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SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition underway: Badgerloop unveils pod design
Day 1 of SpaceX’s long awaited Hyperloop Pod Competition is underway in Hawthorne, California. Approximately thirty teams competing in the SpaceX-sponsored event including the winner from last year’s Hyperloop Design Weekend, MIT, will be judged on four categories ranging from safest and most reliable pod to best performing while in flight.
We had a chance to go behind the scenes with University of Wisconsin-Madison’s BadgerLoop team to witness what it takes to prepare for the high speed competition. Those following Hyperloop developments may recall that Teslarati interviewed BadgerLoop after the team won the Pod Technical Excellence award last year and qualified for this weekend’s Pod Competition.
For the select thirty-plus members of BadgerLoop out of a total of one hundred and sixty team members contributing to the project, many of whom are undergraduates at University of Wisconsin-Madison, the experience of traveling 2,000 miles to the home of SpaceX to compete hasn’t really sunk in. “The entire team just went crazy as we rounded the corner on Rocket Road and saw SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket resting there. It was surreal.” says Claire Holesovsky, third year Junior and Operations Director for Badgerloop.
Kali Kinziger, third year Junior and Industry Relations Lead at Badgerloop tells us that the team has been working around the clock all week out of SpaceX’s testing facility during the day, where Hyperloop pods from competing teams undergo a series of structural and mechanical inspections conducted by SpaceX employees, and from nearby Unplugged Performance during the evenings, leading up to Friday’s start of competition.
Duncan Adams, BadgerLoop’s Technical Director and fifth year Senior in Mechanical Engineering who interned at SpaceX last year, gave us a tour of their award-winning pod concept. The core of the pod is an aluminum chassis outfitted with four 90 horsepower electric motors – two in the front and two in the back – that leverage Halbach arrays to create a magnetic field that passes over Hyperloop’s I-beam sub track . It’s enough to keep the 2,100 pound pod (second largest pod amongst all teams competing) traveling near 200 mph and smoothly along the track. Duncan tells us that the pod was designed for a person six-foot two inches. Why? “We just want to see Elon in the pod”, says Claire.
The carbon fiber skinned pods will be propelled by a 140V, 1000 AMP battery. Duncan tells us that SpaceX will utilize a pusher to initiate movement of the pod before team’s are expected to self-propel their pods. Demonstration of pods will take place over three days and BadgerLoop is expected to demonstrate their Hyperloop pod on Sunday.
For the BadgerLoop team, this weekend’s pod competition will be an invaluable learning experience that can’t be taught. “The learning experiences we have gained are far greater than the curriculum we receive in the classroom. We are able to build off our classroom knowledge by getting hands-on experience with the outside world.” says Kali.
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Updated: Previous video showing the BadgerLoop team going through a pod fitment test on SpaceX property was removed by request.
On Friday, Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter that enabled Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) energy transfer, meaning owners could essentially utilize their cars as a power source for things like laptops, electric grills, or string lights.
However, even owners of some of the newest builds of the Model Y are finding out that their cars are not compatible with the new $80 accessory, stirring up a new complaint among members of the community.
Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.
Upon the release of the Outlet Adapter on Friday, I signed into my Tesla account to order the accessory. However, I was met with the dreaded “This product is not compatible with your 2026 Model Y” message at the bottom of the screen.
Some said their accounts also displayed the same message, but they ordered anyway. However, they might be surprised to find that this is no mistake; some of the newest Model Ys do not have the appropriate Power Conversion System (PCS). Mine, which was ordered on this day last year and delivered on August 31, has the old 48A, single-phase PCS.
Vehicles with the new, two-piece PCS are able to utilize V2L features on their cars:
🚨 Looks like you can hit the Parts Catalog and enter your VIN and check to see if your Model Y will be able to use the adapter for V2L.https://t.co/QA9zRk7n2k
h/t to @SawyerMerritt for finding this out.
-I am sad but this isn’t a huge loss. https://t.co/AYpI12QVV9 pic.twitter.com/LRFSrtRywo
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 16, 2026
Obviously, it’s disappointing. Many owners have taken delivery this year and still can not utilize the Outlet Adapter because their cars feature the old PCS:
Took delivery in February of 2026. I have the older one, so not going to work for me pic.twitter.com/RcOVq8gvvT
— Russell (@QuietTesla) August 16, 2026
It looks like if you have one of these older PCS units, you can upgrade, but the parts alone are $1,750, and that’s before Tesla adds labor for installing. It is honestly more logical to get some kind of portable power supply or power station at that point.
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It is great that Tesla has enabled V2L for Model Y vehicles, but it is also unfortunate that vehicles that are less than one year old are not able to take advantage of this awesome new feature.
With that being said, it truly is a first-world problem; can you really complain when Full Self-Driving is available, maintenance is incredibly inexpensive, and the car has been so good through a year of ownership?
Tesla has launched a new Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y vehicles in the United States, meaning you can now power devices like laptops or light strings with your vehicle’s battery.
It appears the capability will be available for any Model Y Premium trim, including those that were purchased prior to the Adapter being launched. It will also only impact Juniper Model Y vehicles, so the first-gen owners will unfortunately not have access to this capability.
If your Model Y was purchased before Tesla renamed the trim levels to “Premium” and “Standard,” it does not seem to be compatible. My Model Y is technically a Premium build, as it is the Long Range All-Wheel-Drive. However, Tesla says it is not compatible with my vehicle.
🚨 Tesla has launched the Outlet Adapter for Model Y Premium in the U.S., enabling V2L capability for all Premium trims (that’s what it appears to be as it is available for purchase with all Premium trims)
It’s available for $80. 2.4kW max power and rated for 120v, 20A pic.twitter.com/lDxlVIk5s8
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
For $80, you can now utilize your car as a portable charger for small appliances or devices. This is perfect for things like tailgates, concerts, or camping, as you can now plug in devices that you might use. Those string lights for camping? That laptop for the other games that are on at the tailgate?
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They’ll both utilize energy from your Tesla’s battery to be powered. This is the first time Tesla has expanded the capability to vehicles outside of the Model Y Performance and Cybertruck. However, this feature has been highly requested by owners for an extended period of time.
Tesla launched the Outlet Adapter in China last year:
Tesla China rolls out Model Y L V2L adapter, and it’s free for early owners
You will need the Mobile Connector to operate the Outlet Adapter: the Outlet Adapter will plug into the main housing of the Mobile Connector, where the appropriate adapter to charge your vehicle will plug in.
It is rated for 120 volts and 20 amps, and has a max power rating of 2.4kW.
You can buy it here from Tesla for $80.
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Tesla is nearing its long-awaited unveiling of the all-electric Tesla Roadster, a new report from The Information claims, as the company has said several times this year that the event would take place “soon.”
Now, it appears there is movement on Tesla’s end regarding when it will happen.
The report says that Tesla will unveil the Roadster as soon as this month with a SpaceX version that will utilize cold-gas thrusters to help the vehicle float for a short period of time. This is something CEO Elon Musk has talked about with the Roadster for years.
🚨 The Information is reporting this morning that Tesla is ready to unveil the “flying” Roadster as soon as this month
It’s almost here, folks. pic.twitter.com/IdL4atsucQ
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 14, 2026
Additionally, due to the delays, Tesla explored “a variety of designs” for the Roadster, potentially planning to abandon the design it showed off for the first time in 2017 and adopting an entirely new aesthetic.
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According to The Information, Tesla considered utilizing a repurposed Model S Plaid and even wanted to upgrade the look to something like a Lamborghini Countach.
We’ve heard all of these things before, including teases about the date and how “soon” the Roadster will finally be ready to be shown off to the world (for the second time). Musk said that the event would occur in April, then May, then Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen continued to say it would be coming “soon.”
We do expect to see the Roadster by the end of the year, and now with this new report swirling, it appears it could be sooner rather than later.
The wait has been incredibly long, but there is likely a good reason for it. Tesla’s desire to make the Roadster the craziest vehicle on the road was non-negotiable, and it likely took a lot of time and resources to develop and perfect into something that was safe and suitable for a vehicle like this.
Tesla V2L adapter for Model Y stirs up a new complaint among owners
Tesla launches V2L Outlet Adapter for Premium Model Y in the U.S.
