Tesla has given the Cybertruck a great new towing feature that will not only increase safety but could help avert damage and help with longevity.

While Tesla has boasted some impressive examples of towing with its vehicle lineup, until the Cybertruck was released in late 2023, the company did not have a car or pickup that was overly capable.

Tesla Cybertruck towing goes on display in new sighting

Its Dual Motor and Tri Motor All-Wheel-Drive configurations have 11,000 pounds of payload capacity. There are times when owners might push the limit, and previously, there was no true way that the vehicle would advise the owner that it was coming close to, or potentially exceeding, the capacity.

In a new update for the pickup, Tesla has added a new feature that will help identify when this is happening.

According to Not a Tesla App, Tesla, in software update 2025.26, added an undocumented feature that is referred to as the “Smart Warning System.” This will detect an overloaded rear axle and will provide a warning to the driver to prevent damage:

“Rear axle load exceeds recommended limit. Remove cargo or rebalance trailer to prevent damage.”

These two suggestions will help advise owners to take one of two solutions: they can either remove weight or rebalance their load to prevent damage.

Tesla hasn’t yet revealed how the vehicle can recognize this, but it likely uses its air suspension data to recognize the additional stress placed on the rear axle.

This is one distinct advantage that vehicles with software updates have over ones without the ability to get better through OTA downloads. These features are added through an internet connection and downloaded to the vehicle.

The Tesla Model Y L’s details have not been fully released yet, but the vehicle is already sparking a lot of interest in the EV sector. Despite being just an extended wheelbase version of Tesla’s best-selling car, after all, the Model Y L has the potential to become the company’s first true mass market family hauler.

Recent Model Y L Sightings

Sightings of the upcoming extended wheelbase Model Y variant were shared on social media platforms such as X. As noted by X user @tcmesla, one of Tesla’s Model Y L prototypes was recently photographed as it was undergoing road tests in Xinjiang, China. Similar to Tesla’s other yet-to-be-released vehicles, the Model Y L’s front and rear were covered up during the sighting.

One big sign that the vehicle was a Model Y L was its wheels, which were identical to the wheels in the vehicle shown in the China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT) new regulatory catalog. The new wheels are quite eye-catching, with their apparent star-inspired pattern.

Tesla has not indicated when the Model Y L will be released, though speculations are high that the vehicle will be rolled out in China sometime this Q3 2025. After this, the Model Y L is also speculated to be released in other territories.

Pricing Speculations

Tesla has been very quiet about the Model Y L’s price, though estimates from industry watchers have pointed to a potential price of about RMB 400,000 (about $56,000). If this price were to be accurate, it would suggest that the Model Y L could be about 28% more expensive than the regular Model Y. 

This could mean that the vehicle may be priced at about $62,000 in the United States, and about €67,000 in Europe. This is quite steep, and it would likely position the Model Y L against more premium rivals in the same price range. Provided that Tesla prices the vehicle competitively, however, the Model Y may have a real shot at becoming a strong seller for the EV maker. 

Rivian is suing the State of Ohio’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles because it will not allow the automaker to sell vehicles directly to customers.

Direct sales are enabled for Tesla in the state, however, and Rivian, a rival of the Musk-headed company, says the EV leader is getting favoritism because it is allowed to use direct sales.

Calling the direct sales ban “irrational in the extreme,” according to the Verge, which first reported on the lawsuit, Rivian claims Ohio is putting money ahead of what is best for car buyers:

“Ohio’s prohibition is pure economic protectionism for the benefit of Ohio’s existing auto dealers, putting their profits ahead of consumers.”

Direct sales are used to sell vehicles at a fixed price to consumers without using the traditional dealership model. Tesla does not allow dealerships to be bought like franchises.

The company owns all of its showrooms, and it has set prices on its cars. Consumers traditionally cite car negotiations as one of the most stressful activities; Tesla has always avoided it.

In Ohio, it is allowed to sell directly to customers who want to buy its products, but Rivian is not allowed as of now. This suit aims to change that.

It said:

“In 2014, the Ohio Legislature enacted a bill providing that the Ohio Registrar of Motor Vehicles shall deny a motor vehicle dealers’ license—which is required to sell vehicles in Ohio—to anyone who is “a manufacturer, or a parent company, subsidiary, or affiliated entity of a manufacturer, applying for a license to sell or lease new or used motor vehicles at retail.” R.C. 4517.12(A)(11). At the same time, the Legislature enacted a special provision for Tesla that not only permitted Tesla to continue selling vehicles from two dealerships it already had in the state, but also to sell vehicles from an additional dealership. This special provision does not apply to Rivian. As a result, Ohioans seeking to purchase Rivian vehicles must do so through Rivian’s dealer-licensed locations in other states.”

Rivian said in the complaint that it does not claim that Ohio’s provision for Tesla is unconstitutional. However, it does argue that the prohibition of direct sales is unconstitutional as applied to Rivian.

Therefore, it believes it should be able to sell directly to consumers in Ohio as Tesla can.

The case is Case No. 2:25-cv-858, Rivian, LLC, vs. Charles L Norman, Registrar of Motor Vehicles of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.