Welcome to a FREE preview of our weekly exclusive! Each week our team goes ‘Beyond the News’ and handcrafts a special edition that includes our thoughts on the biggest stories, why it matters, and how it could impact the future.
You can receive this newsletter along with all of our other members-exclusive newsletters, become a premium member for just $3/month. Your support goes a long way for us behind the scenes! Thank you.
—
I know, I know. Just asking the question, “Is there anything Tesla can’t do?” alone sounds like stooge-level propaganda with a predictable answer at the end: No. However, I promise you that I’m actually considering it objectively in light of what has been parading in the headlines.
The Porsche Taycan vs. Tesla debates were a bit exhausting over the last couple of weeks, but the ‘Plaid Mode’ reveal took them to another level. Then, a German media outlet reported that a Model S already beat the Taycan’s Nürburgring time by almost 20 seconds after all that hoopla about “turns” and overheating being inevitable doom bringers for Tesla.
And all this excitement started co-existing with more news about the spiffy stuff included in the V10 firmware update that Tesla’s Early Access Program participants were downloading. Leaked pictures of the made-in-China Model 3 were really just the icing on the cake yesterday for anyone keeping score.
So, I think it’s fair to start wondering what Tesla has left to achieve that may be a serious challenge.
Obviously, there’s plenty on the plate for the next few years at least: Model Y, the Tesla Truck, the Tesla Semi, the next generation Roadster, and now refreshed ‘Plaid Mode’ Model S’s and X’s. Oh, and the regulatory hurdles to make Full Self-Driving a legal reality still need to come through. I suppose having a few more Gigafactories would be a good idea also, like the one teased for Europe.
Okay. Perhaps this question is more tedious than I thought. On one hand, Tesla doesn’t need to do everything a car maker could possibly do. Plenty of manufacturers are content with sticking with their niche markets. But I don’t see Tesla settling for that, especially considering all the markets they’re targeting already and the sales numbers they’re aiming to achieve.
How about outdoor-oriented vehicles, considering the next competitor for Elon Musk to comment on will likely be Rivian? The Michigan-based EV newcomer has completely branded itself to appeal to the travel adventure crowd, and their R1T pickup truck has every whiz-bang thing (to borrow a phrase) they could dream of needing for a mountain camping trek. Rivian even has a patent application for a “digital” jerrycan to extend their battery range for such trips.
While the Tesla Truck is coming, a ‘Blade Runner’ cyberpunk theme doesn’t seem to have the Rivian-type customers in mind. That’s fine, but would Tesla want to appeal to that base if it proves lucrative? Why bother building a truck in the first place if you don’t want to attract, you know, truck people? Rivian’s R1S SUV might really be where the customers are, though. The Model Y will appeal to a significant base, but the R1S will tap into another large crowd as well. The Model X may be the Fabergé egg of cars, but sports and camping-oriented families may find an SUV that’s traditionally designed and half the price a bit more…feasible.
It seems like there may be a decent amount of crossover between Tesla and Rivian’s bases – both sets of customers have similar values and possibly similar budgets. Will Tesla make a play with its own rough-and-tumble vehicles? Or will they just peacefully co-exist? I mean, Tesla and Porsche are supposedly not really meant to be competitors, yet there’s still a Model S at Nürburgring despite that um, fact.
What about military vehicles? Other automakers like GM and Ford have developed equipment for defense purposes over the decades, and Musk is already well versed in having government entities as customers via SpaceX. The US military is looking for alternative fuel vehicles, although hydrogen fuel cell tech seems the be the focus. I’m sure Tesla’s tech could easily win any competition, especially given their semi truck work and advanced battery products. But, would Tesla even want that sort of customer? SpaceX and Tesla have different core missions, although they are compatible. I could also lay out some ironies in Tesla developing military vehicles, but I’m sure you can imagine what they are.
Finally, what about smaller vehicles like water crafts, ATVs, motorcycles, etc.? Non-vehicle products? Those are areas several other car makers have entered as separate ventures, and successfully at that. Musk may have once joked about Tesla making an electric leaf blower, but Honda could perhaps vouch for the profitability of home DIY equipment. Rivian has even hinted that it’s developing something that’s ‘not necessarily’ a car. After going from the original Roadster to manufacturing and delivering several types of cars all over the world (not to mention solar kits), Tesla could probably easily outfit its customers’ homes with a variety of other battery-powered products. Tesla vs. John Deere, anyone? I’m not sure what kind of culture war that might ignite, but Musk isn’t really the type to back down from such a challenge.
It doesn’t seem like Tesla needs much more on its plate in the immediate future, but after seeing what they’ve accomplished thus far in so little time, the next expansion may end up being around the corner before we know it.
Lifestyle
Tesla saves its passengers again – This time after a 300-foot cliff fall in Malibu
A Tesla Model 3 fell 300 feet off a Malibu cliff and both passengers survived.
A Tesla Model 3 plunged roughly 300 feet off a cliff on Mulholland Highway in Malibu on Friday morning, May 29, 2026, and both occupants survived. The crash was reported at approximately 7:30 a.m. near the 2500 block of Mulholland Highway, triggering a multi-agency rescue operation involving Malibu Search and Rescue, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the California Highway Patrol, and McCormick Ambulance.
When first responders arrived, the male driver was outside the vehicle shouting for help while the female passenger remained pinned inside the Tesla. Rescue crews rappelled down the cliffside on ropes to reach the wreckage. A flight medic was lowered by helicopter to begin treating both victims, and the driver was hoisted up to the roadway before crews used the Jaws of Life to free the trapped passenger. Both were airlifted to a local trauma center with moderate injuries despite a remarkable result for a fall that steep.
The outcome is not surprising, considering Model 3 earned an overall 5-star rating from NHTSA in every category and sub-category, and recorded the lowest probability of injury of any car ever evaluated by the U.S. New Car Assessment Program. The absence of a traditional engine in the front of the vehicle creates a longer crumple zone that absorbs impact energy before it reaches occupants, and the battery pack running along the floor gives the car an unusually low center of gravity that reinforces structural rigidity.
This is not the first time a Tesla has kept passengers alive after going off a cliff. A Tesla Model Y carrying a family of four survived a plunge off a cliff at Devil’s Slide near San Francisco in January 2023, with two adults and two children walking away from a 250-foot fall. That incident drew widespread attention to how the structural integrity of Tesla’s electric platform performs in extreme crash scenarios that most vehicles would not survive.
Tesla Model Y driver who drove off cliff with family attempts to avoid criminal conviction
Elon Musk
NASA’s first human outpost on the Moon starts now – SpaceX on deck
NASA named the rovers, landers, and vendors that will build America’s first Moon Base.
NASA has laid out its most detailed Moon Base plan to date, describing a permanent outpost near the Moon’s south pole that the agency intends to build over the coming decade as a direct stepping stone to Mars. “The Moon Base will be America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, adding that every mission crewed and uncrewed “will be a learning opportunity as we return to the lunar surface, build the infrastructure to stay, and master the skills required to live and operate in one of the most demanding and dangerous environments imaginable.”
The plan is structured in three phases involving both uncrewed and crewed missions to deliver equipment, vehicles, and infrastructure to the surface, with the first three moon base missions targeted to launch before the end of 2026.
Moon Base I, targeting fall 2026, will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to deliver scientific instruments to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge, the same region where Artemis astronauts will land. Moon Base II will send Astrobotic’s Griffin lander carrying more than 1,100 pounds of cargo including Astrolab’s FLIP rover to begin developing mobility systems on the surface. Moon Base III will carry the Lunar Vertex science mission on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lander to study lunar swirls near the south pole, with ESA and Korean science payloads aboard.
On the rover side, NASA awarded Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million to build the first phase of Lunar Terrain Vehicles, with both rovers targeted for deployment to the lunar surface by 2028. Astrolab’s crewed rover weighs roughly 2,000 pounds and can reach over 6 mph. Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus rover can operate autonomously or via remote control at over 9 mph. Blue Origin separately received $188 million with an option worth $280.4 million to deliver cargo landers for rover transport.
NASA also confirmed that MoonFall, a mission deploying four survey drones to scout Artemis landing sites, has selected Firefly Aerospace to build the transport spacecraft, with a 2028 launch target.
SpaceX sits at the center of that commercial layer. SpaceX holds the NASA Human Landing System contract for the Starship-derived lander that will put astronauts on the surface under Artemis IV, currently targeting 2028. Before that can happen, SpaceX must demonstrate in-orbit propellant transfer at scale, a process requiring multiple Starship tanker launches to fuel a single mission. Water ice at the lunar south pole is central to the base’s long-term viability, as it can be converted into drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket fuel, directly reducing dependence on Earth resupply. That resource loop becomes far more practical if Starship can land and be refueled on or near the Moon itself.
Elon Musk has publicly stated that Starship V3, which recently completed its first flight, should be capable enough for initial Mars missions. The Moon Base plan announced Tuesday is the infrastructure layer that connects everything between those two ambitions, and SpaceX is the only American company currently contracted to build the rocket that gets humans to either destination.
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.
SpaceX’s amended S-1 is sparking a major Tesla merger conversation
Tesla’s European Comeback: Registrations soar in May as recovery gains momentum
