New Tesla Cybertruck Details Suggest Price, Ventilated Seats, and Lack of Exoskeleton

Close-ups of the Cybertruck frame and seats reveal several bits of information

Tesla

Tesla's Cybertruck transitions from concept to reality, and a buzz of excitement and speculation surrounds this revolutionary vehicle. The Cybertruck, with its audacious design and promises of unrivaled performance, is steadily approaching its first deliveries.

With the recent roll-off of the first production unit at the Gigafactory in Texas, many are left wondering about the remaining unknowns, particularly its pricing and features. As we inch closer to the release date, every tweet from Elon Musk or leak from the Tesla factory adds another piece to the puzzle. This article seeks to piece together all the recent clues we've garnered about the Tesla Cybertruck, from potential price points to exclusive design features.

Anticipated Pricing for the Cybertruck

Tesla's anticipated beast, the Cybertruck, has been under a shroud of mystery since its unveiling in late 2019, especially regarding its pricing. However, CEO Elon Musk's recent comment on the Ford F-150 Lightning could be a hint towards the Cybertruck's price point. Yesterday he tweeted:

The Ford Lightning is a good vehicle, just somewhat expensive, especially given the high interest rates these days for any kind of loan.

This comment came after Ford dropped the price of the truck by $10,000; it now starts at $49,995.

Cybertruck Ventilated Seats

A recent video from Tesla showcases its rigorous seat testing procedures (video below). But it didn't take long for viewers to spot the seats from the Cybertruck. With their distinctive angular control buttons and design, these seats were designed to match the truck's futuristic look. The seats appear to be ventilated, a feature currently exclusive to the Model S and Model X, although it's rumored to be available on the refreshed Model 3 as well. As Tesla prepares for the Cybertruck's initial deliveries, this video hints at the comfort and luxury potential owners can expect.

Our seat testing robot performs 50k ingress/egress cycles, equivalent to a lifetime of use ? pic.twitter.com/qnW3AEjaGA

— Tesla (@Tesla) July 17, 2023

Cybertruck Exoskeleton Scrapped?

The Cybertruck has been the subject of much speculation due to its unique exoskeleton design. Photos from the Gigafactory in Texas reveal the inner structure of the pickup and confirm it is not an exoskeleton. Sandy Munro, who goes by teardown titan on Twitter, confirmed as much in a video he posted. He believes the exoskeleton attempt may have been why the truck was so delayed and also speculated that the company likely went with a different design for safety reasons.

A Notable Omission - The Missing Midgate

The Cybertruck production line images reveal another unexpected detail - the absence of a midgate or cargo tunnel. This eliminates the potential for extended hauling lengths and may disappoint those looking to use the pickup as an overlander for camping.

No Right-Hand Drive Variant in Sight

Detailed photos of the Cybertruck's frame seem to confirm a key detail - the all-electric pickup truck's firewall is asymmetrical, indicating that it might only be available in Left Hand Drive variants, at least initially. This would mean reservation holders in RHD countries will have to wait a bit longer to get their hands on this game-changing pickup.

As the Tesla Cybertruck inches closer to its final reveal and first deliveries, these emerging details hint at what potential owners can expect from this highly anticipated electric pickup. With the official reveal expected this quarter, we're eagerly waiting to see one with our own eyes!

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Tesla Introduces Hands-Free Frunk Opening in Update 2024.32.3

Not a Tesla App

In Tesla’s upcoming update, 2024.32.3, Tesla has added hands-free support for opening the vehicle’s frunk. This follows the Spring Update (2024.14), which added Hands-Free Trunk support for certain vehicles.

When hands-free trunk support was added earlier this year, it was supported on vehicles that include an ultra wideband chip, which includes the refresh Model S, new Model X, and the 2024 Model 3. Due to the hardware requirement, these will be the same vehicles that support the new Hands-Free Frunk feature. Legacy vehicles without UWB will unfortunately not support either feature due to the hardware requirement. UWB enables far more accurate tracking of the phone key, allowing Tesla to pinpoint its exact location relative to the vehicle.

The Cybertruck interestingly also includes an ultra wideband chip, however, it didn’t include the automatic opening of the gate earlier this year. However, we expect the Cybertruck to also receive the hands-free frunk opening in this 2024.32.3 update or relatively soon afterward.

Update: The Cybertruck is receiving hands-free frunk support in the 2024.32 update as well.

Hands-Free Frunk

The Hands-Free Frunk works similarly to the trunk feature – with an iPhone 11+ and a recent version of the app, you’ll be able to stand in front of your vehicle, and the Frunk will unlatch after sounding a chime. On some vehicles, the frunk will immediately open after being unlatched, however, you’ll need to manually close it.

This new feature isn’t enabled by default – you’ll need to go to Settings > Locks > Hands-Free Frunk to enable it.

At this time, Tesla doesn’t support UWB on Android devices, though both the Hands-Free Trunk and Hands-Free Frunk support will come to Android users in a future app update, according to Tesla.

Exclude Home

With the addition of the hands-free frunk opening, Tesla has also added a new option. You can now choose to disable the automatic opening when your vehicle is located at home to prevent you from accidentally opening. This will apply to the automatic frunk and trunk. In addition, in the Model X, you’ll also be able to disable the self-presenting doors at home. This is a great addition as many people have kept the hands-free feature disabled due to it awkwardly opening in the garage.

In the 2024.32.3 update, Tesla also mentions that they’ve improved the detection of the phone key, which should make the feature more reliable and faster when approaching the vehicle from the front or rear.

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Tesla’s Referral Program Launches in Europe

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Following its recent launch in the United States and Canada, Tesla has launched their referral program in several European countries as well.

The program is available in Germany, Norway, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and possibly others. The program is almost the same as the one available today in North America, with rewards for each referral and a discount for those referred. The cap in Europe is also ten per year.

This program comes right on the heels of a 0% financing offer for the Model Y in Sweden and France. While referrals aren't currently available in Sweden, the 0% financing still is.

European Referrals

The European Referral program accounts for country and local currency, where applicable.

The referral reward program is comparable to the one available in North America. After exchange rates, there is only an approximately 10% difference between the available rewards in the US and EU.

Other Countries

We expect this program to start rolling out to other European countries over the next few days or weeks, as Tesla continues to expand its referral program.

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