Cybertruck Spotted With Ambient Lighting, Update From Musk, and How To Go to the Delivery Event

By Kevin Armstrong
A new photo shows the Cybertruck with ambient lighting
A new photo shows the Cybertruck with ambient lighting
Cybertruck Owners Club

In a whirlwind of tweets, leaks, and updates, the Tesla Cybertruck's progress has seen several revelations. Elon Musk and the Cybertruck are showstoppers and head-turners wherever they appear, but the two were together for a picture posted on X.com that has garnered more than 22.5 million views and counting. Clearly, he wanted to show off his new ride, but Musk is not saying how much it's worth.

Musk Drives the Production Candidate

The CEO of Tesla posted on X.com an image of himself behind the wheel of a "production candidate Cybertruck at Tesla Giga Texas." When queried on the long-awaited details like specs, pricing, and delivery event date, Musk maintained suspense, stating, "When we are ready to do so, we will."

The CEO referred to the Cybertruck as Tesla's best product ever but acknowledged the difficulty in building it due to its unprecedented nature. But that's not all - further insights were provided through emails and other updates.

Ambient Lighting

A new photo posted on Cybertruck Owner's Club has revealed that the Cybertruck will come with ambient lighting wrapping around the cabin.

The photo shows a thin red line along the top portion of the door trim and dashboard.

These lights are likely to be RGB lights like many manufacturers already provide, which will let the driver choose a custom color for the vehicle's interior lighting.

These lights could also be tied in with the lights on the steering wheel and foot wells, giving owners a cohesive look and feel.

Manufacturers typically let users pick a custom color or select one from a predefined list. Given some of Tesla's strong personalization features, such as Color Colorizer, it seems like a safe bet that you'll be able to assign your own RGB color that matches your unique style or mood.

Tesla's Model 3 Project Highland is rumored to come with ambient lighting as well, and this sighting of the feature available on the Cybertruck all but confirms the feature on the upcoming Model 3.

Quality Assurance — Precision Predicates Perfectionism

In a leaked email to Tesla employees, Musk emphasized the importance of achieving the best possible build quality. He demanded precision down to the third decimal place in millimeters and specified tolerance in single-digit microns, saying, "Precision predicates perfectionism."

Musk's insistence on quality control can be understood in the context of previous challenges with the Model 3 and Model Y at launch. The Cybertruck's unique design, involving stainless steel with straight edges, makes any variation highly noticeable.

Cybertruck Delivery Event - Invitations Through Referrals

An intriguing twist in the Cybertruck saga is the opportunity to earn an invitation to the Cybertruck delivery event through the Tesla referral program. Owners in the U.S. can redeem 30,000 credits (equivalent to about $2,000 USD in rewards) for an invitation with a plus one.

The invitations are limited and given out on a first-come, first-served basis, although additional tickets will be released as the event approaches. The "price" of the ticket provides an indirect reference to the delivery event's imminent occurrence, possibly in late Q3. The incentive is not available to Canadians, so, ahem, if you're looking for a plus one — I know a guy!

Cybertruck's Production Evolution — From RC to PC

The Cybertruck's production line at Giga Texas has been busy building what is known as a release candidate (RC) builds for testing and validation. Recently, Musk referred to the vehicle he drove as a production candidate (PC), typically a final version matching what customers will receive. With Musk testing the PC version, it is suggested that deliveries could happen as soon as late September, although final specs and pricing remain unknown.

Cybertruck's unconventional structure has thrown up some significant challenges, from body sealing issues to achieving unprecedented manufacturing accuracy. These have been pivotal in understanding the recent delay and the drive towards perfectionism that Musk demands. The pricing remains an enigma, only adding to the allure of the Cybertruck. The official release of this unique vehicle, along with all its specifications and details, will undoubtedly be a historic moment in the automotive industry.

Tesla Cybertruck: Puddle Lights, Powershare & FSD in Canada and Cybertruck on Mars?

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

The Cybertruck is having an eventful November. Just last week, we shared the news that Tesla isn’t offering their in-house wrap service for the Cybertruck anymore; the Foundation Series is now available in inventory in select US locations, Crossbars have arrived, and faster charging is around the corner. Now there’s even more to discuss about the stainless steel beast.

Projection Puddle Lights

Like the recently launched puddle lights for the Model 3 and Model Y, Tesla has introduced a set of add-on Projector Puddle Lights for the Cybertruck. These Cybertruck-specific ones go for $75 USD, or $105 CAD and are available in both the Canadian and US Tesla stores.

However, these don’t have the Tesla wordmark - instead, they feature the iconic Cybertruck symbol and, in our opinion, look even nicer. Here’s to hoping Tesla also introduces a set with the graffiti-style Cybertruck wordmark.

Powershare in Canada

While the Foundation Series Cybertruck has been getting delivered in Canada since November 7th, there was no news on Powershare being supported due to regulatory constraints. On the 20th, Foundation Series owners in Canada began to receive emails to get their Powershare installs started through Tesla’s official installer - Qmerit.

More to follow on pricing and the process as we receive our Canadian quote from Qmerit soon.

FSD in Canada

The Cybertruck Program Manager, Siddhant Awasthi, confirmed that with Powershare now becoming available, FSD for the Cybertruck in Canada will also become available soon. Canadian trucks shipped with a factory software build that didn’t include FSD, but did include TACC and stoplight/traffic control.

Early this morning Tesla began rolling out a new version of FSD 12.5.5.3 for the Cybertruck, which is update 2024.39.5. Will this be the version that rolls out in Canada?

Update 2024.39.5

FSD Supervised 12.5.5.3
Installed on 0% of fleet
7 Installs today
Last updated: Nov 22, 12:00 am UTC

First Mars Payload

Following Integrated Flight Test 6 for SpaceX’s Starship, Elon Musk confirmed that uncrewed Starships are likely to begin making their way to Mars in about 2 years. You’re probably going to ask what’s going to be in those Starships - that’s what Brett Winston on X asked as well. Elon confirmed that Cybertrucks and Optimus robots will be among some of the first items landing on Mars.

That’s a ton of awesome news for Cybertruck, and there’s absolutely going to be more around the corner, especially as we await the big Tesla Holiday Update. While you wait, why not take a look at our Holiday Update Wishlists?

First Look at Tesla’s New 'Blind Spot While Parked' Feature [VIDEO]

By Karan Singh
Automobile Propre

Tesla software update 2024.44.3 has started rolling out to customers in larger waves recently and it brings several new features - including Actually Smart Summon to Europe and the Middle East, as well as improvements to Autopark. But that’s not all, it also adds a new Blind Spot Monitoring feature to the new Model 3, and potentially the Cybertruck, but that’s still to be determined.

We previously covered the Blind Spot Warning While Parked as part of our preview notes for update 2024.44, but now that it's going out to customers, it's time to see it in action.

Blind Spot Monitoring While Parked

If the vehicle’s door open button is pressed, and a vehicle or object is near or incoming, the vehicle’s Blind Spot Warning Light (2024 Model 3 and Cybertruck) will illuminate, an audible tone will ring and the door won’t open. A message will also be displayed on the center displaying, letting driver’s know why the door didn’t open.

Pressing the button a second time will allow you to override the warning and open the door normally, providing a way to get out in case you just parked close to a nearby vehicle or obstacle.

The object detection for this new feature includes cars, pedestrians, cyclists, and other objects - like things including traffic cones, bollards, strollers, and other large obstacles that FSD and vision-based Autopark detect during normal operation. Of note - this only works for the front two doors. Thanks to X user Max, who did some testing for us, It does not work for the rear passenger doors.

Optional Feature

The feature is optional - it’ll be enabled by default for safety, but if you need to enable or disable it, you can do so under Controls > Safety. For now, the feature is only available on the 2024 Model 3, but we expect it to roll out to the Cybertruck at least. However, there’s no reason why it can’t be added to other vehicles as well, minus the small red dot. We expect Tesla to eventually add this feature to all Tesla vehicles, but it’s currently not a part of update 2024.44.

Enhauto’s S3XY Buttons & Commander

If that’s not enough safety and vision for you, Enhauto, the makers of the popular S3XY Buttons and Commander recently put out a new software update for the 2024 Model 3, which makes some fantastic use of the ambient lighting.

With Enhauto’s solution, users are able to tie their ambient lights to Autopilot use, turn signals or even if a vehicle is their blind spot. Check out the video below for this awesome implementation, where the ambient lights turn red when another vehicle approaches.

Maybe Tesla will integrate something like this into a future update? We’ve been hoping for more customizability with their ambient lighting - it's an easy safety win and a demonstration of Tesla’s do-more-with-less attitude.

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