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Tesla’s next-gen Roadster is ushering in the automotive industry’s ‘Megacar’ era
Elon Musk is a man driven by his limits. The man behind electric car maker Tesla, Musk has led the company from its small Silicon Valley startup days to its current status as a $50 billion automaker with a market cap that rivals that of Ford and GM. With each vehicle that Musk releases, Tesla disrupts an industry, and with the next-generation Roadster, the CEO is aiming to create a true halo car.
Christian von Koenigsegg is a man driven by his passion. The man behind the small, exclusive supercar company Koenigsegg, Christian is known for pushing the limits of the vehicles he releases. Koenigsegg might be far smaller than supercar makers like Ferrari and Lamborghini, but the few cars that it makes shake the automotive world. The Koenigsegg Agera RS, for one, currently holds the title as one of the fastest cars in the world after it reached speeds of 278 mph. The Koenigsegg One:1, named for its equal power-to-weight ratio, also packs 1,341 horsepower, or the equivalent of one megawatt of power. Koenigsegg’s cars are so powerful that some of them actually qualify as a hypercar instead of a supercar.
When Christian von Koenigsegg heard the specs of Tesla’s next-generation Roadster, his entire company’s roadmap for the coming years was shaken. In a recent statement to Top Gear, Koenigsegg admitted that his company was completely thrown off course by the listed specs of the all-electric supercar, even admitting that the experience itself was “frustrating.”
“We kind of had our future mapped out, and then we heard about the new Tesla Roadster and its insane acceleration numbers, and we thought ‘damn that’s put the gauntlet down.’ Sure, it must be really heavy, but that kind of acceleration? That’s frustrating!” he said.
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-->Christian noted that one of the biggest revelations by the arrival of the next-generation Tesla Roadster was that Elon Musk’s quoted specs for the vehicle were actually possible. In order to respond to the arrival of an electric car designed to deliver a “hardcore smackdown” to gas-powered vehicles, Koenigsegg and his engineers came up with a strategy that would allow one of its cars to give the Roadster some good competition.
“We thought, ‘this is not OK.’ We wondered whether it was possible, and yeah, it’s possible. Then we thought, ‘OK how do we deal with it? This is embarrassing.’ In two days we’d thought of a few things. The simplest way of putting it is like this: it’s combining direct drive, with the hybridization we have in a different format with free-valve engine technology, in a peculiar layout,” he said.
The concept that Koenigsegg and his team came up with is pretty much the fossil fuel-powered counterpart of the next-generation Tesla Roadster — one that is beyond a hypercar, perhaps even a “megacar” of sorts. Christian noted that he was partly annoyed at himself, for “needing a kick in the head to start thinking” about improving his vehicles’ acceleration.
“We’re talking 0-250 mph in 14 seconds, or something like this. It’s like, black marks all the way up to 250 mph (400 kph), pushing the combustion engine into the wall to try to make it more power dense than an EV for as long as possible. What we see with our engines, we’ve noticed that we’re just scratching the surface of what we can achieve,” he said.
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-->Elon Musk threw the gauntlet at legacy automakers when he unveiled the next-generation Tesla Roadster last year, and if Christian von Koenigsegg’s reaction to the vehicle is any indication, it appears that the all-electric supercar is doing precisely what it was intended for — it is forcing automakers to see electric cars as a formidable force, and it is driving them to adapt and come up with ways to make their vehicles even better and faster.
Interestingly, such a sentiment has been echoed by Tesla’s test driver for the next-generation Roadster, Emile Bouret, earlier this year. In a segment with YouTube’s VINwiki channel, Bouret, who drove the all-electric car the whole night during its unveiling, encouraged the auto community to support projects and vehicles like the next-generation Roadster, stating that the existence of such vehicles would affect the auto industry in a positive way as a whole.
“I love that I live in a world where all these cars exist. You have Koenigseggs and Paganis and Ferraris and Lamborghinis and McLarens and Porsches and Rimacs and Teslas. So, I know there’s a lot of hate out there, but I just don’t understand it. If you’re a car person, wouldn’t you root for everybody? I’m definitely rooting for them because the world will be a better place if that car does get built and it gets on the road because other people are gonna build cars to beat it — and we’re gonna win,” he said.
Considering that Koenigsegg appears to have come up with a solution to match the next-gen Roadster, it seems that Buoret’s words are coming true. As the Tesla Roadster and Koenigsegg’s upcoming vehicle are released to the market, the era of megacars could very well begin.
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News
Tesla’s new Holiday perk is timed perfectly to make FSD a household name
Tesla AI4 owners get FSD (Supervised) through Christmas, New Year’s Eve and well into the post-holiday travel season.
Tesla quietly rolled out a free Full Self-Driving (Supervised) trial for roughly 1.5 million HW4 owners in North America who never bought the package, and the timing could very well be genius.
As it turns out, the trial doesn’t end after 30 days. Instead, it expires January 8, 2026, meaning owners get FSD (Supervised) through Christmas, New Year’s Eve and well into the post-holiday travel season. This extended window positions the feature for maximum word-of-mouth exposure.
A clever holiday gift
Tesla watcher Sawyer Merritt first spotted the detail after multiple owners shared screenshots showing the trial expiring on January 8. He confirmed with affected users that none had active FSD subscriptions before the rollout. He also observed that Tesla never called the promotion a “30-day trial,” as the in-car message simply reads “You’re Getting FSD (Supervised) For the Holidays,” which technically runs until after the new year.
The roughly 40-day period covers peak family travel and gatherings, giving owners ample opportunity to showcase the latest FSD V14’s capabilities on highway trips, crowded parking lots and neighborhood drives. With relatives riding along, hands-off highway driving and automatic lane changes could become instant conversation starters.
Rave reviews for FSD V14 highlight demo potential
FSD has been receiving positive reviews from users as of late. Following the release of FSD v14.2.1, numerous owners praised the update for its smoothness and reliability. Tesla owner @LactoseLunatic called it a “huge leap forward from version 14.1.4,” praising extreme smoothness, snappy lane changes and assertive yet safe behavior that allows relaxed monitoring.
-->Another Tesla owner, @DevinOlsenn, drove 600 km without disengagements, noting his wife now defaults to FSD for daily use due to its refined feel. Sawyer Merritt also tested FSD V14.2.1 in snow on unplowed New Hampshire roads, and the system stayed extra cautious without hesitation. Longtime FSD tester Chuck Cook highlighted improved sign recognition in school zones, showing better dynamic awareness. These reports of fewer interventions and a more “sentient” drive could turn family passengers into advocates, fueling subscriptions come January.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk predicts AI and robotics could make work “optional” within 20 years
Speaking on entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, Musk predicted that machines will soon handle most forms of labor, leaving humans to work only if they choose to.
Elon Musk stated that rapid advances in artificial intelligence and robotics could make traditional work unnecessary within two decades.
Speaking on entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, Musk predicted that machines will soon handle most forms of labor, leaving humans to work only if they choose to.
Work as a “hobby”
During the discussion, Musk said the accelerating capability of AI systems and general-purpose robots will eventually cover all essential tasks, making human labor a choice rather than an economic requirement. “In less than 20 years, working will be optional. Working at all will be optional. Like a hobby,” Musk said.
When Kamath asked whether this future is driven by massive productivity growth, Musk agreed, noting that people will still be free to work if they enjoy the routine or the challenge. He compared future employment to home gardening, as it is something people can still do for personal satisfaction even if buying food from a store is far easier.
“Optional” work in the future
Elon Musk acknowledged the boldness of his claim and joked that people might look back in 20 years and say he was wrong. That being said, the CEO noted that such a scenario could even happen sooner than his prediction, at least if one were to consider the pace of the advancements in AI and robotics.
-->“Obviously people can play this back in 20 years and say, ‘Look, Elon made this ridiculous prediction and it’s not true,’ but I think it will turn out to be true, that in less than 20 years, maybe even as little as ten or 15 years, the advancements in AI and robotics will bring us to the point where working is optional,” Musk said.
Elon Musk’s comments echo his previous sentiments at Tesla’s 2025 Annual Shareholder Meeting, where he noted that Optimus could ultimately eliminate poverty. He also noted that robots like Optimus could eventually provide people worldwide with the best medical care.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk reiterates why Tesla will never make an electric motorcycle
Tesla CEO Elon Musk preemptively shut down speculations about a Tesla road bike once more.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk preemptively shut down speculations about a Tesla road bike once more, highlighting that the electric vehicle maker has no plans to enter the electric motorcycle market.
Musk posted his clarification in a post on X.
Musk’s reply to a fun AI video
X user @Moandbhr posted an AI video featuring the Tesla CEO on the social media platform, captioning it with “Mr. Elon Musk Just Revealed the Game-Changing Tesla Motorcycle.” The short clip depicted Musk approaching a sleek, single-wheeled vehicle, stepping onto it, and gliding off into the distance amid cheers. The fun video received a lot of traction on X, gaining 3.1 million views as of writing.
Musk replied to the post, stating that a Tesla motorcycle is not going to happen. “Never happening, as we can’t make motorcycles safe. For Community Notes, my near death experience was on a road bike. Dirt bikes are safe if you ride carefully, as you can’t be smashed by a truck,” Musk wrote in his reply.
Musk’s Past Comments on Two-Wheelers
Musk also detailed his reservations about motorcycles in a December 2019 X post while responding to questions about Tesla’s potential ATV. At the time, he responded positively to an electric ATV, though he also opposed the idea of a Tesla road-going motorcycle. Musk did state that electric dirt bikes might be cool, since they do not operate in areas where large vehicles like Class 8 trucks are present.
-->“Electric dirt bikes would be cool too. We won’t do road bikes, as too dangerous. I was hit by a truck & almost died on one when I was 17,” Musk wrote in his post.
Considering Musk’s comments about dirt bikes, however, perhaps Tesla would eventually offer a road bike as a recreational vehicle. Such a two-wheeler would be a good fit for the Cybertruck, as well as future products like the Robovan, which could be converted into an RV.
Tesla’s new Holiday perk is timed perfectly to make FSD a household name
Elon Musk predicts AI and robotics could make work “optional” within 20 years
