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Elon Musk hints at more compact Tesla Cybertruck with same space and utility
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted that the Cybertruck might have more compact dimensions when it rolls out in 2021. The idea came after a Tesla owner-enthusiast’s video showed that the Cybertruck may not fit in a normal, residential-sized garage. Based on the Tesla CEO’s recent tweets, it appears that Tesla may be able to shave off a few inches off the Cybertruck’s rather bulky body without compromising anything in terms of utility and looks.
Musk’s comments came after Model 3 owner Tesla Raj posted a video featuring an augmented reality app estimating how the Cybertruck would look like in a target area. When Raj used the app to see if it would fit in his garage, he found the 231.8 inch-long Cybertruck was just a bi too long for the space in his home.
Musk responded to these findings, stating that the Cybertruck could receive a design revision that would make the car a bit easier to fit in a traditional American garage. “We can prob reduce width by an inch & maybe reduce length by 6+ inches without losing on utility or aesthetics. Min height is below 75 inches when air suspension set to low. Will post exact number soon,” Musk said.
We can prob reduce width by an inch & maybe reduce length by 6+ inches without losing on utility or esthetics. Min height is below 75 inches when air suspension set to low. Will post exact number soon.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2019
Based on Musk’s tweet, the more compact Cybertruck would have a width of 78.8 inches instead of the original 79.8 inches, and its length will be reduced to to 225.7 inches from 231.7 inches. This should make the Cybertruck easier to fit even in 20×20 garages. Parking the vehicle and maneuvering the massive all-electric machine would likely be easier as well. What’s more remarkable is the Tesla CEO explained that these reductions won’t cause any compromises with the vehicle’s stellar utility and iconic aesthetics. Musk has also promised no loss in cargo capacity or interior space with the vehicle’s more compact size.
After providing some updates on the Cybertruck’s dimensions, Musk also received a question about the approximate size of the “smaller” Cybertruck that he has hinted at in the past. Musk stated that such a vehicle would likely require a full redesign, though he noted that the truck’s dimensions will “probably (be) ~73 inches (height) or ~185 cm width”. This is compared to its 75-inch height when the vehicle’s adaptive suspension is fully-lowered, and its 202.7 cm width in its current build. Such a vehicle will still be significantly smaller to the Cybertruck, even considering Elon Musk’s more compact projections.
That will require a full redesign, but probably ~73 inches or ~185 cm width
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2019
That being said, it seems that a significant portion of the Tesla community prefers the Cybertruck in its current, massive form. A few followers of Musk’s Twitter account even stated that the Cybertruck will never need to be parked in a garage anyway, as its stainless steel design is “completely impervious to weather” and that its solar-equipped tonneau cover begs to be exposed to the sun at all times. Musk, for his part, appears to be weighing both sides when it comes to the Cybertruck’s size.
A new Cybertruck design that that is more compact could prove to be beneficial for Tesla in the long run. While the company has already received at least a quarter-of-a-million pre-orders for the original design for the truck, a smaller version may entice those who were worried about the size of the truck to pull the trigger and buy Tesla’s first pickup. The smaller design will appeal to those who are interested in parking the all-electric powerhouse in their garage, or at least those who want a pickup but prefer a smaller design that would be easier to drive through narrow streets and easier to park in busy lots.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s AI Grok Bot can now handle banking while your Tesla FSD handles the road
Elon Musk says Grok Bot can manage your finances through linked bank and investment accounts.
Grok Bot now wants access to your wallet, with SpaceXAI rolling out a new Finance integration for its agent platform that lets users link bank, credit card and investment accounts thereby letting their Bots help manage spending, investments and more. Elon Musk amplified the announcement on X with a short endorsement, “Grok Bot can manage your finances.”
The feature builds on two earlier steps. In early September, Grok gained the ability to answer questions about spending, savings, investments and cash flow using accounts connected through Plaid, starting with users in the U.S. Before that, on August 28, SpaceXAI let Grok Bot buy things online through Link, with users approving every spend request and the Bot receiving a single use card for each payment.
Musk has already shown how far he wants users to push it. In late August, when Tesla investor account Teslaconomics said he was weighing whether to give Grok Bot access to his bank accounts, Musk replied, “Try it out. If Grok Bot messes up, we will make you whole.” That promise goes beyond SpaceXAI’s consumer terms, which make users responsible for what their agents do and generally cap the company’s liability at the greater of fees paid or $100. SpaceXAI’s own documentation recommends requiring approval for purchases and financial transfers.
For Tesla owners, the update lands five days after Tesla brought Grok Bot into its vehicles, letting drivers hand off errands by voice while FSD (Supervised) handles the road. Bot access inside the car is currently limited to SuperGrok Heavy subscribers, though Connectors are open to anyone signed into Grok. With Finance linked, a driver could ask for a spending summary or a check on upcoming bills during the commute.
Grok’s role in the car has grown quickly since Tesla’s Summer Update let it control cabin features by voice. We have been using Grok Bot in our own Tesla for several weeks, and here’s how our latest test went.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just got the green light Starship has waited years for
The FAA has cleared Starship Flight 14, setting up SpaceX’s first orbital attempt on Monday.
SpaceX has cleared the last regulatory hurdle standing between Starship and its first trip to orbit. The Federal Aviation Administration issued the launch license for Starship Flight 14 late Saturday, keeping the mission on track for liftoff Monday, September 28, from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas.
The 75 minute launch window opens at 7:15 a.m. Central, and Boca Chica Beach closures are also scheduled for September 29 and 30 as backup dates. This will be Starship’s first revenue generating mission.
The license was the missing piece after SpaceX completed a full wet dress rehearsal with Booster 21 and Ship 41 on September 24. At the time, the company said the flight remained on track pending regulatory approval. Because Flight 14 flies an orbital profile, the FAA had to sign off on a modified license that met its safety, payload and financial responsibility requirements.
Observers combing through the new FAA paperwork also noticed that lightning no longer appears among Starship’s listed launch hazards. If that holds, it matters more for where Starship is headed than for Monday’s attempt. Florida and Louisiana, home to LC-39A and the planned Starbase Louisiana site, see some of the most frequent lightning in the United States.
SpaceX tells the FCC that Starship Flight 14 is going to orbit
Flight 14 is the mission SpaceX has been building toward for months. Ship 41 will carry 26 Starlink V3 satellites, the first operational V3 units to be deployed, and attempt roughly six orbits at about 275 kilometers over a flight lasting just under 10 hours. SpaceX says the ship will only perform its orbital insertion burn after flight controllers confirm enough hardware redundancy remains for the deorbit burn at the end of the mission. Ship 41 is targeting a splashdown in the Pacific west of Chile, while Super Heavy will return to the Gulf of Mexico.
The date carries some symbolism as well. A Monday launch would come 10 years and one day after Elon Musk first presented the Interplanetary Transport System, the design that became Starship, at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico.
SpaceX has not announced what comes next, but air traffic planning slides reported this week, list Flight 15 no earlier than October 19 and a first Starship launch from LC-39A in Florida no earlier than October 30. Both dates depend on how Monday goes.
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SpaceX completes another secret Pentagon launch, adding to suspected Starshield buildout
SpaceX launched the classified USSF-385 mission from Vandenberg, landing its booster on a tenth flight.
SpaceX launched another classified mission for the U.S. Space Force from California early Saturday morning, and the Falcon 9 booster that carried it landed on a drone ship in the Pacific for the tenth time. The USSF-385 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 7:00 a.m. PT.
Booster B1100 touched down on Of Course I Still Love You roughly eight and a half minutes after liftoff. It was the booster’s tenth flight and tenth successful landing, following the NROL-95 national security mission and eight Starlink launches. Its previous flight, a Starlink Group 15 mission on August 22, came just 35 days earlier. SpaceX ended its livestream shortly after the landing, which is standard for classified payloads, and neither the company nor the Space Force has said what the rocket carried.
Watch Falcon 9 launch the USSF-385 mission from pad 4E in California https://t.co/CAdbx85Ydy
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 26, 2026
USSF-385 is the fourth Space Force launch from the same Vandenberg pad in roughly six weeks, following USSF-366 on August 15, USSF-153 on September 10, and USSF-259 on September 17. When SpaceX flew USSF-366 in August, independent trackers noted that the rocket’s stage drop zones matched SpaceX’s Starlink Group 15 missions, pointing to Starshield, the government version of the Starlink satellite bus. The Space Force later cataloged 23 satellites after both USSF-366 and USSF-153, while USSF-259 placed 17 satellites into a different orbital plane, per KeepTrack. Launch databases describe USSF-385 the same way, though the payload remains officially unidentified.
The cadence lines up with the contracts, because in July, the Space Force awarded SpaceX $1.6 billion in task orders for 18 Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg through the end of 2027. SpaceX also holds contracts to build pieces of that same network, which pushed its Pentagon contract total for 2026 past $8 billion.
Saturday’s flight was also the sixth and final Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg in September, according to Spaceflight Now, while only one Falcon 9 flew from the East Coast this month as SpaceX shifts its Florida infrastructure toward Starship. Launch trackers list it as SpaceX’s 112th mission of 2026 and the 108th Falcon 9 flight of the year, with SLC-4E turned around about six and a half days after its previous launch.
The West Coast pad will not stay quiet for long, considering SpaceX has another Starlink mission scheduled from SLC-4E on September 30. Meanwhile, in Texas, the company is two days away from Starship Flight 14, which is targeting Monday at 7:15 a.m. CT for the vehicle’s first attempt to reach orbit.
Elon Musk’s AI Grok Bot can now handle banking while your Tesla FSD handles the road
SpaceX just got the green light Starship has waited years for
