Latest Cybertruck Beta Prototype Spotted with More Surprises

The latest Cybertruck beta prototype was recently seen with the new mirrors and windshield wiper

@greggertruck

It's like spotting Bigfoot. Every time Tesla's Cybertruck appears in the wild (video), it generates millions of views and a lot of conversation. The photographic evidence also offers some surprises. This should not be a shock considering Tesla's Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen, has said that some elements of the Cybertruck still have not been revealed.

A recent picture posted by @greggertruck gave us a good look at the front of the highly anticipated, futuristic-looking vehicle. While Tesla is near production, there are still some tweaks for the final product. You can assume one of those weeks will be to the massive windshield wiper. Elon Musk has said it would not be part of the final production, however, the giant blade is still present, as shown in the photo.

Musk is not a fan of the wiper that spans the entire windshield. Over a year ago, he tweeted: The wiper is what troubles me most. No easy solution. Deployable wiper that stows in front trunk would be ideal, but complex.

Front Bumper and Front Lightbar

The Cybertruck appears to have a slightly different front bumper design in this photo compared to previous prototypes. The lightbar above the windshield also remains a mystery. Early alpha prototypes included a full-width light above the windshield. However, in many states lights above the windshield can not be used on public roads. Tesla could face some challenges in keeping this lightbar in the production version of the vehicle.

Four-wheel Steering

4 wheel steering Cybertruck is sick! ? pic.twitter.com/WAlCTIBxWi

— Tokyotesla (@Tokyotesla1) February 4, 2023

Meanwhile, a recent video posted on Twitter by TokyoTesla has been viewed over 8 million times. At first glance, it appears to show the Cybertruck taking a spin, but upon closer inspection, it can be seen that the back wheels are turning in unison with the front wheels, suggesting that the Cybertruck will have four-wheel steering.

While four-wheel steering is not a new technology, it was not well received in the automotive world in the 1980s when it was introduced by various brands, including BMW, Porsche, Acura, Nissan, and Renault. However, the competition is now introducing four-wheel steering in their electric vehicles, such as the Hummer, which claims to allow for a better off-road experience, and the Silverado, as well as Hyundai's IONIQ 5.

Air Suspension

In addition to the four-wheel steering, the Cybertruck will also have advanced air suspension, similar to the Model X. The Model X can have a ground clearance as low as 5.4 inches or as high as 8.1 inches. At the same time, the Cybertruck appears to be very low in the four-wheel steering video, but other videos and pictures show it to be considerably higher.

Full-length Taillights

Finally, the taillights will be a full red bar that stretches the tailgate length, as Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter, despite earlier videos only showing two lights on the ends.

The limited quantity of Cybertrucks is expected to be released this year, with ramp-up production not taking place until 2024.

Tesla's Next FSD v12 Update Will Be Available For Users on 2024.8

Tesla will soon roll out a FSD v12 which is compatible with update 2024.8 Tesla began its public rollout of FSD v12 last month, which brings a much more refined, human-like experience to the self-driving software.

To celebrate the achievement and show owners how big of an improvement FSD v12 is, Tesla offered a free month of FSD to all owners with compatible vehicles in the U.S. and Canada.

However, there was a caveat. The latest FSD v12 (v12.3.4) is Tesla update 2024.3.15. Since Tesla doesn't roll back updates since the process isn't rigorously tested, that means many owners who had already received Tesla update 2024.8.9 were left without a free trial and access to FSD v12.

Subscribing to FSD on Update 2024.8

In fact, if you're in the U.S. or Canada and subscribe to FSD while on update 2024.8.x, you'll actually receive the older, and quite a bit worse FSD v11.4.9.

The FSD v12 update has been highly anticipated and aims to finally upgrade Tesla’s ADAS level 2 system to something higher. Musk has talked about level 4 or 5, and even recently said Tesla is going all-in on FSD.

FSD v12 for Update 2024.8 Is Coming

Rohan Patel, who recently left Tesla, recently said that Tesla is already working on an FSD v12 update that is compatible with users on update 2024.8.x. This means that the next FSD update may finally be based on the 2024.8 codebase.

However, just this morning Tesla released the next major update to the platform, update 2024.14 for employee testing. The update is massive and includes an updated UI, hands-free trunk opening, a full-screen browser and more.

However, Patel never specified which codebase the next FSD update would be based on. If it's based on update 2024.8, then users who are upgraded to 2024.14 in the next couple of weeks may face a similar fate as users on 2024.8 today.

Release Date

Patel said to expect the release of the next version of FSD v12 this week. Since update 2024.14 is still being tested with "wave 1" employees, we'll likely see one of two things happen. We may see the next FSD update be based on 2024.8 and released very soon, or it'll be based on update 2024.14, but it may not be available for another couple of weeks.

Once this update arrives, owners with a Tesla on 2024.8.x will finally be able to update and receive their one-month trial of FSD v12 and finally experience what everyone has been excited about.

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Tesla Adds V12 User Interface, Full Screen Browser Button, Nav Improvements, Full Screen Visualizations for All

Tesla's latest V12 user interface will change the look and feel of some of the vehicle’s operations. This new interface, announced on X, is already partially available on the Cybertruck but will now be rolled out to the Model 3 and Model Y, equipped with AMD Ryzen processors according to Tesla. However, the new Model S and Model X will likely receive it as well, although possibly not at the same time. It integrates several new features and aesthetics that set new standards in vehicle interface design.

The new interface will become available in Tesla update 2024.14, which started rolling out to employees yesterday.

Centralized Vehicle Visualization

A standout feature of the v12 UI update, not to be confused with FSD v12, is the centralized vehicle visualization, which dominates the display while parked (shown in photo). This design choice enhances visual appeal and improves functionality by placing critical vehicle performance metrics, and status updates front and center. Similar to the layout in the Cybertruck, this feature provides drivers with a clear and immediate view of their vehicle's status and shows off the gorgeous 3D model.

Improved Navigation

The navigation system will see several improvements. You’ll now see a little trip progress bar that lets you visually see how far along you are on your route.

If your vehicle has a rear screen, as in the new Model 3, the redesigned Model S or Model X, then trip information such as ETA will also be displayed on the rear screen.

Tesla already has the ability to update your route if a faster route becomes available. You can change some of these settings under Controls > Navigate. However, now the vehicle will show you if a faster route becomes available and gives you a chance to cancel the updated route if needed.

Expanded Autopilot Visualizations

Tesla is now bringing its full-screen visualizations outside of North America. However, there will be some improvements as well. In addition to being able to have the visualizations go full screen, there will now be a small map displayed in the corner as well.

That’s one of the issues with the full-screen FSD visualizations right now. If you make them full-screen, you lose your navigation map completely and only have the next turn available.

This will be the first time full-screen visualizations are available outside North America. It’s not clear whether all the FSD visualizations will be available such as traffic lights, curbs and more will be displayed, but Tesla has slowly been adding additional visualizations for non-FSD users, so there’s a chance that this feature will finally display all FSD visualizations to users outside of North America.

It’s not immediately clear whether this feature will require Enhanced Autopilot or FSD.

Full-Screen Browser Support

With this update, Tesla will finally let you manually make the browser full-screen. While this will make Tesla’s Theater apps a little redundant since they just loaded the website of the selected streaming service, you’ll now be able to stream any video service full screen, as long as the service supports Tesla’s browser.

As expected, the full-screen button will only be available while the vehicle is parked.

Checking Compatibility and Availability

Owners can verify their vehicle’s compatibility with the new full-screen visualizations while parked and driving by navigating to Controls > Software > Additional Vehicle Info on their Tesla’s touchscreen. This update is tailored for Tesla vehicles equipped with the AMD Ryzen processor.

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