Lifestyle
This Tesla Model Y owner waited two years for a car that never came. He compromised.
Don’t shoot the messenger” was a phrase I used quite frequently a few months ago. After digging for some time on what was going on with Tesla’s Model Y Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive variant, I decided to do my duty as a journalist and find answers. After calling around to several Tesla showrooms without much luck, the answer ultimately dropped in my lap after someone who was a frequent reader of the site told me that they had been contacted to revise their order. “Tesla won’t be making the LR RWD Model Y,” a sales advisor told the man, leaving two years of time in the rearview mirror and $2,500 sitting in limbo over the entire period.
Upon this email, I decided to call around and see what I could dig up. Ultimately, I found out that the Model Y’s LR RWD variant was not going to be made, so I wrote an article about it, and it was met with plenty of disbelief.
“This is poorly sourced.” “Sales advisors don’t know anything.” “Tesla hasn’t made a statement, I wouldn’t believe this article.” A few hours later, my direct message inbox on Twitter was full of Model Y LR RWD reservation holders, who said that they didn’t believe Tesla was canceling the variant. A few weeks later, I started to see more and more people begin to consider changing their order, away from the LR RWD that they had waited for, and toward the AWD versions of the car. Eventually, Elon Musk finally confirmed that the product line was becoming too complex and that the Model Y’s little-known configuration was dead in its tracks.
We have too much product complexity already
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2021
It was tough, even as someone who didn’t have a reservation for the car, there almost seemed to be a sub-group of Tesla supporters who were just as passionate about this car as they were the company in general. I respected that so many people wanted answers, and to this day, I am still somewhat frustrated with Tesla because they left so many people in the dark about what their plans were. It might have been up in the air, but even a small amount of communication in the form of an email would have been sufficient.
Over the few months where I got in touch with so many LR RWD reservation holders, I became close to a few of them. I talked to them regularly, and promised them I would do my best to find more concrete proof one way or another. I didn’t think anything would really change, I thought that my article was correct, which is why I published it (even though several people asked me to redact the article simply because they didn’t want to believe the car they had been waiting for for two years wasn’t coming.)
One person I spoke to regularly was a guy named Mike. He’s from Dallas, and he was kind enough to describe his entire story with the LR RWD saga, and he was sure to tell me about the delivery of his LR AWD, which he took delivery of in the past week.
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“I reserved a Blue, LR RWD Model Y with Induction wheels & black interior in early 2019. Put down $2500 and locked in $6k for FSD,” Mike told me. He was very excited for his new Tesla, because he had been waiting a long time. The Model S and Model X were out of his price range, and his kids didn’t make the Model 3 a suitable option.
“Finally had the perfect SUV – the Model Y, but my budget was being stretched. Never spent so much for a car in my life. But SR wouldn’t have been enough for me as my family often travels. So LR RWD seemed like the perfect middle ground – more than enough power than my previous SUVs, don’t need AWD in Dallas, yet it would be great for traveling. But once Performance and LR AWD were starting to be produced (months early), the only thing that posted on Tesla website was “LR RWD is not scheduled for production at this time”. Everyone who had preorders eventually got filled (even 7-seaters), but LR RWD preorders just sat there.”
And he sat there.
And sat there.
And sat there. For two years, with no answers.
Desperate for answers, Mike did anything in his power to find an update on the car.
“I set news alerts for “LR RWD”, tweeted Elon, asked a showroom, emailed the official order team in Fremont, even asked questions during the Quarterly Meetings,” Mike explained. “No information, and it was very frustrating. Tesla is a great company, but seriously lacks in the communication department.”
Ultimately, my article was when Mike started to question what was going on. Elon then confirmed the car wasn’t going to be made, and this is when he decided to do something about it. “I reached out to my local showroom on migrating orders – and this is also what was frustrating, they still didn’t have any official communication. Some of the people said ‘We can move you over to LR AWD but you’ll have to pay $10k for FSD.’ Others said ‘We might be able to move you over and keep your FSD at $6k, but no guarantees.’”
Several reports indicated that Tesla would honor the FSD pricing that was set at the time of ordering the car, usually $6,000 for the LR RWD reservation holders. Some had to pay the full $10,000 price, which is where FSD sits currently. “I’ve read of others online canceling their orders and replacing them, and having to pay the $10k pricing. I finally took things into my own hands, and contacted the HQ Ordering Support in Fremont. I probably had 5+ calls with them, and their communication issues are the same as others – they don’t get back to you via email or phone, and every time you call you have to repeat everything and explain to THEM how they need to keep the FSD price. Finally got a hold of a supervisor, and he got me taken care of. Switched to LR AWD, kept the $6k pricing.”
Mike took delivery of his new Model Y in late March. It is the same color that he wanted, and he is happy he waited. “Overall I’m glad I waited 1 year after launch to take delivery of my Model Y. With COVID I’ve driven a lot less, so getting a new car wasn’t a huge priority. I heard horror stories of early deliveries, so I inspected the car thoroughly. 2 years after my initial order, I just took delivery – and the condition was great! No gaps, no paint issues, no defects – literally perfect (and believe me, I did the whole checklist).”
The long limbo that Tesla left some owners in is a tough situation for everyone involved. It is tough for the company because it may not have known until Musk ultimately dropped the bomb on Twitter. It’s tough for the reservation holders because they sat there for two years without answers. And it’s tough for the journalists who dig for answers for the owners because Tesla never really communicates about anything ever since its PR department was dissolved.
Mike is just happy it’s over with.
“Overall, I’m happy with the car and still fighting for the Tesla cause,” he says. “I would just recommend Tesla improves their communications (ordering and service) with customers.”
A big thanks to our long-time supporters and new subscribers! Thank you.
I use this newsletter to share my thoughts on what is going on in the Tesla world. If you want to talk to me directly, you can email me or reach me on Twitter. I don’t bite, be sure to reach out!
-Joey
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.
Tesla Cybertruck bed gear box accessory
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.
A former Vancouver police sergeant with ALS accounts his journey to become a patient for Elon Musk’s Neuralink wireless brain-computer interface technology.
“I’m texting you from my brain right now.” That was the first message Lee Marten sent after waking up from Neuralink surgery, five hours and one migraine after dozens of threads were stitched into his motor cortex.
Marten, a former Vancouver police sergeant, is one of the first Canadian ALS patients to receive Neuralink’s N1 brain implant, and the 26th recipient overall. He tells his story in a first-person account published by Maclean’s.
Marten recounts how he was a healthy, athletic Vancouver police sergeant until April 2022 when symptoms of muscle twitching and balance loss, were followed by a bad fall that broke his leg. He would eventually be diagnosed with ALS in early 2025 at the age of 47. ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that progressively destroys the motor neurons controlling voluntary muscle movement, eventually taking away a patient’s ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. There’s no cure, and most patients live two to five years after diagnosis.
He describes the devastation of the diagnosis and how he began preparing for it while connecting with other young ALS patients through a WhatsApp group called Young Guns. Through that group he learned about a Neuralink clinical trial at Toronto Western Hospital and, after a roughly seven-month vetting process (physical assessments, psychiatric evaluation, a final interview with the Neuralink team), was accepted this past April as the trial’s 26th recipient and the first Canadian ALS patient to get the N1 implant. He recounts the May surgery in detail, including the robotic system that stitched 64 threads into his brain, and describes the app, Link, translating his neural signals into cursor control, which he was using within hours of waking up.
Marten walks through what daily use looks like, including weekly “brain training” exercises, a real-time neural-activity display, charging the implant via a beanie-mounted MagSafe charger, and using the implant for emailing, texting, social media, and gaming via a “Magic Box” that connects it to other devices. He also gives brief context on brain-computer interface history and quite candid about Musk, calling him “divisive” but saying he found him “easy to admire.
The piece closes on a heavier note, with Marten seeking to pursue medical assistance in dying as his symptoms progressed, noting that he’ll be able to communicate his final words to his family through Neuralink rather than facing a silent decline. He expresses hope the data from his case will help future ALS patients, even without a cure in his own lifetime.
Tesla Cybercab launch catches NHTSA’s attention who wants to know more
Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins
