As anticipation for Tesla's Cybertruck continues to mount, a recent "crab-walking" sighting has added to the speculation that Tesla may be integrating advanced steer-by-wire technology into its futuristic pickup.
Steering Into the Future: Tesla's Patent Points to Innovation
As we reported in June, Tesla's patent filing hinted at a steer-by-wire system possibly slated for a 2023 debut. This system replaces traditional mechanical steering with an electronic one, where drivers' inputs are translated into digital commands that articulate the vehicle's trajectory. Tesla's innovation isn't just a simple reinvention; it's a leap toward heightened efficiency, customizable cockpit designs, and a level of redundancy that ensures reliability.
Yoke Wheel & Steer-by-Wire: A Match Made for Cybertruck?
Tesla's yoke steering wheel, a controversial but forward-thinking design choice, could be the perfect match for steer-by-wire technology. With different steering ratios programmable at various speeds, the need for hand-over-hand steering—a cumbersome relic of the past—could be eliminated. X user @niccruzpatane connected the dots, noting the Cybertruck's yoke appears to necessitate fewer turns compared to other models, a hallmark of dynamic variable steer-by-wire systems.
Although not *confirmed* Dynamic Variable Steering Ratio on Cybertruck all evidence is pointing to that direction.
** Dynamic Steer-by-wire enables the vehicle to automatically adjust (via the computer) how much a driver has to turn their steering wheel to maneuver the vehicle… pic.twitter.com/4BcM42H3k7
Cybertruck's Sidestep: More Than Just a Party Trick?
Joe Tegtmeyer's (@JoeTegtmeyer) latest observations at Giga Texas have added fuel to the speculative fires. The Cybertruck's ability to "crab-walk" implies rear-wheel steering is not just included but has been honed to a level of sophistication on par with—or potentially exceeding—that of its competitors. This could signal a software-enabled driving mode that adds lateral maneuverability, a feature sure to excite off-road enthusiasts and urban navigators alike.
If steer-by-wire is indeed behind the Cybertruck's minimal steering wheel rotation and its crab-walking capability, we are looking at a revolution in vehicle control. This technology allows for a highly responsive steering experience, adapting to speed, driving conditions, and potentially even driver preferences.
What's Next? Delivery Day Revelations Await
The first deliveries of the Cybertruck are scheduled for November 30, 2023. By then, we expect full demonstrations of all its capabilities, including potential "beast mode" specs that could rival Tesla's Plaid performance models. With a speculated weight of 7,000 lbs., a range of around 500 miles, and acceleration from 0-60 mph in less than 3 seconds, the Cybertruck aims to redefine not just truck performance but the auto industry - again.
With rivals like the Ford Lightning, which hit the market hot but has since slowed, Rivian and General Motors making a few blips on the radar, Tesla's Cybertruck doesn't just aim to join the pickup sector but roll right over it. It's not just the potential for a Plaid powertrain or its purported specifications; it's making the future look like the future.
Did you know Cybertruck can Crab Walk/Drive?
Check out this SHORT video from Giga Texas testing out this Crab Walking capability!
Following Tesla’s Q1 2025 All-Hands Meeting, the company quietly updated the Cybertruck’s webpage. When we first checked it during our Live Space, nothing immediately stood out. At first glance, the changes seemed to be mostly stylistic—aligning the page’s format with the rest of Tesla’s site while adding a Cyber-inspired twist with unique fonts and boxed media elements.
But this morning, we took a closer look—because if there’s one thing Tesla loves, it’s hiding details in plain sight. And sure enough, we found an interesting change around Sentry Mode — playing loud music.
Sentry Mode Music
Tesla quietly updated the Sentry Mode section on the Cybertruck’s about page, adding new text that reveals Sentry Mode will soon be able to play loud music when it’s triggered. The text on Tesla’s site states:
“Enable Sentry Mode to monitor your unattended vehicle or trailer, and automatically activate the alarm, increase the touchscreen brightness, and play music at max volume if a threat is detected.”
This latest change appears to build on that, leveraging the Cybertruck’s Superhorn and external speaker, which can already play music when parked via the Boombox feature. We suspect this feature won’t rely on the internal speakers, as the music would have to be extremely loud in order to be heard outside the car.
And given how loud the Superhorn and external speakers are—powerful enough to function as a proper horn—this could be an effective deterrent for vandals or intruders.
Other Models Too?
While this feature was spotted on the Cybertruck’s page, it’s unlikely that it’ll be exclusive to the stainless steel beast. We did a quick scan of Tesla’s other vehicle pages, but the change hasn’t made it over to other pages yet. While Tesla’s other vehicles don’t include the Superhorn, most are equipped with an external speaker for the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS)—which also powers the Boombox feature.
If your Tesla supports Boombox, it’s likely that Sentry Mode Music will roll out across the lineup once the update is released. However, legacy vehicles without a PWS will likely miss out on this feature.
When Will It Be Released?
To answer everyone’s favorite question, we know it’s not in Tesla’s 2025.8 update, which has recently started rolling out. Given the small 2025 releases so far (2025.2 and 2025.8), Tesla may be preparing a larger 2025 Spring Update similar to last year’s.
We’re about a month away from the arrival of Tesla’s Spring Update, and this could be one of the included features.
The real question is: Will Tesla allow custom sounds or music via USB? If so, the possibilities just got a whole lot more entertaining.
Last week, Mark Rober, an engineering YouTuber best known for his glitter bombs, released a video where he tested Tesla's Autopilot against various conditions - including the iconic ACME painted wall.
During this test, many people noted that Mark was using Autopilot rather than FSD, even though his video was titled “Can you Fool a Self-Driving Car?”. The Tesla on Autopilot went up against a vehicle equipped with Luminar’s LIDAR rig, running some sort of basic autonomy or safety software.
New Video Tests FSD
Many people were disappointed with Mark’s video and his testing methods, so several creators got to work to actually test out Tesla’s FSD.
Creator Kyle Paul over on X made a much better follow-up video, using both a HW3 Model Y as well as an AI4 Cybertruck. In a relatively unsurprising turn of events, the Cybertruck was successfully able to detect the wall, slowed down, and came to a stop. The Cybertruck was running FSD 13.2.8.
Kyle’s team did a fantastic job building the wall and testing this in a private area using FSD rather than Autopilot. On top of that - they re-tested the results several times and recorded the entire thing in and out. While Mark’s video was more for entertainment, Kyle really set out to prove what would really happen in this unlikely scenario.
Sadly, the HW3 Model Y was unable to detect the wall, and manual intervention was required in each test. While the Model Y was running FSD 12.5.4.2 rather than an FSD V12.6 build, we don’t expect this to have had a significant impact on the test - this is more of an issue with how computer vision analyzes the environment.
There are several major differences between HW3 and HW4. The first is obviously that the version that runs on AI4 is more advanced, as the hardware is capable of processing a lot more data. However, AI4 also features much higher-resolution cameras than HW3, and Tesla recently added the ability for the video feeds to be processed at full resolution on FSD V13. This could have made the difference, although it’s not entirely clear. Perhaps if HW3 gets a version of FSD V13 in the future, HW3 can be retested to see if it passes the “ACME wall” test.
Watch
Kyle’s entire video is below. It’s only 10 minutes long, so definitely give it a watch. Props to Kyle on the quick and thorough execution.
What Does This Mean for FSD?
We broke down Mark’s test - and examined all the little issues that we discovered after doing some in-depth research - you can read our analysis here.
Putting aside the issues with Mark’s testing and instead using the new results - it seems that if you were to have to fight against Wile-E-Coyote and his ACME tools with your Tesla, cartoon logic may win if you’re on an HW3 vehicle. If you’re on an AI4 vehicle, you’ll likely come to a safe stop.
Vehicle depth perception is definitely something that Tesla has been hard at work to improve - and some fairly drastic improvements came with FSD V13 that haven’t been entirely translated to FSD V12 just yet. Future versions of HW3 FSD may be able to determine that the wall is there successfully. So Kyle - if you’re reading this - don’t get rid of that wall. We’d love to see more testing in the future.
However, this entire test scenario is so out of left field… there is a good likelihood this same test would fool some human drivers as well. The most important part is that the future of autonomy will not fall for these tricks, so it's very unlikely for someone to weaponize this idea as it’d only possibly work on a small segment of vehicles.
If Wile-E-Coyote is after you, someone else may drive into the wall before your Tesla does.
Not a Tesla App
We’re not kidding, this really happened already. This isn’t a realistic scenario outside of someone trying to play an insane prank - but it’s good to know that FSD V13 is capable of dodging this.
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