News
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.
Tesla launched the all-electric, steering wheel-less, and pedal-less Cybercab last night at a quiet and small event in downtown Austin, Texas.
The launch, which marked the beginning of unsupervised ride-hailing for Tesla’s Robotaxi platform with Cybercab, has already caught the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) who has more questions.
NHTSA opened an Audit Query (AQ) into the Cybercab’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) certification that Tesla gave the vehicle. Manufacturers self-certify vehicles much of the time to avoid excessive regulatory delays.
Tesla Cybercab interior, note the lack of steering wheel and pedals. (Credit: @niccruzpatane/X< /a>)
However, the agency needs more information; it said in a summary:
“On September 3, 2026, Tesla began commercial deployment with a small number of its Cybercab vehicles in Austin, Texas. Tesla notified the Agency that it certified those Cybercab vehicles as compliant with all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). Tesla also notified the Agency that it plans to gradually expand commercial deployment of the Cybercab to include additional vehicles and locations.”
It also went on to state that the Cybercab lacks traditional automotive controls, which is a groundbreaking move. The process is entirely new to the NHTSA, which gives the agency some leverage to put Tesla’s launch under a microscope:
“The vehicles lack permanently attached, conventional manual controls, such as a brake pedal, gas pedal, steering wheel, and mirrors. NHTSA is opening this AQ to examine the process and technical data on which Tesla relied when certifying the Cybercab and related issues. Among other things, NHTSA will consider the extent to which Tesla’s certification depended on determinations that certain FMVSS are inapplicable to the Cybercab.”
Tesla has added 45 Cybercab units to its fleet of Robotaxi-enabled cars in Austin, according to public documents the company submitted to the State of Texas over the past week. Enabling this level of self-driving is something Tesla has worked toward for many years, and now that it is finally here, it seems more than reasonable that regulatory agencies will have some questions.
Many outlets might try to frame this as a negative, but it is truly an agency looking to gain more information about groundbreaking tech that Tesla has been developing for years.
In an effort to keep riders, pedestrians, and property safe, any and all data accumulated from these first days, weeks, and months of rides will likely be shared with the NHTSA to enable broader rollout strategies across the United States and more in the future.
Featured
Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins
Tesla Asia says Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai this month.
Tesla’s Cybercab is heading to Asia. The official Tesla Asia account posted on X Thursday, inviting Cybercab fans to “Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai.” The post went up within hours of Tesla’s own Cybercab milestone in Texas, where the company said Thursday it had begun offering rides in across Austin.
Exact dates and venues for the Asia tour haven’t been released yet, though Tesla Hong Kong replied to the announcement with “Cybercab will be on display in Hong Kong soon,” while Tesla Japan’s response pointed fans to a sign up page for updates. Neither post mentions test rides or a service area, and nothing so far suggests Tesla is launching Robotaxi operations in any of the four cities. Based on how Tesla has run past Cybercab tours, in Europe in late 2024 and at US shopping centers that same December, the Asia stops are almost certainly static displays at Tesla stores or public venues as a means to stimulate buzz for its future driverless ride-hailing service in the big cities.
Cybercab will be on display in Asia this month!
Come experience the future of autonomy in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing & Shanghai. pic.twitter.com/wGmmEastfX— Tesla Asia (@Tesla_Asia) September 4, 2026
The timing lines up with Tesla’s only prior Cybercab appearance in the region, a booth at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai last November, which Teslarati covered at the time. At that event, Tesla’s regional general manager for Shanghai framed the car as evidence of the company’s broader mission, a message Tesla has since formalized in its Master Plan Part IV, which states that “autonomous vehicles have the capacity to dramatically improve the affordability, availability and safety of transportation while reducing pollution, particularly in our increasingly dense global cities.” The same document is where Tesla lays out its “sustainable abundance” framing for Cybercab and Optimus alike, describing the two as the hardware behind an AI driven push to cut the cost of transportation and labor at scale.
Whether Cybercab actually operates as a robotaxi anywhere in Asia remains an open question, considering China has already pushed an autonomous ride-hailing market that’s run on homegrown players like Baidu’s Apollo Go and Pony AI. For now, the four city tour reads as a marketing push timed to Austin’s momentum.
Lifestyle
Tesla Cybertruck targets job site crews with new Tailgate Utility Track and Bed Gear Box accessory
Tesla launched a $350 tailgate track and a $985 lockable Bed Gear Box for Cybertruck.
Tesla’s Cybertruck team added two more items to the Tesla Shop, targeting job site crews and owners who use the truck bed for actual work rather than just showing it off. The official Cybertruck X account posted the Tailgate Utility Track and the Bed Gear Box within minutes of each other, part of a five item batch that also included a reflective jacket, a spray paint hat and an updated reflective tee.
The Tailgate Utility Track runs $350 and turns the folded down tailgate into another mounting surface. It’s a single aluminum track with a T-slot for sliding accessories and two L-track attachment points, plus two load stops included in the box. The pitch is straightforward: strap down oversized cargo, like lumber or a cooler, that hangs off the back of the bed without it sliding out mid-drive. It bolts onto the existing tailgate and works on every Cybertruck trim.
Tailgate Utility Trackhttps://t.co/PCAYXlFBvS pic.twitter.com/sCV2NVxf1W
— Cybertruck (@cybertruck) September 3, 2026
The Bed Gear Box costs $985 and is a different kind of accessory. It’s a lockable aluminum storage box, 55.78 inches long, 19.8 inches wide and 7.79 inches tall, that mounts to the bed’s L-track rails and comes with two internal bins for smaller items. According to Tesla, at just over 57 pounds empty, it’s meant to stay in place rather than come in and out with each trip, giving owners a factory-fit alternative to loose totes for tools, recovery gear or emergency supplies. Tesla’s listing notes that Long Range and Dual Motor AWD Cybertrucks need the L-Tracks accessory installed separately before the Gear Box will mount, since L-tracks come standard only on certain configurations.
Tesla Cybertruck bed gear box accessory
Both accessories lean on the idea Tesla has been building toward since Elon Musk first described the Cybertruck’s third-party attachment strategy at the 2023 shareholder meeting, when he said the truck would ship with mounting points so outside companies, and Tesla itself, could keep adding gear without redesigning the bed. That’s the same L-track backbone underneath the tailgate shield and jumpseats Tesla launched last year, and the off-road armor package that arrived through the same X account in 2025.
Owners looking to round out the rest of the L-track ecosystem, cargo dividers, MOLLE panels, bed racks and similar gear, can find a wider range of options through our Cybertruck accessories collection.
Tesla Cybercab launch catches NHTSA’s attention who wants to know more
Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins
