Lifestyle
Tesla Model S finally takes on Porsche Taycan in electric heavyweight battle
The Tesla Model S Performance and Porsche Taycan Turbo S have finally gone head to head. Tesla’s flagship sedan which was first released in 2012 has been waiting for a worthy competitor, and it finally received a rival when Porsche unveiled the Taycan in September 2019.
Automotive publication Car and Driver pegged the two Dual Motor electric sedans up against each other to see what vehicle was superior. After testing everything from performance to comfort, they determined the winner was the Model S.
A neutral party was exactly what the electric vehicle community needed to determine which performance-level car was superior. Car and Driver noted that while the vehicles both had positives and negatives, neither truly disappointed overall. It was clear the reviewers were happy with both the 778 horsepower Model S “Raven” and the 750 horsepower Taycan, but only could be the winner.
The Taycan held the upper-hand during the performance test. The Porsche’s 30-to-50 MPH and 50-to-70 MPH acceleration rates were the fastest they had ever seen in a vehicle. The Taycan also offered 1.3 G-forces of initial acceleration, comparing it to what they thought a time-travel portal would feel like.
Another point was given to the Taycan after charging the vehicles. The Taycan utilized 350-kW Electrify American chargers that were never occupied by another electric car during the duration of the Porsche’s charging session. It also charged at a consistently higher rate than the Tesla Supercharger C&D used for the Model S. “Tesla’s Supercharger network might have more stations, but it also has more users, and Tesla owners have faced long queues just to plug in during peak travel times.”
While C&D did state they feel the Taycan is a better vehicle “from the driver’s seat alone,” it was not enough to justify the drastic price difference between the two vehicles. The Tesla Model S Performance is available for $99,990 on Tesla.com, while the Taycan Turbo S is $188,960 on Porsche’s website.
The Model S offered the reviewers a fast, spacious, and comfortable driving experience. They recognize the vehicle’s catalytic effect on the growth of not just electric vehicles, but the automotive industry in general. The car’s interior, including its huge infotainment screens, which have spread to internal combustion vehicles, was just one of the reasons the Model S was superior.
While the Taycan outperformed the Model S in eight of the thirteen different speed tests that included a one-foot rollout, 0-60 MPH, 0-100 MPH, 0-130MPH, 0-150 MPH, 5-60 MPH rolling start, top gear tests from both 30-50 MPH and 50-70 MPH, a quarter-mile race, top speed, braking from both 70 and 100 MPH, and roadholding tests on a 300-foot diameter skidpad, the reviewers stated they missed other features when they started driving the Porsche. The biggest was Tesla’s “one-pedal driving” feature, “we missed it every time we hopped back into the Taycan,” Dave VanderWerp wrote.
- Porsche Taycan Turbo S
- Rollout, 1 foot: 0.2 seconds
- 0-60 MPH: 2.4 seconds
- 0-100 MPH: 6.0 seconds
- 0-130 MPH: 10.5 seconds
- 0-150 MPH: 15.2 seconds
- 5-60 MPH rolling start: 2.9 seconds
- Top Gear, 30-50 MPH: 1.1 seconds
- Top Gear, 50-70 MPH: 1.6 seconds
- Top Speed (according to Porsche): 162 MPH
- Braking, 70-0 MPH: 155 ft, 100-0 MPH: 306 ft
- Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.99 g
- Tesla Model S Performance “Raven”
- Rollout, 1 foot: 0.2 seconds
- 0-60 MPH: 2.5 seconds
- 0-100 MPH: 6.4 seconds
- 0-130 MPH: 11.9 seconds
- 0-150 MPH: 18.5 seconds
- 5-60 MPH rolling start: 2.8 seconds
- Top Gear, 30-50 MPH: 1.1 seconds
- Top Gear, 50-70 MPH: 1.6 seconds
- Top Speed (according to Tesla): 163 MPH
- Braking, 70-0 MPH: 156 ft, 100-0 MPH: 313 ft
- Roadholding, 300-ft-dia-skidpad: 0.92 g
One surprising portion of the comparison was range. The Model S boasts an EPA estimated 348 miles per charge, while the Taycan only offers 192 miles. However, a test where both vehicles traveled at 75 MPH for a total distance of 100 miles proved that the Model S only held a slight advantage with only 10 more miles of range after completion.
While both cars were impressive and offered something special, the nearly $190,000 price tag of the Taycan Turbo S was simply too high for what it offered. The Model S was a better car all-around as its virtues were simply undeniable and proven after eight years of continuous top-notch performance. “There’s no question which is the better buy,” they said, and it is the Model S.
The full comparison of both vehicles from Car and Driver is available here.
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.
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.
Giga Texas today is busy with production coming back up following the long weekend. Of interest today in the outbound lot is the appearance of hundreds of Mode; YL’s and many more Cybercabs and for the 1st time equipped with the Starlink module one the hatch in big numbers.
At… pic.twitter.com/G9yl6s51m4
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) September 8, 2026
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.
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.
Lifestyle
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.
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.
Tailgate Utility Trackhttps://t.co/PCAYXlFBvS pic.twitter.com/sCV2NVxf1W
— Cybertruck (@cybertruck) September 3, 2026
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.
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.
Elon Musk
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.
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.
But we do need to act much faster than that if people still want to live where the beach is today. We have about 50 years or so to take action, which should be more than enough time for the space satellites to solve any heating problems. https://t.co/xhrVQALwQw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2026
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.
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.
