Tesla Cybertruck Update July 2021
The Tesla Cybertruck is probably the craziest automotive design of our generation. I imagine this is what people must have felt when they saw the very first Lamborghini Countach concept cars in the early 1970’s - it just looks alien, like it has to be a movie prop and not a real car. But exactly like the Lambo, the Cybertruck is the real deal, and we are getting closer and closer to the day when mass production of these electric monsters will begin. It’s been a while since we talked about the Cybertruck around here, so while we eagerly await that delivery date, let’s go over some new updates on the specs and features of the Tesla Cybertruck.
Since we last talked about the Cybertruck, Tesla has released a bunch of new patent filings that give details on how certain parts of the vehicle are designed and function. In addition, we’ve now seen the Cybertruck make a few appearances at the Giga Austin construction site, where it’s actually getting some action as a work truck and showing off even more features. Now keep in mind right off the bat that all of this information is pre-production and things could still change between now and the official release of the truck, I expect that they probably will. This kind of video is more for entertainment than it is for information, and this stuff is just fun to think about.
The Glass
The indestructible, armoured glass of the Tesla Cybertruck is now permanently ingrained in meme culture thanks to it’s complete failure against the steel ball impact at the Cybertruck launch event. It was pretty funny to watch. Realistically though, even though the windows didn’t just bounce the ball off like it was made of rubber, they still held up spectacularly well by not completely shattering or allowing the ball to break through. Go throw a steel ball at your car window and you’ll see a pretty stark difference in the results.
We can see from the Cybertruck patent filing that there are some details on this new armoured glass. It’s a three layer design, the internal layer is between point 5 and 1 point 1 millimeters thick and is chemically strengthened alumino silicate, then there is an adhesive interlayer, and the outside is 2 to 5 millimeters thick of boro silicate - which is more resistant to thermal shock than standard glass. This is a very similar composition to Corning Gorilla Glass - not the new ceramic coated glass like on the iPhone 12, but the conventio nal version which is used for screens on most high end Android phones. Elon is sticking to his guns that the Cybertruck windows will be indestructible and bullet proof, in spite of what may have happened at the big event. Elon says that Franz hitting the door with a sledgehammer weakened the glass from the base. Which would make sense I guess, but I seem to remember the glass breaking on b oth doors and I’m pretty sure he only hit the front door with the hammer. Anyway.
The Bed Cover
This is another really neat detail from the patent filings, we get some diagrams of how the retractable and possibly solar powered truck bed cover will work. Aside from the obvious body design of the truck, the way the bed cover moves is one of the craziest things about it. This just looks like CGI when you see it on video. The tonneau cover, which is strong enough to support the weight of a large person, actually rolls up like a yoga matt into a storage compartment below the rear seats. The whole thing is made of hundreds of very thin metal slats that all hinge together for maximum flexibility and strength.
The patent filing describes it like this: “A truck bed cover integrated in a vehicle, configured to move through an opening formed between a cab and a truck bed, and along a set of channels on the truck bed. The vehicle includes a motor engaged with the truck bed cover and configured to enable an automated movement of the truck bed cover along the set of channels. The truck bed cover includes a plurality of movable portions, the plurality of movable portions linked together in a flexible format.”
It basically fixes one of the biggest inconveniences with a truck, you have this gigantic space for storage, but there’s no good way to secure it. Tesla found that existing, third party bed covers often had issues with the fit that would often lead to water leaking in. The automated cover is the perfect solution: strong protection when you want it and it gets completely out of the way when you don’t want it.
It’s still not crystal clear whether the option for solar panels embedded into the slats of the bed cover will actually make it into production, but Tesla do include it in their patent filing, that part reads: “In one embodiment, the tonneau cover comprises solar electric cells that are electrically connected to a photovoltaic charging system and battery. When the tonneau cover is deployed to cover the bed and the solar electric cells that make up the slats are facing the sun, the battery within the electric vehicle can be charged by the solar electric cells.”
Obviously, integrating solar into this moving part is going to complicate the design by quite a lot. Even if this does make it into the Cybertruck configurator, I’m sure it comes with a hefty price tag attached. And Elon has been pretty clear that there is not going to be much to gain in terms of range from having this feature, maybe 10 to 15 miles per day. I know some of you are really stoked for the solar option, I’m not really sold on it. Try and change my mind in the comments section below.
Also related to the truck bed, from the recent Giga Texas photos and videos, we’ve been able to see how the extendable ramp works in the tailgate of the truck. So, getting anything on wheels up into the bed of a truck can sometimes be sketchy at best, no shortage of fail videos on Youtube to show that point. The Cybertruck fixes this with a built-in ramp that extends from the ground, straight into the bed. And we can see from the pictures that the rear air suspension will actually drop down when the ramp is activated to give the easiest approach angle from the ground to the truck. That’s just really clever and it's going to save so many accidents from happening.
User Interface
Like handles? Well, too bad because Elon says the Cybertruck will have none of them. He didn’t specifically say no door handles, he just said, no handles. Some people consider that news, I don’t find it particularly interesting. Lots of cars don’t use door handles any more, most sports cars ditched them decades ago, the Mustang Mach E doesn’t have handles, it’s not weird. The lack of side mirrors is still weird though. We still don’t have any update on whether they’re getting the regulations adjusted or just adding mirrors. That’s what I’m the most spurious about.
Anyway, we’ve got a bunch of grainy and colourless images of the new Cybertruck user interface, and there is some really interesting stuff in here. Obviously the skin is all dark and cyberpunk like to fit the truck’s aesthetic. But beyond that, this is probably my favourite part of the entire new disclosure, because it not only shows off some cool features for the Cybertruck, but it also gives us a look at some new tech that should be coming to all Tesla vehicles in time.
Now, the eagle eyed readers out there were quick to spot that in many of the screen caps of the UI we can see 610 miles listed as the vehicle range, which might giveaway that the initially advertised range of 500 plus miles of range is actually more like 600 plus miles. That would be amazing. But the even more, laser eagle eyed readers, like myself, would also notice that in every single screen shot that was released, the time says 12:05 PM. Even the screen where the range is not listed as 610 miles, the clock still says 12:05 PM. So that would leave me to believe that these are not screen grabs from a functioning truck, because digital clocks don’t just pause.
My favourite part here is where they talk about integrating the interior controls with the driver facing camera. We know that Elon has said that all input is error, so it seems like Tesla’s latest effort to reduce input to zero is using facial recognition. Along with the screen caps, we get these flow charts that explain what process certain functions will follow. So, take the HVAC for example, the flowchart goes from: Identify passenger in vehicle, to output air via HVAC system, to Determine location of portion of passenger’s body e.g. face. So from my understanding, that means that instead of you messing around with the vent controls to get the AC blowing right on your face, the Tesla can just figure out where your head is and automatically direct the airflow right at it. That’s freaking cool. I want that right now in my car - seriously we’re in the middle of the worst heatwave in Canadian history, we’re dying up here. It appears that Tesla are looking at facial recognition to remove a bunch more input from the user interface, they’re talking about associating passenger preferences with a face ID, so everyone who rides in the passenger seat could save a custom setting and the Tesla would automatically recognize them and adjust the seat perfectly the moment they sit down, that’s pretty wild. I know face ID is scary to some people, but everything is tracking your face all day long these days, you can’t avoid it, you might as well get some good use out of it.
Do these screen caps reveal the new Tesla app store? It looks that way. On the media screen, we can see categories for apps, music, games and store. It’s long been rumoured that Tesla would open up their UI to third party developers, but so far we have only seen in car apps that were developed by Tesla. Oftentimes they’re just trying to port over an existing app like Netflix or Spotify, and they do an OK job of copying those existing apps. But for example, the Tesla version of Spotify just does not work as well as the IOS version of Spotify. And that’s annoying. First world problems, I know. I know. But we’re definitely looking forward to having more variety and better functioning apps in the cars.
Lastly, there are some cool details in here on the Cybertruck add ons like the camper bed and the Cybertrailer. The camper bed attachment is shown pretty clearly, and we can see that the electric cooktop can be fully controlled through the truck’s UI. It looks like you can tell the Cybertruck what you’re trying to cook, set the temperature and a timer and everything. Looks very slick.
Then the Cybertrailer seems to have made an appearance here as well. So far we’ve only seen this in CGI renderings, and I’m not saying this screen cap is a real photo either, but it looks like it could be real. Either way, in this panel we see the truck in tow mode. And of course, because the Cybertruck is designed to be fully self driving, you don’t need a buddy outside doing hand signals to help you back up to your trailer. The Cybertruck will automatically reverse into the perfect position to hook up and get going.
Alright, I know everybody wants some groundbreaking new detail on the Cybertruck, but we just don’t have it yet. At least not right now, with my luck news will come out as soon as I finish writing this video. Either way, for now, this is the best we’ve got, just killing time and daydreaming about all of the cool stuff that we’ll be able to do once we finally get our Cybertrucks.
