Tesla has some of the most technologically advanced and sustainable vehicles consumers can buy on the market today. However, as Tesla Raj notes in one of his newest videos, his Tesla Model 3, along with other vehicles in the company’s lineup, are missing some of the most basic features that are available on models from other companies that are several years old. This begs the question: Would Tesla vehicles be even better with the five basic features Raj requests?
Cross-Traffic Alert System
One of the most important features that Raj lists is the Cross-Traffic Alert System. Noting that his wife’s 2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has the system, which is highly effective in alerting the driver of an oncoming obstacle that is out of sight, Raj said his Model 3 lacks this somewhat basic safety feature.
While the Model 3 does offer wide-angle views from both rear quarter panels that could assist in a little more of a view, it still does not utilize any sort of system to sense objects, people, or vehicles that may be moving toward the Model 3. In a crowded Supermarket parking lot, Cross-Traffic Alert Systems are highly effective in keeping the driver vigilant as others look for a spot or shoppers head in or out of the store, perhaps with a heavy cart full of food. This simple addition could keep the car undamaged and could even save a life. Raj’s daughter, who was riding a scooter in the demonstration, was below the vehicles on either side of the Tesla. She was impossible to see until she entered the vehicle’s repeater camera view, which would likely give the driver a fraction-of-a-fraction of a second to stop.
As you can see in the pictures below, smaller obstacles, like shopping carts, as well as small children, are hidden by the vehicles parked next to Raj’s Model 3. A child is not seen until they are right behind the vehicle. These would be solved with basic sensors, which Tesla already has installed in their vehicles.
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- The Tesla Model 3’s rear-view cameras lack a Cross-Traffic Alert System, which would help drivers see smaller obstacles that could be hidden by nearby vehicles (Credit: Tesla Raj)
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- The Tesla Model 3’s rear-view cameras lack a Cross-Traffic Alert System, which would help drivers see smaller obstacles that could be hidden by nearby vehicles (Credit: Tesla Raj)
360-Degree Camera Views
Raj’s wife’s 2016 RAV4 Hybrid also equips a 360-degree camera, which the Model 3 also lacks. In October 2020, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that a Birds-Eye, 360-degree view of the vehicle would be coming with Full Self-Driving. It has not been released with the current iteration of Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving program, but Musk may have meant that the feature would not be released until FSD is actually complete, which would activate the company’s plans for a Robotaxi Fleet. However, so many vehicles have this feature already, which would activate full-range views of every obstacle around the car. The wide-range perspective would even help complement the previously-mentioned Cross-Traffic Alert System.
Vector-space bird’s eye view coming with FSD
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2020
Tesla does offer those repeater cameras to help with a wider view of the car. However, they do not show a Birds-Eye angle, nor do they show the sides of the car.
Apple Music + CarPlay
If you follow Raj and Elon Musk on Twitter, you will know that Raj has requested the Tesla CEO to add this feature on many occasions, and for good reasons. While Tesla does currently offer Spotify, the world’s largest streaming platform for music and podcasts, and Tidal, another streaming app, the cars do not feature Apple Music support. Spotify does offer high-quality streaming, granted you are connected to a network that can support high download speeds. Tesla’s sound system, which has been noted as high quality by many, including Musk himself (surprise, surprise), is not getting used to its full capabilities without high-quality streaming services.
Apple Music supports Dolby Atmos’ spatial audio, which allows for high-quality streaming.
It would also support a lot of Tesla owners, as a poll Raj conducted showed 74 percent of the 2,292 votes received came from Apple owners utilizing iOS.
Tesla Owners what operating system is on your phone?
— Tesla Raj (@tesla_raj) July 28, 2022
Apple’s CarPlay is also highly intuitive, easy to use, and is supported by most automotive brands. I’m not sure if this comes down to some tech-based rivalry or just the fact that Tesla is not willing to license Apple’s software, but it would be a huge upside if these features were compatible with the vehicle.
Ease of Access to the Frunk
The lack of an engine in electric vehicles allows the Frunk – or Front Trunk – to exist. It gives owners just a little bit more room to store things like luggage or groceries, and it varies from vehicle to vehicle. The F-150 Lightning, for example, has a sizeable Frunk, basically adding a sedan-sized trunk to the already large bed area.
Ford F-150 Lightning unveiled: Price, Release date, Range, Features and more
The Model 3 Frunk is not easy to access, at least in Raj’s opinion. He would like to see an exterior Frunk access button or sensor that could remove the need to open the hood with the Tesla App or from the interior touch screen. Some vehicles have a sensor for trunks located underneath the rear bumper. It can be tapped with a foot to open and comes in handy when your hands might be full of groceries.
Tesla Model 3 frunk cargo space [Source: PTFI via Twitter]
The Frunk is one of the most underrated parts of an electric vehicle, in my opinion. It should be easier to access, and you should not need a screen to do so.
Fleet-based User Generated Content
This is perhaps one of the most practical ideas Raj included in his video and is something that navigation apps like Waze and Apple Maps have included in their platforms. Alerting other drivers of hazards, police, accidents, stoppages, and other important occurrences on the road would be ideal to share between Tesla drivers. Reporting things like road debris or an officer shooting radar would most certainly be advantageous to the safety of drivers. It has allowed people to communicate with road conditions and is constantly updated by asking future drivers whether the hazard or obstacle is still present.
Credit: Apple
What do you think about Tesla Raj’s list? Be sure to let him know on Twitter @tesla_raj, and be sure to comment your thoughts below.
Tesla Cybercab is using a unique strategy for picking up the correct rider, which is a crucial part of ride-hailing to ensure people end up in the right place and are charged the correct price.
Cybercab will utilize an RGB strip in its front light bar that will illuminate in a variety of different colors to mark itself.
This identifying mark will also appear in the Robotaxi app, giving riders in the same location a notable distinction in an effort to avoid any confusion regarding who should get in each vehicle.
🚨 Tesla is using different light bar colors to help riders understand which vehicle is theirs
Pretty cool strategy pic.twitter.com/eGMpEMeRpc
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 27, 2026
Other ride-hailing services use similar strategies: Lyft and Uber rides are recognizable through driver identity, vehicle type and color, as well as license plate. Waymo will display the rider’s initials on top of the vehicle, letting them know that the specific vehicle for them has arrived.
Tesla’s strategy is unique and interesting, but there are some flaws. Cybercab’s main purpose is aimed toward being an autonomous ride for all, including those who have disabilities like being blind or even color blind.
Tesla will likely have something in the pipeline for those who cannot see colors or have limited vision. There will definitely be multiple ways to identify which vehicle is the one that “you” specifically ordered.
Cybercab is set to start giving public rides next Thursday, September 3, in Austin, as it announced a dedicated event last week and invited many members of the Tesla community.
Additionally, members of the public will be invited as well. Tesla has been offering employee rides in Cybercab for nearly two months.
Tesla has said goodbye to one customization option for its vehicles: the wrap service it launched several years ago.
After launching an in-house wrap service in August 2020 for the first time in China. In the U.S., it launched in October 2023. Tesla continued to expand the program and adjust it with better pricing and fewer options for the Cybertruck.
By December 2023, it was giving owners of the Model 3, Model Y, and the Cybertruck the opportunity to give their vehicle a fresh look with a vinyl wrap.
Tesla revamps in-house vinyl wrap service with better pricing
It was only available in five locations: Costa Mesa, Oceanside, Santa Clara, West Covina, all in California, and Seattle, Washington.
However, Tesla made some big adjustments to its shop, and the wrap service is officially gone:
Tesla has made a LOT of changes to its online shop recently — price increases, price cuts, new options, and several products being removed entirely.
Some of the biggest increases are wheel covers. 👀
📈 PRICE INCREASES
• 2017-2023 | Model 3 Aero Wheel Cover — Style: Refresh…— Phoenix Self-Driving 🐦🔥 (@PhoenixFSD) August 25, 2026
Wraps are very popular across the Tesla lineup, especially since the company offers relatively few colors. Many choose to wrap their Teslas with interesting colors, patterns, or even finishes, turning their cars from glossy to satin or matte.
However, Tesla’s wrap service was so limited geographically that it never really had a chance to get off the ground or compete with local shops. Every area in the United States is now overflowing with detailing shops, mobile detailers, and other automotive specialists, many of whom perform wrap services.
Tesla’s service was confined to the Pacific time zone and only spanned across two states. It was never going to be something Tesla was a major competitor in, nor was it going to disrupt the wrapping industry. Now that the program has ended, it seems pretty ideal to believe it was always going to be a short-term thing.
Along with the wrap service, Tesla removed several other products, but nothing too crazy. The Model 3 Door Pocket and Cupholder Liners, the Model S 19″ Magnetite Wheel and Winter Tire Package, Model X/Y Ski/Snowboard Carrier for Hitch Rack, Tesla’s Electric Summer Party Tee, and the Electric Summer Tee were the other items the company totally eliminated from its online shop.
News
Tesla Robotaxi fleet gets a brain upgrade ahead of Cybercab launch event
Tesla’s Robotaxi service now runs longer hours nationwide as its unsupervised fleet quietly grows larger.
Tesla’s Robotaxi service just got easier to catch, with the company’s official Robotaxi account noting that rides are now available from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, across its operating footprint. The account also said its unsupervised fleet is “a lot bigger” than before, though without specifics. The bigger change is what Tesla says upgraded intelligence in vehicle distribution and routing is what’s actually cutting wait times, not a new Full Self-Driving version.
While Tesla did not name the team behind the upgrade, the language points to its AI and fleet software group rather than the driving stack itself. Vehicle distribution and routing in Robotaxi has functioned mostly as a dispatch problem with the software deciding which idle car goes to which rider, and how far it has to travel to get there. “Upgraded intelligence” suggests a smarter version of that dispatch logic, likely using demand forecasting to position idle cars near where riders are about to request them rather than reacting once a request comes in. Tesla’s AI division has built similar prediction systems for other parts of the business, including the neural networks that power FSD itself, so applying that same approach to fleet logistics would be a natural extension rather than a new discipline for the team.
Robotaxi now runs 6am to 10pm, 7 days/week
Unsupervised fleet is a lot bigger
Also, upgraded intelligence in vehicle distribution & routing means you wait less pic.twitter.com/UFZ4bqg2dZ
— Tesla Robotaxi (@robotaxi) August 26, 2026
Tesla is also about a week away from a separate robotaxi milestone. The company plans to launch Cybercab, its purpose built two seat robotaxi with no steering wheel or pedals, in Austin on September 3. Cybercab has been giving employees rides on public and private roads for weeks, and the September event is expected to fold those vehicles into the existing Robotaxi fleet within days of the launch.
Thank you so much @Tesla for inviting us to the Cybercab launch in Austin! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/F1rAR8zd5O
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 22, 2026
Austin previously ran Robotaxi from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. as of last September, a schedule set before the service expanded into Dallas, Houston, Miami, Tampa, Orlando and the Bay Area. Wednesday’s post did not specify whether that extended overnight window still applies in Austin specifically or whether 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. is now the standard across every market. Tesla’s post, visible on its official Robotaxi account, framed the change simply as fewer riders waiting around for a car.
Whether the wider hours hold once Cybercab enters the fleet next week is the next thing worth watching. Tesla has tended to expand Robotaxi in increments, first geofence, then hours, then fleet size, and each step so far has arrived without much advance notice.
Tesla Cybercab uses a unique strategy for picking up the right rider
Tesla ends in-house wrap service that always seemed like a short-term program
