

Lifestyle
Tesla club performs group ‘Smart Summon’ to simulate an autonomous valet service of the future
A gathering of Tesla Model 3, Model S, and Model X owners from the official Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley Club got together over the weekend for a Cars and Coffee event to foster camaraderie in the community. But the biggest highlight of the day, outside of a Frunk N Swap activity wherein club members exchanged popular accessories and personal items from their vehicle’s front trunk, was a group Smart Summon activity that simulated an autonomous valet service of the future.
Roughly 80 Tesla owners and enthusiasts met up at the Cherry Avenue Supercharger in San Jose, CA on Sunday to share personal stories of electric vehicle ownership and to build friendships with local Tesla owners.
Club member Arash Malek, who goes by the handle @minimalduck on Twitter, gathered fellow members and came up with the idea of a ‘group Smart Summon’ with their Model 3s as a showcase of how Tesla’s latest autonomous vehicle retrieval feature works in a real-world scenario.
“The Smart Summon went very well and the cars did not stop as much as some had anticipated. The technology feels like it has come a long way since its initial release. Afterward, a lot more members felt encouraged and better about the technology,” Tesla Owners Club of Silicon Valley founder and president John Stringer tells Teslarati.
Got @tesla’s for days. So much demand in one spot. Love this community. Thankful to @elonmusk @tesla for creating this. pic.twitter.com/gyPwPzEB0r
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) January 26, 2020
“To be able to summon your car to yourself is one step closer to autonomous driving. At some point, your car will be able to come to you no matter where you are and no matter what floor you are on. It will be a normal thing to see a car without someone in it,” added Stringer.
Smart Summon is available to customers who purchased Full Self-Driving Capability or Enhanced Autopilot. With this feature, one can enable their Teslas to go to them or to a destination of choice from a parking spot that’s within their line of sight. It is a pretty handy and convenient feature for those who might be coming out of grocery stores, those dealing with a fussy child, or for those who opt not to walk to the parking lot for whatever reason.
In the future, what members of the Tesla Owners Club of Silicon Valley did over the weekend can be applied to autonomous valet services at hotels, airports, or other venues where such technology can be used. It is an initial step to how Tesla’s future Robotaxi service would operate in the future. Passenger can be given temporary access codes to Summon a vehicle to pick them up for a ride or perhaps valet services will have a dispatch system to deliver rides to waiting customers.
Tesla owners can only expect the Elon Musk-led electric carmaker to further improve the Smart Summon feature overtime. A Tesla Model 3 owner subjected their vehicle to an obstacle course and saw results that made them believe that Tesla is on its way to perfecting the technology for self-driving cars. With the confidence that it can also perform well outside the United States where road markings and signs may be different, Tesla expanded its release of Smart Summon to other markets including China.
Check out the drone video from @MinimalDuck, capturing fellow Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley club members Smart Summoning their Model 3s together.
Lifestyle
Tesla brings perhaps the coolest interior feature to cars in latest update
Tesla adds on to the “fun” aspect of its vehicles.

Tesla has brought perhaps the coolest interior feature to its cars in a new update that is rolling out to vehicles now.
The feature will require a newer vehicle that has interior ambient lighting, which is present on the new Model S, Model X, Model 3 “Highland,” and Model Y “Juniper.” The Cybertruck also has ambient lighting strips throughout.
Tesla Model Y’s ambient lighting design changes revealed in leaked video
With the Version 2025.26+ Software Update, Tesla is rolling out a new “Sync Accent Lights w/ Music” feature, which is available on the Tesla Toybox:
Turn your Tesla into a rave cave with the new Light Sync feature 🎶
Rolling out now in software update 2025.26+ pic.twitter.com/IIsQxZ9jDP
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 29, 2025
To enable the feature, you’ll access the Toybox, choose “Light Sync,” and then choose “Sync Accent Lights w/ Music.”
Although it does not improve the performance of the vehicle, it is yet another example of Tesla making one of the coolest cars out there. This is truly a cool add-on that can be used to impress your friends and family.
Elon Musk
xAI, Musk Foundation helps schools near Memphis supercomputer site
Reports of xAI and the Musk Foundation’s work were recently posted by local news media.

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI and the Musk Foundation have been supporting Memphis-Shelby County Schools with HVAC repairs and facility upgrades, while also funding youth programs for students in the area.
Reports of xAI and the Musk Foundation’s work were recently posted by local news media.
xAI’s school visits lead to facility repairs
Representatives from xAI visited John P. Freeman Optional School, Fairley High School, and Westwood High School, all of which are located near its Colossus supercomputer site, to assess HVAC systems, plumbing, gym facilities, and athletic fields. The visits resulted in a list of priority repairs, some of which were completed in April and May.
In addition to the repairs, xAI also shared a number of initiatives that are planned for students in the area, as stated in a Commercial Appeal report.
“xAI is working on providing STEM workshops for local students, donating equipment to technical training programs, and supporting job fairs to boost employment opportunities. These initiatives reflect xAl’s commitment to fostering education and economic growth in Memphis,” xAI noted in a statement.
Musk Foundation donation
Apart from xAI, the Musk Foundation also donated $350,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis, enabling the reopening of two club sites located at Booker T. Washington High School and Westwood High School. Both locations had closed earlier this year due to lapses in funding. As per xAI, the Musk Foundation’s donation allows clubs to reopen for almost 1,000 students.
The donation will fund staffing, supplies, and transportation, among others. “Kids are the future of humanity,” Elon Musk said in a statement, adding that students need “every chance to shoot for the stars.”
“We’re honored to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis in reopening these sites, giving kids in underserved communities the tools to build brighter futures,” Musk said.
The gift was praised by local officials, including Boys & Girls Clubs board chair Michael Garriga, who stated that the “commitment will ensure the youth of our community have the opportunities they need to develop their skills and talents to become successful students and future citizens.”
Lifestyle
EV fans urge Tesla to acquire Unplugged Performance for edge in fleet and security industry
Unplugged Performance has built a name for itself by producing performance upgrades for Tesla vehicles.

A growing number of Tesla enthusiasts and longtime community voices are calling on the electric vehicle maker to acquire Unplugged Performance, a California-based aftermarket company best known for tuning Tesla vehicles and developing specialized government fleet solutions under its UP.FIT division.
The idea was once considered a niche proposal among EV fans, but it is now gaining serious attention not just as a performance play but as a strategic move to deepen Tesla’s roots in the fleet and security industry.
A strategic fit
Unplugged Performance has built a name for itself by producing performance upgrades for Tesla vehicles, from track-optimized components to visual and aerodynamic upgrades. But in recent years, its UP.FIT division has pivoted toward a more functional future by outfitting Tesla vehicles like Model Ys for police, military, and government use.
That work has sparked growing calls for closer collaboration with Tesla, especially as the EV maker increasingly leans into autonomy, AI, and fleet services as core components of its next chapter.
“I posted this four years ago, but I think it’s more true now than ever,” wrote Whole Mars Catalog, a well-known Tesla investor and FSD Beta tester, on X. “Tesla should buy Unplugged. But not just as a Performance division. What they are doing with UP.FIT unlocks large government and commercial fleet purchases that can improve utilization.”
Tesla fans such as shareholder Sawyer Merritt echoed the sentiment, calling Unplugged a “great fit within Tesla.” adding, “They are literally located directly next to Tesla’s design studio in Hawthorne.”
Enabling the next wave
Supporters of the idea noted that integrating Unplugged into Tesla’s corporate structure could help accelerate the adoption of autonomous technologies in government sectors. With UP.FIT patrol cars already in use across some U.S. police departments, Tesla fans envisioned a future where self-driving Teslas could potentially revolutionize law enforcement, search-and-rescue, and public service logistics.
“Just imagine how autonomous patrol cars could transform policing and bring us into a safer future,” the veteran FSD tester wrote.
The benefits could also extend to Tesla’s existing consumer base. “They also have some incredible products in the works that I think will appeal to many ordinary Tesla drivers — not just those looking for performance or mods. Stuff that’s so good it should have come straight from the design studio next door,” Whole Mars Catalog noted.
Unplugged Performance, founded in 2013, shares not just a product vision with Tesla, but also geography. Its Hawthorne headquarters sits directly adjacent to Tesla’s design studio, and the two companies have maintained a close working relationship over the years. The aftermarket firm has long positioned itself as a “mission-aligned” partner to Tesla.
In response to the recent calls for acquisition, Unplugged Performance acknowledged the support from the community. “Our very existence is to support the Tesla mission with @UpfitTesla and @UnpluggedTesla,” Unplugged CEO Ben Schaffer posted on X. “We love working with Tesla and are grateful for the community’s support since 2013!”
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