The Cybertruck Foundation Series configuration has finally opened up to all reservation holders in Canada and Mexico. In addition to that, there is no longer a requirement to have a reservation for the Foundation Series in the United States. You can simply go to Tesla’s website and order one.
This is a big moment for the Cybertruck, which is starting to become more widely available and seen on roads across the United States. Delivery in Canada and Mexico for the Foundation Series is set to begin in October.
Cybertruck in Canada
The Cybertruck is finally available in Canada, after the approval of steer-by-wire. The AWD Foundation Series is available for $137,990 CAD, and the Cyberbeast Foundation Series is available for $165,990 CAD. This is roughly in line with the Foundation-series pricing available in the United States.
These order invites are currently only available for reservation holders, and invites are being sent out now. A couple things of note here – after taxes, in Ontario, the AWD Cybertruck is $165,000 CAD. The Cyberbeast is above $200,000 CAD. This includes the luxury tax, which Tesla is applying for some reason.
The Cybertruck should be exempt from the luxury tax, as its Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is above the luxury tax guideline limit of 3,856kg. The AWD Cybertruck has a GVWR of 4,159kg. At this point, we’re not sure if this is just an error on Tesla’s part, or if the law has changed without the webpage being updated to reflect a change in minimum GVWR exemptions. If it is exempt, the overall price will drop about $8,500 for the AWD to $155,990 after tax, and about $11,300 for the Cyberbeast, to about $187,500 CAD.
If the Cybertruck is indeed exempt, that would bring the price down considerably – in fact, a non-Foundation series AWD Cybertruck will cost less in Canada than the Model S Long Range or Model X Long Range.
Update: Cybertruck Program Manager Siddhant Awasthi has confirmed that Tesla is looking into the Canadian Luxury Tax issue, and it should be removed.
Cybertruck in Mexico
The Cybertruck is also available in Mexico now, for reservation holders just like in Canada. Pricing hasn’t been confirmed just yet, but it should be equivalently priced to the American and Canadian Cybertrucks.
Mexicans can also revel in the fact that there is no luxury tax for vehicles in Mexico – so no panic over being charged extra. As such, you can expect to pay $1,888,380 MXN before tax for the AWD, and $2,266,056.00 before tax for the Cyberbeast.
When Will Orders Open Up for AWD?
While Tesla has previously mentioned that the Foundation Series will be ending sometime this year – we’re expecting fairly late into the year, given the continued high demand for the Foundation Series.
While it was originally confirmed to be ending alongside Q3 2024 (September), it was later updated to be “through late 2024.” We’re not 100% certain that Tesla will keep that exact date, given the delayed launch of the Cybertruck in Canada and Mexico. You can bet that Tesla will adjust the timing based on demand in the two new markets.
Either way, once the Foundation Series ends, we can expect demand to pick up considerably, as the mark-up for Foundation is $20,000 USD ($27,500 CAD or $377,570 MXN) – a fairly sizeable amount in both countries.
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.
