Lifestyle
Tesla Model S, Model 3 set hypermile records: 701 mi. (1128 km) and 623 mi. (1001 km), respectively
German car rental company nextmove recently set a new hypermile record for the Tesla Model S, traveling a total of 701 miles (1,128 kilometers) on a single charge over more than 30 straight hours of driving at the DEKRA test circuit at Lausitzring in Brandenburg, Germany.
Being a car rental company, nextmove was quite familiar with Tesla’s electric cars. The company selected the Model S 100D as its car of choice for its hypermile attempt, and as could be seen in the video, a set of classic Aero Wheels for the full-sized all-electric sedan was also fitted on the vehicle. In a way, selecting the Model S 100D for the task is strategic, considering that the variant of the electric car has the highest EPA rating among Tesla’s offerings at 335 miles (539.1 km) per charge. In comparison, the EPA has a rating of 315 miles for the Model S 100D’s faster sibling and world’s quickest production car – the P100D.
The nextmove team was deliberate in its hypermile attempt to overtake the previous hypermile record set by another Model S 100D after it drove 670 miles (1,077 km) on a single charge. Last year’s feat, which was accomplished by Tesla Owners Italia, ultimately confirmed Elon Musk’s statement on Twitter that with the right tires, the Model S should be able to travel 1000 km in one charge. During its run, Tesla Owners Italia’s Model S 100D maintained an average of 91 Wh/km. On the latter parts of the journey, however, the electric car became even more efficient, hitting 88 Wh/km during the final 77 km of driving.
During nextmove’s recent attempt, the team immediately went for an average of 88 Wh/km, traveling at a constant speed of 38 kph (23.6 mph). According to nextmove Managing Director Stefan Moeller, the company’s car rental activities ultimately became practice for its record-setting hypermile run.
“As an electric car rental, we know many models very well from everyday practice. So we had a good sense of how long we could delay the ride in the end, without lying down. We managed to drive the Model S completely empty and come to a stop in the base camp directly at a loading facility,” he said.
The feat, however, did not come without challenges or discomforts. The hypermile attempt lasted a total of 31 hours, and to save on battery life, the vehicle’s windows were mostly closed and opened only for ventilation. No air conditioning was used, and the Model S 100D’s radio was not turned on as well. Autopilot was briefly used during the run, though nextmove stated that most of the steering was done by its drivers. Cruise control was utilized to control the vehicle’s speed to just 38 kph. By the time the drive was completed, the Model S 100D had traveled 1,128 kilometers (701 miles), with an average efficiency of 89 Wh/km.
A Tesla Model S 100D with Aero Wheels recently set a new hypermile record. [Credit: nextmove]
The quality of its battery packs and its vehicle’s range are among Tesla’s main strengths. Apart from the Model S, the nextmove team also set another record for the Model 3, traveling 623 miles (1,001 km) in a single charge. Unlike the Model S, however, the Model 3 accomplished its feat entirely on Autopilot, with a dummy on the driver’s seat simulating a driver.
While hypermiling does not really depict real-world driving scenarios, it is still quite impressive to see how far electric cars could travel when their efficiency and battery life are pushed to the limit. Earlier this year, two Tesla owners, Denver Tesla Club president Sean Mitchell and Erik Strait, a fellow Tesla owner and host to a popular YouTube channel, managed to squeeze as much as 606.2 miles (975.58 km) from a Model 3. Unlike nextmove, which did its hypermile run on a closed circuit, the two Tesla enthusiasts conducted their drive on public roads, simulating a more realistic driving scenario.
Watch nextmove’s record-setting hypermile run on the Tesla Model S 100D in the video below.
Elon Musk
NASA’s first human outpost on the Moon starts now – SpaceX on deck
NASA named the rovers, landers, and vendors that will build America’s first Moon Base.
NASA has laid out its most detailed Moon Base plan to date, describing a permanent outpost near the Moon’s south pole that the agency intends to build over the coming decade as a direct stepping stone to Mars. “The Moon Base will be America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, adding that every mission crewed and uncrewed “will be a learning opportunity as we return to the lunar surface, build the infrastructure to stay, and master the skills required to live and operate in one of the most demanding and dangerous environments imaginable.”
The plan is structured in three phases involving both uncrewed and crewed missions to deliver equipment, vehicles, and infrastructure to the surface, with the first three moon base missions targeted to launch before the end of 2026.
Moon Base I, targeting fall 2026, will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to deliver scientific instruments to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge, the same region where Artemis astronauts will land. Moon Base II will send Astrobotic’s Griffin lander carrying more than 1,100 pounds of cargo including Astrolab’s FLIP rover to begin developing mobility systems on the surface. Moon Base III will carry the Lunar Vertex science mission on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lander to study lunar swirls near the south pole, with ESA and Korean science payloads aboard.
On the rover side, NASA awarded Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million to build the first phase of Lunar Terrain Vehicles, with both rovers targeted for deployment to the lunar surface by 2028. Astrolab’s crewed rover weighs roughly 2,000 pounds and can reach over 6 mph. Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus rover can operate autonomously or via remote control at over 9 mph. Blue Origin separately received $188 million with an option worth $280.4 million to deliver cargo landers for rover transport.
NASA also confirmed that MoonFall, a mission deploying four survey drones to scout Artemis landing sites, has selected Firefly Aerospace to build the transport spacecraft, with a 2028 launch target.
SpaceX sits at the center of that commercial layer. SpaceX holds the NASA Human Landing System contract for the Starship-derived lander that will put astronauts on the surface under Artemis IV, currently targeting 2028. Before that can happen, SpaceX must demonstrate in-orbit propellant transfer at scale, a process requiring multiple Starship tanker launches to fuel a single mission. Water ice at the lunar south pole is central to the base’s long-term viability, as it can be converted into drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket fuel, directly reducing dependence on Earth resupply. That resource loop becomes far more practical if Starship can land and be refueled on or near the Moon itself.
Elon Musk has publicly stated that Starship V3, which recently completed its first flight, should be capable enough for initial Mars missions. The Moon Base plan announced Tuesday is the infrastructure layer that connects everything between those two ambitions, and SpaceX is the only American company currently contracted to build the rocket that gets humans to either destination.
Elon Musk
Tesla ditches India after years of broken promises
Tesla has ditched its plans to build a factory in India after years of failed negotiations.
Tesla’s long-running effort to establish a manufacturing presence in India is officially over. India’s Minister of Heavy Industries H.D. Kumaraswamy confirmed on May 19, 2026 that Tesla has informed authorities it will not proceed with a manufacturing facility in the country.
Tesla first signaled serious interest in India around 2021, when it began hiring local staff and lobbying the Indian government for lower import tariffs. The ask was straightforward: reduce duties enough for Tesla to test the market with imported vehicles before committing capital to a local factory. India’s position was equally firm, with an ask of Tesla to commit to manufacturing first, then receive tariff relief. Neither side moved, and the talks quietly collapsed.
Tesla to open first India experience center in Mumbai on July 15
India had offered a policy that would reduce import duties from 110% down to 15% on EVs priced above $35,000, provided companies committed at least $500 million toward local manufacturing investment within three years. Tesla declined to participate. The tariff standoff was only part of the problem. Analysts pointed to significant gaps in India’s local supply chain, inadequate industrial infrastructure, and a mismatch between Tesla’s premium pricing and the purchasing power of India’s automotive market as additional factors that made the investment difficult to justify.
First signs of an unraveling relationship came in April 2024, when Musk abruptly cancelled a planned trip to India where he was set to meet Prime Minister Modi and announce Tesla’s market entry. By July 2024, Fortune reported that Tesla executives had stopped contacting Indian government officials entirely. The government at that point understood Tesla had capital constraints and no plans to invest.
The more fundamental issue is that Tesla’s existing factories are currently operating at approximately 60% capacity, making a commitment to building new manufacturing capacity in a new market difficult to defend to investors. Tesla will continue selling imported Model Y vehicles through its existing showrooms in Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru, but local production is no longer part of the plan.
Elon Musk
Trump’s invite for Elon just reshuffled Tesla’s big Signature Delivery Event
Tesla rescheduled its final Model S farewell to May 20 after Musk joined Trump in China.
Tesla has rescheduled its Model S and Model X Signature Edition delivery event to Wednesday, May 20, 2026, after abruptly calling off the original May 12 celebration. The event will take place at Tesla’s factory at 45500 Fremont Boulevard in Fremont, California, the same location where the Model S first rolled off the line in 2012. Invitees received a follow-up email asking them to reconfirm attendance and download a new QR code ticket, with Tesla noting that all travel and accommodation expenses remain the buyer’s responsibility.
The reason behind the original cancellation came into focus the same day it was announced. President Trump invited Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, and executives from Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Meta to join his trip to China this week for a summit with President Xi Jinping. The agenda covers trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan, and the Iran war, following weeks of escalating friction between Washington and Beijing over AI technology, sanctions, and rare earth exports. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all.”
Tesla launches 200mph Model S “Gold” Signature in invite-only purchase
The vehicles at the center of all this are the last Model S and Model X units Tesla will ever build. Priced at $159,420 each, the 250 Model S and 100 Model X Signature Edition units come finished in Garnet Red with a one-year no-resale agreement, giving Tesla right of first refusal if the owner decides to sell. As Teslarati reported, the Model S defined Tesla’s early identity as a serious luxury automaker, and the Fremont factory line that built it is now being converted to manufacture Optimus humanoid robots.
Musk’s inclusion in the China delegation drew attention given his very public relationship with Trump, and the invitation signals the two have moved past and past grievances. Trump originally brought Musk on to lead the Department of Government Efficiency following his inauguration, and despite a sharp public dispute in mid-2025, the two have appeared together repeatedly in recent months. A seat on the China trip, the most diplomatically consequential visit of Trump’s current term, puts Musk back at the table on U.S. economic policy at a moment when Tesla’s China revenue remains one of the company’s most important financial pillars.
Tesla teases going Plaid Mode with the Model 3
NASA’s first human outpost on the Moon starts now – SpaceX on deck
