A new photo shows the Cybertruck with ambient lighting
Cybertruck Owners Club
In a whirlwind of tweets, leaks, and updates, the Tesla Cybertruck's progress has seen several revelations. Elon Musk and the Cybertruck are showstoppers and head-turners wherever they appear, but the two were together for a picture posted on X.com that has garnered more than 22.5 million views and counting. Clearly, he wanted to show off his new ride, but Musk is not saying how much it's worth.
Musk Drives the Production Candidate
The CEO of Tesla posted on X.com an image of himself behind the wheel of a "production candidate Cybertruck at Tesla Giga Texas." When queried on the long-awaited details like specs, pricing, and delivery event date, Musk maintained suspense, stating, "When we are ready to do so, we will."
The CEO referred to the Cybertruck as Tesla's best product ever but acknowledged the difficulty in building it due to its unprecedented nature. But that's not all - further insights were provided through emails and other updates.
Ambient Lighting
A new photo posted on Cybertruck Owner's Club has revealed that the Cybertruck will come with ambient lighting wrapping around the cabin.
The photo shows a thin red line along the top portion of the door trim and dashboard.
These lights are likely to be RGB lights like many manufacturers already provide, which will let the driver choose a custom color for the vehicle's interior lighting.
These lights could also be tied in with the lights on the steering wheel and foot wells, giving owners a cohesive look and feel.
Manufacturers typically let users pick a custom color or select one from a predefined list. Given some of Tesla's strong personalization features, such as Color Colorizer, it seems like a safe bet that you'll be able to assign your own RGB color that matches your unique style or mood.
Tesla's Model 3 Project Highland is rumored to come with ambient lighting as well, and this sighting of the feature available on the Cybertruck all but confirms the feature on the upcoming Model 3.
In a leaked email to Tesla employees, Musk emphasized the importance of achieving the best possible build quality. He demanded precision down to the third decimal place in millimeters and specified tolerance in single-digit microns, saying, "Precision predicates perfectionism."
Musk's insistence on quality control can be understood in the context of previous challenges with the Model 3 and Model Y at launch. The Cybertruck's unique design, involving stainless steel with straight edges, makes any variation highly noticeable.
Cybertruck Delivery Event - Invitations Through Referrals
An intriguing twist in the Cybertruck saga is the opportunity to earn an invitation to the Cybertruck delivery event through the Tesla referral program. Owners in the U.S. can redeem 30,000 credits (equivalent to about $2,000 USD in rewards) for an invitation with a plus one.
The invitations are limited and given out on a first-come, first-served basis, although additional tickets will be released as the event approaches. The "price" of the ticket provides an indirect reference to the delivery event's imminent occurrence, possibly in late Q3. The incentive is not available to Canadians, so, ahem, if you're looking for a plus one — I know a guy!
Cybertruck's Production Evolution — From RC to PC
The Cybertruck's production line at Giga Texas has been busy building what is known as a release candidate (RC) builds for testing and validation. Recently, Musk referred to the vehicle he drove as a production candidate (PC), typically a final version matching what customers will receive. With Musk testing the PC version, it is suggested that deliveries could happen as soon as late September, although final specs and pricing remain unknown.
Cybertruck's unconventional structure has thrown up some significant challenges, from body sealing issues to achieving unprecedented manufacturing accuracy. These have been pivotal in understanding the recent delay and the drive towards perfectionism that Musk demands. The pricing remains an enigma, only adding to the allure of the Cybertruck. The official release of this unique vehicle, along with all its specifications and details, will undoubtedly be a historic moment in the automotive industry.
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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.
Yeah, I wouldn’t count on this in 12.3.x, but 12.4 is a big improvement and 12.5 might nail it
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.
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.
TeslaFi logs your drives and charging sessions, letting you keep a log of your vehice's activity. We highly recommend checking them out if you use your car for business trips and would like to keep track of reimbursements, if you like to see how much you spend on charging or if you just love statistics. Visit their site and see everything they have to offer!
Tesla Android Project enables you to run Android apps in your Tesla. The platform is Open Source and you can deploy it on your own Raspberry Pi 4. Consider supporting the initiative by donating or purchasing the Compute Module 4 Bundle that delivers the best experience. Get $20 off by using the code: NotATeslaApp
The official Tesla app only notifies you if your car is broken into. By installing Sentry Pro on your phone, you will be notified for all Sentry Mode events. Stay connected and avoid potential surprises by receiving notifications. Stop constantly checking the cameras to ensure safety. Check only when necessary, save battery and get peace of mind. Get a 7 day free trial here!
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