Elon Musk is again claiming that Tesla’s always “coming next year” Roadster will be able to fly.

The prototype for the next-generation Tesla Roadster was first unveiled in 2017, and it was supposed to come into production in 2020, but it has been delayed every year since then.

It has become a sort of running joke, and there are doubts that it will ever come to market despite Tesla’s promise of dozens of free new Roadsters to Tesla owners who participated in its referral program years ago.

But earlier this year, CEO Elon Musk made some rare new comments about the next-gen Tesla Roadster, reviving hope that the vehicle will finally happen.

Musk said that Tesla will unveil a much-needed updated version of the next-gen Roadster since the design of the yet-to-be-revealed vehicle is already 7 years old, and he said that vehicle would come to market in 2025.

We haven’t heard anything bout the vehicle since and it wasn’t in Tesla’s shareholders meeting presentation.

Now, Musk has again made a rare new comment about the new Tesla Roadster – saying that it “can fly”:

The CEO had previously talked about an updated version of the new Tesla Roadster with something called ‘SpaceX package’, which would include cold air thrusters that could theoretically make the vehicle “fly”, or rather jump and possibly hover, for short distances.

Electrek’s Take

It’s pretty funny that Elon is responding to a guy using the classic technology complaint that “we were promised flying cars, but they are never coming” with a vehicle that Tesla has been promising every year for the past 4 years.

At this point, the Roadster, like FSD, is something that entered the “put up, or shut up” phase.

Bring it or stop talking about it, especially the flying part. The Roadster was supposed to be the “halo effect” for electric cars. I’m not sure how the cold air trusters play into this.

Tesla has reportedly halted Cybertruck deliveries amid a problem with the motor of its giant windshield wiper.

The Cybertruck is equipped with the biggest wiper put on a consumer vehicle.

It’s the result of Tesla’s design, which aimed to have a straight line from the front-end all the way to the apex of the roof – resulting in nowhere to hide wipers between the hood and the windshield.

Instead, Tesla opted to have a single giant exposed wiper with a vertical resting position for aerodynamic reasons.

In my review of the Cybertruck, I noted that we had some problems with it, like starting on its own for no reason and staying down as a resting position rather than up. However, I chalked this up as being due to Tesla’s notoriously bad auto windshield wiper system, which is common on all Tesla vehicles – not just the Cybertruck.

Now, many Cybertruck buyers are reporting that Tesla has delayed their deliveries, indicating a roughly week-long halt on deliveries, and some were told by Tesla that it had to do with the windshield wiper motor (via Cybertruck Owners Club).

Some buyers were told that Tesla would have to replace the windshield wiper motor on all Cybertruck, but this has yet to be confirmed.

No recall notice has been released yet.

Electrek’s Take

As I previously reported, we had some issues with ours last month when reviewing the Cybertruck.

I chalked it up to the terrible Tesla auto wiper, but now that I think about it, it’s possible that it wasn’t that.

Tesla’s auto wipers are known to start when they shouldn’t and don’t start when they should. The Cybertruck’s wipers were doing that, but they were also starting and stopping at the bottom rather than at the top position and just staying there.

I’m not sure if it has to do with this or if it’s completely unrelated. I expect that we will learn more in the next few days.

Bobcat unveiled the all-new TL25.60e electric telehandler concept at Intermat last month, with a 2.5 ton rated capacity, three electric motors, and the promise of unmatched energy efficiency and performance that’s objectively superior to diesel.

The Bobcat TL26.60e gets its energy efficient edge from its “actively cooled” li-ion batteries, which are designed to deliver consistent performance in any weather and help fleet operators maintain low running costs while maximizing efficiency and, as a consequence, savings.

Those batteries send power to three separate electric motors, one each to power drive, the rotating superstructure/cab, and the boom/attachments. Bobcat says the arrangement helps its electric telehandler concept consume energy only when it’s needed, and claims that the setup provides immediate responsiveness for all the machine’s movements. That kind of quiet, vibration-free precision control should make the TL26.60e’s operator cab a great place to work from.

Speaking of the cab, it’s the same one found in Bobcat’s larger TLS models, despite the TL26.60e’s smaller footprint. The compact nature of the the machine’s electric components means there’s room for stuff like that – and, as a consequence, more room for operators.

“At Bobcat, we are committed to innovative design that prioritizes both cutting-edge technology and operator wellbeing,” says Vijay Nerva, Innovation Lead, Bobcat EMEA. “Our integration of ergonomics and digitization, exemplified by the transparent T-OLED screen, allows us to introduce customizable, interactive features without compromising the comfort and spacious design of our cabs.”

The TL26.60e features a top speed of 25 km/h, a 6 meter lifting height, and a 2.5 ton lifting capacity. The liquid-cooled battery has a 30 kWh capacity, which should be good for a full shift at most low-speed job sites.

Electrek’s Take

Bobcat’s electric telehandler concept is still just that, but as more and more construction companies come up agains no-drip job sites, low emissions zones, tightening noise regulations, and the ESG goals of both corporate and government clients, it seems like only a matter of time before machines like this become more the rule than the exception.

SOURCES | IMAGES: Bobcat, via Heavy Equipment Guide, Canada.