News
Tesla’s next-gen Roadster to take on the Nürburgring, confirms Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has announced that the next-generation Roadster, a revamped version of the company’s first-ever vehicle, will run at the Nürburgring track in Germany next year.
The Nürburgring is one of the most prestigious auto racing tracks in the world. Nicknamed “the Green Hell” for its extensive length and tough-to-remember layout, it has been one of the focal points of Tesla’s upcoming performance vehicles for the past year. The electric automaker set up a temporary residence at the track in late 2019 to test its Model S Plaid Powertrain.
However, the Roadster is an entirely different animal than the Plaid Model S. With 650 miles of range, a 0-60 MPH time of 1.9 seconds, and a 250+ MPH top speed, the Roadster can break every record ever set at the Green Hell because of its impressive specifications.
Musk indicated in August 2019 that Tesla had plans to bring the Roadster to the Ring in 2020. A Tweet from massively-known tech YouTuber and Tesla supporter Marques Brownlee last year hinted that Musk should take the Roadster to the Ring for testing. Musk agreed and said that 2020 would be the right time.
However, the Roadster has taken somewhat of a backseat in Tesla’s plan since Musk announced his intentions to bring the electric supercar to the German track. The company has primarily focused on cars that align with its mission, which is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
The Roadster is simply not in these plans. Mass-market cars, however, are.
Tesla released the Model Y this year and has worked to improve the manufacturing efficiency of its vehicles. Along with that, battery cell production has been a primary focus, and the company’s strategy will be detailed on Tuesday at Tesla’s Battery Day.
Now, Musk has the Roadster’s arrival at the Nürburgring set for 2021, which is still a genuinely attractive amount of time for enthusiasts to drool over the potential developments that could come from the testing runs. The Roadster is already expected to be one of the fastest cars on Earth. With the vehicle arriving at one of the most challenging courses to ever be the subject of automotive testing, the session could be explosive.
Currently, the 12.9-mile “Nordschleife” circuit, which is the main track at the Ring, has been completed by the Porsche 919 Hybrid EVO in 5:19.545. That remains the fastest time, and it was completed on June 29, 2018.
Whether the Roadster can beat that time is up in the air. However, Musk seems confident that the car can beat the current record at the Ring. When asked if the Roadster had the capability to become the new champion, Musk simply said, “Absolutely.”
News
Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed the upcoming update in a post on social media platform X.
Tesla will be ending one-time purchases of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system after Valentine’s Day, transitioning the feature to a monthly subscription-only model.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed the upcoming update in a post on social media platform X.
No more FSD one-time purchases
As per Elon Musk in his post on X, “Tesla will stop selling FSD after Feb 14. FSD will only be available as a monthly subscription thereafter.” This marks a shift in how Tesla monetizes its FSD system, which can now be purchased for a one-time fee or accessed through a monthly subscription.
FSD’s subscription model has been $99 per month in the United States, while its one-time purchase option is currently priced at $8,000. FSD’s one-time purchase price has swung wildly in recent years, reaching $15,000 in September 2022. At the time, FSD was proficient, but its performance was not on par with v14. This made its $15,000 upfront price a hard sell for consumers.
Tesla’s move to a subscription-only model could then streamline how the company sells FSD. It also lowers the entry price for the system, as even price-conscious drivers would likely be able to justify FSD’s $99 monthly subscription cost during periods when long-distance travel is prevalent, like the holidays.
Musk’s compensation plan and FSD subscription targets
Tesla’s shift to a subscription-only FSD model comes amidst Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award, which was approved by Tesla shareholders at the 2025 Annual Shareholders Meeting with roughly 75% support. Under the long-term compensation plan, Musk must achieve a series of ambitious operational milestones, including 10 million active FSD subscriptions, over the next decade for his stock awards to vest.
The 2025 CEO Performance Award’s structure ties Musk’s potential compensation to Tesla’s aggressive targets that span market capitalization, vehicle deliveries, robotics, and software adoption. Apart from his 10-million active FSD subscription target, Musk’s compensation is also tied to Tesla producing 20 million vehicles cumulatively, delivering 1 million Tesla bots, and having 1 million Robotaxis in operation. He must also lead Tesla to a market cap of $8.5 trillion.
If successful, Elon Musk’s 2025 CEO Performance Award could make him the world’s first trillionaire. It could also help Tesla become the world’s most valuable company by market cap by a notable margin.
Tesla is planning for a new 300+ stall Supercharger station that will be an expansion of an existing facility, and the company is planning to add a surprise for the Semi.
The Firebaugh, California Supercharger is currently 72 Superchargers, but Tesla filed for an expansion that will add 232 additional plugs for passenger vehicles, and it also plans to add 16 Semichargers.
This will be the biggest Supercharger station Tesla will have to date, just months after it finished the Supercharger Oasis in Lost Hills, California, which has 168 stalls. This will have 304 total Supercharger stalls, and then the additional 16 Megachargers.
🚨 This Supercharger station will have 304 total stalls and 16 Semichargers following this expansion
Absolutely INSANE size 🔥
This is located on I-5, so many semis will be traveling along this route https://t.co/hM9hdLcWwg
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 13, 2026
The Firebaugh Supercharger is located on I-5, which is a major reason for why Tesla has chosen the location for additional Megacharger plug-ins, as Tesla Semi Program Manager Dan Priestley said on X earlier today.
Lots of trucks to electrify on I-5
— Dan Priestley (@danWpriestley) January 13, 2026
The project was revealed by MarcoRP, a Supercharger tracker.
The expansion is a massive signal for charging demand, especially as Tesla’s Superchargers are opened to numerous automakers and are no longer exclusive to the company’s EVs. Additionally, the installation of Megachargers is a good sign to come for the Tesla Semi program, which aims to truly ramp up this year.
Tesla plans to launch production of the Semi later this year.
It could also mean Tesla is going to expand its footprint of large-scale Supercharger projects in the coming years, which would be a big boost as EV adoption continues to soar in the United States.
Tesla has made two big interior changes to several Model Y vehicles in its lineup, and the changes come just as the new model year begins production.
Last year, Tesla launched the Model Y Standard, which separated the previous models into the “Premium” category. The Standard vehicles lack several features, including more premium interior materials, acoustic-lined glass, and storage.
@teslarati There are some BIG differences between the Tesla Model Y Standard and Tesla Model Y Premium #tesla #teslamodely ♬ Sia – Xeptemper
The Model Y “Premium” trims are now getting several new upgrades, which come after the company launched a seven-seat configuration of the vehicle last night in the North American market for an upcharge of $2,500.
The new Model Y seven-seat configuration did not come with just an additional row of seating; it also came with a slew of other goodies that now come standard and were previously only available on the Model Y Performance, which was launched late last year.
All Black Headliner
The new Tesla Model Y Premium trims will now come standard with a black headliner, something that many owners have been requesting for some time.
The previous grey headliner and trim within the vehicle is now gone; it will be all black on all of the Premium trims from here on out, a welcome change:
Credit: Tesla
Larger and Higher Resolution Center Touchscreen
The center touchscreen in the new Model Y Premium configuration is now larger and has a higher resolution than the previous version.
In last year’s Model Y configurations (apart from the Performance), the center touchscreen was 15.4″. Now, Tesla has decided to go with the 16″ version across all Premium trims, which is a nice step up. It was nice to see this in the Performance, but it is really great to see Tesla include this in the Model Y’s more Premium trim levels.
Tesla Model Y Seven Seater
Tesla launched the latest iteration of the seven-seater for the Model Y on Monday night. Traditionally, the Model Y seats five passengers in total, but there were calls for a more spacious version several years ago.
Tesla released it, but it was extremely tight in the back, basically reserving those back seats for only small people or children.
Credit: Tesla
The new configuration looks to be slightly more spacious in the third row, but not as much space as most would require or want. Instead,
Tesla is shifting FSD to a subscription-only model, confirms Elon Musk
Tesla plans for new 300+ stall Supercharger with a special surprise for Semi
