Lifestyle
Choosing the Perfect Tesla Model S Performance Racing Tire
Finding the perfect tire is a never ending pursuit in the world of racing. For those taking their Tesla Model S to the track, the most frequently asked questions are around tires. What tires support the weight of the Model S and performs the best on a race track? Having gone through several tire configurations in our Tesla racing conquests we can now provide some answers to that question.
Your choice of tire really depends on what you are trying to achieve with the Model S. We’ve broken it down to three usage categories as follows:
- If you track your Model S very infrequently (ie. once a year), then any tire will work. Tracking in the beginner’s groups won’t stress your tires since most of the time you’ll be driving at lower speeds while learning racing best practices.
- If you do it frequently and/or do performance driving (usually in the intermediate groups) softer compound performance tires would be your best choice.
- If you are racing your Tesla in the advanced group where ever millisecond counts then racing tires are a must.
We will review performance vs. racing tires in detail, and outline the pros and cons of each.
Performance Tires
Usually found under Performance Summer (Extreme/High/Max) category at retailers like Tire Rack. Our choice of performance tires is, 265/35ZR-20 BFGoodrich G-Force Rival, grade 200. While they very slightly exceed the spec for front wheels, rubbing is very minimal, only when tires are new, and only on full lock. We found it to be a non-issue fot track use and daily driving. This is how the tires look like on a race track:
Pros:
- The tires can be used for both race track and daily street driving. We did not find them consuming substantially more energy. They are fully street legal, comfortable to drive on, and they don’t wear out nearly as much as racing tires.
- On the track the tires provide an excellent balance between traction/grip and slide/drift, allowing for an easy, controlled drift through turns (as much as stability control will allow).
- You can achieve a fairly steady 0.9 to 1.0 lateral G through the turns, with occasional spikes to 1.1 and as high as 1.3.
- At $260 per tire, they are very economical and versatile. Overall, fun tires to use on the track.
Cons:
- These are not meant for all out racing. The edges of the tires will get torn up if you drive very aggressively on them.
- Using a higher tire pressure will alleviate some of the wear but it will ultimately succumb to the car’s weight. Some feathering is normal, but as shown on these photos, these tears are deep and often go down all the way to the cord. Move to racing tires if this is happening to you.
Racing Tires
Racing tires can be found under the Racetrack / Competition Only category at online retailers such as Tire Rack. Our choice of racing tire is the Toyo Proxes R888 @ 285/35ZR-20, grade 100. Finding racing tires for the Tesla Model S can be challenging mainly because of the car’s heavy weight, something not all tires can support. It’s not everyday that you see a 4600+ “race car” tearing it up on the track. There’s only two or three racing tire choices that fit the bill. Of the two choices available, 285 wide 20″ vs. 265 wide 19″, the bigger tires are our favorites. This is what they look like mounted on the car:
The larger tires work extremely well for racing purposes but be mindful that minor rubbing against the inner plastic fender can occur at approximately 3/4th of the steering wheel turn. It’s not an issue for racing applications because most turns are less than 1/4th of steering wheel turn.
This picture to the right was taken after driving slowly with the steering wheel turned to full lock.
The overall tire diameter is almost the same as the standard Model S tires. There are sufficient horizontal and vertical clearances with the suspension set to Standard.
Pros:
- One of the benefits of having a larger racing tires is that the steering wheel lockup issue during banked turns is eliminated. Based on our experiences the Model S steering wheel locks up under high G and until the forces are reduced. Examples of where this has occurred are Fontana turn 1, Laguna Seca turn 9, Sonoma turn 1. We’ve been in contact with Tesla about the issue, but understandably addressing it is low on the priority list since this issue only occurs under extreme driving forces.
- Softer and wider tires provide better traction because of the grippier compound. However a stiffer suspension is usually needed to be able to fully realize the potential. We did not find an improvement in lateral G, but we did notice a longer duration for holding the G.
- One of the main advantages of these tires vs. performance tires is race track durability. They are capable of handling the grueling conditions of racing especially including the heavy weight of the Tesla.
Cons:
- While they are technically street legal (barely), the tires resemble slicks and not suitable for daily driving.
- Parking becomes a difficult task especially if you need to make a full turn.
- Racing tires are very noisy because of the increased friction against ground surfaces.
- Racing tires are not designed for wet conditions. They did surprisingly well on a wet race track surface, but do not repeat our mistake and try driving through standing water.
- And lastly, while these softer, wider, and grippier tires improve traction on a race track, more energy is needed to move rotate them. How much more? A whopping 20%. We registered 390 Wh/mile of street driving using the racing tires vs. 320 Wh/mile when using standard tires.
- The tires need to be transported to the track.
- At $380 per tire, racing tires are much more expensive than performance tires. They also tend to wear down much faster.
We’ll be gathering some more track data over time using our racing 285/35ZR-20 Toyo Proxes R888. We’ll be monitoring the effects these racing tires have on energy usage, lateral Gs and of course our lap times!
Elon Musk
Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises
Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.
Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.
Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.
Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15
India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.
First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.
The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.
Elon Musk
Trump’s invite for Elon just reshuffled Tesla’s big Signature Delivery Event
Tesla rescheduled its final Model S farewell to May 20 after Musk joined Trump in China.
Tesla has rescheduled its Model S and Model X Signature Edition delivery event to Wednesday, May 20, 2026, after abruptly calling off the original May 12 celebration. The event will take place at Tesla’s factory at 45500 Fremont Boulevard in Fremont, California, the same location where the Model S first rolled off the line in 2012. Invitees received a follow-up email asking them to reconfirm attendance and download a new QR code ticket, with Tesla noting that all travel and accommodation expenses remain the buyer’s responsibility.
The reason behind the original cancellation came into focus the same day it was announced. President Trump invited Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, and executives from Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Meta to join his trip to China this week for a summit with President Xi Jinping. The agenda covers trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan, and the Iran war, following weeks of escalating friction between Washington and Beijing over AI technology, sanctions, and rare earth exports. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all.”
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The vehicles at the center of all this are the last Model S and Model X units Tesla will ever build. Priced at $159,420 each, the 250 Model S and 100 Model X Signature Edition units come finished in Garnet Red with a one-year no-resale agreement, giving Tesla right of first refusal if the owner decides to sell. As Teslarati reported, the Model S defined Tesla’s early identity as a serious luxury automaker, and the Fremont factory line that built it is now being converted to manufacture Optimus humanoid robots.
Musk’s inclusion in the China delegation drew attention given his very public relationship with Trump, and the invitation signals the two have moved past and past grievances. Trump originally brought Musk on to lead the Department of Government Efficiency following his inauguration, and despite a sharp public dispute in mid-2025, the two have appeared together repeatedly in recent months. A seat on the China trip, the most diplomatically consequential visit of Trump’s current term, puts Musk back at the table on U.S. economic policy at a moment when Tesla’s China revenue remains one of the company’s most important financial pillars.
Lifestyle
Tesla Semi hauls fresh Cybercab batch as Robotaxi era takes hold
A Tesla Semi was filmed hauling Cybercab units out of Giga Texas for the first time.
A Tesla Semi loaded with Cybercab units was recently filmed leaving Gigafactory Texas, marking what appears to be the first documented delivery run of Tesla’s autonomous two-seater. The footage shows multiple Cybercabs secured on a flatbed trailer being hauled by a production Tesla Semi, a truck rated for a gross combination weight of 82,000 lbs. The location is consistent with Giga Texas in Austin, where Cybercab production has been ramping since February 2026.
The sighting follows a wave of Cybercab activity at the Austin facility. In late April, drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer spotted approximately 60 Cybercabs parked in two organized groups in the factory’s outbound lot, the largest concentration observed to date. Units being staged in an outbound lot is a standard pre-delivery step, and the Semi footage is the logical next frame in that sequence.
En route with @tesla_semi pic.twitter.com/ZfuOjaeLH1
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) May 7, 2026
This is not the first time Tesla has used its own Semi to move Tesla products. When the Semi was unveiled in 2017, Musk noted it would be used for Tesla’s own operations, and over the years Semi prototypes were spotted carrying cargo ranging from concrete weights to Tesla vehicles being delivered to consumers. In 2023, a Semi was photographed transporting a Cybertruck on a trailer ahead of that vehicle’s delivery launch.
The Cybercab itself was first revealed publicly at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, where 20 pre-production units gave attendees rides around the studio lot. Musk stated at the event that Tesla intends to produce the Cybercab before 2027. The first production unit rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026, with Musk posting on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab.”
Tesla’s annual production goal is 2 million Cybercabs per year once multiple factories reach full design capacity, with the company targeting a price under $30,000 per unit. Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.
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