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Tesla Top 5 Week in Review: TSLA surge, 0-60 mph 2.05 sec, neural nets, and more
Tesla has been in the news a lot this week, as usual, but the biggest headlines surrounded its unexpectedly strong stock market performance. Another event that made the Tesla crowd happy was the release of a new over-the-air software update which removed a power limiting safety feature. In a related story, a team of creative folks reverse engineered the maximum theoretical acceleration of a car; if you didn’t read this story, you’ll be amazed what they found out. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was a featured speaker in the UAE at the World Summit, which coincided with Tesla’s entrance into that market. And Musk also offered some fascinating insights about artificial intelligence and what the future might look like if humans don’t stay current with AI’s potential. Here are those stories.
Tesla (TSLA) shares surge across 52-week high as Model 3 production takes stage
Over a six month period, Tesla shares rose by nearly 25% and traded this week above $280. This is within grasp of the company’s all-time high, with a market cap that has grown by $10 billion. Investors have begun to give more weight to Tesla’s highly anticipated Model 3, which is slated to begin production on February 20. Development and planned timeline launch for the Model 3 look good and are critical to Tesla’s continued success moving forward. If all goes as hoped, the vehicle will help take the company from producing about 100,000 cars annually today to 500,000 annually in 2018.
Tesla removes performance restrictions in latest software update
Tesla’s policy on limiting the power output of its performance vehicles due to frequency patterns of launch mode engagement and maximum power levels has ended. This week, the car manufacturer pushed a software update to its customers that removes power limiting on Performance variants of its Model S and Model X. Tesla continued to remind its customers that prudent habits can prevent premature wear of components due to high stress launches. Tesla confirmed that they will now “monitor the condition of the powertrain and display an alert if service is needed so we can take proactive steps, such as by replacing parts if necessary, to maintain the vehicle’s performance.”
Math says, Tesla’s “Maximum Plaid” mode could achieve 0-60 mph in 2.05 seconds
In this article scoop, Teslarati related how a group of really creative folks at Engineering Explained decided to reverse engineer the maximum theoretical acceleration that a Tesla Model S could achieve. The team worked somewhat counter-intuitively. They began by calculating the maximum deceleration first. Then they moved back up to acceleration, focusing on a stock Model S with stock tires. The result? Tesla’s next generation Roadster with “Maximum Plaid” mode may have the ability to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 2.05 seconds.
Elon Musk presents at the Tesla Launch Event in the UAE (Video)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk was a celebrity speaker at this week’s World Government Summit in Dubai. In his remarks, Musk noted, “We expect to invest tens of millions of dollars in the UAE for charging, service and support infrastructures. By next year, you’ll be able to travel anywhere in the GCC with an electric vehicle.” As he spoke about sustainability, Musk acknowledged that EV availability wouldn’t necessarily translate into immediate sales, as the region still considers fossil fuel-powered cars to be the preferred method of transportation. Following Musk’s visit, the UAE announced that it had ordered 200 Model S and Model X vehicles for use as a limousine service.
Elon Musk says human brains need to merge with AI to stay competitive with machines
As artificial intelligence technology improves, as some point humans will become irrelevant. That’s why we must learn to merge with machines, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who explained some of his beliefs about the dangers of artificial intelligence this week. “I think we need to be very careful in how we adopt artificial intelligence and that we make sure that researchers don’t get carried away,” he stated. “Sometimes what will happen is a scientist will get so engrossed in their work that they don’t really realize the ramifications of what they’re doing.” Musk described how humans can mitigate those dangers through a type of merger of biological and machine intelligence, which he said would solve the problem of humans losing control over artificial intelligence.
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Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature not available on typical Model Ys
These camera washers are crucial for keeping the operation going, as they are the sole way Teslas operate autonomously. The cameras act as eyes for the car to drive, recognize speed limit and traffic signs, and travel safely.
Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature that is not available on typical Model Ys that people like you and me bring home after we buy them. The feature is something that many have been wanting for years, especially after the company adopted a vision-only approach to self-driving.
After Tesla launched driverless Robotaxi rides to the public earlier this week in Austin, people have been traveling to the Lone Star State in an effort to hopefully snag a ride from one of the few vehicles in the fleet that are now no longer required to have Safety Monitors present.
BREAKING: Tesla launches public Robotaxi rides in Austin with no Safety Monitor
Although only a few of those completely driverless rides are available, there have been some new things seen on these cars that are additions from regular Model Ys, including the presence of one new feature: camera washers.
With the Model Y, there has been a front camera washer, but the other exterior “eyes” have been void of any solution for this. For now, owners are required to clean them manually.
In Austin, Tesla is doing things differently. It is now utilizing camera washers on the side repeater and rear bumper cameras, which will keep the cameras clean and keep operation as smooth and as uninterrupted as possible:
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
Rear Camera Washer on Tesla Robotaxi pic.twitter.com/P9hgGStHmV
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 24, 2026
These camera washers are crucial for keeping the operation going, as they are the sole way Teslas operate autonomously. The cameras act as eyes for the car to drive, recognize speed limit and traffic signs, and travel safely.
This is the first time we are seeing them, so it seems as if Safety Monitors might have been responsible for keeping the lenses clean and unobstructed previously.
However, as Tesla transitions to a fully autonomous self-driving suite and Robotaxi expands to more vehicles in the Robotaxi fleet, it needed to find a way to clean the cameras without any manual intervention, at least for a short period, until they can return for interior and exterior washing.
Tesla made a dramatic change to the Online Design Studio to show its plans for Full Self-Driving, a major part of the company’s plans moving forward, as CEO Elon Musk has been extremely clear on the direction moving forward.
With Tesla taking a stand and removing the ability to purchase Full Self-Driving outright next month, it is already taking steps to initiate that with owners and potential buyers.
On Thursday night, the company updated its Online Design Studio to reflect that in a new move that now lists the three purchase options that are currently available: Monthly Subscription, One-Time Purchase, or Add Later:
🚨 Check out the change Tesla made to its Online Design Studio:
It now lists the Monthly Subscription as an option for Full Self-Driving
It also shows the outright purchase option as expiring on February 14 pic.twitter.com/pM6Svmyy8d
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
This change replaces the former option for purchasing Full Self-Driving at the time of purchase, which was a simple and single box to purchase the suite outright. Subscriptions were activated through the vehicle exclusively.
However, with Musk announcing that Tesla would soon remove the outright purchase option, it is clearer than ever that the Subscription plan is where the company is headed.
The removal of the outright purchase option has been a polarizing topic among the Tesla community, especially considering that there are many people who are concerned about potential price increases or have been saving to purchase it for $8,000.
This would bring an end to the ability to pay for it once and never have to pay for it again. With the Subscription strategy, things are definitely going to change, and if people are paying for their cars monthly, it will essentially add $100 per month to their payment, pricing some people out. The price will increase as well, as Musk said on Thursday, as it improves in functionality.
I should also mention that the $99/month for supervised FSD will rise as FSD’s capabilities improve.
The massive value jump is when you can be on your phone or sleeping for the entire ride (unsupervised FSD). https://t.co/YDKhXN3aaG
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 23, 2026
Those skeptics have grown concerned that this will actually lower the take rate of Full Self-Driving. While it is understandable that FSD would increase in price as the capabilities improve, there are arguments for a tiered system that would allow owners to pay for features that they appreciate and can afford, which would help with data accumulation for the company.
Musk’s new compensation package also would require Tesla to have 10 million active FSD subscriptions, but people are not sure if this will move the needle in the correct direction. If Tesla can potentially offer a cheaper alternative that is not quite unsupervised, things could improve in terms of the number of owners who pay for it.
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Tesla Model S completes first ever FSD Cannonball Run with zero interventions
The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end with no interventions.
A Tesla Model S has completed the first-ever full Cannonball Run using Full Self-Driving (FSD), traveling from Los Angeles to New York with zero interventions. The coast-to-coast drive marked the first time Tesla’s FSD system completed the iconic, 3,000-mile route end to end, fulfilling a long-discussed benchmark for autonomy.
A full FSD Cannonball Run
As per a report from The Drive, a 2024 Tesla Model S with AI4 and FSD v14.2.2.3 completed the 3,081-mile trip from Redondo Beach in Los Angeles to midtown Manhattan in New York City. The drive was completed by Alex Roy, a former automotive journalist and investor, along with a small team of autonomy experts.
Roy said FSD handled all driving tasks for the entirety of the route, including highway cruising, lane changes, navigation, and adverse weather conditions. The trip took a total of 58 hours and 22 minutes at an average speed of 64 mph, and about 10 hours were spent charging the vehicle. In later comments, Roy noted that he and his team cleaned out the Model S’ cameras during their stops to keep FSD’s performance optimal.
History made
The historic trip was quite impressive, considering that the journey was in the middle of winter. This meant that FSD didn’t just deal with other cars on the road. The vehicle also had to handle extreme cold, snow, ice, slush, and rain.
As per Roy in a post on X, FSD performed so well during the trip that the journey would have been completed faster if the Model S did not have people onboard. “Elon Musk was right. Once an autonomous vehicle is mature, most human input is error. A comedy of human errors added hours and hundreds of miles, but FSD stunned us with its consistent and comfortable behavior,” Roy wrote in a post on X.
Roy’s comments are quite notable as he has previously attempted Cannonball Runs using FSD on December 2024 and February 2025. Neither were zero intervention drives.
Tesla Robotaxi has a highly-requested hardware feature not available on typical Model Ys
Tesla makes big Full Self-Driving change to reflect future plans
