Lifestyle
What an Electric NASCAR series can learn from Formula E/Rally Cross
NASCAR might be exploring an electric series, and they can learn much from Formula E and electric Rally Cross.
After news broke earlier this year that NASCAR may be pursuing an electric version of their series as soon as next year, I was incredibly interested and received a flood of emails from both eager viewers and quick critics alike. But one message was clear from everyone; NASCAR might only have one shot at this, so they better do it right.
Looking at two very predominant electric racing series, Formula E and Rally Cross, there are a lot of lessons that can be learned, especially as both series came from pre-existing racing systems with gas cars, much like NASCAR today. And in short, five key takeaways could easily apply to NASCAR’s first attempt at electrification.
Shorter Races –
Formula E might be onto something with its racing structure, all racing is complete in a single day, and the actual race event only takes 45min. In a world of ever shorter attention spans, this differentiation has allowed the European racing series to establish a significantly younger audience, something that NASCAR desperately needs.
This style of racing also means that the racecars can run the batteries at 100% the whole time, drivers don’t have to lift off, nor do teams have to organize “car switches”; Formula E has had to learn this lesson the hard way, NASCAR would be wise to learn as well.
Make the Cars as Fast as Possible –
When people talk about Formula E, the sad reality is that many look at the cars as cleaner, greener, slower, and less exciting F1 cars. And sadly, to a degree, these people are correct. While Formula E has learned a lot from its debut, this is still a lesson, or perhaps a challenge, that they have not been able to overcome.
So what does this mean for NASCAR? This means that NASCAR has a unique opportunity to make their vehicles even faster with electric drivetrains and even to be faster than some of their arch-rivals. Imagine an ad where the new electric NASCAR is lined up with a current, hybrid drivetrain Formula 1 car. How successful would that ad be if the stock car was faster? Throw in a couple of screaming_eagle.mp3’s and a guitar solo or two, and you’ve got the return of NASCAR to greatness.
Give Manufacturers Some Freedom –
As someone who has worked in Formula E, I can tell you precisely what many manufacturers are looking for and why some have even chosen to leave FE; not enough design freedom. Manufacturers, now more than ever, want to test charging, battery chemistry, tire compounds, motor architectures, battery management systems, and everything in between. And sadly, they can’t get that amount of freedom at Formula E or Rally Cross. NASCAR could be the first!
The premise of modern Nascar is the uniformity of the cars, but even if the teams were allowed to mess with just one of the components I listed above, they would be tripping over themselves to join the sport.
Use New Technology to Show the Race –
Rally Cross has done a fantastic job putting their races on TV. The (relative) quiet nature of the electric drivetrains means they can place music throughout the broadcast. Furthermore, they make every race look like a Ken Block gymkhana video from five years ago! Drones get within inches of the cars as they rocket around corners; there are more jumps and drifting areas on the courses than ever before. All this adds to a more exciting race to watch in person and on a screen.
NASCAR has already mastered the art of driver cams for years now, but adding music and drones could make the experience even better. Allow the viewers to feel like the race is a movie, and help them feel the speed and violence of the racing happening around them!
Lean into Driver Character –
This may be due to NASCAR’s American nature, or perhaps my own, but the passion-filled drivers and their numerous quirks give NASCAR a unique appeal. Don’t just watch racecars go around a circuit, watch a battle between the punky newcomer who swears a lot and the old timer who just needs one good final race and who smokes in his car (both during and after the race). While Formula E has attempted to create this aspect, going as far as allowing drivers to get voted on for performance boosts (DON’T do that, NASCAR), their polished European drivers don’t offer the same excitement as Roy “Buckshot” Jones or Dick Trickle.
More, More Exciting Racing –
Along the same line as shorter races, you also need more good racing in that condensed driving time. I’ve watched my fair share of Formula 1, and I love the excitement of seeing a driver go from last to first (Sergio Perez) or even the reverse (also, Sergio Perez). Rally Cross and Formula E have ensured that there is ALWAYS excitement to watch. Overtakes are constantly happening, and this is not an accident. Both electric series have rules that temporarily force drivers off the racing line (Formula E’s Attack Mode is the best example). At the same time, the cars have been shrunk to allow more space on the track, once again encouraging overtakes.
If NASCAR can encourage more action per minute, drivers and viewers alike will have much more to pay attention to.
Needless to say, I’m excited about electric NASCAR, and I hope it becomes a reality. At the same time, a dedicated focus on improving the racing and viewing experience could yield outstanding results for the heritage racing series and could ultimately resuscitate NASCAR as a top-tier racing series once more.
What do you think of the article? Do you have any comments, questions, or concerns? Shoot me an email at william@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @WilliamWritin. If you have news tips, email us at tips@teslarati.com!
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.
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.
Giga Texas today is busy with production coming back up following the long weekend. Of interest today in the outbound lot is the appearance of hundreds of Mode; YL’s and many more Cybercabs and for the 1st time equipped with the Starlink module one the hatch in big numbers.
At… pic.twitter.com/G9yl6s51m4
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) September 8, 2026
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tailgate Utility Trackhttps://t.co/PCAYXlFBvS pic.twitter.com/sCV2NVxf1W
— Cybertruck (@cybertruck) September 3, 2026
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
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.
Elon Musk
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.
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.
But we do need to act much faster than that if people still want to live where the beach is today. We have about 50 years or so to take action, which should be more than enough time for the space satellites to solve any heating problems. https://t.co/xhrVQALwQw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2026
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.
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.
New drone video shows Tesla’s Optimus Factory reaching a turning point
Tesla and SpaceX take “Terafab” Trademark fight to Federal Court
