Lifestyle
Legacy auto still has a chance to win on electric pickup trucks, but will they take it?
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A recent consumer survey conducted by Autolist.com revealed some interesting indicators about the future of electric pickup trucks. On one hand, there’s still time for legacy auto makers to read the memo about the future of their industry with regard to power source. Decades of branding and (mild) innovations could pay off for them because their customers are watching what they’re doing and extending some good will based on the reputation they’ve built. Tesla might be playing a big role in the industry’s directional change, but they don’t necessarily win customers by default because of that role.
On the other hand, car buyers (as expected) don’t seem to be that into radical changes when making a personal transportation choice, but they could be convinced over time. In fact, Autolist’s survey might show that if big truck companies either don’t play ball in the EV transition or they only play half-heartedly, their industry leadership could be chipped away until things collapse altogether.
Let’s look at the survey’s data to break down why I think these things are indicated.
Out of about 1,100 people surveyed to choose one of four electric truck options, of which there was a 50/50 split between those who’d currently/previously owned a truck and those who never had, GM’s still non-existent future truck was the highest-ranked. Ford’s F-150 and Rivian’s R1T came in the middle, and the Tesla Cybertruck was ranked last. Although GM’s vehicle is sight-unseen, the number one reason those surveyed made it their number one choice was due to their trust and existing preference for the brand. Ford’s F-150 was primarily chosen by those people for the same reason as well.
These replies indicate that the billions invested in marketing and production over the years could pay off for GM and Ford in the EV sector. However, their brands of trucks were also expected to have good performance and be reliable, the number 2 and 3 reasons they were chosen. In other words, just putting their name on a vehicle won’t be enough in the long term. In fact, the number one reason why the Tesla Cybertruck was the first choice of those people was the expected performance. The cyberpunk look of the pickup didn’t even rank, and Tesla’s other investments – Autopilot and their charging network – were tied for reasons number 2 and 3 in those customer choices. Interestingly enough, the styling of Rivian’s R1T was the number one reason it was ranked by those responders by a long shot (75%).
It seems that the traditional “look” of a truck is pretty much preferred by customers, as expected by many, but as also expected by many, the performance is important enough to turn heads in unconventional directions. I mean, this is all probably just preaching to the choir for lots of EV watchers and so forth, but seeing some data come in to validate the opinions is interesting.
Another interesting breakdown in the survey that somewhat validates both camps on whether Cybertruck can appeal to enough buyers to be considered successful is that among prior and current truck owners, only 14% preferred it over the other three options. GM’s unseen truck was preferred by 35% of respondents, Ford by 28%, and Rivian by 23%. I’d say that is definitely validation for people saying that “truck” people like their trucks to look like what they’ve come to think trucks should look like. Cybertruck, however, was the number one choice of those who’d never owned a truck before. But, I think there’s still a caveat here.
Cybertruck may have been the number one truck choice for first-time truck buyers, but that number one rank was nearly even with the other three choices. Tesla’s pickup came in at 25.8%, Rivian’s R1T was 24.8%, and the F-150 and GM trucks tied at 24.7% – all are within a percentage of one another. So, even among people that might be more open-minded about what a truck should look like, Cybertruck is still only appealing to a minority of consumers. Overall, it looks like 75% of even first time truck buyers want one that looks traditional, and 85% of current/prior truck owners want the old look as well.
Yet still, the “big guys” don’t really have the wiggle room to loose even the smaller percentage of people that want something different in a truck. As many commenters pointed out under Teslarati’s report on this survey, GM has some workforce headaches and retirement obligations that make its bottom profit line very thin.
Already, it’s tough for union-weighted factories to make significant changes to their product lineups because workers’ jobs are threatened by various parts of the innovations, thus strikes and shutdowns and bankruptcies are always looming. If GM and other companies with similar balancing acts can’t make enough changes to get their electric trucks to compete with the performance of Cybertruck (and perhaps the R1T), they’re going to leak customers where they just can’t afford to leak them, and when customers leave…so goes their money. Shareholders will only tolerate so much squeezing (or so it seems).
Tesla is already hitting hard with a $40k truck whose performance expectations are incredible. If their competition can’t play ball with those specs on something that looks traditional, losing money along the way, they could end up losing the “big” game (i.e., shut down completely) and have to bow out to Tesla and Rivian altogether. Tesla could also go in for the kill move, too, and just put something out there for the same price range and specs as Cybertruck that looks fairly “normal” to scoop up GM’s and Ford’s customer holdouts over style.
We shall see. Isn’t speculation fun?
Elon Musk
Elon Musk launches TERAFAB: The $25B Tesla-SpaceXAI chip factory that will rewire the AI industry
Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI unveiled TERAFAB, a $25B chip factory targeting one terawatt of AI compute annually.
Elon Musk took the stage over the weekend at the defunct Seaholm Power Plant in Austin, Texas, to officially unveil TERAFAB, a $20-25 billion joint venture between Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI that he described as “the most epic chip building exercise in history by far.” The announcement marks the most ambitious infrastructure bet Musk has made since Gigafactory 1 in Sparks, Nevada, and it fuses three of his companies into a single, vertically integrated AI hardware machine for the first time.
TERAFAB is designed to consolidate every stage of semiconductor production under one roof, including chip design, lithography, fabrication, memory production, advanced packaging, and testing. At full capacity, the facility would scale to roughly 70% of the global output from the current world’s largest semiconductor foundry from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).
Elon Musk’s stated goal is one terawatt of computing power annually, split between Tesla’s AI5 inference chips for vehicles and Optimus robots, and D3 chips built specifically for SpaceXAI’s orbital satellite constellation.
Tesla Terafab set for launch: Inside the $20B AI chip factory that will reshape the auto industry
The logic behind the merger of these three entities is rooted in a supply chain crisis Musk has been signaling for over a year. At Tesla’s Q4 2025 earnings call, he warned investors that external chip capacity from TSMC, Samsung, and Micron would hit a ceiling within three to four years. “We’re very grateful to our existing supply chain, to Samsung, TSMC, Micron and others,” Musk acknowledged at the Terafab event, “but there’s a maximum rate at which they’re comfortable expanding.” Building in-house was, in his framing, not a strategic option, but a necessity.
The space angle is where the announcement becomes genuinely unprecedented. Musk said 80% of Terafab’s compute output would be directed toward space-based orbital AI satellites, arguing that solar irradiance in space is roughly 5x greater than at Earth’s surface, and that heat rejection in vacuum makes thermal scaling viable. This directly feeds the SpaceXAI vision, which is betting that within two to three years, running AI workloads in orbit will be cheaper than doing so on the ground. The satellites, powered by constant solar energy, would effectively turn low Earth orbit into the world’s largest data center.
Will Tesla join the fold? Predicting a triple merger with SpaceX and xAI
Historically, this announcement threads together every major Musk initiative of the past two years: the xAI-SpaceX merger, Tesla’s $2.9 billion solar equipment talks with Chinese suppliers, the 100 GW domestic solar manufacturing push, the Optimus humanoid robot program, and Starship’s development. TERAFAB is the capstone that ties them into a single coherent architecture — chips made on Earth, launched by SpaceX, powered by Tesla solar, run by xAI, and ultimately extended to the Moon.
“I want us to live long enough to see the mass driver on the moon, because that’s going to be incredibly epic,”Musk said during the presentation.
Announcing TERAFAB: the next step towards becoming a galactic civilization https://t.co/IDKey07mJa
— Tesla (@Tesla) March 22, 2026
Cybertruck
Chattanooga Charge: Tesla and EV fans ready for the Southeast’s wildest Tesla party
From Cybertruck Convoys to Kid-Friendly Fun Zones: The Chattanooga Charge Has Something for Everyone
Hundreds of like-minded Tesla and EV enthusiasts are descending on Chattanooga Charge this weekend for the largest Tesla meet in the Southeast. Taking place on March 20–22, 2026 at the stunning Tennessee Riverpark.
If you were there last year, you’ll know that it’s the ultimate experience to see the wildest Teslas in action, see the best in EV tech, and arguably the most fun – finally put a name to the face and connect with those social media buddies IRL! Oh, and that epic night time Tesla light show is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will transform the Riverpark into something out of a sci-fi film that’s remarkably unforgettable and must be seen in person.
This year’s event takes everything up a notch, with over 100 Cybertrucks expected to be on display, many sporting jaw-dropping modifications and custom wraps that push the boundaries of what these stainless steel beasts can look like.
Whether you’re a diehard Tesla fan, EV supporter, or just EV-mod-curious, the sheer spectacle is worth the drive.
The Chattanooga Charge doesn’t wait until Saturday morning to get started. The weekend technically kicks off Friday, March 20th, and the venue sets the tone immediately. Come share roadtrip stories over drinks at the W-XYZ Rooftop Bar on the top floor of the Aloft Chattanooga Hamilton Place Hotel, with sunset views over the city.
Come morning, nurse your hangover with a some good coffee, and convoy with hundreds of other Tesla and EV drivers through Chattanooga to the event for some morning meet and greets before the speaker panel starts and the food trucks fire up.
Tesla owner clubs travel from across the country to be here, not just to show off their vehicles,, but to connect, share, and celebrate a shared passion for the future of driving.
Sounds like a plan to me. See you there, guys. Don’t miss it. Get your tickets at ChattanoogaCharge.com and join the charge. 🔋⚡
Chattanooga Charge is a premier Tesla and EV gathering inspired by the X Takeover, known as one of the largest Tesla event gatherings. What began as a bold idea from the team at DIY Wraps/TESBROS, hosted in their hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, the event quickly became a movement across social media. The first annual Chattanooga Charge united over 16 Tesla clubs from 16 states, proof that the EV community was hungry for something big in the South. Year after year, the event has grown in scale, ambition, and heart.
Lifestyle
Tesla Model S Plaid battles China’s 1500 hp monster Nurburgring monster, with surprising results
There is just something about Tesla’s tuning and refinement that makes raw specs seem not as game-changing.
The Tesla Model S Plaid has been around for some time. Today, it is no longer the world’s quickest four-door electric sedan, nor is it the most powerful. As per a recent video from motoring YouTube channel Carwow, however, it seems like the Model S Plaid is still more than a match for some of its newer and more powerful rivals.
The monster from China
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is nothing short of a monster. Just like the Model S Plaid, it features three motors. It also has 1,548 hp and 1,770 Nm of torque. It’s All Wheel Drive and weighs a hefty 2,360 kg. The vehicle, which costs just about the equivalent of £55,000, has been recorded setting an insane 7:04.957 at the Nurburgring, surpassing the previous record held by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
For all intents and purposes, the Model S Plaid looked outgunned in Carwow’s test. The Model S Plaid is no slouch with its three motors that produce 1,020 hp and 1,420 Nm of torque. It’s also a bit lighter at 2,190 kg despite its larger size. However, as the Carwow host pointed out, the Model S Plaid holds a 7:25.231 record in the Nurburgring. Compared to the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra’s record, the Model S Plaid’s lap time is notably slower.
Real-world tests
As could be seen in Carwow’s drag races, however, Tesla’s tech wizardry with the Model S Plaid is still hard to beat. The two vehicles competed in nine races, and the older Model S Plaid actually beat its newer, more powerful counterpart from China several times. At one point in the race, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra hit its power limit due to its battery’s temperature, but the Model S Plaid was still going strong.
The Model S Plaid was first teased five years ago, in September 2020 during Tesla’s Battery Day. Since then, cars like the Lucid Air Sapphire and the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra have been released, surpassing its specs. But just like the Model Y ended up being the better all-rounder compared to the BYD Sealion 7 and the MG IM6, there is just something about Tesla’s tuning and refinement that makes raw specs seem not as game-changing.
Check out Carwow’s Model S Plaid vs Xiaomi SU7 drag race video below.
Elon Musk launches TERAFAB: The $25B Tesla-SpaceXAI chip factory that will rewire the AI industry
Rolls-Royce makes shocking move on its EV future
