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Porsche expands the Taycan’s rear legroom with clever ‘foot garage’ design
The Porsche Taycan is only a few months away from its official unveiling, and details of its production version are starting to emerge. Through videos of the vehicle’s pre-production prototypes to interviews with Porsche executives, the Taycan is steadily taking form. Just recently, for example, Michael Mauer, Porsche’s style director, discussed how the company was able to design a system that will give the vehicle’s rear seat occupants more legroom.
Porsche has been in the auto business for a very long time, but the company is famous for its legendary two-door sports cars, not its four-door vehicles. Being based on the Mission E sedan concept, the production version of the Taycan will likely feature a sloping roofline. This gives the upcoming all-electric car a look that is distinctly Porsche, but this also means that space in the back seats will be scarce.
This was shown in a preview from YouTube auto reviewer and Porsche enthusiast ThomasGeigerCar, who was able to ride shotgun in a pre-production prototype of the upcoming all-electric sedan. The reviewer was able to film a segment of his video from the back seat of the vehicle, and based on the footage, the Taycan’s rear does appear to be cramped. Considering that the electric car was initially dubbed as a direct competitor to the Tesla Model S, the Taycan’s space for its occupants does seem a bit lacking. Members of the electric car community have even pointed out that the prototype’s rear seats look more cramped than that of the Tesla Model 3, a midsize sedan.
According to Porsche’s style director Michael Mauer, this does not have to be the case. In a recent interview, the director discussed a design that the company has developed to make passengers at the Taycan’s back seats more comfortable. Mauer noted that designing a space for rear occupants was a challenge, considering that the vehicle is pretty high due to its floor-mounted battery pack. To address this, the company came up with what it calls “foot garages,” which are slots in the floor of the vehicle.
“The Taycan is absolutely unique in terms of its proportions. Usually, purely electric vehicles are higher than their conventionally powered counterparts because the relatively heavy and large batteries are positioned in the floor of the vehicle while the occupants sit above them. We were not willing to accept this. However, you can’t just install the batteries in a different place – for reasons relating to driving dynamics alone – as the center of gravity must be as low as possible.
“Because you also can’t just make the vehicle wider, the specific challenge was to position the passengers as low as possible without them having to assume a reclined position like in a Formula 1 racing car. We solved this with so-called ‘foot garages.’ They enable a comfortable sitting position even in conjunction with the sporty vehicle height. In retrospect, we can say that this so-called package was the greatest challenge. How high can the vehicle be? How long and how wide should it be, how horizontal or upright will the passengers sit? That’s what’s typically Porsche to me – this striving to find the ideal solution,” he said.
The Porsche Taycan is one of the most highly-anticipated electric vehicles entering the market this year. Bernd Propfe, platform director for Taycan, has even noted that the car, despite being electric, will be a true Porsche through and through, stating that “Despite the zero-emission honors, this is a proper Porsche. The Taycan Turbo can do ten full-throttle 0-100km/h and 0-200km/h sprints without one iota decrease in performance. Even driven flat out for an hour or more, it will only lapse into limp-home mode when the distance-to-empty is zero… power and torque curves will not be dented by a drop of state-of-charge. As long as there is juice, total attack is always an option.”
News
SpaceX successfully launches 100th Starlink mission of 2025
With 100 Starlink missions completed for 2025, space enthusiasts have noted that SpaceX has successfully launched 2,554 Starlink satellites so far this year.
SpaceX achieved its 100th Starlink mission of the year on Friday, October 31, marking another milestone for 2025.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 28 Starlink broadband satellites successfully lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 4:41 p.m. ET, carrying another 28 Starlink satellites to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Falcon 9 booster’s 29th flight
Roughly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9’s first stage touched down on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. This marked the booster’s 29th flight, which is approaching SpaceX’s reuse record of 31 missions.
This latest mission adds to SpaceX’s impressive 138 Falcon 9 launches in 2025, 99 of which were dedicated to Starlink, according to Space.com. The company’s focus on reusing boosters has enabled this breakneck pace, with multiple launches each week supporting both Starlink’s expansion and external customers.
Starlink’s network continues massive global expansion
Starlink remains the largest active satellite constellation in history, with more than 10,000 satellites launched, nearly 8,800 of which are currently active. SpaceX recently achieved Starlink’s 10,000-satellite milestone. With 100 Starlink missions completed for 2025, space enthusiasts have noted that SpaceX has successfully launched 2,554 Starlink satellites so far this year.
Starlink, which provides high-speed, low-latency internet connectivity even to the world’s most remote areas, has been proven to be life-changing technology for people across the globe. The service is currently operational in about 150 countries, and it currently has over 5 million subscribers worldwide. From this number, 2.7 million joined over the past year.
News
Tesla shares updated timeframe for Cybertruck FSD V14 release
The Cybertruck was expected to receive FSD V14 before the end of the month, but Tesla was not able to meet the target.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) V14 update for the Cybertruck could arrive this weekend, as per recent comments from Director of Autopilot Software and VP of AI Ashok Elluswamy.
The Cybertruck was expected to receive FSD V14 before the end of the month, but Tesla was not able to meet the target.
Cybertruck FSD V14
Considering the extended wait for FSD V14, it was no surprise that several Cybertruck owners were asking for updates about the system’s rollout to the all-electric pickup truck on Friday. These included the official Cybertruck X account, which responded to Elluswamy’s end of month estimate with “I only see trick. Where is my treat.”
This prompted a response from the AI executive, who replied with, “Sorry, pushing for early access Cyber release over the weekend.” This means that if all goes well, Cybertruck owners would be able to experience FSD V14 very soon. Some, however, are wondering if Tesla would go straight to V14.2 for the Cybertruck’s FSD V14 update, or if the vehicle will receive V14.1 first.
Tesla pushes to unify FSD experience across its lineup
The upcoming Cybertruck rollout represents the next step in Tesla’s efforts to roll out FSD capabilities across all of its vehicles. FSD V14 is a notable step forward for the company’s AI-driven self driving system, with features like Mad Max mode getting positive reviews from longtime Full Self Driving testers.
For the Cybertruck, the FSD V14 update would mark one of its first major over-the-air upgrades for the vehicle. Likely due to its size, the Cybertruck tends to receive FSD updates later than the S3XY lineup, which is quite surprising considering that the all-electric pickup truck is a premium-priced vehicle that is home to some of Tesla’s most advanced technologies.
News
“Tesla Ride” program lets riders experience FSD and Grok AI in real-world demos
The initiative aims to bring supervised Full Self-Driving demos and Grok AI-guided experiences to consumers in real world trips.
Tesla has launched a new service designed to make its Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology familiar to all commuters.
Dubbed the “Tesla Ride” program, the initiative aims to bring supervised Full Self-Driving demos and Grok AI-guided experiences to consumers in real world trips.
How Tesla Ride Works
As per the official Tesla Ride website, the session will allow participants to sit in the driver’s seat while a Tesla Advisor rides shotgun as co-pilot. The Tesla Advisor then guides riders through the company’s latest supervised FSD features, comfort settings, and in-car entertainment. Participants would also be able to interact with Grok AI in the vehicles. Grok will be capable of answering questions during the ride, and it will even tell stories along the way.
Tesla noted, however, that Tesla Ride sessions are capped at 45 minutes each, and it requires participants to have a valid driver’s license and insurance. Interested participants are also advised to call beforehand so they can schedule their Tesla Rides.
Marketing push and reach
The Tesla Ride program runs across several markets from October into November, and in some locations into the end of December 2025. Participating states are numerous, from Michigan to Virginia to Illiois, Nevada, and California, among others. A look at the official webpage for Tesla Ride shows that the company is still taking a very cautious approach with the program, with disclaimers clearly stating that FSD Supervised does not make Teslas autonomous just yet.
Tesla’s focus on safety with FSD was highlighted recently by Senior Vice President for Automotive Tom Zhu. “Elon said it in 2021: “For self-driving, even if the road is painted completely wrong and a UFO lands in the middle of the road, the car still cannot crash and still needs to do the right thing.
“The prime directive for the autopilot system is: Don’t crash. That really overrides everything. No matter what the lines say or how the road is done, the thing that needs to happen is minimizing the probability of impact while getting you to your destination conveniently and comfortably,” the executive stated.
SpaceX successfully launches 100th Starlink mission of 2025
Tesla shares updated timeframe for Cybertruck FSD V14 release
“Tesla Ride” program lets riders experience FSD and Grok AI in real-world demos
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