Tesla’s Senior Design Executive Franz von Holzhausen was interviewed in the 500th episode of the Ride the Lightning podcast over the weekend, talking about topics from the new Model Y Performance to Optimus, and even sharing how what has kept him coming back for over 16 years.

In the interview, host Ryan McCaffrey asks von Holzhausen a handful of questions about the executive’s design decisions, what can be expected on upcoming releases, and his own reaction to seeing increasing numbers of Tesla vehicles on the road. When asked about what has kept him at Tesla for so long, however, the design lead points to the company’s mission, noting that his young self would be “shocked” if he saw what he was working on today and how much he has learned.

“The thing that keeps me coming here is the potential for the future and what we’re able to create, and how we’re able to… in a way, we’ve proven that we can steer the future a little bit,” von Holzhausen says.

When asked if it was common for designers to stay at one company for so long, he also says that it “sure doesn’t seem like it,” saying that he had previously been on a roughly-four-year rotation prior to starting with Tesla, and thought he would stay on that path. The design head’s past employers were Mazda, General Motors (GM), and Volkswagen.

He also explains that some of the exciting projects he’s been able to work on, including vehicles, autonomous robotaxis, and humanoid robots, to name a few, are a major part of what keeps him there, in addition to Tesla’s original mission.

“I wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have the mission,” von Holzhausen says of the company’s mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

“In the early days, the mission was the same, and we didn’t know if we could make an impact. The mission is something that you aim for, right? And we kept aiming for it and kept getting better, and then we subsequently started to see the impact of what we were producing and what we were creating having an impact that was steering, ultimately steering the rest of the world, in this direction.

“And once you realize the impact, you’re like ‘Wow, we can really steer the future for the better.’ And now, we like owe it to ourselves and to everybody and the rest of the world to continue on that path.”

While McCaffrey suggests that the designer might be the second-longest-tenured employee besides the CEO, von Holzhausen says there actually at least “a handful of other people” who have been with the company for longer. However, he says they would also likely agree about how quickly the time has gone to bring the automaker to this point.

The conversation spans over an hour long, and von Holzhausen goes on to talk about how seeing his own vehicles on the road makes him continually self-critique his work as he aims to make things better and develop the next thing. He also talks about the importance of making great products, and how he and Tesla expect that approach to win customers over, no matter what kind of fear, uncertainty and doubt may be floating around about the company.

Listen to the 500th episode of McCaffrey’s Ride the Lightning podcast below, featuring Tesla’s Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen for his third appearance on the show. You can also see a photo of the two below, as shared in a post on X from McCaffrey.

Credit: Ryan McCaffrey | X

READ MORE ON TESLA’S FRANZ VON HOLZHAUSEN: Tesla redesigned this crucial piece of hardware on the new Model Y

In the podcast, von Holzhausen also talks about speculation that the company’s Glacier Blue could eventually make it to the U.S., as well as if Tesla plans to discontinue Midnight Cherry Red—though he says he can’t comment directly on either.

The executive’s appearance on the podcast also comes after McCaffrey last week interviewed Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy. It also comes as the latest of appearances from both executives, who were last month featured in a video from Tesla about the new Model Y, along with talking to Jay Leno about the refreshed vehicle.

The two executives also confirmed in the former video that Tesla will indeed be launching a Model Y Performance later this year, along with a seven-seat configuration.

In December, von Holzhausen also shared some details about the design for the recently unveiled Cybercab, noting in another video with Pedersen Auto Museum that the gold color is a shout-out to New York City’s yellow taxi cabs.

Tesla makes a decision on the future of its flagship Model S and Model X

Tesla’s Head of Design has provided some insight into potential future plans for two Model Y colors, making nods to the Glacier Blue and Midnight Cherry Red paint options as part of a special milestone podcast episode.

On Sunday, Ryan McCaffrey shared the 500th episode of the Ride the Lightning podcast, featuring a long conversation with Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen. While the roughly-hour-long discussion touched on a wide range of topics, von Holzhausen talks about many of his design intentions, his driving force at Tesla, and what the plans for the two paint colors are, among many other topics still.

In the interview, McCaffrey points out that those in the U.S. can’t currently purchase the new Model Y in any blue color, let alone the highly-anticipated Glacier Blue. He goes on to ask von Holzhausen directly whether the U.S. could get Glacier Blue in the future,

On whether the Glacier Blue Model Y color is expected to make it to the U.S., von Holzhausen declined to answer directly, though he did explain a little bit about how the team developed the color.

“Glacier Blue is just a color that we’ve been talking about with our team — the team is like right through that window by the way — and we were looking at the impact of silver, how do we get pigment into silver and really add a little bit of personality to it,” von Holzhausen said. “If you look at our palette, you know it was either darks or white, and so we were looking for something in between. Blue is always a fairly popular color.”

“I’m not going to answer that specifically, but if you look at the history of how things evolve and change in the ability to order things… you could extrapolate maybe something out of that? I can’t guarantee you either way,” von Holzhausen adds.

🚨 Tesla’s Glacier Blue was inspired by the need for a color between blue and silver, two very popular colors.

However, Franz Von Holzhausen hinted the new color could be coming to the United States, but wouldn’t confirm it for sure. pic.twitter.com/e6TcNLjeo1

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 2, 2025

READ MORE ON TESLA’S FRANZ VON HOLZHAUSEN: Tesla reveals design inspiration behind Cybercab’s gold color

Currently, Tesla sells the Glacier Blue Model Y in the Asia-Pacific markets, though the focus on the color and von Holzhausen’s lack of a direct response may suggest that it could eventually make it to North America.

In addition, McCaffrey asks the head Tesla designer if the popular Midnight Cherry Red color from Gigafactory Berlin was being discontinued, to which von Holzhausen responds plainly that he’s “not going to answer it,” adding that fans should “stay tuned.”

Lastly, Franz was unwilling to confirm that Midnight Cherry Red was discontinued at Giga Berlin

“Stay tuned,” he said. https://t.co/omgixz02yi

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) March 2, 2025

You can check out the full 500th episode of the Ride the Lightning podcast below, featuring the color discussions and more with von Holzhausen.

Tesla has posted owner’s manuals for the new Model Y

An anti-Elon Musk protest outside a Tesla store in New York over the weekend has led to as many as nine arrests, along with some protestors attempting to prevent some customers from entering the location.

Tesla’s Manhattan store was the target of anti-Musk protests on Saturday, and a report from Reuters notes that police went on to arrest nine demonstrators from the scene. Authorities say there were hundreds of protestors at the site, and crowds of them can be seen in footage from the Tesla location.

The Saturday protests were captured on camera and widely shared on X, showing many demonstrators attempting to stop customers from entering the store. One such customer, Angelo Martinez, can be seen being barred from entering as he attempted to make it to a test drive of the new Model Y, which he had scheduled for Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

The video also shows at least a few protestors who made it all the way inside the store, and certain angles show that some of the glass in front of the store had been shattered.

The event comes amidst broader protests hitting Tesla’s stores around the world over Musk’s recent involvement with U.S. President Donald Trump’s government efficiency department, a re-branded agency the administration has used to slash federal agency workforces in recent weeks.

Last weekend, protestors could be seen at several Tesla stores including those in San Francisco, Washington D.C., two sites in Pennsylvania, and in Sweden, amongst others still.

You can see Martinez arguing with the demonstrators below.

??? BREAKING: TESLA DEALERSHIP OCCUPIED IN MANHATTAN

One agreeable participant even asked why anyone thinks they have a right to stop him from forcefully entering the building, with some reference to the ‘United States of America.’

Source: https://t.co/VH9KOxReAM pic.twitter.com/5nY4fw2B6i

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 1, 2025

Advertisement

READ MORE ON ANTI-TESLA PROTESTS: Suspect linked to four Tesla store attacks arrested with incendiary devices

Eventually, Martinez says he did manage to get into the Tesla store by roughly 2:15 p.m. with the help of authorities, and he was still able to complete his test drive, though later than planned.

“The new model Y is going to blow people’s minds,” Martinez wrote in a follow-up post on X.

Amidst some misunderstandings about whether he actually had an appointment for the demo drive or not, Martinez also shared a screenshot from the booking, along with providing a full statement as to what happened to him at the demonstration. You can read the full account from Martinez below, as detailed in a post on X on Saturday afternoon.

CONTEXT: MY POV OF WHAT HAPPENED!!

I had an appointment at the Tesla dealership in Manhattan today at 1:00 PM to test drive the new model Y.

Unfortunately I was met by protesters immediately coming down the street in my own Tesla as I was going to park in the parking garage down the street.

I had an appointment at 1 PM but didn’t get to go into the Tesla dealership until around 2:15 PM. As I tried to approach the entrance doors, I realized that there were people laying out in front, blocking the entrance along with MSM to take photos and videos.

There was broken glass from the protestors trying to breach. The tensions were high, people were screaming, yelling, and cursing with huge signs in protest of Elon.

As I approached the entrance to see what was occurring I was met by protestors chanting and yelling over me as I tried to figure out the whole situation. I became frustrated from the situation and pleaded to the protestors to please stop impeding on day to day life.

Once I realized I wouldn’t be able to come through the front, I approached NYPD and asked them what I should do. They had me stand off to the side as they tried to control the situation. I ended up being able to get in contact with the Tesla dealership and they allowed me to come in through the garage where the vehicles were being let out.

I will post the footage of the test drive separately as I want to show the context of what I experienced. These people were sick, mentally ill and didn’t care who they were going to bother in order to make their point.

Attached, you’ll find the email for confirmation of my reservation to test drive the new Model Y.

I hope this gives context to what occurred, and also shows how unhinged these psychopaths are. @elonmusk

Tesla’s Giga Berlin and police are still dealing with a protestor problem