Elon Himself Is Approving Tuning on His Teslas, Is Even Excited by Some Tuners

You read that right, folks. Elon Musk himself has given a not so enthusiastic, but nonetheless, a “yes” to people opening his rides and beefing them up.

During an interview on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Elon Musk was asked how he feels about people tuning his Teslas, his response, “Sounds good to me, sure.” Sure, sounds good to me it is, but what does this mean for tuners and most importantly for the Tesla company?

Let's start off basic, with the tuners. Too few are on the streets. Some of the major names you may have heard of are Unplugged Performance, DTE Systems, Revozport, and...nope, that’s about it. Other companies exist too, but they basically just manufacturer aftermarket parts. I'm not too sure if they put all those bits and pieces together into one finely tuned machine.

But apparently there isn’t much you can tune on a Tesla. They aren't like traditional IC engines where each little bit can be taken down and bored or welded into what you need to get more speed. Teslas and other EVs lean more toward mechanics that have spent their time building circuit boards or working in IT.

But that may not be necessarily true. For example, Unplugged offers a kit for the Tesla Model 3 that gives it a faster lap time than even the McLaren F1 on a Japanese track. Keep in mind however that a new Model 3 costs upward of $35,000 (29,800 Euro) and the Unplugged kit adds another $35,000 (29,800 Euro). So you’re basically buying another Tesla but can now boast your lap time against some of the best-known names in history.

Part two of this whole story is Tesla itself. Think about it for a second. What happens to a car if someone tunes a really awesome version of it? Buyers go nuts! Everybody starts wanting one. Everybody starts saving money or gets loans just to get their hands on one. And honestly, for the base price of 35K for the Model 3, it’s as if Musk had this in the works all along.

Let's face it. Tuners aren't looking to spend a lot on cars, they’re looking to spend a lot on parts. Parts that are meant to make the ride faster, lighter, or to just simply stick to the road better. So models with a basic design, but a willing chassis and able engine, is what tuners want. And they want it cheap. For less than a BMW 3 Seeries, Tesla tuning clubs should be flooding the streets. And soon, I believe they will.

Once everybody has their Tesla models ready, it's only a quick hop to your neighborhood tuning shop to put the pieces together. Honestly, good luck with that. Most shops have never even seen a Tesla driving down the street, let alone someone ask them to change out some parts, and to do it properly.

I'm hoping that the future will bring more local shops that would know what the heck they’re doing. Let's go people! Let’s get more these rockets out on our streets.

In case you have two hours and want to hear what one of the world's most successful businessman has to say about how he lives, breathes and makes his money, drop a click on the video below. But whatever you do, please check out the comments section. There is a business idea in there.

But if you ever do put it into sales & marketing, we know a good media site for that. 3,

— CleanTechnica (@cleantechnica) July 21, 2020