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Tesla Cybertruck takes centerstage in Travis Scott’s rap video

Travis Scott with Tesla's Cybertruck and ATV. (Credit: YouTube/Travis Scott)

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A few of Elon Musk’s most notable creations, including the newly released Cybertruck, “Cyberquad” ATV, and Boring Co. “Not-a-Flamethrower” managed to make it into a new music video from noted rapper Travis Scott.

Tesla’s recently unveiled Cybertruck and its matching ATV were included in Scott’s video, which has gained over 1.1 million views in less than 24 hours. Scott’s most recent project didn’t just include Tesla’s latest creations, either, as the track also included a group named “JACKBOYS,” featuring a number of notable names in the entertainment industry.

The song in the video is titled “GANG GANG” and features artists like Sheck Wes, Don Toliver, and Luxury Tax. Despite all of these names, the stars of the show were arguably the all-electric Tesla Cybertruck and Cyberquad. Scott, recognized by his alias “Huncho Jack” in the video, can be seen riding around in the ATV in various scenes. The Cybertruck and Cyberquad’s scenes in the music video seemed to have been shot at Tesla’s Design Center in Hawthorne, CA as well.

Known for his relationship with pop-culture figure Kylie Jenner, Travis Scott’s 2018 album “Astroworld” won the 2019 BET Hip Hop’s Best Album of the Year award and received nominations for the 2019 Grammy Awards “Best Rap Album” and the 2019 Billboard Music Awards Top Album. The album was streamed 349.43 million times in its first week, making it the fifth-largest streaming album in one week.

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Scott’s most recent album has catapulted his success into extraordinary levels. It is unknown how the artist gained access to the Cybertruck or the elusive ATV, but it is likely his increased popularity has gained credibility with some of the world’s most influential figures. This includes Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In fact, Musk was spotted with some of the biggest names in celebrity culture at the annual Kardashian Christmas Party in late December. Musk was seen with girlfriend Grimes, along with Kim Kardashian-West and husband Kanye West and Travis Scott.

From Left to Right: Kanye West, Elon Musk, Travis Scott, and Quavo at the Kardashian Family Christmas Party. (Credit: Instagram/@Complex)

The Cybertruck has three different variants and starts at $39,900 for its Single-Motor trim, $49,900 for the Dual-Motor, and $69,900 for the Tri-Motor. The truck has become one of the most talked-about vehicles of the year, especially following recognition from names like Min-Liang Tan of the Razer gaming hardware company and UFC Superstar Conor McGregor. The truck’s interesting and unique build continues to defy stereotypes, becoming one of the most popular topics of the year as a result.

You can watch the GANG GANG music video from JACKBOYS that features the Cybertruck, ATV, and the Not-a-Flamethrower below.

Joey has been a journalist covering electric mobility at TESLARATI since August 2019. In his spare time, Joey is playing golf, watching MMA, or cheering on any of his favorite sports teams, including the Baltimore Ravens and Orioles, Miami Heat, Washington Capitals, and Penn State Nittany Lions. You can get in touch with joey at joey@teslarati.com. He is also on X @KlenderJoey. If you're looking for great Tesla accessories, check out shop.teslarati.com

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Tesla just told us twice that Model Y L is coming to the U.S.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla just told us twice that the Model Y L is coming to the U.S., and two social media posts definitely just tipped the company’s hand, as if they wanted it to be any other way.

The two social media posts basically confirm that the slightly longer version of the Model Y will be heading to the United States soon, and many have speculated that the company could launch the vehicle as soon as this weekend.

The first post was directly from Tesla, and it showed an incredibly long Dachshund, with words above that said, “Looking forward to the long weekend.”

Anyone who knows Tesla knows the company loves to troll its fans and have fun, and this is a perfect example of that. While not a direct acknowledgement, Tesla is very involved on social media, especially CEO Elon Musk’s platform X, and the company is well aware of what is being discussed within the community.

With recent sightings of Model Y L test mules in California, peeks of the vehicle at Giga Texas, and a large call for the car to come to the U.S., Tesla is simply stoking conversation with this.

However, the company also made another move that was recognized on social media. Tesla has a large gallery that includes photos of its products so media and others can use them. This gallery applies to the U.S. market specifically, unless otherwise specified.

Tesla uploaded a Model Y L to the Gallery last night:

This seems to be another indication that the Model Y L is coming to the United States.

Musk said last year that the Model Y L could make its way to the United States late this year, but it was not something that was set in stone by Tesla. The company definitely needs to establish something in the SUV market that is larger than the Model Y, and the Model Y L might be the answer.

Even still, there are consumers out there who would love Tesla to develop something even larger, like a competitor to the Tahoe or Expedition. Tesla has not really given much of an indication that it will go in that direction.

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Tesla is using vehicle microphones to improve build quality: here’s how

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla is using the vehicles’ internal microphones to improve build quality, Vice President of Engineering Lars Moravy revealed recently.

It’s no secret that Tesla is always finding ways to make its manufacturing operations more efficient, accurate, and valuable. Constantly trying to make its cars better, the company has never placed any restrictions on what it will do to improve everything from panel gaps to paint.

As Teslas have been driving autonomously on the property of the Gigafactory Texas plant for a while now, Moravy revealed to Herbert Ong in a new interview that cars rolling off production lines now autonomously navigate themselves through a bumps, squeaks, and rattles (BSR) portion of the line. This helps to identify any loose or improperly installed internal parts.

The cabin’s microphones, which are used for a variety of things in ownership, simultaneously monitor any noises inside the vehicle while it rolls through the BSR portion of the production line. Moravy actually revealed that Tesla is trying to build “Full Self-Hearing,” an AI system that will detect minor imperfections so they can be corrected before delivery.

It’s no secret that build quality is something that Tesla struggled with as it scaled to a fully massive production operation that manufactures over 1.6 million vehicles per year. However, in recent years, especially, there have not been as many complaints. Tesla has truly improved upon its build quality and paint quality over the past several years, especially in the U.S.

Tesla’s ‘megacasts’ are key to massive build quality improvements

While those improvements have been evident, there are still some complaints; no automaker is perfect with this. But this step will now ensure that every single car that rolls off the production lines at Gigafactory Texas will be void of any creaks, squeaks, or squeals when it leaves the factory.

This measure is one of the most unique we’ve seen in terms of a strategy to avoid build quality issues, but it is not exclusive to Tesla.

Ford uses acoustic analysis AI to find abnormalities in seat motors, climate control units, and other components. Suppliers and OEMs will also use microphone arrays or particle velocity sensors in end-of-line stations.

The full interview with Lars Moravy is available below:

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Investor's Corner

Tesla crushes Wall Street expectations, beats delivery estimates by over 15 percent

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Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) beat Wall Street expectations of 406,000 vehicles delivered in Q2 by reporting 480,126 deliveries for the three months ending in June.

Tesla reported it delivered 467,762  Model 3 and Model Y units, while 12,364 Model S, Model X, and Cybertrucks switched hands during the quarter. The Model S and Model X were officially sunset this past quarter and will no longer be part of the company’s Production & Delivery reports moving forward.

The quarter is a pleasant surprise and a good rebound from Q1, when Tesla slightly missed the Wall Street consensus of 365,645 cars by reporting 358,023 deliveries for the first three motnhs of the year.

Energy storage deployments also provided some strength in Tesla’s delivery report, hitting 13.5 GWh for Q2. This is a particular division of Tesla’s business that has been overwhelmingly robust over the past few years, truly being a strong point of the company’s overall model.

For the year, Tesla analysts still predict deliveries to trend in the 1.69 million unit region, a modest 3 to 5 percent increase from the 1.64 million cars the company delivered last year. Tesla will likely return to more sequential and noticeable year-over-year growth as the Cybercab project starts to ramp up considerably in the next few years.

Tesla has some other potential catalysts to spur vehicle deliveries, too. Not only is it expecting Cybercab to truly start making a change in the next few years, but other vehicles could be entering the company’s lineup.

Tesla sends production Cybercab with no steering wheel, pedals to on-road testing

The slightly longer Model Y L has been a highly speculated release candidate in the U.S. It has already done incredibly well in China, and U.S. buyers have been wanting slightly more interior space than the Model Y. Now that the Model X is gone, it is more needed than ever.

Q2 highlights a pretty stable automotive division within Tesla, and no true concerns arise from these figures, especially considering it managed to beat expectations convincingly.

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