Lifestyle
Why Having a Tesla Makes Errands Fun
Only a Tesla can inspire me to get to the gym and voluntarily go buy the extra soft toilet paper my husband is fond of (and nearly out of) at 7:00am. How perfect this car is for running errands, and providing a little humor, can not be understated. Last week, I had the day off for Veteran’s Day. My husband did not, but doesn’t leave for work until 8:45am. That being said, I flew out the door early knowing I could take the Tesla if I made it quick.
Per usual, I scouted out a good parking spot in the shopping center. Good in Tesla terms means far enough away from the door to minimize the chance of someone parking beside you, and on an end of some sort so you can favor that side and leave more space opposite in case someone does take up residence in the next space. Also per usual, I backed in. Look, it’s the same as the driveway at home. Driving backwards means reduced visibility, even with the best backup camera. Why everyone doesn’t automatically back into every parking spot so that they have full visibility when leaving is beyond me. Think about it. It’s also why using the frunk rather than the traditional trunk in the rear is great! I was able to cruise right up with my cart, load things in, and not worry about having to maneuver my cart to the rear of the car and squeeze in between the car behind me.
If you happened to miss where I’m shopping, here’s a hint: buying two of said toilet paper packs resulted in a $5 gift card. As did buying two bottles of laundry detergent. And my multi-coat red paint is the perfect match for the store’s logo. Here’s proof:
When I came out of the store, I tossed my purchases right in the front trunk that we owners so cleverly dub the “frunk.” It’s carpeted and clean and the perfect size for these kind of purchases. Even without bags. (Disclaimer: Owning a Tesla elevates your consciousness about environmental impacts. And cashiers will look at you like you have two heads when you say “I don’t need any bags.”)
Everything fit wonderfully and I had just taken the above photo when something hilarious happened right on cue. A kind gentleman parked several parking spots away and looked over at me. Two women behind him were looking as well. “Are you okay?” he yelled over to me. I yelled back, “I’m just loading in my purchases.”
A short conversation ensued about how it’s an electric car and thus has no engine. The women walked off but he had come closer to get a better look. He explained to me that he assumed something was wrong because I was in the parking lot alone with my hood up. Chivalry isn’t dead folks. I only wish I had the foresight to snap the man’s picture. I thanked him for his concern and we parted ways.
Having a frunk is useful in many ways. On one vacation, we decided to buy a new pair of suitcases while we were at a supercharger stop. We kept the old suitcases loaded in the back but still had plenty of room for more. That’s the power of two trunks. Beyond that, there is the security. Having a hatch, even with the parcel shelf hiding your trunk’s contents, to me could be risky. All it takes is a smash and grab to get to things. The front trunk, however, secures and completely hides contents like a traditional trunk does. Christmas shopping season is upon us! Then there is the convenience of loading when you back into parking spot like I do.
Last, but not least, there is the ever present chance that someone will see you placing something under the hood. You can then choose between walking away and leaving the gawker confused, or educating the world on the joys of driving an ICE-less beast. Having the single motor S85 means I have the space to load all this junk in my frunk and more.
Frunk Related Stories
Tesla announced its Spring 2026 software update, and it’s the most feature-dense seasonal release the company has put out. The update covers twelve named changes spanning FSD, voice AI, safety lighting, dashcam storage, and pet display customization, among other things.
The centerpiece for owners with AI4 hardware is a redesigned Self-Driving app. The new interface lets owners subscribe to Full Self-Driving with a single tap and view ongoing FSD usage stats directly in the vehicle.
Grok gets its biggest in-car upgrade yet. The update adds a “Hey Grok” hands-free wake word along with location-based reminders, so a driver can now say “remind me to pick up groceries when I get home” without touching the screen. Grok first arrived in vehicles in July 2025, but each update has pushed it closer to genuine daily utility. Musk framed the broader vision clearly at Davos in January, saying Tesla is “really moving into a future that is based on autonomy.”
On safety, the update introduces enhanced blind spot warning lights that integrate directly with the cabin’s ambient lighting, building on the blind spot door warning that arrived in update 2026.8.
Dog Mode has been renamed Pet Mode and now lets owners choose a dog, cat, or hedgehog icon and add their pet’s name to the display.
Dashcam retention now extends up to 24 hours, up from the previous one-hour rolling loop, with a permanent save option for any clip. Weather maps now show rain and snow with better color differentiation and include the past hour of precipitation data along the route.
Tesla has now established a clear rhythm of two major OTA pushes per year. As with last year’s Spring update, that cycle started taking shape in 2025 with adaptive headlights and trunk customization. The 2025 Holiday Update then added Grok to the vehicle for the first time. This Spring follows that structure: the Holiday update introduces new architecture, and the Spring update broadens it across the fleet.
Two notable features still did not make it. IFTTT automations, which launched in China earlier this year, were held back from this North American release for unknown reasons, and Apple CarPlay remains absent, reportedly still delayed by iOS 26 and Apple Maps compatibility issues.
Below is the full list of feature updates released by Tesla.
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 13, 2026
Lifestyle
Tesla hit by Iranian missile debris in Israel
A Tesla in Israel absorbed a direct hit from missile debris, and the glassroof held.
On March 30, 2026, Lara Shusterman was in Netanya, Israel when Iranian ballistic missiles triggered air raid sirens across the city. While she remained in safety, her 2024 Tesla Model Y did not escape untouched. A heavy piece of missile debris struck the car’s massive glass roof, leaving a deep crater but without shattering. In a Facebook post to the Tesla Israel community the following morning, Shusterman described what happened: “The glass did not shatter into dangerous shards. She stopped the damage and pushed the metal part to the ground.” She closed by thanking Elon Musk and the Tesla team for building what she called “security and a sense of trust even in extreme situations.”
Netanya is a coastal city in central Israel, roughly 18 miles north of Tel Aviv and has been among the areas most frequently struck during Iran’s ongoing missile campaign, following coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military infrastructure. Falling shrapnel from intercepted missiles is a common occurrence.
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- Tesla Model Y glass roof shattered from a piece of falling Iranian missile debris
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- A piece of Iranian missile debris that struck Lara Shusterman’s Tesla Model Y in Netanya, Israel on March 30, 2026, after being intercepted by Israeli air defenses.
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- Tesla Model Y glass roof shattered from a piece of falling Iranian missile debris
Source: Tesla Israel Facebook Group
The incident is a testament to Tesla’s structural engineering. Tesla’s glass roof is designed to support over four times the vehicle’s own weight. That strength has shown up in real-world accidents too. In 2021, a Model Y in California was struck by a falling tree during a storm, with the glass roof holding firm and the cabin remaining intact. In another widely reported incident, a Tesla Model Y plunged 250 feet off the cliff at Devil’s Slide in California in January 2023, with all four occupants, including two young children, surviving.
Disturbing details about Tesla’s 250-foot cliff drop emerge amid initial investigation
Tesla officially launched sales in Israel in early 2021 and captured over 60 percent of Israel’s EV market in the first year. The brand’s foothold in Israel remains significant. Tens of thousands of Teslas are now on Israeli roads, making incidents like Shusterman’s easy to corroborate. On the same week her Model Y took the hit, the U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $178.5 million contract to launch missile tracking satellites, a separate but fitting reminder of how intertwined the Musk ecosystem has become with the realities of modern conflict.
Elon Musk
NASA sends humans to the Moon for the first time since 1972 – Here’s what’s next
NASA’s Artemis II launched four astronauts toward the Moon on the first crewed lunar mission since 1972.
NASA’s Space Launch System rocket launches carrying the Orion spacecraft with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Victor Glover, pilot; Christina Koch, mission specialist; and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist on NASA’s Artemis II mission, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, from Operations and Support Building II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis II mission will take Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back aboard SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft launched at 6:35pm EDT from Launch Complex 39B. (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA launched four astronauts toward the Moon on April 1, 2026, marking the first crewed lunar mission since Apollo 17 in December 1972. The Artemis II mission lifted off from Kennedy Space Center aboard the Space Launch System rocket at 6:35 p.m. EDT, sending commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day journey around the far side of the Moon and back.
The mission does not include a lunar landing. It is a test flight designed to validate the Orion spacecraft’s life support systems, navigation, and communications in deep space with a crew aboard for the first time. If the crew reaches the planned distance of 252,000 miles from Earth, they will set a new record for the farthest any human has ever traveled, surpassing even the Apollo 13 distance record.
As Teslarati reported, SpaceX holds a central role in what comes next. The Starship Human Landing System is under contract to carry astronauts to the lunar surface for Artemis IV, now targeting 2028, after NASA restructured its mission sequence due to delays in Starship’s orbital refueling demonstration. Before any Moon landing happens, SpaceX must prove it can transfer propellant between two Starships in orbit, something no rocket program has done at this scale.
The last time humans left Earth’s orbit was 53 years ago. Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of Apollo 17 were the final people to walk on the Moon, a record that stands to this day. Elon Musk has long argued that returning is not optional. “It’s been now almost half a century since humans were last on the Moon,” Musk said. “That’s too long, we need to get back there and have a permanent base on the Moon.”
The Artemis program involves 60 countries signed onto the Artemis Accords, and this mission sets several firsts beyond distance. Glover becomes the first person of color to travel beyond low Earth orbit, Koch the first woman, and Hansen the first non-American astronaut to reach the Moon’s vicinity. According to NASA’s live mission updates, the spacecraft’s solar arrays deployed successfully after liftoff and the crew completed a proximity operations demonstration within the first hours of flight.
Artemis II is step one. The Moon landing and the permanent lunar base come later. But after more than five decades, humans are heading back.
Tesla utilizes its ‘Rave Cave’ for new awesome safety feature
Tesla parked 50+ Cybercabs outside its Texas Factory with some crash tested
