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Tesla Model 3 proves it’s at home on the track in Japan’s all-EV Grand Prix

(Credit: Japan Electric Vehicle Race Association)

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It was Tesla Model 3 vs Tesla Model 3 vs Tesla Model 3 in Round 6 of the all-EV Grand Prix in Japan. Based on footage of the race, it was a tight race all the way to the finish line. Each Model 3 driver gave his all, but only one could take the number one spot.

Tesla was not the only EV car brand represented in Round 6 of the Japan EV Grand Prix, which was organized by the Japan Electric Vehicle Race Association. However, the Tesla Model 3s seemed primed to take the day as soon as the vehicles hit the track.

Two of the Model 3 vehicles in the race were tuned by Unplugged Performance in partnership with Team Taisan Todai: a Midnight Silver Metallic Model 3 and another that featured a red and black wrap. A white, two-toned Model 3 was tuned by fellow EV tuning house Mountainpass Performance.

(Credit: Japan Electric Vehicle Race Association)

Each Model 3 performed well during the qualifying sessions, seemingly determined to prove their mettle before the race even started. The EV’s times were very close, forecasting the teeth-gritting race ahead.

Unplugged Performance’s vehicles did well. The Midnight Silver Model 3, driven by Hikaru Jitosho, finished the qualifying session in 1’02.325. The red and back Model 3, with EJ Chiba in the driver’s seat, completed the run in 1’03.812. Chiba’s Model 3 placed third during the qualifying session.

With a time of 1’02.378, the Model 3 tuned by Mountainpass narrowly missed first place, but still delivered an impressive run. As the vehicle with the best time, Unplugged’s Midnight Silver Model 3 took pole position.

The qualifying sessions’ results proved to be almost prophetic as each Tesla Model 3 pushed to take the number one spot. In the end, it was Unplugged Performance’s Model 3s that placed first and second. Jitosho took the gold in his Midnight Silver Model 3.

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Ultimately, it was Tesla that won that day. Seeing not one but three Model 3 vehicles in the all-EV Grand Prix was a sight to behold. It seemed like the culmination of Tesla and its supportive community’s hard work. The Tesla community has always strived to prove their EV vehicles’ muster and the Model 3 cars showcased just that.

(Credit: Japan Electric Vehicle Race Association)

Ben Schaffer, CEO of Unplugged Performance, talked about the atmosphere of the event, which was competitive and supportive at the same time in a statement to Teslarati. This was especially notable as some of the vehicles in the competition were more heavily-modified, while Unplugged’s cars featured more conservative modifications.

“The competition in JEVRA is very intense. That being said, we’re grateful to be asked and to support other drivers in the series with a variety of our tuning parts as well. Our mission, we feel, is bigger than simply trophies and competition, so we are always pleased to support every Tesla owner to go faster regardless of whether they race for our team or the competition. We’re all in this Tesla mission for a sustainable future together!” Schaffer remarked.

Tesla’s win was also a win for everyone in the EV community. But ultimately, the three Model 3’s picture-perfect finishes revealed that all-electric cars can be and are already legitimate track weapons.

Watch the Tesla Model 3 tear up the track in Japan in the video below.

Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Elon Musk

Tesla primes Cybercabs for 4K streaming and high bandwidth gaming with Starlink integration

Tesla is now shipping Cybercabs from Giga Texas with Starlink hardware built in as standard.

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tesla cybercab with no manual controls showing a movie with two employees inside

Tesla’s Cybercabs are now leaving Gigafactory Texas with Starlink hardware on the rear hatch in significant numbers, according to drone footage captured Tuesday by longtime Austin drone observer Joe Tegtmeyer. Production at the factory ramped back up after the Labor Day weekend, and his flyover of the outbound lot showed rows of gold Cybercabs alongside Model Y Long Wheelbase units, many carrying the satellite module for the first time as standard equipment rather than a one off retrofit.

Tesla first showed Starlink built into an actual Cybercab on August 10, when the Robotaxi account posted images of a single gold unit with the antenna integrated into the roofline above the taillights and called it the first Cybercab with Starlink integration. That followed a July reveal where Tesla and Starlink jointly posted a cutaway diagram of the antenna placement without a working vehicle to back it up. Ashok Elluswamy, Tesla’s VP of AI software, said at the time that the connection isn’t required for the car to drive itself. It exists mainly for navigation, customer service and keeping tabs on the fleet.

Musk has made a different case in public. During Tesla’s Q2 earnings call, he said the company can’t afford robotaxis stranded in what he called “Bermuda Triangles of lack of cellular connectivity,” and he separately claimed on X that Starlink will eventually reach every Tesla built, calling it the only way to deliver high bandwidth to billions of vehicles. He has also pitched the antenna as an entertainment upgrade, telling riders they would be able to stream 4K video or play games during a trip.

The rollout has moved fast since. Robotaxi service opened to the public in Austin on September 3, and Cybercabs had already been spotted with Starlink hardware in Houston and near Miami International Airport in the weeks before Tuesday’s factory footage showed the module shipping at volume rather than on scattered test units. Whether the satellite link earns its keep is still an open question. Tesla’s unsupervised service currently runs in dense metro geofences in Texas and Florida, markets where cellular coverage is already strong, which is not where the rural dead zones Musk describes tend to show up.

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Lifestyle

Tesla Cybertruck targets job site crews with new Tailgate Utility Track and Bed Gear Box accessory

Tesla launched a $350 tailgate track and a $985 lockable Bed Gear Box for Cybertruck.

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Tesla Cybertruck construction site

Tesla’s Cybertruck team added two more items to the Tesla Shop, targeting job site crews and owners who use the truck bed for actual work rather than just showing it off. The official Cybertruck X account posted the Tailgate Utility Track and the Bed Gear Box within minutes of each other, part of a five item batch that also included a reflective jacket, a spray paint hat and an updated reflective tee.

The Tailgate Utility Track runs $350 and turns the folded down tailgate into another mounting surface. It’s a single aluminum track with a T-slot for sliding accessories and two L-track attachment points, plus two load stops included in the box. The pitch is straightforward: strap down oversized cargo, like lumber or a cooler, that hangs off the back of the bed without it sliding out mid-drive. It bolts onto the existing tailgate and works on every Cybertruck trim.

The Bed Gear Box costs $985 and is a different kind of accessory. It’s a lockable aluminum storage box, 55.78 inches long, 19.8 inches wide and 7.79 inches tall, that mounts to the bed’s L-track rails and comes with two internal bins for smaller items. According to Tesla, at just over 57 pounds empty, it’s meant to stay in place rather than come in and out with each trip, giving owners a factory-fit alternative to loose totes for tools, recovery gear or emergency supplies. Tesla’s listing notes that Long Range and Dual Motor AWD Cybertrucks need the L-Tracks accessory installed separately before the Gear Box will mount, since L-tracks come standard only on certain configurations.

Tesla Cybertruck bed gear box accessory

Tesla Cybertruck bed gear box accessory

Both accessories lean on the idea Tesla has been building toward since Elon Musk first described the Cybertruck’s third-party attachment strategy at the 2023 shareholder meeting, when he said the truck would ship with mounting points so outside companies, and Tesla itself, could keep adding gear without redesigning the bed. That’s the same L-track backbone underneath the tailgate shield and jumpseats Tesla launched last year, and the off-road armor package that arrived through the same X account in 2025.

Owners looking to round out the rest of the L-track ecosystem, cargo dividers, MOLLE panels, bed racks and similar gear, can find a wider range of options through our Cybertruck accessories collection.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk says he knows how to save Earth for a billion years

Elon Musk says sentient AI satellites launched from the Moon could keep Earth livable forever.

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Elon Musk spent part of his weekend describing a plan to keep the planet livable for roughly a billion years, and it starts with satellites that can think for themselves.

In a post on X, Musk argued that swapping fossil fuels for solar and wind power will not be enough to protect humanity from what he called extremely severe extinction events, the kind that occur roughly every 100 million years. His fix is what he called sentient satellites, or solar-powered satellites, controlled by AI, that would sit in a fixed spot between Earth and the Sun after being launched off the Moon using a giant electromagnetic catapult instead of rockets.

The satellites’ onboard AI would make continuous, small adjustments rather than waiting on human instructions. The mass driver is Musk’s proposed way of getting the raw material there cheaply by using an electromagnetic launch track built on the Moon, where lower gravity and no atmosphere make it far easier to fling cargo into space than it is from Earth.

Musk shared a Grok generated estimate suggesting roughly 5 percent of Florida’s land, or about 1.68 million acres, could face regular flooding by 2070 under a high sea level rise scenario, and said humanity has about 50 years to act before coastal living looks very different than it does today.

This is not the first time Musk has floated the idea. He raised a similar concept in November, describing a solar powered AI satellite constellation that could make tiny adjustments to incoming sunlight to fine tune Earth’s temperature. Musk has also tied planetary risk to his broader vision at SpaceX, where his compensation package is explicitly linked to establishing a self-sustaining Mars colony, one he has described as an insurance policy against the kind of extinction event he referenced this weekend, and where he has said humans could set foot within five to seven years.

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