The Cybertruck Supercharging from overhead gives us a closer look at its massive dashboard
JoeTegtmeyer / randomness2646
Recent sightings and leaks have once again ramped up excitement and speculation around Tesla's Cybertruck. This time it's the frunk, or for the non-EV crowd, the big empty space under the hood where the engine used to be. Here's what the Cybertruck's frunk might entail.
Speculations and Early Sightings
Since Cybertruck first appeared on stage in 2019, the frunk seemed massive. However, it is hard to judge this book by the cover, and there's no telling what engineers need to do with the space between the driver's cabin and the front bumper. Then Ford's Lightning upped the ante with a significant frunk on the electric F-150. An image last month seemed to deflate those gigantic expectations as it appeared to show a downsized frunk. Many may have missed it because you were likely looking at the F-150 wrap on the Cybertruck.
Now, new images have appeared thanks to Joe Tegtmeyer and his drone flyover of Giga, Texas. Before we talk frunk, take a look at the size of the dashboard. They should consider putting some solar panels on that thing. Also, notice the frunk liner in the back of the truck.
There are also videos from inside the factory, showing off the Cybertruck's frunk. Yes, someone is risking their job to provide these images to the world. It's a fresh perspective on the frunk's size. The frunk spans the entire front of the vehicle, giving us quite a bit more width and height than anticipated, although the depth of the frunk still seems limited. With the front of the frunk lifting up with the hood, it'll also make loading items into the frunk easier than other Teslas.
Closer to Production
With the Cybertruck seen charging at the solar-panel canopied Supercharging station at Gigafactory Texas, complete with plastic still on the seats and new vehicle barcode labels, it's apparent that the journey towards mass production is underway. The sightings of several Cybertrucks, either test mules or ready for delivery, inside the Gigafactory, suggest that the official launch could be right around the corner.
Elon Musk has said that Cybertrucks will start rolling off the production lines by the end of the third quarter, but we all know how reliable Musk's timetable predictions can be. That said, with the ramp-up in Cybertruck spottings, including Tesla showing a large team at Giga-Texas celebrating the first Cybertruck coming off the production line, it appears these Sci-fi beasts will be on the road soon. With Tesla expected to start deliveries soon, we can look forward to official information, specs, and pricing at the promised delivery event sometime soon, as the third quarter ends on September 30.
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On January 1st, in what could potentially have been related to other terror-related incidents, a Cybertruck loaded with firework mortars, gas, and other explosive materials, was detonated outside a Trump-affiliated hotel. This information was provided at a press conference from the Las Vegas Police Department. The FBI has declared that the incident was intentional and that it is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism.
The press conference confirmed that the only fatality was the driver. Several others were treated at a local hospital.
🚨 JUST IN: CNN reports the Cybertruck explosion at Trump Tower Vegas came from a detonation system controlled by the driver, plus explosives such as fireworks, gas tanks and camping fuel.
We’re going to specifically look at what happened, how the Cybertruck potentially reduced the damage to the hotel and bystanders, and Elon Musk’s comments on the incident.
The Incident
After the detonation, the Cybertruck’s cabin was on fire, which kept burning until first responders managed to put it out with a combination of water and a tarp. Interestingly, even after the detonation, the Cybertruck’s battery was intact. There was no battery fire, and the battery did itself did not explode.
🚨New footage of the Tesla Cybertruck exploding in front of the Trump hotel
In fact, as you can see in the picture below, the tires are still intact, and even one of the headlights is on - indicating that the incident did not damage the battery. Once the fire continued, the pyro fuze blew, which cut any remaining power and isolated the high-voltage battery from other electrical systems in the truck.
The Cybertruck in the immediate moments after the explosion, with the cabin burning but the headlights on.
Not a Tesla App
Shortly after the incident, authorities released imagery of the bed of the Cybertruck, which was confirmed to be loaded with leftover fireworks and gas tanks. Authorities are crediting the Cybertruck’s exoskeleton exterior with reducing the damage done. The bed of the Cybertruck contained the explosion and directed it upwards and outwards rather than around the vehicle.
The image released by authorities with the remains of the explosives in the bed.
Not a Tesla App
This essentially meant that rather than serving as a vehicle-based improvised explosive device (VBIED), Cybertruck essentially stopped the explosion with the strength of its frame and exoskeleton. It is interesting to see just how strong and resilient the truck is, even when the explosion originated from within, rather than outside it.
🚨 #BREAKING: Las Vegas Police release new video of the exploded Cybertruck outside of the Trump Hotel, showing explosive ordinances in the back
Police credited the lack of damage to the Trump Hotel to the strength of the Cybertruck, as it remained mostly intact.
Elon commented throughout the incident and in the following hours.
Shortly after the incident, Elon Musk confirmed that Tesla’s teams were investigating the incident, and then shortly afterward confirmed that the Cybertruck - at least up to the point of the explosion, was reporting nominal vehicle health.
In the hours after the incident, it was revealed that both the Cybertruck, as well as the F-150 Lightning used in the other terror-related incident, were rented from Turo, as per Elon. Turo is a company that works with vehicle owners to arrange rentals of their vehicles, netting them some extra income while their vehicle is used by someone else.
Turo’s peer-to-peer model has resulted in an exceptionally high number of insurance claims and incidents relative to standardized vehicle rentals, with unauthorized drivers stealing or damaging rented vehicles, modifying them, or doing other less-than-above-board tasks with them. After this incident, Turo has come under a considerable amount of scrutiny in how it rents out vehicles.
Musk also commented that the Cybertruck was the worst vehicle for this kind of terrorist attack. The truck redirected the explosion upward, reducing potential injuries and property damage. Even the hotel’s glass doors remained intact.
In the lead-up to the Q4 2024 Earnings Call on January 29th, Tesla has released its Q4 2024 production and delivery numbers. This wraps up 2024, and while Tesla finished with a strong Q4, the total deliveries are slightly below the previous year.
For Q4, Tesla produced 459,445 vehicles and delivered 495,570 vehicles to its customers globally. For comparison, in Q3, Tesla produced about 10,000 more vehicles than in Q4, but Q4 deliveries were about 30,000 higher.
As usual, the Model 3 and Model Y accounted for the majority of sales, 436,718 vehicles produced and 471,930 vehicles deliveed. The Cybertruck, Model S, and Model X are lumped in as “Other Models” - totaling 22,727 produced and 23,640 delivered this quarter. This is about 700 more than the previous quarter. With Cybertruck production ramping up and sales expanding to Canada, this likely means dwindlingly for the Model S and Model X.
While production was relatively stagnant, Tesla experienced a fairly large growth in deliveries, likely due to the recent end-of-year and end-of-quarter sales push, which included the updated referral program and inventory vehicle price cuts.
It also seems like some demand has been tempered, as many people await the arrival of the refreshed Model Y Juniper, which is rumored to arrive in China as early as later this month.
Q4 2024 Breakdown
Model
Production
Deliveries
Model 3/Y
436,718
471,930
Other Models (Including CT)
22,727
23,640
Total
459,445
495,570
2024 Annual Breakdown
Model
Production
Deliveries
Model 3/Y
1,679,338
1,704,093
Other Models (Including CT)
94,105
85,133
Total
1,773,443
1,789,226
Year over year, Tesla produced and delivered slightly fewer Model 3 and Model Y vehicles than in 2023, but they did produce and deliver more of their Other Models - which includes the Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck.
It seems that Cybertruck has made a significant impact in the sales of the other models category, and given that it has already become profitable, this is fantastic news for Tesla. On the flip side, this does look like it means weaker sales for the Model S and Model X, which both seem in dire need of a refresh.
Below is a chart of the last five years of Tesla vehicle deliveries broken down by quarter. Tap on each section to reveal the numbers for each quarter.
7 Millionth Vehicle
During this past quarter, Tesla also hit a huge milestone by delivering their seven millionth vehicle. Tesla is delivering about 1.8 million vehicles per year, so we expect Tesla to also sell their eight millionth vehicle around mid-year and potentially their nine millionth later this year. With the Model Y being the world’s best-selling vehicle, it’s expected to have a huge surge in sales when the refreshed model is finally released.
Tesla Energy
Over on the Tesla energy side, Tesla deployed 11GWh of energy storage - a record for both deliveries and deployments. That is a 243% year-over-year increase since last year - and Mega Shanghai isn’t even operational yet. In total, Tesla deployed 31.4 GWh of energy storage throughout 2024.
Q4 2024 Earnings Call
The next major financial event for Tesla is the Q4 2024 Earnings Call, which will be taking place after market close on Wednesday, January 29, 2025. The call will be streamed on Tesla’s Investor Relations website, and we’ll provide a recap for you as well.
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