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Tesla’s Giga Texas ‘Cybertunnel’ is starting to look like a Cybertruck

(Credit: The Boring Company)

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Tesla is nearing completion of a special Cybertruck Easter Egg at its Gigafactory in Texas, and while crews appear to be just shy of finishing the structure in time for the new year, the project is looking much more like a Cybertruck.

Earlier this month, drone pilot and Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer spotted a Cybertruck-shaped exit taking form at The Boring Company’s so-called “Cybertunnel,” after initially breaking ground on the tunnel back in March. Now, Tesla has added what looks like metal paneling around the outside of the exit to match the Cybertruck’s unique stainless steel exterior, and ultimately signaling that the company is nearing completion of the tunnel that will eventually see vehicles pass through before going out for delivery.

Tegtmeyer and others also note that Tesla even built a replica of the Cybertruck’s headlights into the structure, which may even be set to include actual lighting elements upon completion. Some have also pointed to the signs to the left of the tunnel, indicating that it is designed for vehicles to drive through and prohibiting pedestrian traffic and the use of scooters or other non-automotive mobility devices.

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

Earlier this month, before Tesla added the metal panels and just as it was putting initial structures up:

Credit: Joe Tegtmeyer | X

READ MORE ON TESLA’S GIGA TEXAS: Tesla is ramping its Cybercab testing sessions at Giga Texas

Last month, Tesla began painting the interior of the Cybertunnel, signifying that the larger parts of construction had been completed. The tunnel runs around 1,000 feet under the 130 highway to the plant’s West end-of-line facility, and Elon Musk has said in the past that it will eventually be used to transport Cybertrucks and other vehicles ahead of being delivered.

Tesla regularly has construction projects going on all around Giga Texas, and in recent months the company has also been spotted testing its two-seat, autonomous vehicle, the Cybercab, at the Austin facility. Earlier this year, the company also constructed a huge supercomputing cluster, dubbed “Cortex,” which also includes massive cooling towers that can be seen in many of Tegtmeyer’s videos.

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What are your thoughts? Let me know at zach@teslarati.com, find me on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

Texas A&M considers Boring Company’s ‘Aggie Loop’ proposal

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Zach is a renewable energy reporter who has been covering electric vehicles since 2020. He grew up in Fremont, California, and he currently lives in Colorado. His work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, KRON4 San Francisco, FOX31 Denver, InsideEVs, CleanTechnica, and many other publications. When he isn't covering Tesla or other EV companies, you can find him writing and performing music, drinking a good cup of coffee, or hanging out with his cats, Banks and Freddie. Reach out at zach@teslarati.com, find him on X at @zacharyvisconti, or send us tips at tips@teslarati.com.

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Elon Musk

NYC Comptroller moves to sue Tesla for securities violations

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MINISTÉRIO DAS COMUNICAÇÕES, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is urging the NYC Law Department to sue Tesla for securities violations related to CEO Elon Musk’s involvement in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Lander said the basis for the potential litigation lies on “material misstatements from Tesla claiming that CEO Elon Musk spends significant time on the company and is highly active in its management, despite his helming the Trump Administration’s DOGE initiative.”

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It is a common complaint amongst some Tesla shareholders who are less than enthusiastic about Musk’s involvement in DOGE. Some feel as if Musk is not concerned about Tesla, especially as the stock has dropped over 28 percent this year. However, Musk has continued to double down on his position within the U.S. government.

Nevertheless, Musk’s position in Tesla is still very apparent. He headed an All-Hands meeting just two weeks ago that showed his commitment to the company as he outlined future plans and even joked to employees that they should hold onto their stock.

However, Lander believes Musk’s involvement has hurt New York City pension systems, which have lost over $300 million so far this year. He said:

“In less than three months, Tesla stock has lost nearly 40% of its value, with losses over $300 million for the New York City pension systems. We have long expressed concerns that the Tesla board has failed to provide independent oversight, or to require that Musk – or someone else – serve as a full-time CEO.”

Lander went on to say that “material misstatements from Tesla misled investors about his role at the company,” stating this was his reasoning for calling on the Law Department to file securities litigation against the company.

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He believes taking it to court will force changes and will return Tesla shares back to a level that will benefit pension systems in New York City:

“Shareholder litigation could force the changes in governance and leadership that Tesla needs, and help recover some of our pension systems’ losses. Otherwise, we may need to consider divestment.”

The pension systems would be able to pursue financial damages to cover losses and seek governance changes, it says.

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Elon Musk

Tesla is testing a Model 3 with some mysterious cameras in the U.S.

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Credit: u/Ready_Medium_6693

Tesla is testing a Model 3 with some mysterious cameras, potentially hinting toward the imminent release of the Cybercab and robotaxi platform in the United States.

After Tesla unveiled the Cybercab in Los Angeles in early October, the company suggested that it would be on its way to launching driverless rides in the U.S. in the near future.

Now, Tesla is inching toward a driverless ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, among some other potential locations, but it is still working toward a platform that is robust enough to handle it.

Although the company’s Full Self-Driving suite is one of the more advanced on the market, Tesla is still working to accomplish what it feels is a mode of transportation that is safer than a human driver. The robotaxi and Cybercab rollouts will likely accomplish that, but there is still work to be done beforehand.

Now, Tesla is testing a Model 3 in the U.S. that was spotted in several different locations in the Northeastern part of the country, as cameras are seen on this vehicle in locations that are not necessarily typical for what it offers currently:

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Another one is seen here:

Interestingly, we saw similar camera locations on the Cybercab at the event in October. Tesla is not testing the Cybercab but instead implementing these cameras on a comparable position on its other vehicles.

These are the cameras we spotted on the Cybercab at the event in October:

In the past, Tesla has used a variety of strategies to measure self-driving accuracy, including LiDAR, which has been seen on some testing mules that we have spotted out in public.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that the company does not need LiDAR on testing mules for ground truth, but we still spot them from time to time on public roads.

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It’s an appropriate way just to cross Ts and dot Is:

Tesla Model X testing mule spotted with LiDAR rig ahead of Robotaxi event

The company is still moving toward that initial rollout of driverless ride-hailing in Austin in June, and some company executives have stated that the Cybercab will be the vehicle it uses for these initial rides.

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Elon Musk

Tesla adds security feature to Android with latest software update

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Credit: @greggertruck/X

Tesla is bolstering its release of features to Android users as it is rolling out some new things with its latest software update.

Update v4.43.5 will see Tesla add a Dashcam Viewer for Android phones, a new feature that will make it simpler to access and manage both Dashcam and Sentry Mode videos. This has been available to iPhone users for some time, but Android owners have not had access to this quite yet.

Tesla describes the release of the feature in release notes (via Not a Tesla App):

“The Dashcam Viewer is now available in the Tesla app for Android users.

The Dashcam Viewer makes it easy to access and manage your car’s Dashcam and Sentry Mode videos. Accessing videos on your phone is faster and more convenient, but it does come with a few requirements.

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The Dashcam Viewer in the Tesla app allows you to view, delete, or save video clips right from your device. This should result in higher quality content being shared online and fewer videos of owners recording their Tesla’s screens with their phones.”

The feature creates a more convenient option to view things that your Tesla has captured on its dashcam or on its external cameras through Sentry Mode, its security camera system that records things that happen around the vehicle.

Sentry Mode has been a great addition for Tesla owners lately, as more and more instances of vandalism have been occurring in the past few months.

It seems Tesla might have made it a point to roll this feature out, especially as it would allow those who are getting Sentry Mode alerts to capture footage of keying or tire slashing, two common techniques used by those who dislike Tesla and/or Elon Musk.

Tesla quietly added this extra Sentry Mode feature to deter vandals

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The last time Tesla rolled out some features to Android owners was in January when it beefed up offerings for those who do not use iOS. The January update saw Phone Key Improvements and Hands-Free Trunk Opening make their way to Android users.

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