Lifestyle
‘Sleeper’ Tesla Model 3 Performance dominates Infiniti G35 Coupe in drag race battle
Save for a thin carbon fiber spoiler, a red-underlined Dual Motor badge at the rear, and 20″ Sport tires; the Model 3 Performance is virtually indistinguishable from the rest of Tesla’s Model 3 lineup. This was something addressed in Motor Trend‘s review of the vehicle, when the publication described the Model 3 Performance as a “highway assassin dressed in Banana Republic.” Couple this with the fact that the aforementioned spoiler, badge, and wheels are part of Tesla’s optional $5,000 Performance Upgrade, and owners could easily end up with an electric sedan that is way faster than it looks.
Sleepers are cars that look unassuming on the outside but are equipped with high-performance components on the inside. A Model 3 Performance that fits this bill recently competed in a drag race, where it ended up being matched with an unfortunate victim — an Infiniti G35 Coupe.
The Infiniti G35 Coupe is arguably one of the most popular sports coupes developed by the high-end Japanese carmaker. Sharing the platform of Nissan’s legendary 350Z, the Infiniti G35 is a representation of a vehicle that features a perfect balance between performance and luxury. The G35 features Nissan’s FM (front midship) platform, where the engine is moved towards the rear of the engine bay to improve the car’s weight distribution. Just like the Nissan 350Z, the Infiniti G35 is equipped with a 3.5-liter VQ35DE V6 engine, which is paired with either a 5-speed automatic transmission or a 6-speed manual transmission.
The G35 was only in production from 2002-2007 before it was replaced by the Infiniti G37, but it still garnered several notable awards during its tenure. It won Motor Trend‘s Car of the Year award in 2003, and was nominated for the North American Car of the Year award in the same year. The vehicle also made it to Car and Driver‘s Ten Best list for 2003 and 2004.
Unfortunately for the Infiniti G35, it recently found itself beside the Model 3 Performance on the drag strip. A video of the two vehicles’ competition was uploaded by Chill Cars, an auto enthusiast channel on YouTube. The Model 3 Performance in the run was pretty much a sleeper, as the vehicle did not seem to have a spoiler or a Dual Motor badge. The vehicle was also fitted with 18″ Aero Wheels, making it look completely identical to a non-performance Model 3. The only giveaway to the electric car’s Performance moniker were its white seats, which are so far only offered for the Dual Motor AWD and Performance variants.
The race between the Infiniti G35 and the “sleeper” Model 3 Performance was brief. As soon as the light turned green, the all-electric car shot off into the distance, thoroughly dominating its gas-powered competitor. The Model 3 Performance finished the quarter mile in 11.77 seconds while traveling at 113.55 mph. The Infiniti G35 finished the race in 15.46 seconds at 93.88 mph.
The Model 3 Performance, together with the Dual Motor AWD variant, are proving to be quite popular among Tesla’s reservation holders. In the company’s Q2 2018 earnings call, Tesla’s global head of sales Robin Ren stated that the combined orders for the Dual Motor AWD and the Performance Model 3 now exceed the number of orders for the Long Range RWD version.
Watch the Model 3 Performance duel the Infiniti G35 in the video below.
Elon Musk
Trump’s invite for Elon just reshuffled Tesla’s big Signature Delivery Event
Tesla rescheduled its final Model S farewell to May 20 after Musk joined Trump in China.
Tesla has rescheduled its Model S and Model X Signature Edition delivery event to Wednesday, May 20, 2026, after abruptly calling off the original May 12 celebration. The event will take place at Tesla’s factory at 45500 Fremont Boulevard in Fremont, California, the same location where the Model S first rolled off the line in 2012. Invitees received a follow-up email asking them to reconfirm attendance and download a new QR code ticket, with Tesla noting that all travel and accommodation expenses remain the buyer’s responsibility.
The reason behind the original cancellation came into focus the same day it was announced. President Trump invited Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, and executives from Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Meta to join his trip to China this week for a summit with President Xi Jinping. The agenda covers trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan, and the Iran war, following weeks of escalating friction between Washington and Beijing over AI technology, sanctions, and rare earth exports. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all.”
Tesla launches 200mph Model S “Gold” Signature in invite-only purchase
The vehicles at the center of all this are the last Model S and Model X units Tesla will ever build. Priced at $159,420 each, the 250 Model S and 100 Model X Signature Edition units come finished in Garnet Red with a one-year no-resale agreement, giving Tesla right of first refusal if the owner decides to sell. As Teslarati reported, the Model S defined Tesla’s early identity as a serious luxury automaker, and the Fremont factory line that built it is now being converted to manufacture Optimus humanoid robots.
Musk’s inclusion in the China delegation drew attention given his very public relationship with Trump, and the invitation signals the two have moved past and past grievances. Trump originally brought Musk on to lead the Department of Government Efficiency following his inauguration, and despite a sharp public dispute in mid-2025, the two have appeared together repeatedly in recent months. A seat on the China trip, the most diplomatically consequential visit of Trump’s current term, puts Musk back at the table on U.S. economic policy at a moment when Tesla’s China revenue remains one of the company’s most important financial pillars.
Lifestyle
Tesla Semi hauls fresh Cybercab batch as Robotaxi era takes hold
A Tesla Semi was filmed hauling Cybercab units out of Giga Texas for the first time.
A Tesla Semi loaded with Cybercab units was recently filmed leaving Gigafactory Texas, marking what appears to be the first documented delivery run of Tesla’s autonomous two-seater. The footage shows multiple Cybercabs secured on a flatbed trailer being hauled by a production Tesla Semi, a truck rated for a gross combination weight of 82,000 lbs. The location is consistent with Giga Texas in Austin, where Cybercab production has been ramping since February 2026.
The sighting follows a wave of Cybercab activity at the Austin facility. In late April, drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer spotted approximately 60 Cybercabs parked in two organized groups in the factory’s outbound lot, the largest concentration observed to date. Units being staged in an outbound lot is a standard pre-delivery step, and the Semi footage is the logical next frame in that sequence.
En route with @tesla_semi pic.twitter.com/ZfuOjaeLH1
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) May 7, 2026
This is not the first time Tesla has used its own Semi to move Tesla products. When the Semi was unveiled in 2017, Musk noted it would be used for Tesla’s own operations, and over the years Semi prototypes were spotted carrying cargo ranging from concrete weights to Tesla vehicles being delivered to consumers. In 2023, a Semi was photographed transporting a Cybertruck on a trailer ahead of that vehicle’s delivery launch.
The Cybercab itself was first revealed publicly at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, where 20 pre-production units gave attendees rides around the studio lot. Musk stated at the event that Tesla intends to produce the Cybercab before 2027. The first production unit rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026, with Musk posting on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab.”
Tesla’s annual production goal is 2 million Cybercabs per year once multiple factories reach full design capacity, with the company targeting a price under $30,000 per unit. Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.
Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.
Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.
The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.
What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing. Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.
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Tesla Model Y prices just went up for the first time in two years
