Back in 2020, Elon Musk said that Tesla would start rendering other Teslas within the Autopilot/FSD visualization on screen. Almost five years after Musk’s original comment, this idea may finally come to realization — at least partially. Tesla may not add vehicle color renderings like originally planned, but it looks like we may at least be getting the Cybertruck rendered on the screen, along with a few other items.
Will put it on the list. Right after making it recognize trailers instead of looking like a semi truck is trying to mate with Cybertruck
Wes Morrill, Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, mentioned that displaying Cybertrucks on the in-vehicle visualization will get added to Tesla’s list of upcoming features. However, it looks like Tesla has a few other items to add to visualizations as well.
Another visualization Wes mentions is getting trailers to render on the screen properly instead of being displayed as a truck or semi. For drivers who partially depend on the visualization while driving, this could be a helpful change.
This also means Tesla has the visual bandwidth to identify and categorize vehicles more closely than the generic “car” or “truck” we see today.
Musk’s Original Comment
While Musk’s original comment back in 2020 called for rendering all Teslas in their proper colors on the screen, this is unlikely to be what Tesla is going for here. Tesla’s original plan likely caused too much clutter or distractions in the visualization, preventing drivers from being able to quickly identify critical items. Tesla currently uses colors to categorize different things, such as a light gray vehicle meaning the vehicle is parked, or a dark gray vehicle being a lead vehicle.
Regarding rendering Teslas in the vehicle visualization, Wes’ comment on X leaves a little up to interpretation. It’s not clear whether Tesla is only going to add the Cybertruck or potentially other Teslas as well to the visualization. We don’t believe they’ll add colors for the reasons above, but we’ll have to wait to see what they roll out in the future.
Depending on how far Tesla goes with these visualizations, the type of MCU in your vehicle could play a role in whether they’re included in your car.
How Tesla Identifies Objects
Tesla uses a rather complex system that quickly compares objects on the road to their nearest estimated shapes, and displays that on the visualization, which is why you can get some oddities like people with shopping carts looking like they’re riding motorcycles or bicycles in a parking lot.
Having further optimization on that aspect also means more system accuracy - something Tesla has been striving for, especially to improve Actually Smart Summon and eventually bring Banish to the FSD feature set.
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Tesla has been working on the 4680 cell since 2023, with its initial deployment of the structural battery pack Model Y. This was quickly pulled from sales due to lackluster charging performance, but the latest generation of the 4680 cells can now achieve charging speeds of up to 500kW, which is a huge improvement.
However, Tesla has invested in a 4680 new cell design that will help drive down costs to make these vehicles more affordable.
Lowest Price Per kWh
Michael Guilfoy, Tesla’s Director of Cell Manufacturing Operations, mentioned on LinkedIn that Tesla has finally achieved a major milestone with the 4680 cell. One of the goals for 4680 was to bring down the cost per kWh to the lowest of all Tesla’s cells - and as of the end of 2024, they’ve done just that.
The Cybercell - the 2nd generation of the 4680 cell- is now Tesla’s lowest cost per kWh cell, meaning that it is the cheapest to produce for Tesla in terms of assembling the parts that go into a vehicle battery pack.
While the Cybertruck is the only Tesla that using the 4680 right now, the 4680 cell is primed to be Tesla’s primary cell going forward due to cost savings, manufacturing optimizations, and usefulness as part of the vehicle structure.
The 4680 cell also offers significant weight savings while also being more rigid, which allows Tesla to build vehicles in a unique fashion that are far safer than others on the road today.
Of course, 4680 isn’t the only cell Tesla is developing - they’ve got a whole host of other things they’re working on. Tesla is developing four new cell types, with some potentially launching in 2026.
Dry Cathode on the Horizon
Guilfoy also mentioned that this isn’t Tesla Energy’s only achievement this year - there’s more upcoming. One of these is the Dry Cathode tech that will help drive that cost down even further.
Dry Cathode manufacturing removes the toxic solvents and furnace baking processes from the battery manufacturing process, saving time and being more environmentally friendly, but it is a new technology. Tesla has been working on this for quite some time - in fact, since the initial introduction of the 1st generation of 4680 cells back in 2023.
We’re quite excited to see what Tesla will do next with the 4680 and their other future cells. Perhaps it is time for the good old 2170 cell to be laid to rest? That’s something we’ll find out in the near future - as the Model S and Model X Plaid rely upon the 2170 to be able to produce the instantaneous power required to make them so fast - but the 4680 cell in the Cyberbeast can do much the same.
With FSD now beginning to roll out to more regions outside the United States and Canada - namely Mexico and China - there’s hope that we’ll see more of a global rollout. That hope also includes Europe, which is stuck behind a relatively thick wall of regulation, preventing Tesla from easily deploying its autonomy software in any nations that follow the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) commerce guidelines on autonomy.
The UNECE sets regulations for the entire European Union - as well as some countries outside of the EU, such as the United Kingdom. However, the body responsible for autonomy meets infrequently, sometimes with months between sessions. The last meeting occurred last month, while the next meeting isn’t taking place again until at least June, and autonomy isn’t even on the agenda for that meeting.
Teasing FSD
However, that doesn’t stop Tesla from showing off what FSD is capable of - even in Europe. In a lighthearted post on X, Tesla Europe showed off FSD Supervised in Europe, with the caption “pending regulatory approval”.
— Tesla Europe & Middle East (@teslaeurope) April 5, 2025
Tesla’s executives, including Elon Musk, have mentioned that FSD is ready for Europe - the biggest constraint is regulatory approval. There is still some hope that Tesla could get around UNECE regulation 157, which governs autonomy with some nation-by-nation deals, but that will take time and regulatory effort to grind through all the red tape.
While it seems FSD and Tesla are ready to launch the moment regulatory approval arrives, the UNECE is set on taking the snail’s pace to this challenge, with comments from participating nations stating:
“While [a driver assistance system] may help reduce collisions, it may also introduce new safety risks.”
For those Europeans who are waiting, petitioning your representatives to work on autonomy is going to be key to getting FSD approved in Europe. Without consumer support, politicians have no reason to focus on something so specific. Meanwhile, they can approve six new and different types of light fixtures in three days.
So - when is FSD coming to Europe? Whenever regulation permits - because at this point, it definitely isn’t a data or training issue - Tesla has clearly gathered the key information it needs to make a product comparable to what’s available in North America. Tesla is confident enough to test and show off in action on X, so we hope that’s enough to at least get some regulators’ attention.
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