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Tesla Cybertruck takes on Rivian R1T and Hummer EV in review

Credit: Hagerty

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After Tesla delivered the first 12 of its highly anticipated Cybertruck this week, one automotive reviewer took the truck to the race track against two competitors in the electric pickup segment.

The Tesla Cybertruck “Cyberbeast” version got the full review and drag race treatment from Hagerty this week after the automaker delivered the vehicle’s first units on Thursday. In the video, auto journalist Jason Cammisa takes the Cybertruck up against rival electric pickups, the Rivian R1T and the GMC Hummer electric vehicle (EV).

Along with the Cybertruck including notable features such as its steer-by-wire handling, its 800-volt architecture, Powershare, and the option for a range extender, Cammissa starts with the R1T and Hummer drag races, emphasizing the truck’s impressive acceleration speeds.

As Cammisa points out, the Cybertruck was designed to offer driving dynamics matching a Porsche 911, while featuring more utility than a traditional pickup truck. Although Cammisa says it doesn’t quite drive like a 911, he says it may be faster than one, noting later that the Beast Mode Cybertruck is the quickest-accelerating pickup in history — both in its 0-60 mph and 1/4-mile times (landing at 2.6 seconds and 11 seconds, respectively).

Credit: Hagerty

Cammisa also points out that only one of the motors in the Cybertruck uses permanent magnets, unlike the four included in the R1T. Instead, the Cybertruck sports two induction motors in the rear, substantially reducing the rare earth metals needed. Tesla and other automakers have already announced plans to reduce the use of rare earth materials in future EVs.

Although the Porsche Taycan added 800v architecture in 2019, Cammisa brings on “Engineering Explained” host Jason Fenske to discuss how high voltage helps Tesla save money on Cybertruck materials. In addition, Cammisa notes that Tesla also quadrupled the Cybertruck’s low voltage from 12v to 48v, resulting in reduced material needs and effectively marking the first time in history an automaker has increased an EV’s low voltage capacity.

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Since the industry has had a difficult time switching to 48-volt architecture, Tesla also sent a cheeky manual to other OEMs with the title “How To Design a 48-volt Vehicle.”

Cammisa goes on to discuss several other features of the Cybertruck, including its steer-by-wire handling and turn radius, the vehicle’s safety and crash preparedness, and a handful of interior details, among others.

In the steer-by-wire portion of the video, Cammisa talks about the Cybertruck being the first production vehicle to have no physical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels. On Saturday, the video section was also reposted on X by CEO Elon Musk.

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You can watch Hagerty’s full coverage of the Cybertruck below, complete with drag races against the Rivian R1T and the GMC Hummer EV, and a comprehensive review of the truck’s driving, interior and exterior.

Updated 4:26 p.m. MT: Corrected the wording on motors in the fifth paragraph.

What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send your tips to us at tips@teslarati.com.

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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Tesla opens Robotaxi access to everyone — but there’s one catch

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.

Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.

It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.

In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.

The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.

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Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.

Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.

Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.

We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:

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The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.

In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.

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Tesla analyst sees Full Self-Driving adoption rates skyrocketing: here’s why

“You’ll see increased adoption as people are exposed to it. I’ve been behind the wheel of several of these and the different iterations of FSD, and it is getting better and better. It’s something when people experience it, they will be much more comfortable utilizing FSD and paying for it.”

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tesla interior operating on full self driving
Credit: TESLARATI

Tesla analyst Stephen Gengaro of Stifel sees Full Self-Driving adoption rates skyrocketing, and he believes more and more people will commit to paying for the full suite or the subscription service after they try it.

Full Self-Driving is Tesla’s Level 2 advanced driver assistance suite (ADAS), and is one of the most robust on the market. Over time, the suite gets better as the company accumulates data from every mile driven by its fleet of vehicles, which has swelled to over five million cars sold.

The suite features a variety of advanced driving techniques that many others cannot do. It is not your typical Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC) and Lane Keeping ADAS system. Instead, it can handle nearly every possible driving scenario out there.

It still requires the driver to pay attention and ultimately assume responsibility for the vehicle, but their hands are not required to be on the steering wheel.

It is overwhelmingly impressive, and as a personal user of the FSD suite on a daily basis, I have my complaints, but overall, there are very few things it does incorrectly.

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Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) v14.1.7 real-world drive and review

Gengaro, who increased his Tesla price target to $508 yesterday, said in an interview with CNBC that adoption rates of FSD will increase over the coming years as more people try it for themselves.

At first, it is tough to feel comfortable with your car literally driving you around. Then, it becomes second nature.

Gengaro said:

“You’ll see increased adoption as people are exposed to it. I’ve been behind the wheel of several of these and the different iterations of FSD, and it is getting better and better. It’s something when people experience it, they will be much more comfortable utilizing FSD and paying for it.”

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Tesla Full Self-Driving take rates also have to increase as part of CEO Elon Musk’s recently approved compensation package, as one tranche requires ten million active subscriptions in order to win that portion of the package.

The company also said in the Q3 2025 Earnings Call in October that only 12 percent of the current ownership fleet are paid customers of Full Self-Driving, something the company wants to increase considerably moving forward.

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Tesla scores major court win as judge rejects race bias class action

The ruling means the 2017 lawsuit cannot proceed as a class action because plaintiff attorneys were unable to secure testimony commitments from at least 200 workers.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla scored a significant legal victory in California after a state judge reversed a class certification in a high-profile race harassment case involving 6,000 Black workers at its Fremont plant. The ruling means the 2017 lawsuit cannot proceed as a class action because plaintiff attorneys were unable to secure testimony commitments from at least 200 workers ahead of a 2026 trial, a threshold the judge viewed as necessary to reliably represent the full group.

No class action

In a late-Friday order, California Superior Court Judge Peter Borkon concluded that the suit could not remain a class action, stating he could not confidently apply the experiences of a much smaller group of testifying workers to thousands of potential class members. His ruling reverses a 2024 decision by a different judge who had certified the case under the belief that a trial of that size would be manageable, as noted in a Reuters report.

The lawsuit was originally filed by former assembly-line worker Marcus Vaughn, who alleged that Black employees at Tesla’s Fremont factory were exposed to various forms of racially hostile conduct, including slurs, graffiti, and instances of disturbing objects appearing in work areas. Tesla has previously said it does not tolerate harassment and has removed employees found responsible for misconduct. Neither Tesla nor the plaintiffs’ legal team immediately commented on the latest ruling.

Tesla’s legal challenges

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While the decertification narrows the scope of this particular case, Tesla still faces additional litigation over similar allegations. A separate trial involving related claims brought by a California state civil rights agency is scheduled just two months after the now-vacated class trial date. The company is also contending with federal race discrimination claims filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alongside several individual lawsuits it has already resolved.

For now, the reversal removes the large-scale exposure Tesla would have faced in a unified class trial, shifting the dispute back to individual claims rather than a single mass action. The case is Vaughn v. Tesla, filed in Alameda County Superior Court.

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