It appears that Tesla’s rear casting and structure improvements for the Model Y have been designed to improve the safety of passengers who will occupy the vehicle’s future third row of seats.
As Sandy Munro continues to dive into the company’s new all-electric crossover, several clues hint toward the vehicle’s improved rear safety design. Munro mentions multiple design improvements that range from thicker longitudinal bars to prevent crunching in the even of an accident, to new bolt shapes that decrease weight and improve durability.
Munro first looks at the castings on the side rails of the Model Y. The attachment points on each side of the car indicate they are one piece and are not welded on. “They’re plenty strong, and you can see they’re just cast in place,” he said. Also, the under-seat points are 3 to 3.5mm thick. Munro suggests Tesla moved added density to other areas that may be more susceptible to being compromised in an accident. “There is a lot of good stuff here. I like that.”
According to Munro, Model Y has improved fixture points on the rear longitudinals that run from the front to the back of the car. While the two bolts on the front of the longitudinals are standard, the top bolt on the rear end is scooped out. “These are common on Japanese cars. See how it’s dished out? The Japanese use this for weight reduction, but it is also good for a shear bolt. So my guess is this may be something to do with crashworthiness,” Munro said.
Shear bolts are commonly used to protect equipment from sudden impact or excessive load. They are often referred to as “anti-theft bolts” and popular among assemblies that may be subjected to occurrences of excessive force. However, they are ideal for safety and an accident would maintain the structural integrity of the rear portion of the car, keeping those seated in the back safe from injury during a violent collision.
Speculation from the Detroit veteran suggests the Model Y’s third row of seats will be rear-facing, especially as the design of the mounting brackets only leads Munro to believe that the sixth and seventh passengers will be looking out of the vehicle’s rear windshield.
“We can’t see anything that says that we’re going to be putting front-facing seats. But, we sure can see where it could be a potential there for rear-facing seats,” Munro said.
A video Munro posted on April 4 to the company YouTube channel examined the Model Y’s potential for rear-facing third-row seats. Munro hopped into the trunk of the crossover and was impressed by the size and spaciousness, and mentioned that it was “semi-comfortable” and may be best for children based on its storage design.
Based on what is known about Tesla’s previous and upcoming third-row seating options, the design would likely be rear-facing. Jump seats in the Model S were popular among the sedan’s owners before the release of the Model X. Additionally, the upcoming release of the Plaid Mode Model S will include rear-facing jump seats that will support larger passengers instead of just children.
The Model Y was always aimed toward being the safest midsize SUV on the road. With the inclusion of an optional third row of seats, the Model Y’s rear collision safety had to be revamped and rejuvenated. The addition of shear bolts for durability and increased thickness in some areas for added strength was likely added to improve the safety of third-row passengers in an accident.
Watch Munro’s video of the improved rear castings and safety design of the Model Y below.
Elon Musk
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel
The new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.
The Boring Company announced that its Prufrock-2 tunnel boring machine (TBM) has completed another Vegas Loop tunnel in Las Vegas. The company shared the update in a post on social media platform X.
According to The Boring Company’s post, the new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.
The new tunnel marks the fourth tunnel constructed near Westgate Las Vegas as the Vegas Loop network continues expanding across the city.
The Boring Company also noted that the new tunnel surpassed its previous internal record of 2.26 miles for a single Vegas Loop segment.
Construction of the tunnel involved moving roughly 68,000 cubic yards of dirt. The excavation process also used about 4.8 miles of continuous conveyor belt, powered by six motors totaling 825 horsepower.
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-series all-electric tunnel boring machines are designed to support the rapid expansion of company’s underground transportation projects, including the growing Vegas Loop network. Prufrock machines are designed for reusability, thanks in no small part to their capability to be deployed and retrieved easily through their “porposing” feature.
The Vegas Loop, specifically the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop segment, has already been used during major events. Most recently, the LVCC Loop supported the 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction trade show, which was held from March 3-7, 2026.
As per The Boring Company, the LVCC Loop transported roughly 82,000 passengers across the convention center campus during the event’s duration.
CONEXPO-CON/AGG is one of the largest construction trade shows in North America, drawing more than 140,000 construction professionals from 128 countries this year.
The LVCC Loop forms the initial segment of the broader Vegas Loop network, which remains under active development as The Boring Company continues building new tunnels throughout the city.
News
Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.
The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.
The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.
Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.
The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.
The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.
Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI, creator of Grok and Grokipedia, celebrates its third birthday
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has marked its third anniversary. The update was shared in a post from the xAI Memphis account on social media platform X.
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
As per xAI, it has built three massive data centers in the city, launched a coherent cluster of 330,000 GBs, created over 3,000 jobs, and paid over $30 million in taxes to local communities.
xAI’s Memphis operation has become a key part of the company’s infrastructure as the company works to train and deploy its Grok artificial intelligence models. Elon Musk has been quite optimistic about Grok’s potential, noting in the past that the large language model might have a shot at achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI).
xAI’s Memphis’ crown jewel is its Colossus supercomputer cluster. The project was announced in 2024 and has since become the home of one of the world’s largest AI compute facilities. The first phase of Colossus reached its initial 100,000 GPU operational milestone in just 122 days, or just about four months.
Industry figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have praised the facility, noting that projects of similar scale typically take two to four years to complete.
xAI has cited Memphis’ central location, skilled workforce, and industrial infrastructure as key reasons for selecting the city as the home of its AI training operations. The company has also emphasized plans to expand the site further as it scales compute capacity for Grok and future AI models.
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel
Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
