Episode 551: A $60k Cybertruck Arrives

On this week's episode of Ride the Lightning, the Tesla and EV Podcast, Tesla unveils a new $60,000 trim of the Cybertruck,

and while it does make some sacrifices, it's pretty darn appealing.

I'll tell you all about it on this episode.

Plus, one option on the outgoing Model S and Model X has already been retired.

Ford talks up their Tesla-like next-gen EV platform and more.

What's happening friends? Alongside not one, not two, but three dogos.

My name is Ryan McCaffrey and this is Ride the Lightning, episode 551 of your weekly Tesla and EV Podcast,

publishing on February 22nd, 2026, recording as usual on Friday evening, in this case February 20th.

And yes, I've got Daisy here, snuggled up on the couch.

We've got Lily the silly Labrador puppy, but visiting us, we're so happy to have her for about a week or so here.

We've got Zelina the service dog, the first puppy that we had raised for canine companions,

who, those of you who've been listening, know that she actually made it through the program and graduated.

We've been so lucky that her forever family, whose lives she has enriched so much,

have graciously chosen to stay in touch with us, and they are on an international trip right now.

And so they did not want to bring her on that international trip.

And so they reached out and said, hey, would you like to watch Zelina for us?

And we said, well, you're doing us the favor by allowing that.

So thrilled to have Zelina.

She's curled up just out of arm's reach here on the couch to my left.

So we're having a great time here in the McCaffrey household this week.

And it's going to be a great time on this week's Ride the Lightning.

There is so much to get to.

I want to start by just saying I had a lot of fun talking about some other non-Tesla EVs last week.

That was a nice change of pace and just a good indication of how the EV world is growing.

Things are getting better.

There are more and more good options out there.

And in fact, I decided to make the Rivian R2 the subject of this week's Patreon poll.

And it would seem that I am not the only person interested in and curious about the Rivian R2.

This might be the most votes that I've ever gotten in a Patreon poll.

If not, it's very close.

So the poll on the back of last week's episode was,

What's your interest level in the Rivian R2?

And thank you to the 387 people as of recording time who voted.

And the results were not surprisingly kind of across the board.

I had one, two, three, four, what six, six choices plus a just show me the results option.

So 25% of you said I'm not interested, period, which okay, not a surprise.

This is a Tesla first podcast.

So sure.

And though many of us are happy with our vehicles, so all good there.

But then 21% of you said until it can do what FSD can do,

I'm not interested.

If that happens, then maybe then 18% of you said,

I'm extremely interested in it as my next potential potential vehicle purchase.

Then another 14% of you said,

I'm very interested, but I need to make sure pricing is right.

And then 10% said I'm interested, but I want to see Rivian deliver some autonomy features first.

9% saying I'm outside of North America.

So I'm not sure if or when I'd be able to get one.

So again, just really, I didn't have any sort of goal or anything with this poll

other than just to really take a temperature of all of you of my Tesla EV,

ride the lightning audience and see how you're feeling about the Rivian R2.

So thank you to everybody that kindly took the time to vote.

A quick reminder,

the poll questions on my Patreon page are free and open to anyone and everyone.

You don't have to be supporting me on Patreon.

I'd be so grateful if you chose to do that,

but the poll is open to everybody each week.

So stop by patreon.com slash Tesla podcast

or click the link in the episode description to visit my Patreon page each week and cast your vote.

This week, getting back to Tesla and an update on a highly anticipated feature,

Tesla has delayed Apple CarPlay's rollout over an Apple Maps compatibility issue.

I saw this on DriveTeslaCanada who writes,

Tesla and Apple have been working together to deploy CarPlay for several months

and the plan is to allow CarPlay to run in a window within the Tesla interface.

Per insiders who spoke with Bloomberg,

Tesla discovered a compatibility issue between Apple Maps

and its in-house mapping software during initial testing.

The issue concerns turn-by-turn guidance

as Tesla's Maps app is unable to sync properly with Apple Maps during autonomous driving.

Tesla asked Apple to develop a fix which was included in iOS26.

However, the patch did not come with the official iOS26 launch

and instead came in a security and patch update after the launch of iOS26 in September of 2025.

So although 74% of iPhone users with devices activated in the last four years have iOS26,

it remains unclear how many users have the updated patch with the CarPlay fix.

So the fix is here, but Tesla is still nervous to deploy the new app

due to the possibility that a Tesla driver not having the updated patch could cause the sync issue.

Well, this would seem to be mostly good news.

I admit, certainly the CarPlay update has not yet arrived in our cars, obviously,

but it sure sounds like it's basically done other than this update.

So hopefully this means that we will get this as part of the spring Tesla software update,

which I went back and checked last year.

It got announced in April of 2025.

So if no other snags are hit and Tesla satisfied with the, I guess, the uptake of that patch

and Apple's happy, we should hopefully have Apple CarPlay in our Teslas inside of three months from now.

Next this week as we continue to get warmed up and again, I'm warning you, this is a busy Tesla news week.

If you're planning on ordering one of the last Model S's or Model X's before they are retired

and you have your eye on the Lunar Silver paint, I do have some bad news for you.

I wasn't even looking.

I was actually poking around the Tesla Design Studio yesterday while I was putting my notes together

for the Cybertruck news that headlines the podcast that I'll be talking about in a few minutes.

And I noticed something as I was poking around the Tesla Design Studio.

The Lunar Silver color was crossed out on the S and X Design Studio.

And sure enough, if you try to click it, it says Lunar Silver paint is sold out.

Which probably means that it's not that they physically are going to be out of the paint.

It's that Tesla does their vehicles in batches.

So they'll do a run of ultra red S's at a time in the paint shop.

They'll do a run of Diamond Black.

They'll do a run of Frost Blue.

So they batch them by color and then put in whatever interior colors they have orders for

and whatever wheel types, etc.

You get what I'm saying.

So it doesn't necessarily mean that Lunar Silver is physically out of the paint.

Because of course they're going to be supporting Lunar Silver in body shops and etc.

For years and years and years.

But they have clearly run their last batch of Lunar Silver S's or X's.

So that means that the last Lunar Silver Model S and the last Lunar Silver Model X

have either already been or are about to be produced.

In fact, maybe one of you listening to this will get the last Lunar Silver S or X.

And unfortunately if you do, you probably won't even know it.

Technically if you were to do some community detective work online and compare VIN numbers

to other 2026 Lunar Silver S's or X's you could try and suss it out with the community.

But by and large if one of you might end up with the last Lunar Silver S or X

and sadly you'll probably never know that you have the privilege.

But they are now just about done.

Which is a little bit of a bummer because the SNX themselves aren't done yet.

I mean I get why Tesla does this.

Anecdotally, I will say that of all the colors that are available on SNX

I would very anecdotally say that I see Lunar Silver the least.

Out of, you know, Stealth Gray, Ultra Red, Pearl White Multicote, etc.

I don't have any data to back that up but it's probably that Tesla is only going to do

like I said either one more run of Lunar Silver S's or X's or they've already done it

as they begin to wind down production on SNX.

Speaking of production, the first production cyber cab has rolled off the assembly line at Gigatexus.

Tesla posted on its official X account this week with a photo of all the factory workers

on that assembly line surrounding the car and a caption that read simply

first cyber cab off the production line at Gigatexus, presumably VIN number one.

Now if you're wondering, wait, I thought Tesla told us that they were going into production in April with cyber cab.

You're not wrong. As far as we know, these cars don't yet have regulatory approval to carry actual paying customers

slash members of the public, meaning people that don't work at Tesla.

So Tesla might simply be building up an initial fleet of them so that once that regulatory approval is granted

Tesla has a good size fleet of cars ready to go when that switch is flipped

and they can deploy them presumably in Austin first, closest to the factory

and then we'll see what other cities that they make their way to next.

I mean it certainly stands to reason that it would probably be the Bay Area Second

since that's how the RoboTaxi network has been, that they've got the in-progress regulatory initial approval

to operate, of course here it's with a safety monitor for now, but anyway

we shall see what that rollout actually looks like.

It's clearly going to be different than any other Tesla vehicle rollout ever

just by nature of its transportation as a service routes, right?

It is not just a car that any of us can buy and we'll get in our driveway

and I guess that is going to happen.

In fact, a long time listener of this podcast, Marques Brownlee, MKBHD, the popular tech YouTuber

has an on-camera bet with Tesla that they will not deliver one to a regular customer like you or I

before 2027 and if they do that Marques is going to shave his head on camera

and Elon Musk took to X this week to say that Tesla will deliver cybercabs to regular paying customers

in other words in a non-fleet basis, so we shall see if that bet will need to be paid or not

but anyway for now it is definitely the fact that the initial rollout of this is not going to be like any other Tesla vehicle we've ever seen

so we'll see what happens in April but for a bit of context here before I move along

I went back and looked it up and the first Model 3 rolled off the assembly line on July 7th, 2017

and the first Model 3s were delivered to customers meaning the actual official launch of the car

took place on July 28th of that year so just a three week to the day difference there

whereas in this case we have a much wider gap in the calendar between the first cybercab off the assembly line

and the first ones that will be quote unquote delivered I guess they won't be delivered to customers

because Tesla will probably be the first customer I would be willing to bet just about any amount of money on that

so again that April rollout we'll see what that actually looks like when they go into proper I guess volume production of the cybercab in April

that's that again April's what they've been guiding us towards for months now so it's is Tesla ahead of schedule here maybe

I hope either way that we get a bit of clarity on this soon but regardless it sure seems like good news

before I continue this week I wanted to quickly mention this week's lightning round mini episode

which I do for that most popular tier on my patreon page if you're kindly supporting me on patreon at that $10 per month tier or higher

you get access to all hundred and eighty something of the lightning round mini episodes

this one continues my pledge that I made really to all of you and to myself to talk to an illicitor and interview them once a month

because I think it's fun to just talk to my fellow Tesla and EV owners and enthusiasts and hear their story and hear their perspective

and this month this week I talked to Travis Brewer who had never considered an EV previously

but was a relatively recent Tesla and EV owner who was completely won over when he test drove the Model Y

so I had a really nice conversation with Travis I hope those of you who are with me on patreon will check that out and enjoy that

and again you can join me on patreon for as little as five bucks a month you can be supporting what I'm doing here

as you know I do this podcast every single week I'm really proud of that and I'm really grateful to have the health to continue to do that

so if you're willing and able to support me on patreon you can do so by going to patreon.com slash Tesla podcast

and you'll find all the information there just five bucks a month gets you an ad free episode and early access to that ad free episode

the ten dollar per month tier which again is that most popular one gets you the ad free the early access and all of those lightning round

mini episodes each and every week on my patreon page

I move now to this week's main story yes believe it or not the cyber cab starting production was not the main story this week

because on Thursday evening this week which is typically when Tesla ends up making these different design studio changes

whether it's a new paint color or a new trim or what have you

this week on Thursday evening Tesla has announced and made available for sale a meaningfully more affordable cyber truck

yes there is now a sixty thousand dollar cyber truck the most affordable one they've made yet and it is not a rear wheel drive vehicle

it is a dual motor all wheel drive version for sixty K there are some sacrifices I'm going to walk you through all this

but this one is in my humble opinion a lot more appealing than Tesla's first short lived attempt at a more affordable version

which as you'll recall was a seventy thousand dollar rear wheel drive version that stripped out a ton of stuff so much stuff

this one as I said sixty grand it's all wheel drive it's got the same three hundred and twenty five miles of range so same battery pack

hundred twenty three kilowatt hour battery pack as the premium all wheel drive trim it's got the same zero to sixty times same performance

so that's four point one seconds in a full size truck to sixty miles an hour it's also got the powered to no cover to lock your contents in the bed

and crucially this is one of the first things I went looking for when I started digging into this after it got announced

it's got the power share home backup that is clutch and that is key in my opinion so what trade-offs does it make let me go through them

the big one for me is no air suspension which there was the same thing with the long range rear wheel drive from last year that seventy thousand dollar version

also did not have air suspension but it's a bummer sure but to me this is the only real major sacrifice in exchange for a sixty thousand dollar version of this truck

so I'm not really complaining here at the end of the day let me go through the rest of this so air suspension isn't the only trade-off

the bulk of the rest of the trade-offs are in the interior of the truck so there's no premium interior meaning it's got fabric seats

and it's just got the basic seven speaker sound system but let me pause right there because I honestly think that a lot of truck buyers might actually prefer fabric seats

it's just you know because it tends to be more of a rugged crowd they you know they want to the trucks going to get dirty like that

a lot of people I think will either if not prefer the fabric seat at least not feel like it's a downgrade at all they'll just be totally fine with the fabric seats

though that sadly does mean no more ventilated cooling function in those seats or it also means I should say and it also means no heated seats in the rear in the second row unfortunately

so you only get heated the only climate in the seats is heated seats for the front row and then that lesser sound system yeah it's a slight disappointment

only because the premium sound system that's got the 15 speakers and the subwoofers has widely been regarded as one of the best sound systems period in any car

but seven speakers you're still going to get a decent audio system you also only get the basic center console not the premium center console but again I think that's really not a big deal in my humble opinion

and then finally this one this one stings a little bit if you ask me it just reduces it's removing some useful functionality there are no 120 volt household power outlets in the cabin

because in the premium version of the truck there's one in the first row and one in the second row so there are zero there are no 120 volt household style power outlets in the cabin of the $60,000 Cybertruck

now there's also no second row screen again it's a downgrade for sure but not the end of the world you do still get the RGB accent lighting in the interior just like every other Cybertruck and now every other Tesla has

so that's it that's everything in the interior so I think all in all most of the trade-offs that you're making with this trim are in the interior again along with the air suspension but I still think it's not a bad interior situation

at least on paper in that truck there are a couple of other things to tell you about the towing capacity is reduced in this vehicle it's a 7500 pound towing capacity instead of 11,000 pounds on the other two trims

and the payload capacity is reduced to 2,006 pounds instead of the 2,500 pound payload capacity with the premium dual motor

and then finally the last thing on the list here is more basic wheels 18 inch basic wheels the same ones that were on the long range rear wheel drive $70,000 Cybertruck that was on sale for five minutes last year

which very subjective I personally don't care for those but I'll also say and I've said it on the podcast I don't really like them any less than the core wheels that are the default wheel on the other two trims

I am I really only like the cyber wheels on any Cybertruck it's the only one of the three wheel designs that I personally think look good on the Cybertruck but that's completely subjective you may disagree

so all in all not only is the price much better 60 grand and it's much better by the way whether you're comparing to that $70,000 trim from last year or the existing $80,000 premium dual motor trim

but you also don't sacrifice quite as much on this $60,000 version as you did on that $70,000 version from last year

so the popular opinion on that $70,000 version last year I did a patreon poll on this and you all agreed with me or the majority of you agreed with me

was that Tesla stripped out way too much of from that truck for the price the Tesla was still asking and let's be honest the market seemed to reflect that opinion given that those trucks are unicorns they're practically not existent and Tesla got rid of them after just three months on sale

this one should stick around a lot longer hold that thought just hold that thought for one minute but I also think it should help move the needle sales wise I think 60k will make a difference

do I think the $60,000 Cybertruck will quote unquote save the Cybertruck from the quite low volumes it's at relative to initial Cybertruck sales expectations as well as the volumes of say the three in the Y

no I don't think it's going to have any sort of night and day transformative effect on Cybertruck sales I think for better or for worse the Cybertruck is seen largely seen as I mean there's people that just don't like the design of it

and then there's other people that that sort of see it as the avatar of Elon Musk who is a very controversial person these days so I don't think this is going to quote unquote save Cybertruck sales but I do think it is going to appreciably move the needle

I think the sales volume of Cybertruck will go it will move upward on this in fact I think I might have to make this the subject of next week's patreon poll to see how if all of you feel similarly to the way I do about this or if you still aren't aren't moved by a $60,000 version or what

but so so take a look on my patreon page I think I think this is going to be a good poll topic for this week so the thought that I asked you to hold a moment ago about this trim sticking around a lot longer than the three months that the long range rear wheel drive variant was available last year

yeah um about that so this the next part of this story I still can't make heads or tails of it but I'll just tell you what the deal is and you can have your own reaction to it as I will share with you mine

so Thursday night as I said this got announced it got posted up to the Xbox designs to the Xbox designs that's day job coming into the coming to play here the Tesla design studio and the reaction online was in the Tesla community was largely very positive

like yes this is a this is a pretty good this is a good value here this is great love to see this very positive reaction overall in the middle of the night or early early the next morning depending on time zones I'd have to go look again but

Tesla CEO Elon Musk quote tweets Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill and Wes had had he all he did was he's sharing his team's good news he posts on his ex account saying

all wheel drive Cybertruck now starting at fifty nine thousand nine hundred ninety dollars with an exclamation mark and Wes you earned that exclamation mark yes you should celebrate that that's great

the CEO of Tesla quote posts that post with the following words only for the next ten days

what excuse me like are you kidding me right now are you serious Elon Musk come on like dude do you even want to sell cars anymore also what what even do you mean what are you talking about

is this a sale is this a is this trim gonna go up to seventy K and ten day like what are you talking about like I'm sorry I don't care how big of an Elon Musk fan you are this is that that's horrible leadership it's terrible leadership you post in the middle of the night just like you

posted about the discontinuation of autopilot in the middle of the night with no clarity it's just this vague response that calls into question that the entire sixty thousand dollars Cybertruck trim that people are happy about that

they're excited about so you're under cutting your kneecapping your own team on that and it's just like and now and nobody knows what the hell he's talking about it's I guess we'll find out in well less than ten days by the time you guys hear this I just I don't understand

what on earth is in his mind when he's doing something like that that is just I'm sorry it's that's just one of the dumbest things I've ever seen from Elon Musk what are you like if you're gonna say that tell us what the heck you're talking about

and by the way if let's say if that is the case if this is a an introductory price for this trim and it's only sixty K for the first ten days why why you're not selling Cybertruck says it is

why would you limit that to ten days that will only result in angry customers who don't follow you on X who hear about it later and go wait I could have had this first I mean it's I'm sorry this it's just it's it's mind boggling to me at how ridiculous

of a of a of a move that was from the CEO so sorry I know I got a little a little riled up there but again it's just like this is a company that I'm there's tons of receipts of me over the years on this podcast saying that that I think more often than not Tesla does the right thing

by its customers well guess what this whatever Elon's talking about not the right thing by your customers or in this case as I said it's not the right thing to do by your team either by your Cybertruck team by Wes and his team of people that have worked really hard to get this

trim together so it's I will see I mean ten ten days from now is after my next recording so I don't know if I'll have an answer to this on next week's podcast but

I if you're interested in the truck I'm not going to tell you to buy it now because it not a lot of people can just drop what they're doing and draw and spend 60 grand on a car in the next ten days if they hadn't already been seriously planning on it but I guess we'll all find out together

in another episode or two of this podcast what the heck is going on

as you probably recall the cyber beast had the luxe package added to it as a mandatory bundle raising the price of that configuration by $10,000 that luxe package has been removed which clearly tells me that they weren't getting any takers on a 110,000

cyber beast purely anecdotally again I very rarely see cyber beast it seems to me at least around here where I do see plenty of cyber trucks that the overwhelming majority of cyber trucks that are bought are the dual motors

I very rarely see the the Cerberus three headed beast on the back on the lower right corner of that tailgate and certainly making the cyber beast $10,000 more with the luxe package was clearly not helping matters but so that means the cyber beast is now back down to its original price of $100,000 $99,990

now I'm not totally anti luxe package at all I'm actually it's actually the opposite I like the luxe package I would actually like to upgrade my Model 3 performance to have the luxe package because I plan to keep it for a very long time

I've already bought FSD so I would love to pay you know extra two whatever thousand dollars to to get myself free super charging for the life of the car free premium connectivity for the life of the car that would be great I will Tesla can take my money right now if they want to give me that option

and so that's all I'm saying is I would be happy to see the luxe package stick around on the cyber beast or again or all of the Tesla any variant of any Tesla as an option but for the time being the luxe package is simply gone from cyber beast and there is no option to add it

but the good news there is it brings the cyber beast back down to $100,000

before I continue with the rest of this week's Tesla and EV news and there is plenty more a quick note for all you EV owners out there listening and not just Tesla owners

one thing that comes up a lot on this podcast is how long people actually plan to keep their cars again that study that I talked about recently where the average time now is over 12 years here in America of how long people keep their cars

and whether you realize it or not there is a timing element to ownership that matters more than most people think so when it comes to your EV coverage it's not really about if you buy that extended warranty coverage it's about when

coverage is generally more cost advantage when you purchase it before your factory warranty ends rather than after and that's because pricing eligibility and available options change with time and mileage even if nothing's wrong with the car so think of it like tires right

you don't wait till they're bald to plan tire replacement you look at the mileage the where and the timing EV ownership works the same way and that's where my friends at X care come in

X care helps EV owners understand where they are now what changes later and when it makes sense to act and if you want to learn more about getting an extended coverage plan for your EV you can talk directly with the Tesla and EV experts

not a generic call center you will talk directly with my friends at Accelerate Auto and their X care plan by calling them up at 844-755-4186

you can also go to xcare.com and if you just want to configure your plan there during checkout make sure you use the referral code lightning for $100 off so they will take good care of you and your car again I'm on my second policy now

I had a three year plan on our 2018 went finish that and now I'm on another three year plan I've elected to to keep that car covered for another three years so I am very much a customer here as well as just somebody that's recommending them so again X care dot com use the referral code lightning for $100 off or call 844-755-4186

moving along this week independent car review website Edmunds has named the Model 3 the top rated electric car for the second year in a row why have me tell you about it when the Edmunds team themselves can tell you all about it in this two minute clip take a listen

Tesla recently added the more affordable Model 3 standard which still has the key strengths of the Model 3 at a lower price now this lower bar for entry makes a difference and we appreciate that every version feels solidly built and comfortable with all of the improvements Tesla has made this is the best version of the Model 3 we've ever had

we bought a Model 3 long range and a Model 3 performance for a one year road test fleet the long range was the perfect commuter for us it's spacious enough to be practical even with kids I never worried about range and it has plenty of speed and ability to deal with any on road situation

the Model 3 performance gave us world beating speed without sacrificing comfort the speed you get for the money is shocking no car is quicker for anything close to this price

both the Model 3 long range and the new standard went almost 340 miles on the Edmunds EV range test that's a great result for a small affordable electric car and a big part of the Tesla's appeal this is an upscale EV that doesn't cost a lot to get into and goes very very far

the Tesla Model 3 is quite simply the best small affordable EV on the market the driving experience range overall comfort and build quality along with the lowered cost of entry make the Model 3 a standout among electric cars

remember how I was talking last week about Tesla building up its reputation for quality slowly as they've already very successfully done with safety over the years

well here is another log of evidence for the fire right they specifically mentioned build quality in that video and certainly I'll tell you as a Model 3 performance owner I also liked hearing them specifically call out that trim as a completely unrivaled level of performance for the money

without sacrificing anything else although admittedly it does sacrifice a little bit of range which for me is a perfectly reasonable trade off for the 0-60 in 2.9 seconds that I have available at a flick of my right ankle anytime I want but

I know I'm just shouting into the void on this but again like accolades like this hearing Tesla get kudos from independent sources for making great cars affordable cars

sure makes me wish that Tesla was doing a sub $30,000 compact sedan and or compact SUV it doesn't have to be at the expense of the cyber cab as I've been screaming about for a while it can be in addition to the cyber cab

but alas that ship is sailed for now but hopefully the new Chevy bolt though that car speaking of the $60,000 cyber truck potentially being only available for 10 days the new bolt or the return of the bolt will only be a temporary thing be longer than 10 days but still temporary

hopefully that car helps bring more people new people into the EV tent and the new the new Nissan Leaf that's 300 miles of range for 30 grand and the new Ford pickup truck that I'm going to tell you about in just a few minutes as well that's going to be a $30,000 vehicle too

more good news for Tesla this week the Model 3 and the Model Y topped JD Power's EV owner satisfaction survey or satisfaction study pardon me saw this one on Drive Tesla Canada who wrote

data from the latest US electric vehicle experience or EVX ownership study from JD Power shows Tesla and battery electric vehicle owners remain overwhelmingly happy with their purchases those new BEV owners are so happy that 96% of them

say they would consider purchasing or leasing another EV for their next car helping push overall BEV satisfaction to its highest level since the study began in 2021

quote improvements in battery technology charging infrastructure and overall vehicle performance have driven customer satisfaction to its highest level ever

what's more the vast majority of current EV owners say they will consider purchasing another EV for their next vehicle regardless of whether they benefited from the now expired federal tax credit said Brent Gruber executive director of the EV practice at JD Power

the Tesla Model 3 ranked highest overall in the study with a score of 804 although I realize we have no context for that but 804 also securing the top position in the premium BEV category

the Model Y followed closely behind with a score of 797 BMW also had a strong showing with the I-4 and the I-X taking the third and fourth spots respectively

thank you to JD Power and Drive Tesla Canada on that

now second as to Tesla's topping performance in this study I imagine that absolutely none of you are surprised about the 96% satisfaction figure for BEV owners heck I would be in that group myself

and if JD Power's sample size is representative of the broader market statistically the overwhelming majority of you would be in that same 96% as well although I guess if I think about it since you are very kindly listening to this podcast

that number amongst my audience might even be higher than 96% but I digress

one other quick note I wanted to make on this sort of half tongue in cheek but I know the Model Y gets most of the headlines these days and the Model 3 has become something of an afterthought at least by comparison and I get it right

the Model Y is either the top selling or second best selling new car of any type in the entire world over the past few years but as all of you know my heart belongs to the Model 3 we have two of them and I am thrilled to see the Model 3 get some love in this JD Power study

as the Edmonds folks so perfectly stated in the clip that I played for you a few minutes ago it's just the best commuter car out there

it's insanely efficient even more than the Model Y by virtue of it being a smaller vehicle and thus a lighter weight vehicle and it looks nice

and by virtue of its smaller size and weight again it's going to actually cost you even a little less money to operate in terms of tires in terms of pumping electrons into the car but the other thing too it's like it's got FSD 14 available to it

and if you're like me and you want to blow away almost any car off the line short of a supercar or Model S or Model X plaid then the Model 3 performance is available as well for a little bit more money

so bravo to the Model 3 and Model Y design engineering and general assembly teams for earning these well deserved honors from both JD Power and Edmonds as well

but while we're discussing accolades for Tesla I wanted to throw one more at you because I enjoyed this this week

YouTube car reviewer Doug Demiro who I've cited here on this podcast from time to time including most recently just last week with his first drive impressions his first review of the Rivian R2

well Doug in a new video this week gave the Model S some love ahead of that car's retirement he called it the most important vehicle of the past 30 years take a listen to this clip

but unquestionably in my mind the number one most important car of the last 30 years it's not even a question in fact I started this list because I have the number one car in mind

the 2012 Tesla Model S there is no doubt that that is the most important car of the last 30 years I understand that EV adoption has kind of declined a little bit in the last few years

and you know things are the incentives gone away the current political climate is hostile the EVs but if you're a rational person who's truthful with yourself you know that the future is electric and whether it's 10, 20, 30 years the future will be electric

and it was the Model S that was the very first car that did that truthfully there were some EVs before which I'll talk about in a second but the Model S really changed the world

it made you think that EVs could be cool could be fast could be luxurious could be for enthusiasts could be like it really would reset any public opinion that existed about EVs that you didn't have to make major compromises it was an amazing car

beyond it being an amazing car I think it did two other major things it was a cultural touchstone obviously it created a whole universe around Elon Musk around Tesla and the supercharger network and the plugs and the battery wall

and you know Tesla suddenly became basically an apple with a car and that is a pretty crazy thing but to me the thing that the Model S did that was the most surprising to me is that it created a new car company

people now take for granted like VinFast makes cars and Fisker makes cars and Lucid makes cars when I was a kid and when my dad was a kid so for decades it was generally agreed that there would never be another competitive American car company

because the infrastructure and the investment required to start up another American car company was just too challenging building factories getting a dealership network together getting consumer interest going

and in fact what had happened since the 60s was American brands were getting consolidated and shrinking down Saturn went away Pontiac went away American motors went away like all of these things were kind of shrinking down into these few remaining brands the big three

and it was just a given basically that you couldn't do it and not only did they do it but they created a cultural icon they created a completely new type of propulsion and that car just truly changed the world in a way that I don't know that

I mean if you make a list of the top ten all time cars that change the world I think Model S is in the top five it really really had a massive impact

Now I recognize that Doug is just one voice in the automotive enthusiast slash media community but he is an influential voice his opinion does carry weight he's got millions of YouTube subscribers and as I was saying last week

I find him to be very fair which is something I appreciate very much Doug is not an EV guy nor is he a petrol head he is a car guy he drives everything regardless of its propulsion method so I really enjoyed watching Doug's video and I thought you would enjoy that clip

A couple more Tesla stories for you this week before I start talking about Ford's new next gen EV platform

Tesla will not face a 30 day sales suspension here in California after the state's Department of Motor Vehicles stated that the company has come into compliance regarding the marketing of its automated driving features

I saw this story on Tesla Roddy who wrote the agency confirmed that Tesla has taken quote corrective action following a prior ruling over how it promoted autopilot and full self driving as noted in a Bloomberg News report

The California DMV had previously given Tesla 90 days to address concerns that were raised by an administrative judge

Regulators had alleged that Tesla overstated the capabilities of its driver assist systems which were branded as autopilot and full self driving

A potential 30 day suspension of vehicle sales in California was on the table if Tesla had failed to comply

However this week the DMV stated that Tesla had met the requirements to avoid that penalty though it did not provide detailed specifics about the changes that were made

Well I think it's fair to wonder if the removal of basic autopilot on newly sold cars on new orders and thus the removal of that term entirely from Tesla's design studio has anything to do with this

I've seen that tossed around and it is certainly a very easy straight line to draw

However I don't want to jump straight to that conclusion I'm not saying that's not the case I'm not refuting it but I don't want to jump straight to that conclusion

By the way if that is the reason that Tesla did it that the reason that they got rid of basic autopilot I'm not going to be mad at the California DMV

I'm still going to be upset at Tesla for not just rebranding the darn thing instead of taking their ball and going home and not offering that functionality to new buyers anymore

But that is why I'm convinced that these two things are not necessarily directly related because the DMV didn't say autopilot as a driving assistance feature is bad

That's not what the DMV said here they simply took issue whether you agree with them or not with the marketing branding naming of autopilot

So whatever Tesla did whether it was getting rid of autopilot entirely on new cars or something else it did satisfy the folks at the California DMV

So I genuinely do hope that we get some clarity on exactly what Tesla did to achieve compliance and I hope we get that clarity sooner rather than later

And the final Tesla news story I have for you this week is better California news for the company

The Model Y recorded 110,120 registrations in California in 2025

The second best selling vehicle the Toyota RAV4 posted 65,604 units followed by the Toyota Camry at over 62,000 units

The Model 3 ranked fourth with just under 54,000 sales ahead of the Honda Civic at just over 53,000 units are very close between those two

Despite leading the state Model Y sales have trended downward year over year

Registrations fell from over 132,000 in 2023 to just under 129,000 in 2024 and then to 110,000 and change in 2025

Overall Tesla sales in California also declined dropping from over 238,000 in 2023 to 202,000 plus in 2024 and 179,000 plus in 2025

Well as we all know California is the US's largest individual car market and it is absolutely the largest EV market within the United States as well

So I thought this was notable even if you don't live in California

Now as the data noted it is trending downward for Tesla which would seem like to me that it's attributable to some combination of

You gotta acknowledge the fallout of Elon Musk's political activities but more so probably more than anything else increased competition

Because if it were really all about Elon and his politics sales would have gone off a cliff in California

So I think it has to be acknowledged but really it's mostly to me about increased competition

There are simply way more EVs, way more choices out in the market now which is a good thing

That's great in fact

Now I was honestly not the slightest bit surprised that the Model Y was number one again

But I can honestly say that I was quite surprised by just how substantial the gap was

Like the reason I say that is because globally the RAV4 is neck and neck with the Y for the number one slot in the world

For that number one most new car sold for the year recognition on planet earth

It is like it's so close, it's neck and neck

But here in California the Model Y crushed the RAV4

Not that the RAV4 should, not that Toyota should be sad, they sold plenty of units but it just, it was not close

Here in California the way that it is globally

Again it's not quite 2 to 1 but 110k to 65k

You're still lapping the competition there

In fact the math is that that's 69% higher sales nice for the Tesla than for the Toyota

I will have to tip my cap to Toyota on the Camry being comfortably ahead of the Model 3 though

And for the same reason that the Model Y dominated the RAV4

I would have guessed that the Model 3 would have placed well ahead of the Camry on this list

But in fairness to the Model 3 the Camry is a lot cheaper

So the Camry starts at about $30,000 and tops out, tops out at about $37,000

And as we all know the Model 3 starts at $37,500 and goes up to well $55,000 for the performance plus any options you might add

So in that sense it's pretty impressive that the Model 3 was that close to the Camry

Given how much cheaper the Camry is

But hey, Camry's a good car, I'm not trying to take anything away from it

But if the Model 3 were priced where the Camry was

Then I think those two would have absolutely been flipped in those rankings

But anyway, California continues to choose Tesla

To the point where up here in my neck of the woods in Northern California and the San Francisco area

It is not unusual at all, in fact it's quite a regular occurrence for me to see at least three other Teslas besides me

Around me at any given time if I'm either at an intersection or just cruising down the highway

Like if I look ahead of me and I look in my rear view, if I'm moving down the freeway

There are usually at least three other ones and at an intersection if I'm at a red light

There's usually at least two or three other Teslas at the light

It's pretty wild here in that sense and in a good way

It's pretty darn cool how many EVs there are up in my neck of the woods

Finally this week in other EV news, Ford started talking up their next gen

Affordably priced EV pickup truck and its next gen manufacturing process this week

And a lot of this will sound very familiar to Tesla fans

I got this information from our Tesla tipster friend Sawyer Merritt on X who posted

Ford has announced that it's upcoming $30,000 midsize electric truck

Will have 48 volt architecture, sound familiar, Cybertruck

And have 15% more aerodynamic efficiency than any other pickup truck on the market today

This truck will have an LFP battery, again should sound familiar to Tesla fans

Structural battery pack, again sound familiar

Ford, it's a first for Ford LFP and that pack will be made in Michigan, that's cool

New regen braking design that saves $100 in battery cost

Which I presume translates to mean that their regen system is such that they're able to take a cell out of the pack

Which is great, like again, that drives down cost which drives up profit

And allows Ford to keep making more EVs, so that's good

Ford says, quote, if the same battery was married to the aerodynamics of the most aerodynamically efficient midsize gas truck in the US

We believe our new electric truck would have nearly 50 miles more or 15% more driving range and a 30% improvement at highway speeds

Next, more facts about this platform, this truck uses unicastings, we in the Tesla world know them as giga castings

That's going to reduce parts by 20% versus a typical vehicle

25% fewer fasteners, 40% fewer workstations on the assembly line, and 15% faster assembly time

The side mirror body size is 20% smaller than a conventional mirror, adding about 1.5 miles of extra range

There is a new tire wake design, take a listen to this, they say, we guided the front tire wake directly toward the rear tires

Effectively, quote, hiding the rear wheels, this adds 4.5 miles of range

That's cool stuff right there

Their wiring harness in this midsize EV truck is more than 4,000 feet shorter and 22 kilograms lighter than the one used in their first gen electric SUV

Meaning the Mach E, the Mustang Mach E

So again, that's going to save cost, that's going to save weight, that's all good stuff

The new midsize truck is forecasted to have more passenger room than the latest Toyota RAV4

Even before you include the front and the truck bed, it will have a targeted 0-60 time of 4.5 seconds, yes

Yes, Ford, that's what I'm talking about

It will have a completely redesigned EV architecture, deliveries will start in the US next year in 2027

With a target starting MSRP of $30,000

And here is a clip from the video that Ford released on this, if you'd like to hear a little more

The technology, engineering, creativity and innovation are already happening

We need to scale these advancements and deliver them to dryways across America and around the world

We can't wait to share more as we continue on our path to deliver our universal EV platform and a family of compelling and fun to drive affordable electric vehicles

Thanks for coming along for the ride, we can't wait to get you behind the wheel

This is no part, which of course has been one of Tesla's mantras for years

They're also using giga-castings as you heard earlier, which they're calling unicastings

And I point these things out, by the way, not to poke fun at Ford, of course, or claim any sort of, well, Tesla did it first and they're better than you

No, nothing like that

I applaud Ford, because again, I want to remind everybody that the thing is I see this in the Tesla space a lot in the Tesla community and I don't like it

I see certain Tesla fans that get so defensive about Tesla, and so I guess protective of it, that they attack anybody else that's trying to do good in the EV space

Because they're not Tesla and they're, and it's, I just, I don't roll that way

And so I applaud Ford for taking notes from Tesla and seeing what they've done to become a profitable EV company

Which still, a friendly reminder that most everybody else in the industry, whether they're an EV-only company or a legacy automaker that makes gas cars and EVs

Most companies that aren't Tesla are still struggling to profitably build and sell EVs

So I salute Ford here, I applaud them, and if you don't want to take my word for it, and you think, well, forget you Ryan, you're just a guy on the internet

This is true, I am just a guy on the internet, as are we all really

But I want to take you back, I'm going to do the Ryan McAfrey thing again, zoom out, 10,000 foot view, I'm going to take you back to when Tesla won Motor Trends 2013 Car of the Year award for the Model S

In unanimous fashion, and Elon Musk literally said at the time, I hope others copy us

Now, I know I've mentioned that quote every now and again, but this segment inspired me to actually go dig it up again so that you could hear it straight from Elon's work, his mitts

Except this obviously on behalf of all the employees of Tesla, you guys rock, thank you

I think we've said about as much as there is to say, but I really think this is going to be a look back and this is sort of a point at which the gears of history moved

And it's going to be an important day, obviously we've got to stay in the course and we've got to ramp up production, like I said, and make the next generation vehicle, make them affordable, that's incredibly important

And I'm hopeful that other car companies will in fact copy us and follow through and do electric car programs with greater vigor as a result of this award

So that's the thing I hope will most occur as a result of this

So once again, thank you very much for coming and it's really been great, thank you

Well, he was right about that, wasn't he? It was a moment that the gears of history turned

And it took a while for other car companies to copy them, but it's finally happened

We have a lot of great EVs in the market now and here now we have Ford with their next generation vehicle platform

Almost literally copying Tesla's homework as Elon said all those years ago that he wanted other companies to do

Again, so this is a good thing, I can't wait to see Ford's $30,000 pickup truck and bring it on

More affordable EVs is a good thing

Alright, that's everything I have for you in the world of Tesla and other EV news

I'm going to move along now to the ride the lightning hotline

Your chance to call in and potentially be featured here on the podcast

If you've got a question, comment, or discussion topic for the podcast

Give me a call anytime, toll free

The number is 1-888-989-8752

That number again, 1-888-989-TSLA

There are two ways to do it, either just call that number or use your smart phones built in voice recording software

Record the question, then email it to me at TeslaPodcastatgmail.com

Now, whichever way you decide to call in, I very politely request that you limit yourself to 90 seconds on your message

That's so I can get to as many callers each week as possible

In fact, this week I've only got time for just a quick few here

But if you know someone special with an upcoming birthday, anniversary, graduation, or some other special occasion

You can give them a unique gift of recorded voices from friends and family telling them why they are special

The recordings can be podcasted or put onto a keepsake, visit lifeonrecord.com if you'd like to learn more

First up this week is Mike from the Philly Suburbs who has some thoughts on the Model S

Hey Ryan, it's Mike from the Philadelphia Suburbs

Giving you a quick call, I just caught up on the last two episodes, I was a little bit behind on my podcast listening

And wanted to share a couple thoughts on the Model S discontinuation

I've been a long time listener, I've been listening to you since episode 4

And got my Model 3 performance around the same time you did, if you recall I left a message many years ago about that

Anyway, with regards to the Model S and X, it's quite disappointing since in my mind those two vehicles are the flagships for Tesla

And unlike Mercedes or BMW who have the S class and the 7 series that probably have similar numbers for their flagship cars

Tesla unfortunately decided not to stick with producing these vehicles

It's a little bit disappointing but on the flip side when you think about Elon and his dedication to automation

It makes sense and we've always said that Tesla at the end of the day is not just a car company

So with that being said, a Model S was always in my plans, I mean it's the car that I fell in love with when I first learned about Tesla

And it was probably another two to three years away from me actually making that decision

But given the relatively short amount of time that that car is going to be left on the market

I played with the numbers and I decided to go ahead and order myself a Model S Plaid

So I'm probably that small percentage from your survey that was actually willing to make a positive action based on this news

Anyways, hope you're doing well, appreciate everything you do in the show and looking forward to the next episode

Take care

First of all Mike, I want to say congratulations on getting one of the last Model S Plads ever

You are going to have a blast with it and I wish you many hundreds of thousands of miles driven in good health

Second, thank you for the kind words and for sticking with me all these years

I think your point about flagship sales of other cars in the Model S's class is a fair one

I looked it up and if the data that I found is correct, they only sold, they meaning BMW, only sold 11,393 units of the 7 series

Although I couldn't find global numbers, that's only in the US

So I recognize that's not the complete picture

Though apparently global numbers for the whole brand, the whole of BMW were 2.1 million

So I think that backs up your point, really, because even if the US was only 11,000 and changed

The rest of the global numbers on a full size sedan probably aren't going to be, let's say double, let's say it's double that

Even be a little generous, let's say 25,000

That's not huge, especially compared to 2.1 million

Which I think again reinforces your point about the percentage of sales with Tesla that the Model S represents

I'm still just lament that Tesla has chosen to get rid of SNX and do the Optimus instead

When I just think they have all the resources at their disposal financially, talent-wise

They could easily recruit if they needed to because there's all that data that Tesla and SpaceX are like the two of the top places that engineers want to go work

I just wish they would do both things instead of sacrificing so much for Optimus

Like let's keep S, let's reinvent them and build an Optimus line

Okay, maybe you couldn't build that first Optimus line in Fremont, but there's plenty of space in Texas

But you know what, me crying about it is not going to make a difference

The decision's made, that is it

At the very least we do have one more halo car to look forward to from Tesla

That being the next generation Roadster before everything at this company pivots completely to autonomy

Next up, here's a regular caller, Brian from Pennsylvania talking about more real-world scenarios for CyberCab

Go ahead Brian

Thanks Brian, so I may be looking at this narrow-mindedly a little bit

I'm going back to the whole Optimus driving that's the future, everybody's going to want an Optimus vehicle and never own a car again

I know a caller last week talked about being a rural area, I am also a rural area

I am not waiting 15 minutes for a autonomous car, it can get me

The times I see where I would want to use something like that would be if I'm traveling going to an airport

I don't want to park my car for a week, it would be cheaper to, well maybe, I hope it would be cheaper

To hail a car to take me to the airport versus parking my car there for a week

But the other big issue I see is we Americans, we love our cars, blah blah blah

But we go shopping on a weekend to go do your weekly grocery shopping, your trip to the hardware store, whatever you need to do

And this is where I've seen the big problem with this robo-taxi idea

If I go to Walmart and buy my groceries for my family, I now have five, six bags of groceries

I put them back in my robo-taxi but usually I don't just go to one place, I go to multiple places when I'm out shopping

What am I to do with all of my stuff? Take it with me into the next store and I've acquired more stuff

And then I go to the next store and I have more stuff, there's a big flaw to this

Aside from being in a city and needing to get from point A to point B because you are a tourist traveling or something like that

I don't really see other needs or reasons for why people would want a robo-taxi like this

Am I just being too narrow-minded? Am I missing something? If I am, please, please help me here

Back to you

Thanks Brian, you are preaching to the choir here for sure, I am with you

I think you've laid out a very real, very normal use case for a vehicle that I agree a cyber cab or other robo-taxi might not be suitable for

At least not without a lot of hassle

And it's a scenario that applies to a whole lot of Americans

Now that doesn't mean that the cyber cab or robo-taxi program in general can't or won't be successful, I'm not saying that

But I do agree that it's going to be a major sticking point for a lot of families in terms of Tesla's idea to eventually replace your car with a transportation as a service strategy

I mean we should be, again, about two months away from the cyber cab's proper launch if it stays on schedule in terms of both production on the Tesla side and regulatory approval on the government side

So we should learn more soon, I mean maybe the software for robo-taxi and specifically the cyber cab, maybe it's got more functionality coming to it soon for that full proper launch of the cyber cab

Meaning something like software functionality built in where you can basically rent that cyber cab that comes to you for the whole day or some stretch of hours where it can follow you around on those multi-stop errands

Maybe that's going to be a thing that the cyber cab and the robo-taxis can do

So maybe Tesla's already got a solve for this that will become clear soon enough

As always, Brian, I appreciate you calling in

And then the third and final call that I've got time for this week, I'll get to more of your calls next week, is another regular let's hear from Bill in Wisconsin responding to a caller from several episodes back

who was annoyed at the windshield wipers turning on whenever you turn on FSD

Hey, Ryan, Bill from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, again, sorry to call you twice in the same, I was in the same episode, but I felt compelled to respond to one of your other callers

specifically about the wipers turning on when you engage FSD

That, yes, is an annoyance for all of us

I'm driving today, it's the middle of January, but it's a beautiful winter day

The sky is blue, there's not a cloud in the sky, the sun is shining brightly on the snow

And yet the wiper has a tendency from time to time to want to swipe across the window

So my habit on a day like today is as soon as I engage FSD, I press the microphone button and say wiper off

That's all I have to do, and it shuts it off

You know, and now if it happens to be a day where, okay, maybe there's some moisture on the road that's getting kicked up by car tires

and from time to time I do need to run the wiper, then I just press the button on my steering wheel

Just to do a single swipe across the windshield

But that's my quote unquote hack, is just microphone wiper off, works every time

Take care

Bill, thank you very much for that constructive suggestion

I have no doubt that plenty of folks listening will find that very useful

Alright, as I start to wind down this episode, there's not too much going on with me or my cars

Because it's just been raining pretty much all week here

I've wanted to clean them, but Mother Nature says that's probably not a good idea right now

So they've mostly just been dirty, but getting driven, that's okay

That's what they're there for

Entertainment recommendation though, I've got one of those for you this week

It's a new video game, it's available now for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox and Switch

So pretty much all the major gaming platforms

And that game is called ReAnimal

R-E-A-N-I-M-A-L ReAnimal

And it is a two player, you don't have to play two player

Like with some of those other two player games that I've recommended to you over the past couple years

But it's a two player co-op game, which it's sort of a puzzle game, but the puzzles are very light

It's more of a sort of narrative adventure with very, it's got a very like dark macabre tone to it

I wouldn't call it a horror game, but it's really good, my daughter and I are playing it together

And we're still early on, I admit I haven't finished it yet, but IGN gave it a 9 out of 10

And we're having a really good time with it so far

So check that out if that sounds, you know, you could look up the review on IGN maybe if you want to learn more about it

But that is definitely one that I would recommend for if you're in need of some video game entertainment this week

Time for a pro tip of the week, it comes from Dave in Yorktown, Virginia

Credentials are, you know, unavailable, and I was like, man, how am I going to fix that?

So, luckily, Tesla has placed in the service menu a selection, you can use it anytime, even while you're driving

To clear web cache data, that's the name of it, clear web cache data under the service

And I hit that and by the boom I was able to get into Spotify, no problem, hope that helps

Have a great day, bye

And I gave you the two easy call in methods for that just a few minutes ago, so refer back there

If you'd like to call in with a pro tip of the week, I play one every single week towards the end of the episode

So keep them coming, I really enjoy this part of the podcast and it's all thanks to you guys

So thank you for keeping those pro tips of the week coming

And we come to the part of the podcast here near the end where I mention a few friends of Ride the Lightning

That I hope will be useful to you at some point sooner or later

I will start with RPM Tesla, they specialize in OEM style Tesla upgrades

Focusing on carbon fiber, interior enhancements and functional accessories that integrate seamlessly with the Tesla factory designs

They are all about compatibility, meaning their accessories do not compromise Tesla's design language, safety systems or functionality

They design a ton of their stuff in house, like say all their steering wheel upgrades for the yoke and for the round wheel

They prioritize quality over speed, so you are not getting some cheap junk here

I can assure you that, they offer over 1500 Tesla accessories ranging from cup holders

To full carbon fiber body kits and everything in between

Shop with confidence thanks to free returns, no restocking fees and lifetime warranties

Check them out at rpmtesla.com

Use the promo code RTLPODPLUS

That's RTLPODPLUS

And it's the symbol plus, not the word

RTLPODPLUS

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That's rpmtesla.com

Check them out

And then the infinity shield

So again, as I've mentioned the last couple weeks, I really did have a little mishap

I don't remember if I talked about it on the podcast at the time

I probably was too embarrassed at the time

Like for instance, when I told my wife about the infinity shield

Because they were nice enough to send one, I've got to get it set up

And I told her, well, do you remember the time that I accidentally dropped the garage door

Like I lowered it onto the roof of the car when I was pulling out

She was like, I don't remember that

So I may have completely just internalized that out of shame

But I'm telling you now because infinity shield can help you avoid this entirely

So what is the infinity shield?

It is a giant, basically laser grid array for your garage door sensor

So that if anything is in the path of the door

Most garage door openers, mine included, up until I get my infinity shield installed

Just have that sensor at the very bottom, like two inches off the ground

So if say your four wheels are half backed out

Well, the garage door is going to keep coming down, which is what happened to me

Because the sensors just see in daylight because you're between the wheels

So the infinity shield covers a full 25 beam array

So anything in there is going to get detected and your garage door is going to stop

And it's not going to come down anymore

So it detects protruding bumpers, open hatches, or anything else in the way of the garage door

It's easy to install yourself with no special tools

It doesn't need to be aligned ever and it's compatible with all garage door openers

It's really a heck of a piece of engineering

Get yours at infinity-shield.com and use promo code RTL at checkout for a $35 discount

So that's infinity-shield.com promo code RTL

AbstractOcean.com

They've always got so much good stuff, in fact I'm clicking in there right now

Cybertruck, which is probably the star of this week's podcast

They've got the expel armor for the non-stainless pieces to keep all those trim pieces looking great and protected over the years

So the bed sail trim, the tailgate lip, the wheel arches, the fender flares, all that stuff

Pre-cut expel, but they've also got a million other things

Like again, if I click on Model Y and I even go like New Model Y, let's click on New Model Y

Door noise reduction seals to further quiet the cabin, if that's of interest

The expel PPF door edge guard protection, in case you're ever to just, you know, bop that, open that door too far and just tap it into something

Well, you'd have a little piece of PPF film there to help hopefully keep the edge of your door from getting scratched

They've got the premium puddle lights in different colors, in different styles

The ultra-tempered premium glass custom fit screen protectors, and so on

And so forth, just a million different great aftermarket accessories

I say as a compliment, they are abstract oceans basically like the Amazon of aftermarket Tesla accessories

Check them out, abstractocean.com

And when you have everything that you like in your online shopping cart and you get to check out

Use the coupon code RTLpodcast to get 15% off of your first order

That code again, RTLpodcast, all one word, no spaces

The snap plate is the front license plate bracket that I recommend rather than the one that Tesla gives you

The snap plate is a nice clean minimalist design that goes on your car securely

But if you ever want to take it off, it will come off without leaving anything behind

It will come off as if it was never there

Again, it's a really nice clean minimal design, it won't get in the way of your front bumper camera

If you've got any of the newer Teslas and it just looks good

There's also a stronger version, the snap plate plus

So either way, the snap plate or the snap plate plus available for all the Teslas

The Rivians plus some other EVs as well

Get yours at everyamp.com slash RTL and use the coupon code RTL at checkout for a nice discount there

Both the snap plate and snap plate plus are made from recycled, made in the USA plastics

With stainless steel reinforcements, I am a fan of the snap plate

Immaculate Reflections is a phenomenal professional detailer here in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area

That's who's taken care of both of my Model 3 performances

And if you're in or going to be in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area

I very much encourage you to reach out through the website IRDetailing.com

Ahead of time, if you live here or if you don't

But just reach out, get on the schedule because he does book up, Jeff is his name

Jeff does book up, but get on his schedule and then work with him to decide

If you want to do paint protection film on the front of the car or all the rocker panels

Or the entire car, whatever you want to do, whatever works for you

Maybe you want to do ceramic coating, as I just did

To get that finish protected from the sun and its UV rays for the next 05 to 7 years or so

Maybe you want to do paint correction to get your actual paint finish

Get all those little flaws taken out of your paint finish

I promise you, that's the one, like I know PPF, like a lot of people know paint protection film

And even ceramic coating I think is starting to become more widely recognized in the enthusiast car space

But it's paint correction, I'm not saying that you should definitely choose that over PPF or ceramic

Because they're all three important for different reasons, but it depends on your priorities

Whether you're looking for more protection or just beautification

But if you are looking for beautification of your paint finish

Oh my goodness, paint correction is amazing

It's amazing, if you have a chance to see any car that's been paint corrected

If you ever meet up with me, if you're ever out in San Francisco and you reach out and say

I'm going to be in your neck of the woods, Ryan, let's get some in and out

And I say, sure, that'd be great

And you see my car, you will see what a paint corrected finish looks like

It's such a beautiful, it really just makes your paint look so, so good

So I'm a big fan of all three of those major professional detailing services

But anyway, whatever you want to do, there is a ride the lightning listener discount

If you bring your car to Immaculate Reflections and you have, well, whatever service you have done

So reach out through the website irdetailing.com, you'll see the contact button

In either the upper left corner or right in the center of the page as well

And when you reach out to Jeff and you talk through what you want to have done with your car

Just let him know that you're a ride the lightning listener

And that you would like the ride the lightning listener discount

And Jeff will kindly extend that to you

My Patreon, I mentioned it earlier in the podcast

But if you'll humor me one more time here

Patreon.com slash Tesla podcast

It's the way that you can support this podcast if you'd like to

And I hope that at some point, maybe today's the day, that I earn your support

I know I gotta keep showing up every single week

Which I've been blessed to be able to do here for 551 weeks

Straight, actually more since I've put out a couple of bonus episodes over the years

And not Patreon ones, like bonus episodes for everybody

But anyway, the point is, if you'd like to support me

I would be so grateful if you would consider that

The support, you can support starting at just 5 bucks a month

The most popular tier is the $10 tier

Because I feel like you get a lot of good stuff for that 10 bucks a month

Although I'm always open to your feedback as well

If there's something that you'd like to see me incorporate into the Patreon

I'm happy to do that, or I'm happy to consider it certainly

But anyway, Patreon.com slash Tesla podcast

If you'd like to join the Patreon

There are annual pledge options as well

And the thank you that I give you for that is 10% off of your annual pledge

If you'd just like to pledge once for an entire year of support

I will give you a 10% discount as a thank you for doing so

So check it out, Patreon.com slash Tesla podcast

And most of you get this podcast from Apple podcasts

But if you're not doing that or you are not getting this podcast from any podcast service

I do recommend that you choose one you like

And follow Ride the Lightning on there

Now to do that, just search Ride the Lightning Tesla

On your favorite podcast service

Whether that's Apple podcasts or Spotify

Or tune in or YouTube podcasts

Type in Ride the Lightning Tesla to search that

You should see this podcast come right up

Click the follow button

And that's it, you're done, it's totally free

And you will get a push notification every Sunday

Because that's when there's a new episode

It's every Sunday at 9am Eastern, 6am Pacific

So it's a good idea to follow so that your device will remind you that there's a new episode

Finally, my socials

I'm on X and I'm on Instagram

Same username on both

DMC underscore Ryan

You can also email me

Teslapodcastatgmail.com

Oh, and I guess with the $60,000 Cybertruck

Again, we don't know if it's going away in a matter of days or not

But if you buy with a referral code

A referral link specifically

You get $1,000 off

So you can actually get that $60,000 dual motor all wheel drive Cybertruck

For $59,000

If you buy with someone's referral link

If you're already a Tesla owner

Well, you'll use your own link

But if you're not already a Tesla owner

Make sure you use someone's referral link to make your order

Whether that's no matter which Tesla that you're ordering

I'm just calling out the Cybertruck

Because it's got the $1,000 discount on it

And that, as I'm clicking into it now

That, yeah, you can definitely do that

You can apply that to the $60,000 Cybertruck

So anyway, my referral link

You have to order through this link

It's ts.la.ryan73014

Again, you don't have to use mine

Just make sure that you use somebody's

To get that referral discount

In the case of SX and Cybertruck

In the case of 3NY

You get three months of free FSD

With your order

Lastly, I want to say a big thank you

And hello to my top tier Patreon backers

That's one of the perks they get as a shout out

At the end of each week's episode

I'll start with the Roadster in Space to your backers

Big thanks to Pete White, Lyle Austin, Steve Radspinner

Fernando Cordero, Lawton from Chicago

Sean Nydig, Neil Weaver, Jackson Wallace

Rolf and Jennifer Evers, Howard Anthony Smith

Victoria Aya Caveto, Tesla Hitchhiker 42

Carol Weston, Robert from Near Philly

American Home Contractors

Doug Carey, Michael Gallo and Tony Figueroa

Next up, the grandfathered in plaid level supporters

They are George Cascioppo, Logan Willis

Peter Chalet, Eric Randolph

Dory and Steve Guberman

The Tesla Owners Club of Taiwan

Ron Lee, Charlie Gillespie

Jeff Angwin, Chase Cabanias

The Lydia family

Aaron, pardon me, I'm sorry Aaron

Aaron Altschule, there we go

My tongue just twisted on itself for some reason there

Jared Brown, Jamie Dalton

Mike and Barbara from Louisville

Matt Nixon, The Tesla Owners Club of Wisconsin

Ish, not Elon Musk in quotes

Peter and the Bear Boys of Colorado

And then the maximum plaid backers

They get invited, everybody at the maximum plaid tier

On Up gets invited to the monthly

Patreon Zoom Hangout

Which I typically aim for the first Saturday of every month

Which I realize, okay, yeah, that's

We should be able to hit that, it'll be Saturday, March 7th

And I guess we'll once again have lots to talk about

Like this $60,000 Cybertruck

And if it's still around on March 7th

I guess we'll find out, but anyway

That'll be fun, it's always fun every month

To do that monthly Patreon Hangout

But thank you to the maximum plaid backers

Jonathan Wales, Cameron Clark, Daniel Grummer

Seth Capello, The Galpin Family

Ryan from New York City, Darren Nicholl

Cos Barnes, Patrick Wisneski, Gil Cabrera

Todd Badger, Joe Edgel, Kevin Yank

The Tesla Owners Club of San Joaquin Valley

Will Steadman, Jeremy Harris

Chris Beech, Tom Mills

Cory O'Donnell, Aaron

John Cody, Joel Sapp

Paul Casarino, Chris Osborn

KB, Adam Lavoie, Jason Chalukis

Travis Krenzel, Bruce Otterstein

Tom Behan, Josh Pennington

John from Cream Ridge, New Jersey

Dustin Hart, Derek Finley

Charles Clement, Damon Klein

Jeff Brown, Jerry Slinger, Kenneth Corbett

Brian Bertoglio, Kim Bae

Troy Sievers, Chip Hooper

Matt Chinander, Robert Moran

Rob, Christopher Mann, Michael Williams

and Eric Harbert

Big thanks to all of you for listening

Especially if you made it this far, another long episode

I guess if you were to plot the

lengths of the podcasts of this podcast

over time, there's no question that that line

would trend upward

I remember, I mean the very first episodes were like

20 minutes, typically on average, 20-25 minutes

Then I think I got the ride the lightning hotline

and they got a little longer and a little... and now it's just there's

the thing is now, especially now that I'm covering

other EVs, which I'm super excited about doing

there's just more to talk about every week

So here we go again, we're over

oh yeah, well over an hour and a half

this week, so I won't talk anymore

I won't keep you any longer, your time is extremely valuable

In fact, your time is in my opinion

your most precious resource

We all only get 24 hours of it in a day

No more, no less, thank you for spending some of it with me

this week here on Ride the Lightning

Hope you enjoyed this week's episode, I had fun putting it together

and I'll see you back here next week

Happy electric motoring my friends

Elon Musk, people don't like Elon Musk

The guy found a PayPal and Tesla and people are like

yeah, but he's a troll and a bad dad

I'm like, so is mine, he did nothing to fight climate change

Also, have you been in a Tesla?

Have you been in a Tesla?

My buddy let me drive his Tesla, I laughed out loud

at how fast it went, been clinically depressed my entire life

on dozens of medications in a Tesla for 13 seconds

cured forever

I mean, I think a Tesla

is the most fun thing you could possibly buy ever

That's what it's meant to be

Our goal is to make, it's not exactly a car

It's actually a thing to maximize enjoyment

It's maximum fun

Episode 551: A $60k Cybertruck Arrives

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