Tesla Cybertruck Video Reveals New UI Features; Undergoes Bulletproof Testing

By Kevin Armstrong
New Cybertruck video reveals updated to the user interface
New Cybertruck video reveals updated to the user interface
hkesteloo

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.

Cybertruck's Bulletproof Claims Put to Test

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
The Tesla Cybertruck is spotted with a roof/bed rack
niccruzpatane

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 Holiday Update Wishlist - Tesla App Edition

By Karan Singh
@niccruzpatane

So, with Halloween all squared away, the next big holiday coming up is Christmas. Each year, Tesla releases a big Holiday update packed with features. Last year’s update included some awesome features, including alternate routes, the Vision upgrade for Park Assist, Speed Cameras and Traffic Light icons, and the Automatic Blind Spot indicator, among others.

We already know that update 2024.44 - the Holiday Update Branch - is coming with Blind Spot Monitoring while Parked, Supercharger Improvements, and more. But, we’ve got a ton of good ideas that we hope will make the list, so put down your pumpkin spice, and grab your egg nog. It’s the holidays, and it’ll be Cybertruck’s first Christmas, so let’s celebrate!

Apple Watch App

First up—the Apple Watch app. This has been a highly requested feature over the past couple of years, and it looks like Tesla is listening. Tesla has apparently already begun development to support the Apple Watch in app update 4.38, so we’re expecting this to arrive as part of the big Holiday update. We’d love to see an equivalent app for Android-based watches, too.

Phone Left on Charger Alert

It’s easy to forget your phone inside of the vehicle, especially if it’s on the phone dock. A simple app alert that a phone has been left in the vehicle would be really useful. Tesla could potentially even tell the difference between a driver’s phone and a passenger’s phone, depending on the vehicle’s profile being used or which doors were open and closed.

Either way, just receiving an app notification if a phone is left in the car would be really useful, especially since your phone is your car key.

Live Activities

Not a Tesla App

iOS introduced support for Live Activities with iOS 16.1 in October 2022. Live Activities are auto-updating, persistent notifications that can provide real-time information about a certain task. Live Activities are used to provide real-time information about your Uber arrival or the status of a flight. In Tesla’s case, they can be used for instances where up-to-date information may be important, such as when Supercharging or when Sentry Mode is active.

Arrival State of Charge

A popular request among Tesla owners is the ability to set a desired battery charge percentage upon arriving at a destination. This past year, Tesla has added several features to the app’s Trip Planner, including waypoints. Although the app lets you choose a starting charge percentage, it does not let you pick the state of charge at your destination.

If you’re traveling somewhere without a nearby charger, this becomes an issue. It’d be nice if the Tesla app let users pick their desired state of charge at arrival, and the route planner would automatically recommend charging stops and durations to reach that target.

Not a Tesla App

Light Show Support

Tesla Lightshows are great, but they could be made even better with Tesla app support. At the very least, it’d be great to be able to start/schedule or stop a light show from the app.

To really make light shows shine, Tesla could add the ability to create a light show directly from the app. Right now creating a light show involves using the open-source app xLights on a computer, so a simplified version of it running in the app would make it accessible to a lot more users.

Precondition Battery Button

Similar to an in-vehicle preconditioning button for 3rd party chargers, the Tesla App should also have a button to precondition the battery. This will make it easy for users, especially those who don’t have home charging – to get their vehicles ready for DC Fast Charging before departing.

Garage Door Controls

Tesla owners with HomeLink can control their garage doors directly from the vehicle. However, the Tesla app currently only allows users to open the first programmed garage door and doesn’t give the user access to any of the other programmed doors. Adding the option to choose which garage door to open via the HomeLink button would be a valuable addition—especially useful when paired with Actually Smart Summon.

Drive Stats

While Tesla already records and displays charging sessions in the app’s Charge Stats section, it’d be really helpful if Tesla also added the ability to record drives. That way, you could easily track how much your vehicle was driven on a particular day, week, or over the course of the year.

If you have any other suggestions, let us know in our forums. Who knows, some Tesla product managers may even be listening.

Tesla Adds Interest-Free Payment Plan to Tesla Shop - FSD Payment Plan Next?

By Karan Singh
Not a Tesla App

Tesla has added payment plan options to its shop items for the first time. They’ve partnered with Klarna, a deferred payment provider, to spread the cost of items across multiple payments. For now, this appears to be limited to the Tesla Shop in the United States—no support for other regions quite yet.

Payment Options

Klarna’s primary payment option allows buyers to get 0% APR for 6 weeks, with 4 payments. The payment schedule is essentially one payment every two weeks for whichever product you buy - enabling you to buy now, and pay later with 0% financing.

For example, the payment schedule for the $420 Wall Connector is evenly divided into four portions. Of course, you’d also have to pay for shipping and taxes, both of which will be included in your first payment.

Payment 1

Payment 2

Payment 3

Payment 4

Amount

$105

$105

$105

$105

Payment Due

Day of Purchase

Week 2

Week 4

Week 6

For some of Tesla’s more expensive Shop options - like the Cybertent, this could be a fantastic means for some owners to pick up something more expensive without having to worry about interest charges on their credit card.

Klarna also offers some other payment schedules, which do have interest. While these are far more expensive and are more like credit cards, they still provide buyers a means to buy now and pay over time. These are all open loans as well, so you can pay them down at a faster rate, thereby reducing the overall interest.

Payment Schedule

Payment Rate

Interest Rate

6 Weeks

Biweekly

0%

6 Months

Monthly

7.99% to 33.99%

12 Months

Monthly

7.99% to 33.99%

FSD Payment Options?

We’d love to see an equivalent payment option available for Tesla’s FSD purchase, which is currently $8,000, even if it's bought after the vehicle purchase. The high upfront cost is likely one reason why Tesla’s FSD subscription is so popular.

It’s likely that purchasing FSD is much more popular at the time of vehicle purchase, as owners can roll the cost of FSD into their financing rather than paying the full $8,000 later on.

IPO Filing

Interestingly enough, along with today’s news that Klarna is working with Tesla, Klarna has also filed for an IPO in the United States. It is one of the first financial tech (FinTech) companies to file for an IPO in 2025 and, interestingly, one of the first European companies to conduct an IPO in the United States.

For those who trade in the financial sector, this will be one to watch—Klarna was valued at around $46 billion in 2021 and is now valued at approximately $15 billion. Partnering with a large and well-known brand like Tesla could uplift Klarna, but that’s all financial speculation.

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