News
Tesla Cybertruck ‘Beast Mode,’ wheel options, accessories leak ahead of launch
Tesla Cybertruck accessories, along with two wheel options, “Beast Mode,” and a Base Camp attachment leaked through an app update ahead of the pickup’s launch on Thursday.
Tesla has kept many of the details surrounding the Cybertruck under wraps as the automaker will finally deliver the first units to customers tomorrow.
Ahead of what is expected to be one of the biggest product launches in company history, several things about the Cybertruck leaked via Tesla App Updates on X, showing everything from “Beast Mode” to various accessories and customizable options.
Tesla Beast Mode
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has teased world-class performance out of the Cybertruck for some time. Recently, he spoke about something called “Beast Mode” with Joe Rogan on the JRE Podcast, indicating the Cybertruck would be capable of face-melting 0-60 MPH acceleration rates.
The exact specifications of Beast Mode will likely be revealed to the public tomorrow at the event, and would likely be available on the top trim level of the Cybertruck.
It appears “Beast Mode” animations were leaked in within an app update:
Beast mode visual pic.twitter.com/mGhgcGCoaC
— Tesla App Updates (iOS) (@Tesla_App_iOS) November 28, 2023
Tesla has routinely used performance metrics to hype its vehicles, but with the Cybertruck, it is a bit different. The Cybertruck is a pickup that will be used for utility, and most of the time, trucks do not have exceptional performance metrics.
However, Tesla does things a little bit differently, and while the Cybertruck will still have impressive utility features, the automaker is not stopping short of emphasizing the impressive performance it could have.
Tesla Cybertruck Base Camp
The Cybertruck is going to feature plenty of accessories, as there will be opportunities to fine-tune the pickup for certain purposes that cater to the owner.
Camping is likely going to be one of the more popular uses for the Cybertruck, as it features a lot of things that are useful when you’re out in the wilderness.
Tesla is not stopping there. Apparently, there is going to be a Base Camp attachment that will act as a roof to protect campers from the elements. There is also a “tent mattress.”
Base Camp CyberTruck attachment
Along with the tent mattress pic.twitter.com/qP5YfSheCL
— Tesla App Updates (iOS) (@Tesla_App_iOS) November 28, 2023
The Cybertruck will have plenty of uses, and Tesla will capitalize on its potential as an ideal vehicle for camping. There should be other accessories in the works as well.
A better view of the cyber tent called BaseCamp pic.twitter.com/8rJ47Mc8za
— Tesla App Updates (iOS) (@Tesla_App_iOS) November 28, 2023
Wheel Options
There are three wheel options: Standard, which will come in 18 and 20-inch, and Premium.
— Tesla App Updates (iOS) (@Tesla_App_iOS) November 28, 2023
Tesla offers several options for wheels on all of its vehicles and has given owners the opportunity to choose from looks that have more functionality and others that have a sportier look.
Accessories
The shortlist of accessories appears to be a light bar, for now. Along with the Base Camp, which is optional, we would have to assume that Tesla is still developing other things for the Cybertruck.
A light bar is a commonly used accessory on pickups and other rugged terrain vehicles.
Light bar is going to be an optional accessory it looks like…
OPTIONAL_ACCESSORY_LIGHTBAR
— Tesla App Updates (iOS) (@Tesla_App_iOS) November 28, 2023
The coding within the app also mentions this as an optional accessory, so we’ll expect to see it in the Cybertruck Shop on Tesla’s website after the event.
Tesla will be livestreaming the delivery event on Thursday, and you’ll be able to watch it here.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with tips! Email us at tips@teslarati.com, or you can email me directly at joey@teslarati.com. I’m also on X @KlenderJoey.
Elon Musk
How to use Grok Bot to block spam calls and texts
Musk told users to ask Grok Bot to scrub their phone numbers from spam lists.
Elon Musk has a new use case for Grok Bot, and it is the spam call. On Thursday he replied to an X user named Arash with a short instruction: “Ask your @Grok @Bot to remove your phone number from spam call & text lists!” Arash had said he got tired of the calls, had an AI bot find his number on listing sites and file removal requests, and packaged the process as a free skill for others.
The skill is called Spam-Call Scrubber, which is described to find a phone number on people search sites and data brokers, submits the opt outs, completes the confirmation emails those sites send back, and rechecks on a schedule the user picks. Using it requires the Grok Bot app. The pitch is time saved, since most broker opt outs sit behind separate forms on separate sites.
Ask your @Grok @Bot to remove your phone number from spam call & text lists!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2026
Musk said Grok Bot now gives each bot its own email address, and that it can detect scam emails. On Thursday he also said SpaceX would make users whole if the bot botches a purchase or leaks a card, then told users to shop away from Amazon after the retailer blocked the agent, as Teslarati reported. The terms of service we reviewed at the time put responsibility for what an agent does on the user.
For Tesla owners, Grok Bot is not just a phone app. Tesla brought Grok Bot into its vehicles on September 22, and we argued earlier this week that the Cybercab’s real advantage may be the errands it runs during a ride. Every Cybercab and the rest of the Model Y Robotaxi fleet has it enabled. The more routine tasks like this one become, the more a rider has reason to hand over something personal in the back seat.
The new Spam-Call Scrubber skill can be downloaded for free and works on sites that honor removal requests, while noting that listings can reappear, and illegal robocallers do not check any registry. Whether Spam-Call Scrubber cuts anyone’s call volume is something the first wave of users will find out, and Musk’s endorsement guarantees that wave is coming.
Investor's Corner
Tesla’s flying Roadster just revealed something bigger than the car
Analysts say the Roadster demo puts a Tesla and SpaceX merger back on the table.
The Roadster unveiling near Waco ended Thursday night, and by Friday morning much of the investor reaction had less to do with the car than with who owns the rocket technology inside it.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the event “puts the Tesla/SpaceX relationship on the table in a tangible way,” pointing to the propulsion, pressure vessel and control hardware sitting on a Tesla product. Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management called the demo “a ridiculous display of engineering” with “no commercial value” beyond embarrassing traditional automakers, though he said it showed Musk wants the two companies together.
The more specific forecast came a day earlier from Barclays. Analyst Dan Levy told clients a deal could be announced before Tesla’s annual meeting, which must happen by December 6, and that an announcement in late October or early November could make shareholder approval harder. Barclays expects SpaceX to be the buyer in an all stock deal, with Tesla holders receiving SpaceX shares at a premium, based on market values of roughly $2.1 trillion for SpaceX and $1.5 trillion for Tesla. If nothing lands around the meeting, the bank still sees an announcement within 6 to 12 months.
The Roadster demo just added more weight to merger speculations. Tesla’s demo used cold gas thrusters and pressure tanks of the kind SpaceX uses on Falcon 9, and Musk described the car as a collaboration between Tesla and SpaceX engineers, as we mentioned in our breakdown of the three Roadster configurations.
Musk has not publicly addressed a deal since the event, as far as we have seen. His most direct answer remains the one he gave at the All In Summit, when he said that with so much collaboration, “who can imagine what action one might take” without ruling anything out. Ives has held to a 2027 timeline since his March note, and Musk pushed back on the China piece of the speculation when ARK floated a year end announcement in August.
The next test is Tesla’s third quarter earnings call on October 21. However, we recall in July that Musk told analysts, “we can’t talk about combining companies and that kind of thing on an earnings call,” so a clear answer wouldn’t be expected.
News
How Tesla’s Roadster fan system and thrusters are built to dominate the corners
Tesla’s Roadster uses fans, active wings and cold gas thrusters to create grip at any speed.
Tesla’s new Roadster is best known for flipping through the air in Texas, but the technology that matters most for a race track is the stuff that keeps it on the ground. Tesla’s Roadster page describes a multi-mode fan and ground sealing system that acts as a downforce generator, pulling air out from beneath the car. Tesla says it provides enough suction to hold the vehicle upside down, even when stationary.
That is the key difference from the wings and diffusers on a normal supercar. Conventional aero only makes downforce when the car is moving, and it grows with speed, so a car has the least grip in the slow corners and under hard braking. A fan system makes downforce at any speed. Tesla’s patent, which we covered last year, describes fans and deployable skirts that create sealed or partially sealed regions under the car, with the fans extracting air to lower the pressure and increase grip and stability.
Still processing this … the most unreal thing I’ve seen. https://t.co/HtEuvnkZjY
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) October 16, 2026
Tesla pairs that with active wings, a next generation steer by wire system and a Track Mode that lowers the car and changes the suspension, with high downforce and low drag settings for the circuit. To keep weight down, Tesla points to magnesium, titanium and carbon fiber, manual controls and a fixed seat position, which it says lets the car respond to driver inputs almost instantly.
Tesla Roadster: Three configs, one can fly, 0-60 in 0.8 seconds
The cold gas thrusters are the other half. On the Thrust version they sit at the rear and Tesla says they take the car from 0 to 60 mph in under 0.9 seconds, while the Rocket version adds perimeter thrusters for forward, upward and lateral rotational movement. Tesla says the all electric actuators make micro adjustments within a fraction of a second.
Roadster transforms in Track Mode
These aero features aren’t just for looks: they provide the best passive downforce package of any road car (approaching F1 levels!) with wing actuation driven by the @Tesla_Optimus actuator system https://t.co/AqrC4qUga9
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 16, 2026
Musk has been talking about records for years. In June 2019 he said, “We’re going to do things with the new Roadster that are kind of unfair to other cars.” That September, when a follower asked whether the Roadster would beat the Nürburgring production car record, he replied with one word, “Absolutely,” as we reported at the time. In February 2024 he said Tesla had “radically increased the design goals” for the car and that its sub one second 0 to 60 time would be “the least interesting part.”
There are caveats. Tesla has not published a lap time or a verified cornering figure, so the record talk is still a promise rather than a result. Tesla also says the car is not approved for public road use, and the thruster features are limited to the Rocket trim, which is invite only. Fan cars have also been banned or withdrawn before, and getting a sealed underbody to work on a rough public road is a harder problem than on a smooth track. The first real test will be an official lap at a circuit.