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Porsche releases Taycan Cross Turismo production details, latest teasers for Taycan sedan
During Porsche’s annual press conference in Stuttgart last week, the company provided new details about the Taycan Cross Turismo, the Taycan sedan’s (formerly the Mission E concept car) more rugged sibling. The automaker noted that the Cross Turismo had been cleared for production next year, with the vehicle set to be produced alongside Taycan sedan in the company’s Zuffenhausen site.
The Taycan Cross Turismo is a valuable step forward for the automaker, which is currently pushing a shift towards the electrification of its fleet. The company expects to hire an additional 1,500 new employees for the launch of the Taycan sedan and the Taycan Cross Turismo, and it is also aiming to expand its electric lineup in the coming years. This initiative will continue with the EV version of its best-selling Macan SUV, which will be produced on Porsche’s Leipzig plant and built under parent company Volkswagen’s Premium Platform Electric (PPE) platform, which was co-developed by Porsche and Audi for larger vehicles.
The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo prototype winter testing. (Photo: Tye/TaycanForum.com) 
Despite the Cross Turismo and the upcoming Macan EV both taking aim at the adventure/lifestyle market, Porsche board member in charge of sales and marketing Detlev von Platen noted during an interview with CNET Roadshow after the annual press conference that the two vehicles will not overlap. “The Cross Turismo concept is basically a more lifestyle-ish interpretation of the Taycan. It’s not directly targeting the SUV market,” he said.
Amidst the news of the Cross Turismo’s production, Porsche has also released a new batch of teaser photos for the Taycan sedan, which is expected to be released later this year. This time around, it is not the Mission E concept car that the company is showcasing. Instead, the German carmaker is featuring what appears to be a production-ready version of the vehicle, or at least something close to it.
(Photo: Porsche GB/Twitter) 
(Photo: Porsche GB/Twitter) 
(Photo: Porsche GB/Twitter)
The images, which were released by Porsche, showcase a vehicle covered in some colorful camouflage. Small details of the car are a bit hard to make out due to its wrap, but the words “#SoulElectrified” and “Taycan” give the vehicle away. Based on the general appearance of the camouflaged car, it appears that the Taycan will be somewhat close to the design of the refined test mules that have been spotted winter testing as of late.
(Photo: Porsche GB/Twitter) 
(Photo: Porsche GB/Twitter) 
(Photo: Porsche GB/Twitter) 
(Photo: Porsche GB/Twitter)
Similar to Porsche’s recent prototypes, the Taycan in the new teaser photos sports a headlight design that follows the theme of the current 718 Cayman and Boxster sports cars, both of which sport four LED daytime running lights. A full-width light bar at the rear is also present, invoking a design element from the company’s flagship vehicle, the new Porsche 911. These flourishes do not mean that the stunning lines of the Mission E concept are gone, as elements from the futuristic sedan such as its low nose and rakish roofline remain.
The Porsche Taycan is expected to be released this coming September. The company notes that the sedan will be capable of sprinting from 0-60 mph in under 3.5 seconds, while having a range of over 300 miles on one charge. The Taycan is also designed to be charged at 350 kW, allowing owners of the car to replenish over 60 miles of range in just 4 minutes.
Tesla has started to deploy the 2026 Summer Update to owners across its fleet, and among the biggest changes are improvements to Navigation, a new startup animation for the Model 3 and Model Y, Caraoke scoring, and new capabilities for Grok.
As the update has started making its way to some cars, we can now see a few of the features operating in real-time. We will show you what some of the new features look like in this article, along with some additional details on what changed.
Not all of the new features in the 2026 Summer Update have quite made an appearance, but some of them have, so we’ll show those here:
New Animation Screen for 3/Y
Tesla is rolling out a new startup animation for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y owners. This is present in Launch Edition and Performance Model 3 and Model Y, but other trim levels do not have anything like this.
The new animation screen on Model 3/Y with the 2026 Summer Update
Apparently color will also be customizable: pic.twitter.com/wSdwggtG3S
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 27, 2026
Owners can adjust the color associated with the startup animation to suit their preferences. It is a surprise that more automakers do not focus on this animation for their vehicles; it can be a great first impression piece and make the car immediately feel more luxurious.
Tesla has included this on more premium trims, but it is nice to see it on the Model 3 and Model Y.
Grok Improvements
Grok can now adjust more things in the car outside of the Navigation system. Now, drivers can adjust anything from climate to driving settings by simply speaking to the AI assistant in the car:
@Tesla‘s AI assistant (Grok) with its new vehicle commands in action.
Set the climate, your destination and vehicle settings all in one go! pic.twitter.com/0bBTqaAk6G
— Not a Tesla App (@NotATeslaApp) July 28, 2026
You don’t even have to push a button, either. Instead, you can just say “Hey, Grok,” if you have it enabled. That feature rolled out with the 2026 Spring Update just a few months back.
This is a great feature, especially pertinent for the Robotaxi platform, as there will be no buttons inside the Cybercab when it eventually starts giving rides to the public. It also broadens Grok’s capabilities, which were relatively limited in terms of vehicle setting adjustments beforehand.
Tesla briefly offered one Robotaxi part in its Parts Catalog for your personal car, only to remove it just a short time after it was first noticed.
Tesla’s Robotaxi camera washer apparatus was briefly available for purchase on the company’s Online Parts Catalog. The camera washer was first noticed on Model Y Robotaxi vehicles about six months ago in Austin.
🚨 Tesla looks to have installed Camera Washers on the side repeater cameras on Robotaxis in Austin
pic.twitter.com/xemRtDtlRR— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 23, 2026
First noticed by Not a Tesla App, the Camera Washer entries appeared for the new “Juniper” Model Y under a category called “Halo,” which has also now disappeared. Interestingly, Halo probably is related to Tesla’s internal “Project Halo,” which was a project that aimed to retrofit customer-owned Model Ys into functional Robotaxis.
This hardware addition would likely be required for the vehicle to operate as a Robotaxi, as the Camera Washer seems to be a non-negotiable part of the vision-based system Tesla utilizes for self-driving efforts.
However, this part has since been removed and is no longer visible on the EPC.
Now the true question lingers: Why would Tesla add this Camera Washer to the Model Y parts catalog? Is it planning to make it available for owners to utilize on their own cars for personal use, or will it become a prerequisite for Robotaxi operation in customer-owned cars?
While discussing the upgrade options for Hardware 3 vehicles during the Q1 Earnings Call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk had said that the company could establish small, satellite shops that would upgrade cameras and self-driving computers. Perhaps this same strategy could be utilized for vehicles that want to be included in Robotaxi but do not have the correct hardware.
AI4 is currently represented as capable of unsupervised self-driving, and the same was said about HW3 at one point, only for Tesla to admit last quarter that it would, unfortunately, not be possible. Perhaps AI4 vehicles might need this camera washer as a prerequisite, just as HW3 cars will need that camera and computer upgrade.
This could be the first hint of that’s where we are headed.
Tesla has started rolling out a broader change to the ride experience for its Robotaxi fleet by silencing turn signals, but the change is certainly polarizing.
Tesla has generally made it clear that its purpose-built ride-hailing platform, Robotaxi, will cater to the rider in nearly every way possible. This includes having climate preferences, music, and other personal settings loaded up in the car as the rider enters.
But Tesla is taking it a step further by muting turn signal chimes altogether, a change that appears to be a way to make the ride more peaceful:
Tesla has finally turned off the blinker/turn signal noises in their Model Y Robotaxis.
This is a small update, but will definitely be noticeable for riders. It didn’t really make much sense to leave the turn signal sound on when it’s Unsupervised. pic.twitter.com/ITwx60PAMO
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) July 27, 2026
However, there are a handful of people who are not thrilled about this change. Turn signals are a conditioned part of the human mind for those who ride in a car regularly.
Taking a turn without one feels strange and odd, and not hearing it click while activated could set off some alarms for riders, who might use the noise as confirmation that other drivers know of their intention to turn.
I kind of like it being on, threw me off when riding with Zoox who has had it disabled
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) July 27, 2026
Turn signal noises are still audible in customer cars, so if you use FSD in your personal vehicle, you will still hear the turn signal.
The move is certainly one that is unique, but not one that separates it from other ride-sharing services. In a normal car, the clicking sound confirms to the driver that the blinker is active. In a fully driverless Robotaxi, that feedback serves no purpose for passengers, other than peace of mind.
Tesla unlocks in-car web conferencing to extend Google Meet, Teams and beyond
Tesla Summer Update begins rolling out: a look at the new features
