Preorders for the Cybertruck Reopened in Canada and Mexico

Cybertruck becomes available for preorder in Canada

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Get your credit card ready because Tesla has made Cybertruck available for order on their website in Canada. For just $150 CAD, you can join the waitlist for this one-of-a-kind truck that Elon Musk plans to have as his daily ride. Why wouldn't he? It boasts better utility than a regular truck and more performance than a sports car.

Reservations for the futuristic Cybertruck were first opened in late 2019, with the reservation list believed to be over 2 million when it disappeared from the website. However, Tesla has now added the Cybertruck to its top menu bar in Canada, alongside the Model S, 3, X, and Y, allowing customers to check out images of the stainless-steel beast and learn more about it.

The beta version of the Cybertruck was on display at Investor Day, giving us a closer look at its new steering wheel, front bumper camera, rear display and more. The website lists some of the features of the Cybertruck, including its exoskeleton design made from ultra-hard 30X cold-rolled stainless steel, which provides ultimate durability and passenger protection. The Tesla armor glass and polymer-layered composite ensure the vehicle can absorb and redirect impact force, making it more damage-tolerant than traditional vehicles.

The Cybertruck is not just a rugged vehicle; it's also versatile, with up to 3,500 pounds of payload capacity, adjustable air suspension, onboard power and compressed air. It has a towing capability of over 14,000 pounds. In addition to its impressive cargo capacity, it has plenty of storage space with 100 cubic feet of exterior lockable storage. The under-bed, frunk, and sail pillars provide additional storage space.

Of course, being a Tesla, the Cybertruck's performance features acceleration from 0-60 mph in as little as 2.9 seconds and has a range of up to 500 miles.

The Cybertruck is expected to start production at the facility in Austin, Texas this summer. But a full ramp-up is not expected until 2024. The future of pickups is here, and Cybertruck is leading the way.

Tesla Increases Price of Model S; Starts Offering Free Lifetime Supercharging

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For the first time in quite a while, Tesla has increased the price of one of its vehicle offerings. The Model S Long Range and the Model S Plaid have both received a hefty price increase. However, not all is bad - as Tesla also added a new benefit for buyers.

Price Increase

The price increase for the Model S is $5,000 - currently only in the United States. This price increase will likely impact other markets, including Canada, in the coming days.

The Model S Long Range now starts at $79,990, while the Model S Plaid now starts at $94,990. The Model S and Model X now have the same starting price. Interestingly, that’s also the same pricing point for the Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast Trimotor non-Foundation Series. 

The vehicle configuration does not appear to have changed, so the new pricing is simply an increase rather than the addition or removal of features. Tesla previously cut the price of the Model S and Model X by 15% in 2023, so this could simply be an adjustment to ensure that the vehicle pricing stays in line with inflation and other factors.

Free Lifetime Supercharging

For those on the fence about ordering a Model S, Tesla has brought back Free Lifetime Supercharging when you order a new Model S on or after December 13, 2024. As always, Free Lifetime Supercharging is restricted to the buyer’s Tesla account and to that specific vehicle. It cannot be transferred to another vehicle or another owner after ownership transfer. It’s worth noting, that it also doesn’t exclude the owner from receiving Supercharger idle fees or congestion fees. There is currently no end date for this promotion.

There are currently no changes to the Model X, neither a price increase nor the addition of Lifetime Superchargering. However, when Tesla makes changes to one of their premium vehicles, it usually affects the other one as well. So be on the lookout for potential changes to the Model X offering in the coming days.

We’ve seen Tesla value Lifetime Supercharging at $5,000, so this falls in line with the price increase we’re seeing. It’s possible that Tesla will begin to bring back Lifetime Supercharging as a perk for buying into their more premium Model S and Model X cars, or this could be another temporary promotion to get buyers who are on the fence to go ahead and make their purchase while this promotion lasts.

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Tesla’s Optimus Robot Learns to Walk Without Vision [VIDEO]

Optimus Falls - but catches itself!

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Tesla recently showed off a demo of Optimus, its humanoid robot, walking around in moderately challenging terrain—not on a flat surface but on dirt and slopes. These things can be difficult for a humanoid robot, especially during the training cycle.

Daily walks help clear your mind pic.twitter.com/dUsW58trS6

— Tesla Optimus (@Tesla_Optimus) December 9, 2024

A Look Behind the Curtain

Most interestingly, Milan Kovac, VP of Engineering for Optimus, clarified what it takes to get Optimus to this stage. Let’s break down what he said.

Optimus is Blind

Optimus is getting seriously good at walking now - it can keep its balance over uneven ground - even while walking blind. Tesla is currently using just the sensors, all powered by a neural net running on the embedded computer. 

Essentially, Tesla is building Optimus from the ground up, relying on as much additional data as possible while it trains vision. This is similar to how they train FSD on vehicles, using LiDAR rigs to validate the vision system’s accuracy. While Optimus doesn’t have LiDAR, it relies on all those other sensors on board, many of which will likely become simplified as vision takes over as the primary sensor.

Today, Optimus is walking blind, but it’s able to react almost instantly to changes in the terrain underneath it, even if it falls or slips. 

What’s Next?

Next up, Tesla AI will be adding vision to Optimus - helping complete the neural net. Remember, Optimus runs on the same overall AI stack as FSD - in fact, Optimus uses an FSD computer and an offshoot of the FSD stack for vision-based tasks.

Milan mentions they’re planning on adding vision to help the robot plan ahead and improve its walking gait. While the zombie shuffle is iconic and a little bit amusing, getting humanoid robots to walk like humans is actually difficult.

There’s plenty more, too - including better responsiveness to velocity and direction commands and learning to fall and stand back up. Falling while protecting yourself to minimize damage is something natural to humans - but not exactly natural to something like a robot. Training it to do so is essential in keeping the robot, the environment around it, and the people it is interacting with safe.

We’re excited to see what’s coming with Optimus next because it is already getting started in some fashion in Tesla’s factories.

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