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Tesla’s Elon Musk explains why too much electric vehicle range does not make sense
Elon Musk commented last night that Tesla could have had a Model S that was capable of 600 miles of range on a single charge. However, Tesla decided not to pursue the what would be an industry-leading metric, because it would impact handling, efficiency, and overall performance negatively.
“We could’ve made a 600 mile Model S 12 months ago, but that would’ve made the product worse imo, as 99.9% of time you’d be carrying unneeded battery mass, which makes acceleration, handling & efficiency worse,” Musk said in a reply to Whole Mars Blog, who stated Lucid may have been the first to deliver a 500-mile EV, but Tesla would be the first to produce it. “Even our 400+ mile range car is more than almost anyone will use,” the Tesla CEO added.
We could’ve made a 600 mile Model S 12 months ago, but that would’ve made the product worse imo, as 99.9% of time you’d be carrying unneeded battery mass, which makes acceleration, handling & efficiency worse. Even our 400+ mile range car is more than almost anyone will use.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 2, 2022
The battle of alleviating range anxiety amongst new electric vehicle owners is something that will eventually subside altogether. However, there are entirely too many people who still bring up concerns of where they will be able to charge their cars, arguing that gas stations are on every corner but EV chargers are not. While this is true, EV chargers are more available than many may think. In even rural South Central Pennsylvania (where I live), there are about seventeen EV chargers, including an eight-stall Tesla Supercharger. All are within ten miles of my house.
Even still, the concerns of how much range is enough still circulate through the community of prospective EV buyers. Everything will require sacrifice. And while most passenger gas cars can travel around 400 miles on a full tank of gas, ABC News says the average American only travels sixteen miles per day for work. U.S. Census data suggests Americans spend around 27.6 minutes driving to work one way. Hundreds of miles of range are not completely necessary.
As Musk also said, more range usually means more batteries, which adds to mass and takes away from the fun driving experience that EVs have been commended for. The Tesla Model S has 375 miles of range, and at one time had over 400 miles of range. The Model S Long Range Plus had 402 miles of range, and one of the primary reasons was “significant mass reduction.”
“Mass is the enemy of both efficiency and performance, and minimizing the weight of every component is an ongoing goal for our design and engineering teams,” Tesla said in a blog post announcing the 400-mile Model S in June 2020. “Several lessons from the engineering design and manufacturing of Model 3 and Model Y have now been carried over to Model S and Model X. This has unlocked new areas of mass reduction while maintaining the premium feel and performance of both vehicles. Additional weight savings have also been achieved through the standardization of Tesla’s in-house seat manufacturing and lighter weight materials used in our battery pack and drive units.”
Structural Battery Pack
Tesla’s Structural Battery Pack compartmentalizes the idea that mass distribution can be used in an advantageous way. During Battery Day in September 2020, Musk outlined the ideas for the Tesla Structural Pack, and how it was designed.
“The non-cell portion of the battery has negative mass,” Musk said. “We saved more mass in the rest of the vehicle than in the non-cell portion of the battery. So how do you really minimize the mass of the battery? Make it negative.”
The density of the pack not only increases structural rigidity and safety, but it also improves mass and range by strategically placing cells in areas where they would compliment the vehicle.
 Credit: Tesla
What about Tesla’s planned more than 400-mile range vehicles
Interestingly, Tesla has several vehicles on the way that feature range estimations of over 400 miles. The Cybertruck’s Tri-Motor powertrain, which may take a backseat to the rumored Quad-Motor variant, had a 500+ mile range rating when Tesla still had the configurator for the vehicle available. With the new 4680 battery, Tesla’s vehicles will likely be able to reach the 400-mile threshold without sacrificing too much of the performance or efficiency that Musk spoke of.
The next-gen Roadster, which has sat on Tesla’s backburner for several years, also has an incredible range estimation of 600+ miles. The Roadster may be a special exception to the range rule, but with the astronomical expectations for the vehicle, including the ability to hover, excessive battery weight may take away from the Roadster’s 1.1-second acceleration from 0-60 and its handling due to its small, sporty frame.
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News
Tesla Robotaxi test units spotted in new region ahead of launch
These validation units are used to gain additional data for Tesla’s internal use, or even potentially for regulatory purposes that the company can share with agencies that will eventually grant a license to operate Robotaxi in the state.
 
														Tesla Robotaxi test units are being spotted in various new regions ahead of their launch in new states. Tesla is aiming to launch in at least a few new states in the coming months as it is ramping up hiring for the Robotaxi program and aiming to expand its ride-hailing service.
Already active in Austin, Texas, and the California Bay Area, Tesla is looking to expand its Robotaxi operations to new states. It’s had its eyes set on Nevada, Florida, and Arizona, which have seemed to have the most movement of the three prospects over the past month or so.
That trend is continuing.
Earlier this month, we reported on two Robotaxi units spotted testing with LiDAR rigs for ground truth validation in Gilbert, Arizona. Noted Cybertruck owner and enthusiast Greggertruck spotted the two units traveling on a highway.
Now, those same two units, or at least they appear to be, were spotted in Scottsdale, which is also a suburb of Phoenix, like Gilbert is, with the same LiDAR rigs:
Real world AI coming to Scottdale! Tesla robotaxi spotted beginning testing! @SawyerMerritt @elonmusk @CuriousPejjy pic.twitter.com/D2eUmQsiao
— MpWraps (@MWraps30584) October 29, 2025
These validation units are used to gain additional data for Tesla’s internal use, or even potentially for regulatory purposes that the company can share with agencies that will eventually grant a license to operate Robotaxi in the state.
Tesla is not a company that utilizes LiDAR for its everyday self-driving efforts, as it has utilized only cameras for the past several years.
Tesla Vision, as the company calls it, is what CEO Elon Musk feels is needed to achieve a fully autonomous network of vehicles, which will eventually need zero supervision for passenger transportation.
LiDAR is utilized by other companies, like Waymo, but Tesla has maintained that it is not necessary for several years. Musk has called it a “crutch” for achieving the proper self-driving tech, and the company only uses it for an additional bit of data.
Tesla has been operating its Robotaxi service in Austin since late June, and it has expanded its service area in the city to nearly 300 square miles, with its most recent expansion occurring earlier this week.
Elon Musk
Tesla’s popular side business is going to get bigger, Elon Musk says
It took several years to get the Diner developed, built, and opened. On July 21, Tesla launched the Diner to the public at 4:20 p.m. local time (of course), after years of development. Musk first offered the idea of a drive-in Supercharger Diner back in December 2018.
 
														Tesla will open two new Diner locations in the United States after its first location in Los Angeles has been a raging success, as it is constantly packed and serving food for 24 hours a day, every day.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the initial Diner location on Santa Monica Boulevard is “going well,” and based on reviews and its constant out-the-door lines, it is safe to say it has been a major outlet of interest for people in the area.
It features two massive movie screens, a menu that is locally sourced and has been created by a world-class chef, and Supercharging for EVs. It truly is the perfect stop for those who are hungry, need entertainment, or need a quick charge.

Credit: Tesla
So far, Tesla has not released too many details on the success of the restaurant, but it did state in a graphic for its Q3 Supercharging stats that it sold roughly 50,000 burgers at the Diner in Q3, roughly 715 each day. Burgers are not the only thing on the menu, either.
With how well it has gone, Musk is now considering the possibility of new locations that are notable to Tesla, including Austin and Palo Alto.
On Friday, Musk revealed he believes it “probably makes sense to open one” near Gigafactory Texas and Engineering HQ in Palo Alto:”
The futuristic Tesla Diner is going well. Probably makes sense to open one near our Giga Texas HQ in Austin and engineering HQ in Palo Alto. 😋 https://t.co/l0DUtR8CFg
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2025
It took several years to get the Diner developed, built, and opened. On July 21, Tesla launched the Diner to the public at 4:20 p.m. local time (of course), after years of development. Musk first offered the idea of a drive-in Supercharger Diner back in December 2018.
By 2023, Tesla had secured building permits and broken ground on the site in September of that year.
Since its launch, it has been a popular hotspot for Tesla fans and others to visit, although it has attracted unwanted attention from protestors as well.
Cringey protestors are outside the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles singing “Elon Musk has got to go”
These people are absolutely nuts pic.twitter.com/LZ0U6rpMIn
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 27, 2025
They look hungry. If they walked inside and ordered some food, maybe they’d stop yelling into microphones and threatening Musk.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s AI empire grows as xAI leases Palo Alto space near Tesla
The expanding footprint of Elon Musk’s companies in Palo Alto bodes well for the CEO’s plans in the area.
 
														Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is expanding its Silicon Valley footprint, leasing roughly 105,000 square feet of office space at Palo Alto’s Page Mill Center, just blocks away from Tesla’s engineering complex.
Musk’s deepening Silicon Valley footprint
People familiar with the matter have informed the San Francisco Business Times that xAI’s lease at Page Mill Center may already have been finalized, adding to the company’s existing headquarters at 1450 Page Mill Road. The two offices share a parking lot, reflecting Musk’s strategy of consolidating his ventures. Tesla’s engineering hub is also just a few blocks away.
The new offices form a growing cluster of Musk-led companies in the heart of the Valley and come as xAI has listed over 250 job openings. These include listings for engineers, designers, and technical staff, among others.
xAI’s aggressive hiring push hints at rapid scaling, which makes quite a lot of sense considering the company’s ambitious projects. xAI oversees the large language model Grok and other AI initiatives such as the newly launched Grokipedia, and the startup has also acquired the social media platform X. Real estate owner Hudson Pacific Properties, the owners of Page Mill Center, have so far declined to comment.
AI demand and Silicon Valley’s office rebound
Silicon Valley’s office market, long subdued by remote work trends, is seeing renewed activity from AI firms. Hudson Pacific told investors this summer that tenant demand has reached a three-year high, with over half of new leases driven by artificial intelligence companies. Vacancy rates have now fallen for four straight quarters to 16.6% as well, CBRE reported.
The expanding footprint of Elon Musk’s companies in Palo Alto bodes well for the CEO’s plans in the area. Musk, after all, has previously butted heads with officials, resulting in his two biggest ventures, electric vehicle maker Tesla and private space company SpaceX, officially relocating their headquarters to Texas.
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