Lifestyle
Comic book artist reimagines Tesla’s Model X as a Transformers robot
Die hard Transformers fan and c0host to the TransMissions podcast, Youseph Tanha, surely has the most unique one-of-a-kind Tesla Model X on the planet. Equipped with its own Falcon Wing missiles – that’s right, missiles – and the ability to transform into a two story tall robot, Tanha’s Model X which goes by the name ‘Voltic’ is undoubtedly more than meets the eye. At least in comic book form.
We caught up with Tanha, who goes by the name Yoshi, to learn more about his unique project that would immortalize Tesla’s Model X and Model S as a generation one Transformer.
How did this project come about?
I’m an old school G1 Transformers fan. (G1 is how a person refers to the original Transformers toys, cartoon, animated movie, and comic books of the 80s.) I believe it was in 2002 that comic book companies started to experiment with releasing comic books with blank covers, (also known as sketch covers). The idea being that comic book fans would buy these blank comics and take them to comic convention where comic artists would do up a sketch for them for a fee.
In recent years these blank covers have become more popular. I don’t believe we’ve come close to the apex of their potential yet. I put together a short video talking about this on my blog.
The original Marvel Comics Transformers run ended in in 1991 after 80 issues. The ending of this series was rushed due to lack luster sales at the time. In 2012, After acquiring the comic rights, IDW Publishing gathered one of the original writers and several of the original artist of the Marvel Transformers comic together for 21 issues and give them a chance to give the comic book a proper closing. That comic book series was called Transformers: Regeneration One and ended in 2014.
From these 21 issues, 4 were blank sketch covers. The one used for the ‘Voltic’ project is issue 96.
I’ve wanted to commission a Transformers comic book artist for the ‘Voltic’ project for nearly a year. For me it was just finding the right Transformers artist and time.
Later this month, I’ll be attending a Transformers Convention (TFCon) in Chicago. This year’s TFCon has round up an impressive number of Transformers comic book artist, including Brendan Cahill. When I found out Mr. Cahill would be attending TFCon, I contacted him to request a comic sketch cover art commission that I could pick up at the convention. This way I not only get a commission piece I want, but I also get to shake hands with the person who created it.
In my original e-mail to Mr. Cahill, I pitched two ideas to him for the commission. He chose the Tesla idea. Here is the pitch.
“Custom G1 Transformer. Modeled after the TESLA Model X car. In both car and bot mode. I have an OptimusPrime photo attached to this e-mail to show you what I’m going for as far as showing both modes at the same time. On the cover I would like written, “Introducing Voltic”. I want to make sure that the drawing shows the TESLA and Autobot Logos in appropriate places. I’m Also attaching a couple of TESLA Model X images for reference. I would like the vehicle mode to show off one, if not both, gull wing doors.”
That was it. The correspondence afterword dealt with the cost of the work and where to mail the blank comic book too. Didn’t really give him any other impute on the design. He just uses my references as a guide and it turned out the way I wanted it to.
The name, ‘Voltic’ comes form the video game, Grand Theft Auto 5 of which I’m a big fan of. The game has a parody of TESLA called ‘COIL’ and their car model is the Voltic.
I also want to add that earlier in the year I had commissioned a different artist to make a Model S Transformers.
A sketch of @TeslaMotors Model S. @elonmusk https://t.co/9D2yfh4j42 pic.twitter.com/PmMluAL4lw
— Yoshi (@YousephTanha) June 29, 2016
Is this officially recognized by IDW and will it make it into print?
Nope. Not at all. But wouldn’t it be cool if it was?
The character is original to myself and Mr. Cahill. As far as I know, IDW Publishing has no plans to make a Transformer character model after a Tesla vehicle. I imagine if they wanted to do this they would be requires to pay Tesla for the rights to use their vehicle’s likeness. I also don’t think it fits with the current direction that IDW has taken characters and story in their current on going transformers comics.
What are some of the attack and defense mechanisms that ‘Voltic’ has over other Transformers?
I have put zero thought into this. Originally, the transformers story takes place in the 80s. The Transformers crash landed on earth and their alt modes (Vehicle modes) where based on the technology of the time. Optimus Prime is a flat nosed MACK Truck. Bumble Bee is a VW Beatle. Star Scream is a F-22 Raptor, and so on. Its fun to think if the story took place in 2016 that one of those Transformers would have been a Tesla. it’s almost silly to think that wouldn’t happen today.
Mr. Cahill clearly had fun with this project and added some missiles to the falcon wing doors. But I’ve put zero thought into Voltic’s unique abilities. Mostly because I probably would end up writing 5 pages about it if i started. I can tell you, like all Transformers, he would have an internal repair system in place and advanced communications abilities.
Lifestyle
Tesla Semi hauls fresh Cybercab batch as Robotaxi era takes hold
A Tesla Semi was filmed hauling Cybercab units out of Giga Texas for the first time.
A Tesla Semi loaded with Cybercab units was recently filmed leaving Gigafactory Texas, marking what appears to be the first documented delivery run of Tesla’s autonomous two-seater. The footage shows multiple Cybercabs secured on a flatbed trailer being hauled by a production Tesla Semi, a truck rated for a gross combination weight of 82,000 lbs. The location is consistent with Giga Texas in Austin, where Cybercab production has been ramping since February 2026.
The sighting follows a wave of Cybercab activity at the Austin facility. In late April, drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer spotted approximately 60 Cybercabs parked in two organized groups in the factory’s outbound lot, the largest concentration observed to date. Units being staged in an outbound lot is a standard pre-delivery step, and the Semi footage is the logical next frame in that sequence.
En route with @tesla_semi pic.twitter.com/ZfuOjaeLH1
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) May 7, 2026
This is not the first time Tesla has used its own Semi to move Tesla products. When the Semi was unveiled in 2017, Musk noted it would be used for Tesla’s own operations, and over the years Semi prototypes were spotted carrying cargo ranging from concrete weights to Tesla vehicles being delivered to consumers. In 2023, a Semi was photographed transporting a Cybertruck on a trailer ahead of that vehicle’s delivery launch.
The Cybercab itself was first revealed publicly at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, where 20 pre-production units gave attendees rides around the studio lot. Musk stated at the event that Tesla intends to produce the Cybercab before 2027. The first production unit rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026, with Musk posting on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab.”
Tesla’s annual production goal is 2 million Cybercabs per year once multiple factories reach full design capacity, with the company targeting a price under $30,000 per unit. Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.
Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.
Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.
The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.
What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing. Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybercab just rolled through Miami inside a glass box
Tesla paraded a Cybercab in a glass display at Miami’s F1 Grand Prix event this week.
Tesla set up an “Autonomy Pop-Up” at Lummus Park in Miami Beach from April 29 through May 3, 2026, embedded within the official F1 Miami Grand Prix Fan Fest. The centerpiece was a Cybertruck towing the Cybercab inside a glass display case marked “Future is Autonomous,” rolling through the beachfront crowd.
Miami is on Tesla’s confirmed list of cities for robotaxi expansion in the first half of 2026, making the promotion a strategic promotion that lays groundwork in a target market.
This was not Tesla’s first time using Miami as a showcase city. In December 2025, Tesla hosted “The Future of Autonomy Visualized” at its Miami Design District showroom, coinciding with Art Basel Miami Beach. That event featured the Cybercab prototype and Optimus robots interacting with attendees. The F1 pop-up this week marks Tesla’s return to Miami and follows a pattern Tesla has been running since early 2026. Just two weeks before Miami, Tesla stationed Optimus at the Tesla Boston Boylston Street showroom on April 19 and 20, directly on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon, letting tens of thousands of runners and spectators meet the robot for free, generating massive earned media at zero advertising cost.
Tesla is sending its humanoid Optimus robot to the Boston Marathon
Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year. On the production side, Musk told shareholders that the Cybercab manufacturing process could eventually produce up to 5 million vehicles per year, targeting a cycle time of one unit every ten seconds. Scaling robotaxis to 10 million operational units over the next ten years is a key condition of his compensation package, alongside selling 20 million passenger vehicles.
As for the Cybercab’s price, Musk has said buyers will be able to purchase one for under $30,000, with an average operating cost around $0.20 per mile. Whether those numbers hold through full production remains to be seen.
Cybercab at F1 Fan Fest in Miami
by
u/Joshalander in
teslamotors
Tesla Semi’s official battery capacity leaked by California regulators
Tesla crushes NHTSA’s brand-new ADAS safety tests – first vehicle to ever pass
