News
Tesla sends out invites for its Cybertruck unveiling with new pickup teaser
Tesla has sent out official invites for its highly-anticipated pickup truck unveiling event. The invitation, which requires attendees to RSVP, featured a brand new teaser image of the upcoming vehicle that CEO Elon Musk has fondly described as a Blade Runner-style “Cybertruck.”
In what appears to be a hint at the hype surrounding the vehicle, the event quickly reached full capacity not long after the invites were sent out. The fortunate ones who managed to secure a spot at the Cybertruck unveiling received a confirmation message from Tesla, which provided a few more interesting details about the upcoming event.
Tesla listed the following reminders for its Cybertruck unveiling attendees.
HELL YES!!!!!! I had already booked airfare & hotel. Had a custom outfit made. Omg I can't wait! Watch out world. This is gunna be EPIC! pic.twitter.com/r43YvujLBm
— Erik in DÆrik (@teslainventory) November 14, 2019
“Your attendance is confirmed for the Cybertruck Unveil on Thursday, November 21 at the Tesla Design Center, 3203 Jack Northrop Ave, Hawthorne, CA.
– Invitations are non-transferable and IDs will be checked upon arrival
– Doors open at 7 p.m.
– Remarks will begin at 8 p.m.
– Event will be held both indoors and outdoors
– We recommend light outerwear in case of cooler weather
– Additional details will be shared at least 24 hours prior to the event”
A look at the reminders reveals that the Cybertruck unveiling will be held at an open area, which could play to the strengths of the upcoming vehicle. This detail invokes some similarities to the Tesla Semi and next-gen Roadster unveiling from November 2017, which also involved attendees interacting with the vehicles in an open area.
This detail bodes well for the upcoming vehicle. The Tesla Cybertruck could very well be the electric car maker’s first EV that is designed to be rough and tough, and there are few better ways to showcase this by demonstrating its capabilities during its unveiling. Feats of strength, for one, definitely work better in an outdoor setting.
Tesla’s official invitation for the vehicle also includes a new teaser for the Cybertruck featuring a long lightbar that runs across the invite. Playing around with the invitation’s brightness and contrast settings reveals a couple of wheels at the left hand side, together with what seems to be a fairly long bed.
Previous Tesla invites had hidden Easter eggs embedded within. I enhanced the image & it unveils 2 wheels in motion. Would the lights then be the side lights surrounding the truck or can the wheels rotate & do something out of this world? #LikeTesla #Tesla #CyberTruck pic.twitter.com/lUsZ6LWKSO
— Kim Java (@ItsKimJava) November 14, 2019
Tesla’s official invitations were sent out not long after Tesla filed trademarks for “Cybertruck” and “CYBRTRK,” as seen in filings with the US Patent Office. It did not take long before the unveiling event was fully booked, with a number of Tesla community members noting that they received messages stating that they have been placed in a waiting list.
Looks like the Cybertruck event has already hit the waitlist. It’s full. pic.twitter.com/csTMbP0YkM
— TREV PAGE (@Model3Owners) November 14, 2019
“Thank you for your interest in the Cybertruck Unveil event. Your name as been added to the waitlist. If space becomes available, you will receive a confirmation email in the order you submitted your RSVP,” Tesla wrote.
Tesla’s all-electric Cybertruck is expected to have a base price of $49,000 before options, while packing around 400 to 500 miles of range per charge, as per information shared by Elon Musk.
Featured
Tesla finally got its Nevada Robotaxi Permit but with a few catches hard to miss
Nevada granted Tesla’s robotaxi permit, but capped the fleet at just ten vehicles for now.
Tesla has received its robotaxi permit in Nevada, more than two months after regulators closed the public comment period on the company’s application. News of the approval surfaced Wednesday night when Tesla investor and longtime company watcher Sawyer Merritt posted a copy of the interim order, and the Nevada Transportation Authority’s own carrier registry now lists the permit, AVNC Permit 002 under Docket 26-05015, as active for Tesla Robotaxi, LLC.
Tesla asked Nevada in June for authority to run up to 5,000 vehicles in Clark County within a year, however the permit the NTA issued is initially capping Tesla at ten fully autonomous vehicles and confines them to a defined geofence along the Las Vegas Strip corridor. Any expansion of that operating area, or any increase to the fleet size, requires the NTA’s approval first.
Tesla has received its Autonomous Vehicle Network Company permit in Nevada.
The Nevada Transportation Authority says that operations are limited to a maximum fleet of 10 fully autonomous vehicles and shall be conducted only within the Authority-approved Operational Design… https://t.co/Cxfd6GIfDk pic.twitter.com/iOO6wSZkHF
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) August 13, 2026
The order also sets rules that look more restrictive than what Tesla runs in Austin. Rides are barred on roads with posted speed limits above 45 miles per hour, pickups are off limits within a quarter mile of Harry Reid International Airport without separate authorization, and every vehicle has to carry visible “Robotaxi” markings while notifying riders before each trip that no one is driving. The order also requires “appropriate human supervision”, language that suggests Nevada isn’t ready to let Tesla offer the rides without a safety monitor that it has run in parts of Austin since January. As with standard protocol with robotaxi services, Tesla must report any accident, system failure, or vehicle that becomes stranded on a Nevada road within five business days.
Tesla is entering a market Nevada already knows well. Zoox, the Amazon owned robotaxi company, has run its own autonomous vehicle permit in the state since last year, building up to roughly 100 vehicles and 350,000 rides along the Strip. That history likely explains why the NTA started Tesla at ten cars rather than the fleet size the company asked for. The agency has a template for scaling a permit up once a company proves out its safety record.
Tesla’s Nevada application first surfaced in June, when the company filed for the permit alongside plans for a maintenance hub in southwest Las Vegas. The company has said it won’t meaningfully scale its robotaxi fleet anywhere until FSD v15 ships, expected in late 2026 or early 2027, which makes the ten vehicle cap less of a constraint today than it might look on paper. For now, Tesla has the legal right to start Nevada rides. Whether it starts before FSD v15 arrives is a separate question the permit doesn’t answer.
Energy
Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup
Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.
Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.
Powerwall Lease is now available with Tesla Electric in Texas
Whole-home backup for $35/month, with a low fixed electricity rate
– Two Powerwalls, $0 installation
– Storm Watch outage protection
– One app to manage it all pic.twitter.com/oTzqc6K3aF— Tesla Energy (@teslaenergy) August 13, 2026
This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.
Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.
The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.
Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants
Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.
Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.
The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.
Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.
News
Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again
Elon Musk continues to tease the unveiling event for the Tesla Roadster, a continuing trend that has grown into a bigger game of “When” for fans who have been waiting years for the car to finally enter production.
A video shared on X of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that Musk appeared on last year, teasing the Roadster unveiling, was shared once again on the social media platform. The poster said the Roadster event will be “unforgettable.”
Musk agreed:
Yes
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2026
The timing is interesting because just yesterday, Musk said that we will be getting flying cars, and for years, Tesla has hinted that it could develop a SpaceX cold gas thruster package that would help the car float or fly for a short period of time.
It would be reasonable to assume Tesla’s major delays with this unveiling event are likely caused by the company’s need to break the rules and push the envelope on nearly everything. Last July, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, said:
“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind blowing. We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on and he got a little excited.”
The latest updates that Tesla has given us are that the Roadster is in design development, and it did have several potential dates for an unveiling event this year, including April. It was then pushed to August.
However, there are no clues as to when Tesla will be ready, and fans are certainly getting frustrated with the delays.
For what it is worth, Franz von Holzhausen told Jay Leno this week that the event would be “very soon.”
We sure hope.
