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Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

• “Elon Mode” FSD Beta

• Lotus Type 135: The Tesla Roadster Competitor

• Rivian’s Compact SUV Coming 2026

• Tesla’s NACS Dominates The Competition

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“ELON MODE” FSD BETA

Okay, buckle up, Tesla tattletales, we've got a spicy one for you today. Our beloved eccentric billionaire, Papa Musk, appears to have his own secret Batmobile-esque mode in his Tesla vehicles, courtesy of a savvy Tesla code-cracker who goes by the moniker @greentheonly. And boy, has this hacker stumbled upon a secret gem, a feature they’ve cheekily labeled as the “Elon Mode.”

Our anonymous code whisperer has been elbow-deep in Tesla’s vehicle code for years, revealing all kinds of skeletons in Tesla's closet. Remember how Tesla can just lock you out of using your power seats or the center camera in the Model 3 before it was officially a thing? Yep, that was their Sherlockian reveal.

Green found and enabled this “Elon Mode” and did what any self-respecting hacker would do: they hopped in the car for a joyride to test it out. They also decided to share some delightfully gritty footage of their adventure (also linked in The Juice below).

Our code-digger found that they got the silent treatment while using FSD - no attention-seeking gimmicks whatsoever. Now, anyone familiar with Tesla's Autopilot system knows it's a needy little thing, constantly begging you to pat the steering wheel as proof you're awake and responsible. It's like a petulant child that craves attention every five minutes, earning it the rather unflattering nickname "nagging."

But this is where it gets interesting. During their 600-mile test run on Elon Mode, greentheonly didn't experience a peep of nagging. But don't get too excited, we're not sure if this special feature will ever be a bonus for us common folk. Musk did drop a vague hint last December about a possible nag-free future, so who knows?

Our hacker-friend also lauds Tesla’s software as being tighter than a drum when compared to the 2017 version they first tinkered with. Despite consistently cracking Tesla's high-tech vault, greentheonly says that Tesla's commitment to software security is a rare sight compared to other cars they've toyed with. It's a "nice puzzle that keeps getting better," they tweet. So Uncle Musk… how about that Elon Mode for the rest of us?

LOTUS TYPE 135: THE TESLA ROADSTER COMPETITOR

Strap in, gearheads. British brand Lotus is cooking up a fresh flavour of eye-candy and it's... drumroll, please... an electric two-seater sports car! Shocking, isn't it? Pun intended.

The Lotus Emira just had its big moment in the spotlight, but the folks at Lotus are already onto the next shiny thing. It's the all-electric successor to the Elan and Elise, presently going by the very sexy codename Type 135. Their target? The slice of the market where Lotus has always strutted its stuff.

This sprightly sports car will be the first to strut Lotus's new LEVA platform (Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture), a hot combination of a bonded-aluminum structure with a "chest battery" situated behind the passenger compartment. No under-floor batteries for this baby.

The whispers in the Lotus corridors tell us that the Type 135 will boast a single axial-flux motor flexing up to a sturdy 470 horsepower, all at the command of the rear wheels. The power juice? A 66.4-kWh battery pack. Oh, and the LEVA platform will also flex its muscles to support a beefier twin-motor, all-wheel-drive setup, but that's a secret treat for a heftier, pricier model. It's ready to strut its stuff in 2025 as a dashing coupe, with a drop-top roadster hot on its tail.

So let's not forget the elephant in the room, the Tesla Roadster. Let's rewind a bit - remember when the first-ever Tesla Roadster made its debut? It was based on a Lotus Elise. Fast-forward to the present, and we find a touch of poetic justice unfolding. With its high-performance electric wizardry, Lotus' Type 135 could very well step into the ring as a contender for the new Tesla Roadster. Fancy that, the student challenging the master! With its anticipated feather-light frame and pumped-up power, this British underdog might just bring the heat to its American counterpart. So brace yourselves, we might be in for an electrifying showdown, Lotus vs Tesla, the ultimate grudge match!

Bonus Points: The million-dollar question - what's in a name? Well, in Lotus' case, it always starts with an 'E'. So take the 'E' and stick it onto LEVA, and you get 'Eleva', a term that means 'to raise' in quite a few Romance languages. A not-so-subtle hint, perhaps?

RIVIAN R2 COMPACT SUV COMING 2026 - ONLY $40K

Rivian's R2 Compact SUV has decided to crash the party earlier than expected, and it's wearing a price tag that screams "I’m affordable, love me!" Claire McDonough, Rivian's CFO and the herald of this shocking news, spills the tea: the hot new entrant will fall between a non-eye watering $40,000 and a still-palatable $60,000 when it vrooms into the scene in 2026.

Last week, at Deutsche Bank's annual gabfest, McDonough let slip a few choice details about this mini monster truck (we have the receipts). Apparently, the big reveal is set for early 2024, which means the design is either done or close to it. "We're chomping at the bit to show it off to the wider world," she gushed.

Apparently, the R2 is banking on its elder sibling, the R1's vibe to woo the crowd. "We've crammed all the coolness of the R1 into the R2’s more compact body," says McDonough. And all this, without making your wallet weep!

However, a bit of a tug-of-war is going on internally on what can be skimped on and what can't. Our friend RJ Scaringe, Rivian's CEO, hinted at this earlier this year when he rambled about the tricky part of engineering an affordable EV. "Do we gussy up the interior, the hood, the chassis, or focus on the range?" Scaringe muses. Decisions, decisions!

As to how the R2 will fend off the frenzied hounds in the electric crossover pack, McDonough insists technology and that distinctive Rivian look will save the day stating "At the budget end, it's all about your brand, the user experience, and your cross-platform synergies”. The R3 is also simmering on the back burner, ready to cater to a whole new demographic.

So there you have it, folks. Rivian is primed to wow us with their model R2 and its sibling R3, promising all the practicality and fun of the R1S and R1T, but in cuter, petite packages. Rivian, we’re watching!

TESLA’S NAC DOMINATES THE COMPETITION

Ladies and gents, the playground brawl of electric car charging is now officially over! Tesla has finally given the automotive nerds at Ford and GM the secret decoder ring to their North American Charging Standard (NACS) port. Looks like we’ve all agreed on who's got the best charging lunchbox after all.

Paying homage to the classic Blu-ray vs HD DVD schoolyard scuffle, Tesla's has accidentally shoulder-barged its way to the front of the EV lunch queue.

Rolling up with Ford and GM, Tesla's team now controls a whopping 72% of the U.S. sandpit. Meanwhile, the CCS standard's chewing on the stale sandwich of being the HD DVD of charging protocols, clutching its once popular but now irrelevant lunch money.

Imagine Samsung suddenly saying, "Hey, we're cool with Apple's lightning charger on our phones." Ford and GM just basically did that with Tesla’s NACS. Has hell frozen over?

Despite being on the government's gravy train, the CCS isn't exactly living the dream, with Uncle Sam's handouts restricted to their format only. Robyn Patterson, a White House spokesperson and presumably the school principal in this scenario, hinted that NACS might get its grubby hands on some federal candy, as long as a sprinkle of CCS remains.

In case it wasn’t clear who’s in the gang - here’s a list of cool kids that have announced they're tagging along with the NACS standard:

• ABB

• Blink Charging

• Chargepoint

• EVgo

• FLO

• Tritium

• Wallbox

Tesla already flaunts a whopping 45,000 charging station trophies around the world, with 12,000 right in Uncle Sam's backyard. Tesla owners also have a magic J1772 adapter to sneak into an extra 53,000 Level 2 station parties in North America.

Now with Ford and GM’s vehicles baking NACS right into their silicon for future models, starting from 2024-2025, expect the charging station headcount to rise faster than a prom king's popularity.

Jessica Caldwell from Edmunds (or the school guidance counselor, if you will), pointed out the not-so-obvious: “Behind cost, consumers’ biggest fear about EVs is the charging bogeyman. It’s like trying to find a charging socket in the pitch dark.”

She added, "For EVs to really throw a killer party, there needs to be a standard DJ that all party-goers can groove to. Otherwise, they’ll be stranded on the roadside, like a band without a tour bus.” Right on Jess. 🤘

THE JUICE 🔋

[Video] Tesla FSD Crash: Accelerates at orange light. Orange light? Tesla FSD: Challenge accepted.

Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N Review. An EV with Gears? This just might be the start of something exciting for car enthusiasts.

[Video] “Elon Mode” with no steering wheel nags. Is this what Elon’s referring to with “No driver intervention”?

Tesla’s casual AI tweet. Just casually showing the world they’re miles ahead on compute.

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That's a wrap for today. Charge your batteries & see ya next time! If you want more, be sure to follow our Twitter (@PluggedInEmail)

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.Teslre