Episode 556: Tesla CEO: "Something Way Cooler Than a Minivan Is Coming"
Ride the Lightning: Tesla and EV Podcast
Episode 556: Tesla CEO: "Something Way Cooler Than a Minivan Is Coming"
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Brand
Tesla
Tesla is a company that makes electric cars. Their cars are known for lots of tech and software updates, and the CEO is hinting at something new in this episode.
Concept
body in white
A “body in white” is the car’s frame/body after it’s built, but before it’s fully finished. It’s not painted yet and doesn’t have all the final parts like glass and wheels.
Car
Model Y
The Tesla Model Y is Tesla’s popular SUV/crossover. In this story, Tesla is bringing one over as a reference so the Texas team can match the build process.
Concept
deliveries will begin in the US sometime in Q4 between October and December
They’re saying the cars would start arriving in the U.S. in the last three months of the year (October through December). That’s important because it tells you when you might actually get the car, not just when it’s announced.
Concept
Q2
Q2 means the second quarter of the year—roughly springtime into early summer. The discussion is about what EV news or events are expected during that period.
Car
Tesla Semi
Tesla Semi is Tesla’s all-electric big rig for hauling cargo. Instead of diesel, it uses electric power and big batteries.
Concept
autonomy
In this context, “autonomy” means cars that can drive themselves more than just basic cruise control. It’s about technology that helps the car steer, accelerate, and brake with less human input.
Concept
wrap any vehicle
A “wrap” is like a big sticker film you put over the car to change its look. They’re saying that even if wraps are possible, some buyers still want the car to naturally look different.
Term
air suspension
Air suspension uses air-filled bags to support the car instead of metal springs. It can raise or lower the ride height, but it’s usually more expensive and complex.
Company
RDW
RDW is the Dutch government agency that handles vehicle rules and approvals in the Netherlands. The feature can’t roll out until it meets their requirements.
Term
FSD
FSD is Tesla’s software that’s meant to help the car drive more on its own. What you get depends on the software version and what regulators allow where you live.
Car
Tesla Cybertruck
The Tesla Cybertruck is an all-electric pickup truck from Tesla. This part of the show is about charging stations that make it easier for Cybertruck drivers to charge faster.
Term
kilowatt hour
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is basically how much “energy” you buy when you charge your EV. If the price is higher per kWh, you’ll pay more for the same amount of charging.
Term
steer-by-wire
Steer-by-wire means the steering wheel doesn’t directly connect to the wheels with rods or cables. Instead, it sends signals to a computer, which then turns the wheels electronically. That lets engineers tune steering behavior in software.
Concept
fan car
A “fan car” idea means using fans to help push the car down onto the road. The goal is more grip and better control, especially at speed.
Term
trademark
A trademark is legal protection for brand names, logos, and other identifiers used in commerce. In the auto world, trademark issues can force companies to change names or branding before launch.
Car
Tesla Model X
The Tesla Model X is Tesla’s electric SUV. In this discussion, Tesla is ending production and also setting a deadline for new orders in South Korea. If you want one, timing matters.
Company
Xcare
Xcare is a company offering extra coverage for EVs after the original warranty. It’s being mentioned as an option even if you don’t drive a Tesla.
Company
Sony
Sony is one of the companies behind the Afila idea. The concept was to bring PlayStation gaming into the car for rear-seat passengers. The host says the whole plan got canceled.
Company
Honda
Honda is the other company involved with Sony on the Afila concept. The big idea was to make the car’s back seats into a gaming setup. The host says it’s being canceled and reservation money will be returned.
Term
PS4 or PS5 games
PS4 and PS5 are Sony’s video game systems. The Afila idea was that rear-seat screens would let passengers play those games in the car. It’s basically “gaming in the back seat.”
Concept
reservation fees refunded
Reservation fees are deposits people pay to express interest in a product before it’s finalized. When a company refunds them, it typically signals the project is canceled or delayed beyond the original timeline. In this case, the host says the Afila plan was scrapped and reservation fees would be returned.
Concept
joint venture
A joint venture is a partnership where two companies work together on one project. They split the work and resources instead of doing everything alone.
Concept
prototype
A prototype is a test version of a car. It’s built to show what the idea looks like and to prove it could work, even if it never gets sold widely.
Term
PlayStation games
They’re talking about putting video game capability inside the car. The idea is that passengers in the back could play PlayStation games while riding.
Concept
concept cars
A concept car is basically a “show car” that a company builds to show what it might do next. It can help generate excitement, but it doesn’t always become a real product you can buy.
Company
The Boring Company
The Boring Company is a company that builds underground tunnels. Here, they’re talking about building new tunnel systems in several cities.
Concept
feasibility review
A feasibility review is a check to see if a project can really be done. It looks at things like engineering and practicality before construction is finalized.
Term
Apple CarPlay
Apple CarPlay lets your iPhone show certain apps on the car’s screen. If it’s supported, you can use things like maps and music more easily while driving.
Concept
EV
EV means electric vehicle—cars that run on electricity instead of gasoline. The host is asking for advice that works for electric cars in general.
Company
RPM
RPM is a company that sells Tesla accessories. In this segment, they’re presented as making and selling styling upgrades (like carbon fiber and interior parts) and supporting them with warranties and easy returns.
Part
full carbon fiber body kits
A body kit is a set of exterior parts that change the car’s look. Carbon fiber body kits use carbon fiber material, which is lightweight and often used for a premium, sporty appearance.
Term
coupon code RTLpodcast
They give you a discount code to save money when you buy something from the website. It’s just for the purchase, not related to how the car works.
Term
paint protection film
Paint protection film is a clear protective sheet you put on your car’s paint. It helps prevent rock chips and minor scratches, and it can also help protect the paint from sun damage. People usually apply it to the front of the car where bugs and debris hit most.
LIVE
On this week's episode of Ride the Lightning,
the Tesla and EV podcast,
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is teasing a new vehicle
that may or may not match the Cyburban
I told you about in a recent episode.
Plus, more evidence that the Model Y L's arrival
in the United States is imminent.
FSD Supervised takes a crucial step closer
to rolling out in Europe.
Sony's PlayStation car will not be going
into production and more.
["The Star-Spangled Banner"]
What's happening friends?
Alongside Lily the Labrador to my right lying on the floor
and Daisy the Boxer to my left
looking out the window from the couch.
My name's Ryan McCaffrey,
welcome to episode 556 of Ride the Lightning,
your weekly Tesla and EV podcast,
publishing on March 29th, 2026.
And I'm recording here on Friday evening
on the 27th of March.
Well, following up on last week's podcast,
I can't call it proof that my source from a few weeks ago
was correct about the Model Y L
coming to the US in September,
but I do have what I think is fair to call
corroborating evidence.
It comes courtesy of Joe Tectmire.
He's the gentleman who's picked up many interesting
tidbits of activity over at Gigatexas
ever since it was first under construction,
courtesy of his regular drone flyovers of the facility.
Well, on one of his flyovers this week,
Joe captured an image of a complete,
shrink-wrapped body in white,
which is basically a skeleton of a car.
Doesn't have body panels on,
it doesn't have tires, wheels or glass.
And that body in white was being taken out
of a gigantic shipping crate.
That body in white was a Model Y,
but not just any Model Y.
It was very clearly the Model Y L,
which obviously was shipped over from Gigashanghai,
presumably so that the Texas team
can use it for reference, learn from it,
measure against it as they begin the process
of building the Model Y L in that factory.
I suppose it remains to be seen
if the Model Y L will get built in Fremont as well,
or if they might just do it in one factory.
Currently, they're not doing any of the Model Ys that way.
All Model Y variants are built in both US factories.
So it probably stands to reason based on that,
that the L would also get built here in Fremont,
but we shall see.
But you see where I'm going with this.
So it's not irrefutable proof that the Model Y L
is in fact coming to the United States,
which again, my source from a few weeks ago said
would happen this September.
But come on, they did not ship that skeleton of a car
halfway around the world just for fun.
That's definitely not why it was shipped.
So this to me is pretty direct corroborating evidence
that my source is correct.
Definitely on the, it's coming to the US part.
And then I guess we're still TBD on the timing,
whether that ends up being in September
or some other part of the year.
I mean, I think what's probably most likely
based on previous recent variant launches
of the Model 3 performance, the Model Y performance,
the Model Y, what the standards.
And it probably is gonna be,
if my source ends up being proven correct,
that it goes on the design studio
and you can order it in September
and then deliveries will begin in the US
sometime in Q4 between October and December.
That would be my best guess based on, again,
what my source is telling me.
So thank you very much to Joe for posting that on X this week.
And if you're interested in the Model Y L
and you're planning to purchase a new family vehicle
this fall or sometime next year,
I would very politely recommend
that you start watching some Model Y L video reviews
on YouTube to get yourself prepped
and see if it might be the right car
for you and your family.
Cause again, while I already trusted my source
from a couple of weeks ago,
hence why I said anything on the podcast at all,
this new sighting of a body in white at Gigatexes to me
is convincing enough that this car is for sure
coming to the US that I would take just about any bet
that exactly that is going to happen.
I think it's practically a total lock,
practically guaranteed to happen at this point.
So, and I'm happy that it seems to be that way.
That is great, great news.
Well, things as always are busy at Tesla worldwide,
whether they're introducing the Model Y L
to Australia and New Zealand
or shipping a body in white to Texas for studies
so they can prep for the upcoming US launch.
Things are so busy in the coming 60 to 90 days,
basically the next quarter, Q2 that starts this week,
that I thought I would make Tesla's
pretty hectic upcoming stretch
the subject of this week's Patreon poll.
So the poll question was,
which Tesla or EV event expected in Q2?
So I wanted to ground it in things
that are almost certainly gonna happen.
Either they've been stated as coming in Q2
or they are most likely to occur.
I didn't want to get too outlandish with it.
Which Tesla or EV event expected in Q2
are you most excited for?
Thank you to the almost 350 of you
that kindly stopped by my Patreon page
to cast your vote this week.
A reminder, the poll is free to vote in.
It's open to everybody.
You don't have to be backing me,
supporting me on Patreon.
Just swing on by patreon.com
slash Tesla podcast every week
and vote in each week's new poll.
So the winner of this poll with 32% of the vote,
fellow folks after my own heart,
the next-gen Roadster Re-Reveal slash demo.
That was the choice in the poll
that got the most votes with 32% of the vote,
followed by 17% of you voted for FSD version 14.3.
And it's quite understandable
that those folks would choose that
because that's something that you'll be able to use
every single day.
It is a tangible thing
rather than just a demo of an upcoming supercar.
So FSD version 14.3 with 17% of the vote,
14% said the Rivian R2 launch slash first deliveries.
Again, totally get the excitement there.
Absolutely, I'm with you.
11% of you voted for the Optimus V3 Reveal
and then it gets into single digits after that
with official launch of the CyberCab at 9%.
Opening of the Tesla Semi-Factory at 6%.
And my goodness, Daisy is thirsty back there.
Gosh, we did just get back from a walk.
So I can't say I'm surprised.
If you're hearing the dogs slurping out of the water bowl,
that's, it is a thirsty Daisy the boxer back there.
8% of you voted FSD supervised rollout in Europe,
hopefully begins.
And just 1% of you said that you're most excited
for the Ferrari Luce EV exterior reveal,
which when I was fact checking myself for this poll,
Ferrari's actually already announced the date for that.
That's gonna happen on May 25th.
So thank you again to everybody
that kindly took the time to vote in this week's poll.
Couple of good comments.
There's always good comments on these polls too.
David Preston saying,
hoping for improvements to speed profiles
in FSD version 14.3,
too fast or too slow is the top reason I disengage
at this point.
So David, I hear you there.
I would love to see a little more granularity
or maybe a little more intelligence from the system
for that one.
Joseph Pastritto saying the Tesla Semi
is the biggest short-term improvement
in transportation efficiency.
I can't argue with that, Joseph.
You're very much on the money with that.
D. Henry said, knowing Ryan's intense opinion
of one of these options,
I think this poll may be tainted and D.
Well, I guess I can't dispute the first part of that,
but it is your poll.
I didn't vote on it.
I put lots of different options in there,
and I'm just glad to see that lots of the rest of you
are also excited to see the demo of the Nexion Roadster
and see what that car is actually gonna look like.
So there are more comments, but I'll move along here again.
Thank you to everybody that stopped by patreon.com
slash Tesla podcast to vote in this week's poll
and come on back this week for a new poll question.
I don't know what it'll be yet,
but when it's up there, you can stop by and vote.
Now, speaking of the tips that I passed along
from my source a few weeks ago,
Tesla CEO Elon Musk posted the following on X this week.
In response to someone posting,
make a minivan Elon in all caps,
Musk responded to that saying, quote,
something way cooler than a minivan is coming, end quote.
So naturally this created a lot of discussion
in the Tesla community.
And for me, there are a few different ways
that I think we can reasonably interpret Elon's tease there.
One is the Model YL coming to the US.
It does sort of match minivan functionality
in the sense that it is a three row family vehicle.
But if I'm being honest,
I don't think this is what Elon was referring to here.
I think he would have just said the Model YL
if that's what he meant,
because that's a car that already exists,
granted not in the US market,
but in a couple of different markets
and with more probably coming soon.
But it could be the Model YL.
I have to acknowledge he could be referring to that.
Second, he might be referring to the Reboven
or the Robovan.
But again, if that was the case,
why didn't he just say Reboven
or post a picture of the Reboven
along with the same response that he gave
if that's what he meant?
Because we certainly know that Elon Musk
absolutely believes that the Reboven is cool
because he green lit it and decided to show it
at the WeRobot event a year and a half ago.
And we know that Elon is very all in on autonomy.
The third option for me is I could be the Cyberban
or the CyberSUV that again,
a source had mentioned to me is happening.
I told you about that a few episodes ago.
And you know, as I thought through this one,
because this is what I think it is,
but I was texting with my cousin Zach, shout out to Zach.
He's getting married this fall,
actually this summer, not fall.
He's getting married this summer.
I'm gonna be there.
I can't wait.
I can't wait to get just to see him
and see his big moment.
That's gonna be awesome.
So I was texting with my cousin Zach about this.
And he was wondering, allowed to me on text,
if the Cyberban would be made of HFS,
hard freaking stainless,
the same stuff that the Cybertruck is made out of.
And you know, he really made me think about it
because I think it could go either way.
This is again, assuming this vehicle is real,
which I wouldn't have put it out on the podcast
if I didn't believe my source on this.
So again, I think it could go either way
because the CyberCab is certainly proof
that the Cyber name doesn't have to mean stainless steel.
And I do think that an ultra boxy HFS Cyberban
would be less polarizing of a design
than the Cybertruck is.
So that's kind of a, you know,
that's you could say either way right there,
just CyberCab, but also, well, you know,
a boxier version of the Cybertruck
might be a little less polarizing.
And quite frankly, an ultra tough exterior
might be appealing to a lot of family buyers.
It's basically kid proof and door ding proof.
And, you know, grocery store parking lot proof.
On the other hand, if they do it in stainless,
it means no paint colors.
And it means every single one rolls off the factory line,
looking pretty much exactly the same,
other than maybe a wheel option
and an interior color option.
And families that are buying a family vehicle,
they might not want that.
Like, yes, I know you can wrap any vehicle,
but you get my point.
Like they might want their Cyberban
to not look identical to their neighbor's Cyberban.
And then fairly or not,
the Cybertruck and its design language,
at this point in time,
I think outside of the Teslaverse,
the Tesla community,
is largely perceived as a failure.
And it's also arguably pretty wrapped up in Elon himself
and his, let's call it divisive personality.
Again, we could argue that.
That is a subjective thing, certainly.
But my point here is to say
that it might give the Cyberban a better chance of success
if it's not closely associated with the Cybertruck,
including the look of it,
which naturally extends to the stainless steel.
So I really do think that Tesla could go either way
with the Cyberban in terms of whether or not it's stainless
or whether it's stainless or whether it's painted
in a more traditional, curvier shape.
Also, as I was thinking more about the Cyberban,
and regardless of the exterior,
it's pretty much a lock that it's going to be
on the Cybertruck platform,
which means 48 volt low voltage architecture,
800 volt high voltage architecture,
and by extension, 500 kilowatt max supercharging,
and it's gonna have steer by wire.
And as I thought through it more,
I think that if you were to delete the rear wheel steering
that the Cybertruck has,
take that off of the Cyberban
and get rid of the air suspension,
which are two seemingly pretty expensive
mechanical components,
that I would politely argue that an eight passenger
family hauler probably doesn't need,
I mean, would they be nice to have, certainly,
but they probably aren't necessary.
So if you remove those two things from the Cyberban,
I think you can probably sell it in the $70,000 range.
Now that would clearly put it above the Model Y,
which for the most part, the Model Y is in the 50s, right?
I mean, and let's call the Model YL
probably gonna be about 60 grand, maybe a touch less.
But that would put the Cyberban
well below the $80,000 Cybertruck price point
that is clearly a massive contributor
to the lower than expected sales for that vehicle.
So I think that feels like the right pricing envelope
for a Cyberban above the Model Y,
below the Cybertruck and below where the Model X was,
because by the time a Cyberban would come out,
the X would be retired.
But anyway, I think Elon is probably referring
to one of those three things that I talked about.
I suppose there's a very outside chance
that he's referring to the Roadster,
which, okay, pretty objectively,
is much cooler than a minivan, which is, again, what he said.
And he has been talking up the Roadster lately
and that re-reveal is coming soon, hopefully.
But again, I don't know why he wouldn't just say Roadster
directly in this context, plus the person
that he was responding to was asking about a minivan.
So my interpretation of his response
is that the vehicle he was referring to
as being cooler than a minivan
is in that same family hauler category,
meaning a Model YL, a Reboven, or a Cyberban.
And of those, I do think I would put my money on Cyberban,
because, again, the other two already exist.
He also, he made a couple of other posts very, very vaguely
hinting at this this week where the response
to somebody who was asking for a three-row SUV,
and they were, I forget what their point was,
but he just said, noted, he acknowledged it.
So I really think that's what he's directing
our attention towards is a family hauling SUV.
And it makes sense that it would be this very same Cyberban
that I was tipped off about just a few weeks ago.
Next up this week, good news for my European listeners
out there, you heard it teased in the poll earlier.
FSD supervised is one critical step closer
to rolling out in the EU.
Tesla posted on its official Tesla Europe account
saying, quote, together with RDW,
which, if you're not familiar, as I wasn't,
it is the Netherlands Vehicle Authority,
which is the regulatory body that needs to approve this.
They said, we have officially completed
the final vehicle testing phase
for full self-driving supervised
and have submitted all documentation required
for the UNR171 approval and Article 39 exemptions,
pardon me.
The RDW team is now reviewing the documentation
and test results package internally.
They have communicated the expected approval
for Netherlands date of April 10th,
shifting from March 20th previously
and we look forward to successful completion
of this cooperation.
Following the Netherlands' approval,
European countries will be able to recognize
this approval nationally.
We are anticipating a possible EU-wide approval
during the summer.
Over the past 18 months, this approval has involved
a series of intense documentation, development,
testing, research and audits,
including but certainly not limited to
over 1.6 million kilometers of FSD supervised testing
on EU roads, over 13,000 customer sales ride-alongs,
and over 4,500 track test scenario executions, pardon me.
Also, thousands of pages of written documentation
for 400 plus compliance requirements
and dozens of research studies
into safety performance and results.
They conclude by saying,
we're extremely proud of the work conducted
with the RDW team up until this point.
We very much look forward to the approval in April
and sharing FSD supervised with our patient EU customers.
Well, again, this sure sounds like the final box
has been checked on the list of requirements
and that the approval now is simply a matter of procedure.
So to my European friends,
I am genuinely so excited for you.
I am so happy that you're on the cusp of this
after so, so long.
I mean, I'm bummed that it's taken this long,
don't get me wrong, especially for those of you
who've already paid for FSD outright,
but it's also crazy that, like my Australian listeners,
that all of you in Europe are going to jump straight
from basic or at most enhanced autopilot
all the way to FSD version 14.2
or maybe even by the time it rolls out in Europe
when that approval happens, 14.3, we'll see.
So I can't wait to hear from all of you
as you make that leap.
That's just gonna be fun to sit back and watch from here.
I'm very grateful to have been along for the ride
on every public step of the way
over the past several years,
but I'm also admittedly like a little envious
that you folks in Europe are gonna just leapfrog
the entire multi-year development progression all at once
and just jump straight into version 14.0 something.
That's pretty cool,
and I'm really, really excited for all of you.
Coming back stateside for a quick little hit here,
I've got good news for Cybertruck owners in Florida
and for now just Cybertruck owners that this will apply to.
Tesla's opened its first true V4 supercharging station
on the East Coast in Kissimmee, Florida,
just south of Orlando.
I saw this posted on Tesla Roddy who wrote,
the eight-stall site powered by an advanced 1.2 megawatt
V4 power cabinet is capable of delivering up to 500 kilowatts,
making it one of only four,
it's actually five, hang on a second,
fully operational 500 kilowatt capable V4 stations in the US.
Pricing is dynamic and competitive
as Tesla owners pay 40 cents per kilowatt hour
during peak hours,
which is designated as eight a.m. to midnight,
dropping to an attractive 20 cents per kilowatt hour
during the off peak midnight to eight a.m. hours.
Non-Tesla EVs, which can now plug directly
into the NACS ports thanks to the open standard,
are charged a premium 56 cents per kilowatt hour peak
and 28 cents per kilowatt hour off peak,
reflecting Tesla's strategy
to monetize network access while rewarding its own customers.
And the point I'm coming back to from a moment ago,
after that story was written,
another one opened up this week,
an eight-stall site in Columbia, South Carolina.
So hopefully my suspicion here is this is the last time
I'll mention a story like this on the podcast
because hopefully the floodgates are now opening
on those full 500 kilowatt peak V4 superchargers.
Next this week, Tesla might be giving an early glimpse
at the future of its steer by wire technology
with a newly published patent pointing
to a major leap in steering precision,
one that could be headed for the next generation roadster.
I saw this one on Drive Tesla Canada,
who writes, published on March 19th, 2026,
the US patent application titled Multi-Turn Steering
Feedback Actuator outlines a system designed
to significantly increase steering wheel travel
while maintaining the compact packaging required
for steer by wire setups.
The innovation that Tesla wants to patent
focuses on a redesigned steering column assembly
that replaces traditional hard stops in the wheel turns
with a more advanced multi-stage mechanism.
In most current steer by wire systems,
and I believe this is also true of the Cybertruck,
steering input is typically limited
to around 170 degrees from center.
That restriction is largely due to mechanical stop designs
meant to protect internal components
and prevent over rotation.
While that setup works for conventional steering wheels,
it becomes a limitation for vehicles using a yoke
where reduced rotation can feel unnatural,
especially during tight low speed maneuvers.
Tesla's solution describes a system
that introduces a rotating member,
sometimes referred to as a stop ring,
working in conjunction with both a shaft stop
and a housing stop.
This two-stage configuration allows
the steering input to extend well beyond traditional limits,
reaching up to approximately 340 degrees
depending on how it is tuned.
In effect, that nearly doubles the available steering range
without requiring a physical connection
between the steering input and the wheels.
Just as important, the system is designed to integrate
with a feedback actuator capable of delivering
variable torque through a belt-driven
or gear-based setup.
That means Tesla can dynamically adjust steering resistance
based on speed or driving conditions,
simulating traditional road feel entirely through software.
Thank you to Drive Tesla Canada for that.
Well, to be crystal clear on this,
the patent itself doesn't mention the Tesla Roadster at all.
The connection of this patent to the new Roadster
is speculation on Drive Tesla Canada's part.
That said, I am 100% with them on that speculation
for two simple reasons.
One, guess what's probably gonna have a yoke,
the Roadster, because the prototype had a yoke.
And two, the Roadster is the only car
that Tesla is developing where this would even matter.
The Cybertruck seems to be doing just fine
with its version one, quote unquote,
steer-by-wire setup.
If you've driven a Cybertruck,
you know what I'm talking about.
There are no complaints in the steering
when you're driving a Cybertruck.
It's awesome to drive, even just on account
of that steer-by-wire.
And the Roadster, that's the car where you'd have such,
you'd be on a track doing all sorts of high speed,
high performance stuff where you might want
more degrees of freedom within that steering setup
to more precisely tell the car exactly what you want.
Plus, there's also this I'll throw in.
Tesla has been filing a lot of Roadster-related
patent applications lately.
The logo, the wordmark, the fans underneath the car
that would suction it to the ground,
turn it into a fan car.
The seat that I talked about recently.
You know, I just don't think it's a coincidence.
It's all the stuff that the Tesla engineering
and design teams have been working on for this car.
They are getting patent applications
before the car is re-revealed with Tesla,
hopefully and seemingly learning its lesson
from the CyberCab little oopsie with regard to that trademark.
That application did not go in until after the car
was unveiled.
So can we just, can I do the Eric Cartman thing
and just cryogenically freeze myself a month
to just fast forward me to the unveiling of this thing?
I'm ready.
Just like Eric Cartman waiting for the release
of the Okama GameSphere game console.
I am ready to just put me under.
I guess maybe I'll have to prerecord a few podcasts
for you guys to release every Sunday.
Freeze me until it's time and then wake me up
and let's do this thing.
Alrighty, next here, just a quick little note.
Franz Von Holzhau in Tesla's design chief
and Dan Priestly who heads up the Tesla Semi program.
They went back on Jay Leno's garage this week
with the production version of the Tesla Semi.
And I listened to the whole thing, I watched the whole thing
and I decided not to pull any clips for you on this one
because to be perfectly honest,
there really wasn't any new information in it.
It was interesting, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the,
it was like a 40 minute video, it wasn't short.
I enjoyed it but I guess I'll just kind of pass along this.
Jay specifically asked them about pricing
for the both the 325 mile quote unquote standard range
of the Tesla Semi and the 500 mile long range version
and Tesla was not ready to give that information out
publicly yet.
But nevertheless, again, it is always fun to hear
from the Tesla leadership team.
Especially the not, you know, not Elon.
Like I'm not, not cause not saying
I don't like hearing from Elon.
I'm just saying we get to hear from him pretty regularly
and it's nice to hear from other members
of Tesla's leadership team like Franz, like Dan,
like Lars, et cetera.
I will tell you the one little nugget of info
that jumped out at me from the entire video
was the confirmation of what we already suspected
that this final production version of the Semi
is using 4680 battery cells.
Cause the previous prototype, the two prototypes from 2017
and then the more recent beta versions
from the last couple of years.
As far as I know, those were using 2170 cells
out of the threes and the whys.
So I can't wait to start seeing this thing on the roads.
The final production version of the truck.
Now sadly, what we won't be seeing new ones of on the road
for much longer from Tesla are of course
the Model S and the Model X.
In South Korea this week, Tesla has announced
a firm deadline for S and X orders,
which marks the first time that Tesla has set a,
an actual cut off date for those two vehicles
in any market.
The announcement came as Tesla's preparing to of course,
to wind down production on those two models
out here at its Fremont factory.
I saw this one on Drive Tesla Canada who wrote,
according to information shared
through Tesla's official South Korea blog,
orders for the Model S and Model X in South Korea
will only be accepted until March 31st, 2026.
Marking the first time the company set a clear cut off date
for the two vehicles in any market.
The notice labeled as a limited time opportunity
encourages customers to place orders before the deadline,
highlighting features like immediately enjoy FSD supervised
and uncompromising luxury and dynamic performance.
Currently FSD is only available to SX
and Cybertruck owners in South Korea.
Well, this sadly is simply the first domino to fall
with S and X.
Obviously shipping takes a while,
and especially when you're going from California
all the way across the Pacific Ocean,
you're heading off to South Korea,
meaning that Tesla probably just wants to coordinate
shipping and logistics for the final batch of new S and X
orders that are gonna be sent over there
at some point in Q2.
And sadly, we can expect more of this in the coming weeks
in other regions, just with South Korea
swapped out for another territory.
This is truly the beginning of the end, I'm afraid.
In fact, here in the US, many of you
probably got the same email I did at the end of the week.
That email said, thank you for being part of their legacy.
Model S and Model X mark the beginning
of the world's transition to electric transportation.
These vehicles also made it possible for Tesla
to develop the technology that would move
our world toward autonomy.
As we make way for this autonomous future,
Model S and Model X production will be ending.
If you'd like to bring home a new Model S or Model X,
order yours soon from our limited inventory.
Thank you for being part of our journey.
Well, that was a little sad to read.
I'm not gonna lie, that was a little sad to read,
but there you go, the winding down has begun.
And then before I get to the rest of this week's
other EV news, I wanna mention my friends at Xcare.
Accelerate Auto, the makers of the Xcare
extended service plan option for your EV
doesn't have to be a Tesla.
They also support Rivian, other EVs as well.
So again, the thing to keep in mind here is that
it's very advantageous to consider an extended warranty
before your factory warranty expires.
It's not really about if you buy it, it's when.
Coverage is generally more cost advantage
when it's purchased before that factory warranty
ends and not after.
And the reason for that is because pricing,
eligibility and available options change
with time and mileage, even if there's nothing wrong
with the car.
So Xcare is out there, they offer battery
and drivetrain coverage, they match everything Tesla does.
They've just got the $100 deductible.
Again, I've been a customer of theirs for now,
let's see, four, I guess about four years
because I had my first three year plan on our 2018 car
after that factory warranty was up
and I've since renewed it for another three years.
So yeah, I think I'm at about three and a half
or four years now of Xcare coverage.
When I've used it, the reimbursement is quick,
it's painless, it's been great,
I'm really happy to have the peace of mind.
So Xcare is there to help you out
if you plan on keeping your car
for past the manufacturer's warranty,
which statistically, a whole lot of Americans
are doing that these days.
So check them out at Xcare.com, that's X-C-A-R-E.com.
Or you can call and talk to a human being
live on the phone, if you have questions
about their policy, about the coverage,
you can call them up at 844-755-418-6232.
Either way, if you do purchase a policy for your EV,
make sure to use the referral code Lightning for $100 off.
So again, that number is 844-755-4186
or go to Xcare.com and the referral code
for $100 off your policy is Lightning.
Time now for other EV news
and I go to this story next,
the one I mentioned at the very, very top of the podcast,
the PlayStation car, as I've unofficially referred to it,
it's actually called the Afila, that's spelled A-F-E-E-L-A.
This vehicle will not, as it turns out,
be going into production.
I saw this story on, well, my own day job website, IGN.
Sony and Honda announced a partnership
for the Afila 1 range of vehicles,
which were set to launch at some point this year.
The car's key selling point
appeared to be the ability to play PS4 or PS5 games
with screens installed for passengers in the back.
It's unclear how many Afila cars Sony and Honda
realistically expected to sell
or indeed how many customers it managed to attract
with its earlier announcement.
Regardless, the company said today
that the whole scheme was being scrapped
with reservation fees refunded
for those who did register interest.
A statement from Sony Honda Mobility SHM,
the company's joint venture firm,
noted that it had now, quote,
decided to discontinue the development and launch
of its first model, Afila 1,
and its second model of Afila vehicles
that had been under development
following internal discussions, quote.
Since it's, let me try that again, my goodness.
Since its establishment in September of 2022,
SHM has aimed to develop and sell
high value add mobility products
and to provide mobility related services
by combining the technologies, expertise,
and development capabilities of Sony and Honda.
However, as a result of Honda's reassessment
of its automobile electrification strategy
announced this past week,
SHM will not be able to utilize certain technologies
and assets that were originally planned
to be provided by Honda
at the time of SHM's initial business planning.
In light of this change,
SHM has determined that it does not have a viable path forward
to bring the models to market as originally planned,
end quote.
Now, if you hadn't already heard about this car,
as it mentioned there,
it was a joint venture between Sony and Honda.
It would have been a fairly upscale luxury sedan.
I would recommend you Google it,
just find, or Google image search it specifically
so you can see what the prototype looked like.
And it would have, as the article mentioned there,
had the ability to play PlayStation games in the backseat.
Now, at the time, at least at IGN,
and probably I posted,
I'm sure I posted this on X somewhere too,
there's probably a receipt of it,
I was very pessimistic that that car
would ever see the light of day.
I wasn't trying to be down on it,
and I don't like being right on this,
on this particular one,
because as I often say here,
I genuinely welcome any and all new EVs.
But the thing about this specific project was that,
it's boutique projects like this,
they just rarely ever make it to production.
Just look at the history of cars.
Stuff like this just doesn't ever
end up in customer hands usually.
What they typically do, or how it typically goes,
is that they're usually concept cars,
which yep, the Afila, check that box,
and those concepts drum up interest in the company
to get you to hopefully buy something else
that they do make.
Now, I know that this was a joint venture,
so, but you know, that's generally
how these types of things have gone in the past.
And as I talked about on last week's podcast,
and as was reiterated in the news story there,
Honda's pulling back on EVs.
So it, by that, I won't call it logic,
because I don't like it, but by that decision making tree,
you can follow that and see that it makes sense
that this particular project, the Afila,
would hit the cutting room floor as well.
I mean, Sony probably wasn't looking to invest
a ton of capital in this project.
I mean, who knows what the financial arrangement was,
but I mean, it's expensive to make cars,
and it's expensive to introduce a new car to market.
So I have to presume that, I mean,
Honda was the one with all of those resources, not Sony,
so Honda's pulled out and it's left Sony
kind of holding the bag, and that's where I,
that's why I speculate that Sony's probably not looking
to make the investment that would be required
to actually get this thing into production.
And so once Honda got skittish about EVs,
the whole project went out the window, so, oh well.
Now, you know, Microsoft now has the chance
to do the funniest thing with Xbox if they were to,
I don't know, say, call up Rivian or Tesla
and see who wants to put the next generation Xbox
in their car in a couple of days.
I'm kidding, of course, that's not going to happen,
but I mean, I guess you never can rule anything out
with Tesla.
You can't rule out that Elon might make a deal
with Microsoft to put the next generation Xbox
like directly, natively in the car.
Can't rule it out, but no, I'm kidding around,
but yeah, the PlayStation car, sadly,
will never see the light of day,
or will never be delivered to a customer at least.
You'll have to play your PlayStation from the living room
or on a Wi-Fi signal through the little PlayStation portal
handheld thingy that they've got.
And finally this week, I guess I could have put this one in
with Tesla stories, kinda.
I mean, it's Tesla adjacent, it's in the muskiverse,
but I decided to put it here as the final story of the week.
The boring company's tunnel vision challenge
has ended with a bit of a surprise for the three contestants
who were located in Louisiana, Maryland, and Texas.
I saw this on Tesla Roddy who wrote,
the boring company announced that it is building
free underground loop tunnels in three American cities,
New Orleans, Baltimore, and Dallas.
The company had promised one winner
when it launched the tunnel vision challenge
back in January.
After receiving almost 500 submissions,
it selected three, committing to fund and construct
all of them pending a feasibility review
entirely at its own expense.
For a company that's faced years of skepticism
over the gap between its promises
and its delivered products,
choosing to expand its commitment rather than narrow it
is a notable shift in both scale and accountability.
All three projects will now enter a rigorous,
fully funded diligence phase that includes meetings
with elected officials, regulators,
community and business leaders,
geotechnical borings, and a complete investigation
of subsurface utilities and infrastructure.
The boring company confirmed that all costs
associated with this diligence process
are 100% funded by the company.
If all three projects pass feasibility,
all three get built.
If only one clears the bar, that one gets built.
Beyond the three winners, the boring company announced
it will continue working with two additional entrants
that it found compelling enough to pursue independently.
The Hendersonville Utility Tunnel in Hendersonville, Tennessee,
and the Morgan's Wonderland Tunnel in San Antonio, Texas,
which would notably serve one of the nation's
premier theme parks built specifically for guests
with special needs.
The challenge also coincides with the boring company's
most active construction period to date.
The company recently began drilling on the Music City Loop
near the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville,
and in February, it broke ground on a loop in Dubai.
Elon Musk has long argued that the fundamental problem
with urban infrastructure is cost
and bureaucratic inertia, not engineering.
Quote, the key to solving traffic
is making going 3D either up or down, he said back in 2018,
a conviction now reflected in a company structure
built to absorb the financial risk
that typically stalls public projects for years.
Thank you to Tesla Roddy for that one.
I do love these boring company projects.
They are cool.
Again, I've yet to experience one firsthand,
but I think it's really cool that they're doing this,
that they're going ahead with all three.
It does make sense for the boring company, though.
Like the only way that they're gonna get new clients,
as it were, like paying customers,
is to build successful projects
and have people use them,
which would then show other municipalities
the benefit of it.
So congratulations to all three winning cities,
New Orleans, Baltimore, and Dallas.
All right, that wraps up another busy week
of Tesla and EV News.
Stick with me on the other side of this short little bumper
from a friend of the Tesla community.
You will hear your phone calls
in the Ride the Lightning Hotline,
your questions, your comments,
your discussion topics coming up next.
Hi, this is Frans von Holthausen,
and you're listening to Ride the Lightning
with Ryan McAfrey, the Tesla unofficial podcast.
We've now reached the part of the podcast
where it's your time to shine,
the Ride the Lightning Hotline,
where I field your questions, comments,
and discussion topics via your calls.
So how do you call in?
There are two easy ways to do it.
Either use your smartphone's built-in voice recording
software, record your question,
and I kindly ask that you limit it to 90 seconds or less
so I can get as many calls each week as possible
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Or you can take that same 90 second or less call
and just actually call in and leave a message
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It's a toll-free number you can dial at any time,
and the number is 1-888-989-8752.
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And if you know someone special out there
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you can give them a unique gift of recorded voices
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The recordings can be podcasted
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Visit lifeonrecord.com if you'd like to learn more.
First up this week is Adam from Missouri.
All right, Ryan, Adam from Lake of the Ozarks, Colin.
I just had a quick recommendation
or possibly a question if this already exists,
but it'd be really nice if in the Tesla app,
part of the controls would be to lay the automatic seats down
in the new Juniper.
That way, if, for example, you're walking out of the store
and know that you've got something large,
you can just hit that button
and already have them folded down when you get to the car.
Anyway, just a thought, curious to hear about that,
and we'll talk to you later.
Adam, this is such a simple yet awesome idea
that I'm genuinely shocked
that Tesla hasn't already implemented it.
Now, I say that, and I'm not trying to be mean
to the Tesla team in any way, not in the slightest.
In fact, what I'm trying to do here
is commend how good that idea is.
You are so correct.
Yes, now that the new Model Y has the second row seats
that fold down and come back up
at the touch of a button in the car,
Tesla should absolutely offer that functionality
within the Tesla app.
Heck, the Model Y L can fold second and third row,
so all the more reason for Tesla
to add this functionality into the app.
Let's get this idea out into the world here
with the hopes that the Tesla team hears it
and implements it.
Thank you very, very much, Adam, for your call.
Next, here's Bill from Wisconsin with an FSD hack
to avoid unwanted turns or routes.
Go ahead, Bill.
Hey, Ryan, it's Bill from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.
I have an interesting FSD hack
that my wife and I have come up with.
I started playing around with it,
trying to get it to work,
and then she's the one who perfected it.
Basically, have you ever been on FSD
and the car, or in our case, sub-truck,
wants to go a route that you don't like?
You're coming up on a turn that you normally take
and it wants to go to the next road
and turn at the next road,
but you really want to turn at this road.
If you press the turn signal
to turn in the direction you want to go,
a couple hundred yards before you get to that intersection
and hold it, don't just touch it, but hold it,
it actually figures out that,
oh, they want me to turn here, and so then it does,
and then as soon as it makes a turn, then it re-routes.
So you might have to do it multiple times
to go on the route that you normally like to go on,
but so far it's working pretty reliably,
and I just thought I'd share that with you and your listeners.
Have a good one, give Daisy,
and I was gonna say Mina, but Mina's gone now.
Lily the silly Labrador,
give them hugs and kisses for me, thanks.
Hi, Bill, thank you very much for this.
Somebody else was mentioning this to me recently too.
I think it might've been on our last monthly
group Patreon hangout call,
and in fact, I can add on to what you and your wife
have kindly shared here,
because on that Patreon hangout call,
we were actually talking about the opposite situation.
If FSD wants to make a turn that you don't want it to make,
just cancel out the turn once FSD turns the signal on,
by of course pressing the opposite turn signal button
or opposite direction on your stalk
for those of you that have turn signal stalks in your Tesla,
and I've used that one myself to good effect,
and I'll even throw in one more
to try and just add on to what you're already saying,
that's not really a hack like yours,
but instead is a new-ish nav thing
that I've noticed semi-recently
that I feel like wasn't there before.
So remember how a while ago,
Tesla added multiple route options
that you could choose at the start of your journey?
And then before, before you got going, I should say,
you could pick one or two,
I don't know if it ever offered more than two,
maybe two or three,
but you could pick one of these routes to your destination.
Well, now, at least not like just now,
but in the recent past,
pardon me if this has been there for a while,
and I only noticed it somewhat recently,
now you can also often select from multiple choice routes
when you're already underway,
so for like the last leg of your journey.
So for instance, when I'm heading home,
there is an alternate route that FSD likes to suggest,
depending on traffic,
that just for really for sheer personal preference,
I don't like it to take.
So as I am getting close to that turn,
I mean, not like super-duper close,
but within a few minutes of it,
I think really you can hit it up until it actually happens,
but if you tap the map on the screen,
again, while you're on your trip, while you're moving,
but you could be stopped or moving, it doesn't matter,
but as you're going, if you tap the map,
the screen to zoom out to your entire route view,
you will then see an alternate choice or two
for other ways you could finish the journey.
So I have used that frequently, especially lately,
like in the last, I don't know, few months,
to switch it away from its preferred route
that I don't like back to mine that I do prefer.
So anyway, I hope some or all of that
helps some listeners out there.
Bill, thank you for calling in with this,
and you have shared something good
that'll help people out, appreciate it.
Next, Ronan from Tennessee, go ahead.
Hi, Ryan, this is Ronan, a caller from Tennessee.
I'm not a long-time caller, probably not, I mean, listener,
probably then doing it for about a year now.
Really enjoy the podcast and appreciate what you do,
but I feel like a real idiot right now,
but I cannot remember for the life of me
the new Model Y, the standard, but not standard anymore,
so the rear-wheel drive and the all-wheel drive versions.
Are they LFP or are they not LFP?
I cannot remember, and if they are LFP
and they're supposed to charge them to 100%,
wouldn't that make it actually almost more range
than the other Model Y, if you counted the other one
getting charged 80%?
Anyway, Ryan, thanks.
In advance then, give my pets to the dogs, bye.
First of all, Ronan, please do not feel bad at all.
You have every right to wonder about this
because Tesla doesn't really announce this stuff
when they do it, and as you know,
they don't wait for traditional Model Years
to make changes to things like the batteries,
although sometimes those changes do occur
at Model Year changeovers also,
but they can occur anytime, so Tesla is unpredictable,
so there is no need to feel bad
about wondering about this, so to answer your question,
the answer is no, the new Model Y standard range
or I guess the long-range rear-wheel drive
and long-range all-wheel drive, non-premium,
they do not have LFP battery packs.
In fact, no Tesla vehicle at all currently does,
nothing in the lineup is currently using an LFP,
and that is seemingly the result
of the $7,500 tax credit rules prior to the cancellation
of the tax credit, and then today,
the tariffs are certainly a factor in that as well,
so it's kind of both of those things,
one after the other that have pivoted Tesla away from LFPs.
I mean, the LFPs that Tesla was using
came from CATL, the battery manufacturer in China,
and that did not play nice with either
the previous tax credit and its stipulations,
nor does it play nice with the tariffs
that have been kind of up and down for the past year or so.
I mean, in fairness, again,
that is me speculating as to the reason,
I can't say with 100% certainty what the impetus was
behind Tesla's decision to move away from LFPs,
but all of the cars are currently using nickel-based packs,
which means it's best to limit them
to an 80 to 90% charge each day
in order to help ensure the maximum long-term health
of the battery.
And you're right, by the way,
if there were LFPs in the standard,
you know, the base Model Y right now,
it in fact would have a higher daily usable range
than the premium-wise that are supposed to be kept
to 80 or at most 90% each day,
except when you really need that extra range.
So I hope that helps.
Thank you so much for calling in
and for listening to the podcast.
Next up, here's Nick from Northeast Ohio
with some good news.
Hello again, Ryan.
This is Nick from Northeast Ohio,
calling back in to give an update
from a feature request that I made last summer.
I had called in about the dog mode feature in our Tesla's
and how it turned off the second row ventilation fan
when you went into dog mode,
even if you had it on prior to exiting the vehicle.
Well, sometime along the path of updates,
it wasn't mentioned anywhere,
but Tesla went ahead and turned that feature on.
So I have tested it multiple times.
And every time I leave my four-legged family member
in my car and I put on dog mode,
sure enough that second row fan blowing
into the back seats stays energized
and keeping that air circulating into the back.
So another great feature and benefit
of having you doing this for so long
is that the right people are listening
when we have a valid request like that.
And secondly, really completely unrelated to dog mode
was something that Franz had talked about
when they talked about the redesign of the Juniper.
And they talked about the rear piece of plastic
that protrudes from the rear bumper
and how the idea was to reduce the cost of insurance claims
as that is the highest point of impact
when people get rarended.
Well, just here back in January, I was rarended.
I was turning, had my turn signal on left,
I was cruising down five, 15 to 20 miles an hour
getting ready to turn left.
And a person in a late model Honda Civic behind me
was on his phone, which of course,
you could see clearly in my rear view camera
that I captured hit me in the back.
Well, the front end of his car was all over the road.
And for me, really it was a bent license plate frame.
Now insurance did replace the black piece in the back,
but they took the whole bumper off just to inspect everything.
The entire casting beneath everything
was in perfect condition, nothing was bent whatsoever.
And he hit me pretty good,
but they did replace that plastic piece.
So case in point, Franz was point taken
when it comes to doing the right thing
and re-engineering that back piece
to reduce their insurance costs.
Because had it been my 2023 Model Y,
that whole back rear bumper and everything
would have been replaced, it would have cracked for sure.
But instead that protruding piece took the impact
and did very, very good.
So Kudos to Franz and the whole design team.
And thanks to you for everything you do.
Have a great one.
Nick, what a call this is.
I love both of these things.
I mean, well, I don't love that you got rear-ended
by a Honda no less because the only reason
that that jumps out in my mind
is because a running joke of sorts,
it's kind of a joke based in some level of truth,
it's a running joke on the Wham Bam Tesla Cam channel,
which I follow on X.
And if you're wondering what that is,
it's just like what it sounds it is.
It is a channel that chronicles Tesla's involved in collisions.
Using the car's dash cam footage.
People submit their footage to Wham Bam Tesla Cam.
And then the guy like puts these videos together,
narrates them, the whole thing.
Sometimes they're sort of funny,
like you're not laughing at someone's misfortune,
but just the circumstances.
And sometimes it's just hurts to watch.
But anyway, Wham Bam Tesla Cam literally has a name for this.
They call it the Honda Bump.
When you get hit by a Honda,
because it seems to happen a disproportionately large
number of times in these videos.
Anyway, yes, shout out to Franz and his design team
and Lars and his engineering team
for doing the rare Tesla thing of adding complexity
to the build of the new Model Y
so that it is easier to deal with the exact situation
that you unfortunately found yourself in.
And hey, awesome news as well
on that subtle but important dog mode addition as well.
As a regular user of dog mode myself,
I applaud and approve that change.
Thank you so much for calling in.
I appreciate you listening to the podcast.
I've got time for just one more call this week.
It comes from new Model Y owner, Ronnie in Kansas.
Hey, Ryan, this is Ronnie from Kansas,
checking in on my very first road work trip in my 2026 Model Y.
I call her June.
This is also the first phone call that I'm making
in my new Tesla.
And I just wanted to call in and express how amazing,
I'm joining the masses here of course
with just drinking the Tesla Kool-Aid.
This is my first electric vehicle.
It's just a joy to ride.
I hit full self-driving, it pulled me out of my driveway,
parked a little bit for supercharging.
I'm back on the road now.
Ronnie, thank you so much for making your first call
in your new Model Y to me.
I am honored, I'm genuinely honored.
I wanted to play your call,
even though I don't really have anything to say about it,
but because it's a good reminder to, at least to me,
I'm just talking to myself here
and maybe to some of you out there listening,
that this is what it's all about.
Your first EV, first Tesla, first road trip in that car.
I'm so happy to hear that you are loving the car
and having fun with FSD.
I really appreciate you finding this podcast
and giving it a listen.
And by the way, I will say I have some good news for you.
Your FSD, and in fact, your car,
is only gonna get better thanks to software updates.
I know you know that,
and I don't know how long you've been listening, Ronnie,
but Tesla, if you're not familiar,
you probably are, but just in case.
Tesla does regular software updates
that add new functionality, totally for free,
and they tend to package them up,
at least meaning package up multiple new features
into seasonal updates.
Now, for example, we should have the spring update
coming up in another month or two,
and we might get Apple CarPlay support
as the big headline feature in that spring update.
So, Ronnie, welcome to the EV family,
and thank you again for calling in.
I wish you and June many hundreds of thousands
of happy miles driven,
whether they be driven by you or by FSD in good health.
All right, that's all the time I've got
for phone calls in this week's
Ride the Lightning Hotline segment.
If you've got a call, something you wanna call in with,
whether you're responding to something
you heard me say today, or something another caller said,
you wanna help somebody out, whatever it is,
you can feel free to call in.
I gave you the two easy call-in methods
at the top of this segment, so refer back there.
Well, as for what's going on with me and my car,
my wife and daughter are heading out of town for the week,
so I'm gonna be just home with the dog,
so I'm not sure how much driving I'll end up doing,
because I don't really wanna leave them home alone
too, too much when I can avoid it,
but when I am home, I'll tell you a couple things
I'll be watching, I'll give you an entertainment recommendation,
I guess kind of a two for here, two for one.
Daredevil born again, season two has begun,
and the fourth season of Invincible,
they're both underway, Daredevil's on Disney Plus,
Invincible is on Prime Video.
I love both of these shows.
Now, I have to caution here,
neither one of them is family friendly,
but for the grownups listening,
those are two shows, the two superhero shows
that I very, very much enjoy.
Time now for your pro tip of the week,
it comes from Damon in Northbrook, Illinois.
Hey, Ryan, Damon out of Northbrook, Illinois here
with a quick pro tip.
I had the unfortunate situation of having
to replace a mobile connector, and it was out of warranty,
so I didn't get to exchange it or anything.
So I ended up with my old mobile connector in my trunk
when my new one came, and I pulled it up out of it,
and for some reason I didn't put it away
in the lower portion like I always do,
because it just, normally it slides around in my trunk,
and I'll try to position all the other boxes and stuff
in a way so that my groceries don't slide as much,
but because I had this Velcro bag there,
it helped keep it in place,
and I strategically put the box in one corner,
and then put the Tesla storage bag
in the opposite corner of the box,
and it held it in place perfectly.
So pro tip, if you wanna keep your Costco
or other sliding movable things in your trunk in place,
you have a easy anchor point.
Might be a good idea for a new product
if you just had a bunch of Velcro anchor points
for your trunk to hold things in place.
Anyhow, that's it.
Thanks for all you do, wish you the best, bye.
Damon, I absolutely love this suggestion.
It's, I guess, there could be categories
of ride the lightning pro tips
that people have called in with over the years,
and this one would probably fall
in the MacGyver category, right?
You are sort of just using what you have in your house,
in your garage to find a way to put together a solution.
I love it.
Thank you so much for calling in with this one, Damon.
And if anybody else out there has a good Tesla
or EV pro tip of the week,
you can call in the same way that you call in
with a regular ride the lightning hotline call,
either by emailing me after recording on your phone,
or just calling and leaving a message
on the ride the lightning hotline.
I gave you those two call in instructions,
all the information just a little while ago.
Before I go, I wanna mention some friends
of ride the lightning that my hope is
they can be useful to you at some point.
I'll start with RPM Tesla.
They offer over 1400 Tesla products,
ensuring compatibility with Tesla warranties
and safety systems.
They design everything in-house,
including their steering wheel upgrades,
dashboards, spoilers, and full carbon fiber body kits.
You can buy with confidence with them.
They don't charge restocking fees
or require customers to pay for return shipping
if you're dissatisfied.
And that's because there are product return rates
less than 3% allowing them to offer free returns,
zero restocking fees and lifetime warranties.
RPM believes selling high quality products
and standing behind them fosters brand loyalty.
And just to give you a better picture here,
they mostly sell, they really specialize
in aftermarket sort of styling accessories.
So things to enhance the look of your car.
So that's where the lot of carbon fiber stuff,
then again the dashboard stuff, spoilers, steering wheels,
et cetera.
So that's kind of what you want to picture here.
And they will help you get all that stuff
that you buy installed as well
with their 600 plus DIY installation videos.
Visit rpmtesla.com and use the promo code RTL plus.
And that's the plus symbol, not the word plus.
So promo code RTL plus for an additional
five to 10% off your next order.
Yes, that'll be combined with their current
discounted sales prices.
This is an exclusive promotion only available
here on Ride the Lightning.
Thank you to RPM Tesla for offering that.
Check them out rpmtesla.com.
AbstractOcean.com has so, so, so many
aftermarket Tesla accessories of all kinds.
Lot of lighting kits, but they've got the screen protectors.
They've got just more than you can even fathom.
And so that, if you've not already done it
or not done it lately, you gotta just check out the website.
AbstractOcean.com.
And they've got so many great accessories.
I like the rear footwell lighting kit for the Model Ys.
And even for the cyber trucks too,
because those seats are, you know,
you've got room under those seats
to really let that extra lighting
under those front seats really light up
and looks good in that second row
for those passengers in the second row.
But anyway, take a look, abstractocean.com,
and when you get everything you like
into your online shopping cart,
use the coupon code RTLpodcast at checkout
to get 15% off of your first order.
That coupon code again, RTLpodcast,
all one word, no spaces on that.
Meanwhile, the snap plate
and the newer, stronger snap plate plus available
for not just all the Teslas,
but lots of other EVs as well, including the Rivians.
And again, plenty of other cars,
a lot of GM stuff as well.
I'm a big fan of the snap plate
because it is a nice minimal design
and it doesn't stick to the car with automotive tape,
which if you've got a Tesla,
that's what Tesla gives you
for a front license plate mounting bracket.
It sticks to the front of your car with automotive tape.
Uh-uh, that is a no-no from me
because if you ever wanna take it off,
it's gonna be really tough to do it
without damaging the paint.
So get yourself the snap plate
or the stronger snap plate plus.
And the place to do that is everyamp.com slash RTL,
or click the link in the episode description.
And whatever you choose,
once it's in your online shopping cart,
use the coupon code RTL at checkout
to get a nice discount as well.
Both are made from recycled,
made in the USA Plastics with stainless steel reinforcements.
I'm a big fan of the snap plate.
I'm also a big fan of the Infinity Shield.
So this is the garage door sensor array
that is gonna cover the entire garage door opening
or at least enough of it that nothing will ever go wrong.
You will never accidentally drop your garage door
on something or have your garage door come down
on a lift gate or on your roof glass or anything like that
because your average garage door sensor,
it's like one little laser a couple inches off the ground.
The Infinity Shield creates an entire array
of sensor lasers so that again,
anything that breaches that,
it's gonna stop that garage door
and send it back up to avoid causing any damage to,
again, to lift gates, bumpers, et cetera.
This is the world's first full coverage garage door sensor
utilizing 25 beams, yes, over two dozen beams.
That is super cool and they're at all angles too.
It's like a heist movie where the smoke shows the lasers
and it's like going all crazy directions.
Super cool, I'm a fan, I've got one myself
and it's super easy to install, no special tools needed,
it doesn't need to be aligned ever
and it's compatible with all garage door openers.
It's great, check it out,
infinity-shield.com and use promo code RTL at checkout
for a nice $35 discount.
Immaculate Reflections, that's my detailer.
Jeff is great, that's, he's the owner there.
I love him, I love his work and if you're in or gonna be
in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area
with a car that you care about,
I recommend that you make an appointment
with Immaculate Reflections and bring your car in
whether you wanna do paint correction,
get that finish looking as good as it possibly can.
Maybe you wanna do ceramic coating
to then be protected from the sun's harmful UV rays
and that'll last five plus years.
In my case, the first coat lasted seven years.
On our 2018, I just had a new coat reapplied
and certainly the coat that's on my 2024,
it's only a year and a few months old
that is very early in its lifespan yet.
Maybe you wanna do paint protection film
on the front end of the car
or maybe even a bunch of key areas,
bumpers, rocker panels, et cetera
or even potentially the entire car.
Whatever you wanna do, go to irdetailing.com,
click the contact button in either the middle of the page
or the upper left corner and when you reach out to Jeff,
mention that you're a ride the lightning listener
and any work that you have booked
will have the generous ride the lightning listener
discount applied.
So again, that's irdetailing.com.
My Patreon page, that is how you can choose
to support this podcast if you feel
that I have earned your support.
The website to go to is irdetailing.com.
We did that already.
It's patreon.com slash Tesla podcast.
Patreon spelled P-A-T-R-E-O-N
or just click the link in the episode description.
When you get there, you'll see all the cool stuff
going on on the Patreon page.
There's the open Tesla discussion,
which is like a little chat channel that people post in
and everybody's super nice and encouraging
and helpful and friendly in there.
You can private message me in there.
You can listen to the lightning round episodes
if you pledge at that most popular $10 per month tier.
There's all 180 something of those.
You've got, of course, early access to every episode
if you join at any level of the Patreon
from that base $5 tier on up.
And not only that, it's not just the early access,
but you'll get an ad-free episode
and you'll get that early every single week.
So join me on Patreon if you can,
if you feel that I've earned your support.
I work hard every week here.
I put a lot of time, effort, research, love,
enthusiasm goes into this thing every week.
I hope that comes across.
I probably wouldn't still be doing this 10 plus years later
if I didn't do all those things every single week.
And so if you can support me on Patreon,
I'd be super grateful for it.
Patreon.com slash Tesla podcast.
Don't forget you can follow this podcast
on any of the big podcast services.
And the reason to do that, it's totally free,
the reason to do that is because you'll get
a push notification every time there's a new episode,
which with this podcast is every Sunday
at 9 a.m. Eastern, 6 a.m. Pacific.
So whether you wanna join me on Apple podcasts,
on Spotify, tune in or YouTube podcasts,
the thing to do is just search ride the lightning Tesla
in there, should pop right up, click the follow button,
boom, you're done.
Finally, you can follow me on X and or on Instagram,
my username on each of those is DMC underscore Ryan.
And you can email me anytime about Tesla
or EV related stuff.
My email address is teslapodcastatgmail.com.
Before I go, I'd like to say hello and thank you
to the top tier Patreon backers,
these extra generous folks,
get their names shouted out at the end of each week show,
and they get a standing invitation every month
to the monthly Patreon Zoom hangout,
which actually reminds me, oh yeah, okay, so next weekend,
we're gonna do this next week, well, as you hear this,
this coming weekend, the fourth most likely,
that'll be the day we land on,
so I'll be sending out the invites to that.
And it's not just those top tier Patreon backers,
they get invited every month,
but anyone that either makes a new pledge
or upgrades an existing pledge,
gets a one-time thank you invitation
to whatever the next Patreon Zoom hangout is.
We always have a great chat at those,
and I expect this month will be no different.
Let me start with the maximum plaid backers.
Thank you to Jonathan Wales, Cameron Clark,
Daniel Grummer, Seth Capello, the Galpin family,
Ryan from New York City, Darren Nickel,
Cos Barnes, Patrick Wisniewski,
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 Sap, Paul Casarino, Chris Osborne, 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,
Eric Harbert, and Scott Shepard.
The Roadster in Space tier.
Big ol' thanks goes out to you ultra-generous folks.
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,
Cara Weston, Robert from Near Philly,
American Home Contractors, Doug Carey,
Michael Gallo, and Tony Figueroa.
And finally, the grandfathered in plaid tier.
Big thanks goes out to 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 Cabaneas, the Lydia family,
Aaron Altschul, Jared Brown, Jamie Dalton, pardon me,
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 that will wrap it up for the 556th weekly edition
of Ride the Lightning, your weekly Tesla and EV podcast.
Next week, we'll get the Q1 production
and delivery numbers.
Very curious to see how that goes
and see if the other vehicles category
that contains SNX will see a noticeable bump
over previous quarters as that initial rush,
or at least initial surge,
to get in the last orders for SNX.
If we start seeing the results of that in this quarter
or if we're really gonna see all of that,
or at least the overwhelming majority of it in Q2,
we shall see there.
So until then, my name of course is Ryan McCaffrey.
Thank you so much for your time, your attention,
and your enthusiasm.
Thank you for sharing all of that with me
for Lily the Silly Labrador, now snoozing to my left
and also next to her, also to my left,
but next to Lily on the couch, a snoozing Daisy the Boxer.
Happy electric motoring, my friends,
and I'll see you back here next week.
["The Star-Spangled Banner"]
["The Star-Spangled Banner"]
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.
About this episode
Elon Musk teases “something way cooler than a minivan,” and Ryan McCaffrey breaks down what it could mean—most likely a new Tesla family hauler (Model Y L, Robovan, or the rumored Cyberban). He also cites drone evidence from Gigatexas: a Model Y L body-in-white shipped from Shanghai, supporting a US launch this fall. Europe gets closer to FSD Supervised approval after Netherlands testing submission. Elsewhere: V4 500 kW Supercharging expands in Florida/SC, a steer-by-wire precision patent hints at the Roadster, the Sony/Honda PlayStation “Afela” project is canceled, and The Boring Company funds underground loop tunnels in three cities.
Original notes
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is teasing a new vehicle that may or may not match the "Cyburban" I told you about in a recent episode. Plus: more evidence that the Model Y L's arrival in the United States is imminent, FSD Supervised takes a crucial step closer to rolling out in Europe, Sony's PlayStation car will not be going into production, and more!
If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support my efforts, please check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/teslapodcast and consider a monthly or (10% discounted!) annual pledge. Every little bit helps, and you can support for just $5 per month. And there are stacking bonuses in it for you at each pledge level, like early access to each episode at the $5 tier and the weekly Lightning Round bonus mini-episode (AND the early access!) at the $10 tier! And NO ADS at every Patreon tier!
Also, don't forget to leave a message on the Ride the Lightning hotline anytime with a question, comment, or discussion topic for next week's show! The toll-free number to call is 1-888-989-8752.
INTERESTED IN A FLEXIBLE EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR YOUR TESLA? Be a part of the future of transportation with XCare, the first extended warranty designed & built exclusively for EV owners, by EV owners. Use the code Lightning to get $100 off their "One-time Payment" option! Go to www.xcelerateauto.com/xcare to find the extended warranty policy that's right for you and your Tesla.
P.S. Get 15% off your first order of awesome aftermarket Tesla accessories at AbstractOcean.com by using the code RTLpodcast at checkout. Grab the SnapPlate front license plate bracket for any Tesla at https://everyamp.com/RTL/ (don't forget the coupon code RTL too!). Enhance your car with cool carbon-fiber upgrades from RPMTesla.com and use the promo code RTL+ for 5-10% off your next purchase. And make your garage door foolproof with the Infinity Shield – get yours at https://www.infinity-shield.com and use the promo code RTL at checkout for a $35 discount.
Ride the Lightning: Tesla and EV Podcast
Ryan McCaffrey
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84:27