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.
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.
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Tesla signaled its intention to launch its first Robotaxi network in Austin, Texas, with company-owned and operated vehicles, back in January. This network will be Tesla’s first foray into truly autonomous vehicles - ones that aren’t being directly supervised by a driver. Later in February, Tesla’s executive team confirmed that the plans were on track for the launch of the Austin network both on X and during several interviews that they participated in.
At the end of February, we also found out that Tesla has applied for a Supervised Robotaxi license in California, where the network will also launch, but with safety drivers in place.
This is an ambitious plan, but FSD has really come a long way in the past year. FSD V12 was a massive step forward from V11, and V13 has made the experience smoother and safer than ever before. FSD V14 is expected to be another big step up with auto-regressive transformers and audio input.
Still on Track
Now, Elon has tripled down on the fact that Tesla will be launching their first autonomous robotaxi network in Austin - just two months away at this point. It seems that Tesla is fully set to launch their first fully unsupervised self-driving vehicles that will carry paying passengers in June.
Additional Cities
The best part is that Elon also confirmed that they’re targeting robotaxi networks launching in many cities within the United States by the end of this year. However, remember that this will be a Tesla-run network at first - Tesla owners won’t be able to add their vehicles to the Robotaxi fleet right away.
Adding Customer Vehicles
It will take some time before Tesla meets their strict internal safety requirements before it lets customers add their own vehicles to the network. Tesla’s executive team mentioned that they intend to let owners add their own vehicles to the fleet sometime in 2026. This happens to be the same time frame that Tesla plans to launch the Robotaxi across the United States, Mexico, and Canada — something that could only be done with customer-owned cars.
That final step will be bold—and it may come with complications, especially given that autonomous vehicle approval spans municipal, state or provincial, and even federal levels. There are plenty of regulatory hurdles ahead, but this is undoubtedly shaping up to be one of the most exciting times for Tesla.
Launch Event
With the Robotaxi network launching and Unsupervised FSD just around the corner, there’s a lot to get excited about. Tesla is expected to host a launch event at Gigafactory Texas in Austin to mark the debut of its first Robotaxi network. The company previously hinted that referral code users could receive invites—offering a rare chance to score an early ride in a Robotaxi outside the Hollywood studio lot.
Tesla’s engineering mule vehicles—used to test autonomy for future platforms—have resurfaced after an extended absence. The last time we saw them was back in July, when Tesla was gearing up for its initial We, Robot event. Since then, sightings have been scarce.
These vehicles typically signal that Tesla is testing new camera placements or validating FSD ground-truth data. This time, however, they appear to be outfitted exclusively with the updated camera hardware seen on the Cybercab.
New Sightings
The mules have now been spotted in Boston, Massachusetts, and Concord, New Hampshire—their first known appearances this far east. This suggests Tesla is actively collecting data to evaluate and optimize FSD performance in new regions. Thanks to Reddit user Ready_Medium_6693 for catching the one in Concord.
Elon Musk recently mentioned that Tesla plans to expand Robotaxi networks beyond the initial Texas and California launches. So while these sightings aren’t entirely unexpected, the speed of their arrival is. It suggests Tesla is confident in its ability to train FSD for local traffic rules and driving behaviors to the point it no longer needs a driver.
Bumper Cameras
The vehicle that’s been spotted in Boston is the usual Tesla engineering Model 3… except with one unique twist. It includes a front bumper camera. Shout out to @Dylan02939106 for catching the bumper camera in these photos.
The Refreshed Model 3 Mule with a Bumper Camera!
@Dylan02939106 on X
We previously released an opinion piece regarding whether the front bumper camera would be required for Unsupervised FSD. In our eyes, Tesla will require a bumper camera for Unsupervised FSD - if only to improve direct visibility in the bumper area of the vehicle. This is key for low-speed maneuvering in crowded areas like parking lots and garages, as well as for key features like Actually Smart Summon.
It isn’t surprising that Tesla is continuing to evaluate vehicles with a bumper camera - the Cybertruck, Cybercab, and Refreshed Model Y all have them now - and the rest of the lineup, including the flagship Model S and X, as well as the refreshed Model 3 - were supposed to eventually receive them as well.
With the Model S and Model X set for refreshes this year—and the front bumper camera on this Model 3 looking well-integrated rather than a temporary setup—it seems likely that front bumper cameras will soon become standard across Tesla’s entire lineup.
The Robotaxi Mule in Boston
@Dylan02939106 on X
In fact, Tesla’s newest iteration of the FSD computer has a slot for the Bumper Camera on all AI4/HW4 vehicles, so a future retrofit could even be possible.
These are some pretty exciting times - we may see Robotaxi networks actually deploy in time for Tesla’s lofty goal of “sometime in 2026” for cities throughout North America. Once many American cities begin to accept their deployment, it will be easier to seek homologation in Mexico and Canada, enabling deployment throughout the continent.
