Tesla will now leverage its fleet of vehicles to help locate rough road segments or non-paved roads.
Although the entire fleet will be contributing, the first vehicles to take advantage of this information will be Tesla’s Model X and Model S vehicles with an adaptive air suspension.
Many Tesla owners have requested that their vehicles learn and adapt to rough roads.
CEO Elon Musk has stated that adaptive air suspension will remain a luxury feature and will stay exclusive to the Model S and Model X, although it's possible other vehicles in the future can take advantage of knowing the location of rough road segments by either slowing down or avoiding potholes.
In November 2020, @JohnEG78 tweeted to Musk stating, “I would like voice commands for air suspension ride height.”
Musk responded, “Ok. Overall air suspension height & dampening algorithm is getting a lot of attention. Will be linked to FSD, so [it] acts automatically.”
Ok. Overall air suspension height & damping algorithm is getting a lot of attention. Will be linked to FSD, so acts automatically.
Update 2022.20 has just started going out to select vehicles and one of the key features in the update is "Tesla Adaptive Suspension."
This feature will let your Tesla with an adaptive suspension automatically lower or raise depending on the type of road. So if you're driving and encounter a gravel or dirt road your vehicle will now automatically adjust its suspension for a smoother ride.
As Tesla ramps up their FSD rollout, the amount of real-world data that Tesla has collected is most likely more than any other automotive company.
Tesla can use this data gathered by the Tesla fleet to automatically adjust the ride height.
If more data is needed or something is inaccurate, a button on the screen or voice command would be a nice addition to report it to Tesla, similar to Tesla's FSD Beta report button.
While we don't have pothole detection and avoidance just yet this could be the start of such a feature.
“Tesla Adaptive Suspension will now adjust ride height for an upcoming rough road section. This adjustment may occur at various locations, subject to availability, as the vehicle downloads rough road map data generated by Tesla cars. The instrument cluster will continue to indicate when the suspension is raised for comfort. To enable this feature, tap Controls > Suspension > Adaptive Suspension Damping, and select the Comfort or Auto setting.”
While potholes may be more difficult for the vehicle to detect, having a built-in system similar to Waze where users can report where the pothole is could be useful. With Waze, users can report a number of issues on the road, including police presence, objects on the road, construction, accidents, and more.
If a pothole is repaired, Tesla could utilize indicators that compare the amount of times the pothole is being reported by the driver or vehicle to before it was repaired. If there are no reports of that pothole in the road anymore, Tesla’s AI could mark that pothole as repaired and remove it from the notification system or adaptive air suspension.
Adjusting Tesla's Air Suspension
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Tesla’s Cybertruck has officially earned a 5-Star Safety Rating from the NHTSA—an impressive achievement given the vehicle’s design. The achievement demonstrates Tesla’s engineering prowess. As one engineer points out, it wasn’t an easy feat.
Interestingly, the NHTSA only recently disclosed the results, despite the crash tests being completed a while ago. According to Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, the team had been aware of the 5-star rating for quite some time. While the reason for the delay remains unclear, now that the results are public, Tesla’s engineers can finally share how they achieved the rating.
Crumple Zones
Wes Morril, the Cybertruck’s Lead Engineer, wrote about the crash test video on X recently, addressing the claims that the Cybertruck doesn’t have a crumple zone. He also posted a side-by-side video (below) of the engineering analysis and the crash test itself.
Engineered Crash Safety
There’s a lot of engineering precision at play when a Cybertruck is involved in a crash. Unlike traditional crash structures that rely on crash cans and collapse points, the Cybertruck’s front gigacasting is designed to absorb and redirect impact forces in a highly controlled manner.
It all starts with the bumper beam, which crushes within the first few milliseconds of a high-speed impact. At the same time, the vehicle’s sensors rapidly analyze the crash dynamics and determine the optimal deployment of safety restraints, including airbags and seat belt pre-tensioners. These split-second actions are crucial in keeping occupants safe.
As the crash progresses, the vehicle’s structure deforms in a carefully engineered sequence. The drive unit cradle bends, directing the solid drive unit downward and out of the way, allowing the gigacasting to begin absorbing impact forces.
The casting crushes cell by cell, methodically dissipating energy in a controlled manner. This gradual deceleration reduces the g-forces transferred to occupants, making the crash much less severe. As the gigacast begins crushing, the safety restraints are deployed.
As Wes points out in his post - you can see how accurate the virtual analysis and modeling were. The video shows the simulated crash side by side with the real-life crash test and they’re almost identical. All that virtual testing helps provide feedback into the loop to design a better and safer system - one that is uniquely different than any other vehicle on the road.
All the armchair experts claimed the Cybertruck has no crumple zone and I get it, the proportions seem impossible. It was a tough one and there is a lot of engineering that went into it. Let me break it down for you:
Tesla has pioneered the use of single-piece castings for the front and rear sections of their vehicles, thanks to its innovative Gigapress process. Many automakers are now following suit, as this approach allows the crash structure to be integrated directly into the casting.
This makes the castings not only safer but also easier to manufacture in a single step, reducing costs and improving repairability. For example, replacing the entire rear frame of a Cybertruck is estimated to cost under $10,000 USD, with most of the expense coming from labor, according to estimates shared on X after high-speed rear collisions.
These insights come from Sandy Munro’s interview (posted below) with Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, highlighting how these advancements contribute to the improvements in Tesla’s latest vehicles, including the New Model Y.
However, with the new Model Y, Tesla has decided to go a different route and eliminated the front gigacast.
No Front Casting
Tesla’s factories aren’t equipped to produce both front and rear castings for the Model Y. Only Giga Texas and Giga Berlin used structural battery packs, but these were quickly phased out due to the underwhelming performance of the first-generation 4680 battery.
Tesla has gone back to building a common body across the globe, increasing part interchangeability and reducing supply chain complexity across the four factories that produce the Model Y. They’ve instead improved and reduced the number of unique parts up front to help simplify assembly and repair.
There is still potential for Tesla to switch back to using a front and rear casting - especially with their innovative unboxed assembly method. However, that will also require Tesla to begin using a structural battery pack again, which could potentially happen in the future with new battery technology.
Rear Casting Improvements
The rear casting has been completely redesigned, shedding 7 kg (15.4 lbs) and cutting machining time in half. Originally weighing around 67 kg (147 lbs), the new casting is now approximately 60 kg (132 lbs).
This 15% weight reduction improves both vehicle dynamics and range while also increasing the rear structure’s stiffness, reducing body flex during maneuvers.
Tesla leveraged its in-house fluid dynamics software to optimize the design, resulting in castings that resemble organic structures in some areas and flowing river patterns in others. Additionally, manufacturing efficiency has dramatically improved—the casting process, which originally took 180 seconds per part, has been reduced to just 75 seconds, a nearly 60% time reduction per unit.
Advancements in die-casting machines and cooling systems have allowed @Tesla to dramatically reduce cycle times and improve dimensional stability. pic.twitter.com/WB5ji67rvV
Tesla’s new casting method incorporates conformal cooling, which cools the die directly within the gigapress. Tesla has been refining the die-casting machines and collaborating with manufacturers to improve the gigapress process.
In 2023, Tesla patented a thermal control unit for the casting process. This system uses real-time temperature analysis and precise mixing of metal streams to optimize casting quality. SETI Park, which covers Tesla’s manufacturing patents on X, offers a great series for those interested in learning more.
The new system allows Tesla to control the flow of cooling liquid, precisely directing water to different parts of the die, cooling them at varying rates. This enables faster material flow and quicker cooling, improving both dimensional stability and the speed of removing the part from the press for the next stage.
With these new process improvements, Tesla now rolls out a new Model Y at Giga Berlin, Giga Texas, and Fremont every 43 seconds—an astounding achievement in auto manufacturing. Meanwhile, Giga Shanghai operates two Model Y lines, delivering a completed vehicle every 35 seconds.
![A Look at the Tesla Cybertruck’s Crumple Zones [VIDEO]](https://www.notateslaapp.com/img/containers/article_images/cybertruck/cybertruck-crash-test.webp/e43ef2433bd6e44ae8db63421604a4fb/cybertruck-crash-test.jpg)
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