After initially unveiling the electric pickup truck in 2019, Tesla has delayed production several times due to supply chain challenges among other economic issues.
While the Cybertruck is going to be built at Giga Texas, Tesla plans to start manufacturing battery packs for the upcoming truck at its Fremont factory, according to Teslarati. It was previously expected that the batteries would be manufactured at Giga Texas, the same factory where the Cybertruck will be assembled however, battery cells and cell pack manufacturing are not yet ready to begin mass production at its newly constructed Gigafactory in Austin, Texas.
Earlier this year, Tesla applied to build a battery and cathode manufacturing facility at Gigafactory Texas. Construction has started but it likely will not be ready in time for the Cybertruck’s projected launch in mid-2023.
Tesla is set to use IDRA's new Giga Press with a clamping force of 9,000 tons to produce the Cybertruck. The new Giga press is comprised of 54 pieces, weighing approximately 170,995 pounds. The Giga Press arrived in Houston, Texas last week and can be expected to reach the Gigafactory in Austin, Texas soon.
IDRA Group is one of Tesla's key suppliers that provide the automaker with giant manufacturing machines. The 6,000-ton Giga Press they constructed gives Tesla the ability to manufacture single-piece ends for the Model Y. Giga Texas will soon receive a 9,000-ton Giga press to manufacture the Cybertruck.
The Q3 earnings release revealed that the Cybertruck is now in the ‘Tooling’ phase of production. The tooling phase is where Tesla starts setting up the machines and production line before a vehicle enters full production. Although production is not fully underway, this is a good sign that Tesla is on track to begin production mid-2023.
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Tesla’s Insurance program is offered in just a few US states - but it offers an integrated and seamless solution since it's built directly into the Tesla app. And now that experience is about to get even better if you own or subscribe to FSD.
With Tesla Insurance, you can view your documents, billing, payment details and even make claims right in the Tesla app. Additionally, Tesla offers varying levels of coverage with different plans, and you can also insure non-Tesla vehicles in addition to your Tesla.
In all states except for California, Tesla uses your Safety Score to help determine your insurance rate. So the safer you drive according to Tesla’s factors - the higher your Safety Score. A higher score means you pay less for insurance, while a lower score increases your rate. Rates can change on a month-to-month basis, so you can adjust your driving to become a safer driver to benefit more.
FSD Discount
Based on information pulled from Tesla’s latest app update - V4.41.0 - it seems that Tesla intends to introduce a new feature. These findings were discovered during a recent decompile of the Tesla app by Tesla App iOS. Tesla’s Safety Score already shows you how much you drive in FSD or Autopilot versus driving manually.
According to the decompiled information, the Safety Score may soon also factor in the percentage of time that you use FSD compared to the time you drive manually. It seems that driving on FSD more often will result in a higher safety score and, therefore, lower your insurance rate.
Sadly, Safety Score is only available to view if you subscribe to Tesla Insurance in a supported state. We’d love to see Tesla bring Safety Score to all users - whether or not they’re eligible or subscribed to Tesla Insurance. Seeing progress bars or seeing statistics improve in real-time can gamify becoming a safer driver.
Cheaper FSD?
This is an interesting change and could potentially even help attract people to use FSD more often. If you could cut your insurance rate by $50 a month and subscribe to FSD for just $99 a month - would that be enough of a positive factor for people to subscribe?
Effectively, if the discount is big enough, it could offset the cost of subscribing to FSD, increasing the revenue for Tesla.
We really hope this is the way Tesla is going because increasing FSD adoption will be key to both increasing real-world training data, as well as accelerating the adoption of a tech that will make roads safer both for FSD users and other road users.
We’re really looking forward to seeing how Tesla implements these changes - and hopefully they bring Tesla Insurance to even more states and countries in the near future.
After a truly long wait, it seems like Tesla is finally implementing Ultra-wideband (UWB) support for Android phones. Ultra-wideband allows for much more accurate phone tracking, leading to new features and a more reliable phone key. Tesla initially rolled out UWB Phone Key and app support for iOS users back with software update 2024.2.3 - which launched in February 2024.
Nearly a year later, we’re finally seeing signs of Tesla adding ultra-wideband support to Android devices. For Android users, this is exciting news, as it could add new features to your vehicle.
Android UWB Flag
A new flag related to ultra-wideband has been found in the latest Tesla app, version 4.41.0, thanks to a decompile by Tesla App iOS.
The new flag is labeled “MOBILE_APP_FEATURE_ANDROID_UWB_ENABLED,” which makes it pretty obvious that it’s related to Android UWB support.
Supported Devices
Most Android phones - especially flagship devices - already support and use UWB for other uses, but it’s not available on all phones. If you have a Google Pixel 6 or higher, Samsung Fold 2 or higher, Samsung S21+, or other recent Android phone, then your phone already supports ultra wideband.
However, since the advantage of UWB is the communication between the phone and the vehicle, your vehicle will need to support UWB as well.
Supported Models
Since ultra-wideband requires specific hardware, it can’t be added in a software update unless the hardware is already in the vehicle. Only some of the latest Tesla vehicles appear to support the new wireless protocol.
Here is the full list of supported Tesla models:
2024 Model 3 (Highland) and later
2021 Model S and later
2021 Model X and later
Cybertruck
2025 Model Y (Juniper) is expected to support UWB
The legacy Model S and Model X, as well as the first-gen Model 3 and current Model Y unfortunately do not support UWB.
More Reliable Phone Key
First up for UWB support is an improved phone key. The addition of UWB provides a low-power way for your vehicle to determine exactly where your device is in relation to your vehicle. That means the phone key will become more reliable - and more precise.
All supported vehicles above will support hands-free trunk opening, while automatic frunk opening is only supported on the Model S, Model X and Cybertruck.
For the first time, Android users will be able to set hands-free options for their vehicles, making it possible to open the trunk simply by standing behind the vehicle for two seconds. Once the vehicle detects you haven’t moved, a beep will sound and the trunk will open.
NFC Prompt
This app update is also adding a new interesting flag called SHOW_NFC_PROMPT. It seems Tesla is going to be adding a prompt to the app that will help people get back into their vehicles when their phone key fails. A device’s NFC capability actually remains active even if the phone has turned off due to a low battery. also remains active if you’ve drained the battery of your phone - so you’ll still be able to get into your vehicle and plop your phone on the charger.
Since Android devices can be set up and used as NFC key cards, you’ll be able to enter your vehicle even if your battery is depleted. This feature flag could be used to display something on your phone when the phone key fails to open the vehicle. It could ask you to use the device’s NFC capabilities or show you where to tap your phone or key card.
Release Date
Unfortunately, there’s no way of telling when this feature will arrive for Android users. However, seeing references in the app at least meaning that Tesla is at least actively developing the feature. While it could arrive any day now via a server-side change, it could also take another month or two for Tesla to complete any required testing across a variety of devices.
