Tesla will add accident and road closure icons to its maps
Fortune
Tesla's navigation system is set to receive some additional capabilities, including some Waze-like features such as displaying accidents on the road. The information, courtesy of our favorite Tesla hacker, Green, details some of his findings when digging into some of the code for software update 2024.2.6. Tesla is not only expanding its map coverage and introducing a new dialect in select regions but also adding accident, and road closure information, as well as a new routing option.
Real-Time Updates: Accident and Road Closure Icons
According to code found in Tesla’s latest update, Tesla will add "accident" and "closed road" icons to its maps. These icons are expected to give drivers near real-time updates on road conditions, allowing them to make informed decisions and avoid delays. This feature, in addition to the previously added icons such as stop signs, traffic lights, and red light speed cameras helps Tesla maps compete with mobile apps that have this information such as Google Maps and Waze.
While Green found references to these new icons in the 2024.2 update, these features are not yet active but are expected to be added in the near future.
Accident and road closure information needs to be timely to be useful so it’s unlikely that Tesla is gathering this data themselves and instead leveraging an existing data provider that already supplies this information to other services. Waze relies on crowd-sourced data, and while possible, it's unlikely that Tesla will rely on driver input to display this information.
Much like stop signs and traffic lights icons, when Tesla introduces these new features they’re expected to require a subscription to Tesla’s Premium Connectivity. While drivers can get some premium connectivity features by using their phone’s hotspot feature, accident and road closure data will likely not be one of them. Similar to traffic data, Tesla will need to pay data providers for this information, which is part of what the premium connectivity fee helps pay for.
More Navigation Options: From Fastest Route to No Tolls
Tesla is also expected to introduce a new route option to its navigation system. Thanks to alternate routes, when adding a destination to the nav system, drivers can now pick from “shortest” and “fastest” routes. However, it appears Tesla is going to expand these options by offering a “no tolls” option in certain situations. Drivers can already force the navigation system to use toll-free roads, but it requires going into settings by tapping Controls > Navigation and choosing avoid tolls. This new option will allow owners to directly compare a toll-free option to the fastest and shortest route options.
While some owners have been looking to have a way to avoid highways, it does not appear that this will be introduced at the same time.
Expanded Maps and Languages: Latin America in Focus
Tesla breaks up its maps into various regions around the world to make them smaller in size. A map region includes detailed maps, routing and language options. With the recent expansion into Chile and Colombia, Tesla will soon introduce a new map region for Latin America. This addition will support Latin American Spanish, offering a local experience for users in the region. The new Latin American Spanish language will likely remain specific to this region and will not be available in other regions such as North America.
Requirements and Availability
While some of these features will require a subscription to Tesla's Premium Connectivity service, priced at $10/month in the US, they will also require drivers to enable Online Routing to view the additional data.
Accident and road closure data and toll options are also expected to be available in limited regions, likely dependent on where Tesla can gather the data.
Interestingly, map and navigation enhancements were on our Holiday Update Wish List, including several items Tesla owners hoped would be part of the big December update. We are more than happy to keep receiving gifts even after the holiday season.
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Tesla’s factories are more than just gigantic locations to produce cars at an insanely fast rate - they’re also locations that live and thrive alongside the environment around them. At Gigafactory Berlin, Tesla planted over 1 million trees in 2024 to help offset the footprint of Giga Berlin. Tesla originally cut down less than half that amount of trees.
One of Tesla’s major goals is to electrify the planet and reduce carbon emissions - and what better way to do that than to create more green space. Tesla has some absolutely fantastic green-centric initiatives, and Giga Berlin really showed that off when they planted double the acreage of forest that they cut down to build the facility.
A rendering of the expected finished locations.
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Ecological Paradise
Giga Berlin isn’t the only place that Tesla is working to bring some green to - Giga Texas is also on the list. Tesla has shown off their official renderings and plans for the upcoming Ecological Paradise that will be build around Giga Texas.
Tesla has some absolutely staggering plans for the location, and it's far more than a simple park. With nearly 70,000 residents within 15 minutes of Giga Texas and 15,000 employees commuting into work, there is a considerable number of people to appeal to. That also comes with nearly 4 miles of riverfront - so Tesla will be making the best use of the space to benefit the local community and its employees.
A map of the planned paths, routes, and areas.
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The plans for the ecological paradise include a 2-acre riverfront rain garden, as well as 6 rainwater buffer and treatment ponds - all intended to enhance, protect, and expand the 53 acres of local wetland - for a total of 150 million gallons of reclaimed rainwater that will be recycled for landscape irrigation.
Just like green spaces, Tesla places considerable emphasis on water reuse and aims to make its factories as water-neutral as possible. This Ecological Paradise will help to offset the water usage from Giga Texas while also greening up the entire community around it - because all four of the new trailheads, as well as the riverbank, will be publicly accessible.
You can check out the entire filing for the Ecological Paradise, which includes a benefit report to the local community, at this link here. It looks like quite a bit of green space, which will go right alongside the 32,400kW of solar panels installed at Giga Texas - which is the largest single installation of panels in the world.
After announcing the Long Range RWD Cybertruck for Saudi Arabia, Tesla left everyone speculating when the new RWD variant would launch in North America.
After just a day since launching in Saudi Arabia, Tesla has officially launched the Rear-Wheel Drive variant of the Cybertruck in the U.S.
The RWD variant is a toned-down and simplified version aimed at a lower price than the AWD, sacrificing several key features for affordability.
Let’s take a look at what’s been cut and what’s changed between the trim variants.
Feature Cut
The updated specs for the RWD variant now provide 350 miles of range, with up to 362 with the new optional soft tonneau cover - more on that later. The 0-60mph acceleration is 6.2s, which is acceptable but not the fastest Tesla on the block. Tesla has also removed the adaptive air suspension - meaning this is the first Cybertruck on a coil suspension. This has also impacted the overall payload capacity, dropping it to 2,007 lbs (from 2,500 lbs on the AWD).
With a reduced tow capacity of 7,500 lbs (down from 11,000 lbs on the AWD), we expect that this will be a deal-breaker or deal-maker for many, as it can tow double of what the Class II hitch on the Model X and Model Y can - but not enough to tow big trailers.
While this a single-motor vehicle, there is still a diff-locker available for off-roading. We expect a limited variant of Off-Road Mode to be available on this Cybertruck.
Interior Differences
On the inside, Tesla has definitely trimmed to meet the new price point. The rear screen has been removed, and the seats are now cloth textile. With the loss of the leather, the seats are also no longer ventilated - but the front seats are still heated. They’ve also cut down on the sound system - from 15 speakers to just 7, including a subwoofer, on this trim. That also cuts out the active noise cancellation.
The HEPA filter and Bio-Weapon Defense mode have also been removed, along with the two 120V outlets inside the cabin.
Truck Bed
The bed of the truck also sees some differences, with the biggest being the removal of the bed outlets - and, oddly enough, they’re not an option, either. This is a big loss - Tesla should have at least kept them as an optional add-on because they’re one of the best use cases of the Cybertruck. However, this truck still supports Powershare, and the new Powershare Outlet Adapter is launching alongside it.
Tesla has also removed the bed’s L-Track and LED lightbars in favor of simpler LED lamps on either side.
Finally, on the exterior, the Cybertruck RWD has lost its rear lightbar, keeping only the turn signal lights and a center brake light. Tesla has also removed the signature lights on the front of the truck - there are standard headlights there instead.
No more rear lightbar. We're not sure how this will look on the roads just yet!
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Available Options
The new standard wheels are 18”, but the tires make up for the remainder to keep the same 35” total size. 20” Cyber Wheels and covers are available for $3,500. Interestingly, Tesla is honoring the discounted FSD early-reservation holder price of just $7,000. If you’re not a reservation holder, FSD will be an additional $8,000.
The new 18
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The Cybertruck Long Range RWD isn’t shipping with a tonneau cover. Instead, it will be available on the Tesla Shop (or during the ordering process) for $750 as a soft cover, which offers up to a 12-mile improvement in range. The soft cover is manual and water resistant.
The Soft Tonneau in all its glory.
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Pricing & Availability
Tesla has cut out major features of the Cybertruck to be able to offer it at a lower price. However, the price is not as low as many would have liked to see. The RWD Long Range version will sell for $69,990 ($62,490 after the Federal EV Rebate). While there are a lot of removed features for just a $10k price reduction, the truck can still be a good option for those looking to adventure or do light towing. The one bright spot for the RWD variant is the improved range thanks to the truck being lighter.
This variant will begin shipping in the United States in June/July 2025, and we expect it to become available in Canada and Mexico in the coming weeks or months as well.
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