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Elon Musk is redefining the ‘ICE age,’ turning combustion engine cars into museum relics
Tesla might be bringing in a new definition for the term “Ice Age.” Instead of “a long period of reduction in the temperature of the Earth’s surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers,” Tesla’s Ice Age has to do with the disappearance of ICE, meaning Internal Combustion Engines. A relatively small percentage of the world’s vehicles are powered by battery cells, with the overwhelming majority of passenger modes of transportation being fueled by gasoline or diesel. However, Tesla is turning the tide by offering enhanced battery cell technology and making their cars more appealing than their gas counterparts.
Simply put, the development of Tesla’s battery-powered cars are bringing in a new era of transportation. Soon enough, gas cars will be the minority, and Teslas, along with other electric vehicles, will be the most popular cars on the road. How this will happen for the next twenty to thirty years comes down to the development of electric vehicles and the process of making them better than their adversary. Without a doubt, Tesla and Elon Musk are leading the charge.
Interestingly, Musk’s development of affordable electric transport is strikingly similar to Henry Ford’s development of the Model T. In 1908, Ford produced the first Model T, a step toward making cars a more mainstream and widely-affordable type of transportation for everyday people. While the rich and wealthy had been riding around in cars since the 1880s, Ford knew that the way cars were made had to be streamlined and that people would eventually need something affordable.
One hundred years after Ford produced the first Model T, Tesla was releasing the first Roadster. An expensive, but functional and revolutionary machine, the Roadster was really the first electric car that could be taken seriously. It had performance, range, and a car company that was only focusing on EVs had built it, so consumers knew it was the specialty of the company, not just some interesting side project.
The similarities between the two situations are resemblant to each other because both Musk and Ford knew that: 1) Transportation had to be revolutionized, and 2) Cars needed to be affordable.
Before the first cars were being built, people were primarily traveling by horse and buggy, by water, or by passenger trains. A combustion engine was the next best thing at the time because Ford knew how to make it affordable for the average person. It also gave people the freedom to travel where they wanted, and the time they desired instead of being packed into train cabins like a pack of sardines.
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Musk’s situation is that, while cars were already functional and nearly everybody had one, the industry needed to be revolutionized once again. Gas cars dominated the market because there was really no other option, but Musk saw a better way.
While the 2008 Roadster certainly wasn’t a perfect fit into everyone’s financial plan, it gave Tesla a headstart in the EV sector. Tesla was forced to work out the kinks that other car companies are experiencing now early on in its existence. The car’s hefty price tag definitely wasn’t for everyone. Still, it allowed Tesla to round up additional cash for its future projects, which included more affordable models and ramped production lines.
It is pretty rare that anyone sees a Model T on the road. Apart from if you’re in Los Angeles and you happen to see Jay Leno strolling around in his, or if you’re at Hershey Park riding on the Sunoco “Fast Lane” ride, you’re more than likely not going to see one puttering around. The fact that many people have never seen a Model T in real life is a sneak preview of what is to come in the automotive industry over the next 50 to 100 years: a disappearance of gas-powered cars. In their place, electric vehicles will roam the streets, free of noise and fossil fuel-driven pollution.
While the combustion engine was improved over time to increase efficiency and performance, the same thing needed to be done with batteries. Tesla’s Battery Day event on Tuesday brought to light how the electric automaker plans to deal with this roadblock. The company’s cars need to continue to improve. Efficiency needs to get better, longevity, performance, you name it. Tesla unveiled a new battery cell during the event that will effectively usher in the beginning of the new ICE Age.
Tesla debuts new 4680 battery cell: 500% more energy, 6X power, range increase
With the developments, gas-powered engines are beginning to appear pointless. When the cost of battery cell manufacturing goes down, people will be forced to reconsider what they’re driving now, especially if it is a gas-powered vehicle. While EVs are already appealing because of their low maintenance requirements, they will also be the same price as gas cars within the next 3-5 years, which is really the biggest factor in why consumers buy cars, to begin with.
Just like a tube television, in a few decades, the young children will point at cars with tailpipes and say, “Mommy, what’s that Tesla with a pipe coming out of the back of it?” The Mother will answer, “Oh honey, that’s a gas car. They’ve been extinct for nearly 20 years.” This conversation will happen while both begin to breathe significantly cleaner air, and the average global temperature will be reduced. Not to mention, the quick back and forth will also occur at an Automotive History Museum, because gas cars will be so rare, that will be the only place most will see them.
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A new report claims that Apple is in the process of developing what would be the missing link for Tesla to get CarPlay.
Apple and Tesla have been reportedly working together for some time to give Tesla owners the opportunity to utilize CarPlay within their vehicles. While many owners are more than happy with Tesla’s in-house UI, which is seamless, effective, and smooth, some still want CarPlay, which does have its advantages.
A report from 9to5Mac now states that a new CarPlay technology that was highlighted during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) would potentially be the bridge between Tesla and Apple. With the addition of a feature known as “Route Sharing,” which gives a navigation app the ability to share routing data with the vehicle, Tesla would be able to launch CarPlay in its vehicles, the report states.
CarPlay has not been a priority for Tesla because it has done extremely well with its in-house UI, but some drivers are just used to it. Additionally, it could improve Tesla’s subpar Navigation or offer improved app capabilities, especially with iMessage.
Route Sharing is an intended addition to CarPlay’s iteration in iOS 26.4, which was released in March:
The addition of CarPlay would undoubtedly be welcome, but at the same time, it seems like Tesla realizes it is not of the utmost priority. There are so many things that Tesla is working on currently within its own vehicles, especially attempting to solve self-driving.
Back in February, Bloomberg had reported that Tesla was still working on bringing CarPlay to its vehicles, but it had not due to app compatibility issues and incredibly low adoption rates of iOS 26.
This bottleneck could buy Tesla the proper amount of time to develop CarPlay for its vehicles. It would be a welcome addition, and could be brought on with either the Summer or Fall 2026 Software Updates.
Tesla deliveries got a big boost in expectations from Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs, who believes the company will report some stronger-than-expected numbers when the second quarter comes to an end in the coming weeks.
Goldman Sachs has raised its vehicle delivery forecast for Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) in the second quarter of 2026, signaling growing confidence in the electric vehicle leader’s near-term momentum despite mixed market signals. Analyst Mark Delaney lifted the bank’s Q2 estimate to 420,000 units from a previous 405,000, surpassing the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 400,000.
The upward revision stems from stronger-than-expected sales data across key regions. Europe stands out with projected year-over-year growth of 85-90 percent, driven by robust demand for Tesla’s Model Y and refreshed offerings. China posted high single-digit gains, while markets like South Korea and Australia also contributed positive momentum. These gains help offset mid-teens declines in U.S. deliveries through May, where broader EV market headwinds and competition persist.
Goldman extended its optimism to the full year, increasing its 2026 delivery projection to 1.73 million vehicles from 1.72 million. Longer-term forecasts remain unchanged, with 1.88 million units expected in 2027 and 1.96 million in 2028. The bank also nudged its 2026 earnings-per-share estimate higher to $1.35 from $1.30, reflecting anticipated margin benefits from higher volumes and operational efficiencies.
Despite these positive adjustments, Goldman maintained its Neutral rating and $375 price target on Tesla shares. At current trading levels near $411, the stock sits about 8-9 percent above the target, highlighting ongoing valuation concerns even as delivery momentum builds. Tesla’s Q1 2026 deliveries totaled 358,023 units, setting a baseline for recovery expectations in the current period.
This update arrives as Tesla prepares to report official Q2 figures shortly after June 30. Investors and analysts will closely watch not only headline delivery numbers but also regional breakdowns, average selling prices, and progress on energy storage deployments and autonomous technology initiatives.
The move by Goldman Sachs underscores a broader narrative for Tesla: while legacy auto markets face softening demand and tariff uncertainties, Tesla’s global footprint and product pipeline provide resilience. Europe’s surge reflects pent-up demand and policy support for EVs, while China’s steady growth highlights Tesla’s competitive positioning against local rivals.
Tesla still has its work cut out for it, including U.S. price sensitivity and intensifying competition. Yet Goldman’s revision adds to a series of analyst notes suggesting Q2 could mark a turning point. As Tesla pushes toward higher production rates at facilities in Fremont, Shanghai, and Berlin, sustained execution will be key to validating these higher forecasts.
We have said numerous times that deliveries are becoming a less important metric in the grand scheme of things, as AI truly takes precedence in the company’s thesis.
For Tesla bulls, the Goldman note reinforces faith in underlying demand trends. For skeptics, the unchanged rating serves as a reminder that delivery beats alone may not immediately resolve valuation debates in a high-interest-rate environment. Tesla’s stock reaction will likely hinge on the official numbers and management commentary in the coming weeks.
SpaceX has exercised its option to acquire Cursor, the innovative AI coding company, in an all-stock transaction valued at $60 billion. The deal, announced on June 16, marks a significant step in SpaceX’s expansion into advanced artificial intelligence, building on months of close collaboration between the companies.
Cursor, officially operated by Anysphere, Inc., is an AI-native code editor and coding agent designed to transform software development. Founded in 2022 by a group of MIT graduates in San Francisco, Cursor builds on the familiar foundation of Visual Studio Code but integrates powerful AI capabilities directly into the core experience.
Unlike traditional code editors or simple extensions, Cursor functions as a full “coding agent” that turns natural-language instructions into actionable code.
SpaceX has exercised the option to acquire @cursor_ai in an all-stock transaction with the goal of building the world’s most useful AI models.
For the past few months, SpaceXAI has been jointly training a model with Cursor, which will be released in Cursor and Grok Build soon.… https://t.co/X5mepgXgjJ
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 16, 2026
Developers interact with Cursor through features like its Composer agent, which can search entire codebases, edit multiple files, run terminal commands, debug issues, and complete complex multi-step programming tasks autonomously.
Users describe high-level goals, such as “build a scalable API endpoint with authentication,” and the AI plans, implements, tests, and refines the solution while the human oversees decisions. Additional tools include advanced autocomplete (Tab), context-aware chat, and infrastructure for handling billions of daily requests.
The platform has gained considerable traction, surpassing $3 billion in annual recurring revenue by early 2026 and earning adoption by over half of the Fortune 500 companies. Its agentic approach accelerates development dramatically, allowing engineers to focus on architecture and creativity rather than repetitive coding.
The acquisition integrates Cursor’s leading product, expert team of roughly 300 engineers, and distribution network among top software developers with SpaceX’s unparalleled computational resources. SpaceX’s Colossus supercomputer, equivalent to a million H100 GPUs, has already powered joint training of next-generation models. These models are expected to launch soon within Cursor and SpaceX’s Grok Build environment.
This combination positions SpaceX to develop the world’s most capable AI systems for coding and knowledge work. Access to Cursor’s real-world usage data from millions of professional developers provides unparalleled feedback loops for model improvement. Training on Colossus enables rapid iteration on massive datasets, potentially creating AI that outperforms current leaders in reliability, context handling, and complex reasoning.
For SpaceX, the benefits extend far beyond software tools. Rocket engineering, satellite constellation management, autonomous flight systems, and Starship development involve millions of lines of highly specialized, safety-critical code.
Cursor’s AI agents, supercharged by proprietary models trained on SpaceX’s domain expertise, could slash development timelines, reduce errors, and enable faster innovation cycles. This vertical integration of AI tooling strengthens SpaceX’s competitive edge in both aerospace and the broader AI race, complementing its xAI initiatives.
The deal reflects the exploding value of AI-native developer platforms. By owning Cursor outright, SpaceX secures a strategic talent pool and product pipeline that will accelerate internal projects while potentially offering enhanced tools to the wider engineering community. As AI continues reshaping software creation, this acquisition underscores SpaceX’s commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology for ambitious goals, from Mars colonization to global connectivity.
Apple is developing the missing link for Tesla to get CarPlay: report
Tesla deliveries get a big boost in expectations from Wall Street
