News
2025 Cadillac OPTIQ unveiled: 300-mile range, 300 horsepower, $54,000 starting price
General Motors brand Cadillac unveiled its OPTIQ all-electric luxury SUV today, giving more information on specifications, including range, horsepower, starting price, and features.
The OPTIQ features numerous best-in-class ratings, including cargo capacity and second-row spaciousness, but people have been waiting for the stuff that truly matters, like range and performance ratings.
Cadillac said today that the estimated range of the OPTIQ will be 300 miles, and it will feature a standard dual motor all-wheel-drive powertrain.
“Cadillac has always defined American luxury, and OPTIQ is an example of how our bold, innovative spirit is propelling us into the EV future,” Vice President of Cadillac Global, John Roth, said. “Over the past five years, Cadillac has welcomed approximately 1 million new customers to the family globally, while our percentage of younger buyers has increased 5% in the U.S. OPTIQ will be an important gateway to attract luxury EV intenders to Cadillac as we look to offer a fully electric portfolio by the end of the decade.”
Performance
The OPTIQ includes an 85 kWh battery pack, 330 horsepower, and 354 lb-ft of instant torque, giving drivers and passengers a true EV experience with performance metrics. Additionally, 300 miles of range will be what Cadillac estimates to be standard at a full charge, and DC fast charging will give 79 miles in about ten minutes.
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- Front 3/4 view of 2025 Cadillac OPTIQ in Argent Silver Metallic.
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- Rear side view of 2025 Cadillac OPTIQ in Argent Silver Metallic with 21-inch alloy wheels.
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- Side profile view of 2025 Cadillac OPTIQ in Monarch Orange.
It will also feature Regen on Demand, which is described as “a driver-controlled braking feature that allows the driver to slow down or stop the OPTIQ with a dedicated, pressure-sensitive paddle located on the steering wheel.”
With One-Pedal Driving, the OPTIQ will be able to convert kinetic energy back into the battery pack, giving more range to the vehicle through normal driving behavior.
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Exterior Details and Design
One of the most groundbreaking features of the OPTIQ is its design, which is “sporty and youthful,” flowing with the help of glass and black crystal.
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- Rear 3/4 view of 2025 Cadillac OPTIQ in Argent Silver Metallic.
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- Head-on view of 2025 Cadillac OPTIQ in Monarch Orange, featuring Cadillac vertical lighting signature, sleek LED headlamps and the black crystal shield grille design.
GM describes the four pillars of its unique exterior design:
- Roof Encompassing Glasswork: The fixed-glass roof enables a seamless transition from glass to sheet metal.
- Black Crystal Grille: OPTIQ’s signature black crystal grille incorporates the Cadillac vertical signature lighting and includes a laser-etched pattern within the grille that offers an understated, high-tech feel.
- Rear-Quarter Panel: OPTIQ’s rear quarter panel window design is achieved through a Cadillac-first precision pattern in acoustic laminate glass. The graphic pattern is found throughout OPTIQ and aligns with the Mondrian crest in a nod to classic Cadillac styling.
- Signature Lighting Choreography: When the driver approaches or exits the vehicle, their key fob begins a choreographed lighting sequence to greet them.
Interior Features
The interior of the vehicle is about as unique as the outside and features state-of-the-art, modern designs and features that give a high-tech design.
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- View of the 2025 Cadillac OPTIQ interior in Autumn Canyon, featuring the 33-inch-diagonal interface and display with 9K resolution.
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- View of the 2025 Cadillac OPTIQ steering wheel with standard Super Cruise and steering wheel light bar activated.
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- Close-up of the 2025 Cadillac OPTIQ’s 33-inch-diagonal interface and display with 9K resolution.
“OPTIQ’s bold design leverages the Cadillac standard for luxury while remaining youthful, sporty, and innovative. Its expressive detailing, integrated technology and welcoming interior gives drivers a true immersive experience,” Executive Director of Cadillac Design, Bryan Nesbitt, said.
The already-mentioned segment-best in cargo capacity and second-row spaciousness comes to the forefront.
In addition to that, the OPTIQ will feature a 33-inch diagonal LED display with 9k resolution and over 1 billion colors, Super Cruise driver assistance tech as a standard, advanced radar, camera, and ultrasonic sensor technology, standard safety features like adaptive cruise control, Blind Zone Steering Assist, and Enhanced Automatic Parking, Google built-in compatibility, and standard 19-speaker AKG Audio System and Dolby Atmos.
Trims and Pricing
Luxury and Sport trims will be available, both offering two distinct looks that the driver can decide on. Pricing will start at $54,000, but Cadillac strictly states that the dealer will set the final price.
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Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
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Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
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This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
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Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
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Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
Tesla briefly offered this Robotaxi part for your personal car
