Lifestyle
Tesla Model 3 owners experience Track Mode with racing champ Randy Pobst
Electric car owners participating in the recent Tesla Corsa track event at Buttonwillow Raceway Park in California had a visit from 2010 World Challenge GT Champion and Tesla ‘Track Mode’ consultant Randy Pobst.
Randy took a few performance-rated Tesla vehicles with varying levels of modifications from Unplugged Performance around the track, providing insights and commentary throughout the day. Tesla enthusiast and YouTube personality DÆrik shared his “hot lap” ride-along with Randy in his Model 3 Performance where they reached speeds of 110 mph and easily overtook racing favorites at the event including a Camaro ZL1 Convertible and a late model Shelby Mustang.
“Now, we can’t outrun all of this group, but we can outrun most of them,” Randy chimed confidently before their ride began. He remarked several times about the features offered by the Tesla Model 3, particularly focusing on its unexpected yet impressive handling. “Amazing what electricity can do, isn’t it?” Randy exclaimed before citing his use of regenerative braking force to slow down in the middle of a corner because it’s “easier on the brakes”.
The Model 3 Performance being driven in the video had lowering springs and sway bars installed as its modifications; Track Mode was engaged for the full ride and gave the car a great performance, all while its battery was only at 30% charge.
DÆrik also shared part of his and Randy’s discussion about his time working with Tesla with Teslarati. The all-electric car maker’s engineers were able to provide instant results based on his feedback during Track Mode tuning and testing, something the championship racing veteran appreciated. Overall, Randy’s review and experience with the Model 3’s track development reinforced the high-performance, super-quick reputation the all-electric midsize sedan has earned since its 2016 reveal.
Tesla Corsa is a Tesla-only racetrack event that aims to give Tesla owners the opportunity to experience the all-electric performance benefits of their vehicles in a safe, controlled environment. Participating drivers are separated into two groups based on experience levels as well as their vehicle’s power and handling characteristics. Along with the driving portion, the event provides Tesla owners with the opportunity to socialize and network with others in the community, using the event as a platform for exchanging tips and techniques.
Randy Pobst’s input during Tesla’s development of Track Mode proved invaluable when pre-release and full release versions of the software were tested in a Model 3 Performance against the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio late last year. Laps around Willow Springs International Raceway in California initially timed the Model 3 at 1:23.90, a fair amount slower than the Alfa Romeo’s 1:22.78. However, once tweaked and updated with Randy’s feedback, the electric sedan completed the same course in 1:21.29, which not only beat the Alfa Romeo, but matched the 2016 Porsche Cayman GT4 and beat the 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia’s time of 1:22.30.
Watch DÆrik and Randy Pobst’s drive around the track at Tesla Corsa below:
Elon Musk
Tesla is sending its humanoid Optimus robot to the Boston Marathon
Tesla’s Optimus robot is heading to the Boston Marathon finish line
Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot will be stationed at the Tesla showroom at 888 Boylston Street in Boston, right along the final stretch of the Boston Marathon today, ready to cheer on runners and pose for photos with spectators.
According to a Tesla email shared by content creator Sawyer Merritt on X, Optimus will be at the Boston Boylston Street showroom on April 20, coinciding with Marathon Monday weekend. The Boston Marathon finishes on Boylston Street, and the surrounding area draws hundreds of thousands of spectators along with international broadcast coverage. Placing Optimus there puts it in front of a massive public audience at zero advertising cost.
Just got this email. @Tesla’s Optimus robot is coming to Boston.
“Join us from April 19 to 20, 2026, at Tesla Boston Boylston Street showroom to meet Optimus, our humanoid robot, for Marathon Monday. Optimus will be cheering with you on the sidelines and posing for photos.” pic.twitter.com/chxoooO2xV
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) April 18, 2026
The Tesla showroom is at 888 Boylston Street, between Gloucester Street and Fairfield Street. The final mile of the marathon runs directly along Boylston Street, with runners passing the big stores before reaching the finish line at Copley Square.
Optimus was first announced at Tesla’s AI Day event on August 19, 2021, when Elon Musk presented a vision for a general-purpose robot designed to take on dangerous, repetitive, and unwanted tasks. In March 2026, Optimus appeared at the Appliance and Electronics World Expo in Shanghai, where on-site staff stated that mass production of the robot could begin by the end of 2026. Before that, it showed up at the Tesla Hollywood Diner opening in July 2025 and at a Miami showroom event in December 2025.
Tesla’s well-calculated display of Optimus gives the public a low-pressure first encounter with a robot that Tesla is preparing to soon deploy at scale. The company has previously indicated plans to manufacture Optimus robots at its Fremont facility at up to 1 million units annually, with an Optimus production line at Gigafactory Texas targeting 10 million units per year.
Tesla showcases Optimus humanoid robot at AWE 2026 in Shanghai
Musk has said that Optimus “has the potential to be more significant than the vehicle business over time,” and separately that roughly 80 percent of Tesla’s future value will come from the robot program. Whether that holds depends on production execution. For now, Boston gets a preview of what that future looks like, standing at the finish line on Boylston Street while 32,000 runners pass by.
Elon Musk
Tesla’s golden era is no longer a tagline
Tesla “golden era” teaser video highlights the future of transportation and why car ownership itself may be the next thing to change.
The golden age of autonomous ridesharing is arriving, and Tesla is making sure we can all picture a future that looks like the future. A recent teaser posted to X shows a Cybercab parked outside a home, and with a clear message that your everyday life may soon look like this when the driverless vehicles shows up at your door.
Tesla has begun the rollout of its Robotaxi service across US cities, and the production of its dedicated, fully-autonomous Cybercab vehicle. The first Cybercab rolled off the Giga Texas assembly line on February 17, 2026, with volume production now targeted for this month. Additionally, the Robotaxi service built around it is already running, without human drivers, in US cities.
Tesla Cybercab production ignites with 60 units spotted at Giga Texas
The Cybercab is built without a steering wheel, pedals, or side mirrors, designed from the ground up for unsupervised autonomous operation. Musk described the manufacturing approach as closer to consumer electronics than traditional car production, targeting a cycle time of one unit every ten seconds at full scale.
Drone footage from April 13, 2026 captured over 50 Cybercab units on the Giga Texas campus, with several clustered near the crash testing facility. Musk has noted that Tesla plans to sell the Cybercab to consumers for under $30,000, and owners will be able to add their vehicles to the Tesla robotaxi network when not in personal use, potentially generating income to offset the vehicle’s purchase cost. That model changes the math on vehicle ownership in a meaningful way, making a car something closer to a depreciating asset that can also earn by paying itself off and generate a profit.
During Tesla’s Q4 earnings call, the company confirmed plans to expand the Robotaxi program to seven new cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas. The service already runs without safety drivers in Austin, and public road testing of the Cybercab has expanded to five states, including California, Texas, New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
Golden era pic.twitter.com/AS6pX2dK8N
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) April 16, 2026
Tesla announced its Spring 2026 software update, and it’s the most feature-dense seasonal release the company has put out. The update covers twelve named changes spanning FSD, voice AI, safety lighting, dashcam storage, and pet display customization, among other things.
The centerpiece for owners with AI4 hardware is a redesigned Self-Driving app. The new interface lets owners subscribe to Full Self-Driving with a single tap and view ongoing FSD usage stats directly in the vehicle.
Grok gets its biggest in-car upgrade yet. The update adds a “Hey Grok” hands-free wake word along with location-based reminders, so a driver can now say “remind me to pick up groceries when I get home” without touching the screen. Grok first arrived in vehicles in July 2025, but each update has pushed it closer to genuine daily utility. Musk framed the broader vision clearly at Davos in January, saying Tesla is “really moving into a future that is based on autonomy.”
On safety, the update introduces enhanced blind spot warning lights that integrate directly with the cabin’s ambient lighting, building on the blind spot door warning that arrived in update 2026.8.
Dog Mode has been renamed Pet Mode and now lets owners choose a dog, cat, or hedgehog icon and add their pet’s name to the display.
Dashcam retention now extends up to 24 hours, up from the previous one-hour rolling loop, with a permanent save option for any clip. Weather maps now show rain and snow with better color differentiation and include the past hour of precipitation data along the route.
Tesla has now established a clear rhythm of two major OTA pushes per year. As with last year’s Spring update, that cycle started taking shape in 2025 with adaptive headlights and trunk customization. The 2025 Holiday Update then added Grok to the vehicle for the first time. This Spring follows that structure: the Holiday update introduces new architecture, and the Spring update broadens it across the fleet.
Two notable features still did not make it. IFTTT automations, which launched in China earlier this year, were held back from this North American release for unknown reasons, and Apple CarPlay remains absent, reportedly still delayed by iOS 26 and Apple Maps compatibility issues.
Below is the full list of feature updates released by Tesla.
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 13, 2026
Tesla is sending its humanoid Optimus robot to the Boston Marathon
Tesla expands Unsupervised Robotaxi service to two new cities
