News
Rivian posts in-depth look at its Gear Guard software and hardware security suite
Rivian recently released an in-depth look at Gear guard, its security system for R1 vehicle owners.
In an email to Teslarati, Rivian broke down each Gear Guard feature. Based on Rivian’s explanation, Gear Guard is not just a software security system but a blanket term for products that provide security in different ways.
Gear Guard Security System
The Gear Guard Security system features the Gear Guard Alarm and Gear Guard Video.
The R1T pickup truck is equipped with 11 embedded cameras. Gear Guard uses 5 cameras to monitor the space around the vehicle while drivers are away. The 5 cameras are enough to provide a full 360-degree view of the space surrounding the car, including a direct view inside the truck bed.
The five cameras Gear Guard uses to monitor the R1T are located in the front bumper, both the side mirrors, above the truck bed, and above the license plate. Gear Guard will record any nearby human activity while drivers are away in 30-second clips. Each clip will be organized by location, date, and time. Drivers can watch the saved clips via the R1 vehicle’s center display.
Next comes Gear Guard’s leading character. Tesla once had HAL 3000 for Sentry Mode, now Rivian has “Yeti.” In October 2021, the public got a sneak peek at the Rivian Yeti. The peculiar character received mixed reviews, with more family-oriented drivers thinking Yeti was perfect for their kids. Other drivers commented that the character would attract strangers to their cars rather than deter them.
“I love the Gear Guard character!” said Wassym Bensaid, VP of Software Development. “I think it represents everything which is unique about Gear Guard. It’s not an aggressive system. It’s a character which is smart.”
According to Rivian, Yeti was born in 2017 and has since changed in form, color, and attire. Yeti inhabits the center display in Rivian vehicles and pops up when cameras detect someone approaching the cars to remind people passing by that they are being monitored. When a passerby does trigger a vehicle’s alarm, drivers are notified remotely through the Rivian app.
Gear Guard Cable
Along with its security system, Rivian released an 8-foot Gear Guard cable, as well as an upcoming 14-foot version that’s coming in the Spring. The Gear Guard cable is made of braided steel wrapped in a woven nylon jacket. The cable attaches directly into a bezel in the truck bed to help secure gear, including bikes, kayaks, storage bins, and furniture, too.
“There’s all sorts of things in the vehicle that came out of just observing people,” shared Larry Parker, Executive Creative Director.
Parker shared that Rivian met with mountain bikers, skiers, and all sorts of people. They observed that people were very concerned about their stuff, like bikes, being stolen during trips.
“Gear Guard really started with [the] understanding that our customers were very likely to take mountain bikes or roads bikes somewhere,” said Erik Glaser Principal UX Designer. “And so thinking of the bike really led to this discussion around the cable.”
Watch Rivian’s video below to learn more about Gear Guard!
News
Wedbush’s Dan Ives sees ‘monster year’ ahead for Tesla amid AI push
In a post on X, the analyst stated that the electric vehicle maker could hit a $3 trillion market cap by the end of 2026 in a bullish scenario.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives is doubling down on Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) long-term upside. In a post on X, the analyst stated that the electric vehicle maker could hit a $3 trillion market cap by the end of 2026 in a bullish scenario, thanks to the company’s efforts to develop and push its artificial intelligence programs.
An aggressive valuation upside
Ives, Wedbush’s global head of tech research, stated in his post that Tesla is entering a pivotal period as its autonomy and robotics ambitions move closer to commercialization. He expects Tesla’s market cap to reach $2 trillion in 2026, representing roughly 33% upside from current levels, with a bull case up to a $3 trillion market cap by year-end.
Overall, Ives noted that 2026 could become a “monster year” for TSLA. “Heading into 2026, this marks a monster year ahead for Tesla/Musk as the autonomous and robotics chapter begins. We believe Tesla hits a $2 trillion market cap in 2026 and in a bull case scenario $3 trillion by end of 2026… as the AI chapter takes hold at TSLA,” the analyst wrote.
Ives also reiterated his “Outperform” rating on TSLA stock, as well as his $600 per share price target.
Unsupervised Full-Self Driving tests
Fueling optimism is Tesla’s recent autonomous vehicle testing in Austin, Texas. Over the weekend, at least two Tesla Model Ys were spotted driving on public roads without a safety monitor or any other occupants. CEO Elon Musk later confirmed the footage of one of the vehicles on X, writing in a post that “testing is underway with no occupant in the car.”
It remains unclear whether the vehicle was supported by chase cars or remote monitoring, and Tesla has not disclosed how many vehicles are involved. That being said, Elon Musk stated a week ago that Tesla would be removing its Safety Monitors from its vehicles “within the next three weeks.” Based on the driverless vehicles’ sightings so far, it appears that Musk’s estimate may be right on the mark, at least for now.
News
Production-ready Tesla Cybercab hits showroom floor in San Jose
Tesla has implemented subtle but significant updates to both the Cybercab’s exterior and interior elements.
Tesla has showcased what appears to be a near-production-ready Cybercab at its Santana Row showroom in San Jose, California, giving visitors the closest look yet at the autonomous two-seater’s refined design.
Based on photos of the near-production-ready vehicle, the electric vehicle maker has implemented subtle but significant updates to both the Cybercab’s exterior and interior elements, making the vehicle look more polished and seemingly more comfortable than its prototypes from last year.
Exterior and interior refinements
The updated Cybercab, whose photos were initially shared by Tesla advocate Nic Cruz Patane, now features a new frameless window design, an extended bottom splitter on the front bumper, and a slightly updated rear hatch. It also includes a production-spec front lightbar with integrated headlights, new wheel covers, and a license plate bracket.
Notably, the vehicle now has two windshield wipers instead of the prototype’s single unit, along with powered door struts, seemingly for smoother opening of its butterfly doors. Inside, the Cybercab now sports what appears to be a redesigned dash and door panels, updated carpet material, and slightly refined seat cushions with new center cupholders. Its legroom seems to have gotten slightly larger as well.
Cybercab sightings
Sightings of the updated Cybercab have been abundant in recent months. At the end of October, the Tesla AI team teased some of the autonomous two-seater’s updates after it showed a photo of the vehicle being driven through an In-N-Out drive-through by employees in Halloween costumes. The photos of the Cybercab were fun, but they were significant, with longtime Tesla watchers noting that the company has a tradition of driving its prototypes through the fast food chain’s drive-throughs.
Even at the time, Tesla enthusiasts noticed that the Cybercab had received some design changes, such as segmented DRLs and headlamps, actual turn signals, and a splitter that’s a lot sharper. Larger door openings, which now seem to have been teasing the vehicle’s updated cabin, were also observed at the time.
Investor's Corner
Tesla analyst realizes one big thing about the stock: deliveries are losing importance
Tesla analyst Dan Levy of Barclays realized one big thing about the stock moving into 2026: vehicle deliveries are losing importance.
As a new era of Tesla seems to be on the horizon, the concern about vehicle deliveries and annual growth seems to be fading, at least according to many investors.
Even CEO Elon Musk has implied at times that the automotive side, as a whole, will only make up a small percentage of Tesla’s total valuation, as Optimus and AI begin to shine with importance.
He said in April:
“The future of the company is fundamentally based on large-scale autonomous cars and large-scale and large volume, vast numbers of autonomous humanoid robots.”
Almost all of Tesla’s value long-term will be from AI & robots, both vehicle & humanoid
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 11, 2023
Levy wrote in a note to investors that Tesla’s Q4 delivery figures “likely won’t matter for the stock.” Barclays said in the note that it expects deliveries to be “soft” for the quarter.
In years past, Tesla analysts, investors, and fans were focused on automotive growth.
Cars were truly the biggest thing the stock had to offer: Tesla was a growing automotive company with a lot of prowess in AI and software, but deliveries held the most impact, along with vehicle pricing. These types of things had huge impacts on the stock years ago.
In fact, several large swings occurred because of Tesla either beating or missing delivery estimates:
- January 3, 2022: +13.53%, record deliveries at the time
- January 3, 2023: -12.24%, missed deliveries
- July 2, 2024: +10.20%, beat delivery expectations
- October 3, 2022: -8.61%, sharp miss due to Shanghai factory shutdown
- July 2, 2020: +7.95%, topped low COVID-era expectations with sizeable beat on deliveries
It has become more apparent over the past few quarters that delivery estimates have significantly less focus from investors, who are instead looking for progress in AI, Optimus, Cybercab, and other projects.
These things are the future of the company, and although Tesla will always sell cars, the stock is more impacted by the software the vehicle is running, and not necessarily the vehicle itself.
Wedbush’s Dan Ives sees ‘monster year’ ahead for Tesla amid AI push
Production-ready Tesla Cybercab hits showroom floor in San Jose
