The Cybertruck was recently shown off in a matte black wrap
SawyerMerritt/X
The Tesla Cybertruck was on display in Malibu on Sunday. It wasn't the stainless steel beast that was catching rays. No, Tesla's Chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, went for a Sunday drive in a matte black Cybertruck.
Remember when "experts" thought the Cybertruck appeal would wear off because there would be too many that look alike? Well, the wrap game changes all of that, and Tesla has done a great job demonstrating that over the past few months.
The Aesthetic Array of Cybertruck Wraps
Since its unveiling, the Cybertruck has promised a departure from the mundane, and the various wraps spotted recently solidify this claim. Here are some of the unique skins that have adorned the Cybertruck's angular frame:
Matte Black: Sleek and undeniably badass, the matte black wrap gives the Cybertruck a stealthier yet distinguished presence.
A camo-wrapped Cybertruck
tenetenergy/X
Camo: For those looking to blend in (or stand out), camo wraps take the Cybertruck from an urban warrior to a potential wilderness navigator.
A 'digital camo' wrap on the Tesla Cybertruck
kjoule11/X
Digital Camo: This option brings a touch of modernity to the classic pattern, offering a pixelated twist on concealment.
The Cybertruck was seen with a graffiti-like font on the side
SERobinsonJr/X
Graffiti: The Cybertruck that took a tour through Baja had a graffiti "Cybertruck" on the side.
Oracle showed off what a law enforcement Cybertruck could look like
Oracle
Oracle: Larry Ellison showed just how fantastic a company logo will look on the side and the hood of these futuristic trucks
The Cybertruck was found with yet another wrap, this time resembling a F150
John Anderson
Faux Ford F-150: In an old display of bravado, one wrap mimics the appearance of the Ford F-150, complete with imitated door handles. It's a playful wink at traditional truck designs, perhaps teasing at the Cybertruck's intention to disrupt.
Tesla didn't stop at the Ford F150 wrap. Shortly after the Cybertruck was spotted sporting a Toyota Tundra wrap
Cybertruck Owners Club
Faux Toyota Tundra: Not to be outdone, Cybertruck has also been spotted with a resemblance to Toyota's Tundra — another old guard truck that will soon be disrupted.
Unique Cybertruck
Adam Jonas, Morgan Stanley's managing director, advised staff to manage expectations for clients excited about investing in Tesla. He listed several reasons for downplaying the Cybertruck, calling it a financial "side-show," a "cultural/zeitgeist," and an "enthusiast/cult car."
The investment advisor called the Cybertruck the "ultimate avant-garde vehicle," believing that the unique aspects of Cybertruck will lose some appeal when there are several on the road, losing that "indescribable something." That argument is dead.
Tesla is no stranger to the concept of vehicle wraps. With the Model 3 and Model Y, they've introduced an official wrap service, suggesting that Cybertruck owners may soon have the same option. It's not just about aesthetics; these wraps come with a layer of protection against the elements and the rigors of the road.
From the practical to the peculiar, the wraps we've seen on the Cybertruck suggest that Tesla owners will have no shortage of options to make their electric pickup their own.
Franz driving the Matte Black Cybertruck ? at the Paradise Cove Cars & Coffee. pic.twitter.com/siwk4RJvxY
Many users of FSD have found that the highway stack tends to be extremely conservative. Even with FSD V13, it maintains a speed far lower than the one selected.
This has been an issue with FSD’s speed profiles for a long time. While tapping the accelerator sometimes works, on V13, FSD will often slow right back down to the speed it was originally at - maintaining whatever speed the ego prefers.
Set Speed Vs Max Speed
Phil Duan, a Senior Staff Software Engineer on Tesla’s AI team, made a series of comments about the “set speed” vs “max speed” and the issues many users are experiencing.
Set Speed: Back in October, Phil mentioned the fact that set speed is a legacy concept from cruise control. For FSD, the vehicle needs to be able to determine the correct speed - the user should just have to set a driving style, and FSD should do the right thing. That also includes picking the most appropriate speed to drive at, given the current environment.
Max Speed: Max Speed should be the maximum speed you want the vehicle to stay below. It should not be confused with Set Speed, which Phil says that by design, “FSD will unlikely accelerate to match it.”
Just like switching from signal stalks to signal buttons, this is another Tesla change that users will have to get used to - as FSD will only drive as fast as it deems safe rather than the speed the user wants to drive at.
Upcoming Change
Phil replied to Dan Burkland on X and mentioned that Tesla is aware of the feedback and that there will be an update to the highway stack to address the issue where the vehicle’s speed yoyos up and down. This update will, in particular, target the vehicle’s speed on the highway and the following distance to a lead vehicle - both of which are now not adjustable by the user in FSD V13.
While it looks like Tesla is going to improve the vehicle’s speed on the highway, a user-selectable speed is not something they’re going to add and users will need to continue to use Speed Profiles to “set” their driving speed.
We’re interested to see where this update takes us because many first-time users have experienced confusion over why their vehicle doesn’t achieve the speed that they set - having been conditioned to expect that speed as the set speed.
FSD V13.2 is about a month old now, so it looks like we may see FSD V13.3 soon.
During another one of his gaming live streams, Elon Musk confirmed that Grok in Teslas is coming soon. According to Elon, you’ll be able to talk to your Tesla and ask for anything.
This seems in line with what we recently predicted - the arrival of a Smart Assistant from xAI, integrated right into your Tesla. We’ve seen the initial indications of this Smart Assistant beginning to form.
We’ve been super excited to see the Smart Assistant, but this is the first confirmation that it will be Grok.
Real-time Information
Grok is xAI’s advanced large language model (LLM) AI, designed to deliver highly capable and dynamic responses. Unlike many other LLMs, Grok can access real-time information and adapt its answers based on the latest news and discussions happening on X’s platform, making it uniquely responsive to breaking news and evolving events.
However, Grok still doesn’t have voice support like other models - including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. It can generate images, documents, tables, and reason very effectively, but it has yet to deliver that information audibly.
Adjust Vehicle Features
Grok’s real-time nature is a capability that could be super useful in a vehicle. When you want to stop on a road trip for food, you can ask for the best local restaurant that is the least busy. Grok will potentially be able to gather all this information, and then enter the navigation entry as your next stop - and then Tesla’s FSD will take you there.
Grok will also be able to process in-vehicle commands intelligently - commands like “Open Charge Port” or “My Hands are Cold” will work through Grok, and it’ll make adjustments to your vehicle as required. Interfacing closely with the vehicle will be a capability that most other smart assistants won’t have - and none will be able to set a navigation destination, choose charging stops, or ask questions that depend on your vehicle’s location, such as send me the to closest 250kW Supercharger.
While voice commands can already perform some of these features, the voice system is expected to be greatly improved with Grok’s integration, letting drivers speak more naturally instead of remembering the syntax that the voice command system understands.
All Teslas will be able to use Grok - Elon Musk
General Knowledge
Tesla owners will finally have a Google Assistant-like smart assistant where you’ll be able to get quick answers to everyday questions, like what’s the weather for tomorrow or what’s Tesla’s stock price.
Supported Vehicles
Grok will continue to analyze and deliver responses on Tesla’s or xAI’s servers rather than inside your vehicle. Processing language and then running it through the AI network isn’t a small task, and given FSD taking priority on-vehicle, Grok will be dependent on an internet connection. The good news here is that since the heavy lifting is all down server-side, Grok will be available for all vehicles, according to Musk. Musk said during his live stream that “all Teslas will be able to use Grok.”
This will certainly mean that vehicles with Intel and Ryzen processors will have the new voice assistant available, while vehicles with MCU 1 are unknown at this time. Since this is mostly a server-side change, we also expect legacy Model S and X vehicles to receive the feature.
Premium Connectivity?
While voice commands are free to all Tesla owners, Tesla has been developing a lot of features lately that require its Premium Connectivity package for about $10/month. Just in the last few months, Tesla has added YouTube Music, Amazon Music, SiriusXM, the ability to stream dashcam footage on your phone, weather radar overlays, and more.
There are several paths Tesla could take. Tesla could bundle Grok into Premium Connectivity, it could require a Premium subscription on X, or it could be a completely free feature.
Release Date
Seeing Grok finally on the horizon is super exciting after we’ve been pining for a Smart Voice Assistant in Teslas for years. Musk said that it’s “coming soon,” during his stream, but we still don’t know exactly when. However, Tesla and xAI have been making several changes over the past few months that hint at this upcoming change. We’d expect this feature to launch in the first half of 2025 and potentially even much sooner.
