Ford’s electric Super Mustang Mach-E wins class in a tough Pike’s Peak race
At the 103rd running of the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb, electric cars once again impressed as Ford’s Super Mustang Mach-E won its class on a difficult race day where running was limited due to inclement weather.
The Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb is one of the longest-running races in the world, being held 103 times since 1916.
It’s a famously difficult race, starting at an already-high 9,390ft (2,862m) in elevation and finishing at 14,110ft (4,300m), with an average 7.2% vertical grade. Until 2011, the track was largely unpaved on dirt or gravel roads, and it is still not uncommon for cars to leave the track and crash into the woods or, worse, end up tumbling down the mountain. The race is also commonly stopped by rain, snow, fog, or other inclement weather… of the type you commonly get at the top of mountains.
In particular, the high altitude nature of the race (which earned it the nickname “Race to the Clouds”) has always been difficult, because at high altitudes there is less oxygen, which means less complete combustion of fuel. This means that gas-powered race vehicles need to have incredibly oversized engines to do well.
That difficulty does not apply to electric vehicles since EVs don’t need oxygen for combustion, so for years EVs have overperformed in the race.
In fact, the all-time record for the 12.42-mile (20km) hillclimb, 7:57.148, was set by the all-electric Volkswagen ID.R in 2018, driven by Romain Dumas (put a pin in that name).
So EVs do well here, and it’s pretty common for manufacturers (or private teams) to bring them to show off.
Last year, EVs performed exceptionally well, with electric entries from Ford, Rivian and Hyundai each topping their respective categories.
The R1T Quad Max set a production truck record (gas or electric), the Ioniq 5N set a record for unmodified EVs (which the R1T Quad Max had set about 5 minutes earlier) and was a mere three tenths of a second off of the overall production SUV record, and the Ford SuperTruck set the fastest time of the day, but didn’t set an actual record because it lost about half a minute when it suddenly lost power on the course and needed a reboot. Had it not had that shutdown, it would have beaten Ford’s SuperVan’s class record from the previous year.
Ford’s entry this year: the bonkers 1400hp Super Mustang Mach-E
So, Ford had its work set out for it this year, but it brought the right car for the job.
The successor to Ford’s ridiculous 1400hp SuperVan and SuperTruck is the Super Mustang Mach-E, using a similar powertrain to the last two vehicles, but this time in a form factor that’s actually appropriate for racing (and… kind of looks nothing like a Mach-E, though we’d love to see a Mach-E like this on the road). Instead of a giant box, it actually looks like a race car. What a concept!
The new incarnation doesn’t just look more fit for purpose, but a smaller and lower vehicle helps performance in several ways, especially in a hillclimb. A smaller vehicle means less weight to haul up a mountain, a smaller front cross-sectional area means less drag, and a lower weight distribution means better handling on the twisty track.
The car also has 6,125lbs of downforce, important in the thin air of the mountain on those twisty turns.
And remember that name I told you to put a pin in earlier? Well, Ford hired overall record-holder Romain Dumas to drive its entry again, showing that it’s serious about trying to set a record. The VW ID.R was a purpose-built beast, so it would be a tough attempt, but their driver choice proves they’re serious about winning this race.
Three other interesting EVs ran this year
A few other EVs ran this year, but the others weren’t necessarily vying for the top overall spot.
One is an Ioniq 5N, race prepped by Evasive Motorsports. It’s been heavily modified with a stripped interior saving 500lbs of weight, aerodynamic wheel covers, new suspension, and a new bodykit with enhanced aerodynamics. Evasive previously ran a modified Tesla Model 3 up the mountain, but had an electrical issue on that race.
The next is the confusingly-named Honda CR-V e:FCEV, a fuel cell plug-in hybrid vehicle (more on that car here). It ran only mild modifications supplied by Honda Racing Corporation, with a lowered suspension, racing brake pads, and upgraded wheels and tires, along required safety improvements like a roll cage.
And the most fun one is a “Volkswagen Fun Cup” car. Fun Cup is a European racing series, with vehicles that have bodywork based on classic VW beetles. But instead of the standard 1.8L engine used in that series, this one has been engine-swapped to electric by Electric Classic Cars. They’ve dubbed it the “BugZappa.”
Weather reared its ugly head, as it often does
Pike’s Peak has a well-earned reputation for difficulty, and today’s race put the tough conditions on display.
The race start was delayed due to high winds which were blowing rocks and debris onto the track near the peak. Eventually it was decided that the race would be held only over the bottom half or so of the track – from the start at 9,390ft through Glen Cove, at 11,440ft (see photo).
This put EVs at a slight disadvantage compared to normal running, considering they gain more and more ground against ICE cars at higher and higher elevations where combustion is more difficult in the thin air.
However, EVs still impressed regardless.
How the EVs did
The Honda, piloted by Daijiro Yoshihara, was the first car to run on the day. It managed to finish the shortened course with a time of 5:55.744. It had no record hopes, but given that it’s the first hydrogen vehicle ever to compete in this hillclimb, you could kind of call it a record (but not really, given that weather forced everyone to only run the short course today, so there’s really nothing to compare against).
Not long after, Evasive’s race-prepped Ioniq 5N took its shot and Robert Walker set a more representative benchmark time of 4:23.858. A full minute-and-a-half improvement over the CR-V’s time, even over this shortened course, shows the significant difference between a commuter car and a race-prepped performance vehicle. The Ioniq 5N’s time held onto the top spot for a while, as several gas competitors followed, including Porsche GT4 and GT3 cup cars. It only fell once some of the serious purpose-built or open-wheel racecars from the Pike’s Peak Open, open wheel, and unlimited classes crossed the line.
One of those purpose-built cars was the aforementioned Super Mustang Mach-E, running in the Pike’s Peak Open class. All eyes were on this entry and Dumas as the driver, expecting it to set a top time for the day, and it did. The Super Mustang Mach-E finished with a time of 3:42.252 on the short course, setting the best time in its class by a longshot… but only the second-best time overall.
The restricted running turned out to be Ford’s downfall, as the ultralight prototype racecar, the Nova Proto NP01, piloted by Simone Faggioli managed to set a 3:37.196, beating the Ford by five seconds. The NP01 ran in the looser-rules “unlimited” class, so Ford still managed a class win in the more-restrictive Open class, but Dumas wouldn’t be crowned “King of the Mountain” on this day.
In an interview after the race, Dumas said his Ford would have likely had the advantage if the full track was open, due to lighter air at the top, but that “the mountain decides.”
One more EV, the “Fun Cup” car, will run later today, but we wanted to get an article up as soon as the top qualifiers finished their laps, as the rest of the cars running today are not contenders for the top spot. We’ll update this post later with the Fun Cup’s performance when it runs, or you can tune into the livestream of the rest of race day on youtube.
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After plenty of delays (even as recently as this very morning), the first videos of Tesla’s Robotaxi rides are coming in and the Tesla fans that have been invited as early access users seem to have positive reviews already.
Tesla finally started operating a limited Robotaxi service today in Austin, Texas. The system is geofenced, time-limited, does not operate in inclement weather, and includes a “safety monitor” in the passenger seat and backup teleoperators, but it doesn’t include a driver in the driver’s seat, so it truly is a driverless taxi (well, unless you use Elon Musk’s definition).
The system is currently limited to the South end of Austin, as we can see in this short tour of the Robotaxi app. The Robotaxi app is currently invite-only, with invites sent primarily to about 20 Tesla fans, several of whom we heard make reference to a pre-briefing with Tesla going over the rules of the system. Those fans can bring +1s along for a ride, but only 2 passengers per ride allowed.
To order a Robotaxi, you must download a separate app, other than the normal Tesla app, and install it (through Apple’s TestFlight beta testing protocol). From there, as long as you are in the service area, you’ll have a car sent to you to pick it up. If you pick a destination outside the service area, the app will try to drop you off near the edge of the service area and tell you how much of a walk you’ll have to reach your actual destination.
The area seems to be around 8 miles wide and 4 or so miles tall, so lets say somewhere around 30 square miles. That’s smaller than the area that Waymo covers in Austin, and doesn’t include the main downtown area North of the river, whereas Waymo does cover downtown (here’s the Waymo service area).
Tesla’s director of Autopilot/AI, Ashok Elluswamy, posted a shot of the “war room” where Tesla is monitoring the launch. A screen shows that 112 rides and 499 miles of driving were completed at the time of posting, for an average ride of about 4 miles (which is about as far as you can go in the small service area) – along with a number “35” which is hard to read (if it’s number of cars operating, then that’s much higher than the anticipated 10 cars – one safety monitor was asked how many cars are operating, and declined to answer).
It does seem likely that these stats must include operation before the Robotaxi’s official noon start time, as we think it’s unlikely 112 rides were completed in 15 minutes, when only about 20 people were reportedly invited to the program. So, either there are more cars or invitees than we know about, or employee ridership is included, or the baseline didn’t start at zero, or something of the sort.
The longest video we found is Chuck Cook’s video on his first Robotaxi experience, posted on twitter like most of the others we saw here (wouldn’t it be nice if they used something other than the worst video platform on the internet? oh well…). Cook attained some prominence for having a particularly difficult unprotected turn near his house, which he would routinely test new versions of FSD on and publish his results. His video, so far, seems to be the most complete one of a ride that I’ve seen.
When your car arrives, you’ll see a Tesla Model Y with nobody in the driver seat (but someone in the passenger seat, at least for now) and with pulsing exterior lights to signal that it is your vehicle. Unlike Waymo, Tesla doesn’t have any unique signage outside the vehicle to distinguish one vehicle from another, but given that there are few cars operating at the moment, this shouldn’t be much of an issue (Waymos can light up a sign with different colors and the initials of the person ordering it).
When you get in, you’ll find a lot of settings are carried over from your own Tesla ownership experience, as long as you’ve registered with your Tesla account within the app. Many riders pointed out that the music they were listening to in their cars showed up inside the Robotaxi when they got in. We imagine it might be able to, say, carry over your podcast progress or something of the sort, which would be a neat feature.
The screens inside the vehicle operate in a familiar manner, but the rear screen in the Model Y has some Robotaxi-focused interface differences. For example, there’s a “support” button which you can press to connect with remote help, just like in a Waymo (though the necessity of this with an actual, living person in the passenger seat seems lower). The support button seemed to have inconsistent response times, with some getting an immediate pickup, and some needing to wait for the better part of a minute.
The “safety monitor” in the passenger seat has access to buttons telling the car to pull over or to stop in the lane, but doesn’t have access to actual driver controls like steering wheel or pedals. Riders weren’t able to operate the front screen to see if things like Netflix, etc., are operational while the car is in motion.
The various Tesla fans who posted videos had plenty of experience in FSD-enabled vehicles, and the system seems to have similar capabilities but perhaps be on a different FSD build than public vehicles.
The ride seems smooth, and perhaps smoother than you might have experienced on some FSD builds. I’ve had a Model Y try to launch me off of speed bumps and dips in the road before, but the Robotaxi handled this one well
When dropping him off at Starbucks, Cook’s car encountered a human driver stopped in the middle of the lot, and after some moments of indecision, decided to turn and back into a parking spot in order to let him out of the car. Quite advanced behavior, I would say, and a more confident parking job than I’ve personally encountered in a Waymo.
When getting out of the car, you’re presented with a button to open the trunk if you used it, and instructions on how to open the car’s door. Tesla owners will know that first-time riders often have difficulty finding the button to release the door inside the vehicle (we mentioned this in our very first review of the Model 3), so those instructions are useful.
Finally, at the end, you’ll get a chance to rate your ride, and even leave a “tip”… but not really:
The riders we saw are all Tesla fans and/or investors, which on the one hand makes them less interested in criticizing the company, but on the other hand means they are quite knowledgable about the current capabilities and limitations of Tesla’s systems. The vibe we mostly got was positive, with the word “smooth” being bandied about readily.
The day seems to have been relatively drama-free so far, minus the significant competition over the operating vehicles from every invited user repeatedly ordering taxis all day, and the annoyance from tele-support personnel answering the phone for people who didn’t actually need help, but just saw a button they wanted to push.
Electrek’s Take
Well the day is finally here. After so many pushbacks, there are finally Teslas driving around on public roads with nobody in the driver’s seat.
So far, in the first few hours on a nice Austin day, shuttling a friendly audience around, there have been no problems we’ve seen yet. Some predicted immediate doom and gloom, but given the literal billions of miles that Tesla has under its belt with FSD, I would have been highly surprised to see things immediately go south. The stage was set for Tesla to get its launch, and its launch it got.
Now comes the work of continuing to improve, of opening the system up to a true public, of seeing when these vehicles can actually operate unmonitored, with nobody at all inside the vehicle (or watching from abroad). And of seeing what the incident rate works out to over a sample of more than 499 miles, if Tesla will ever release that data (it says it would “suffer financial harm” if forced to).
Launching in a state like this is one feat, but scaling is another. And then following through on the promise that you’ve been selling $15,000 software with for years – the promise that Tesla owners would have “appreciating assets.” So far, Tesla’s keeping that asset appreciation for itself.
Tesla has long stated that it would be able to scale faster than others, and given the number of cars out there and data that it holds, that may end up being true. But Tesla’s promises on full self driving have been proven wrong many times before, so there’s a lot of “wait and see” left on that front.
As of now, Tesla is still behind Waymo, by several years. But Waymo has also not been scaling particularly quickly, and certainly both are slower than a lot of techno-optimists would have liked. So we’ll have to see which tortoise wins this race – but we welcome Tesla finally stepping up to the start line.
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Environment
Bitcoin briefly sinks below $99,000 as U.S. strikes on Iran trigger crypto market sell-off
Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since May over the weekend, as rising tensions in the Middle East and renewed inflation fears triggered a sharp selloff across digital assets.
Bitcoin dropped below the $99,000 mark on Sunday — its lowest level in more than a month — while ether plunged over 10% at one point, as the digital asset market became the first to price in rising geopolitical risk. Solana, XRP, and dogecoin also posted steep losses, dragging the entire crypto complex sharply lower.
By late Sunday, digital assets had started to recover. Bitcoin was trading just under $101,000, down just 1% over the past 24 hours, while ether has pared some losses, off 2.5% to around $2,200.
The sell-off appears to be a combination of geopolitical shock and macroeconomic concern.
Iran has reportedly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz — a vital shipping lane that handles about 20% of global oil supply. JPMorgan warns that a full closure could drive oil prices as high as $130 per barrel.
One prominent macro research firm notes that such a spike could send U.S. inflation back toward 5% — a level not seen since March 2023, when the Fed was still actively raising rates.
That outlook has traders reassessing the path of interest rates — and rotating out of speculative assets like crypto.
While bitcoin is often pitched as an inflation hedge, it’s currently behaving more like a high-beta tech stock. According to crypto data provider Kaiko, bitcoin’s correlation with the tech-heavy Nasdaq has climbed sharply in recent weeks, after hitting a multi-month low earlier this year — a period that coincided with surging inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs.
Institutional positioning also appears to have shifted.
More than $1.04 billion flowed into spot bitcoin ETFs from Monday through Wednesday last week, according to data from CoinGlass. But those inflows collapsed heading into the weekend, with zero net movement Thursday and just $6.4 million on Friday — coinciding with President Donald Trump’s early G7 departure and the announcement of a two-week review of U.S. options on Iran.
The technical breakdown added fuel to the selloff.
CoinGlass research shows bitcoin’s drop below $99,000 triggered forced selling across offshore derivatives platforms like Binance and Bybit. At its peak on Sunday, more than $1 billion in crypto positions were liquidated during a 24-hour span — with over 95% coming from long bets, underscoring just how overexposed the market was heading into the weekend.
Environment
Oil prices jump more than 2% after U.S. strikes on Iran raise fears of supply disruption
Oil futures jumped more than 2% at the start of the first trading session since the U.S. launched direct attacks against Iran, casting a shadow over the supply outlook in the embattled oil-rich Middle Eastern region.
U.S. crude oil on Sunday evening rose $1.76, or 2.38%, to $75.60 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent was up $1.80, or 2.34%, to $78.81 per barrel. Brent had jumped 5.7% to crack $81 before easing.
President Donald Trump on Saturday surprised markets with the announcement that Washington had directly entered the Iran-Israel conflict, launching attacks against three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.
Investors are now looking to see how Iran will respond to the unprecedented U.S. strikes. Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday the Islamic Republic reserves “all options” to defend its sovereignty. The initial rise in oil prices could ease if Iran does not respond, according to S&P Global Platts.
Strait of Hormuz
The worst-case scenario for the oil market would be an attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, according to energy analysts. Some 20 million barrels per day of crude, or 20% of global consumption, flowed through the strait in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Iranian state media reported that Iran’s parliament had backed closing of the strait, citing a senior lawmaker. However, the final decision to close the strait lies with Iran’s national security council, according to the report.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned Iran against attempting to close the strait. It would be “economic suicide” for the Islamic Republic because their exports pass through the waterway, Rubio said.
“We retain options to deal with that,” Rubio told Fox News in an interview Sunday. “It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours. It would be, I think, a massive escalation that would merit a response, not just by us, but from others.”
Iran produced 3.3 million bpd in May, according to OPEC’s monthly oil market report released in June, which cites independent analyst sources. It exported 1.84 million bpd last month, with the vast majority sold to China, according to data from Kpler.
Rubio called on China to use its influence to prevent Tehran from closing the strait. About half of China’s waterborne crude oil imports comes from the Persian Gulf, per Kpler.
“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” Rubio said.
Investors are also watching the odds of a further destabilization of the Iranian regime as a result of U.S.-Israeli hostilities, given the example of the long-spanning impact that the 2011 NATO-led ousting of Muammar Gaddafi had on Libya’s supplies.
Regional tensions
Tensions have likewise ramped up in neighboring Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, where pro-Tehran militias have previously threatened Washington, should it target Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On Sunday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned that “the US bases in the region are not their strength but rather their greatest vulnerability” without specifying particular sites, according to Google-translated comments carried by Iranian news agency Fars.
Fledgling, but revived diplomatic ties between former rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia could meanwhile diffuse the possibility of disruptions in the supply of the world’s largest crude exporter.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with deep concern the developments in the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly the targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States of America,” the Saudi foreign ministry said on Sunday. Riyadh, a close U.S. ally in the Middle East, has limited its involvement in the Iran-Israel offensives.
Back in 2019 — four years before resuming diplomatic relations with Iran — Saudi Arabia’s oil installation facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais sustained damage during attacks that were claimed by the Houthis, but for which Riyadh and the U.S. said Iran bore responsibility. Tehran denied involvement.
At the resumption of Israeli-Iranian fire last week, the International Energy Agency’s chief Fatih Birol said the institution was monitoring the developments and that “markets are well supplied today but we’re ready to act if needed,” with 1.2 billion barrels of emergency stocks on standby.
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