News
Tesla Cybertruck’s biggest rival is poised for a delay, and GM’s stance against CA’s standards isn’t helping
The Tesla Cybertruck will meet several competitors when it enters the market. There’s the Rivian R1T pickup truck, a luxury vehicle designed for the outdoors. There’s the Ford F-150 Electric, the EV version of America’s most popular pickup truck. But perhaps the Cybertruck’s biggest rival, both in terms of literal size and specs, is GM’s Hummer EV, a vehicle that represents the antithesis of Tesla’s exoskeleton-clad monster.
The GMC Hummer EV and the Tesla Cybertruck come from very different backgrounds. The Cybertruck is what happens when Tesla is unrestrained, and it is unashamedly different in its design and features. The Hummer EV, on the other hand, is a redemption of sorts for GM, as the emergence of the massive, gas-guzzling original Hummer marked one of the nails in the coffin of the veteran automaker’s controversial EV1 electric car.
The Hummer EV has garnered a lot of attention, and it is set for a reveal this May 20. However, the coronavirus pandemic may put a damper on the upcoming vehicle’s official unveiling. With social distancing rules pretty much negating the possibility of a launch event for the truck, sources familiar with the matter have told motoring publication CarBuzz that the Hummer EV’s unveiling will be rescheduled. This is not surprising at all considering the circumstances that have arisen from the pandemic, but it is unfortunate, nonetheless.
This potential delay could cost the Hummer EV a lot of momentum. The vehicle is already entering the all-electric pickup market pretty late, with companies like Rivian and Tesla already poised to release their trucks in the next year or so. Furthermore, the Hummer EV is riding a wave of momentum that resulted from GM’s clever teasers in recent months. Any delays in the vehicle’s unveiling might then result in waning interest from the EV community.
This is bitter pill to swallow for GM, especially since leaked production plans from the automaker have revealed that much of its commitments to electrification are not very serious at all. As indicated by production plans accessed by Reuters, both GM and Ford still intend to adopt a strategy that is heavily skewed towards the internal combustion engine for the next few years. This is despite CEO Mary Barra arguing that GM is dead serious about electrification.
But perhaps the biggest blow to the Hummer EV yet is coming from GM’s standing among car buyers. Earlier this year, GM, together with Toyota and Fiat Chrysler, decided to side with US President Donald Trump in his efforts to revoke California’s higher emissions standards. This promptly resulted in losses for GM, with CA banning the use of the company’s vehicles for its fleet. But it doesn’t end there.
According to the findings of a poll conducted by Matt George Associates for the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), GM’s decision to stand against California’s emissions standards has adversely affected its standing among car buyers. Out of the 1,000 owners surveyed, 51% who initially stated that they would “definitely purchase” another GM vehicle in the future decided to change their minds after learning of the company’s anti-emissions standards stance. GM’s favorability among buyers also saw a steep drop from 93% to just 44%.
These sentiments from the car buying public are the last thing that the Hummer EV needs to be a success. Using the Hummer, a vehicle that is traditionally perceived as the very representation of excess, as an entry into the electric truck market, is a bold move for GM. But successful bold moves usually involve a lot of delicate pieces lining up perfectly enough. Unfortunately for GM, the delays in the Hummer EV’s launch, coupled with negative sentiments against the company, may very well derail the all-electric truck even before its arrival.
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 rides are officially open to the public in Austin, Texas, as the company confirmed on Thursday following its launch event that the two-seater would be available in the company’s Robotaxi fleet.
Cybercab is Tesla’s first vehicle completely void of any manual controls. It has no steering wheel and no pedals, and it will utilize Tesla’s Full Self-Driving fleet to operate. The first rides have already happened, as those at the event were able to hail a Cybercab to any location within the company’s geofence in Austin.
Tesla’s $25K car is the Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals
The addition of Cybercab to the public Robotaxi fleet is a major statement in Tesla’s trek to launch fully autonomous driving. For years, critics have complained about the need for drivers to continuously supervise the vehicle.
With Cybercab, there are no manual controls in the cockpit other than to control the seat, the center screen, and the climate. The vehicle is fully geared toward being a living room on wheels in a sense: equipped with Starlink V5 satellites, CEO Elon Musk said the vehicle would enable 4K live video, gaming, and other entertainment options during travel.
Cybercab is basically a super comfortable lounge on wheels with a great TV and epic sound https://t.co/X1aWKoJdJV
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 3, 2026
Musk noted that Cybercab is “designed and built for maximally efficient autonomous operation.”
Tesla continues to push the envelope on autonomy, and over the next several months, the company could start selling Cybercab units to the public.
The company opened up a public interest form on its website to gauge demand, and many have already submitted requests to purchase a fleet of Cybercab units for their own personal ride-hailing side hustle.
The launch of Cybercab in this area marks a major accomplishment for Tesla, as it also announced that it has reached 1 million unsupervised autonomous miles since launching driverless rides on the Robotaxi fleet.
Things are moving along at a fine pace, and although we have waited for this for some time, the day has finally come when Tesla is offering self-driving rides of some kind to the public.
Tesla Cybercab is coming to Asia this month as US service officially begins
Tesla Cybertruck targets job site crews with new Tailgate Utility Track and Bed Gear Box accessory
