Episode 526: New Model Y Performance Is Here and It's Even Better Than We'd Hoped
Ride the Lightning: Tesla and EV Podcast
Ryan McCaffrey
4.7 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 31 August 2025
⏱️ 107 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tesla Europe officially revealed the new Model Y Performance, and it's packing a few surprises that make it even better than anticipated. Plus: Tesla has been making news all around the world this week, from FSD Supervised rolling out in its first new region to Cybertruck launching in a new territory to the possible return of the Model S and Model X to Europe, and much more!
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On this week's episode of Ride the Lightning, the Tesla and EV podcast, Tesla Europe revealed |
| 0:06.1 | the new Model Y performance, and it's packing a few surprises that make it even better than |
| 0:11.6 | anticipated. Plus, Tesla's been making news all around the world this week, from FSD supervised |
| 0:18.8 | rolling out in its first new region, to cybertruck launching |
| 0:22.5 | in a new territory, to the possible return of the Model S and Model X to Europe, and much more. |
| 0:28.5 | Music What's happening, friends, I'm Ryan McCaffrey joining you as I do every single week for Ride the Lightning, the Tesla and |
| 0:54.9 | EV podcast. This is episode 526 publishing on August 31st, 2025. Well, it is another super fun, |
| 1:05.9 | super jam-packed week of Tesla and EV news, but I wanted to start right off the top here by following up |
| 1:12.6 | on something that I had mentioned briefly during the Ride the Lightning Hotline segment last |
| 1:17.9 | week, and it was about there possibly being a slight extension of sorts to the $7,500 federal |
| 1:26.7 | EV tax credit. Well, our Tesla tipster friend Sawyer Merritt |
| 1:30.7 | dug into it and found some answers, but I will say we still, at least as of this recording, |
| 1:38.2 | don't have total clarity on this. So here's what Sawyer wrote. There's been some confusion about the $7,500 federal |
| 1:46.2 | EV tax credit in the U.S. being quote unquote extended. It's not. The credit still ends on |
| 1:52.7 | September 30th. But on August 21st, the IRS clarified that EV buyers have some new flexibility. |
| 2:01.9 | One, if you sign a binding purchase contract, plus make a payment, even a small down payment |
| 2:08.7 | or trade in, before September 30th, you lock in eligibility. |
| 2:14.5 | The car doesn't have to be delivered by September 30th. You can take delivery later. |
| 2:19.3 | The credit is only applied when the car is placed in service, |
| 2:23.3 | i.e. when you take delivery, |
| 2:25.3 | but eligibility is tied to the contract date, |
| 2:29.3 | which again must be by September 30th. |
... |
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