Tesla took home the highest safety honor from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for the first time in the automaker’s history. That’s right, the Tesla Model 3 earned the 2019 Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS after achieving a “good” performance in all six of its crash tests as well as performing well in a headlight test and in a test for its frontal-crash prevention systems. Where does all this testing happen? In the Tesla Crash Lab of course. Read more for a video showing just what happens in the lab.
Alan Tweedie went about his day like any other in his 2018 Tesla Model 3, but this past Saturday morning, he came back to a big surprise after parking it at Legacy High School for his daughter’s nearby soccer game. He discovered that someone had keyed his vehicle, so he decided to check the footage captured by the Model 3’s nine motion-activated cameras located in several strategic places. Read more for the surveillance video and additional information.
Photo credit: Richebkidd
A rat rod refers to a custom car that’s designed to look unfinished, typically without paint and showing rust, made from cheap or cast-off parts. YouTuber “Rich Rebuilds” wanted to make his version a little more refined, while still exuding a great deal of personality. The 1930s vehicle he purchased off Craigslist was originally powered by a Chevrolet 305 V8, but that was quickly replaced with an electric powerplant from Zero Motorcycles. Read more for a video and additional information.
Only 75 Genovation GXE vehicles exist in the world, and the company has just used one of them to set a new speed record. The automaker returned to the Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing facility and managed to hit 210.2 mph with their Corvette-based, all-electric supercar. It’s powered by a 60-kWh battery pack good for about 130 miles of range with a twin-motor powertrain that generates 800+ horsepower and 700+ pound-feet of torque, complete with a near perfect 50:50 weight distribution. Read more for a video of the record-setting run and additional information.
It’s not easy to do donuts in any Tesla, thanks to its traction control, stability control, regenerative braking and automatic emergency braking systems, but there is a bug that lets you turn off all these restrictions. Simply put, there’s a special menu that allows one to change the wheels / tires, once you find it, simply reset the sensors, place it into drive, and you’ll be ready for donuts. Read more for a video showing how (instructions at 11:31) and additional information.
Yes, Tesla vehicles have an automated emergency braking (AEB) system, and normally it’s activated when a pedestrian or cyclist is detected. In this case, a Tesla Model 3 automatically braked when a police officer on a motorcycle crossed red light and turned left into oncoming traffic as he was presumably chasing someone with his sirens off. Read more for a video and additional information.
Motorist Dakota Randall from Massachusetts captured a Tesla driver fast asleep behind the wheel while cruising on autopilot at 60mph. Even more bizarre is that the passenger sitting next to him also appears to be sleeping and has their head rested on the safety belt. Tesla Autopilot is essentially an advanced driver-assistance system with lane centering, adaptive cruise control, self-parking, automatic lane changes, and the ability to summon the car to and from a garage or parking spot. Read more for the video and additional information.
Just when you thought the Tesla Model S P100D’s Ludicrous mode was fast, Elon Musk has just set a new fast lap record for four-doors at Laguna Seca raceway using a prototype Plaid powertrain in a mere 1 minute and 36.555 seconds. How? It uses three electric motors instead of two and be an option on the Model S, Model X, and the second-generation Roadster during late 2020. Expect pricing to be more than the highest-end model, but still priced lower than the Taycan. Read more for the video and additional information.
The 2020 Toyota Supra has already shown to be a tuner’s dream since a new ECU program for the car’s turbocharged 3.0-liter straight six engine generating 340 horsepower and 369 foot-pound of torque, down to the 10s in the quarter mile, but the Tesla Model 3 Performance is no slouch either. At 3,600-pounds, the all-wheel drive, dual-motor Model 3 Performance sports a 75kWh battery producing 450 horsepower and 472 foot-pound of torque. Read more to see how both fared and more.
Photo credit: Giorgi Tedoradze
There’s no doubt that Elon Musk has been personally test driving Tesla pickup truck prototypes around at least one of their factories worldwide, but he would definitely be the person to ask about when the production model is going to be revealed. The CEO said that the pickup truck event will “most likely” take place some time in November. Read more for a video and additional information.