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Tesla Cybertruck with camo wrap still seems to be missing its rear light bar

Image Credit: S.E. Robinson, Jr./Twitter

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Back in February, Elon Musk assured the Tesla community that the production version of the Cybertruck would retain its well-loved light bar, which served as the original prototype’s rear lights. Recent sightings of a camouflaged Cybertruck unit in the wild show that this detail still needs to be incorporated into the company’s newer units. 

The recent sighting of the camouflaged Cybertruck was short, and it showed the all-electric pickup truck accelerating after making a turn. As it approached a corner, the driver of the Cybertruck braked, and one could see that the vehicle’s brake lights still came in the form of two small red lights. The red light bar that spanned the tailgate did not seem to be present. 

A good part of the Cybertruck’s futuristic look is its Blade Runner-like lights. The original Cybertruck prototype featured a light bar for its headlights that spanned the hood of the vehicle, and its tail lights spanned the entire length of its rear. This changed in more recent production alpha units, which only featured a small tail light on the left and right side. 

It was these observations that ultimately prompted Elon Musk back in February to assure EV enthusiasts that the Cybertruck’s production version would retain the original prototype’s red light bar. Musk’s update was received well by the electric vehicle community, especially since the vehicle was already nearing production. 

Speculations of the Cybertruck’s upcoming production became more prominent recently, as a camouflaged unit has been spotted driving around Palo Alto, California. The presence of the camouflage wrap on the Cybertruck prompted speculations that the design of the all-electric pickup truck had been finalized. Car companies typically place camouflage wraps on their prototypes to hide designs and parts that are yet to be formally revealed, after all. 

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But as per the recent sighting, the red light bar that Musk promised back in February is still missing. With this in mind, it would appear that Tesla has not really finalized the design of the Cybertruck just yet. Tesla may also end up releasing the Cybertruck with non-light bar tail lights, which would be a bummer since EV community members have never really preferred the smaller lights.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla lands permission to test Full Self-Driving in new country

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tesla showroom
(Credit: NicklasNilsso14)

Tesla has landed permission to begin testing its Full Self-Driving suite in a new country: Sweden.

Tesla has been working to expand its Full Self-Driving suite across the world. Currently, it is available in seven countries: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, and China, where it is referred to as “City Autopilot.”

Capabilities of the Full Self-Driving suite differ in each region based on the approvals given to Tesla by regulatory agencies.

In Europe, Tesla has been attempting for a long time to launch FSD in various countries, but regulatory red tape has been prolonging the company’s ability to launch the suite.

However, Sweden appears to be ready to allow Tesla to test FSD in some passenger and public locations, according to the country’s Transport Agency.

On X, a Swedish Tesla owner named Alexander Kristensen, says he received direct confirmation from the Transport Agency that Tesla has “received permission to test automated vehicles.”

The full email said:

“Tesla received permission to test automated vehicles last week. This includes three vehicles and all state highways and expressways in Sweden.”

Tesla has already been working with the Swedish Transport Agency on the first steps of Full Self-Driving’s approval. The company and the Transport Agency spent two weeks assessing data gathered during a Formal Site Assessment Test, or SAT.

Based on the communication from the Transport Agency to Kristensen, it appears the company has passed the SAT and will now be able to perform its own testing within the market.

This approval seems similar to the approval Tesla received in U.S. states for Robotaxi operation. Nevada and Arizona have both given Tesla approval for Robotaxi testing, but passengers are not allowed in the vehicles quite yet.

Instead, company employees perform the testing, which is likely what will go on in Sweden until the Transport Agency gives the company a green light to roll FSD software out to customers.

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My Tesla did this on FSD (Supervised) v14.1 and the internet went crazy

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My Tesla did something on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1, and it garnered quite the response from the internet.

I received access to Tesla’s FSD v14.1 on Tuesday night, and by Wednesday, I was already using it and seeing all the progress the company had made from v13.2.9.

Tesla Full Self-Driving v14.1 first impressions: Robotaxi-like features arrive

However, there was one thing that it did during the drive that I shared on our social media accounts, and it really got a lot of interesting reactions from people from all corners of the world.

I’ll give some background about the situation: I was driving on Main Street in Dallastown, PA, and the route was about to take me left onto Pleasant Avenue. It is a tight and usually very congested intersection; Main Street is a popular route for many construction vehicles and even some tractor-trailers.

It is a pretty tight intersection for full-size trucks and larger passenger vehicles. It is not super tight for my Model Y, but it gets to feel congested at times, including with what happened yesterday.

The light when I approached the intersection was a green yield; there was also a solid green arrow at the beginning of my light cycle, but I had arrived after that had already turned into the green yield. Oncoming traffic had a green light.

My Model Y got out into the middle of the intersection, and the light turned yellow, then red. Most people, including myself, would have probably made the left turn after the light turned red since the car was already out in the intersection.

The Tesla, using FSD v14.1, did not. Instead, it chose to back up to the “Stop Here on Red” line, which is further back due to the tight turn the perpendicular traffic has:

As I mentioned, I would have probably taken the left turn. However, I believe the Tesla did not see the traffic that sat to the left, and because of this, it weighed the turn as a higher probability of an accident than if it were to just back up to the line.

If you look at these two screenshots from when the light was yellow and red, Tesla’s driver visualization does not have any idea what traffic is to the left on Pleasant Avenue:

I believe that, since FSD could not tell what traffic was down to the left, it chose to reverse.

People had some polarizing opinions on it:

As far as the legality of the move, it does not seem to be against Pennsylvania law to go through or choose to back up. I have seen many cars do both things over the course of my life of driving in this state, and neither has ever gotten anyone a ticket.

I think FSD just did what it felt was the safer option here.

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NHTSA probes 2.9 million Tesla vehicles over reports of FSD traffic violations

The agency said FSD may have “induced vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws.”

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Credit: Whole Mars Catalog/YouTube

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into nearly 2.9 million Tesla vehicles over potential traffic-safety violations linked to the use of the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system.

The agency said FSD may have “induced vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws,” citing reports of Teslas running red lights or traveling in the wrong direction during lane changes.

As per the NHTSA, it has six reports in which a Tesla with FSD engaged “approached an intersection with a red traffic signal, continued to travel into the intersection against the red light and was subsequently involved in a crash with other motor vehicles in the intersection.” Four of these crashes reportedly resulted in one or more major injuries. 

The agency also listed 18 complaints and one media report which alleged that a Tesla operating with FSD engaged “failed to remain stopped for the duration of a red traffic signal, failed to stop fully, or failed to accurately detect and display the correct traffic signal state in the vehicle interface.”

Some complainants also alleged that FSD “did not provide warnings of the system’s intended behavior as the vehicle was approaching a red traffic signal,” as noted in a Reuters report.

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Tesla has not commented on the investigation, which remains in the preliminary phase. However, any potential recall could prove complicated since the reported incidents likely involved the use of older FSD (Supervised) versions that have already been updated. 

Tesla’s recent FSD (Supervised) V14.1 update, which is currently rolling out to drivers, is expected to feature significantly improved lane management, intersection handling, and overall driving accuracy, reducing the chances of similar violations. It should also be noted that Tesla maintains that FSD is a supervised system for now, and thus, is not autonomous yet.

While autonomous systems face scrutiny, NHTSA’s own data highlights a much larger danger on the road from human error. The agency recorded 3,275 deaths in 2023 caused by distracted driving due to activities like texting, talking, or adjusting navigation while operating a vehicle manually. It is also widely believed that a good number of traffic violations are unreported due to their frequency and ubiquity.

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