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Tesla Model S, X, 3 up for grabs as Climate XChange takes carbon fight nationwide

[Credit: Climate XChange]

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The UN has warned us of the serious and irreversible consequences of global warming if we do not enact “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.” A crucial policy that will, according to the report, drive the move towards a low-carbon economy and help us reduce emissions, is putting a price on carbon pollution. Doing so captures externalities from emissions the public pays for in other ways, including property damage from floods, healthcare costs, and economic losses.

Climate XChange, a Boston-based organization aiming to tackle global warming by researching and advocating for methods to curb carbon pollution, has been fighting for carbon pricing legislation since 2013. With the help of Tesla owners, electric vehicle enthusiasts and clean energy advocates, the team was able to successfully push through a carbon pricing bill which passed the Massachusetts State Senate unanimously. Now, Climate XChange is setting its sights in other states across the U.S. that are looking to support carbon pricing efforts and research.

In order to fight carbon emissions and see through its successes in Massachusettes but on a national scale, the organization needs to raise additional funds and aims to do so by raffling off three brand new Teslas (Model 3 Performance, Model S, and Model X) on New Year’s Day. For context, the non-profit first raffled off a Tesla Model S – a car that symbolizes the industry’s shift towards renewable energy – in previous years, and the success of the initiative led to this year’s biggest Tesla raffle yet.

Make a difference. Help Climate XChange take the fight against carbon emissions on a national level and win a Tesla

The organization is offering a limited 4,000 tickets in their third annual Carbon raffle, as they take the ongoing fight against carbon emissions across the United States. Climate XChange will be covering the Prize Taxes associated with the vehicles, allowing the lucky winners of the premium electric cars to acquire their prizes completely hassle-free.

Details of the fundraiser/Carbon-raffle are as follows:

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1st Prize – Tesla Model 3 Performance, Model S or Model X

First prize winners of this year’s Carbon Raffle can select between a Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, or a fully-loaded Tesla Model 3 Performance. The organization estimates the cost of the vehicle to be $89,763 on its own. Considering that Climate XChange is paying the vehicle’s total tax payments of $38,470, the total cost of the grand prize for this year’s raffle is worth $128,233.

2nd Prize – Dual Motor Long Range Tesla Model 3

Second prize winners are set to receive a Long Range Tesla Model 3 with Dual Motor AWD that’s worth $58,950. The organization will cover the vehicle’s taxes as well, which is worth an extra $25,625.

3rd Prize – Tesla Model 3 RWD

Climate XChange has committed to giving away a Standard Range RWD Model 3 and set aside $39,825 for the car, as well as total tax payments of $17,068.

New Year’s Day, January 1, 2019 @ 3 p.m. ET: Drawing

The Carbon Pricing Awareness Raffle Drawing will be conducted at 3 p.m. Eastern Time at Climate XChange’s headquarters, located at:

Old West Church
131 Cambridge Street
Boston, MA 02114

All ticket holders are invited to be present for the drawing but need not be present to win. The Drawing will be streamed over the Internet; instructions for locating and joining the stream will be published on the website a few days before the Drawing is held.

Winners of the raffle who do not wish to acquire a Tesla could instead opt for a cash prize. Those that choose to take delivery of a Tesla, will be given the opportunity to fully configure the vehicle to their liking. Deliveries for the electric cars are set to be conducted in centers closest to the homes of the raffle’s winners, where a representative from Climate XChange will facilitate the handover.

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“We don’t believe that climate action and business interests are at odds with each other, and we are doing our research to prove that. We have spent the past five years sharpening our tools on a campaign in Massachusetts and finally this year, our legislation passed the State Senate unanimously … we have already set our sights in other states across the country and are looking to support carbon pricing efforts and research in as many states as possible. – Climate XChange”

Please consider helping and make a difference.

Following Climate XChange’s success in Massachusetts when the State Senate unanimously voted in favor of the carbon pricing bill, the organization contacted Teslarati and asked for support in taking their fight against carbon emissions to a national level.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Elon Musk

Tesla primes Cybercabs for 4K streaming and high bandwidth gaming with Starlink integration

Tesla is now shipping Cybercabs from Giga Texas with Starlink hardware built in as standard.

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tesla cybercab with no manual controls showing a movie with two employees inside

Tesla’s Cybercabs are now leaving Gigafactory Texas with Starlink hardware on the rear hatch in significant numbers, according to drone footage captured Tuesday by longtime Austin drone observer Joe Tegtmeyer. Production at the factory ramped back up after the Labor Day weekend, and his flyover of the outbound lot showed rows of gold Cybercabs alongside Model Y Long Wheelbase units, many carrying the satellite module for the first time as standard equipment rather than a one off retrofit.

Tesla first showed Starlink built into an actual Cybercab on August 10, when the Robotaxi account posted images of a single gold unit with the antenna integrated into the roofline above the taillights and called it the first Cybercab with Starlink integration. That followed a July reveal where Tesla and Starlink jointly posted a cutaway diagram of the antenna placement without a working vehicle to back it up. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI software, said at the time that the connection isn’t required for the car to drive itself. It exists mainly for navigation, customer service and keeping tabs on the fleet.

Musk has made a different case in public. During Tesla’s Q2 earnings call, he said the company can’t afford robotaxis stranded in what he called “Bermuda Triangles of lack of cellular connectivity,” and he separately claimed on X that Starlink will eventually reach every Tesla built, calling it the only way to deliver high bandwidth to billions of vehicles. He has also pitched the antenna as an entertainment upgrade, telling riders they would be able to stream 4K video or play games during a trip.

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The rollout has moved fast since. Robotaxi service opened to the public in Austin on September 3, and Cybercabs had already been spotted with Starlink hardware in Houston and near Miami International Airport in the weeks before Tuesday’s factory footage showed the module shipping at volume rather than on scattered test units. Whether the satellite link earns its keep is still an open question. Tesla’s unsupervised service currently runs in dense metro geofences in Texas and Florida, markets where cellular coverage is already strong, which is not where the rural dead zones Musk describes tend to show up.

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Lifestyle

Tesla Cybertruck targets job site crews with new Tailgate Utility Track and Bed Gear Box accessory

Tesla launched a $350 tailgate track and a $985 lockable Bed Gear Box for Cybertruck.

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Tesla Cybertruck construction site

Tesla’s Cybertruck team added two more items to the Tesla Shop, targeting job site crews and owners who use the truck bed for actual work rather than just showing it off. The official Cybertruck X account posted the Tailgate Utility Track and the Bed Gear Box within minutes of each other, part of a five item batch that also included a reflective jacket, a spray paint hat and an updated reflective tee.

The Tailgate Utility Track runs $350 and turns the folded down tailgate into another mounting surface. It’s a single aluminum track with a T-slot for sliding accessories and two L-track attachment points, plus two load stops included in the box. The pitch is straightforward: strap down oversized cargo, like lumber or a cooler, that hangs off the back of the bed without it sliding out mid-drive. It bolts onto the existing tailgate and works on every Cybertruck trim.

The Bed Gear Box costs $985 and is a different kind of accessory. It’s a lockable aluminum storage box, 55.78 inches long, 19.8 inches wide and 7.79 inches tall, that mounts to the bed’s L-track rails and comes with two internal bins for smaller items. According to Tesla, at just over 57 pounds empty, it’s meant to stay in place rather than come in and out with each trip, giving owners a factory-fit alternative to loose totes for tools, recovery gear or emergency supplies. Tesla’s listing notes that Long Range and Dual Motor AWD Cybertrucks need the L-Tracks accessory installed separately before the Gear Box will mount, since L-tracks come standard only on certain configurations.

Tesla Cybertruck bed gear box accessory

Tesla Cybertruck bed gear box accessory

Both accessories lean on the idea Tesla has been building toward since Elon Musk first described the Cybertruck’s third-party attachment strategy at the 2023 shareholder meeting, when he said the truck would ship with mounting points so outside companies, and Tesla itself, could keep adding gear without redesigning the bed. That’s the same L-track backbone underneath the tailgate shield and jumpseats Tesla launched last year, and the off-road armor package that arrived through the same X account in 2025.

Owners looking to round out the rest of the L-track ecosystem, cargo dividers, MOLLE panels, bed racks and similar gear, can find a wider range of options through our Cybertruck accessories collection.

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Elon Musk says he knows how to save Earth for a billion years

Elon Musk says sentient AI satellites launched from the Moon could keep Earth livable forever.

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Elon Musk spent part of his weekend describing a plan to keep the planet livable for roughly a billion years, and it starts with satellites that can think for themselves.

In a post on X, Musk argued that swapping fossil fuels for solar and wind power will not be enough to protect humanity from what he called extremely severe extinction events, the kind that occur roughly every 100 million years. His fix is what he called sentient satellites, or solar-powered satellites, controlled by AI, that would sit in a fixed spot between Earth and the Sun after being launched off the Moon using a giant electromagnetic catapult instead of rockets.

The satellites’ onboard AI would make continuous, small adjustments rather than waiting on human instructions. The mass driver is Musk’s proposed way of getting the raw material there cheaply by using an electromagnetic launch track built on the Moon, where lower gravity and no atmosphere make it far easier to fling cargo into space than it is from Earth.

Musk shared a Grok generated estimate suggesting roughly 5 percent of Florida’s land, or about 1.68 million acres, could face regular flooding by 2070 under a high sea level rise scenario, and said humanity has about 50 years to act before coastal living looks very different than it does today.

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This is not the first time Musk has floated the idea. He raised a similar concept in November, describing a solar powered AI satellite constellation that could make tiny adjustments to incoming sunlight to fine tune Earth’s temperature. Musk has also tied planetary risk to his broader vision at SpaceX, where his compensation package is explicitly linked to establishing a self-sustaining Mars colony, one he has described as an insurance policy against the kind of extinction event he referenced this weekend, and where he has said humans could set foot within five to seven years.

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