Investor Day Reveals Tesla Cybertruck Rear Screen, Bumper Cam, Circular Yoke and More [Photos, Video]

The Cybertruck will have a camera in the center of the front bumper

Sofiaan/Twitter

The Tesla community comes through again. As soon as invited guests started showing up at the company’s annual Investor Day, new images of the latest Cybertruck prototype started hitting social media. For the last couple of weeks, the highly anticipated vehicle has been spotted in the wild, and we’ve dissected every frame of images posted online. But now we have close-up, clear pictures that reveal far more than previously known.

Front-to-Back Tour

Front Bumper Camera

Let’s start from the front and work our way back. We begin with the front bumper, which has a camera in the center. This is a big find. We know Hardware 4 is starting to show up in some vehicles, and it allows for up to 12 cameras. The new camera location may have something to do with the removal of the ultrasonic sensors. However, it's hard to say how useful this camera location will be as the front bumper takes the brunt of bugs, snow, slush, and rain.

Frunk Opening

The front end offers a bit of a mystery for the frunk. Some speculation is that it’s not just the hood, but part of the bumper would come up with the frunk. But really, you have to wonder why anyone would need a frunk with all of this space.

Giant Air Suspension Cylinders

The Cybertruck had massive air suspension cylinders

MatthewDR/Twitter

Moving back, we find gigantic air suspension cylinders. We’ve reported on videos showing Cybertruck both high and low. These cans suggest that it has the ability to go over almost any obstacle.

Windshield Wiper

Further back, the next one is hard to miss. The biggest windshield wiper ever produced (slight exaggeration) still exists. Perhaps Tesla has not found a suitable solution to a problem identified by Elon Musk. He has tweeted that the wiper troubles him the most and “No easy solution. Deployable wiper that stows in front trunk would be ideal, but complex.”

New Cybertruck Steering Wheel

The Cybertruck was displayed with a circular yoke steering wheel

TeslaSynopsis/Twitter

Let’s move inside the cockpit. The first thing many investors noticed was the new steering wheel design. It’s not a yoke, it’s not a circle but a circular yoke�"a sort of rectangular-shaped wheel complete with the usual scroll buttons. Like the Model 3 and Model Y, one screen is in the middle of the dashboard. But this screen looks bigger than the ones found in the other models. Could it be the 17" screen that's on the Model S and Model X? The dashboard appears to be some sort of fabric, possibly Alcantara, instead of the marble look that appeared in previous prototypes.

Rear Screen and Rear Seats

The Cybertruck on display had a rear screen similar to the Model S

TeslaHype/Twitter

Jump into the backseat, and we find another screen, which appears to be the same size and location as the one in the Model X and Model S. The rear seats fold up but don’t fold down, confirming what was speculated a few months ago. Leaked images of the mega cast revealed the rumored midgate did not make it to production. The thought was the midgate, combined with folding rear seats, would make for an excellent camping experience or allow long items to be transported.

Roof Rack Rails

But it will not be difficult to transport whatever you need with Cybertruck. It looks like there are roof rack slots and an impressive box that seems incredibly rigid. On the side edge of the box, it looks like a switch to adjust the truck's rear suspension up or down. This would be handy to line up a trailer.

The sign near the Cybertruck noted that this is the Beta version of Cybertruck. Production is scheduled to start in the summer, with a full ramp-up starting next year.

Tesla Is Now Offering Cybertruck Test Drives [List of Locations]

@brandonhd

Tesla has begun to reach out to customers in the United States and is offering demo drives of the Cybertruck on an invite-only basis. @brandonhd on X shared the first invite image, and it looks like it's going out quite quickly to multiple locations that have Cybertrucks on display.

Up until now, display vehicles have been for just that – looking, but no touching. Some Tesla delivery centers and showrooms have also allowed viewers to take a seat inside and open it up, but most are still locked away behind the velvet rope.

It’s exciting to see that Tesla has begun to demo them – and it can only be so long until demo drives open up to everyone.

Advisor-led Demo

This Demo Drive is led by a Tesla Advisor – while you’re driving, the advisor will be in the passenger seat, walking you through the experience. They’ll explain steer-by-wire, off-road controls, and will introduce new-to-Tesla buyers to all the features that are currently available.

Once FSD V12.5 comes to the Cybertruck, we’re sure they’ll be demoing its capabilities FSD capabilities as well.

Locations

The list of locations so far for demo drives appears to be fairly limited, but we will hopefully see demo drives roll out throughout the United States, and eventually Canada too. Here is the current list of city/state locations that have seen demo drive invites.

• Manhasset, New York

• West Covina, California

• Los Angeles, California

• Houston, Texas

• Orlando, Florida

• Westmont, Illinois

• Tucson, Arizona

• Phoenix, Arizona

• Delaware

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Musk Confirms 'Actually Smart Summon' is Coming in a Revision of FSD V12.5

Not a Tesla App

Actually Smart Summon, the successor to Tesla’s Smart Summon feature, has been confirmed to be coming as soon as next month as per Elon Musk. Colloquially known as “ASS”, Actually Smart Summon is supposed to improve on the regular Smart Summon capabilities, which have historically used ultrasonic sensors (USS) to navigate parking lots.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon, and we’re quite excited about what other features will be unlocked once it finally shows up at our doorstep.

Vision-based Improvements

ASS is supposed to bring Smart Summon to vehicles that don’t have USS – using Tesla Vision. Most recently, Tesla has brought Autopark to vehicles without USS, and Vision-based Autopark has been a huge success. It is faster, more reliable, and smoother than the older USS-based solution. It can also park and maneuver in tighter locations.

Just recently, Tesla returned the Model X’s self-presenting doors, using Tesla Vision. Vision has seen some fantastic improvements, and many people are waiting for ASS to bring forth these improvements to Smart Summon.

Smart Summon Today

Today, Smart Summon is sometimes useful at best, usually a party trick, or downright dangerous at worst. It’s excellent and best used in straight lines, where you have a clear line of sight of the vehicle, and can stop it if doesn’t see an obstacle.

I used Smart Summon today, just before writing this article – my 2022 Model Y (with USS) – did manage to show up just fine – in a straight-line location from where I was parked, after exiting the parking spot fairly cleanly. However, I’ve previously used Smart Summon and have had the vehicle turn towards obstacles, such as cart returns or curbs. Overall, it’s a sometimes-useful feature that has a lot of drawbacks right now.

Smart Summon is also restricted to a certain distance – and it's pretty small. The max distance is shorter than most parking lots, being only about 215 ft (65m). If you’re lucky enough to park close, it's very useful to bring your car right to you.

Actually Smart Summon

ASS will bring FSD V12-like capabilities to Smart Summon – the vehicle will primarily use Vision to drive toward you (or the location you’ve indicated). ASS has been supposed to be coming since about September 2022 and has seen many delays – we’re almost at the 2-year point today.

We’re looking forward to Actually Smart Summon being able to bring the vehicle – safely – right to you. ASS is also one of the key steps towards bringing some other cool features that Elon Musk has previously mentioned – Park Seek and Banish Autopark.

We’re also hopeful that Actually Smart Summon will increase the maximum range a vehicle can be summoned, because the current range is fairly small. Alongside Park Seek and Banish Autopark, we’re closing in on a Robotaxi-based future.

Park Seek and Banish Autopark

When the FSD v12.4 showed up, Elon also mentioned that going forward, vehicles would automatically park themselves when arriving in a parking lot – Park Seek – and that if you got out of the car at the entrance to a business, you could get it to automatically park itself in the parking lot – Banish Autopark. These are two features that are needed for Robotaxi to work – which itself is delayed to October 10^th of this year. We’re looking quite forward to them – as in combination with Actually Smart Summon, Tesla has reached the cusp of vehicle autonomy.

A vehicle that arrives, driverless, at the location you’re at, then drives somewhere, parks itself there, and waits for you – is the definition of a Robotaxi.

While we’re likely to have to wait for Banish Autopark and Park Seek just a bit longer, Actually Smart Summon being around the corner is exciting! Gone will be the days of having to run out to your car when you forgot your umbrella – your car will just come right to you instead.

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