The Cybertruck has bi-directional charging, letting you power your home
Not a Tesla App
Elon Musk stood in the back of a Cybertruck with the words behind him: more utility than a truck. Faster than a sports car. Tesla's CEO then backed up that statement for the next 20 minutes with real-world examples.
The presentation showed a Cybertruck out pull an F350 and other competitors. A video demonstrated the Cybertruck beating a Porsche 911 on the quarter mile - the Cybertruck was also hauling a Porsche 911. Of course, the bullet tests video was on screen, with a slow-motion shot of a bullet bouncing off the stainless steel.
The delivery event mostly exceeded expectations, as the stainless steel beast is now on the road. Let's dive a little deeper into some of the unprecedented functionality and cutting-edge technology Cybertruck offers.
Biggest Breakthroughs: Steer-By-Wire System
One of the most talked-about features is the Cybertruck's steer-by-wire system. This advanced technology eliminates the need for a mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels, offering precision control and a new level of driving experience.
Its implementation is a game-changer, providing drivers with enhanced maneuverability and a turning radius that rivals most sedans. Elon Musk compared it to a jet fighter, stating if you steer the yoke just a little in a parking lot, the vehicle can turn a lot, but if you steer the yoke on the highway, it will adapt to the speed and maneuver the truck accordingly.
Bi-Directional Charging
We hoped this one was coming. One of the Cybertruck's most innovative features is bi-directional charging. This capability allows the Cybertruck to charge its own batteries and power external devices and even other electric vehicles. Whether it's powering tools at a construction site or providing emergency power during a grid outage, the Cybertruck doubles as a mobile power station.
Cybertruck Battery
Tesla has put its largest-ever battery into the Cybertruck. The Cybertruck isn't a light vehicle, coming in at 6,603 lbs for the AWD version and 6,843 lbs (3,103 kg) for Cyberbeast, so the fact that it includes Tesla's largest battery isn't surprising.
The AWD and Cyberbeast versions of the Cybertruck both contain a new 123kWh battery. This battery uses 4680 cells and is the equivalent of more than 9 Powerwalls. If you're planning to use the Cybertruck for backup power for your home, there's a lot to like here.
Powered Frunk
The Cybertruck will be the first Tesla to include a powered frunk. It seems that you'll not only be able to open the frunk, but also close it from within the vehicle or through the Tesla app. The spacious trunk also doubles as a bench seat for two for tailgating, sporting events or camping.
Bed Lining
To go along with the power station Cybertruck's super-tough composite bed doesn't require a liner, setting a new standard in durability. This feature is designed to handle all sorts of cargo without worrying about scratches or dents, reflecting Tesla's commitment to both utility and longevity.
Theater on Wheels
The Cybertruck has a massive 18.5
Tesla
The Cybertruck is designed to offer an unparalleled in-vehicle entertainment experience. Its recording studio sound dynamics featuring 15 speakers, including two dedicated subwoofers and distributed amplifiers, transforms into a mobile theater, delivering an immersive audio experience.
At the heart of the Cybertruck's interior are the massive 18.5" touchscreen in the front and the 9.4" touchscreen in the back, both boasting an all-new user interface. These screens are more than just displays; they're control centers that put a wide range of functions at the fingertips of both the driver and passengers.
In line with Tesla's focus on safety and health, the Cybertruck comes equipped with a built-in hospital-grade HEPA filter and Bioweapon Defense Mode, providing protection against 99.97% of airborne particles. This feature, known as the Bioweapon Defense Mode, ensures that the cabin air is clean and safe, regardless of external conditions.
Adventure-Ready
With a range of up to 340 miles on a single charge and the capability to recover up to 136 miles with just 15 minutes of supercharging, the Cybertruck is ready for any adventure. The electronically adaptive air suspension further enhances its off-road capabilities, offering up to 17" of clearance.
Price and Specs Overview
The Cybertruck is offered in three trim levels: the Tri-Motor "Cyberbeast" at $99,990, the Dual-Motor All-Wheel-Drive at $79,990, and the Rear-Wheel-Drive at $60,990. Each model promises a blend of power, efficiency, and range that sets a new benchmark in the electric truck segment.
Tesla has previously stated that it will produce 200,000 Cybertrucks a year. With well over a million reservations, many people could wait a long time to get this vehicle. With that in mind, Tesla offers $1,000 off any other model when customers buy a Cybertruck but take delivery of a different Tesla before December 31.
Yesterday, we reported that Tesla updated their Steam integration on Model S and Model X vehicles. The update was part of their 2024 Holiday Update, but it looks like there may be more to this than a simple update.
Steam, a video game library app, makes it easy for users to buy or launch games on their computers. However, a couple of years ago, Valve, who created Steam, launched their own standalone device, the Steam Deck. The Steam Deck runs a custom OS based on Linux.
Steam Launch
When Tesla launched the redesigned Model S and Model X, Tesla introduced a dedicated gaming GPU with 16GB of RAM and touted the ability to play top-tier PC games in Tesla vehicles.
In 2022, Tesla finally launched the Steam app for the Model S and Model X as part of its 2022 Holiday Update. The Steam app runs Steam OS, the same OS as the Steam Deck in a virtual environment.
However, earlier this year, Tesla stopped including the GPU and Steam (Beta) in their vehicles, and we haven’t seen any updates to the Steam in quite some time. In fact, we thought Tesla was axing their gaming-on-the-go dreams.
SteamOS Update
The Steam app, which is still in Beta, is getting an interesting update for the Model S and Model X vehicles with the discrete GPU.
Those vehicles received an update to SteamOS 3.6 - the same version of SteamOS that runs on the Steam Deck. While nothing has visually changed, there’s a long list of performance optimizations under the hood to get things running smoother.
Comparing Steam Deck to Tesla Vehicles
Let’s take a look at the Steam Deck - according to Valve, its onboard Zen4 CPU and GPU combined push a total of 2 TFlops of data, which is fairly respectable, but much lower than today’s home consoles. The Steam Deck is capable of 720p gaming fairly seamlessly on low-to-medium settings on the go and is also built on the AMD platform.
AMD-equipped Teslas, including the Model 3 and Model Y, are packing an older Zen+ (Zen 1.5) APU (processor with a combined CPU and GPU). AMD claims that the V1000 - the same embedded chip as on AMD Tesla vehicles (YE1807C3T4MFB), brings up to 3.6 TFLops of processing power with it, including 4K encoding and decoding with the integrated GPU on board.
While that’s not enough for 4K gaming or comparable to a full-blown console or desktop GPU, that’s enough raw horsepower for light gaming and is currently more powerful than the Steam Deck.
The Model S and Model X’s GPU brings that up to about 10TFlops of power - comparable to modern consoles like the Xbox Series X at 12 TFlops.
Steam Gaming for All Vehicles?
The fact that Tesla is updating SteamOS even though the feature is no longer available in any new vehicles could indicate that Tesla is not only bringing Steam back to Teslas but that it’s going to play a much bigger role.
While SteamOS is run in a virtual environment on top of Tesla’s own OS, we could see Tesla bring SteamOS to all of its current vehicles, including the Model 3, Model Y, and Cybertruck. Steam in these vehicles would likely support any game that’s capable of running on the Steam Deck.
We think this Steam update, which includes performance improvements and a variety of fixes, has quietly passed under most people’s radars. This could be a very exciting update for those who enjoy gaming, especially for those who love to do it in their Tesla.
As part of Tesla’s 2024 Holiday Update, Tesla included two awesome new features - Weather at Destination and the long-awaited Weather Radar Overlay. These two features are big upgrades built upon the weather feature that was added in update 2024.26. The original weather feature added an hourly forecast, as well as the chance of precipitation, UV index, Air Quality Index, and other data.
However, this update also added some smaller weather touches, such as the vehicle alerting you if the weather at the destination will be drastically different from the current weather.
Not a Tesla App
Weather At Destination
When you’re navigating to a destination and viewing the full navigation direction list, the text under the arrival time will show you the expected weather next to your destination. You can also tap this, and the full weather pop-up will show up, showing your destination's full set of weather information.
Note the weather under the arrival time
Not a Tesla App
You can also tap the weather icon at the top of the interface at any time and tap Destination to switch between the weather at your current location and the weather at your destination.
You’re probably considering that the weather at your destination doesn’t matter when you’re three hours away - but that’s all taken into account by the trip planner. It will add in both charge time and travel time and show you the weather at your destination at your expected arrival time.
And if the weather is drastically different or inclement, such as rain or snow, while you’ve got sunshine and rainbows - the weather will be shown above the destination ETA for a few moments before it tucks itself away.
Tesla also recently introduced a new voice command. Asking, “What’s the weather?” or something similar will now bring up Tesla’s weather popup.
The weather pop-up above the ETA
Not a Tesla App
One limitation, though—if you’re planning a long road trip that is more than a day of driving, the weather at destination feature won’t be available until you get closer.
Weather Radar Overlay
As part of the improvements to weather, Tesla has also added a radar overlay for precipitation. You can access the new radar overlay by tapping the map and then tapping the weather icon on the right side of the map. It’ll bring up a radar overlay centered on your vehicle. It’ll animate through the radar data over the last 3 hours so that you can see the direction of the storm, but you can also pause it at any point.
You’re able to scroll around in this view and see the weather anywhere, even if you zoom out. It also works while you’re driving, although it can be a little confusing if you’re trying to pay attention to the navigation system. If you like to have Points of Interest enabled on your map, the weather overlay will hide POIs except for Charging POIs.
Requirements / Data
Unfortunately, you’ll need Premium Connectivity for any of the weather features to work, and being on WiFi or using a hotspot will not be enough to get the data to show up. The data, including the weather radar, is provided by The Weather Channel.
As for supported models, weather and weather at destination are available on all vehicles except for the 2012-2020 Model S and Model X. The weather radar has more strict requirements and requires the newer AMD Ryzen-powered infotainment center available on the 2021+ Model S and Model X and more recent Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
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