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Tesla’s Model S for Kids challenged by tiny McLaren with infotainment system

McLaren's ride-on 720S for kids. | Image: McLaren Automotive Limited

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When it comes to all-electric performance, adults aren’t the only ones allowed to partake in the fun. Tesla’s kid-sized version of the Model S has been a hit with its fan community since it debuted 2016, but now McLaren is also looking to inspire a new generation of future fans of its brand with a pint-sized, ride-on 720S supercar with some big features.

The littlest member of the McLaren family resembles its older brethren in a few ways. It has two functioning dihedral doors with exposed carbon-style elements, and the entire design of the toy is styled to be immediately identifiable with the 720S it’s modeled after to include the brake lights, pedals, and working air vents. Official McLaren retailers will have the brand’s classic Papaya Spark color available exclusively, but seven other paint choices will be offered at contracted retailers including Azores Orange, Belize Blue, Lantana Purple, Onyx Black, Mauvine Blue, Silica White, and Saros Grey. Altogether, McLaren clearly had authenticity in mind for its youngest drivers, specifically those 3-6 years in age.

Since speed is limited by the nature of the ride-on 720S, which likely maxes out around 3 mph, it makes sense that McLaren added a few bonus items; they just so happen to resemble features similar to Tesla’s full-size vehicles. The dashboard has an infotainment screen that can play a preloaded selection of children’s music or show a movie by plugging in a USB or SD card into built-in sockets. Parents also have the option of operating the car in a pseudo-Autopilot mode by driving it via remote control. Unlike a Tesla, however, the mini McLaren has electronic engine sounds that are activated by the accelerator pedal.

Tesla’s Model S for Kids was produced in partnership with Radio Flyer, a classic toy maker known for its high-quality products. Along with an incredible amount of detail paying tribute to the real vehicle that inspired it, the stylish ride-on includes a Tesla-branded lithium ion battery pack, a charger that perfectly resembles Tesla’s own Wall Connector, working headlights, and even a functional β€œfrunk” where kids can store their belongings. The P90D badge adorns the rear of the vehicle as well, but despite missing the Ludicrous Mode underline, the mini-Model S can double in speed from 3 mph to 6mph via a protected switch. Not one to leave kids hanging on tech, Tesla’s toy also has an MP3 sound system.

The kid-sized 720S isn’t McLaren’s first foray into ride-on toys. A tiny, electric-only powered version of the P1 plug-in hybrid was released in 2016 and a parent-pushed version of the 570S sports car came out in 2017. Both are well-styled and look to serve their purpose of inspiring little riders to sign on to the brand. It’s also somewhat fitting that by the time those same riders are able to drive the adult versions of their playthings, McLaren will likely have a real car out that exclusively uses electricity as a power source, too. The three options available for now, though, are a good bit of fun to start.

The McLaren’s full-sized 720S has a body inspired by the Great White Shark, but whether its mini-me will turn out to be a “Tesla killer” remains to be seen. Perhaps the little Model S is due for a big overhaul.

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Watch the official McLaren kid car debut video below:

Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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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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