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Ford F-150 Lightning prevails in two high-intensity towing tests in cold and warm climates

Whether hauling snowmobiles to the cabin in the dead of winter or the pontoon to the lake in the dogdays of summer, the 2022 F-150® Lightning™ is tested to have customers covered. To help prove it, Ford engineers took the first all-electric F-Series to two of America’s toughest real-world towing routes during development – Davis Dam in the summer and TFLTruck’s Ike Gauntlet™ in the winter.

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Ford announced today that its new F-150 Lightning all-electric pickup truck recently completed two grueling, high-intensity towing tests in various climates to fully assess the vehicle’s performance and capabilities while hauling. The 10,000-pound towing test revealed several strong suits, including the capability to perform under various climate settings.

However, customers will want to know what effect towing and the climate limitations had on the range, as the company recently confirmed its EPA-rated range ratings for several variants of the F-150 Lightning. Ford said it would release this information “in due course.”

Ford took the F-150 Lightning and 10,000-pound loaded trailers to Colorado’s I-70, which recorded its coldest day in February in Boulder in 123 years as temperatures sunk to -2° F near the Eisenhower Tunnel. This route was eight miles long, and ascends at a 7 percent incline to a maximum elevation of 11,158 feet.

Ford F-150 Lightning Range, efficiency revealed in Monroney sticker leak

 

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To test the other side of things, Ford also tested the all-electric F-150 Lightning along State Route 68 between Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam. This route ascends from 550 feet to 3,500 feet in 11.4 miles, making for a grueling test of any powertrain, let alone one that is towing 10,000 pounds behind it.

Ford engineers completed the two tests in part of the F-150 Lightning’s development, which has gone on for “hundreds of hours” with towing alone.

While the tests show the incredible toughness of the trucks, which never was really in doubt due to Ford’s decades of expertise and its recognition as the leading manufacturer of pickups in the United States, the tests missed a critical piece of information: range.

Whether hauling snowmobiles to the cabin in the dead of winter or the pontoon to the lake in the dogdays of summer, the 2022 F-150® Lightning™ is tested to have customers covered. To help prove it, Ford engineers took the first all-electric F-Series to two of America’s toughest real-world towing routes during development – Davis Dam in the summer and TFLTruck’s Ike Gauntlet™ in the winter.

Towing is an extremely stressful test for any powertrain, but in electric vehicles, it contributes to significant loss of driving range due to the additional energy needed to pull. In the past, Tesla towing tests have revealed significant range losses, an understandable barrier due to the nature of the job. However, Ford’s testing in an extremely cold climate while towing would likely show major range loss, as frigid temperatures only hurt range, even when towing is not the task at hand.

A Ford spokesperson told Teslarati there was no information available on the tests’ effect on the F-150 Lightning’s range at the current time, but more information would be released in due course.

Last week, Monroney stickers from several Ford F-150 Lightning variants were released. The F-150 Lightning Base Pro Series had 230 miles of range, according to EPA estimates. Meanwhile, the Platinum Series with the extended range battery pack had a range rating of 300 miles. Ford later confirmed these range estimates in a statement.

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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.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla Optimus steals the show during TRON: ARES premiere

Now that kung-fu Optimus demonstration makes sense.

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Credit: Tesla Optimus/X

Just a few days ago, Elon Musk shared a video of Tesla Optimus demonstrating some kung fu moves with a human partner. The video was impressive, though some were confused about why the Optimus team was busying itself with what appeared to be a cool but frivolous demonstration. 

With the premiere of TRON: ARES, we now know that Optimus’ kung fu demonstration was part of the robot’s preparations for the red carpet. 

Optimus “starts a fight”

As noted by X Business on its official account on the social media platform, the TRON: ARES red carpet world premiere was a showcase of today’s AI-powered technologies. With this in mind, xAI, X, Walt Disney, and Tesla collaborated to provide attendees with an immersive experience on real-world AI. This included Optimus engaging with attendees, and even distributing theater concessions. 

But one black and red painted Optimus unit definitely stole the show. The humanoid robot, in front of several attendees, attempted to “pick a fight” with Jared Leto, who starts in the movie alongside Greta Lee, Evan Peters, and Jeff Bridges. As could be seen in the video of Optimus, the robot’s moves in the red carpet were similar to the kung fu demonstration that Elon Musk showcased last week. 

TRON: ARES

Monique Pintarelli, Head of Americas at X, shared some insights about the event, which ended up being a collaboration of sorts between several Elon Musk-led companies. 

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“This partnership with Disney lets fans and stars experience the world of TRON like never before – turning the red carpet event into a collision between the real world and AI. By leveraging X’s unparalleled real-time engagement and xAI’s cutting-edge technology alongside Tesla’s Optimus robots, we’re creating shared, immersive experiences that redefine storytelling,” the X executive noted.

TRON: ARES releases on U.S. theaters on October 10, 2025. 

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Tesla FSD (Supervised) V14.1 with Robotaxi-style dropoffs is here

This represents FSD’s most significant update in nearly a year.

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Credit: Sawyer Merritt/X

Tesla has started the rollout of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) V14.1, the advanced driver-assist system’s most significant update in nearly a year. The release introduces vision-based navigation for real-time detour handling and a new “Arrival Options” feature that simulates Robotaxi-style drop-offs.

New Tesla Vision-based features

With Version 14.1, Tesla has integrated navigation and routing directly into its vision-based neural network, enabling the system to respond to scenarios such as blocked roads or closures in real time. The update also enhances emergency vehicle detection, allowing the car to pull over or yield when police, fire, or ambulances are nearby.

Other improvements include refined responses to debris, school buses, and lane cut-ins, as well as smoother handling of unprotected turns and gated entries. The update also adds a Robotaxi-style automatic camera-cleaning system. Tesla also promises improved fault recovery for greater reliability during degraded system operation.

New Speed Profiles and other features

Drivers can now personalize FSD’s behavior more precisely through new Speed Profiles. A new “Sloth” mode has joined the lineup, offering a more conservative lane and speed selection than “Chill.” Preferences for parking and arrival positions are saved per destination, while the system’s reasoning model automatically recommends several options for each route.

Users can start FSD from a single tap, adjust settings from the central visualization, and expect fewer driver “nags,” according to Elon Musk. The CEO noted that Version 14 features a 10x higher parameter count and said it “feels sentient” compared to earlier builds. While it’s still a supervised system, unlike the Austin Robotaxi pilot, FSD 14.1 seems to be a key milestone toward the refinement of Tesla’s autonomous driving efforts.

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FSD (Supervised) V14.1 release notes

Following are the release notes for FSD (Supervised) V14.1:

FSD(Supervised) v14.1 includes:

• Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.

• Added handling to pull over or yield for emergency vehicles (e.g. police cars, fire trucks, ambulances).

• Added navigation and routing into the vision-based neural network for real-time handling of blocked roads and detours.

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• Added additional Speed Profile to further customize driving style preference.

• Improved handling for static and dynamic gates.

• Improved offsetting for road debris (e.g. tires, tree branches, boxes).

• Improve handling of several scenarios including: unprotected turns, lane changes, vehicle cut-ins, and school buses.

Improved FSD’s ability to manage system faults and recover smoothly from degraded operation for enhanced reliability.

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• Added automatic narrow field washing to provide rapid and efficient front camera self-cleaning, and optimize aerodynamics wash at higher vehicle speed.

• Added alerting for residue build-up on interior windshield that may impact front camera visibility. If affected, visit Service for cleaning!

Upcoming Improvements:

• Overall smoothness and sentience

• Parking spot selection and parking quality

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• You can now select an arrival option such as Parking Lot, Street, Driveway, Parking Garage and Curbside for Robotaxi-style drop offs.

• Your preferences for arrival options and preferred parking positions are persisted for each destination.

• Our reasoning model will assess the suitable options for your destination and pick an intuitive default.

Speed Profiles:

FSD (Supervised) will now determine the appropriate speed based on a mix of driver profile, speed limit, and surrounding traffic:

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• Introduced new Speed Profile SLOTH, which comes with lower speeds & more conservative lane selection than CHILL.

• Driver profile now has a stronger impact on behavior. The more assertive the profile, the higher the max speed.

• Right scroll-wheel up/down now adjusts Speed Profile setting rather than your precise max speed offset selection in mph/kph.

UI Improvements:

• Start Self-Driving with a tap of the touchscreen from Park, or any time during your drive.

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• Adjust settings like the Speed Profile and Arrival Options directly from the Autopilot visualization on the center display.

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Tesla plant manager tips off affordable model production

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Credit: @Gf4Tesla/X

A plant manager at a Tesla factory just tipped off the fact that the company will begin production of an affordable model in the coming weeks, all but confirming that a new car will be unveiled tomorrow.

Tesla has been teasing some kind of product unveiling for October 7 on its social media accounts. It has now dropped two separate indications that a new product is coming on its X account.

Fans have been anticipating two things: either the company’s planned affordable model, which has been codenamed “E41,” or the Roadster, a long-awaited vehicle that Tesla has kept under wraps for much longer than it would likely care to admit.

Tesla all but confirms that affordable Model Y is coming Tuesday

André Thierig, Tesla’s plant manager at the German production plant Gigafactory Berlin, tipped off what is likely coming tomorrow at the product unveiling as he revealed during an internal event today that a light version of the Model Y will begin series production and deliveries “in a few weeks.”

Thierig’s revealing of plans was reported by Handelsblatt, a German media outlet.

The description of a “light version of the Model Y” aligns with what CEO Elon Musk said earlier this year, as well as what we have seen on public roads, both covered and uncovered.

Last week, we finally saw an uncovered version of what the affordable model likely is, as it was cruising around near Gigafactory Texas, just outside of Austin.

Tesla coding shows affordable model details, including potential price

Musk said earlier this year, candidly during an Earnings Call, that the affordable model Tesla planned to release was a Model Y.

“It’s just a Model Y. Let the cat out of the bag there,” Musk said.

The images of what we assumed to be the affordable model lined up with Musk’s candid statement:

Tesla is expected to unveil its affordable model tomorrow during the planned event, which has been teased twice. Pricing and other details are still pending, but the company is expected to reveal this information tomorrow.

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