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Franz Von holzhausen
Franz Von holzhausen TSLA
Chief Designer, Tesla
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Interview with Franz Von Holzhausen and the Tesla Takeover event

📅 Jun 06, 2026 Steven Peeters 25 MIN 1092 VIEWS 48 SEGMENTS · 4 SPEAKERS
We were fortunate that Franz Von Holzhausen was able to join us in a remote call at the Tesla Takeover event in Flachau, Austria on June 5, 2026. He didn't have much time, but there were some interesting questions that were asked. ✅ Tesla referral code: https://ts.la/steven1007 ✅ Webshop: https://www.silver-lining.be/shop ✅ Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @stevenpeeters   ✅ Use this link for a 5% discount for JOWUA products: https://www.jowua-life.com/stevenpeeters ✅ Use code STEVENPEETERS at https://www.yeslak.com for a 20% discount ✅ ECAMM LIVE FREE TRIAL https://www.ec...

What Franz Von holzhausen said

Written from the verified transcript and checked against it. Every figure links to the moment it was said.

Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla's chief designer, spoke remotely at the Tesla Takeover Europe event. He thanked the community, saying Tesla's mission to combat fossil fuel addiction and move transportation forward only succeeds with customer support. He described the interior screen as the 'hero' of the vehicle, emphasizing continuous software improvements and features like Dog Mode. Von Holzhausen said the Cybercab is the future of low-cost autonomy, potentially cheaper than car ownership, but noted it is not legally compliant in Europe and was designed for the US pickup market. He called the decision to end Model S and Model X production two weeks ago after 14 years 'bittersweet' but necessary for the autonomous future. He hinted the upcoming Roadster will answer what he would design with complete freedom, promising it will 'blow people away.'

Key takeaways

  1. Model S and Model X production ended two weeks ago after 14 years, a decision von Holzhausen called bittersweet but necessary for the autonomous future.
  2. The Cybercab is designed for low-cost mobility, potentially cheaper than owning a vehicle, and will open transportation to new segments.
  3. The Cybercab is not technically legal in Europe and was specifically designed for the US pickup truck market.
  4. The interior screen is the 'hero' of Tesla's interiors, with software updates making cars better over time.
  5. The upcoming Roadster will answer what von Holzhausen would design with complete creative freedom and will 'blow people away.'

Numbers and commitments

FigureWhat it refers toTypeAt
18 years Time spent working on Model S and Model X metric 20:14
14 years Duration of Model S and Model X production metric 20:14

Chapters

  1. 0:00Welcome and community appreciation
  2. 5:21Andre's visit to the design center
  3. 7:08Emotional connection with Tesla drivers
  4. 11:20Interior design and simplicity
  5. 14:50Cybercab and Cybertruck future
  6. 16:53Cybercab European legality
  7. 17:25Difficult design decisions on Cybercab
  8. 19:59Regretted design decision: Model S and X end
  9. 21:49Roadster with complete creative freedom

Questions asked in this interview

11
  1. 0:45Hello Franz, can you hear us?
  2. 1:58So you're fine if I tell the story about Andre, your meeting?
  3. 2:26Andre, where are you? Are you here?
  4. 6:51Um I don't know. In October maybe?
  5. 7:08And how does that influence into future designs?
  6. 11:20Is there a design element in the current interior that you would say today we would make that even more radical in the next major refresh?
  7. 14:50People are walking by and they were like, are you serious?
  8. 17:25So, speaking of the Cybertruck, are you open to share the most difficult design decisions?
  9. 19:59Another question from the community was: which design decision did you regret the most?
  10. 21:29Will you still allow us to ask this question?
  11. 21:49If you had complete creative freedom, no production constraints, no cost engineering, no Elon, what crazy vehicle would you design?
Host 0:00 ↗
Good morning and welcome back to day two of the Flachau Tesla Takeover event. Yesterday was awesome. We saw some great speakers here and of course something we must not forget. We got an interview even though it was remote with Franz von Holzhausen, which was awesome that he could take the time. He was sitting in his signature Model S of course and doing the interview, but we got a couple of good questions for him and yeah, here's that full interview.
Hello Franz, can you hear us?
Franz Von Holzhausen 0:48 ↗
Yes, now I got you.
Host 0:49 ↗
Perfect. A very warm welcome to the Tesla Takeover Europe.
Franz Von Holzhausen 0:57 ↗
Yeah, welcome. Great to see you all. Sorry I couldn't be there in person.
Host 1:02 ↗
Yeah, we are a little bit sad about it but it's cool to have you here on screen. Thank you for that. Thank you for your time. You see all the crowd is waiting for you. So we are very proud that we have you here on the big screen. Thank you for that and yeah, give us a few words for our guests for the Tesla Takeover Europe.
Franz Von Holzhausen 1:22 ↗
I mean awesome to see everybody gathered. We super appreciate all of your enthusiasm, love for our brand especially. You know, Tesla's an amazing company but it only really exists because of people like you and the people that help support it by buying our products and living the dream in a way. So we super appreciate that. Thank you so much.
Host 1:58 ↗
I just can't give the thanks back. You are such an inspiration for us. Tesla is such a cool brand, such an amazing company. And before we ask you the question from our beloved audience, I if you don't mind, I just want to tell a little story that inspired me so so much. So you're fine if I tell the story about Andre, your meeting?
Franz Von Holzhausen 2:24 ↗
Of course. Sure.
Host 2:26 ↗
So I would... Andre, who knows Andre? Please, is he here? Andre, where are you? Are you here? So Andre is the biggest Tesla fan of the world. We can sure say that he's an amazing boy. He's so heartfelt. He's amazing. And his biggest dream is to get more mobility because he had a serious injury from birth, so he has to use a wheelchair. And with the Tesla, he can be so much more mobile. And his biggest dream is Optimus, of course, because with Optimus, he really can get a much much better life. And thanks so much to you. You made it happen that when Andre last year in October was in LA, he got the chance to meet you. And you made really something so special which gives me goosebumps. You made it happen that Andre could see the Optimus team. And I want to show some amazing pictures of this little boy. See his... Look how happy he and his mother are. And he got to... he got 1 hour secret location in LA where they work so hard for this great product and see what these guys, what Tesla, what Franz and his team made possible for this little giant Andre. So, thank you so so so much. A big applause for Franz and all the guys from Tesla. Yeah, I have to check it in this critical difficult. So, maybe Carina, you start with some questions.
Carina 4:27 ↗
Thank you. Welcome Franz. My name's Carina. I'm with these two crazy guys in the Tesla Club Austria team and I'm so thrilled to be here with you today. Yesterday was May, today it's you. We have some questions prepared from you from our community. It's important to have their voices and what they feel about this brand, what Tesla created and what we did. And from your point, I want to start off with the first question. From your point as a designer, you see... Oh, oh, WE ARE NOT HERE.
Franz Von Holzhausen 5:21 ↗
It was great that Andre's there. He was such an inspiration for our team as well. And his enthusiasm was just electric. You know, he... it was great being around him. He's such a smart little guy and yeah, really appreciated having him around and hope he can come back and we can show him some more cool stuff.
Host 5:44 ↗
Wow, awesome. Thank you.
Hey Andre, nice to see you. You remember Franz?
Andre 6:08 ↗
Of course I do remember Franz.
Host 6:12 ↗
What's your best memory of him?
Andre 6:14 ↗
Well, I met him at the Tesla Design Center.
Host 6:19 ↗
What did you like most there? What do you remember?
Andre 6:23 ↗
Well, I remember all the Optimus and socks.
Host 6:28 ↗
Oh oh. And you have this cap from Franz Tesla Diner.
Andre 6:35 ↗
Yeah, I know. That's amazing. Well, hi Franz.
Franz Von Holzhausen 6:47 ↗
Hi Andre, good to see you. When are you coming back to visit us?
Andre 6:51 ↗
Um I don't know. In October maybe?
Franz Von Holzhausen 6:56 ↗
Awesome. Well, you're welcome back anytime, buddy.

22 more exchanges in this transcript

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Cite this transcript

APA, MLA, BibTeX
APA

holzhausen, F. V. (2026, June 6). Interview with Franz Von Holzhausen and the Tesla Takeover event [Interview transcript]. Steven Peeters. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/966395/

MLA

Franz Von holzhausen. "Interview with Franz Von Holzhausen and the Tesla Takeover event." Steven Peeters, 6 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/966395/.

BibTeX 
@misc{holzhausen2026_966395,
  author       = {Franz Von holzhausen},
  title        = {Interview with Franz Von Holzhausen and the Tesla Takeover event},
  howpublished = {Interview transcript, Steven Peeters. CEOInterviews.AI},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = {jun},
  url          = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/966395/},
  note         = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}