Lifestyle
When Tesla ideas go mainstream… again

There are times in life where you have a lightbulb moment, so to speak, where suddenly a new way of doing things seems obvious. A month doesn’t seem to go by where Tesla isn’t doing some form of that to the auto industry.
First, it was electric cars. Against all odds, Tesla has proven that electric cars can be beautiful, compelling, practical and fast, all at once.
Next, it was over the air updates. A car that gets better over time? Unfathomable. Same goes for their off-cycle upgrades. A car company that doesn’t work in model years? Absurd!
Then, in what’s probably the least likely of Tesla’s practices to be copied, it was not making parts and service a profit center. While traditional dealers make a majority of their profits from these areas, Tesla chooses not to. Insanity!
Tesla also built out their own refueling infrastructure. Making it free or low cost is just not something anyone ever pictured with regards to the auto industry. Outside of gimmicky “free gas for a year” promotions, it’s just unheard of.
There are many more: the effective use of social media, the refusal to pay for traditional advertising, not paying sales folks on commission, online ordering, built-to-order cars, up front pricing, and many more. All of these items on their own amount to mosquito bites on the bare skin of other automakers. This small, once thought insignificant start up from California had no chance in their deeply entrenched good ole’ boys club. Except, that’s just not true anymore. 250,000 reservation deposits in two days for a new car proves it. Tesla is here to stay and has changed the course of how other companies in the auto industry will have to operate to stay alive.
In fact, I got a surprising email from a major auto insurance company recently. The subject was “About those driver’s-assist features you love.” The content provided some great and practical advice to using them, reminding drivers to provide the brains and not to fall into the trap of say, failing to check your blind spot just because your car has blind spot detection. That advice however, wasn’t what I noticed first. “Tesla did this,” I thought to myself, before I even read the content of the email. Tesla has brought attention to the lightening-fast march of car technology so much so that a major insurer felt compelled to talk to customers about it.
Speaking of insurers, Tesla wants to go there too. Place another checkmark in the column of industries Tesla is stepping on the toes of. They can get in line behind ride-sharing giants, since Tesla has also mentioned ride sharing in their Master Plan Part 2. Which reminds me that the airline industry may also take a hit.
My personal favorite change, however, is the car dealership experience. The current model is obsolete. No matter how well prepared I was, how keen to their tricks, how adamantly against being sold an extended warranty, it still took me three whole hours to help a neighbor buy a car recently. It took at least that long to buy our last Jeep and longer than that to buy my first new car, a Scion. I just want to do some research, narrow down choices, go for a test drive, then buy a darn car. I don’t care if it takes weeks to get, as long as those weeks are spent at home doing my own thing and not sitting in an uncomfortable dealership filled with stale pretzels and fluorescent lighting. I don’t want to haggle. I especially don’t want my intelligence insulted by being shown monthly payment terms that hide the fact that your first offer was actually $9,000 over MSRP. (I’m talking to you, Jeep.) I have a calculator. Actually, I have a printed out spreadsheet that shows my monthly payments for 10 different price points and 3 different interest rates since I know you insist on negotiating in monthly payment terms rather than total purchase price. I’m a dealership’s worst nightmare. But it doesn’t need to be that way. Tesla proves it. Scion claimed they did – pure pricing they called it. I knew wherever I shopped, my 2008 tC was going to cost me exactly $18,400. It still took me all day to buy that car. Buying my Model S was a joy.
And now, a couple hundred thousand of my closest friends are about to experience that same joy. Actually, they may experience something better. Tesla appears to be trying to best themselves by providing a 5-minute delivery model. After all, Tesla doesn’t discriminate when it comes to who they show up when they decide they’ve found a better way, they just do it.
Lifestyle
EV fans urge Tesla to acquire Unplugged Performance for edge in fleet and security industry
Unplugged Performance has built a name for itself by producing performance upgrades for Tesla vehicles.

A growing number of Tesla enthusiasts and longtime community voices are calling on the electric vehicle maker to acquire Unplugged Performance, a California-based aftermarket company best known for tuning Tesla vehicles and developing specialized government fleet solutions under its UP.FIT division.
The idea was once considered a niche proposal among EV fans, but it is now gaining serious attention not just as a performance play but as a strategic move to deepen Tesla’s roots in the fleet and security industry.
A strategic fit
Unplugged Performance has built a name for itself by producing performance upgrades for Tesla vehicles, from track-optimized components to visual and aerodynamic upgrades. But in recent years, its UP.FIT division has pivoted toward a more functional future by outfitting Tesla vehicles like Model Ys for police, military, and government use.
That work has sparked growing calls for closer collaboration with Tesla, especially as the EV maker increasingly leans into autonomy, AI, and fleet services as core components of its next chapter.
“I posted this four years ago, but I think it’s more true now than ever,” wrote Whole Mars Catalog, a well-known Tesla investor and FSD Beta tester, on X. “Tesla should buy Unplugged. But not just as a Performance division. What they are doing with UP.FIT unlocks large government and commercial fleet purchases that can improve utilization.”
Tesla fans such as shareholder Sawyer Merritt echoed the sentiment, calling Unplugged a “great fit within Tesla.” adding, “They are literally located directly next to Tesla’s design studio in Hawthorne.”
Enabling the next wave
Supporters of the idea noted that integrating Unplugged into Tesla’s corporate structure could help accelerate the adoption of autonomous technologies in government sectors. With UP.FIT patrol cars already in use across some U.S. police departments, Tesla fans envisioned a future where self-driving Teslas could potentially revolutionize law enforcement, search-and-rescue, and public service logistics.
“Just imagine how autonomous patrol cars could transform policing and bring us into a safer future,” the veteran FSD tester wrote.
The benefits could also extend to Tesla’s existing consumer base. “They also have some incredible products in the works that I think will appeal to many ordinary Tesla drivers — not just those looking for performance or mods. Stuff that’s so good it should have come straight from the design studio next door,” Whole Mars Catalog noted.
Unplugged Performance, founded in 2013, shares not just a product vision with Tesla, but also geography. Its Hawthorne headquarters sits directly adjacent to Tesla’s design studio, and the two companies have maintained a close working relationship over the years. The aftermarket firm has long positioned itself as a “mission-aligned” partner to Tesla.
In response to the recent calls for acquisition, Unplugged Performance acknowledged the support from the community. “Our very existence is to support the Tesla mission with @UpfitTesla and @UnpluggedTesla,” Unplugged CEO Ben Schaffer posted on X. “We love working with Tesla and are grateful for the community’s support since 2013!”
Elon Musk
X account with 184 followers inadvertently saves US space program amid Musk-Trump row
Needless to say, the X user has far more than 184 followers today after his level-headed feat.

An X user with 184 followers has become the unlikely hero of the United States’ space program by effectively de-escalating a row between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump on social media.
Needless to say, the X user has far more than 184 followers today after his level-headed feat.
A Near Fall
During Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s fallout last week, the U.S. President stated in a post on Truth Social that a good way for the United States government to save money would be to terminate subsidies and contracts from the CEO’s companies. Musk responded to Trump’s post by stating that SpaceX will start decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately.
Musk’s comment was received with shock among the space community, partly because the U.S. space program is currently reliant on SpaceX to send supplies and astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Without Dragon, the United States will likely have to utilize Russia’s Soyuz for the same services—at a significantly higher price.
X User to the Rescue
It was evident among X users that Musk’s comments about Dragon being decommissioned were posted while emotions were high. It was then no surprise that an X account with 184 followers, @Fab25june, commented on Musk’s post, urging the CEO to rethink his decision. “This is a shame this back and forth. You are both better than this. Cool off and take a step back for a couple days,” the X user wrote in a reply.
Much to the social media platform’s surprise, Musk responded to the user. Even more surprising, the CEO stated that SpaceX would not be decommissioning Dragon after all. “Good advice. Ok, we won’t decommission Dragon,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
Not Planned, But Welcomed
The X user’s comment and Musk’s response were received extremely well by social media users, many of whom noted that @Fab25june’s X comment effectively saved the U.S. space program. In a follow-up comment, the X user, who has over 9,100 followers as of writing, stated that he did not really plan on being a mediator between Musk and Trump.
“Elon Musk replied to me. Somehow, I became the accidental peace broker between two billionaires. I didn’t plan this. I was just being me. Two great minds can do wonders. Sometimes, all it takes is a breather. Grateful for every like, DM, and new follow. Life’s weird. The internet’s weirder. Let’s ride. (Manifesting peace… and maybe a Model Y.)” the X user wrote.
Lifestyle
Tesla Cybertruck takes a bump from epic failing Dodge Charger
The Cybertruck seemed unharmed by the charging Charger.

There comes a time in a driver’s life when one is faced with one’s limitations. For the driver of a Dodge Charger, this time came when he lost control and crashed into a Tesla Cybertruck–an absolute epic fail.
A video of the rather unfortunate incident was shared on the r/TeslaLounge subreddit.
Charging Charger Fails
As could be seen in the video, which was posted on the subreddit by Model Y owner u/Hammer_of_something, a group of teens in a Dodge Charger decided to do some burnouts at a Tesla Supercharger. Unfortunately, the driver of the Charger failed in his burnout or donut attempt, resulting in the mopar sedan going over a curb and bumping a charging Cybertruck.
Ironically, the Dodge Charger seemed to have been parked at a Supercharger stall before its driver decided to perform the failed stunt. This suggests that the vehicle was likely ICE-ing a charging stall before it had its epic fail moment. Amusingly enough, the subreddit member noted that the Cybertruck did not seem like it took any damage at all despite its bump. The Charger, however, seemed like it ran into some trouble after crashing into the truck.
Alleged Aftermath
As per the the r/TeslaLounge subreddit member, the Cybertruck owner came rushing out to his vehicle after the Dodge Charger crashed into it. The Model Y owner then sent over the full video of the incident, which clearly showed the Charger attempting a burnout, failing, and bumping into the Cybertruck. The Cybertruck owner likely appreciated the video, in part because it showed the driver of the Dodge Charger absolutely freaking out after the incident.
The Cybertruck is not an impregnable vehicle, but it can take bumps pretty well thanks to its thick stainless steel body. Based on this video, it appears that the Cybertruck can even take bumps from a charging Charger, all while chilling and charging at a Supercharger. As for the teens in the Dodge, they likely had to provide a long explanation to authorities after the incident, since the cops were called to the location.
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