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The Model Y’s glass roof is Tesla’s best yet, and it can redefine car camping trips

(Credit: Tesla)

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Teslas are known for many things: their quickness in 0-60 mph sprints, their dominance in drag races, their extended range, their Supercharger Network, and lately, even their proficiency on the track. Apart from these, Teslas are also known for their futuristic interiors, which are represented perfectly by the vehicles’ stunning glass roofs.

The glass roofs on the Model S, Model X, and Model 3 today make the vehicles extraordinarily airy and spacious, and for a good reason. While it’s true that the glass roofs provide Tesla’s electric cars a lot of natural light, they also help optimize the space in the cabin, adding precious centimeters’ worth of headroom for passengers. Safety tests have also proven that Tesla’s glass roofs are durable, with the Model 3’s roof withstanding over 20,000 lbs of force during the NHTSA’s evaluation.

Tesla’s penchant for equipping its vehicles with glass roofs started with the Model S, the company’s first EV that it designed from the ground up. The large premium sedan’s glass roof proved popular among buyers, though a good number of Model S owners preferred the convenience of a panoramic sunroof instead. Between the two, the Model S’ sunroof provided more utility, though it also required having a bar across the sedan’s otherwise seamless roof.

The Model X is Tesla’s largest vehicle, and it comes with arguably one of the most massive windshields among SUVs available today. Just like the Model S with sunroofs, however, the Model X’s roof also provides a somewhat obstructed view, thanks to the mechanism of its Falcon Wing Doors. The Model 3 is quite the same, with its glass roof being slightly obstructed by a bar that runs between its B-pillars.

The Model Y, on the other hand, seems to be equipped with Tesla’s best glass roof yet, hands down. Teaser images and videos of the Model Y’s interior show a seamless glass roof that’s quite similar to the Model S, offering passengers a completely unobstructed view from the cabin. But unlike the Model S, the Model Y is designed for the mass-market, which means that it is priced far more aggressively than the flagship sedan.

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The Tesla Model Y starts at $52,990 for a Long Range Dual Motor AWD variant. For that price, buyers of the vehicle will get a crossover with 66 cu ft of space for cargo, a 315-mile EPA range, basic Autopilot, and a glass roof that spans the vehicle’s entire cabin. Considering the Model Y’s designation as a crossover, its roof alone would make it the best camping vehicle, hands down.

Tesla has rolled out a Camp Mode feature for its vehicles, providing owners with a way to sleep comfortably in their electric car overnight. The feature even comes with an Easter Egg within an Easter Egg in the form of a Cybertruck. With Camp Mode engaged, Tesla enthusiasts can spend the night in their Model Y with a full view of the sky above, all while enjoying a cabin that’s adjusted for the perfect temperature.

That’s a combination that’s pretty hard to beat in terms of comfort and cool factor. It does, in a way, transform the Model Y into a spacious, reasonably priced, mobile hotel room of sorts, providing car campers with protection from the elements and a killer view of the outside.

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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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Tesla teases new market entrance with confusing and cryptic message

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla teased its entrance into a new market with a confusing and what appeared to be cryptic message on the social media platform X.

The company has been teasing its entrance into several markets, including Africa, which would be a first, and South America, where it only operates in Chile.

In September, Tesla started creating active job postings for the Colombian market, hinting it would expand its presence in South America and launch in a new country for the first time in two years.

Tesla job postings seem to show next surprise market entry

The jobs were related to various roles, including Associate Sales Manager, Advisors in Sales and Delivery, and Service Technicians. These are all roles that would indicate Tesla is planning to launch a wide-scale effort to sell, manage, and repair vehicles in the market.

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Last night, Tesla posted its latest hint, a cryptic video that seems to show the outline of Colombia, teasing its closer than ever to market entry:

This would be the next expansion into a continent where it does not have much of a presence for Tesla. Currently, there are only two Supercharger locations on the entire continent, and they’re both in Chile.

Tesla will obviously need to expand upon this crucial part of the ownership experience to enable a more confident consumer base in South America as a whole. However, it is not impossible, as many other EV charging infrastructures are available, and home charging is always a suitable option for those who have access to it.

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Surprisingly, Tesla seems to be more concerned about these middle-market countries as opposed to the larger markets in South America, but that could be by design.

If Tesla were to launch in Brazil initially, it may not be able to handle the uptick in demand, and infrastructure expansion could be more difficult. Brazil may be on its list in the upcoming years, but not as of right now.

@teslarati 🚨🚨 Tesla Full Self-Driving and Yap is the best driving experience #tesla #fsd #yapping ♬ I Run – HAVEN.

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Tesla expands crucial Supercharging feature for easier access

It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.

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tesla supercharger
Credit: Tesla

Tesla has expanded a crucial Supercharging feature that helps owners identify stall availability at nearby locations.

Tesla said on Tuesday night that its “Live Availability” feature, which shows EV owners how many stalls are available at a Supercharger station, to Google Maps, a third-party app:

Already offering it in its own vehicles, the Live Availability feature that Teslas have is a helpful feature that helps you choose an appropriate station with plugs that are immediately available.

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A number on an icon where the Supercharger is located lets EV drivers know how many stalls are available.

It is a useful tool, especially during hours of congestion. However, it has not been super effective for those who drive non-Tesla EVs, as other OEMs use UI platforms like Google’s Android Auto or Apple’s iOS.

Essentially, when those drivers needed to charge at a Supercharger that enables non-Tesla EVs to plug in, there was a bit more of a gamble. There was no guarantee that a plug would be available, and with no way to see how many are open, it was a risk.

Tesla adding this feature allows people to have a more convenient and easier-to-use experience if they are in a non-Tesla EV. With the already expansive Supercharger Network being available to so many EV owners, there is more congestion than ever.

This new feature makes the entire experience better for all owners, especially as there is more transparency regarding the availability of plugs at Supercharger stalls.

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It will be interesting to see if Tesla is able to expand on this new move, as Apple Maps compatibility is an obvious goal of the company’s in the future, we could imagine. In fact, this is one of the first times an Android Auto feature is available to those owners before it became an option for iOS users.

Apple owners tend to get priority with new features within the Tesla App itself.

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Elon Musk’s Boring Co goes extra hard in Nashville with first rock-crushing TBM

The Boring Company’s machine for the project is now in final testing.

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Credit: The Boring Company/X

The Boring Company is gearing up to tackle one of its toughest projects yet, a new tunnel system beneath Nashville’s notoriously tough limestone terrain. Unlike the soft-soil conditions of Las Vegas and Austin, the Music City Loop will require a “hard-rock” boring machine capable of drilling through dense, erosion-resistant bedrock. 

The Boring Company’s machine for the project is now in final testing.

A boring hard-rock tunneling machine

The Boring Company revealed on X that its new hard-rock TBM can generate up to 4 million pounds of grip force and 1.5 million pounds of maximum thrust load. It also features a 15-filter dust removal system designed to keep operations clean and efficient during excavation even in places where hard rock is present.

Previous Boring Co. projects, including its Loop tunnels in Las Vegas, Austin, and Bastrop, were dug primarily through soft soils. Nashville’s geology, however, poses a different challenge. Boring Company CEO and President Steve Davis mentioned this challenge during the project’s announcement in late July.

“It’s a tough place to tunnel, Nashville. If we were optimizing for the easiest places to tunnel, it would not be here. You have extremely hard rock, like way harder than it should be. It’s an engineering problem that’s fairly easy and straightforward to solve,” Davis said.

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Nashville’s limestone terrain

Experts have stated that the city’s subsurface conditions make it one of the more complex tunneling environments in the U.S. The Outer Nashville Basin is composed of cherty Mississippian-age limestone, a strong yet soluble rock that can dissolve over time, creating underground voids and caves, as noted in a report from The Tennessean.

Jakob Walter, the founder and principal engineer of Haushepherd, shared his thoughts on these challenges. “Limestone is generally a stable sedimentary bedrock material with strength parameters that are favorable for tunneling. Limestone is however fairly soluble when compared to other rack materials, and can dissolve over long periods of time when exposed to water. 

“Unexpected encounters with these features while tunneling can result in significant construction delays and potential instability of the excavation. In urban locations, structures at the ground surface should also be constantly monitored with robotic total stations or similar surveying equipment to identify any early signs of movement or distress,” he said.

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