News
Tesla Cybertruck will have “laser blade lights” and adjusted dimensions
Tesla Cybertruck’s width will be roughly 82 inches and the vehicle will come standard with upper “laser blade lights”, according to the most recent update provided by CEO Elon Musk.
Musk clarified via Twitter that the previously announced width of the upcoming all-electric truck might be too small. The Cybetruck officially measured 84 inches wide when it was unveiled in Los Angeles last November 2019, but he estimated a possible reconfiguration to around 80 inches wide to make the Cybertruck fit in typical garage setups.
The Tesla Cybertruck will also feature upper laser blade lights, the aesthetically futuristic bar of lights across the top of the truck’s windshield. While details about this feature are very limited, the laser blade lights are said to help provide the driver with better visibility, especially needed in challenging terrain or dark outback excursions. Additionally, the laser blade lights add a cool factor to the dystopian vehicle that has reportedly caught the interest of over 500,000 reservation holders since its debut.
Btw, in some prior tweets Iโd said production Cybertruck would be ~80โ wide (vs ~84โ body width at unveil). This is slightly too small. Will be closer to 82โ, but come standard with upper laser blade lights.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 21, 2020
Elon Musk was pretty generous with Tesla Cybertruck updates Friday night. When asked if the much-awaited pickup truckโs look will generally be the same, he said that โitโs slightly better.โ
This latest Cybertruck news from Musk also shows how Tesla listens to the electric vehicle community just like when Musk confirmed that owners will be able to comfortably camp in the Cybertruckโs truck bed and that it would come with a flip stop for those hauling long cargo.
-
Unclear is how Tesla’s electric pickup might fit in a typical residential garage in the United States. In response to Teslarati’s story on how one Youtuber used a to-scale Cybertruck AR mobile app to discover that the truck’s dimensions were too big for a home garage, Musk responded with his thoughts on how Cybertruck’s length and width can be adjusted.
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
Typical two-car garages in the United States measure around 20×20, 22×22, or 24×24 feet. While these measurements are fine for the usual sedans and SUVs like the Model S, Model X and Model 3, or crossovers such as the Model Y, things can get a bit tight for mid-size utility pickups like the Tesla Cybertruck that originally measured 231.7 inches long, 84 inches wide, and 75 inches high. The parking issue is not unique to the Cybertruck as owners of Ford F-150 Supercrew and Dodge RAM pickups have reported that their trucks are often too long to fit inside their garages. With the adjusted width, the Cybertruck will fit in the same external envelope as full-size SUVs just like how Elon Musk pictures it.
The Cybertruckโs Tri-Motor and Dual Motor versions are expected to hit the production line in 2021.
Tesla Cybertruck Dimensions
- Width: 82″ (2083 mm)
- Height: 75″ (1905 mm)
- Length: 225″ to 231″ (5715 mm to 5892 mm)
- Wheelbase: 149.9″ (3807 mm)
Tesla has been testing its all-electric, two-seater Cybercab on public roads for months now.
Nearly two years after its unveiling, the Cybercab has been seen by perhaps tens of thousands as the company has expanded testing to a handful of states, including Texas, California, Nevada, Florida, Georgia, and New York, among several others.
However, nobody has seen one like this quite yet.
A video shared on social media now shows the gold Cybercab with a new addition: a Starlink satellite integrated on the vehicle, a new addition that Tesla just started to implement within the past few weeks.
@lottaherm More cybercabs being spotted now with Starlink integrated ๐ #cybercab #tesla #elonmusk #houston #htx โฌ original sound – ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐น๐น๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ข๐๐น๐|๐
Just a week ago, Tesla announced that it had built its first Cybercab with Starlink integration and showed it off at Gigafactory Texas. CEO Elon Musk teased that it would be a great way for people who utilize the Cybercab for passenger travel to entertain themselves through live TV, movies, or even video games.
Tesla’s Head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said it is also a huge advantage for Tesla as it will enable constant connectivity between the company and the fleet of Cybercabs it has. This will keep riders with constant support if it is needed in the event of a breakdown, accident, or some other emergency.
Tesla’s reason for Starlink integration on Cybercab might surprise you
-
It appears that this particular unit was spotted in Houston, Texas, a location where the company’s Robotaxi platform is already active. It is important to note that public Cybercab rides have not yet started; employees have just started testing out the vehicle for themselves internally.
Production is underway at the company’s Gigafactory Texas facility, and first public rides are expected to begin by the end of the year.
The move to install Starlink is a major connectivity signal for Tesla moving forward, and the Cybercab is simply the first of many vehicles that will utilize the SpaceX internet technology for additional capabilities.
Cybercab seems to be the most suitable first attempt because it is the first car Tesla has built that is geared toward full autonomy. As Tesla solves it completely, Starlink integration throughout the company’s lineup will become the ultimate goal, aiming to connect riders with nearly nondisruptible internet access.
Tesla is building its largest East Coast Supercharger in New York City, planning to bring a 64- to 68-stall station to Queens, New York.
It will end up being tied for the largest Supercharger on the East Coast with this number of stalls. The largest on the Eastern Seaboard is located in Halifax, North Carolina, and is also 68 stalls.
Tesla is currently building a new 64-stall Supercharger station in Queens, New York. This will be the biggest Supercharger station on the East Coast of the U.S.
It will also have two pull-through stalls for EVs with trailers. Thx for the pics @LetsCleanNYC. pic.twitter.com/CCo0dIoHin
โ Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 16, 2026
The location is also set to be fitted with two pull-through stalls for EVs with trailers. We’ve seen Tesla implement these types of parking spots at newer locations as EV ownership continues to expand to those who do more than simply drive their cars.
There are plenty of Superchargers in the New York City metro, but they are mostly located in boroughs outside of Manhattan. There are five Superchargers in various neighborhoods of Manhattan, but there are limited plugs; usually only four per location. There are plenty of Destination Chargers in the Big Apple, though.
-
Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn have become popular locations for companies to build out charging infrastructure for those who live in the highly populated boroughs. There is simply much more real estate to build effective EV charging stations.
The Supercharger will be located in Maspeth, Queens, at 48-26 54th Road. Maspeth has I-495 running through it, so this will be a great location for Tesla owners to hop off the highway on their way to Long Island or to Manhattan to charge up before continuing their journey.
Tesla has done a really great job of expanding its charging footprint throughout the past several years, especially by building large-scale projects that cater to areas that have a high volume of traffic and are main routes of travel to major areas. Tesla is making an effort to make charging less stressful and more widely available in these concentrated regions.
News
SpaceX just launched a secret payload from California
SpaceX launched a classified Space Force mission from Vandenberg, revealing almost nothing about its payload.
SpaceX launched a classified Falcon 9 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday night, and the government released almost nothing about what was on board. The mission, designated USSF-366, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E with a window that opened at 9:52 p.m. ET and ran into the early hours of Sunday, according to SpaceX’s own mission page, which described the payload only as classified. SpaceX confirmed the launch on its X account and pointed viewers to a livestream that began roughly ten minutes before liftoff.
Watch Falcon 9 launch the USSF-366 mission from pad 4E in California https://t.co/FFEzeYOds1
โ SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 16, 2026
The lack of detail did not stop analysts from filling in the blanks. Independent tracking of the rocket’s stage drop zones matched the pattern SpaceX has used on previous Starlink Group 15 missions, according to reporting from Outer Space Today, which pointed to Starshield as the likely payload rather than a one off government satellite. Starshield is SpaceX’s national security product, a version of the Starlink satellite bus built to Pentagon specifications for earth observation, communications and hosted payloads. Unlike consumer Starlink, government agencies do not have to disclose what Starshield satellites are actually doing once they reach orbit.
USSF-366 is the latest entry in a steady flow of classified and semi classified work between SpaceX and the Space Force. The company picked up a $178.5 million task order in April to launch missile tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency, as Teslarati reported at the time, and followed that in July with a $1.6 billion award covering 18 more Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg through the end of 2027, also detailed by Teslarati. Add those contracts up and SpaceX’s Pentagon business for 2026 alone tops $8 billion.
SpaceX scores another massive Pentagon deal to support military satellites
The Falcon 9 that flew Saturday landed back near the launch site, producing the sonic booms that have become routine for residents near Vandenberg. What is less routine is how little the public will likely ever learn about what the rocket carried. SpaceX and the Space Force have not confirmed the Starshield connection, and government satellite programs built on commercial buses rarely get identified beyond a mission number and a general orbit. For a company that live streams almost everything else it does, from Starship test flights to Optimus robot demos, USSF-366 is a reminder that some of SpaceX’s busiest work now happens entirely out of public view.
-
Tesla starts testing its Starlink-integrated Cybercab on public roads
Tesla is building its largest Supercharger on the East Coast in New York City
