Connect with us

News

Tesla Cybertruck takes center stage in Los Angeles museum, wowing fans in public showing

Credit: Twitter | @zfescht

Published

on

Tesla Cybertruck took center stage at the Petersen Automotive Museum on Saturday, dazzling fans in its first of six days as a display piece at the legendary gallery in Los Angeles.

Today’s debut at the Petersen Museum follows this week’s reveal that the Cybertruck would be arriving at the gallery after the museum added the all-electric pickup to its website.

The Petersen Auto Museum was opened in 1994 and is one of the most extensive museums for cars and motorcycles in the world. The Cybertruck’s appearance at the Museum shows worldwide recognition for Tesla’s newest pickup, and it joins the Model S prototype as the company’s only vehicles in the massive gallery.

Peterson welcomed the Cybertruck inside the museum last night. Video from @Chad_Hodge surfaced, showing the massive truck being unloaded from a hauler, which was then transported into the facility and set up as an exhibit.

Advertisement

Now, the truck is inside, and those who bought tickets for admission into the museum are getting the opportunity to stand just a few feet from the unique design from Tesla’s engineers. Many of those who came to the museum to see the Cybertruck are showing photos and videos of the machine, which sits stationary surrounded by ropes, dawning a license plate that says, “CYBRTRK.”

Closeups of the Cybertruck reveal the tugged and robust exterior of the all-electric pickup. The 30X series stainless steel exterior is dent-proof while the glass that is used for all of the windows will be bulletproof.

Advertisement

It was recently announced that the truck would only be available in its stainless steel color, but it can be wrapped in any color or pattern, Musk said. This means the appearances and looks of the Cybertruck will be endless, combining personality and creativity to each of the builds that the owner will design themselves.

The Cybertruck has been seen around Los Angeles by a few lucky spectators, but it has mainly been a rare sight for the public. Its appearance at the Petersen Museum is the first time the truck has been on display for the public to view at their leisure. Tesla’s Cybertruck unveiling event was on an invite-only basis, allowing a select few lucky viewers to watch CEO Elon Musk and Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen explain the finer points of the pickup’s design.

The widely popular design of the Cybertruck was met with both support and criticism after its unveiling event. However, there is no denying that the pickup’s futuristic design has enticed many people to consider the vehicle as a catalyst for a new era in the automotive sector.

The truck’s Dual and Tri-Motor configurations will be built at the company’s next production facility in the United States in 2021. The new facility will be built in a location yet to be determined.

Advertisement

H/t: @TeslaNY on Twitter

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

Advertisement
Comments

News

Tesla brings Model Y L ‘Launch Series’ to the U.S. at $61,990

Published

on

Tesla has officially launched the Model Y L in the United States and Puerto Rico for $61,990. It is the longer-wheelbase version of the Model Y, and has been available in China since last year.

Tesla brings the Model Y L to the U.S. just months after it phased out the only pure SUV in its lineup, the Model X. It is slightly longer than the Model Y configurations that are already available in the U.S., and features a three-row, six-seat setup with Captain’s Chairs being among the many features that make this a truly fantastic offering.

The Model Y L is priced competitively at $61,990, and features 325 miles of range and a 0-60 MPH in just 4.4 seconds.

Tesla also added a handful of new features that are not available in even the Premium Model Y. Here’s a full list of its features:

Advertisement
  • Heated/Ventilated Front Seats with Powered Thigh Cushion
  • Heated/Ventilated Captain’s Seats in Second Row with Powered Armrests & One-Touch Fold
  • Heated Third-Row Seats with Power Recline, One-Touch Fold & Child Seat Anchors
  • Improved Airflow, Increased Efficiency, More Range
  • 89 cubic feet of trunk space
  • Upgraded Acoustic Glass and Suspension to Minimize Road Noise
  • Adaptive Damping for a Smooth, Stable Ride
  • Staggered Tires for Enhanced Grip
  • Larger Tailgate for Better Rear Visibility and Bigger Windows Overall
  • 16″ First Row and 8″ Second Row Touchscreens
  • 19-Speaker Immersive Tesla Audio
  • 50W Wireless Charging Pads with Active Cooling and Charging Ports for All Other Seats
  • FSD Supervised and Integrated Grok AI

Tesla is also delivering these first units as a “Launch Series,” which comes with additional features, such as:

  • Door Trim Puddle Lights
  • Suede Dashboard Wing
  • Exterior and Interior Badging
  • Floor Mats
  • Sill Plates

The launch of the Model Y L in the U.S. marks a huge offering from Tesla to U.S. consumers. People have been calling for Tesla to bring a larger car to the U.S., and it needed it more than ever now that the Model X is gone.

It is a huge accomplishment for Tesla to get the Model Y L to the U.S., and after reporting strong deliveries today, it will be interesting to see how this car impacts future quarterly delivery reports.

Deliveries for the Model Y L “Launch Series” are slated for September or October of this year.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S.

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla just told us twice that the Model Y L is coming to the U.S., and two social media posts definitely just tipped the company’s hand, as if they wanted it to be any other way.

The two social media posts basically confirm that the slightly longer version of the Model Y will be heading to the United States soon, and many have speculated that the company could launch the vehicle as soon as this weekend.

The first post was directly from Tesla, and it showed an incredibly long Dachshund, with words above that said, “Looking forward to the long weekend.”

Anyone who knows Tesla knows the company loves to troll its fans and have fun, and this is a perfect example of that. While not a direct acknowledgement, Tesla is very involved on social media, especially CEO Elon Musk’s platform X, and the company is well aware of what is being discussed within the community.

With recent sightings of Model Y L test mules in California, peeks of the vehicle at Giga Texas, and a large call for the car to come to the U.S., Tesla is simply stoking conversation with this.

However, the company also made another move that was recognized on social media. Tesla has a large gallery that includes photos of its products so media and others can use them. This gallery applies to the U.S. market specifically, unless otherwise specified.

Advertisement

Tesla uploaded a Model Y L to the Gallery last night:

This seems to be another indication that the Model Y L is coming to the United States.

Advertisement

Musk said last year that the Model Y L could make its way to the United States late this year, but it was not something that was set in stone by Tesla. The company definitely needs to establish something in the SUV market that is larger than the Model Y, and the Model Y L might be the answer.

Even still, there are consumers out there who would love Tesla to develop something even larger, like a competitor to the Tahoe or Expedition. Tesla has not really given much of an indication that it will go in that direction.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla is using vehicle microphones to improve build quality: here’s how

Published

on

Credit: Tesla

Tesla is using the vehicles’ internal microphones to improve build quality, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy revealed recently.

It’s no secret that Tesla is always finding ways to make its manufacturing operations more efficient, accurate, and valuable. Constantly trying to make its cars better, the company has never placed any restrictions on what it will do to improve everything from panel gaps to paint.

As Teslas have been driving autonomously on the property of the Gigafactory Texas plant for a while now, Moravy revealed to Herbert Ong in a new interview that cars rolling off production lines now autonomously navigate themselves through a bumps, squeaks, and rattles (BSR) portion of the line. This helps to identify any loose or improperly installed internal parts.

The cabin’s microphones, which are used for a variety of things in ownership, simultaneously monitor any noises inside the vehicle while it rolls through the BSR portion of the production line. Moravy actually revealed that Tesla is trying to build “Full Self-Hearing,” an AI system that will detect minor imperfections so they can be corrected before delivery.

Advertisement

It’s no secret that build quality is something that Tesla struggled with as it scaled to a fully massive production operation that manufactures over 1.6 million vehicles per year. However, in recent years, especially, there have not been as many complaints. Tesla has truly improved upon its build quality and paint quality over the past several years, especially in the U.S.

Tesla’s ‘megacasts’ are key to massive build quality improvements

While those improvements have been evident, there are still some complaints; no automaker is perfect with this. But this step will now ensure that every single car that rolls off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas will be void of any creaks, squeaks, or squeals when it leaves the factory.

This measure is one of the most unique we’ve seen in terms of a strategy to avoid build quality issues, but it is not exclusive to Tesla.

Advertisement

Ford uses acoustic analysis AI to find abnormalities in seat motors, climate control units, and other components. Suppliers and OEMs will also use microphone arrays or particle velocity sensors in end-of-line stations.

The full interview with Lars Moravy is available below:

Advertisement
Continue Reading