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Next-gen Tesla Roadster makes rare appearance at Hawthorne, CA delivery site

[Credit: Christopher Alan Stanley/Twitter]

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Reservation holders who were taking deliveries of their electric cars in Hawthorne, CA were treated to a rare sight on Sunday, as Tesla brought over its upcoming halo car — the next-generation Roadster — to its delivery site.

All hands were on deck this past weekend as Tesla conducted a massive rush to deliver as many vehicles as it can to reservation holders. Employees from different departments, including some executives, reportedly helped handover electric cars. In Hawthorne, CA, Tesla’s Design Center close to SpaceX HQ seemed to have been used as a temporary delivery center. Elon Musk was on site, seemingly delivering cars himself. A SpaceX employee who received his Model 3 on the Hawthorne, CA site even shared images on Twitter depicting Elon Musk doing the handover for his car.

The next-generation Tesla Roadster attracted a lot of attention, both from those who were waiting to receive their electric cars and even SpaceX employees, whose headquarters was located nearby. The Roadster that made an appearance was the red, operational prototype that the company used for test drives during the vehicle’s unveiling, as well as in a recent segment of Jay Leno’s Garage, where the veteran host’s inner child was unleashed when Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen launched the all-electric supercar from a dead stop.

The next-generation Tesla Roadster on display at Hawthorne, CA. [Credit: Christopher Alan Stanley and The Tesla Life/Twitter]

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The United States is not the only country that was recently graced by the next-generation Tesla Roadster. Last month, Tesla brought the vehicle — albeit a non-operational 1:1 model — to the Grand Basel Auto Show in Switzerland. The Swiss auto show is traditionally populated by the industry’s most remarkable vehicles, and the next-gen Roadster, painted in a stunning white, fit right in with the event’s other premium automobiles.

While the next-generation Tesla Roadster would not be produced in mass quantities like the Model 3 sedan, the vehicle still has the potential to cause a small “disruption” of its own in the European market. The region, after all, is home to some of the world’s most prestigious supercar makers, including Ferrari, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Pagani, and Koenigsegg. These carmakers are known for their pedigree in creating cars that are stunning in design and insanely fast — two adjectives that can also be applied to the next-gen Roadster.

The next-generation Tesla Roadster at the Grand Basel Auto Show.

In a way, Tesla’s upcoming halo car could prove to be the most bang-for-your-buck supercar in the market when it gets released. During the vehicle’s unveiling, Elon Musk announced that the next-gen Roadster would start at $200,000. That’s more affordable than mid-level supercars like the McLaren 720S and the Ferrari 812 Superfast (which are priced in the ~$300,000 range), despite having performance figures that rival (or even exceed) million-dollar halo cars like the McLaren P1 and the Ferrari LaFerrari. With this in mind, it would not be surprising if the vehicle ends up finding a strong following among supercar enthusiasts in Europe and its surrounding regions.

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During its unveiling, Elon Musk stated that the whole point of the vehicle is to deliver a “hardcore smackdown” to gasoline-powered cars. Looking at the car’s specs, this definitely seems to be the case. Thanks to its three electric motors, the vehicle has a 0-60 mph time of 1.9 seconds, a 0-100 mph time of 4.2 seconds, and a top speed of more than 250 mph. Its 200 kWh battery pack also gives it an industry-leading 620 miles per charge.

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 drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes

According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla’s new Cybertruck offering has had its delivery date pushed back once again. This is now the second time, and deliveries for the newest orders are now pushed well into 2027.

According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:

Just three days ago, the initial delivery date of June 2026 was pushed back to early Fall, and now, that date has officially moved to April 2027.

The fact that Tesla has had to push back deliveries once again proves one of two things: either Tesla has slow production plans for the new Cybertruck trim, or demand is off the charts.

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Judging by how Tesla is already planning to raise the price based on demand in just a few days, it seems like the company knows it is giving a tremendous deal on this spec of Cybertruck, and units are moving quickly.

That points more toward demand and not necessarily to slower production plans, but it is not confirmed.

Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says

Tesla is set to hike the price on March 1, so tomorrow will be the final day to grab the new Cybertruck trim for just $59,990.

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It features:

  • Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
  • Powered tonneau cover
  • Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
  • Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
  • Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
  • Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
  • 6’ x 4’ composite bed
  • Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
  • Powered frunk

Interestingly, the price offering is fairly close to what Tesla unveiled back in late 2019.

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt

Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.

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Credit: SpaceX/X

Elon Musk has clarified when SpaceX will first attempt to catch Starship’s upper stage with its launch tower. The CEO’s update provides the clearest teaser yet for the spacecraft’s recovery roadmap.

Musk shared the details in recent posts on X. In his initial post, Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.

“Starship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability,” Musk wrote.

In a follow-up post, Musk addressed when SpaceX would attempt to catch the upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms. 

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“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk clarified. 

His remarks suggest that SpaceX is deliberately reducing risk before attempting a tower catch of Starship’s upper stage. Such a milestone would mark a major step towards the full reuse of the Starship system.

SpaceX is currently targeting the first Starship V3 flight of 2026 this coming March. The spacecraft’s V3 iteration is widely viewed as a key milestone in SpaceX’s long-term strategy to make Starship fully reusable. 

Starship V3 features a number of key upgrades over its previous iterations. The vehicle is equipped with SpaceX’s Raptor V3 engines, which are designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight. 

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The V3 design is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale the spacecraft’s production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars. 

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Tesla FSD (Supervised) could be approved in the Netherlands next month: Musk

Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared that Full Self-Driving (FSD) could receive regulatory approval in the Netherlands as soon as March 20, potentially marking a major step forward for Tesla’s advanced driver-assistance rollout in Europe.

Musk shared the update during a recent interview at Giga Berlin, noting that the date was provided by local authorities.

“Tesla has the most advanced real-world AI, and hopefully, it will be approved soon in Europe. We’re told by the authorities that March 20th, it’ll be approved in the Netherlands,’ what I was told,” Musk stated. 

“Hopefully, that date remains the same. But I think people in Europe are going to be pretty blown away by how good the Tesla car AI is in being able to drive.”

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Tesla’s FSD system relies on vision-based neural networks trained on real-world driving data, allowing vehicles to navigate using cameras and AI rather than traditional sensor-heavy solutions. 

The performance of FSD Supervised has so far been impressive. As per Tesla’s safety report, Full Self-Driving Supervised has already traveled 8.3 billion miles. So far, vehicles operating with FSD Supervised engaged recorded one major collision every 5,300,676 miles. 

In comparison, Teslas driven manually with Active Safety systems recorded one major collision every 2,175,763 miles, while Teslas driven manually without Active Safety recorded one major collision every 855,132 miles. The U.S. average during the same period was one major collision every 660,164 miles.

If approval is granted on March 20, the Netherlands could become the first European market to greenlight Tesla’s latest supervised FSD (Supervised) software under updated regulatory frameworks. Tesla has been working to secure expanded FSD access across Europe, where regulatory standards differ significantly from those in the United States. Approval in the Netherlands would likely serve as a foundation for broader EU adoption, though additional country-level clearances may still be required.

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