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Tesla order configurator revealed for ‘Foundation Series’ Cybertruck

Credit: Tesla (via Whole Mars Catalog | YouTube)

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Tesla’s order configurator for the limited launch edition “Foundation Series” Cybertruck has been revealed, as shared in a video over the weekend.

After invites to order the Foundation Series Cybertruck went out to select reservation holders earlier this week, multiple people have said that they completed an order. One such reservation holder includes Omar of Whole Mars Catalog, who shared a video of the Cybertruck’s order configurator on Saturday morning.

The video features a walkthrough of the order configurator, starting with the invite email received by many individuals last Wednesday. When proceeding to the design page, the configurator shows the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive (AWD) version, starting at $99,990, along with the Cyberbeast tri-motor trim, priced at $119,990.

Tesla is prioritizing deliveries of the Cybertruck in California and Texas, and while the dual-motor version has an estimated delivery timeline ranging from this month to March 2024, the tri-motor Cyberbeast trim says that estimated delivery of the configuration will take place in early 2024. Residents in other states are expected to get access to the truck in 2024.

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The configurator also details features such as the Cybertruck’s steer-by-wire system, its high ground clearance and suspension, and the optional add-on of a range extender, which sits in the vehicle’s truck bed and increases its estimated range to around 470 miles per charge. The range extender isn’t yet available, and it’s expected to begin production in late 2024.

The video walkthrough is a little over 19 minutes and includes more details about the Tesla Cybertruck’s Powershare feature, its inclusion of the FSD beta, and more.

Below are some of the initial differences between the Foundation Series Cyberbeast and dual-motor trims for the Cybertruck, and the things included with any Foundation Series order, as detailed in the configurator:

Dual-Motor Cybertruck

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  • Dual-motor, AWD
  • 318 miles estimated range
  • 340 miles estimated range with all-season tires (available in 2024)
  • 4.1-second 0-60 mph
  • 112 mph top speed
  • 600 horsepower
  • 7,435 lb-ft of torque
  • 11,000 pounds of towing capacity

Cyberbeast Tri-Motor Cybertruck

  • Tri-motor, AWD
  • 301 miles estimated range with all-terrain tires
  • 320 miles estimated range with all-season tires (available in 2024)
  • 2.6-second 0-60 mph
  • 130 mph top speed
  • 845 horsepower
  • 10,296 lb-ft of torque
  • 11,000 pounds of towing capacity

Included with the Foundation Series Cybertruck

  • Limited-edition configuration
  • Laser-etched Foundation Series badge
  • Foundation Series cabin graphic
  • 20-inch Cyber wheels with 35-inch tires
  • White décor
  • Off-road light bar
  • Premium accessories
  • Powershare home backup
  • Powershare mobile connector
  • Full Self-Driving beta capability
  • Lifetime premium connectivity

You can watch the full Whole Mars Catalog video on YouTube below.

Some have also spotted that the Cybertruck order agreement does include a one-year “no resale” agreement, which was initially found in the owner’s manuals for other Tesla vehicles last month in a section titled “For Cybertruck Only.” After news of the agreement surfaced, the paragraph detailing the agreement was quietly removed from the owner’s manuals, leaving some curious as to whether Cybertruck owners would be subject to the agreement.

Now, the no-resale agreement can be found in Tesla’s order configurator for the Cybertruck, saying that those who try to flip the vehicles within a year could be subject to up to $50,000 in legal penalties.

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

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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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Tesla stuns with another FSD approval in Europe, its second in two days

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Tesla has stunned by gaining yet another approval for its Full Self-Driving suite in Europe, its second in two days and its fifth overall.

Belgium will be the latest country to allow Tesla owners to utilize FSD on public roads in Europe, joining a quickly growing list that started with the Netherlands, Lithuania, and Estonia.

On Tuesday, Denmark announced its approval of the FSD suite, which has now been followed by Belgium just one day later.

The country’s Minister of Mobility, Annick De Ridder, announced the approval on her X account, stating that she had just signed the approval of Tesla FSD. It now goes to the country’s homologation department for the last step of the approval process.

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The Belgian approval is one of mighty importance because it truly shows how quickly countries in Europe could greenlight the FSD suite consecutively. Approvals are already coming in relatively quickly, which is a great sign.

Perhaps the next big development that could come from FSD approvals in Europe is an approval from a country like England, Italy, France, Spain, or Germany. It would be something to see how FSD would perform in a major European metro, such as London, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Rome, or Berlin.

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Full Self-Driving does an excellent job of roaming around major U.S. cities like New York and Los Angeles, but other high-profile international cities of significance would truly mark a line in the sand for Tesla, which can simply enable any vehicle in its customer-owned fleet to run FSD with the correct approvals.

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Elon Musk

SpaceX’s Elon Musk relieves worries about orbital data centers

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Rendering of Elon Musk overlooking a Starship fleet (Credit: Grok)
Rendering of Elon Musk overlooking a Starship fleet (Credit: Grok)

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently confronted worries about orbital data centers and launching satellites in mass quantities in space, as some voiced concerns about crowding.

Musk’s SpaceX plans to combat the issue of needing data centers by launching them into space instead of taking up valuable real estate on Earth. It has been a major point of SpaceX’s future, including its looming IPO, which could be the largest ever.

In a recent interview filmed at SpaceX’s Starlink terminal factory in Bastrop, Texas, Elon Musk directly addressed concerns that deploying large numbers of AI satellites for orbital data centers could crowd Earth’s orbit. His message was straightforward and reassuring: space is vast beyond human intuition.

“Space is really big,” Musk said. “It’s not like space is gonna get crowded. Space is enormous. If you actually look at it relative to the Earth, the satellites are so tiny you can’t even see them.” He emphasized that even zooming in makes a satellite appear large, but from a planetary perspective, they are minuscule specks.

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Musk pointed to SpaceX’s real-world experience operating roughly 10,000 Starlink satellites as evidence that large constellations can be managed safely. “We’ve got a pretty good idea of how to operate just really large constellations and do it safely,” he noted. SpaceX remains the only operator with meaningful experience at this scale, giving the company unique insight into tight orbital packing without compromising safety

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The discussion highlighted SpaceX’s plans for “AI1” satellites—essentially orbiting racks of AI compute powered by massive solar arrays and cooled via radiative panels in space’s vacuum.

These satellites leverage proven Starlink V3 technology, making them simpler to design than communications satellites. A first-generation unit targets around 150 kW peak power, with a 70-meter wingspan for solar panels and radiators. Laser links will connect them to each other and the Starlink network, delivering low-latency access (on the order of a few milliseconds from low-Earth orbit).

FCC accepts SpaceX filing for 1 million orbital data center plan

Musk framed orbital data centers as a practical solution to Earth’s constraints on AI growth. Ground-based facilities face power shortages, water demands for cooling, and grid limitations. In space, constant sunlight (no day-night cycle), vacuum radiative cooling, and abundant solar energy offer clear advantages.

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Production will ramp up at an expanded “Gigasat” factory in Bastrop, with solar manufacturing already underway and full AI satellite output expected at reasonable volume by the end of 2027. Starship’s rapid, high-volume launch capability, aiming for multiple flights per hour, will make massive deployment feasible.

Critics sometimes raise risks like space debris or Kessler syndrome, but Musk’s response underscores scale: even a million satellites would represent an imperceptible fraction of available orbital volume when viewed against Earth’s size. SpaceX’s automated collision avoidance and deorbiting designs for Starlink further mitigate concerns.

This vision ties into broader ambitions. Musk sees orbital AI compute as a step toward harnessing more of the Sun’s energy, advancing humanity on the Kardashev scale from a Type 0 civilization toward Type 1 and eventually Type 2. By moving power-hungry data centers off-planet, SpaceX aims to unlock orders-of-magnitude more compute while preserving Earth’s resources.

Musk’s comments should ease public anxiety. With proven operational expertise, incremental engineering, and the immensity of space itself, orbital data centers represent not overcrowding, but smart expansion into the final frontier.

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Investor's Corner

Tesla Full Self-Driving hits Level 4? One analyst says yes

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is currently listed as a Level 2 suite in terms of its passenger cars. As its Robotaxi platform continues to move quickly, it has been recognized as a Level 4 ride-sharing program by the State of Texas, as Tesla recently self-certified itself.

However, a Wall Street analyst is arguing that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has effectively achieved Level 4 autonomy in most conditions in all of its vehicles, drawing on personal experience and data released by the company.

Alex Potter of Piper Sandler said in a note to investors on Wednesday that “Tesla has solved the self-driving puzzle,” pointing to decisions to offer insurance discounts for FSD-enabled policies as a signal of confidence, which is backed up by stellar safety records compared to human driving.

Investing.com initially reported on Potter’s new note.

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Additionally, Potter looks at the recent start of Cybercab production at Giga Texas as a potential indication that Tesla is ready to offer some level of unsupervised driving at least in the near future. The Cybercab has no steering wheel or pedals, completely eliminating the ability for human input.

He also sees Tesla’s allocation of “several hundred million USD (if not $1B+)” as confidence internally, seeing as it would be tough to set aside that amount of capital toward a project that the company does not see as relatively near-term.

Forward thinking, especially as Cybercab has no human controls, it would make sense that Tesla is at least close to self-driving. How close is another question.

Tesla has routinely teased that unsupervised FSD is close, but there are still a lot of things it feels as if the company has to roll out some more capability, including unsupervised parking features, known as “Banish,” better operation with regional self-driving performance, and other improvements.

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That is not to say that Tesla FSD is super impressive already. It has already completed coast-to-coast drives across the United States and Canada, it routinely takes the stress out of driving for most people, and it has proven through Tesla Safety Reports that it is safer and involved in accidents less frequently than humans.

Even Potter believes it is capable, as he used it to go from Missoula, Montana, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, back in April.

“There’s no substitute for personal experience,” he wrote.

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