Lifestyle
Top 5 Reasons Why My Child’s Next Car will be an EV
The trusty old family Acura MDX living in the ICE age
Part of my justification for purchasing a Tesla Model S was because my daily driver an Acura MDX SUV was at 190,000 miles and was soon to become the starter car for my daughter that was about to turn of driving age. As an electric vehicle (EV) convert who’s logged nearly 50,000 miles of emissions free driving, and watching my child experience the tribulations with driving a gasoline powered internal combustion engine (ICE) car, I’ve come up with my top 5 reasons why my child’s next car will be an EV.
5. ICE cars emit poisonous gases
As EV drivers we inevitably morph into these sensitive creatures revolted by the sheer visualization of exhaust fumes spewing from ICE cars, which is still more common place than not. It’s not a character trait that you consciously make an effort to adopt, but rather you’re so far removed from any exposure to emissions when driving electric, that you often lose sight of the fact that there’s even such a thing as poisonous gas spewing freely into the atmosphere. Therefore your Spidey senses are on high alert when you do come across it.
Kids on the other hand are seeing the world of cars for the first time. They pay very little attention to anything other than their mission to get from point A to point B. How to fill the car with gas, what things, whether inanimate or not, to look out for, etc. all come as an afterthought.
This week my daughter scared the heck out of me when she went out to the garage to warm up the car before heading to school. I was in the process of putting some things away in the house so I didn’t come into the garage until 5-10 minutes later, but when I finally did, I could hardly breathe. My daughter was sitting in the big SUV while the engine was running and with all the garage doors closed. I immediately opened all the doors to ventilate the space and counted my blessings. Thankfully she was fine but it sure made for a frightening experience.
When I spoke to her about it, she said, “But Dad, you have your car running in the garage all the time without the doors open.” It’s true, I do. I fiddle with with my car for blog posts or just for fun, I clean it with the music running, and generally don’t worry about emissions. She’s been watching me this entire time and figured she could do the same. Needless to say, we had a long chat about the dangers of poisonous fumes that gets emitted as a byproduct of gasoline burning engines.
4. ICE cars burn fossil fuels which can be dangerous to handle
The big SUV gets a measly 20 mpg and with my daughter’s commute to school and after school activities, she’s hitting the gas stations quite a bit.
Here in the wonderful state of Massachusetts you have to pump your own gas at most gas stations. My daughter hadn’t experienced pumping gas before and had no idea where gas goes or where the process of filling flammable liquid into the vehicle even begins. That may sound strange to some, but the fact of the matter is, she hasn’t seen me use a gas station in over 18 months, and literally had no point of reference for the procedure.
I showed her the process of squeezing a trigger on a pump that would allow the flow of gasoline into the car’s gas tank. And like any teenager these days when encountered with a 20 second lapse of inactivity, she pulled out her cell phone to see what’s going on in her digital life. That concerned me.
I know there’s little chance that a cell phone may spark an explosion, but it’s still not recommended to be using electronics while you’re surrounded by highly flammable liquids. I went on to explain that gas fumes can ignite through sparks and that electronics could be a catalyst to it. And of course, like any good Dad, I had to warn her that she could blow herself up. She reluctantly put the phone away.
As we finished filling up the gas tank and began hanging the nozzle back on the pump, a trail of gas dripped across the car and to the ground. I told her that this stuff was not only bad for the environment, bad for the car’s paint, but also that it’s carcinogenic and bad for your health. At that point I think she started to understand that ownership of an ICE car could be dangerous, even when not started.
3. ICE cars require regular maintenance
Since my daughter will be driving the car very regularly and logging a good amount of miles on it, she will need to maintain a regular service interval. The Acura has a service indicator that lights up when it’s time for service.
The “A” service light indicates that an oil change is needed while the “B” service light represents the need for an oil change plus a tire rotation. There are additional indicators to alert you of more major services such as belt changes, fluid flushes and transmission plus brake maintenance.
An engine-less Model S “frunk”
My daughter was not thrilled by the mention of the type of services needed, likely because it was going to be a real inconvenience to maintain it, but also because there will be costs associated with each type of service. Once again this was new to her since we never experienced such a thing in the Model S.
2. ICE cars are expensive to drive
In addition to having to pay for costly services, filling up the Acura costs $55. Since that’s about a week’s worth of after school part-time pay, I’ll be paying for gas that’s needed to get her to school, sports practice and her other commitments. However I made it clear that trips to the mall were going to be on her dime.
Although gas prices have dropped recently and electricity is still crazy expensive in my area, driving an EV is still 1/3 to 1/5 the cost of an ICE car for the same distance travelled. And that doesn’t take into account the extra service and maintenance costs associated with owning a gas car. Our trusty old Acura SUV is safe and reliable but at 20MPG it isn’t all that efficient.
1. ICE cars need to be turned on and off
After 18 months of living with the Tesla Model S, the entire family has gotten used to pulling into a parking spot and walking away while the car takes care of shutting itself down and locking up. I’m sure every Model S owner can relate.
While my daughter hasn’t been driving my Model S, she’s been watching and learning from my behaviors since day one. I never use a key, I never lock and unlock the door, and probably the most obvious difference is that I never turn off the car. For that reason, there’s been several times during her early days of driving where she would just get out of the car and forget to turn off the engine, or lock the car. Usually one of us remembers before we get too far, but it’s crazy how quickly you become accustomed to a certain way of life.
As the automotive industry continues to shift towards plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles, not to mention introduce technologies where vehicles can drive themselves, there’s still a world of education that needs to be had before people eventually transition from the old ICE-age into this new form of transportation. But for now, I’ll start with my daughter.
Elon Musk
Trump’s invite for Elon just reshuffled Tesla’s big Signature Delivery Event
Tesla rescheduled its final Model S farewell to May 20 after Musk joined Trump in China.
Tesla has rescheduled its Model S and Model X Signature Edition delivery event to Wednesday, May 20, 2026, after abruptly calling off the original May 12 celebration. The event will take place at Tesla’s factory at 45500 Fremont Boulevard in Fremont, California, the same location where the Model S first rolled off the line in 2012. Invitees received a follow-up email asking them to reconfirm attendance and download a new QR code ticket, with Tesla noting that all travel and accommodation expenses remain the buyer’s responsibility.
The reason behind the original cancellation came into focus the same day it was announced. President Trump invited Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, and executives from Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, Citigroup, and Meta to join his trip to China this week for a summit with President Xi Jinping. The agenda covers trade, artificial intelligence, export controls, Taiwan, and the Iran war, following weeks of escalating friction between Washington and Beijing over AI technology, sanctions, and rare earth exports. Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I am very much looking forward to my trip to China, an amazing Country, with a Leader, President Xi, respected by all.”
Tesla launches 200mph Model S “Gold” Signature in invite-only purchase
The vehicles at the center of all this are the last Model S and Model X units Tesla will ever build. Priced at $159,420 each, the 250 Model S and 100 Model X Signature Edition units come finished in Garnet Red with a one-year no-resale agreement, giving Tesla right of first refusal if the owner decides to sell. As Teslarati reported, the Model S defined Tesla’s early identity as a serious luxury automaker, and the Fremont factory line that built it is now being converted to manufacture Optimus humanoid robots.
Musk’s inclusion in the China delegation drew attention given his very public relationship with Trump, and the invitation signals the two have moved past and past grievances. Trump originally brought Musk on to lead the Department of Government Efficiency following his inauguration, and despite a sharp public dispute in mid-2025, the two have appeared together repeatedly in recent months. A seat on the China trip, the most diplomatically consequential visit of Trump’s current term, puts Musk back at the table on U.S. economic policy at a moment when Tesla’s China revenue remains one of the company’s most important financial pillars.
Lifestyle
Tesla Semi hauls fresh Cybercab batch as Robotaxi era takes hold
A Tesla Semi was filmed hauling Cybercab units out of Giga Texas for the first time.
A Tesla Semi loaded with Cybercab units was recently filmed leaving Gigafactory Texas, marking what appears to be the first documented delivery run of Tesla’s autonomous two-seater. The footage shows multiple Cybercabs secured on a flatbed trailer being hauled by a production Tesla Semi, a truck rated for a gross combination weight of 82,000 lbs. The location is consistent with Giga Texas in Austin, where Cybercab production has been ramping since February 2026.
The sighting follows a wave of Cybercab activity at the Austin facility. In late April, drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer spotted approximately 60 Cybercabs parked in two organized groups in the factory’s outbound lot, the largest concentration observed to date. Units being staged in an outbound lot is a standard pre-delivery step, and the Semi footage is the logical next frame in that sequence.
En route with @tesla_semi pic.twitter.com/ZfuOjaeLH1
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) May 7, 2026
This is not the first time Tesla has used its own Semi to move Tesla products. When the Semi was unveiled in 2017, Musk noted it would be used for Tesla’s own operations, and over the years Semi prototypes were spotted carrying cargo ranging from concrete weights to Tesla vehicles being delivered to consumers. In 2023, a Semi was photographed transporting a Cybertruck on a trailer ahead of that vehicle’s delivery launch.
The Cybercab itself was first revealed publicly at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event on October 10, 2024, at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, where 20 pre-production units gave attendees rides around the studio lot. Musk stated at the event that Tesla intends to produce the Cybercab before 2027. The first production unit rolled off the Giga Texas line on February 17, 2026, with Musk posting on X: “Congratulations to the Tesla team on making the first production Cybercab.”
Tesla’s annual production goal is 2 million Cybercabs per year once multiple factories reach full design capacity, with the company targeting a price under $30,000 per unit. Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its robotaxi service to seven cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, building on the unsupervised service already running in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.
Tesla has taken home the “Overall Loyalty to Make” award from S&P Global Mobility for the fourth consecutive year, reinforcing Tesla owners’ willingness to come back. The 2025 awards are based on S&P Global Mobility’s analysis of 13.6 million new retail vehicle registrations in the U.S. from October 2024 through September 2025. The complete list of 2025 winners includes General Motors for Overall Loyalty to Manufacturer, Tesla for Overall Loyalty to Make, Chevrolet Equinox for Overall Loyalty to Model, Mini for Most Improved Make Loyalty, Subaru for Overall Loyalty to Dealer, and Tesla again for both Ethnic Market Loyalty to Make and Highest Conquest Percentage.
Tesla’s streak in this category started in 2022, and the brand has now won the Highest Conquest Percentage award for six straight years, meaning it keeps pulling buyers away from other brands at a rate no competitor has matched. Tesla’s retention among Asian households reached 63.6% and among Hispanic households 61.9%, rates that significantly outpace national averages for those groups. That breadth of appeal across demographics adds a layer of significance to a win that some might dismiss as routine.
The timing matters too. After several consecutive quarters of decline, Tesla’s share of U.S. EV sales jumped to 59% in Q4 2025. That rebound, arriving just as competitors were flooding the market with new models and incentives, suggests Tesla’s loyalty numbers are not simply the result of limited alternatives. Buyers are still choosing it when they have plenty of other options.
What keeps Tesla owners coming back has a lot to do with the and convenience of charging. The Supercharger network is the most straightforward example. With over 65,000 Superchargers globally, it remains the largest and most reliable fast-charging network in the world, and owners who have built their routines around it face a real practical cost when considering a switch. Competitors have made progress, but the consistency, speed, and availability of Tesla’s network is still the benchmark the rest of the industry is chasing. Then there is the software side. Tesla has built a model where the car you own today is functionally different from the car you bought two years ago, through over-the-air updates that add continuous game-changing improvements such as Full Self-Driving that has moved from a driver-assist feature to an increasingly capable autonomous system. For many Tesla owners, leaving the brand means starting over with a car that will not get meaningfully better over time, and that is a trade-off fewer and fewer are willing to make.
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