The Cybertruck is not just about power; it's also about a unique user experience. The app update provided a glimpse into the Cybertruck's distinct user interface, showcasing a design divergence from Tesla's other models. This UI image, extracted from the app, shows a fresh approach, keeping in line with the vehicle's futuristic appeal.
Earlier, we discovered the infotainment screen displayed the Cyber Owl while Sentry Mode is activated. Its red eyes glow, offering a unique and cool appearance.
However, with this new image, the Cybertruck UI reveals several things. This UI is radically different from what we see in other 'single-screen' models, like the Model Y.
Visualization & Map
The most obvious change in this 'Parked' screen is that the vehicle is now predominately displayed in the center of the expected 18.5" screen. The navigation map is much smaller, and instead of taking up the right two-thirds of the screen, a portion of it is subtly displayed on the top right corner. However, once the vehicle moves out of park, the map area would likely enlarge to take up the majority of the screen.
App Icons
The familiar app icons along the bottom have been aligned vertically and moved to the left side of the screen. They're also displayed on the right side, for passenger use. In the image we see the same icons displayed on the left and right sides of the screen, but Tesla has talked about passenger preferences in the past, so it wouldn't be unrealistic if Tesla offered a customized version of apps for the passenger.
Looking closer at the app icons, it's not conclusive what they are, but they appear to be the usual suspects, including Apple Music, the Energy app, Camera app, the All Apps icon, which is followed by the most recent app, the phone.
After the apps, there are temperature controls, seat heaters and the familiar Controls or settings icon in the bottom left corner. The seat heater icon is activated on the passenger side, however the Cybertruck is expected to include ventilated seats as well.
On the bottom right corner we have the air bag icon, which indicates whether the passenger airbag is enabled.
The top right corner has the passenger volume control, as well as what looks too be a new icon, possibly to shift or swap the display layout, bringing certain elements closer to the passenger, much like the Model S.
Display Size & Ratio
While its expected that the Cybertruck will include a 18.5" screen, the largest display of any Tesla, not much else is known
With this new image, we can conclude that the display will be 16:9, like the Model Y's. On both the Model S and Model Y, Tesla includes displays with about 150 pixels per inch, so we can expect something similar in the Cybertruck.
If Tesla ends up going with a 18.5" screen at 150 PPI, we may see a display with a resolution of about 2420x1360.
Status Icons
The status icons, such as battery, time and temperature are displayed at the top, aligned toward the driver. While other status icons, such as WiFi are aligned center. In the image we can see the lock icon, what appears to be the driver profile icon, alerts, WiFi, Sentry Mode, but the last two icons are harder to make out, and they could be Cybertruck specific features.
3D Terrain
As we've seen in several other images, the Cybertruck 3D model appears to be displayed in a 3D environment. There have been hints that Tesla is looking to show 3D terrain in the driving visualizations, and this could be our first glimpse at this integration.
V12 Software Update
The Cybertruck is truly a unique vehicle and the UI appears to be just as unique. Tesla has introduced major UI updates in the past, with v11, not to be confused with FSD Beta v11, was introduced last holiday season. It's possible that some of these UI elements will carry over to other vehicles, in particular the status icons, the parked view and more.
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.
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