Episode 533: Special Guest: Franz von Holzhausen (Yes, Again!)
Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen sits down with me – yes, again! – to discuss Master Plan Part 4, his role as the company evolves, Tesla’s rarest paint colors, and so much more! TIMECODES: 8:00 Interview start 9:25 Discussing Master Plan Part 4 13:26 Will Tesla be making new vehicles in new segments in the next five years? 14:38 Will there be new Tesla vehicles other than the new Roadster that have manual steering inputs? 16:13 Autonomy is the focus 16:49 The next-gen Roadster will be a great driver’s car that “looks at the limit of physics” 17:50 Franz says it’s important to vote your shares in the current board proposals and shareholder vote 19:40 What Franz’s role in Master Plan Part 4 would be 22:07 Cybercab is the beginning of where futuristic transport is going 22:40 Franz and his team work on the user interface and the Tesla website too 24:14 The Design team’s software work is as important to them as its work on physical design 25:15 The user experience/in-car software will change when Tesla reaches full autonomy 26:00 Ryan advocates for a front bumper camera retrofit for new Model 3, S, and X owners; Franz responds 27:20 About the “Cyber SUV” seemingly hiding in plain sight in Tesla’s Master Plan Part 4 video 29:26 Franz on why Tesla doesn’t pursue lots of vehicle segments 30:49 Franz on the Model Y L 32:06 Why not bring the Model Y L to the US? 33:01 Is the 7-seat Model Y coming soon? 33:16 Talking about designing Model Y Standard 36:09 Franz on the new Model Y Performance 38:31 What Franz is daily driving right now 40:19 Frost Blue paint color’s origins 40:52 Why Glacier Blue isn’t available in the US yet 42:14 About Europe’s new Marine Blue paint color 42:34 The fate of Midnight Cherry Red paint color 42:52 Tesla’s rarest paint color 44:30 The six Tesla unicorn paint colors 46:33 Iterations of design to arrive at the new wheel designs for the Standard 3 and Y 48:41 More on the Model Y Standard 50:13 Biggest challenge in designing the Model Y Standard and Model 3 Standard 51:37 Most popular paint color when removing price from the equation 52:46 How the Tesla Diner will evolve in the coming weeks and months 56:30 What is still being tweaked on the Cybercab 57:44 Where Cybercab will deploy first 58:05 Franz on his experiences riding in Robotaxi so far 59:09 Franz on the refreshed Model S Plaid 1:00:52 How Franz views S and X these days and in the next few years 1:02:40 When the new Roadster will be re-revealed and when it might finally go into production 1:03:48 New Roadster’s paint options 1:04:41 What Franz is like outside of Tesla’s walls 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 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!).
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Episode 532: Cheaper Model Y and Model 3 Officially Revealed
Tesla reveals not just a more affordable Model Y but also a cheaper Model 3! I’ll tell you all about these Standard trim cars and what I think of them. Plus: good news at Lucid, better news at GM, bad news at Nissan, 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 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!). BONUS: If you're in or going to be in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, bring your car to be professionally detailed at Immaculate Reflections! They're offering a Summer special: $200 off of any paint correction service, $500 off of any ceramic coating package, and 15% off of any PPF package. Check out his website at irdetailing.com
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Episode 531: Tesla’s Monster Q3 Numbers Are In
Tesla has set a new quarterly record for deliveries as the federal EV tax credit sunsets. I’ll walk you through the numbers and what analysis we can take away from it. Plus: the new Model Y Performance debuts in North America with an unexpected bonus, new details on the more-affordable Model Y Standard leak from Tesla’s own website, 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 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!). BONUS: If you're in or going to be in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, bring your car to be professionally detailed at Immaculate Reflections! They're offering a Summer special: $200 off of any paint correction service, $500 off of any ceramic coating package, and 15% off of any PPF package. Check out his website at irdetailing.com
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Episode 530: What Panasonic’s Next-Gen Battery Means for Tesla
Panasonic is working on a next-gen battery cell that could bring serious improvements to Tesla vehicles. But how will Tesla choose to utilize it? Plus: more details are seemingly unearthed about the upcoming more-affordable Model Y, Nissan pulls one of its EVs from the US market, 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 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. DOUBLE-EV RAFFLE FOR A GREAT CAUSE: ClimateXChange is back with their 10th annual EV raffle, and this year there are TWO raffles: a Luxury Raffle with a grand prize of ANY EV you want up to $120,000, and a second Mini-Raffle with a grand prize of any EV up to $45,000 (such as a Model 3 or Model Y). Enter now and get a bonus entry into their $10,000 Early Bird Raffle at https://www.carbonraffle.org/rtl 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!). BONUS: If you're in or going to be in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, bring your car to be professionally detailed at Immaculate Reflections! They're offering a Summer special: $200 off of any paint correction service, $500 off of any ceramic coating package, and 15% off of any PPF package. Check out his website at irdetailing.com
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Episode 529: Elon Musk Gives FSD v14 and AI5 Updates
Tesla CEO Elon Musk gives a notable update on both FSD Supervised version 14 as well as the potential power of the upcoming AI5 FSD Computer. Plus: more evidence mounts that the Model 3 will soon get a front bumper camera and a turn signal stalk, Rivian breaks ground on its new assembly plant in Georgia, 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 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. COOL GIVEAWAY: TesBros is running a sweet giveaway you won't want to miss out on. Enter now to win a FULL-BODY DIY PPF wrap kit for either the new Model Y or the Cybertruck. You can go with colored PPF, clear matte or gloss PPF, or a vinyl wrap on the Cybertruck. It's a prize worth up to $2500! Enter here: https://station.page/tesbros/contest/ridethelightning 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!). BONUS: If you're in or going to be in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, bring your car to be professionally detailed at Immaculate Reflections! They're offering a Summer special: $200 off of any paint correction service, $500 off of any ceramic coating package, and 15% off of any PPF package. Check out his website at irdetailing.com
Ride the Lightning: The Tesla Unofficial Podcast is the world's longest-running weekly Tesla show, made for Tesla fans and owners by Tesla community veteran Ryan McCaffrey. Each week we'll discuss and analyze everything happening with the Cybertruck, Model 3, Model S, Model X, Model Y, Roadster, and more!
New Zealand