Tesla to Start Rendering Trailers and Cybertrucks in Visualizations

By Karan Singh
@kedlinco

Back in 2020, Elon Musk said that Tesla would start rendering other Teslas within the Autopilot/FSD visualization on screen. Almost five years after Musk’s original comment, this idea may finally come to realization — at least partially. Tesla may not add vehicle color renderings like originally planned, but it looks like we may at least be getting the Cybertruck rendered on the screen, along with a few other items.

Rendering Vehicles

Wes Morrill, Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, mentioned that displaying Cybertrucks on the in-vehicle visualization will get added to Tesla’s list of upcoming features. However, it looks like Tesla has a few other items to add to visualizations as well.

Another visualization Wes mentions is getting trailers to render on the screen properly instead of being displayed as a truck or semi. For drivers who partially depend on the visualization while driving, this could be a helpful change.

This also means Tesla has the visual bandwidth to identify and categorize vehicles more closely than the generic “car” or “truck” we see today.

Musk’s Original Comment

While Musk’s original comment back in 2020 called for rendering all Teslas in their proper colors on the screen, this is unlikely to be what Tesla is going for here. Tesla’s original plan likely caused too much clutter or distractions in the visualization, preventing drivers from being able to quickly identify critical items. Tesla currently uses colors to categorize different things, such as a light gray vehicle meaning the vehicle is parked, or a dark gray vehicle being a lead vehicle.

If you’re interested in all of Tesla’s visualizations and what they mean, such as a blue car, take a look at our guide that lists all of Tesla’s visualizations and what they mean.

Regarding rendering Teslas in the vehicle visualization, Wes’ comment on X leaves a little up to interpretation. It’s not clear whether Tesla is only going to add the Cybertruck or potentially other Teslas as well to the visualization. We don’t believe they’ll add colors for the reasons above, but we’ll have to wait to see what they roll out in the future.

Depending on how far Tesla goes with these visualizations, the type of MCU in your vehicle could play a role in whether they’re included in your car.

How Tesla Identifies Objects

Tesla uses a rather complex system that quickly compares objects on the road to their nearest estimated shapes, and displays that on the visualization, which is why you can get some oddities like people with shopping carts looking like they’re riding motorcycles or bicycles in a parking lot.

Having further optimization on that aspect also means more system accuracy  - something Tesla has been striving for, especially to improve Actually Smart Summon and eventually bring Banish to the FSD feature set.

Tesla Teases New 7-Seat Model Y

By Karan Singh
The third row in the first-generation Model Y
The third row in the first-generation Model Y
Not a Tesla App

In a move that’s sure to excite those with larger families, Tesla has started teasing the return of the seven-seat configuration for the Model Y. In a new marketing email sent out to customers recently, Tesla explicitly highlights the vehicle’s spaciousness.

“Ready for anything with long range, seating for up to seven, and enough room for everyone’s gear.”

The seven-seat Model Y was initially offered in late 2021, but it hasn’t been available since Spring 2023. The return of the new variant will be an addition that many have been waiting for, as the next vehicle with that much passenger space in the line-up is the Model X, starting at almost double the price.

First-Gen Model Y Third Row

The original seven-seat Model Y was extremely popular in the Asia-Pacific and European markets, and it still sold fairly well in North America despite differences in preferred vehicle sizing and spaciousness. It offers additional seats for larger families with young children, but space in the third row is minimal.

The seven-seat variant makes the Model Y more competitive against other three-row SUVs on the market. The video below features the seven-seater, first-generation Model Y.

Power Reclining Third Row?

The refreshed Model Y was launched with power-reclining second-row seats, a huge plus for practicality and ease of use. The power-reclining second-row seats are extremely popular with families and are very helpful, as you can control them from the front screen rather than needing to open the rear doors.

Tesla is likely to integrate power-reclining seats into the third row and potentially keep them for the second row as well. With the second row sliding forward and backward for easy entry, as well as allowing the second and third rows to fold flat for additional cargo room when needed.

Launch Date and Price

Tesla’s tease of the seven-seat variant is likely just the start. With recent sightings of the Model Y Performance variant hitting the Nürburgring, it seems Tesla has a lot in store for this summer. If you’ve been waiting for the seven-seat variant, it seems like it’ll be just a few short months away at this rate.

While we haven’t seen any production samples or other details regarding dates yet, Tesla previously priced the seven-seat option at an additional $2,000 USD ($3,000 CAD). The seven-seat option will likely only be available on the Long Range AWD and Long Range RWD variants, not the Performance model, similar to the first-generation Model Y.

Tesla’s First Autonomous Vehicle Delivery to Happen on June 28th

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

In Elon’s flurry of posts on X about FSD yesterday, he also revealed the date that another moment of peak science fiction would be occurring — June 28th. Tesla expects to conduct the first-ever self-delivery, where a brand-new Model Y will depart from the production line and arrive directly at its new owner’s home without any human intervention.

Imagine ordering a vehicle, and a few days later, rather than needing to pick it up, it simply arrives in your driveway and notifies you via an app that it has arrived. That’s no longer the talk of science fiction; it is quite literally something that is likely to happen this month.

Expect a Model Y Delivery in Austin

Considering everything Tesla has done so far, we’re fairly certain that the first self-delivered vehicle will be a Model Y in Austin, in the same geo-fenced area where Tesla’s Robotaxi will operate. FSD is highly optimized for the Model Y, and it’ll take some time for those optimizations to trickle down to the rest of the fleet. It’s not clear if FSD performs better on the Model Y because it’s the most popular vehicle and, therefore, Tesla has the most data for it or if Tesla explicitly chose to focus more on their most popular vehicle.

Why Self-Delivery?

While a car driving itself is something truly different from what other manufacturers offer, there are also numerous strategic advantages for Tesla to do so. This includes drastically reducing last-mile delivery costs by minimizing the need for car carriers, delivery drivers, and even delivery personnel at your local Tesla center. For customers, it could mean a faster, more flexible delivery method - and one absolutely unforgettable welcome to Tesla ownership.

We recently took a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of vehicles delivering themselves to customers. While it’s all positive for Tesla, there are some potentially negative sides to it as well.

A Futuristic Glimpse

When you step back and look at it, Self-Delivery is a logical extension of Unsupervised FSD and the Robotaxi network in general. Self-deliveries are expected to run on the same software stack that powers the Model Ys currently roaming Austin’s streets autonomously, which means there is little for Tesla to do other than enable specific instructions for self-delivery during the final vehicle configuration steps.

Robotaxis currently run a newer version of FSD than what’s available to the public, but these self-delivered vehicles will likely be on the same version when they’re delivered.

Given Elon’s note that the dates could shift, this could easily be moved to early July; however, either way, it seems like we’re just weeks away from this monumental event, which will further reduce the cost of Tesla vehicles.

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