Racing
Teslarati 48 Returns to Buttonwillow Race Track
We call this masterpiece from above, “offsetting carbon footprint” … literally. A gasoline car is seen billowing out plumes of exhaust followed by a zero emission electric Tesla.
As we continue on our mission to prove that electric cars can stand on equal footing with its gasoline counterparts on a race track, we return to Buttonwillow race track where our Tesla Model S adventures began a full year ago.
Since then we have visited 8 race tracks across California and Nevada logging close to 1000 race track miles and 400 race track laps over the course of a year. We’ve graduated to an advanced Green group at Speed Ventures, improved our racing skills, installed professional video recording equipment, and upgraded our tires to full racing slicks. But more importantly, we’ve clocked our fastest lap time at 2:12 which is a full 6 second improvement over last year’s 2:19.
The Track
Buttonwillow is a technical track yet it’s forgiving of driving mistakes due to the lack of retaining walls and soft flat shoulders. Because of this, racers love experimenting with driving techniques they would not ordinarily try. Racers are seen pushing their cars to the limits which inevitably leads to off-track mistakes. I suppose we’re speaking from experience here. Luckily these mistakes are generally met with little to no damage to the vehicle because of the flat ground and lack of barriers.
The huge plume of dust in the background is our Teslarati 48 losing a battle with extreme lateral G forces. End result? We slid off-track at the Riverside sweeper exit.
Teslarati 48 runs off course taking a high lateral G turn at Buttonwillow race track.
Teslarati 48 Sets Personal Best
The first lap shown in the video happened to be our quickest time ever at 2:12. But even with that, we know there is plenty of room for improvement since power limitation begins kicking in halfway into the first lap. There’s really no opportunity to perform a full lap under full power. By the end of the first lap and all subsequent laps, the power limitation is so severe that you end up driving a car that feels completely different than what you just had minutes ago.
Our latest selection of Toyo R888 racing tires continues to perform great is also extremely resilient. Much better than the BFGoodrich G-Force Rivals. Tire wear has become more evenly distributed and the edges of the tire no longer look shredded due to drifts and slides. The downside to having increased traction is the need to expend more energy when moving the vehicle forward. This isn’t much of a problem under full power, but at half power the car really struggles.
Charging and Power Consumption
Buttonwillow has plenty of 240V 50Amp RV outlets available at the track. Power consumption remains similar to other tracks at 1200 Wh/Mile. This equates to 13 rated miles per lap, or 4.5 rated miles used per 1 actual mile.
Starting track day at 230 rated miles and running half of each session and with recharging in between, you’ll end up with 70 rated miles remaining by the end of the sessions. That’s almost enough to get you to the Tejon Ranch Supercharger which is situated 75 rated miles away. Top off a few extra miles at the track before leaving.
What’s Next?
We’re looking forward to racing on two new race tracks this year – Thunderhill in Northern California in March, and Circuit of the Americas (F1 track) in Texas during April. Come say hello or come for a Teslarati 48 ride along if you’re in the area. Let us know in the comments below.
RELATED: My First Tesla Ride: 126mph Riding Shotgun on a Racetrack
Elon Musk
Elon Musk talks Tesla Roadster’s future
Elon Musk confirmed the Roadster as Tesla’s last manually driven car, with a debut coming soon.
During Tesla’s Q1 2026 earnings call on April 22, Elon Musk made a brief but notable comment about the long-awaited next generation Roadster while describing Tesla’s future vehicle lineup. “Long term, the only manually driven car will be the new Tesla Roadster,” he said. “Speaking of which, we may be able to debut that in a month or so. It requires a lot of testing and validation before we can actually have a demo and not have something go wrong with the demo.”
That single statement is the entire Roadster update from yesterday’s call, and while it represents another timeline shift, it comes as no surprise with Tesla heads-down-at-work on the mass rollout of its Robotaxi service across US cities, and the industrial scale production of the humanoid Optimus.
The fact that Musk specifically framed the Roadster as the last manually driven Tesla is significant on its own. As the rest of the lineup moves toward full autonomy, the Roadster becomes something rare in the Tesla-sphere by keeping the driver in control. Driving enthusiasts who buy a $200,000 supercar are not doing so to be passengers. They want the physical connection to the road, the feel of acceleration under their own input, and the experience of controlling something with that level of performance. FSD, however capable it becomes, removes that entirely. The Roadster signals that Tesla understands this distinction and is building a car specifically for the people who consider driving itself the point.
Tesla isn’t joking about building Optimus at an industrial scale: Here we go
The specs for the Roadster Musk has teased over the years are genuinely unlike anything in production. The base model targets 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, a top speed above 250 mph, and up to 620 miles of range from a 200 kWh battery. The optional SpaceX package takes it further, rumored to add roughly ten cold gas thrusters operating at 10,000 psi, borrowed directly from Falcon 9 rocket technology. With thrusters, Musk has claimed 0 to 60 mph in as little as 1.1 seconds. In a 2021 Joe Rogan interview he went further, stating “I want it to hover. We got to figure out how to make it hover without killing people.” Tesla filed a patent for ground effect technology in August 2025, suggesting the hover concept has not been abandoned. The starting price remains $200,000, with the Founders Series requiring a $250,000 full deposit. Some reservation holders placed those deposits in 2017 and are approaching a full decade of waiting.
With production now targeted for 2027 or 2028 at the earliest, the Roadster remains Tesla’s most audacious promise and its longest-running delay. But if what Musk is testing lives up to even half of what he has described, the demo alone should be worth waiting for.
Elon Musk says the Tesla Roadster unveiling could be done “maybe in a month or so.”
He said it should be an extraordinary unveiling event. pic.twitter.com/6V9P7zmvEm
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 22, 2026
Lifestyle
Tesla Model S Plaid battles China’s 1500 hp monster Nurburgring monster, with surprising results
There is just something about Tesla’s tuning and refinement that makes raw specs seem not as game-changing.
The Tesla Model S Plaid has been around for some time. Today, it is no longer the world’s quickest four-door electric sedan, nor is it the most powerful. As per a recent video from motoring YouTube channel Carwow, however, it seems like the Model S Plaid is still more than a match for some of its newer and more powerful rivals.
The monster from China
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is nothing short of a monster. Just like the Model S Plaid, it features three motors. It also has 1,548 hp and 1,770 Nm of torque. It’s All Wheel Drive and weighs a hefty 2,360 kg. The vehicle, which costs just about the equivalent of £55,000, has been recorded setting an insane 7:04.957 at the Nurburgring, surpassing the previous record held by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
For all intents and purposes, the Model S Plaid looked outgunned in Carwow’s test. The Model S Plaid is no slouch with its three motors that produce 1,020 hp and 1,420 Nm of torque. It’s also a bit lighter at 2,190 kg despite its larger size. However, as the Carwow host pointed out, the Model S Plaid holds a 7:25.231 record in the Nurburgring. Compared to the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra’s record, the Model S Plaid’s lap time is notably slower.
Real-world tests
As could be seen in Carwow’s drag races, however, Tesla’s tech wizardry with the Model S Plaid is still hard to beat. The two vehicles competed in nine races, and the older Model S Plaid actually beat its newer, more powerful counterpart from China several times. At one point in the race, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra hit its power limit due to its battery’s temperature, but the Model S Plaid was still going strong.
The Model S Plaid was first teased five years ago, in September 2020 during Tesla’s Battery Day. Since then, cars like the Lucid Air Sapphire and the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra have been released, surpassing its specs. But just like the Model Y ended up being the better all-rounder compared to the BYD Sealion 7 and the MG IM6, there is just something about Tesla’s tuning and refinement that makes raw specs seem not as game-changing.
Check out Carwow’s Model S Plaid vs Xiaomi SU7 drag race video below.
A dirt bike rider stole the show at the Baja 1000 by completing the grueling 1,000-mile race while live-streaming to his mother using Starlink Mini the whole time. The rider, Ben Hundter, and his brother David, completed the race in 31 hours 30 minutes, which is a pretty long FaceTime video call, all things considered.
A video of Hundter finishing the race has made the rounds online, partly due to the racer’s eye-catching Starlink Mini setup. As could be seen in the video, Ben Hundter’s 279X Sportsman Moto class Sherco was equipped with a huge Jackery battery at the rear. The Starlink Mini was duct taped to the rider’s head. The iPhone that Hundter was using to FaceTime his mother was also taped to his chest.
In an interview following the race, Hundter explained that he had always wanted to race the Baja 1000, but his mother was hesitant since he has Type 1 diabetes. And while she did allow him to participate in the grueling race, she had one condition—he has to livestream the race to her the entire time. As such, the Starlink Mini, with its low power consumption, light weight, and high speed internet connectivity, became the perfect solution for the dirt bike racer.
“I wanted to race the Baja so bad, but my mom wouldn’t let me because I have type 1 diabetes. She said the only way I could race it is if I was live streaming to her the whole time, so I have her on my chest right now,” Hundter noted. He also joked that he and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk came up with the duct taped Starlink Mini solution.
Cool— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2024
Elon Musk did see the video of the dirt bike racer completing the Baja 1000 while live-streaming through Starlink, and the CEO seemed impressed. In a reply to a video of the Baja 1000 participant on social media platform X, Musk stated that the feat was “cool.”
Completing the Baja 1000 this year is already a feat in and of itself, so Ben Hundter and his brother David are coming home as winners. Unfortunately for the brothers, they ended up running afoul of a road closure during the race, resulting in the team running an “illegal line” through the peninsula, as noted in a Jalopnik report. This resulted in the brothers getting a 17-hour penalty and a disqualification.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
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