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Top 10 Tesla Cybertruck hidden features you may have missed
The Tesla Cybertruck is loaded to the teeth with technology that the vehicle is practically a mystery box of hidden features. Couple this with the fact that the vehicle’s unveiling did not really go as planned, as well as CEO Elon Musk pretty much rushing through the truck’s presentation following the pickup’s Armor Glass demo, and many of the Cybertruck’s noatbly cool features remained unsaid.
Fortunately, some of these hidden features have been spotted by the Tesla community, thanks to photographs and videos of the vehicle taken during the unveiling event, as well as images that were released by the electric car maker in the Cybertruck’s press kit. With this in mind, following are the Tesla Cybertruck’s Top 10 hidden features that may have been missed during last week’s unveiling event. Let’s dig in.
Center Fold-Down Front Seat Cup Holders and Storage Area
The Tesla Cybertruck is equipped with three seats on the front, though the middle acts more like a smaller jump seat. As could be seen in test ride videos of the vehicle, this middle seat actually folds down to become a large center armrest. Interestingly, this center armrest doubles as a storage compartment. It also has three cup holders that are fitted right at the middle seat’s back headrest, along with a spare change holder (aka “junk cubby”) for random knick knacks.
Interior Lighting Strip for Rear Seats
Despite its unapologetically futuristic, brutalistic exterior, the interior of the Tesla Cybertruck is actually quite welcoming. Upon entering the vehicle, passengers are greeted by a cavernous interior and a massive glass roof that would surely be a treat for those who love camping in their vehicle. The rear seats are also fitted with an interior lighting strip on the sides, providing illumination for the truck’s passengers at the back. The lights are white too, giving an additional futuristic, Tron-like flair for the Cybertruck’s exterior.
Sun Visor is Flush Against the A-Pillar
Among the clever features of the Cybertruck is its sun visor, which flushes against the A-Pillar. This would be particularly useful considering that the pickup has a massive windshield that may very well dwarf the Model X’s already-expansive windshield in sheer size.
Rear Armrest, Pass-Through for Extra-Long Cargo
The Tesla Cybertruck has a large center armrest in the rear that looks to double as support for extra-long cargo. The all-electric pickup is already equipped with a 6.5-foot bed, which is pretty substantial, but for those who wish to haul even lengthier cargo, the center armrest can fold down and act as a pass-through for items that exceed 6.5 feet.
Scroll Wheels on the Steering Wheel
The Tesla Cybertruck is fitted with a steering yoke that looks very similar to the one used by the company in its next-generation Roadster prototype. This would likely be changed into a regular steering wheel when the vehicle enters production, but based on test rides of the pickup, it appears that the Cybertruck will utilize Model 3-esque steering wheel controls, complete with the sedan’s scroll wheels.
Autopilot Camera in Fender
Similar to Tesla’s other prototypes like the next-generation Roadster or the Semi during its unveiling, the Cybertruck is not equipped with traditional side mirrors. Instead, the vehicle would likely use a pair of Autopilot cameras in its front fender. Considering existing regulations in regions such as the United States, there is a pretty good chance that the Cybertruck will be equipped with traditional side mirrors when it enters production.
L-Track Rails and T-Slots
The Cybertruck is fitted with L-track rails and T-slots that allow users to place anchor points anywhere in the vehicle’s expansive 6.5-foot bed. This is key to transporting items that may otherwise move about on the pickup’s bed during transport if they are not tied down. With these components in place, Tesla Cybertruck owners would be able carry even fragile items on the rear in a secure manner.
Flush Tonneau Truck Bed Cover Activation Buttons
The Tesla Cybertruck utilizes a motorized tonneau bed cover that can be engaged and disengaged by a flush button on the vehicle’s rear. These buttons, which are notably large and easy to reach, are found on both sides of the vehicle.
Hidden storage underneath vault bed
The Tesla Cybertruck is full of storage areas, one of which is found on the bottom of the vehicle’s 6.5-foot bed itself. Based on images provided by Tesla, this space appears to be large enough to store medium-sized items such as toolboxes and sleeping bags, for those extended outdoor trips.
Hidden storage in sail pillar
For those who wish to use the Cybertuck for work, the futuristic pickup truck is fitted with a hidden storage compartment in its sail pillar. Images of the space shown during a slide at the Cybertruck’s unveiling suggest that the storage areas in the vehicle’s sail may be enough to fit some tools or similarly-sized items.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck’s head-scratching trim sold terribly, recall documents reveal
The head-scratching offering was only available for a few months, and evidently, it did not sell very well, which we all suspected. New recall documents on the vehicle from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now reveal just how poorly it sold.
After Tesla decided to build a Rear-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck trim back in 2025, which was void of many features and only featured a small discount.
The head-scratching offering was only available for a few months, and evidently, it did not sell very well, which we all suspected. New recall documents on the vehicle from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now reveal just how poorly it sold.
The recall deals with a potentially separating wheel stud and potentially impacts 173 Cybertruck units with the 18-inch steel wheels. The Cybertruck RWD was the only trim level to feature these, and the 173 potentially impacted units represent a portion of the population of pickups. Therefore, it’s not the entire number of RWD Cybertruck sold, but it could show how little interest it gathered.
The NHTSA document states:
“On affected vehicles, higher severity road perturbations and cornering may strain the stud hole in the wheel rotor, causing cracks to form. If cracking propagates with continued use and strain, the wheel stud could eventually separate from the wheel hub.”
Only 5 percent are expected to be impacted, meaning less than 10 units will have the issue if the NHTSA and Tesla estimates are correct. Nevertheless, the true story here is how terribly the RWD Cybertruck sold.
Tesla ended production and stopped offering the RWD Cybertruck to customers last September. For just $10,000 less than the All-Wheel-Drive trim, Tesla offered the RWD Cybertruck with just one motor, textile seats instead of leather, only 7 speakers instead of 15, no Rear Touchscreen, no Powered Tonneau Cover for the truck bed, and no 120v/240v outlets.
For just $10,000 more, at $79,990, owners could have received all of those premium features, as well as a more capable All-Wheel-Drive powertrain that featured Adaptive Air Suspension. The discount simply was not worth the sacrifices.
Orders were few and far between, and sources told us that when it was offered, sales were extremely tempered because customers could not see the value in this trim level.
Even Tesla’s most loyal supporters thought the offering was kind of a joke, and the $10,000 extra was simply worth it.
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Tesla Semi sends clear message to Diesel rivals with latest move
The truck is being built at a dedicated facility in Sparks, Nevada, just next to its Gigafactory Nevada facility.
Tesla has officially launched Semi production at what will be a mind-boggling rate of approximately 50,000 units per year.
The truck is being built at a dedicated facility in Sparks, Nevada, just next to its Gigafactory Nevada facility.
The company finally announced on April 29 that the first Tesla Semi truck has rolled off its new high-volume production line at the factory. This marks the transition from limited pilot builds to scaled manufacturing for the Class 8 all-electric heavy-duty truck, nearly nine years after its dramatic 2017 unveiling.
🚨 Tesla Semi mass production is underway in Nevada!
HUGE! https://t.co/ohgQIiI2bK pic.twitter.com/23GvWr8D27
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 29, 2026
Tesla initially promised high-volume deliveries by 2019–2020, but battery supply constraints and prioritization for passenger vehicles delayed progress. The new 1.7-million-square-foot factory, purpose-built next to Gigafactory Nevada’s 4680 cell production lines, resolves those bottlenecks through deep vertical integration.
The Semi uses Tesla’s structural battery packs with cylindrical 4680 cells manufactured on-site. This integration enables efficient supply, reduced logistics costs, and the potential for high output. The factory is designed for an eventual annual capacity of approximately 50,000 trucks, positioning Tesla to address growing demand in long-haul freight electrification.
Tesla is using a redesigned Cybertruck battery cell to mitigate Semi challenges
Operating economics favor the Semi through dramatically lower fuel and maintenance costs compared to traditional diesel rigs, and companies involved in a pilot program for the Semi with Tesla have shown that.
Electricity is far cheaper than diesel on a per-mile basis, while the electric powertrain features fewer moving parts, reducing service intervals and lifetime expenses. Early deployments with customers like PepsiCo and others have validated these advantages in real-world service.
The Nevada factory’s ramp-up is targeted for full volume output before the end of June 2026, aligning with broader Tesla production goals for 2026. This includes parallel efforts on other new vehicles while expanding the Megacharger infrastructure to support widespread adoption.
By localizing battery and truck production, Tesla gains advantages in cost, quality control, and scalability that many competitors sourcing cells externally lack. The start of high-volume Semi production represents a pivotal step in Tesla’s strategy to electrify heavy transportation, potentially accelerating the shift toward zero-emission freight across North America and beyond.
As output increases, the Semi could reshape long-haul logistics with its combination of performance, efficiency, and sustainability.
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Tesla gives HW3 owners another massive update
It was an “at last” moment for HW 3 owners, who have waited for an update on the capabilities of their vehicles for some time. After CEO Elon Musk finally admitted last week that the HW3 vehicles would not be capable of unsupervised FSD, it appears Tesla is bringing a new, more transparent tone to those owners.
Tesla is giving Hardware 3 vehicle owners another massive update, the second major communication the company has given to those drivers after what seemed like years of being left out to dry.
The company, which plans to launch a Full Self-Driving version 14 iteration that is compatible with these cars, which have older chips, is now planning to expand the rollout of the v14 Lite offering to other markets, it said on X.
Tesla said:
“Following future rollout of FSD V14 Lite for HW3 vehicles in the US, we plan on expanding V14 Lite to additional international markets. This update ensures that HW3 vehicle owners will continue to benefit from ongoing software updates. Since international rollout is subject to several factors (completion of technical verification, regional adaptation & relevant regulatory approvals), we can’t provide definitive dates at the moment, but will provide updates on a rolling basis.”
This announcement comes at a critical time for HW3 owners, many of whom purchased Full Self-Driving (FSD) capability years ago with promises of ongoing support and future-proofing.
Following future rollout of FSD V14 Lite for HW3 vehicles in the US, we plan on expanding V14 Lite to additional international markets.
This update ensures that HW3 vehicle owners will continue to benefit from ongoing software updates.
Since international rollout is subject to…
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 29, 2026
HW3, introduced in 2019, powers vehicles from roughly 2019 to early 2023 models. While newer AI4 hardware has advanced rapidly, HW3 owners have felt increasingly left behind, with their last major update stuck around version 12.6 since early 2025.
It was an “at last” moment for HW 3 owners, who have waited for an update on the capabilities of their vehicles for some time. After CEO Elon Musk finally admitted last week that the HW3 vehicles would not be capable of unsupervised FSD, it appears Tesla is bringing a new, more transparent tone to those owners.
V14 Lite represents a significant optimization effort. Tesla has confirmed it will bring many core features of the full V14 release, currently running on more powerful hardware, to the more constrained HW3 platform.
Expected capabilities include improved handling of complex urban scenarios, better reverse driving, enhanced parking features, and smoother overall autonomy, albeit in a “lite” form tailored to HW3’s compute limits. Tesla’s head of Autopilot, Ashok Elluswamy, noted during the Q1 2026 earnings call that the update is targeted for late June in the U.S.
Tesla is releasing a modified version of FSD v14 for Hardware 3 owners: here’s when
The international expansion is particularly meaningful for owners in Europe, Asia, Australia, and other regions where FSD rollout has lagged due to regulatory hurdles.
Tesla emphasized that timing remains fluid, dependent on “technical verification, regional adaptation & relevant regulatory approvals.” No firm dates were provided, but the company pledged rolling updates as milestones are achieved.
This move addresses growing concerns that Tesla might abandon legacy hardware. With the recent admission that its capabilities are limited and not capable of Tesla’s grand autonomy ambitions, owners are finally in the light of truth, with more honesty being put forth as the company navigates this chapter.
For Tesla, keeping HW3 relevant strengthens customer loyalty and protects the value of older vehicles. It also buys time as the company pushes toward broader regulatory approvals and unsupervised autonomy on newer platforms.
While V14 Lite isn’t the full unsupervised experience once promised, it delivers tangible improvements and signals that HW3 owners are not being forgotten.
As Tesla continues its rapid AI and autonomy evolution, this update underscores a key principle: software can breathe new life into existing hardware. For tens of thousands of HW3 drivers worldwide, V14 Lite could mark the beginning of a renewed era of confidence in their vehicles.
Tesla Cybertruck’s head-scratching trim sold terribly, recall documents reveal
Tesla Semi sends clear message to Diesel rivals with latest move
