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Porsche Taycan Turbo first ride teases production specs and price, Turbo S and RWD GTS variant

A render of the Porsche Taycan's production version. (Photo: Dee/TaycanForum.com)

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Porsche recently granted Automobile Magazine a rare test ride in the Taycan Turbo, the top-tier variant of the company’s first modern all-electric car. The test drive provided what could only be described as the closest look yet at the upcoming vehicle, and based on the impressions of the magazine; it appears that the Taycan Turbo could very well become one of Porsche’s most iconic cars yet.

Porsche designed the Taycan with the same principles as its other vehicles. It’s luxurious inside and out, it handles like a sports car, and it is quick — very, very quick. The motoring magazine highlighted this in its test ride, stating that the vehicle has a habit of pushing drivers and passengers back into their seats when it accelerates from 0-60 mph in just over 3 seconds. The publication also noted that the Taycan is more reminiscent of the Porsche 911 than Porsche’s four-door flagship, the Panamera, based on the way the car handled itself despite its weight.

While the Taycan is undeniably impressive, the test ride did raise a particular concern for the vehicle: it’s charging infrastructure, which remains a work in progress. The Taycan could be charged with up to 250 kW at an 800V charge point, but there are only a few charging stations with that output today. Even 400V stations, which can charge the Taycan at around 150 kW, are still relatively few. One can only hope that Porsche can secure the Taycan’s charging infrastructure by the time the vehicle’s production version is unveiled this coming September.

A render of the Porsche Taycan’s production version. (Credit: St00k/Taycanforum.com)

Perhaps most notable from the publication’s test drive were the details of the electric car that were revealed by the carmaker. For one, all Taycans, regardless of trim, are equipped with coated PSCB brakes, though carbon ceramic options are available. Similar to other electric vehicles, the Taycan is capable of regenerative braking as well, though the vehicle’s maximum regeneration is an impressive 250 kW. Higher-tier models also boast features like air suspension and rear-wheel steering.

Porsche is yet to fully announce the final specs of the Taycan, though a brand ambassador has confirmed the contents of a document obtained by the Automobile listing the features and specs of each Taycan version. According to the document, the base Taycan will be Rear Wheel Drive only, and it will be equipped with an 80 kWh battery pack. The base Taycan will be powered by a choice of 240-kW (322-hp) and 280-kW (375-hp) motors, and it will command a price in the low ~$90,000 range.

A render of the Porsche Taycan’s production version. (Credit: St00k/Taycanforum.com)

The vehicle’s mid-range variant, the Taycan 4S, will reportedly be equipped with a 96 kW battery pack and 320-kW (429-hp) or 360-kW (483-hp) electric motors. Pricing for the Taycan 4S will reportedly start in the high ~$90,000 range. The Taycan Turbo, which will be the vehicle’s top-of-the-line version upon its release, will reportedly feature a 96 kWh battery, a 160-kW (215-hp)/221-lb-ft motor up front, and a 300-kW (402-hp)/405-lb-ft motor at the rear. Pricing for the Taycan Turbo is expected to start at ~$140,000.

The Porsche Taycan is expected to be unveiled sometime this coming September, with the company offering the base, 4S, and Turbo versions to customers. At least two other variants of the Taycan will reportedly be unveiled later, one of which is a pretty insane 540-kW (724-hp) Turbo S version and a lighter RWD GTS trim that will most likely be incredibly fun to drive on the track. Porsche is also planning on improving its charging infrastructure in the near future, with peak charging rates for the vehicle increasing from 250 kW to 350 kW by 2021 at the latest.

The Porsche Taycan is arguably one of the most anticipated vehicles in the electric car market this year, particularly as it is one that has the potential to directly challenge the Tesla Model S in the premium EV segment. Porsche is moving full throttle to prepare for the Taycan’s production and ramp, with the company drastically upgrading its Zuffenhausen site to accommodate the manufacturing of the vehicle.

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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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Energy

Tesla Model 3 and Model Y can now do what only Cybertruck could

Tesla Model 3 and Model Y can power your home with Powerwall 3 during outages.

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Tesla has turned its two top sellers into backup batteries for the house.

Tesla Energy announced on Tuesday that Powershare Home Backup is now available for new Model 3 and Model Y vehicles paired with a Powerwall 3, saying the car can “extend your home backup by over 2 days.” Minutes later, Tesla’s main account quoted the post with a broader pitch: “With Powerwall 3, every Tesla can now serve as your home’s backup battery.”

Until this week, the Cybertruck was the only Tesla that could send power back into a home, and that capability only began working alongside Powerwall 3 last month, after years of ambitious targets.

Tesla’s updated Powershare page says every Model 3 and Model Y ordered in the U.S. or Puerto Rico on or after October 1, 2026 can use the feature. Some, but not all, earlier cars also qualify. Owners can check on the touchscreen under Software, then Additional Vehicle Information, where a capable car shows “Powershare Support: Enabled.” As Electrek reported, bidirectional power on the two cars runs through an inverter Tesla calls PCS2 Lite, and the company has not said when that part entered production on each trim.

The home side is simpler. A house that already has a Powerwall 3 and either a Wall Connector 3 or Universal Wall Connector needs no additional equipment, and Tesla says compatibility is enabled through a software update. When the grid drops, the Powerwall and the car work together, with up to 11.52 kW of continuous power available. Tesla’s “over two days” estimate assumes a home using 30 kWh per day and a car starting at a 90 percent charge. Standard trims are rated for up to two days, while the Cybertruck adds more than three.

There are limits. Powerwall 2 and Powerwall+ support is listed as “coming soon.” Model S and Model X are not included, and Grid Support, the program that lets Cybertruck owners in Texas send power back to the grid during demand spikes for bill credits, is not available for Model 3 or Model Y.

The rollout also lines up with something Elon Musk said more than three years ago. At Tesla’s March 2023 Investor Day, Musk said, “I don’t think very many people are going to want to use bidirectional charging, unless you have a Powerwall.” Tesla has now shipped the feature for its volume cars with exactly that requirement attached.

The Powerwall pairing was the hard part on Cybertruck. Tesla told owners in December 2025 that Powershare with Powerwall had been pushed to mid 2026, and lead engineer Wes Morrill explained that two devices capable of forming a home’s grid have to negotiate which one leads during an outage, across multiple generations of hardware. With that work done for the truck, Tesla was able to extend it to the Model 3 and Model Y within a month.

Ford and GM have offered home backup from their EVs for several years, but both require a separate inverter and backup hardware. Tesla’s version leans on equipment many Powerwall 3 owners already have on the wall. Powershare for the two cars also ships as part of software update 2026.38.3, the same release that began delivering Halloween Mode on Tuesday.

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Tesla ships ‘spooky’ Halloween Mode with creepy and fun features

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is now starting to ship a “Halloween Mode” that is filled with some creepy and fun features; the company says, “This spooky update turns your Tesla into a haunted house on wheels.”

The update is just the latest in a series of updates that Tesla typically ships out in a seasonal fashion. The Spring and Summer Updates provided some fun novelty items while also packing some cool features that are actually useful for the ownership experience.

This one seems to be more fun-forward, and there are not any updates to the Full Self-Driving suite or overall operation of the vehicle. Instead, these novelty features are geared toward getting you in the mood for the Fall and Halloween.

New Ghost Costume on Car Avatar

Driver Visualization will now show your vehicle as a ghost, as an all-white sheet is draped over the vehicle. Pedestrians are turned into mummies or skeletons, and other vehicles are all a spooky green:

Credit: Tesla

Additionally, the Park Scene with your Tesla now displays that ghost costume draped over your vehicle in the foreground of a scary backdrop with Jack-o-Lanterns and a haunted house:

Credit: Tesla

Trick or Treat Mode

Trick or Treat Mode will enable the vehicle to play spooky sounds and flicker the lights as visitors approach. This might be a nice touch for when you’re handing out candy to kids on Halloween Night.

Other Features

Tesla is also adding a new Light Show, new Wrap Options, and a new Lock Sound with this update.

Credit: Tesla

Additionally, Photobooth has a new Halloween option:

Credit: Tesla

You will also be able to speak remotely through the app and transmit your voice to people outside, which is not a new feature, but the car will say it in a voice of its own, which is a new feature with that bullhorn-like feature.

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Investor's Corner

SpaceX reveals how its 1 Million AI satellite network will work and prevent space collisions

SpaceX reveals plans for one million Starmind AI satellites and calls out operators hiding maneuvers.

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Concept rendering of SpaceX Starmind constellation via Grok
Concept rendering of SpaceX Starmind constellation via Grok

SpaceX has put the largest satellite count it has ever published into writing, and it says that plan only works if every other operator in orbit starts sharing what it knows.

In a new Space Safety page highlighted Tuesday morning by Sawyer Merritt on X, SpaceX said it “plans to operate up to 100,000 Starlink satellites and up to 1 million Starmind AI satellites to meet the growing demand for broadband and supercompute.” Starlink has a little over 11,000 satellites in orbit today, so the target alone implies roughly a ninefold expansion of the broadband network.

Starmind is SpaceX’s orbital AI compute constellation. Elon Musk confirmed the Starmind name in June after an xAI trademark filing surfaced, and in August SpaceX said it was working with Nvidia on the compute payload. The FCC accepted the filing for up to one million satellites back in February.

FCC accepts SpaceX filing for 1 million orbital data center plan

SpaceX also released a new render of what a full Starmind constellation could look like. Alongside it, SpaceX VP Michael Nicolls explained why the satellites will not operate on their own. “We need to operate clusters of satellites in tight formation to get enough coherent compute to run AI models efficiently,” Nicolls said. “A cluster will be 10-ish satellites connected with 10 terabits or so of bandwidth between them, and interconnected to the broader constellation.”

That is the most specific detail SpaceX has given on how Starmind will be built. Instead of a million independent servers, the network would work as tightly packed groups of about 10 satellites acting as one compute unit, with Starlink’s laser links carrying results back to Earth.


Packing satellites that close together, at that scale, makes collision avoidance the central problem, and most of the Space Safety page is aimed at other operators. SpaceX said Starlink encountered collision risks with about 650 unique maneuvering third party satellites in 2026, and only about half of them shared data. Over six months, Starlink recorded roughly 164,000 more collision risks where the closest approach came within four hours of an unannounced maneuver.

Some operators keep maneuver plans private over proprietary concerns, while others cannot get government permission to share them. SpaceX called those policies “counterproductive,” saying they “largely only serve to create preventable collision risk between satellites.” Starlink is also offering a free ephemeris sharing and screening platform that returns risk results within a minute, backed by its Stargaze network of 30,000 optical sensors.

The push comes as the Starmind application draws opposition from astronomers and environmental groups. In a September filing with the FCC, SpaceX said each Starmind satellite could weigh up to 4,000 kg, nearly seven times the mass of a Starlink V2 Mini. Musk has brushed off crowding concerns before, telling viewers in June that “space is enormous” and that SpaceX already knows how to run very large constellations safely.

SpaceX’s Starmind page says its Gigasat factory in Bastrop, Texas, is designed to produce AI satellites at scale, with deployment of thousands of units starting as soon as late 2027.

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