Racing
Taking a Model S to the track with John Tamplin, part IV
John Tamplin Model S track day
Yesterday, in part III, we looked at the electric and tire pressure specifics of taking your Model S to the track. Today, we focus on late corner braking and what future electric vehicle (EV) car would be a great track day ride.
Part IV
NZ – In the videos you posted on YouTube (Link), you seem to brake later than a gasoline cars. Is that a fair statement in general?
JT – Well, remember this is an HPDE, so the other drivers aren’t pushing it as hard as they can either. I have no idea what the condition of their car is, whether they might be less-capable OEM brakes, for example. Having said this, I think the combination of the large brakes of the Model S and the incredible grip of the wide, sticky Rivals lets me brake later than many other cars. I was riding in a race-prepped Spec BMW E30 with slick, and I noticed that he had to brake much earlier than I did from a similar top speed, but he could carry a lot more speed through the corner because the car weighed half as much. It didn’t have a tendency to understeer, as most street cars do for stability.
Probably on a related note, I noticed that I could actually get through the twisty parts at Road Atlanta faster than some much lighter cars, which seems like it has to come down to the tires or the drivers being more cautious.
NZ – If you had another EV choice to bring to the track, what would it be?
JT – Hmm, a Rimac sounds like fun if they get it built and a Formula E car would probably be more car than I could handle, but more practically it would be interesting to drive a Tesla Roadster around the track and get all that torque in a much lighter car.
NZ – Any last thoughts or words of advice for those who are considering bringing a Model S to the track?
JT – While what I do isn’t racing, I wouldn’t be driving my Model S in wheel-to-wheel racing. I don’t think it would work out very well with the drivetrain temperature limitations and limited battery capacity. HPDE works out pretty well, since you have enough time between sessions you can get some charging in and let the drivetrain cool, but you still get enough track time to make it worthwhile.
The Model S also makes telemetry data available (the same API used by the mobile apps). I can record and analyze it later. I’m currently finishing up code to draw graphs, etc. to overlay on the video, which is helpful as well.
I would definitely recommend getting dedicated track tires, even if you have the extreme summer performance tires. For instance, I found the Rivals are that much better. You also need to plan where you are going to be charging, but in the end, just go have fun. I highly recommend HPDE organizations that have controlled passing and instructors for new drivers. If wrecking the car would cause serious financial hardship, get track-day insurance, if your regular insurance won’t cover it. Just be prepared that after you do it once, you won’t want to stop 🙂
Part IV
NZ – In the videos you posted on YouTube (Link), you seem to brake later than a gasoline cars. Is that a fair statement in general?
JT – Well, remember this is an HPDE, so the other drivers aren’t pushing it as hard as they can either. I have no idea what the condition of their car is, whether they might be less-capable OEM brakes, for example. Having said this, I think the combination of the large brakes of the Model S and the incredible grip of the wide, sticky Rivals lets me brake later than many other cars. I was riding in a race-prepped Spec BMW E30 with slick, and I noticed that he had to brake much earlier than I did from a similar top speed, but he could carry a lot more speed through the corner because the car weighed half as much. It didn’t have a tendency to understeer, as most street cars do for stability.
Probably on a related note, I noticed that I could actually get through the twisty parts at Road Atlanta faster than some much lighter cars, which seems like it has to come down to the tires or the drivers being more cautious.
NZ – If you had another EV choice to bring to the track, what would it be?
JT –
Hmm, a Rimac sounds like fun if they get it built and a Formula E car would probably be more car than I could handle, but more practically it would be interesting to drive a Tesla Roadster around the track and get all that torque in a much lighter car.
NZ – Any last thoughts or words of advice for those who are considering bringing a Model S to the track?
JT – While what I do isn’t racing, I wouldn’t be driving my Model S in wheel-to-wheel racing. I don’t think it would work out very well with the drivetrain temperature limitations and limited battery capacity. HPDE works out pretty well, since you have enough time between sessions you can get some charging in and let the drivetrain cool, but you still get enough track time to make it worthwhile.
The Model S also makes telemetry data available (the same API used by the mobile apps). I can record and analyze it later. I’m currently finishing up code to draw graphs, etc. to overlay on the video, which is helpful as well.
I would definitely recommend getting dedicated track tires, even if you have the extreme summer performance tires. For instance, I found the Rivals are that much better. You also need to plan where you are going to be charging, but in the end, just go have fun. I highly recommend HPDE organizations that have controlled passing and instructors for new drivers. If wrecking the car would cause serious financial hardship, get track-day insurance, if your regular insurance won’t cover it. Just be prepared that after you do it once, you won’t want to stop 🙂
John Tamplin Model S track day
Elon Musk
Elon Musk talks Tesla Roadster’s future
Elon Musk confirmed the Roadster as Tesla’s last manually driven car, with a debut coming soon.
During Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings call on April 22, Elon Musk made a brief but notable comment about the long-awaited next generation Roadster while describing Tesla’s future vehicle lineup. “Long term, the only manually driven car will be the new Tesla Roadster,” he said. “Speaking of which, we may be able to debut that in a month or so. It requires a lot of testing and validation before we can actually have a demo and not have something go wrong with the demo.”
That single statement is the entire Roadster update from yesterday’s call, and while it represents another timeline shift, it comes as no surprise with Tesla heads-down-at-work on the mass rollout of its Robotaxi service across US cities, and the industrial scale production of the humanoid Optimus.
The fact that Musk specifically framed the Roadster as the last manually driven Tesla is significant on its own. As the rest of the lineup moves toward full autonomy, the Roadster becomes something rare in the Tesla-sphere by keeping the driver in control. Driving enthusiasts who buy a $200,000 supercar are not doing so to be passengers. They want the physical connection to the road, the feel of acceleration under their own input, and the experience of controlling something with that level of performance. FSD, however capable it becomes, removes that entirely. The Roadster signals that Tesla understands this distinction and is building a car specifically for the people who consider driving itself the point.
Tesla isn’t joking about building Optimus at an industrial scale: Here we go
The specs for the Roadster Musk has teased over the years are genuinely unlike anything in production. The base model targets 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, a top speed above 250 mph, and up to 620 miles of range from a 200 kWh battery. The optional SpaceX package takes it further, rumored to add roughly ten cold gas thrusters operating at 10,000 psi, borrowed directly from Falcon 9 rocket technology. With thrusters, Musk has claimed 0 to 60 mph in as little as 1.1 seconds. In a 2021 Joe Rogan interview he went further, stating “I want it to hover. We got to figure out how to make it hover without killing people.” Tesla filed a patent for ground effect technology in August 2025, suggesting the hover concept has not been abandoned. The starting price remains $200,000, with the Founders Series requiring a $250,000 full deposit. Some reservation holders placed those deposits in 2017 and are approaching a full decade of waiting.
With production now targeted for 2027 or 2028 at the earliest, the Roadster remains Tesla’s most audacious promise and its longest-running delay. But if what Musk is testing lives up to even half of what he has described, the demo alone should be worth waiting for.
Elon Musk says the Tesla Roadster unveiling could be done “maybe in a month or so.”
He said it should be an extraordinary unveiling event. pic.twitter.com/6V9P7zmvEm
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 22, 2026
Lifestyle
Tesla Model S Plaid battles China’s 1500 hp monster Nurburgring monster, with surprising results
There is just something about Tesla’s tuning and refinement that makes raw specs seem not as game-changing.
The Tesla Model S Plaid has been around for some time. Today, it is no longer the world’s quickest four-door electric sedan, nor is it the most powerful. As per a recent video from motoring YouTube channel Carwow, however, it seems like the Model S Plaid is still more than a match for some of its newer and more powerful rivals.
The monster from China
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is nothing short of a monster. Just like the Model S Plaid, it features three motors. It also has 1,548 hp and 1,770 Nm of torque. It’s All Wheel Drive and weighs a hefty 2,360 kg. The vehicle, which costs just about the equivalent of £55,000, has been recorded setting an insane 7:04.957 at the Nurburgring, surpassing the previous record held by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
For all intents and purposes, the Model S Plaid looked outgunned in Carwow’s test. The Model S Plaid is no slouch with its three motors that produce 1,020 hp and 1,420 Nm of torque. It’s also a bit lighter at 2,190 kg despite its larger size. However, as the Carwow host pointed out, the Model S Plaid holds a 7:25.231 record in the Nurburgring. Compared to the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra’s record, the Model S Plaid’s lap time is notably slower.
Real-world tests
As could be seen in Carwow’s drag races, however, Tesla’s tech wizardry with the Model S Plaid is still hard to beat. The two vehicles competed in nine races, and the older Model S Plaid actually beat its newer, more powerful counterpart from China several times. At one point in the race, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra hit its power limit due to its battery’s temperature, but the Model S Plaid was still going strong.
The Model S Plaid was first teased five years ago, in September 2020 during Tesla’s Battery Day. Since then, cars like the Lucid Air Sapphire and the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra have been released, surpassing its specs. But just like the Model Y ended up being the better all-rounder compared to the BYD Sealion 7 and the MG IM6, there is just something about Tesla’s tuning and refinement that makes raw specs seem not as game-changing.
Check out Carwow’s Model S Plaid vs Xiaomi SU7 drag race video below.
A dirt bike rider stole the show at the Baja 1000 by completing the grueling 1,000-mile race while live-streaming to his mother using Starlink Mini the whole time. The rider, Ben Hundter, and his brother David, completed the race in 31 hours 30 minutes, which is a pretty long FaceTime video call, all things considered.
A video of Hundter finishing the race has made the rounds online, partly due to the racer’s eye-catching Starlink Mini setup. As could be seen in the video, Ben Hundter’s 279X Sportsman Moto class Sherco was equipped with a huge Jackery battery at the rear. The Starlink Mini was duct taped to the rider’s head. The iPhone that Hundter was using to FaceTime his mother was also taped to his chest.
In an interview following the race, Hundter explained that he had always wanted to race the Baja 1000, but his mother was hesitant since he has Type 1 diabetes. And while she did allow him to participate in the grueling race, she had one condition—he has to livestream the race to her the entire time. As such, the Starlink Mini, with its low power consumption, light weight, and high speed internet connectivity, became the perfect solution for the dirt bike racer.
“I wanted to race the Baja so bad, but my mom wouldn’t let me because I have type 1 diabetes. She said the only way I could race it is if I was live streaming to her the whole time, so I have her on my chest right now,” Hundter noted. He also joked that he and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk came up with the duct taped Starlink Mini solution.
Cool— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2024
Elon Musk did see the video of the dirt bike racer completing the Baja 1000 while live-streaming through Starlink, and the CEO seemed impressed. In a reply to a video of the Baja 1000 participant on social media platform X, Musk stated that the feat was “cool.”
Completing the Baja 1000 this year is already a feat in and of itself, so Ben Hundter and his brother David are coming home as winners. Unfortunately for the brothers, they ended up running afoul of a road closure during the race, resulting in the team running an “illegal line” through the peninsula, as noted in a Jalopnik report. This resulted in the brothers getting a 17-hour penalty and a disqualification.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Tesla expands Robotaxi in a way that was long anticipated
UPDATE: SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy that launched a Tesla into space is back on a mission
