales in Israel in early 2021 and captured over 60 percent of Israel’s EV market in the first year. The brand’s foothold in Israel remains significant. Tens of thousands of Teslas are now on Israeli roads, making incidents like Shusterman’s easy to corroborate. On the same week her Model Y took the hit, the U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $178.5 million contract to launch missile tracking satellites, a separate but fitting reminder of how intertwined the Musk ecosystem has become with the realities of modern conflict.
Elon Musk
NASA sends humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972 – Here’s what’s next
NASA’s Artemis II launched four astronauts toward the Moon on the first crewed lunar mission since 1972.
NASA’s Space Launch System rocket launches carrying the Orion spacecraft with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist on NASA’s Artemis II mission, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from Operations and Support Building II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis II mission will take Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back aboard SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft launched at 6:35pm EDT from Launch Complex 39B. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA launched four astronauts toward the Moon on April 1, 2026, marking the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in December 1972. The Artemis II mission lifted off from Kennedy Space Center aboard the Space Launch System rocket at 6:35 p.m. EDT, sending commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the far side of the Moon and back.
The mission does not include a lunar landing. It is a test flight designed to validate the Orion spacecraft’s life support systems, navigation, and communications in deep space with a crew aboard for the first time. If the crew reaches the planned distance of 252,000 miles from Earth, they will set a new record for the farthest any human has ever traveled, surpassing even the Apollo 13 distance record.
As Teslarati reported, SpaceX holds a central role in what comes next. The Starship Human Landing System is under contract to carry astronauts to the lunar surface for Artemis IV, now targeting 2028, after NASA restructured its mission sequence due to delays in Starship’s orbital refueling demonstration. Before any Moon landing happens, SpaceX must prove it can transfer propellant between two Starships in orbit, something no rocket program has done at this scale.
The last time humans left Earth’s orbit was 53 years ago. Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of Apollo 17 were the final people to walk on the Moon, a record that stands to this day. Elon Musk has long argued that returning is not optional. “It’s been now almost half a century since humans were last on the Moon,” Musk said. “That’s too long, we need to get back there and have a permanent base on the Moon.”
The Artemis program involves 60 countries signed onto the Artemis Accords, and this mission sets several firsts beyond distance. Glover becomes the first person of color to travel beyond low Earth orbit, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American astronaut to reach the Moon’s vicinity. According to NASA’s live mission updates, the spacecraft’s solar arrays deployed successfully after liftoff and the crew completed a proximity operations demonstration within the first hours of flight.
Artemis II is step one. The Moon landing and the permanent lunar base come later. But after more than five decades, humans are heading back.
Elon Musk
Tesla Optimus Gen 3 is coming to the Tesla Diner with new ambitions
Tesla’s Optimus robot left the Hollywood Diner within months of opening. Now Musk is planning its return with a bigger role and a major Gen 3 upgrade underway.
![Tesla Optimus Gen 3 [Credit: Tesla]](https://www.teslarati.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/tesla-optimus-gen3-diner.jpg)
Tesla’s Optimus robot was one of the most talked-about features when the Tesla Diner opened on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood on July 21, 2025. Dubbed “Poptimus” by Tesla fans, the Gen 2 robot stood upstairs at the retro-futuristic, drive-in theater and Tesla Supercharging station, scooping popcorn into bags and handing them to guests with a wave.
The diner itself had been years in the making. Elon Musk first floated the idea in 2018 with a tweet about building an “old-school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant” at a Hollywood Supercharger. What eventually opened was a unique two-story neon-lit space, with 80 EV charging stalls, and Optimus serving as a live demonstration of where Tesla’s ambitions were headed.
If our retro-futuristic diner turns out well, which I think it will, @Tesla will establish these in major cities around the world, as well as at Supercharger sites on long distance routes.
An island of good food, good vibes & entertainment, all while Supercharging! https://t.co/zmbv6GfqKf
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2025
But Optimus did not stay long, and was gone by December 2025.
Now, the robot is set to return with a more demanding job. Musk has ambitions for Optimus to take on a food runner role in 2026, delivering meals directly to cars at the Supercharger stalls. While the latest Gen 3 Optimus is likely to initially take on its previous popcorn-serving role, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Optimus to see a quick promotion. With improved hand dexterity that features 50 total actuators and 22 degrees of freedom per hand, and significantly more powerful processing through Tesla’s latest AI5 chip that includes Grok-powered voice interaction, Musk described Optimus at the Abundance Summit on March 12, 2026, as “by far the most advanced robot in the world, Nothing’s even close.”
Back to work
See you at Tesla Diner tomorrow pic.twitter.com/H3tTajrUbu
— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) March 30, 2026
That confidence is backed by a major manufacturing shift. At the Q4 2025 earnings call in January, Musk announced Tesla would discontinue the Model S and Model X and convert those Fremont production lines to build Optimus. “It’s time to basically bring the Model S and X programs to an end,” he said, calling for a pivot that reflects where the Tesla’s future lies.
Tesla broadens most-wanted Model Y to eight new markets
Tesla hit by Iranian missile debris in Israel
