News
Former Tesla UI designer teases Cybertruck design, Full Self-Driving animations
A former Tesla UI designer’s renders of the Cybertruck design, along with never-before-seen Full Self-Driving animations, have been revealed from his personal website. Pawel Pietryka, who left Tesla in mid-March to pursue other interests, served the company for 4.5 years, frequently presenting new ideas and designs to CEO Elon Musk. After leaving the company, there were several new renders and animations that revealed the Cybertruck and Full Self-Driving animations that have remained elusive to the community.
The new renders and designs were recovered from Pietryka’s website but have now been removed following the Tesla community getting their hands on them. While it is not necessarily known if these were official Tesla renders and animations, the fact that they have disappeared from Pietryka’s website reveals that they could have been sensitive to Tesla’s designs and plans for future versions of FSD. Additionally, the Cybertruck UI animations could be utilized within the electric pickup when it hits the market later this year.
Cybertruck Render and Animation
Cybertruck UI is incredible. I can’t wait! pic.twitter.com/wZ9Zo8MYWu
— MotherFrunker #FSDBetaCanada ?? (@MFrunker) April 28, 2021
Pietryka’s Cybertruck rendering seems to show the vehicle’s interior, along with the planned animation and UI infrastructure that Tesla could use when the truck begins deliveries in late 2021. It appears to show a route and navigation summary that is similar to what real-world owners would view as they set out to drive their car to a destination. Relatively simple in design, the render and animations have not been seen before. With Pietryka being the former head of the UI design team at Tesla, there is likely some correlation between what was posted on his website and what Tesla will actually use within the Cybertruck.
-->The Cybertruck has been in development for several years and has undergone intense scrutiny from Tesla and its designers, along with potential owners since its unveiling in 2019. CEO Elon Musk has said that the Cybertruck underwent a slight redesign to make the truck slightly more compact. Most people were worried about getting the truck into their garage. Still, Musk was more concerned about the potential issues that the company could have with fitting it into the Boring Company tunnels comfortably. Musk told Joe Rogan earlier this year that Tesla adjusted the size by “around 3% or smaller. You don’t want it to be a couple of inches too big for the tunnel.”
Full Self-Driving Animations
A possible look at what V11 could bring. The designer who led the Tesla UI design left last month to start his own design company
Source: https://t.co/R9YGk7QmtH before it was taken down pic.twitter.com/85Mrh6oAUm
— Tesla Owners Online (@Model3Owners) April 28, 2021
The FSD Animation gave some owners and enthusiasts, like @Model3Owners, the idea that it could be a look at what Software Version 11 could bring. Tesla released some of the V11 features through the Holiday Update in late 2020, but there were several things that went unchanged. This could simply be due to FSD still being worked on, which Tesla outlined during the recent Earnings Call.
-->Musk said that Full Self-Driving Beta is continuing to “make great progress,” and Tesla is developing more extensive training software that will help with labeling. However, Tesla could be looking to redesign the Driving Visualization feature and could be leaning toward the design that Pietryka posted on his website. Like the Cybertruck render, this has also been removed.
As for Pietryka, he founded Moderne Grafik Anstalt Inc. in 2019, and it appears that his plans are to focus on this instead of Tesla’s work. He joined Tesla in 2016 after leaving Apple, where he crafted “new product narratives” and was responsible for hardware launches.
After 4.5 years at Tesla, today is my last day. I’ll miss these sweet fools so much, such incredible designers and humans. xo https://t.co/qNKcJCnZ7i
#tesla #productdesign #ui #uiux #ux #cybertruck #models #model3 #modely pic.twitter.com/PEgJAhH9CG— Pawel Pietryka (@pawelpietryka) March 11, 2021
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News
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
The refreshed Tesla Model 3 has won the DRIVEN Car Guide AA Insurance NZ Car of the Year 2025 award in the Passenger Car category, beating all traditional and electric rivals.
Judges praised the all-electric sedan’s driving dynamics, value-packed EV tech, and the game-changing addition of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) that went live in New Zealand this September.
Why the Model 3 clinched the crown
DRIVEN admitted they were late to the “Highland” party because the updated sedan arrived in New Zealand as a 2024 model, just before the new Model Y stole the headlines. Yet two things forced a re-evaluation this year.
First, experiencing the new Model Y reminded testers how many big upgrades originated in the Model 3, such as the smoother ride, quieter cabin, ventilated seats, rear touchscreen, and stalk-less minimalist interior. Second, and far more importantly, Tesla flipped the switch on Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in September, turning every Model 3 and Model Y into New Zealand’s most advanced production car overnight.
FSD changes everything for Kiwi buyers
The publication called the entry-level rear-wheel-drive version “good to drive and represents a lot of EV technology for the money,” but highlighted that FSD elevates it into another league. “Make no mistake, despite the ‘Supervised’ bit in the name that requires you to remain ready to take control, it’s autonomous and very capable in some surprisingly tricky scenarios,” the review stated.
-->At NZ$11,400, FSD is far from cheap, but Tesla also offers FSD (Supervised) on a $159 monthly subscription, making the tech accessible without the full upfront investment. That’s a game-changer, as it allows users to access the company’s most advanced system without forking over a huge amount of money.
News
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out.
It appears that the Tesla AI team burned the midnight oil, allowing them to release FSD V14.2.1 on Thanksgiving. The update has been reported by Tesla owners with AI4 vehicles, as well as Cybertruck owners.
For the Tesla AI team, at least, it appears that work really does not stop.
FSD V14.2.1
Initial posts about FSD V14.2.1 were shared by Tesla owners on social media platform X. As per the Tesla owners, V14.2.1 appears to be a point update that’s designed to polish the features and capacities that have been available in FSD V14. A look at the release notes for FSD V14.2.1, however, shows that an extra line has been added.
“Camera visibility can lead to increased attention monitoring sensitivity.”
Whether this could lead to more drivers being alerted to pay attention to the roads more remains to be seen. This would likely become evident as soon as the first batch of videos from Tesla owners who received V14.21 start sharing their first drive impressions of the update. Despite the update being released on Thanksgiving, it would not be surprising if first impressions videos of FSD V14.2.1 are shared today, just the same.
-->Rapid FSD releases
What is rather interesting and impressive is the fact that FSD V14.2.1 was released just about a week after the initial FSD V14.2 update was rolled out. This bodes well for Tesla’s FSD users, especially since CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that the V14.2 series will be for “widespread use.”
FSD V14 has so far received numerous positive reviews from Tesla owners, with numerous drivers noting that the system now drives better than most human drivers because it is cautious, confident, and considerate at the same time. The only question now, really, is if the V14.2 series does make it to the company’s wide FSD fleet, which is still populated by numerous HW3 vehicles.
News
Waymo rider data hints that Tesla’s Cybercab strategy might be the smartest, after all
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota Connected Europe designer Karim Dia Toubajie has highlighted a particular trend that became evident in Waymo’s Q3 2025 occupancy stats. As it turned out, 90% of the trips taken by the driverless taxis carried two or fewer passengers.
These observations all but validate Tesla’s controversial two-seat Cybercab strategy, which has caught a lot of criticism since it was unveiled last year.
Toyota designer observes a trend
Karim Dia Toubajie, Lead Product Designer (Sustainable Mobility) at Toyota Connected Europe, analyzed Waymo’s latest California Public Utilities Commission filings and posted the results on LinkedIn this week.
“90% of robotaxi trips have 2 or less passengers, so why are we using 5-seater vehicles?” Toubajie asked. He continued: “90% of trips have 2 or less people, 75% of trips have 1 or less people.” He accompanied his comments with a graphic showing Waymo’s occupancy rates, which showed 71% of trips having one passenger, 15% of trips having two passengers, 6% of trips having three passengers, 5% of trips having zero passengers, and only 3% of trips having four passengers.
The data excludes operational trips like depot runs or charging, though Toubajie pointed out that most of the time, Waymo’s massive self-driving taxis are really just transporting 1 or 2 people, at times even no passengers at all. “This means that most of the time, the vehicle being used significantly outweighs the needs of the trip,” the Toyota designer wrote in his post.
-->Cybercab suddenly looks perfectly sized
Toubajie gave a nod to Tesla’s approach. “The Tesla Cybercab announced in 2024, is a 2-seater robotaxi with a 50kWh battery but I still believe this is on the larger side of what’s required for most trips,” he wrote.
With Waymo’s own numbers now proving 90% of demand fits two seats or fewer, the wheel-less, lidar-free Cybercab now looks like the smartest play in the room. The Cybercab is designed to be easy to produce, with CEO Elon Musk commenting that its product line would resemble a consumer electronics factory more than an automotive plant. This means that the Cybercab could saturate the roads quickly once it is deployed.
While the Cybercab will likely take the lion’s share of Tesla’s ride-hailing passengers, the Model 3 sedan and Model Y crossover would be perfect for the remaining 9% of riders who require larger vehicles. This should be easy to implement for Tesla, as the Model Y and Model 3 are both mass-market vehicles.
Tesla Model 3 named New Zealand’s best passenger car of 2025
Tesla starts rolling out FSD V14.2.1 to AI4 vehicles including Cybertruck
