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Tesla Cybertruck saves a life even before its deliveries begin
The Tesla Cybertruck was met by a wide range of emotions when it was unveiled last November. It was celebrated, it was mocked, it was met with anger, and it was met with enthusiasm. The all-electric pickup is not yet being delivered to customers, but even now, the vehicle continues to inspire the creativity of many. And if a story from a Tesla owner is any indication, it appears that the Cybertruck may have already saved a life.
Tesla owner u/Jeriath27 recently shared his and his family’s experience surrounding the all-electric pickup on the r/TeslaMotors subreddit. His story started about a year ago when his family took delivery of a Tesla Model 3. The EV enthusiast actually reserved a Model 3 years prior, but circumstances prevented him from going through with the purchase when the vehicle was initially released. Fortunately, the Tesla enthusiast was able to justify a Model 3 purchase last year, on account of a long commute, a new job, and the vehicle’s gas savings.
Interestingly enough, u/Jeriath27’s wife was quite skeptical about the Model 3 at first, especially as she would be the one driving it about 95% of the time. But in true Tesla fashion, the Model 3 promptly endeared itself to the EV enthusiast’s wife, to the point where she actually started doing some Uber and Lyft on the side. This was quite notable, considering that she has bad anxiety and is generally uncomfortable with strangers. Everything seemed to be in place then, but things fell apart when summer hit.
While visiting a friend in another state, u/Jeriath27’s spouse experienced a bad episode, which stemmed from deep-rooted PTSD. She ended up in a medical facility, and it took the Tesla owner fighting the court just to get her home. By this time, she was pumped with so much medicine that she was a shell of her usual self. As noted by the Tesla owner, his wife ended up having cluster seizures and vivid nightmares for months, and she fell into an extremely deep depression. She started seeing a therapist and her doctor worked to get her medicine figured out, but the healing process was very deliberate.
Then came November 21, 2019. As related by the Tesla owner, his wife had been sleeping as usual and he was just waiting for the unveiling of the Cybertruck. He was aware that the Cybertruck’s design will probably not be for everyone, and sure enough, when Elon Musk brought the massive all-electric pickup onstage, u/Jeriath27 was not really that excited. He thought the Cybertruck’s design was interesting, but it was not something that he was immediately drawn to. Nevertheless, he opted to show the Cybertruck to his wife the next day.
As it turned out, u/Jeriath27’s spouse loved the all-electric truck’s unique XY design. She spent the next few hours watching and rewatching the Cybertruck’s unveiling. Seeing how his wife was reacting to the vehicle, the Tesla owner promptly reserved a unit for themselves. He then printed the email confirmation and showed it to his wife. She was ecstatic for the first time in four months.
Interestingly enough, the family’s reservation for the all-electric pickup truck provided a small push that provided some timely motivation to u/Jeriath27’s wife. With the couple deciding that they would save up for the vehicle together, the Tesla owner’s spouse started feeling more motivated. She put up charts and motivational pictures to encourage herself, and she started providing Uber rides in the family’s Model 3 once more. She even started getting into conversations with other Tesla owners at Superchargers during road trips.
Of course, it should be noted that it’s not really healthy to have someone’s motivation tied to a single consumer product. In later comments, the Tesla owner noted that he and his wife are aware of this, and they are determined to continue therapy to help her recovery further. That being said, it’s difficult to deny that it was the presence of a strange-looking vehicle that brought the Tesla owner’s spouse out of a severe downturn. Her current enthusiasm for the Cybertruck, if any, has allowed her to open up more to her therapist, which could hopefully expedite her healing.
At the end of the day, sometimes, one just needs to have something to look forward to. Even if that something is a massive all-electric pickup.
Read u/Jeriath27’s full post about his family’s Tesla Cybertruck story here.
The in-car Tesla Theater is among the most unique features available within the cars. When charging, parked, camping, or just hanging out, vehicle occupants can access a variety of streaming platforms on the large center screen, helping keep them entertained during downtime.
However, the Theater might be getting plenty more streaming platforms, something that owners have requested for some time.
Tesla owners recently discovered that visiting Apple TV in the vehicle browser can launch a fullscreen interface that looks and behaves like a dedicated application rather than an ordinary webpage:
Today I learned that if you go to Apple TV in the Tesla browser, it will open up an actual Apple TV app, fully functional. Not just the site.
Apparently there are more apps than just the few that show on the apps page. pic.twitter.com/os1Ypfm4JR
— Jason W (@jmwilt21) August 20, 2026
The experience drops the usual address bar and browser chrome, presenting catalogs, continue watching rows, and playback controls in the same window Tesla Theater already uses for its listed services. Independent testers soon found similar treatment for HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock, Disney+, and Prime Video when those sites are opened from the car browser.
This shift is a plausible early signal that Tesla is widening Theater support without a formal software note. Theater has long been a set of web views rather than native applications, so recognizing extra domains and stripping the browser frame is a small server-side change that can expand the catalog quickly.
Owners still lack permanent Theater icons for the newly recognized services, and video remains limited to Park, yet the smoother launch is a meaningful step toward a broader lounge while charging.
Tesla Theater arrived with software version 10 in September 2019. The first video services were Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu, available only while parked and originally tied to WiFi. Spotify arrived in the same era as music rather than Theater video. Disney+ joined officially in July 2021 with the 2021.24 update, giving owners another major catalog on the center screen. Twitch and TikTok later appeared among the default Theater tiles, and Tesla Tutorials remained a persistent educational tile.
Not every addition stayed put. In December 2023, a Holiday software build removed the Disney+ tile for many United States owners after a public dispute involving advertising on X. Hulu stayed visible even though Disney owned it. Visiting disneyplus.com in the browser often restored the tile, which suggested the removal was a recognition list change rather than a complete block. Owners have also reported occasional blank Theater grids after updates, usually fixed by language toggles, resets, or later firmware.
Tesla axes Disney+ from vehicles with Musk-Iger rivalry, but there’s a workaround
Code archives from 2024 listed many unused source names, including Apple TV and Prime Video, that never became official icons, which now looks like groundwork for the current fullscreen browser behavior.
Now that this hint toward an expanded Theater experience has been recognized, Tesla could follow through with these additional shortcuts as a sign that more streaming platforms are available in Teslas than ever before.
Tesla recently received its largest order for the all-electric Semi from Einride, a Swedish transport service, for 500 units, a groundbreaking invoice to receive before the first deliveries begin.
Even more remarkable, Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli said in a recent interview that he expects his company to take delivery of all 500 — the entire order — before the end of 2027. He even expects to have 75 Tesla Semi units in the Einride fleet before the end of this year.
🚨 Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli on the Tesla Semi partnership:
“If we start with the Amazon announcement that we did earlier this year, that was on the back of having gone through a proving period together with them and proving out our technology. Then we took that next step in… pic.twitter.com/oazkXjwoig
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 28, 2026
Charli said the Tesla partnership was part of a broader push, along with its earlier partnership with Amazon. Einride is assisting Amazon with the use of its Saga AI platform, which helps eliminate questions about budgeting and forecasting for logistics companies.
The Semi, as well as Tesla’s production and subsequent delivery of the units to Einride, will help the company “to have a good supply of vehicles that we can deploy on the [Saga AI] platform,” Charli said. “Tesla is also a relationship we’ve had for a while, and as the Tesla Semi deliveries are firming up, we decided to do a larger commitment to that and deploy that on our platform.”
In its initial announcement, Einride said it anticipated taking delivery of the trucks over the next two years, but now it appears the company is expecting all 500 units within the next 16 months.
Built at a dedicated factory in Sparks, Nevada, the Tesla Semi has been perhaps the biggest and most intensive testing process the company has ever had for a single vehicle model. For the past several years, Tesla has been working with many companies, most notably Frito-Lay and PepsiCo, to gain knowledge on the performance on regional routes.
Tesla plans to launch the Semi officially on September 24, five months after production started ramping.
Additionally, drivers have said they are happy about the Semi’s performance and that its numerous safety and productivity features have made their jobs and routes much easier.
Tesla Cybercab is using a unique strategy for picking up the correct rider, which is a crucial part of ride-hailing to ensure people end up in the right place and are charged the correct price.
Cybercab will utilize an RGB strip in its front light bar that will illuminate in a variety of different colors to mark itself.
This identifying mark will also appear in the Robotaxi app, giving riders in the same location a notable distinction in an effort to avoid any confusion regarding who should get in each vehicle.
TESLARATI Premium Membership
$19.99 USD🚨 Tesla is using different light bar colors to help riders understand which vehicle is theirs
Pretty cool strategy pic.twitter.com/eGMpEMeRpc
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) August 27, 2026
Other ride-hailing services use similar strategies: Lyft and Uber rides are recognizable through driver identity, vehicle type and color, as well as license plate. Waymo will display the rider’s initials on top of the vehicle, letting them know that the specific vehicle for them has arrived.
Tesla’s strategy is unique and interesting, but there are some flaws. Cybercab’s main purpose is aimed toward being an autonomous ride for all, including those who have disabilities like being blind or even color blind.
Tesla will likely have something in the pipeline for those who cannot see colors or have limited vision. There will definitely be multiple ways to identify which vehicle is the one that “you” specifically ordered.
Cybercab is set to start giving public rides next Thursday, September 3, in Austin, as it announced a dedicated event last week and invited many members of the Tesla community.
Additionally, members of the public will be invited as well. Tesla has been offering employee rides in Cybercab for nearly two months.
Tesla Theater might be getting plenty more streaming platforms
Tesla Semi’s biggest adoptee gives an update on production timeline
