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Tesla displays its rarest vehicles in new Petersen exhibit

Credit: Petersen Auto Museum

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Tesla is set to display some of the rarest and historic vehicles it developed in a new exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. After announcing a new “Inside Tesla” exhibit that highlights the company’s groundbreaking trek into electric vehicles, the Museum has finally released details on which of the automaker’s cars would be on display for fans and foes alike to gasp over.

On display at the Petersen Museum will be some of Tesla’s most unique vehicles, hailing from the roots of the company all the way to some of the most high-performance powertrains it has ever brought to testing or to the market. The exhibit features a unique display of company accolades, early projects, and continuing teases of vehicles Tesla has tried to bring to market in the past few years, but has not.

Original Tesla Roadster

While many Tesla fans and enthusiasts have likely seen the Original Tesla Roadster, it would not be a proper Tesla history exhibit without this vehicle. A symbolic car that basically encapsulates the company’s darkest days, a far cry from today, where the automaker is financially secure, the Roadster would either sink or swim Tesla. Fortunately, it was the raft Musk and other early executives needed.

tesla roadster

Credit: Petersen Auto Museum

Other Tesla Roadsters on Display

Amongst the other Roadsters on display at the Museum will be the 2005 prototype of the Roadster, which hails back to Tesla’s earliest projects and ventures into electric vehicles. More recently, the 2020 ‘Next-Gen’ Roadster will also be on display. Despite this exciting development, the presence of this vehicle, in particular, might sting a few Petersen visitors when the exhibit opens.

Despite being dated as a 2020 vehicle since its unveiling, Tesla has failed to start manufacturing (or even plan for it) on the new Roadster, with many awaiting some development update. The $250,000 vehicle is expected to hover as well.

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Tesla’s 1,000,000th Vehicle

Tesla’s 1,000,000th vehicle, a Multi-Coat Red Model Y, will also be displayed at the Museum’s Tesla exhibit. Built in March 2020, the 1,000,000th Model Y was a symbolic piece of history for Tesla as it had struggled and fought to become profitable for several years.

After launching the Model Y in 2020 in the U.S., it was only fitting the Model Y would be the millionth vehicle Tesla built. Surprisingly, the company only started building hundreds of thousands of cars a few quarters after this, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage on.

tesla model y

Credit: Petersen Auto Museum

Model S Plaid Nürburgring

The Model S Plaid that ripped around Germany’s Nürburgring will also be on display at the Petersen Exhibit. This vehicle needs no introduction, it was one of the most exciting times as a journalist covering Tesla and electric vehicles that didn’t have major implications for the company’s future. It was just fun seeing how fast this car could go on one of the most challenging tracks on Earth.

nurburgring model s

Credit: Petersen Auto Museum

Tesla Cyberquad for Adults

Another Tesla project that was super exciting but has not received any updates since 2019 is the Cyberquad for Adults. After the Kids’ version was axed from shelves recently because an adult tried to ride it with a child, ruining the fun for everyone, the Adult version of the Quad is all some of us can keep hope for.

The Cyberquad was an addition to the 2019 Cybertruck unveiling event itself and was a potential addition with the purchase of the truck. However, just like the Cybertruck, the Cyberquad has not been released or built for the general public yet.

cyberquad

Credit: Petersen Auto Museum

Tesla Cybertruck Prototype

The 2019 version of the Cybertruck won’t be the one that ultimately is delivered to customers when it is finally built next year, but it has a rich story. Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck in Hawthorne, California, in November 2019, which was a weird event. Nothing went according to plan, as the unbreakable Cybertruck windows broke, the design of the truck is ultimately not what Tesla will deliver to customers, and basically, everything from pricing to powertrains has changed.

cybertruck

Credit: Petersen Auto Museum

Model 3 and Model X OG Prototypes

These original Model 3 and Model X designs are not far off from what is still delivered today. These vehicles are both important to Tesla’s story for their own reasons, and as an essential part of the company’s history, it is nice to see them on display for Tesla fans.

The Inside Tesla exhibit is open to the public and tickets can be purchased at Petersen.org/Tesla. It will start on November 20 and will be available on the first floor in the Mullin Family Grand Salon and Phillip Sarofim Porte Cochere.

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What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, or be sure to email me at joey@teslarati.com or on Twitter @KlenderJoey.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla app update makes Robotaxi ownership make a lot more sense

Tesla’s app now shows a live indicator when your car is actively driving itself.

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A recent Tesla app update, released last week  (4.58.5), gives visibility on whether a vehicle is navigating in its semi-autonomous mode or being drive by a human driver. The updated app now displays a live “Self-Driving” indicator in bright blue text directly beneath the vehicle’s speed readout whenever Full Self-Driving is actively engaged, along with the signature glowing blue navigation path that FSD users see on the main touchscreen. It is a small visual update with meaningful implications for how Tesla owners monitor their vehicles remotely.

The feature was first spotted in the wild by X user Jordan Camina, who shared video of a Hardware 3 Model S displaying the new animation through the app while driving. That detail is significant because it confirms the update is not limited to newer HW4 vehicles. It works across hardware generations, and Tesla confirmed it will eventually support all vehicles regardless of chip platform once both the app and vehicle software are updated. The vehicle side requires software version 2026.20.6.1, which has reached nearly 40% of the fleet so far, as monitored by NotaTeslaApp.

The feature makes the most practical sense when viewed through the lens of Tesla’s expanding robotaxi operation. In a robotaxi context, the owner of a vehicle generating ride revenue has a direct financial and safety interest in knowing whether their car is operating under autonomous control at any given moment. The app’s new FSD indicator gives fleet owners exactly that visibility, the same way a logistics company monitors whether a delivery driver is following the planned route. It also carries implications for Tesla’s insurance model. Tesla’s own insurance product prices premiums in part based on FSD engagement rates, and real-time visibility into when FSD is active creates a feedback loop that could eventually tie directly into policy pricing. For individual owners who have opted their personal vehicles into the robotaxi network, the update effectively turns the Tesla app into a fleet management dashboard, one that tells you whether your car is earning money, whether it is driving itself to do it, and whether everything is operating the way it should from wherever you happen to be.

Tesla expands Robotaxi to Florida, marking its third state for autonomy

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As Teslarati has reported, Tesla launched unsupervised robotaxi rides in Miami this summer, a milestone that makes a remote FSD status indicator significantly more practical than a cosmetic feature. When a vehicle is operating as a robotaxi without a driver present, the owner or fleet operator needs a reliable way to confirm autonomy is engaged. The app now provides exactly that.

As noted by NotATeslaApp, The update also arrived alongside a hint buried in the same app version that Tesla plans to use the cabin camera to verify driver identity before FSD can be activated. Pairing identity verification with a live autonomy status indicator points toward the infrastructure Tesla is building for a fleet of driverless vehicles that owners can monitor the way you would track a package delivery.

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The Boring Company just doubled its tunneling power in Nashville

The Boring Company’s Prufrock MB2 is commissioned and ready to mine beneath Nashville’s streets.

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The Boring Company’s second tunnel boring machine, Prufrock MB2, is officially ready to dig in Nashville. The company confirmed the news on X, posting: “Prufrock-MB2 is ready to mine in Nashville! MB2 commissioning is complete, including the brief 11 rpm rotation shown here. Will MB2 catch up to MB1, who had quite the head start? And Prufrock-MB3 ships in August!”

MB2 arrives with meaningful improvements over its predecessor. Lessons learned from the launch and operation of MB1 have already been applied to MB2 to improve efficiency and prepare the machine for launch.

Traditional tunnel boring machines operate in a stop-and-go cycle, digging roughly five feet, halt, erect precast concrete segments to line the tunnel wall, then resume. That repeated interruption is one of the main reasons conventional tunneling is slow and expensive. Prufrock is designed to install the tunnel liner simultaneously with mining, eliminating the need to stop every five feet. The machine also skips the need for excavated launch pits. Prufrock arrives on a truck, tilts down, and launches into the ground within 24 hours. And when the tunnel is complete, it emerges from the ground and drives to its next launch site on a trailer, eliminating the need for expensive cranes or pit excavation. The machine is also fully electric and runs with zero people in the tunnel during normal operations, controlled remotely from a surface operations center.

It won’t be long before we hear of another major update on The Boring Company’s Music City Loop project – a planned underground transit network beneath Nashville that would move passengers in electric vehicles through a series of tunnels at highway speeds, and bypassing surface traffic entirely. Nashville was selected in part because of its strong rock conditions that suits the Prufrock machines well, and relatively less regulatory hurdles.

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Progress has been steady on multiple fronts. All 37 permits and approvals required ahead of tunneling have been obtained, out of 45 total. Key wins include a fully executed TDOT tunnel permit authorizing 25 miles of tunnel, unanimous airport authority approval for a Nashville International Airport station, and the city’s first residential station agreement serving downtown tower residents.

With MB1 already tunneling, MB2 now commissioned, and MB3 shipping in August, Nashville is becoming something of a live proving ground for scaled tunnel boring. The broader ambition is not limited to one city. The Boring Company’s stated goal is to make underground transportation a practical alternative to surface roads across major metro areas. Nashville is one of many cities, including a successful Las Vegas tunnel system, where that idea is being put to the test at real speed.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla unfolded its first European “folding Supercharger”

Tesla’s folding Supercharger just arrived in Europe and it changes how fast charging expands.

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Tesla’s Folding Unit Supercharger has officially landed in Europe, with the company teasing a new installation in its effort for a broader rollout targeting major motorway rest stops across the European continent in Q3 2026. The arrival marks a notable shift in how Tesla is thinking about network expansion, moving from hardware performance alone to engineering the logistics chain itself.

While Tesla did not reveal the exact location for the new folding Supercharger in Europe, the photo shared on X heavily suggests that this maybe somewhere in Norway. Historically, whenever Tesla rolls out an entirely new infrastructure architecture in Europe, whether it was the original Supercharger stalls years ago or these brand-new modular V4 “Folding Units”, Norway is almost always the designated launch pad because of its unmatched EV adoption rate and supportive infrastructure

The Folding Unit, introduced in March 2026, is a factory pre-assembled V4 charging station built on an industrial hinge system mounted to a heavy-duty concrete base. The entire assembly arrives on site ready to unfold and connect. Tesla confirmed the units feature telescopic light poles specifically designed for easy transportation and fast on-site deployment, a detail that signals how carefully the logistics chain has been engineered alongside the hardware itself. The design allows 33% more stalls per delivery truck, cuts installation time roughly in half, and reduces overall deployment costs by more than 20% compared to traditional installations.

Tesla’s newest “Folding V4 Superchargers” are key to its most aggressive expansion yet

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Tesla also noted telescopic light poles which provide benefits over traditional Supercharger installations that require fixed-height poles that are awkward to ship, slow to position on site, and often require separate crews and equipment to erect before charging hardware can even be staged. By engineering poles that compress for transit and extend on arrival, Tesla has removed one of the quieter bottlenecks in the physical deployment process. Every hour saved on a light pole installation is an hour redirected toward getting stalls energized. At scale, across dozens of new sites per quarter, those hours add up to a meaningful acceleration in how quickly a location goes from approved permit to serving its first customer.

Each Folding Unit pairs a single V4 power cabinet with eight charging posts. The V4 cabinet delivers up to 500 kW per stall for passenger vehicles and up to 1.2 MW for the Tesla Semi, supporting twice the stalls per cabinet at three times the power density of its predecessor. Longer cables make every new station immediately usable by non-Tesla vehicles, a priority as Tesla continues opening its network to Ford, GM, Rivian, Hyundai, Stellantis, and others.

As Teslarati reported when the Folding Unit was first unveiled, Tesla’s Gigafactory New York produced its final V3 Supercharger cabinet in March 2026 after more than seven years and 15,000 units, completing a full pivot to V4 production. The European arrival of the folding design is the next chapter in that transition.

Faster and cheaper deployment means Tesla can justify building in markets and corridors that were previously too expensive to serve, filling the coverage gaps that have slowed EV adoption outside major urban centers.

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