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Tesla Model 3 sets REFUEL Production GT lap record at Laguna Seca raceway

[Credit: Cameron Rogers/YouTube]

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A Tesla Model 3 equipped with upgraded brake pads and Hoosier slicks set a new Production GT lap record on the famed Laguna Seca Raceway, during the annual REFUEL clean power motorsports event on July 1. The single motor, non-Performance variant of Tesla’s mass-market electric car was able to complete the 2.238 mi (3.602 km) course in 1:48.6, nearly 10 seconds quicker than the 1:57.50 time set by another Model 3 last March, and a split second quicker than previous REFUEL Production GT record set by a Tesla Model S last year.

The Tesla Model 3’s recent feat was shared with Teslarati by car enthusiast and driverΒ Cameron Rogers. According to Cameron, he first drove the Model 3 around the track on the vehicle’s stock tires. In this initial run, he was able to complete the course in 1:54. After changing his tires to racing slicks, however, the vehicle performed considerably better.

As noted by Cameron in a post on the Tesla Motors Club, his modifications to the Model 3 involved a set of Hawk Performance Blue 9012 Racing Brake Pads, Motul Dot 4 Racing Brake Fluid, a set of 18×9.5 Enkei RAIJIN 5×114.3 + 35 Hyper Silver Wheels, and Hoosier A7 slick tires. To provide him with more control during his drive, Cameron opted to disable the vehicle’s wheel speed sensor as well, allowing him to disable stability control and traction control.

The results of the Model 3 run with the Hoosier slicks were notably better, with the compact electric car completing the course in 1:48.6 seconds. Such figures place the non-Performance Long Range RWD Model 3 above records of gasoline vehicles in its class such as the Honda S2000 (1.50.74), BMW Z3 3 (1:50.80), Subaru BRZ (1:51.30), and even a Porsche 911 Carrera (997), which has a record time of 1:51.80, according to results fromΒ FastestLaps.com. The Model 3’s 1:48.6 lap places the compact electric car just a hair away from the record set by the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX — a vehicle iconic for its rally pedigree and its legendary 4-cylinder 2.0-liter 4G63 engine. The Evo IX currently has a 1:47.93 record on the Laguna Seca Raceway.Β 

Perhaps even more notable, however, was that the Model 3 was able to complete its laps without running into any overheating issues similar to those exhibited by early Model S’Β when driven hard on the track for extended periods of time. According to Cameron, he was able to complete a total of 15 laps around the track during the entire day without any issues.

The Model 3’s recent feat at the Laguna Seca Raceway stands as yet another proof that the compact electric car is capable on the racetrack. Just recently, a Model 3 with upgraded suspension and brakes, finished in first place at the Canadian Sport Compact Series Time Attack series, defeating a Porsche Boxter in the process.

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It should be noted, however, that the Model 3 on the road today are not the Performance versions of the electric car. The dual motorΒ Model 3 Performance, a variant of the electric car with a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph, is expected to beΒ 15% faster on the track than a BMW M3.

Watch the Model 3’s hot lap around the Laguna Seca Raceway in the video below.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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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.

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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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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 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.

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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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