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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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Cybertruck

Tesla reveals its Cybertruck light bar installation fix

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u/Kruzat, see page for license, via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla has revealed its Cybertruck light bar installation fix after a recall exposed a serious issue with the accessory.

Tesla and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) initiated a recall of 6,197 Cybertrucks back in October to resolve an issue with the Cybertruck light bar accessory. It was an issue with the adhesive that was provided by a Romanian company called Hella Romania S.R.L.

Tesla recalls 6,197 Cybertrucks for light bar adhesive issue

The issue was with the primer quality, as the recall report from the NHTSA had stated the light bar had “inadvertently attached to the windshield using the incorrect surface primer.”

Instead of trying to adhere the light bar to the Cybertruck with an adhesive, Tesla is now going to attach it with a bracketing system, which will physically mount it to the vehicle instead of relying on adhesive strips or glue.

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Tesla outlines this in its new Service Bulletin, labeled SB-25-90-001, (spotted by Not a Tesla App) where it shows the light bar will be remounted more securely:

The entire process will take a few hours, but it can be completed by the Mobile Service techs, so if you have a Cybertruck that needs a light bar adjustment, it can be done without taking the vehicle to the Service Center for repair.

However, the repair will only happen if there is no delamination or damage present; then Tesla could “retrofit the service-installed optional off-road light bar accessory with a positive mechanical attachment.”

The company said it would repair the light bar at no charge to customers. The light bar issue was one that did not result in any accidents or injuries, according to the NHTSA’s report.

This was the third recall on Cybertruck this year, as one was highlighted in March for exterior trim panels detaching during operation. Another had to do with front parking lights being too bright, which was fixed with an Over-the-Air update last month.

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Tesla is already expanding its Rental program aggressively

The program has already launched in a handful of locations, specifically, it has been confined to California for now. However, it does not seem like Tesla has any interest in keeping it restricted to the Golden State.

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Credit: Grok

Tesla is looking to expand its Rental Program aggressively, just weeks after the program was first spotted on its Careers website.

Earlier this month, we reported on Tesla’s intention to launch a crazy new Rental program with cheap daily rates, which would give people in various locations the opportunity to borrow a vehicle in the company’s lineup with some outrageous perks.

Along with the cheap rates that start at about $60 per day, Tesla also provides free Full Self-Driving operation and free Supercharging for the duration of the rental. There are also no limits on mileage or charging, but the terms do not allow the renter to leave the state from which they are renting.

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The program has already launched in a handful of locations, specifically, it has been confined to California for now. However, it does not seem like Tesla has any interest in keeping it restricted to the Golden State.

Job postings from Tesla now show it is planning to launch the Rental program in at least three new states: Texas, Tennessee, and Massachusetts.

The jobs specifically are listed as a Rental Readiness Specialist, which lists the following job description:

“The Tesla Rental Program is looking for a Rental Readiness Specialist to work on one of the most progressive vehicle brands in the world. The Rental Readiness Specialist is a key contributor to the Tesla experience by coordinating the receipt of incoming new and used vehicle inventory. This position is responsible for fleet/lot management, movement of vehicles, vehicle readiness, rental invoicing, and customer hand-off. Candidates must have a high level of accountability, and personal satisfaction in doing a great job.”

It also says that those who take the position will have to charge and clean the cars, work with clients on scheduling pickups and drop-offs, and prepare the paperwork necessary to initiate the rental.

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The establishment of a Rental program is big for Tesla because it not only gives people the opportunity to experience the vehicles, but it is also a new way to rent a car.

Just as the Tesla purchasing process is more streamlined and more efficient than the traditional car-buying experience, it seems this could be less painful and a new way to borrow a car for a trip instead of using your own.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk’s xAI gains first access to Saudi supercluster with 600k Nvidia GPUs

The facility will deploy roughly 600,000 Nvidia GPUs, making it one of the world’s most notable superclusters.

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A Saudi-backed developer is moving forward with one of the world’s largest AI data centers, and Elon Musk’s xAI will be its first customer. The project, unveiled at the U.S.–Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., is being built by Humain, a company supported by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. 

The facility will deploy roughly 600,000 Nvidia GPUs, making it one of the world’s most notable superclusters.

xAI secures priority access

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that the planned data center marks a major leap not just for the region but for the global AI ecosystem as a whole. Huang joked about the sheer capacity of the build, emphasizing how unusual it is for a startup to receive infrastructure of such magnitude. The facility is designed to deliver 500 megawatts of Nvidia GPU power, placing it among the world’s largest AI-focused installations, as noted in a Benzinga report.

“We worked together to get this company started and off the ground and just got an incredible customer with Elon. Could you imagine a startup company, approximately $0 billion in revenues, now going to build a data center for Elon? 500 megawatts is gigantic. This company is off the charts right away,” Huang said.

Global Chipmakers Join Multi-Vendor Buildout To Enhance Compute Diversity

While Nvidia GPUs serve as the backbone of the first phase, Humain is preparing a diversified hardware stack. AMD will supply its Instinct MI450 accelerators, which could draw up to 1 gigawatt of power by 2030 as deployments ramp. Qualcomm will also contribute AI200 and AI250 data center processors, accounting for an additional 200 megawatts of compute capacity. Cisco will support the networking and infrastructure layer, helping knit the multi-chip architecture together.

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Apart from confirming that xAI will be the upcoming supercluster’s first customer, Musk also joked about the rapid scaling needed to train increasingly large AI models. He joked that a theoretical expansion one thousand times larger of the upcoming supercluster “would be 8 bazillion, trillion dollars,” highlighting the playful exaggeration he often brings to discussions around extreme compute demand.

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