Lifestyle
Tesla Model 3 Performance spins out at 135 mph during top speed attempt
Very few things can rival the exhilaration that one feels when going on a top speed run. With a powerful vehicle like the Tesla Model 3 Performance, such exhilaration becomes even more pronounced, since the vehicle is propelled by the instant torque and raw power from its dual electric motors, which produce a combined 450 hp and 471 lb-ft of torque.
Top speed runs on the Model 3 have been conducted in the past. Last August, for example, Long Range RWD Model 3 owner Michael Striker opted to go flat on the Bonneville Salt Flats. During his top speed attempt, the electric car actually went past the vehicle’s rated 140 mph top speed, reaching 142 mph before Striker decided to pull back on the accelerator. Striker’s top speed run was pretty impressive overall, especially considering that his car was equipped with 18″ Aero Wheels, which are not tuned for performance.
Ben Ahlander, a Tesla Model 3 Performance owner, wanted to push his electric car to its limits. His Model 3, a Midnight Silver unit equipped with 20″ Sport Wheels, was charged before it was taken to the Salt Flats in UT for its run. Right before accelerating, the Model 3 owner even opted to play some highly appropriate music for the top speed attempt — Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” from the Top Gun soundtrack.
Immediately noticeable from the Model 3 Performance’s run was how quickly the vehicle breached the 100 mph barrier. True to the vehicle’s reputation, the electric sedan blazed past 60 mph and well past 100 mph quickly. The vehicle just kept pulling after that, all the way to 154 mph, which is 1 mph short of the car’s listed top speed of 155 mph.
A following top speed attempt proved to be a lot more exciting and a lot more intense for the Model 3 owner. After hitting what appeared to be soft sand, the Model 3 Performance started spinning out — while it was speeding at around 135 mph. The electric car displayed several warnings when it came to a stop, including notifications for the regenerative braking and stability control system being disabled. Automatic Emergency Braking was also disabled after the 135 mph spin-out.
Ben later noted that when he looked further into the area where he conducted his Model 3 Performance’s top speed attempts, he noticed that there were warnings about softer sand due to wet conditions. It should be noted, though, that despite the high-speed spin out, the Model 3 did not show any indication that it was in danger of rolling over, thanks to the vehicle’s low center of gravity due to its floor-mounted battery pack. While spinning out at 135 mph is a pretty harrowing experience on its own right, Ben Ahlander notes that he would definitely do another top speed run in the Salt Flats as soon as his vehicle receives the Track Mode update.
Tesla’s Track Mode update is currently being rolled out to the company’s Model 3 Performance fleet. Tuned in collaboration by Tesla’s engineers and professional racecar driver Randy Pobst, Track Mode gives the Model 3 Performance the capability to handle corners in a manner rivaling that of track-bred sports cars. During Pobst’s tests, for example, the Model 3 Performance completed a lap around the “Streets” of Willow Springs International Raceway in CA in 1:21.49, faster than one of Motor Trend‘s Best Driver’s Car winners in the past — the Ferrari 458 Italia, which completed the course in 1:22.30.
Watch the Model 3 Performance spin out at 135 mph in the video below.
https://youtu.be/RZbLeRD8hQE
Lifestyle
Tesla teases “Halloween Mode” update with Optimus rising from a graveyard
Tesla’s Halloween teaser hides a covered vehicle and an Optimus hand rising from the ground.
Tesla has started teasing a Halloween software update for its vehicles, with a short clip on X that reads, “Halloween is coming.” The clip opens on a glowing pumpkin before pulling back to the car’s center touchscreen, where the usual parked visualization has been replaced by a graveyard scene, and the vehicle draped with a white sheet so it reads as a cartoon ghost.
Halloween is coming pic.twitter.com/lM3ASUeOqX
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 1, 2026
The second detail is a robotic hand clawing its way out of the dirt like a zombie, which looks to be the hand of Tesla’s latest Optimus V3 humanoid robot. While Tesla still has not formally shown Optimus Gen 3 walking around in service, renders pulled from Tesla’s Android app last month gave the clearest look yet, including far more refined hands that Tesla has said carry 22 degrees of freedom. The hand has been the hardest part of the program. Musk has called it the majority of the robot’s engineering difficulty, and Tesla’s patents describe a design driven by tendons with the actuators moved into the forearm.
Tesla Optimus V3 hand and arm details revealed in new patents
Optimus also has a Halloween track record. Last October the robot handed out candy in Times Square, and a costumed “zombie” Optimus shuffled around the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles on Halloween night.
On the software side, Tesla’s 2025 Holiday Update expanded Santa Mode with a Santa sleigh, snowmen, snow effects, and a festive lock chime, so it wouldn’t be too far fetched if we saw something similar but themed for a Halloween Mode.
Lifestyle
Tesla’s newest feature lets you floor it out of a Supercharger while plugged in
Tesla’s new Emergency Drive Away feature lets owners flee a Supercharger while still plugged in.
Tesla has given drivers a way to escape while a vehicle is plugged-in at a Supercharger, in the event of an emergency. The company’s charging team announced a new feature on X called Emergency Drive Away, which lets a driver shift into Drive and pull away while the charging cable is still connected to the car.
Until now, a Tesla would not leave Park with a charge cable plugged in. Drivers had to release the latch from the touchscreen, the Tesla app, or the button on the charge handle, then wait for the port to let go. Emergency Drive Away removes that lockout, but Tesla is clear that it comes at a cost. “Use of this feature will damage your vehicle and the Supercharger,” the company wrote, adding that the function is meant for emergencies only and that deliberate misuse will lead to “additional penalties.” Tesla did not say what those penalties are.
Emergency Drive Away lets you shift into Drive while still plugged into a Supercharger pic.twitter.com/40GSzyP4lG
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) October 1, 2026
The in-car prompt is just as direct, with the warning reading: “Driving with the cable connected will cause damage to your vehicle and the Supercharger. Short camera recordings will be shared with Tesla.” That footage gives Tesla a way to separate a real emergency from someone who simply did not want to wait for the latch.
The feature requires software update 2026.38.3, and Tesla said in replies to owners that it works at every Supercharger in the United States without new stall hardware. Model S and Model X vehicles built before 2021 are not supported, and the company says the feature applies to U.S. Superchargers “for now,” leaving Canada and other markets out at launch.
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Tesla did not tie the announcement to any specific event, but it arrives two months after a gunman opened fire at an In-N-Out in Twin Falls, Idaho, on August 1, targeting three people in two Teslas at the neighboring Supercharger. One of them, a 66 year old man from Salt Lake City, was killed. Superchargers have been the scene of violence before, including a fatal shooting at a station near Denver in 2023.
In the weeks after Twin Falls, owners pushed Tesla for a native way to escape a stall, and many pointed back to EVject, the aftermarket breakaway connector Tesla sued in 2024 over claims it lacked overtemperature protection. The two companies later reached an agreement that led EVject to recall its earlier connectors in favor of a version with thermal sensors.
Our mission has always been about providing peace of mind and eliminating sitting duck scenarios.
We patented the built-in breakaway charger tip on Feb 15, 2023. Awarded Jan 30, 2024. Then shared the designs with @TeslaCharging
Thank you @Tesla for rolling out a solution. This… https://t.co/djOzswLw9N
— EVject (@EVject) October 2, 2026
Tesla’s Automatic Collision Evasion feature can be seen in one of the first owner videos of it in action.
Tesla owner Spencer (@scotsrule08) posted on Monday that the feature “worked flawlessly,” saying FSD reengaged itself just as he was about to hit a curb. Ashok Elluswamy, who leads Tesla’s AI team, shared the clip and wrote, “A guardian angel always looking out for you.”
The video arrives in the middle of a staged rollout. Tesla first shipped Automatic Collision Evasion with FSD (Supervised) v14.3.9 in software update 2026.27.6 earlier this month, which Teslarati covered as it reached cars. Update 2026.27.10, which began going out on September 19, carried the feature improvements with FSD v14.3.10, according to release notes tracked by Not a Tesla App. The newer 2026.27.11 build is now reaching another wave of vehicles.
The new Automatic Collision Evasion feature worked flawlessly! FSD reengaged itself just as I was about to hit a curb.
Kudos @Tesla_AI team! 👏 pic.twitter.com/Fbp15HhpL2
— Spencer (@scotsrule08) September 28, 2026
The feature only runs on HW4 vehicles, and it requires an active FSD purchase or subscription with both FSD (Supervised) and Automatic Emergency Braking enabled. HW3 owners receive FSD v14.2 Lite in the same updates, but that build does not include collision evasion.
Tesla’s release notes describe two triggers. The first is an imminent frontal collision that braking alone may not prevent, in which case the car can activate FSD to steer, brake or accelerate around the hazard. That scenario is limited to highways below 85 mph, with no pedestrians or cyclists detected and no slippery road surface. The second covers a driver who appears inattentive, such as reaching into the back seat, or who seems to have switched off FSD by accident. Spencer’s curb clip appears to fall into that second category.
Tesla plans big safety improvements for Full Self-Driving v15
Once the system takes over, the accelerator is muted and light brake input will not cancel the maneuver. Drivers need to apply firm, deliberate steering force to take back control, and the car chimes to hand control back once the danger has passed.
Elluswamy recently noted that earlier hazard prediction, faster reaction time and better collision avoidance would arrive with FSD v15, the next major version.
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