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Tesla’s next-gen Roadster stuns crowd at famed ArtCenter in Los Angeles

[Credit: dgaultiere/Reddit]

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In the world of supercars, there are vehicles that always warrant a second look — cars that are so attractive and iconic; they end up lining the bedroom walls of enthusiasts in their formative years. Decades ago, that car was the Lamborghini Countach and the Ferrari Testarossa. Today, amidst the advent of the electric era, that car is the next-generation Tesla Roadster — a vehicle that Elon Musk aptly dubbed as a “hardcore smackdown” to fossil fuel-powered automobiles.

Tesla’s next-gen Roadster prototype made a rare appearance in Los Angeles over the weekend at the ArtCenter College of Design’s Car Classic 2018 exhibition. The weekend event celebrated the 70th anniversary of the College’s Transportation Design program, which has produced some of the world’s most iconic designers, including Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen and Tesla’s Director of Product Design, Javier Verdura. Both are alumni of the Southern California-based ArtCenter who became friends in the early 90s while attending the school’s design program.

Several high-profile vehicles were showcased alongside a gorgeous red Tesla next-generation Roadster at Sunday’s annual car classic, including Henrik Fisker’s EMotion all-electric sports car, a Michelle Christensen-designed Acura NSX, and a Sasha Selipanov/Chris Ha-designed Genesis Essentia concept car.

Attendees of the exhibition took to social media to share stunning images of Tesla’s upcoming all-electric supercar.

The next-generation Tesla Roadster at Car Classic 2018. [Credit: Dave Kunzdom_schulz, and t35l_4/Instagram]

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Apart from the operational prototype in red, Tesla has also unveiled two design shells for the vehicle — a midnight silver/gray unit that was showcased at Tesla’s Semi truck unveiling event, and a stunning white Roadster that was unveiled at the 2018 Annual Shareholder Meeting. The white Roadster design shell was eventually brought over to the Grand Basel Car Show in Switzerland, where it attracted a notable amount of attention from attendees as well.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk noted on Twitter that the intent behind the creation of the next-generation Tesla Roadster is to “beat gas sports cars on every performance metric by far, no exceptions, thus transferring the “halo crown” effect gas cars have as the top speed leaders over to pure electric.” Tesla’s electric cars today like the Model S P100D and Model X P100D are monsters on the quarter-mile, but when it comes to races over longer distances, they eventually get overtaken by fossil fuel-powered vehicles. The company aims to address this with the upcoming all-electric supercar.

The next-generation Tesla Roadster at Car Classic 2018. [Credit: dgaultiere/Reddit, Dave Kunzdom_schulz, Xavier Carr, and zolinator/Instagram]

The specs of the next-generation Roadster are remarkable, with its 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds, its 0-100 mph time of 4.2 seconds, its top speed of more than 250 mph, its quarter-mile time of 8.9 seconds, and a range of 620 miles per charge thanks to its 200 kWh battery pack. In true Tesla form, the Roadster is poised to be a disruptor in the supercar industry, delivering its knockout performance with a price tag starting at $200,000. This makes it more affordable than mid-level supercars like the McLaren 720S and the Ferrari 812 Superfast (both of which are priced in the ~$300,000 range), despite boasting performance figures that rival (or even exceed) million-dollar “halo cars” like the McLaren P1 and the Ferrari LaFerrari.

What’s even more impressive is that the specs of the all-electric supercar are true for the vehicle’s base version. Earlier this year, Elon Musk announced on Twitter that a “SpaceX package” for the Tesla Roadster, which would use literal rocket thrusters (small Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels [COPVs]) from SpaceX, would allow the vehicle to fly “short hops.” In this iteration, Musk noted that the Roadster would lose its 2+2 seating capability,  but it would give the all-electric supercar the capability to go even faster. Tesla aims to release the next-generation Roadster sometime in 2020, with test drives estimated to begin towards the end of 2019. 

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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 FSD V14.2 starts rolling out to initial batch of vehicles

It would likely only be a matter of time before FSD V14.2 videos are posted and shared on social media.

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Credit: Grok Imagine

Tesla has begun pushing Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2 to its initial batch of vehicles. The update was initially observed by Tesla owners and veteran FSD users on social media platform X on Friday.

So far, reports of the update have been shared by Model Y owners in California whose vehicles are equipped with the company’s AI4 hardware, though it would not be surprising if more Tesla owners across the country receive the update as well. 

Based on the release notes of the update, key improvements in FSD V14.2 include a revamped neural network for better detection of emergency vehicles, obstacles, and human gestures, as well as options to select arrival spots. 

It would likely only be a matter of time before FSD V14.2 videos are posted and shared on social media.

Following are the release notes of FSD (Supervised) V14.2, as shared on X by longtime FSD tester Whole Mars Catalog.

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Release Notes

2025.38.9.5

Currently Installed

FSD (Supervised) v14.2

Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.2 includes:

  • Upgraded the neural network vision encoder, leveraging higher resolution features to further improve scenarios like handling emergency vehicles, obstacles on the road, and human gestures.
  • Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.
  • Added handling to pull over or yield for emergency vehicles (e.g. police cars, fire trucks, ambulances.
  • Added navigation and routing into the vision-based neural network for real-time handling of blocked roads and detours.
  • Added additional Speed Profile to further customize driving style preference.
  • Improved handling for static and dynamic gates.
  • Improved offsetting for road debris (e.g. tires, tree branches, boxes).
  • Improve handling of several scenarios including: unprotected turns, lane changes, vehicle cut-ins, and school busses.
  • Improved FSD’s ability to manage system faults and improve scenarios like handling emergency vehicles, obstacles on the road, and human gestures.
  • Added Arrival Options for you to select where FSD should park: in a Parking Lot, on the Street, in a Driveway, in a Parking Garage, or at the Curbside.
  • Added handling to pull over or yield for emergency vehicles (e.g. police cars, fire trucks, ambulances).
  • Added navigation and routing into the vision-based neural network for real-time handling of blocked roads and detours.
  • Added additional Speed Profile to further customize driving style preference.
  • Improved handling for static and dynamic gates.
  • Improved offsetting for road debris (e.g. tires, tree branches, boxes).
  • Improve handling of several scenarios, including unprotected turns, lane changes, vehicle cut-ins, and school buses.
  • Improved FSD’s ability to manage system faults and recover smoothly from degraded operation for enhanced reliability.
  • Added alerting for residue build-up on interior windshield that may impact front camera visibility. If affected, visit Service for cleaning!

Upcoming Improvements:

  • Overall smoothness and sentience
  • Parking spot selection and parking quality
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Tesla Model X lost 400 pounds thanks to these changes

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Credit: Tesla

The Tesla Model X has always been one of the company’s most loved vehicles, despite its low sales figures, which can be attributed to its high price tag.

However, the Model X has been a signature item on Tesla’s menu of cars, most notably recognized by its Falcon Wing Doors, which are aware of its surroundings and open according to what’s around it.

But recent improvements to the Model X were looking slim to none, but it appears most of the fixes actually happened under the body, at least according to Tesla’s Vice President of Powertrain, Lars Moravy.

In a recent interview with Car and Driver, Moravy detailed all of the changes to the 2026 iteration of the vehicle, which was about 400 pounds lighter than it was originally. The biggest change is a modification with the rear motor, switching from an induction-type motor to a permanent-magnet design and optimizing the half-shafts, which shed about 100 pounds.

Tesla also got “almost 80 pounds out of the interior bits and pieces,” which “included making parts thinner, different manufacturing process choices, and incorporating airbag-deployment requirements into the headliner fabric,” the report said.

Additionally, the standard five-passenger, bench seat configuration saved 50 pounds by ditching pedestal mounting. This also helped with practicality, as it helped the seat fold flat. Engineers at Tesla also saved 44 pounds from the high-voltage wiring through optimizing the wiring from the charge-port DC/DC converter and switching from copper to aluminum wiring.

Tesla makes a decision on the future of its flagship Model S and Model X

Tesla also simplified the cooling system by reducing the number of radiators. It also incorporated Nürburgring cooling requirements for the Plaid variant, which saved nearly 30 pounds.

Many Tesla fans will be familiar with the megacastings, manufactured in-house by presses from IDRA, which also saves more than 20 pounds and boosts torsional stiffness by around 10 percent. Tweaks to the suspension also saved 10 pounds.

People were truly disappointed with what Tesla did with the Model S and Model X, arguing that the cars needed a more severe exterior overhaul, which might be true. However, Tesla really did a lot to reduce the weight of the vehicle, which helps increase range and efficiency. According to Grok, every 200 pounds removed adds between 7 and 15 percent to range estimations.

This makes sense considering the range estimations both increased by 7 percent from the Model X’s 2025 configuration to the 2026 builds. Range increased on the All-Wheel-Drive trim from 329 miles to 352 miles, while the Plaid went from 314 miles to 335 miles.

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Tesla launches its new branded Supercharger for Business with first active station

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially launched its first branded Supercharger just months after initiating a new program that allows third-party companies to brand their own charging piles.

The site opened in Land O’ Lakes, Florida, and features eight V4 Supercharging stalls offering up to 325 kW of charging speed. It appears it was purchased by a company called Suncoast Credit Union. This particular branch is located Northeast of Tampa, which is on the Gulf of Mexico.

It features graphics of Florida animals, like alligators:

Tesla launched this program back in September, and it basically was a way to expand its Supercharger presence and also allow companies to pay for the infrastructure. Tesla maintains it. When it announced the “Supercharger for Business,” it said:

“Purchase and install Superchargers at your business. Superchargers are compatible with all electric vehicles, bringing EV drivers to your business by offering convenient, reliable charging.”

The program does a few things. Initially, it expands EV charging infrastructure and makes charging solutions more readily available for drivers. It can also attract people to those businesses specifically.

Tesla launches new Supercharger program that business owners will love

The chargers can also be branded with any logo that the business chooses, which makes them more personalized and also acts as an advertisement.

The best part is that the customers do not have to maintain anything about the Supercharger. Tesla still takes care of it and resolves any issues:

“We treat your site like we treat our sites. By providing you with a full-service package that includes network operations, preventative maintenance, and driver support, we’re able to guarantee 97% uptime–the highest in the industry.”

It appears the Superchargers will also appear within the in-car nav during routing, so they’ll be publicly available to anyone who needs to use them. They are still available to all EVs that have worked with Tesla to utilize its infrastructure, and they are not restricted to people who are only visiting the business.

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