Tesla Cybertruck Shown Off With Possible Ventilated Seats, Camera Cleaner and More [Video]

By Kevin Armstrong
The Cybertruck appears to feature ventilated seats
The Cybertruck appears to feature ventilated seats
Ryan Zohoury

The Petersen Automotive Museum's inaugural Electrified Cars & Coffee meet was memorable. Tesla's much-anticipated Cybertruck rolled into the spotlight. The star-studded truck was helmed by none other than Tesla's Chief Designer, Franz von Holzhausen. He drove the eye-catching electric pickup truck to the event and served as the host of Petersen’s first-ever EV-only Cruise-In.

Ventilated Seats and More: Unveiling Cybertruck's Interior Updates

As the electric vehicle community delved into the details, an intriguing feature stood out - the Cybertruck appeared to flaunt ventilated seats. Further, the vehicle's fit and finish looked polished, suggesting that the Cybertruck seen at the event could be a near-final production model. Attendees also noticed a significant refinement in the truck's fully constructed interior.

Redesigned 'Vault' and Other Noteworthy Exterior Details

The Cybertruck's unique 'vault' - its bed - appeared to have undergone some design tweaks. Observers noted the presence of a slot close to the tailgate, hinting at potential outlets in the truck bed. The charge port, a key element in any EV, was seen on the Cybertruck's rear fender, departing from the original 2019 prototype design. The lighted Cybertruck logo replaces the traditional Tesla logo on the NACS port - a fun Easter egg for fans.

Forward-Thinking Design for Optimum Functionality

This Cybertruck features a hole above the front bumper camera
This Cybertruck features a hole above the front bumper camera
maddass1218/Twitter

The red-tinted cameras of the Cybertruck suggest that the vehicle will be armed with Tesla’s Hardware 4 computer and cameras, elevating its autonomous driving capabilities. Another eye-catching design detail was the front bumper camera equipped with an overhead slot, possibly designed to wash the sensor if it gets covered with dirt or mud.

As the EV community eagerly waits for the official rollout, these latest updates from the Petersen Automotive Museum event showcase the significant progress Cybertruck has made since its 2019 debut. These enhancements underline Tesla's relentless pursuit of innovation, delivering more than expected while staying true to their unique design language.

The ventilated seats and revamped 'vault' are just a peek into what's in store for future Cybertruck owners. They're a testament to Tesla's dedication to combining luxury, convenience, and sustainability in their vehicles. And with Franz von Holzhausen at the design helm, there's no telling what other surprises may be in store as the Cybertruck gets closer to production.

Tesla Full Self-Driving to Recognize Hand Gestures in Upcoming Update, According to Employee

By Karan Singh
Tesla has been improving its FSD features since introducing it in 2016
Tesla has been improving its FSD features since introducing it in 2016
Tesla

Previously, the Tesla X account shared a video where FSD V12 appeared to consider a pedestrian’s hand gestures when navigating. Elon Musk also confirmed on X that hand gesture recognition would be improved in V12.4, and even better by V12.5.

Tesla has had plans for gesture recognition for many years, with Musk mentioning hand gesture recognition in 2021. FSD is supposed to be able to adapt to new and unique circumstances in a safe manner, whether following instructions from a police officer, or understanding the hand signals from a cyclist.

Boris Johnson and FSD

Boris Johnson, the ex-Prime Minister of the UK, recently got to experience FSD V12 in the crowded streets of LA, with his wife and child in the backseat. Tesla provided a vehicle and assistant for his self-driven experience through 5-road intersections, heavy traffic, and pedestrians.

At the end of about 45 minutes I feel like a driving test examiner – except that I want to tell the car that it has passed, with flying colours. -Boris Johnson

Gestures coming soon

Johnson had a single experience with hand gestures in his drive – being waved at a hotel. While the car didn’t recognize the gesture – even on FSD V12.3.6 – the Tesla official in the vehicle confirmed that “‘It doesn’t yet recognise that gesture, but we are fixing it for the next iteration. It should be done next month.”.

It’s not immediately clear whether the Tesla employee is referring to FSD v12.4, which is expected to start rolling out to the public later this week, or Tesla’s next major FSD release, V12.5. According to Musk, V12.5 is expected to handle much more complicated situations and even start vehicle-to-fleet communication.

Solving FSD

When you’re tackling a problem like FSD, which has never been solved before, you sometimes have to pivot and realize there’s a better approach. That’s what Tesla has done with FSD and AI. Just a few years ago where people thought cars would need to be able to read signs to achieve autonomy, but with the latest approach, there’s no need to. As long as the vehicle has seen a specific sign before and has enough examples, it’s already trained on what humans do when such a sign is found. The same will be true for hand gestures, the vehicle won’t need to know what each hand gesture means, it’ll just recognize that when a current gesture is made, this is how the vehicle should react.

Tesla does this by feeding it millions of examples of very specific situations and AI recognizes patterns. This is an example where Tesla leverages fleet data. They can easily capture millions of examples of hand gestures and how humans reacted, and feed that to their AI training model.

As Tesla processes more video, FSD will continue to improve. Tesla is expected to spend $10 billion on AI this year alone, most of it going toward improving FSD.

Rivian to Add Google Cast and Native YouTube App, Will Tesla Respond?

By Not a Tesla App Staff

Coming to Rivian vehicles over a software update is Google Cast and YouTube support, which will allow for seamless, high-quality content streaming to Rivian vehicles.

This is a big step forward for Rivian’s software integration, especially compared to Tesla, which has yet to integrate native apps or release the long-rumored Tesla native app store.

Google Cast

Google Cast is Google’s version of Apple AirPlay which is supported in a variety of audio and video streaming apps such as Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, and more. By using a supported app, a user will be able to cast content directly to Rivian’s main 15.6” center screen.

Like Casting to a TV or Smart Device at home, this will allow you to play, pause, or skip back and forth using the vehicle’s touchscreen. Google Casting automatically pauses when the vehicle shifts into Drive.

Native YouTube App

Alongside Google Cast, Rivian is also bringing a native YouTube app to vehicles, enabling users to access YouTube’s video and music library from anywhere with a data connection. These features will be integrated right into Rivian’s vehicle operating system, which means they will receive regular software updates, and not be reliant on browser-based capabilities.

Similar to casting content, YouTube content will also automatically pause when the vehicle is shifted into Drive.

Tesla Equivalents

For the time being, there is no way to AirPlay or Cast video from a phone or tablet to Tesla’s front or rear screens. However, for some apps such as YouTube, you can send the video URL to the vehicle and have it open the YouTube app to that video.

To do this, open the YouTube app and find a video. Once you’d like to share it with the vehicle you can tap on share. You’ll then need to share it with the Tesla app which will then send it to your vehicle. On iPhones this requires you to scroll to the right and tap on More, which brings up the native sharing screen and has the Tesla app.

However, this is far more limited than including AirPlay or Google Cast support which will work for practically and video, even personal videos in your photo library.

Elon Musk mentioned back in 2016 that Tesla would add mirroring of phone apps to the center screen, but that has yet to materialize. More recently Musk mentioned a native X App coming to Tesla vehicles.

Tesla Theater

Tesla Theater allows users to stream videos from various platforms, including YouTube, but these are web-based applications, with no native applications available. This leaves some marked limitations on usability.

Tesla most recently announced in their 2024.14 update that the browser will be able to be expanded to full-screen mode when parked, enabling more access to streaming services on the web. Meanwhile, Google Cast and Apple Airplay continue to remain highly requested features.

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