Lifestyle
The Tesla Cybertruck and Roadster conundrum: What should come first?
Joe Rogan was kind enough to invite Elon Musk to his studio in Downtown Los Angeles to pick his brain once more. Many of us, including me, refreshed Joe Rogan’s YouTube channel page, waiting for the UFC commentator and comedian to upload the interview. I watched the whole thing twice on the day that the podcast was released. And while I anticipated hearing about Tesla’s plan for the new U.S.-based Gigafactory or perhaps Tesla’s Plaid Mode, and even the Cybertruck, I was left helplessly waiting for more. Until there were eight minutes left in the episode and I figured out that the Roadster production was going to be delayed once again, but for a good reason.
Musk admitted that the Roadster was really sort of a luxury for all of us. It is a super-cool car, but that cool factor will also set you back over $200,000.
However, we all want to see the car itself, what it is capable of, and if SpaceX will have anything to do with it. These are all reasons I am conflicted, and I don’t know which I would rather see first. But, there are certainly reasons for both. I plan on telling you why each one has its own advantages to being released to Tesla fans before the other. So stick around, I think you’ll find the reasons compelling.
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When you’re finished reading, please email me or Tweet me and tell me which of the two you’d rather see first between the Roadster and the Cybertruck. I want to add that I really haven’t come to a decision on which I think should come out first. Maybe writing it out will help me come to a conclusion so that I might have a decision by the end of the newsletter.
First, I’ll talk about Cybertruck’s advantages.
It is a pickup truck, and America loves them. So does China. But looking past that, pickups are popular because they’re versatile. More often than not, they have acceptable performance, decent gas mileage (sometimes); they’re affordable when it comes to models like the Ford Ranger, and a lot of people in the States use them for sure. In my home state of Pennsylvania, a lot of trucks are on the road. Many of my friends have them, and heck, I even wanted one for my first car in high school. (I got a 1998 Volkswagen Jetta K2 in Silver if any of you are interested). But the car has three variants and is affordable to a multitude of income groups. It could, and in my opinion, will become one of Tesla’s most successful vehicles.
I know the truck will do well in the U.S. Not only because some people will buy it for the massive towing capacity and impressive range, but some will want to have a car that looks like no other car on the road. It will be instantly recognizable, and when people can wrap it in any color or pattern that they want, it will end up being the most customizable car of all time.
Next, Cybertruck is certainly the vehicle that will make Tesla more money. It’s more affordable, and its average cost is $53,000 between the three configurations. It kind of goes with the last point, because it is a mass-market vehicle, unlike the Roadster. But nevertheless, Tesla would likely see a significantly higher profit from the Cybertruck than the Roadster.
Next, people, in my personal opinion, are more interested in the Cybertruck. I’m not saying that I’m more interested in the Cybertruck or the Roadster. But I feel that more people are willing to learn more about a car than they might be able to put in their garage one day than one that more than likely will only enter the garages of a select few. I love the Roadster, don’t get me wrong. I am realistic when I say I don’t think I will ever have one. If I were to put a bet on it, I would bet at least 50:1 that I would own a Cybertruck before a Roadster.
Most people have no use for a Roadster. Most people won’t spend $200,000 on a car. Most people don’t need a vehicle that needs to go from 0-60 MPH in 1.9 seconds. It is cool, but would you use that as a daily driver over the Cybertruck? Probably not. The Cybertruck is undoubtedly more recognizable.
Okay, the Roadster has its advantages, too. I will go over those now.
Let’s be honest; we all want to see the Roadster. It was unveiled in 2017, and we’ve all been waiting. We all want to see what it is capable of. We all want to see its final design. We all want to see how fast the car’s final configuration really is.
Tesla says 1.9 seconds from 0-60 MPH, and I don’t think anyone will be surprised if it does attain that speed. I feel that it will, and I personally want to see what a speedy car will do against the Roadster. There is a multitude of different drag races that will be performed, and I personally feel the Roadster will beat all of them. The point is, it will be the most impressive vehicle ever made. It will be the center of attention whether you like gas cars or electric cars.
One of the main reasons is the timing for me. It was unveiled three years ago, and to some people, the car is called the “2020 Tesla Roadster.” Why shouldn’t it be?
We have all been waiting for three years to have this done and see what the Roadster can do. Why not get it done and let us know what it can do, and let the owners who preordered the vehicle drive it. It has been long-awaited. I realize a lot of people want to see it and what its performance will be, and I am one of them.
There are certainly reasons for both. They both have really significant advantages to being released first.
I personally want the Roadster to start production first, but I also actually plan on ordering a Cybertruck. So I’m certainly conflicted. But if I had to pick one at this moment, I’d hope the Roadster came out simply because I want to see its performance. I want the Roadster to be the fastest performance car in the world.
I can be patient for the Cybertruck if it means Roadster production comes sooner.
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Elon Musk
Tesla is sending its humanoid Optimus robot to the Boston Marathon
Tesla’s Optimus robot is heading to the Boston Marathon finish line
Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot will be stationed at the Tesla showroom at 888 Boylston Street in Boston, right along the final stretch of the Boston Marathon today, ready to cheer on runners and pose for photos with spectators.
According to a Tesla email shared by content creator Sawyer Merritt on X, Optimus will be at the Boston Boylston Street showroom on April 20, coinciding with Marathon Monday weekend. The Boston Marathon finishes on Boylston Street, and the surrounding area draws hundreds of thousands of spectators along with international broadcast coverage. Placing Optimus there puts it in front of a massive public audience at zero advertising cost.
Just got this email. @Tesla’s Optimus robot is coming to Boston.
“Join us from April 19 to 20, 2026, at Tesla Boston Boylston Street showroom to meet Optimus, our humanoid robot, for Marathon Monday. Optimus will be cheering with you on the sidelines and posing for photos.” pic.twitter.com/chxoooO2xV
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) April 18, 2026
The Tesla showroom is at 888 Boylston Street, between Gloucester Street and Fairfield Street. The final mile of the marathon runs directly along Boylston Street, with runners passing the big stores before reaching the finish line at Copley Square.
Optimus was first announced at Tesla’s AI Day event on August 19, 2021, when Elon Musk presented a vision for a general-purpose robot designed to take on dangerous, repetitive, and unwanted tasks. In March 2026, Optimus appeared at the Appliance and Electronics World Expo in Shanghai, where on-site staff stated that mass production of the robot could begin by the end of 2026. Before that, it showed up at the Tesla Hollywood Diner opening in July 2025 and at a Miami showroom event in December 2025.
Tesla’s well-calculated display of Optimus gives the public a low-pressure first encounter with a robot that Tesla is preparing to soon deploy at scale. The company has previously indicated plans to manufacture Optimus robots at its Fremont facility at up to 1 million units annually, with an Optimus production line at Gigafactory Texas targeting 10 million units per year.
Tesla showcases Optimus humanoid robot at AWE 2026 in Shanghai
Musk has said that Optimus “has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time,” and separately that roughly 80 percent of Tesla’s future value will come from the robot program. Whether that holds depends on production execution. For now, Boston gets a preview of what that future looks like, standing at the finish line on Boylston Street while 32,000 runners pass by.
Elon Musk
Tesla’s golden era is no longer a tagline
Tesla “golden era” teaser video highlights the future of transportation and why car ownership itself may be the next thing to change.
The golden age of autonomous ridesharing is arriving, and Tesla is making sure we can all picture a future that looks like the future. A recent teaser posted to X shows a Cybercab parked outside a home, and with a clear message that your everyday life may soon look like this when the driverless vehicles shows up at your door.
Tesla has begun the rollout of its Robotaxi service across US cities, and the production of its dedicated, fully-autonomous Cybercab vehicle. The first Cybercab rolled off the Giga Texas assembly line on February 17, 2026, with volume production now targeted for this month. Additionally, the Robotaxi service built around it is already running, without human drivers, in US cities.
Tesla Cybercab production ignites with 60 units spotted at Giga Texas
The Cybercab is built without a steering wheel, pedals, or side mirrors, designed from the ground up for unsupervised autonomous operation. Musk described the manufacturing approach as closer to consumer electronics than traditional car production, targeting a cycle time of one unit every ten seconds at full scale.
Drone footage from April 13, 2026 captured over 50 Cybercab units on the Giga Texas campus, with several clustered near the crash testing facility. Musk has noted that Tesla plans to sell the Cybercab to consumers for under $30,000, and owners will be able to add their vehicles to the Tesla robotaxi network when not in personal use, potentially generating income to offset the vehicle’s purchase cost. That model changes the math on vehicle ownership in a meaningful way, making a car something closer to a depreciating asset that can also earn by paying itself off and generate a profit.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call, the company confirmed plans to expand the Robotaxi program to seven new cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas. The service already runs without safety drivers in Austin, and public road testing of the Cybercab has expanded to five states, including California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
Golden era pic.twitter.com/AS6pX2dK8N
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) April 16, 2026
Tesla announced its Spring 2026 software update, and it’s the most feature-dense seasonal release the company has put out. The update covers twelve named changes spanning FSD, voice AI, safety lighting, dashcam storage, and pet display customization, among other things.
The centerpiece for owners with AI4 hardware is a redesigned Self-Driving app. The new interface lets owners subscribe to Full Self-Driving with a single tap and view ongoing FSD usage stats directly in the vehicle.
Grok gets its biggest in-car upgrade yet. The update adds a “Hey Grok” hands-free wake word along with location-based reminders, so a driver can now say “remind me to pick up groceries when I get home” without touching the screen. Grok first arrived in vehicles in July 2025, but each update has pushed it closer to genuine daily utility. Musk framed the broader vision clearly at Davos in January, saying Tesla is “really moving into a future that is based on autonomy.”
On safety, the update introduces enhanced blind spot warning lights that integrate directly with the cabin’s ambient lighting, building on the blind spot door warning that arrived in update 2026.8.
Dog Mode has been renamed Pet Mode and now lets owners choose a dog, cat, or hedgehog icon and add their pet’s name to the display.
Dashcam retention now extends up to 24 hours, up from the previous one-hour rolling loop, with a permanent save option for any clip. Weather maps now show rain and snow with better color differentiation and include the past hour of precipitation data along the route.
Tesla has now established a clear rhythm of two major OTA pushes per year. As with last year’s Spring update, that cycle started taking shape in 2025 with adaptive headlights and trunk customization. The 2025 Holiday Update then added Grok to the vehicle for the first time. This Spring follows that structure: the Holiday update introduces new architecture, and the Spring update broadens it across the fleet.
Two notable features still did not make it. IFTTT automations, which launched in China earlier this year, were held back from this North American release for unknown reasons, and Apple CarPlay remains absent, reportedly still delayed by iOS 26 and Apple Maps compatibility issues.
Below is the full list of feature updates released by Tesla.
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 13, 2026
Tesla bolsters App with new safety, insurance, and storage features
Tesla Robotaxi-only Superchargers are starting to appear
