Tesla's Roadster 2.0 will be much more capable than originally shown
Car and Driver
The new Roadster is not a major concern for Tesla, and that's the cold hard truth. Yes, it's not the best news for those who achieved discounts on Roadsters with the referral program. However, it's wise for a company to not only stick to its mission statement but ramp up against the competition in electric vehicles.
Tesla's Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen spoke on Ride the Lightning podcast. The interview occurred at Tesla's headquarters in a boardroom with a picture of a Roadster. But von Holzhausen put any ideas for an upcoming Roadster announcement to bed quickly. "We're developing the car. I think you know we have priorities as a company where the priorities are mass electrification and Roadster is not a mass product."
Tesla Stays True to the Mission
As a reminder, Tesla's mission statement includes: to accelerate the advent of sustainable transport by bringing compelling mass-market electric cars to market as soon as possible. The designer, who has professed his love of sports cars, had to speak on the reality of the situation, "So, unfortunately, it takes its kind of position, but we are working on it in earnest."
Franz on Ride the Lightning
However, von Holzhausen says the delay in producing the Roadster will benefit the car in the long term. "I think the time that we've taken has enabled us to really improve on basically every metric that we set out to establish when we first debuted."
The Roadster Will Amaze
The Tesla designer could not give any details but wants your imagination to take the wheel, "if you can just kind of extrapolate the performance and the usability of a Plaid Model S and you can imagine where that could go, then I think your imagination takes you to where we're headed as well in the capability and how much better the Roadster will be, and the wait will be absolutely worth it."
The Model S Plaid was recently noted as the fastest MotorTrend has ever tested. Moreover, the Plaid has already achieved Tesla's goals for the Roadster when it was unveiled in 2017. So, taking von Holzhausen's advice, imagine the Model S Plaid power surging through a vehicle half its size. That is mind-blowing!
As impressive as the Roadster will be, Tesla's focus on mass production, including a possible entry-level, much less expensive vehicle, is much more critical to the company's future.
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Tesla has added payment plan options to its shop items for the first time. They’ve partnered with Klarna, a deferred payment provider, to spread the cost of items across multiple payments. For now, this appears to be limited to the Tesla Shop in the United States—no support for other regions quite yet.
Payment Options
Klarna’s primary payment option allows buyers to get 0% APR for 6 weeks, with 4 payments. The payment schedule is essentially one payment every two weeks for whichever product you buy - enabling you to buy now, and pay later with 0% financing.
For example, the payment schedule for the $420 Wall Connector is evenly divided into four portions. Of course, you’d also have to pay for shipping and taxes, both of which will be included in your first payment.
Payment 1
Payment 2
Payment 3
Payment 4
Amount
$105
$105
$105
$105
Payment Due
Day of Purchase
Week 2
Week 4
Week 6
For some of Tesla’s more expensive Shop options - like the Cybertent, this could be a fantastic means for some owners to pick up something more expensive without having to worry about interest charges on their credit card.
Klarna also offers some other payment schedules, which do have interest. While these are far more expensive and are more like credit cards, they still provide buyers a means to buy now and pay over time. These are all open loans as well, so you can pay them down at a faster rate, thereby reducing the overall interest.
Payment Schedule
Payment Rate
Interest Rate
6 Months
Monthly
7.99% to 33.99%
12 Months
Monthly
7.99% to 33.99%
FSD Payment Options?
We’d love to see an equivalent payment option available for Tesla’s FSD purchase, which is currently $8,000, even if it's bought after the vehicle purchase. The high upfront cost is likely one reason why Tesla’s FSD subscription is so popular.
It’s likely that purchasing FSD is much more popular at the time of vehicle purchase, as owners can roll the cost of FSD into their financing rather than paying the full $8,000 later on.
IPO Filing
Interestingly enough, along with today’s news that Klarna is working with Tesla, Klarna has also filed for an IPO in the United States. It is one of the first financial tech (FinTech) companies to file for an IPO in 2025 and, interestingly, one of the first European companies to conduct an IPO in the United States.
For those who trade in the financial sector, this will be one to watch—Klarna was valued at around $46 billion in 2021 and is now valued at approximately $15 billion. Partnering with a large and well-known brand like Tesla could uplift Klarna, but that’s all financial speculation.
Earlier this year, Tesla released a update for its Beach Buggy Racing 2 game in update 2024.20, which brought a new leaderboard feature to the game.
Grab your wheel, and step on the accelerator, because it's time to take a look at Tesla’s updated Beach Buggy Racing 2 – Supercharger Edition.
Supercharger Leaderboards
Tesla introduced Supercharger Leaderboards to the game, which means anytime you’re at or near a Supercharger site, you can open up Beach Buggy Racing, and compete against other real people in a local leaderboard. Leaderboard are time-based, so that you’re able to compete against other drivers even if there’s no one else currently at the Supercharger.
Leaderboards are available for each track and are location specific, meaning that all Supercharger locations have their own unique leaderboard.
When you arrive at a Supercharger Tesla will prompt you to play Beach Buggy Racing and take a stab at the Leaderboards, but you don’t actually need to be charging to play. All the game requires is that your vehicle is physically at the Supercharger location.
So far, there are no global leaderboards, but competing with fellow Tesla owners at your local Supercharger offers a fun way to pass the time during a 15-minute charge.
Vehicle Colorizer
Not a Tesla App
One lesser known feature of Beach Buggy Racing is that changing your vehicle’s on-screen color through Tesla’s Colorizer will also change the way your vehicle looks in Beach Buggy Racing. It’s a neat little easter egg, but it's all the small details that count. The paint style options apply as well – so Solid, Matte, and Metallic also all reflect in the game.
How to Play Beach Buggy Racing
There are a few ways to play Beach Buggy Racing, and Tesla has thought of everything for this specific game.
You can open up the game from Tesla Arcade when the vehicle is in Park. You have three control options – using the touchscreen, using a Bluetooth or USB controller, or using your vehicle’s steering wheel.
If you’re using the steering wheel, keep in mind that unless you’ve got a Cybertruck with Steer-by-Wire, your actual wheels will also turn. This can add some flat spots to your tires if you play excessively. We recommend using a controller or the touchscreen. Keep in mind that if you’re playing with the vehicle’s steering wheel, you actually use the Brake pedal to accelerate, not the real accelerator pedal.
The author recently took first place at the Leaderboards for the Supercharger in Scarborough, so if you’re in Toronto anytime, feel free to challenge my score! If you’re a leaderboard holder, come let us know where you took first place in the forums.
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