New Cybertruck video reveals updated to the user interface
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The Cybertruck is Elon Musk's new daily driver. Tesla's CEO said he would trade in his Model S for the stainless steel beast, and it appears he did so after taking a public drive over the weekend.
An Electric Appearance at the Formula 1 Race
Musk and his son surprised Formula 1 fans when they appeared at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. The event, situated close to Tesla's Gigafactory, became even more of an extravaganza when the Cybertruck was spotted at the Circuit of the Americas. It's hard to take any attention away from the F1 cars and drivers, but fans swarmed Musk and his Cybertruck.
It's worth noting that this isn't Musk's first rodeo with the Formula 1 world. Earlier this year, he engaged in insightful discussions on aerodynamics and battery technology during the Miami Grand Prix. He even floated the idea of a race merging electric vehicles and traditional F1 machines, suggesting a face-off between EVs and gas/hybrid F1 vehicles. While critics were quick to point out the existence of Formula E, Musk's vision indicates a profound interest in the melding of traditional racing and electric vehicle technologies.
Closer Look at the Cybertruck UI
We recently had a closer look at the Cybertruck's UI which revealed the Cybertruck will have its apps lined up vertically along the left side of the screen. However, one of yesterday's videos, shown below, shows that the passenger will also have access to its own set of app icons alongside the right side of the screen.
In the video, the passenger's app icons appear to mimic the driver's, although it's likely that the passenger will be able to customize their own apps in the dock. At the top right and bottom right corners of the screen there appear to be other icons, although it's too blurry to make out what they could be. The bottom right icon almost appears to resemble a profile icon, which could be Tesla's long awaited "passenger preferences" feature. Passenger presets would let the passenger have their own set of preferences such as seating presets, favorite apps, playlists and more.
It's worth noting that this isn't Musk's first rodeo with the Formula 1 world. Earlier this year, he engaged in insightful discussions on aerodynamics and battery technology during the Miami Grand Prix. He even floated the idea of a race merging electric vehicles and traditional F1 machines, suggesting a face-off between EVs and gas/hybrid F1 vehicles. While critics were quick to point out the existence of Formula E, Musk's vision indicates a profound interest in the melding of traditional racing and electric vehicle technologies.
In the photo, we can also see that Tesla is experimenting with or moving the repeater cameras to the top of the rear camera view in the app. The Cybertruck will have a front bumper camera that is expected to be available in the camera app as well.
Tesla conducted a bulletproof test on the Cybertruck; you read that right. Pictures and video made the rounds on social media, showing a Cybertruck marred by what appeared to be bullet holes. Still, upon closer inspection, they were dents caused by bullets.
Elon Musk didn't leave fans in suspense for long. He promptly confirmed that the Cybertruck had been shot at "Al Capone style" with a Tommy gun, adding that none of the bullets breached the passenger compartment. Despite initial skepticism stemming from the truck's glass-shattering incident during its unveiling in 2019, the recent test bolsters the Cybertruck's claim of being impenetrable.
Bed Racks Showcase more Customization
The Tesla Cybertruck is spotted with a roof/bed rack
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Adding to the list of Cybertruck features, roof/bed racks were spotted on the vehicle during recent sightings. These are the same that were seen during the truck's Baja run that was used to support a Starlink dish.
These racks add an element of utility and style to the already unique vehicle. Tesla has hinted at the possibility of several third-party accessories being available for the highly capable truck. The bed racks indicate the diverse accessory ecosystem accompanying the Cybertruck upon its official release.
As the delivery event looms, we await more details about this bold, bulletproof, stainless steel, "best product ever made," Cybertruck. The price may be helpful. With more than one million reservations, many people are waiting to see how much they will spend to get a Cybertruck. See you on November 30.
Tesla’s been on a roll with Supercharger improvements lately, from the 325kW charging update for the Cybertruck, to 500kW with V4 Superchargers coming next year. While those improvements have been limited to the Cybertruck, Tesla didn’t put all their focus on their new flagship vehicle, but looked at their more affordable vehicles as well.
LFP Battery Heating
Tesla’s Superchargers can now heat LFP Batteries - those that are in the Model 3 and Model Y Rear Wheel Drive variants. This applies to Long Range and Standard Range models, which saw a limited run. This is another update included as part of the 2024 Tesla Holiday Update - which really arrived with a lot of unannounced new features and capabilities.
The change is pretty interesting - Superchargers of the V3 and V4 variety can now pre-heat batteries for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with LFP battery packs. That means those vehicles are able to get back on the road faster when it's extremely cold. Of course, Tesla still advises you to precondition before you arrive, saving drivers time and money.
Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director of Charging, also commented on the new feature. Essentially, Tesla is inducing an AC (alternating) ripple current through the battery to warm it up. Keep in mind that Superchargers are DC charging. That means it is possible to get a cold-soaked LFP vehicle on the road 4x faster than before, assuming that it didn’t precondition at all and that it is in the worst-case scenario (below 0ºF).
In essence, Tesla is using some engineering magic to turn the circuits inside the LFP battery into an electric heater - and powering that heater through the Supercharger. An AC ripple current is a small oscillation in the DC charging current that generates heat through electrical resistance, warming up the battery. Those ripples are a byproduct of converting AC to DC and back - so Tesla is using the onboard charger to induce those ripples to warm up the battery. Definitely an innovative technique that’s really only possible with the versatility of the NACS connector.
We’re hoping Tesla can implement this across their full lineup of vehicles, but we’ll have to wait and see how it is trialed across LFP vehicles first and if it is even possible on vehicles with 2170 or 4680 battery packs.
Tesla launched two FSD updates simultaneously on Saturday night, and what’s most interesting is that they arrived on the same software version. We’ll dig into that a little later, but for now, there’s good news for everyone. For Hardware 3 owners, FSD V12.6.1 is launching to all vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. For AI4 owners, FSD V13.2.4 is launching, starting with the Cybertruck.
FSD V13.2.4
A new V13 build is now rolling out to the Cybertruck and is expected to arrive for the rest of the AI4 fleet soon. However, this build seems to be focused on bug fixes. There are no changes to the release notes for the Cybertruck with this release, and it’s unlikely to feature any changes when it arrives on other vehicles.
FSD V12.6.1 builds upon V12.6, which is the latest FSD version for HW3 vehicles. While FSD V12.6 was only released for the redesigned Model S and Model X with HW3, FSD V12.6.1 is adding support for the Model 3 and Model Y.
While this is only a bug-fix release for users coming from FSD V12.6, it includes massive improvements for anyone coming from an older FSD version. Two of the biggest changes are the new end-to-end highway stack that now utilizes FSD V12 for highway driving and a redesigned controller that allows FSD to drive “V13” smooth.
It also adds speed profiles, earlier lane changes, and more. You can read our in-depth look at all the changes in FSD V12.6.
Same Update, Multiple FSD Builds
What’s interesting about this software version is that it “includes" two FSD updates, V12.6.1 for HW3 and V13.2.4 for HW4 vehicles. While this is interesting, it’s less special when you understand what’s happening under the hood.
The vehicle’s firmware and Autopilot firmware are actually completely separate. While a vehicle downloading a firmware update may look like a singular process, it’s actually performing several functions during this period. First, it downloads the vehicle’s firmware. Upon unpacking the update, it’s instructed which Autopilot/FSD firmware should be downloaded.
While the FSD firmware is separate, the vehicle can’t download any FSD update. The FSD version is hard-coded in the vehicle’s firmware that was just downloaded. This helps Tesla keep the infotainment and Autopilot firmware tightly coupled, leading to fewer issues.
What we’re seeing here is that HW3 vehicles are being told to download one FSD version, while HW4 vehicles are being told to download a different version.
While this is the first time Tesla has had two FSD versions tied to the same vehicle software version, the process hasn’t actually changed, and what we’re seeing won’t lead to faster FSD updates or the ability to download FSD separately. What we’re seeing is the direct result of the divergence of HW3 and HW4.
While HW3/4 remained basically on the same FSD version until recently, it is now necessary to deploy different versions for the two platforms. We expect this to be the norm going forward, where HW3 will be on a much different version of FSD than HW4. While each update may not include two different FSD versions going forward, we may see it occasionally, depending on which features Autopilot is dependent on.
Thanks to Greentheonly for helping us understand what happened with this release and for the insight into Tesla’s processes.