Cybertruck Foundation Series Offered to Early Reservation Holders: $120K, Lifetime Connectivity and More

December 6, 2023

By Kevin Armstrong

Tesla is offering the Cybertruck Foundation Series to its first customers

Paul / niccruzpatane/X

The first Cybertrucks will be part of a limited edition called the Cybertruck Foundation Series. Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane), unearthed source code showing that this limited edition, fully optioned series will offer a suite of premium accessories and features.

According to some early Cybertruck reservation holders, they’re now being invited to configure their Cybertruck Foundation Series at a price of $119,990.

Lifetime Premium Connectivity and Accessories

One of the most notable inclusions in the Foundation Series is the lifetime premium connectivity. This feature currently costs $99 a year. The only other vehicles that include free premium connectivity for the life of the vehicle are vehicles ordered before June 2018. After this date Tesla introduced the premium connectivity package for $10/month or $99/year. By reintroducing it as a lifetime offering, Tesla is enhancing the value proposition of the Cybertruck, possibly saving owners $1,000 or more over the vehicle’s life.

PowerShare: The Next Level in EV Technology

In addition to this, the series comes with an updated universal wall connector with “PowerShare” capabilities. It also includes a new PowerShare mobile connector, which Tesla has yet to unveil.

The new universal wall connector with PowerShare capabilities is a standout feature. This innovative technology allows the Cybertruck to receive power and send it back to the home. It transforms the vehicle into a mobile power source, a concept that blurs the lines between automotive and home energy solutions.

Similarly, the new PowerShare mobile connector is a step forward in bi-directional charging technology. There’s little that’s known about this new mobile connector, but some text on Tesla’s site reveals that there will be outlets on the connector itself. This will allow owners can hook up devices directly, using the Cybertruck as an alternative to traditional generators. This feature particularly appeals to outdoor enthusiasts and professionals requiring portable power solutions.

Although details are scarce, the PowerShare home backup seems to be the final piece in Tesla's puzzle to enable the Cybertruck to power a home. This feature would control and limit when the Cybertruck could feed energy back into the house. These new features could position the Cybertruck as a critical component in home energy management, especially in emergencies or off-grid living.

The exclusive badging on the Cybertruck Foundation Series and Cyberbeast

Not a Tesla App

Also, there is a mention of Exclusive badges, which seems a little off-brand considering there are no logos or badging on the vehicle, as the Cybertruck doesn’t need it. Foundation Series trucks will have the words Foundation Series in a Cybertruck-typical font displayed on the vehicle’s fender. There will also be a special “badge” for Cyberbeast on the bottom right of the tailgate, which will three wolf-like heads joined together.

Community Response

The announcements has many enthusiasts expressing eagerness to configure their truck; however, others are understandably shocked at the price and are ready to wait for prices to fall in the future.

Tesla Accelerates India Entry: Eyes Gigafactory India

May 15, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s much-anticipated official entry into the Indian market appears to be shifting to a higher gear, with recent reports from Business Standard (paywall) indicating that Tesla is now looking into establishing Gigafactory India. Business Standard points to Tesla exploring land options in Satara, Maharashtra.

Satara is about 250km (155 mi) from the Port of Mumbai, placing it in an excellent location to easily receive parts and materials from other countries, as well as ship completed vehicles elsewhere around the world. The potential facility is reportedly planned as a “Completely Knocked Down” or CKD assembly plant, which means that Tesla would import parts and then assemble them locally.

This is key to Tesla’s strategy in addressing India’s traditionally high import tariffs on fully built vehicles, which have been a major hurdle for Tesla in the past. This push aligns with India’s updated EV policy, which calls for reduced import duties on EVs priced at $35,000 USD or above for companies that commit to investing at least $500m USD in local manufacturing facilities between 2024 and 2027.

According to the report, Tesla is prepared to invest substantially more, with figures around $2-3 billion USD cited for a plant capable of doing final assembly on up to 500,000 vehicles. Tesla supposedly aims to roll out the first locally assembled vehicle from the facility no later than March 2026.

Building the Indian Foundation

Beyond just manufacturing plans, Tesla has been actively laying the groundwork for its future Indian operations. Tesla has reportedly finalized leases for its first showrooms in Mumbai and Delhi - two of the largest cities in India. An office space in Mumbai to headquarter Indian operations is also on that leasing list.

Tesla has also begun to hire its initial tranche of employees, with over 30 positions already posted. Tesla is also hiring Autopilot Vehicle Operators in several locations, indicating that Tesla intends to test at least the FSD suite in one of the most complex traffic situations around the world.

Elon Musk also confirmed that he plans to visit India and speak to the Indian Prime Minister, likely to broker a deal focusing on building out Tesla’s presence and bringing new technology to the country.

The road to India has not been without its complexities. Reports confirmed the resignation of Prashanth Menon, Tesla's India head, with oversight of Indian operations temporarily shifting to Tesla's China team. Furthermore, earlier discussions with potential joint venture partners, such as Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering for land acquisition, reportedly did not materialize, leading Tesla to explore other avenues and locations like Satara.

Despite all the setbacks, Tesla’s efforts indicate that they are more determined than ever to make a formal and official entry into the Indian market.

Tesla's Spring Update Tear Down: New Grok Code, Ridesharing Features and More

May 15, 2025

By Karan Singh

Not a Tesla App

Tesla’s software updates often contain far more than the release notes show, whether they’re undocumented features or preparation for the next big thing. The 2025 Spring Update is no exception - it’s filled with undocumented changes and, of course, new, inaccessible code that points to upcoming features.

Tesla hacker greentheonly on X has been digging into update 2025.14 and found some intriguing additions and hints about what’s coming next, so let’s take a look.

Grok Incoming

New hidden UI elements have been found pointing towards the integration of a Grok-powered smart assistant for Teslas. This includes references to a “personality” button, just like the Grok app. Tesla is likely hard at work on an advanced conversational AI and integrating the ability to control your vehicle.

Grok is the smart assistant that’s expected to replace the ancient voice commands that are available today. However, expect anything beyond vehicle commands to require Tesla’s Premium Connectivity.

While none of these new elements are active just yet, it is a good indication that it is likely on its way quite soon.

Siren Detection UI Removed

Code related to user-facing elements for siren detection has now been removed. We’ve confirmed that the orange dot is still in place with the Spring Update, but elements related to future changes and a UI for siren detection have since been removed from the code base.

Removals don’t indicate much - Tesla could be refactoring the code while they’re working on this or have changed directions on how to implement a future.

Insights into the New Dashcam Viewer

More significantly, for users on HW3, Green reported that the newly improved Dashcam Viewer isn’t just an improved version of the video viewer, but it was built from the ground up, and it’s now web-based. This technical detail explains why the updated viewer is only rolling out to AMD Ryzen vehicles and not older, Intel-based vehicles. HTML-based apps are often quicker to develop but usually require more resources to perform smoothly, which may be why we’re seeing the Ryzen infotainment system requirement.

This likely means that the new Dashcam Viewer won’t arrive on Intel vehicles in a future update unless Tesla can optimize the viewer enough to perform adequately on the older hardware.

HW3 vehicles already missed out on the new B-pillar recording feature. While Green thinks it’s technically possible to bring this feature to HW3 cars, unknown technical issues are likely preventing it. Older HW3 vehicles without a USB port in the glovebox only include USB 2 ports, limiting bandwidth, which could be one of the reasons, among others.

New Key Types

Perhaps a hint at Tesla’s third-party Robotaxi fleet ambitions, Tesla is building out new types of keys.

Rider Keys: These new keys appear to be designed to allow designated riders to access vehicles that are operating in “fleet mode.” This functionality sounds very much like what will be needed to allow Robotaxi customers to access a vehicle temporarily while they’re being given a ride.

Pre-Delivery Keys: Another new key type found is “pre-delivery.” While we don’t have an exact purpose nailed down quite yet, we’re assuming this could potentially allow new owners limited access to their vehicles for inspection prior to officially accepting delivery.

That’s plenty of interesting stuff found in the 2025 Spring Update - and we’re excited to see even more in just a few short weeks once Tesla launches their Robotaxi network in Austin.