Lifestyle
X-Rack Tesla Model X cargo carrier: lightweight aluminum and custom fit for the trunk
Tesla Model X is arguably the gold standard in automotive technology and innovation, but its flashy upswing Falcon Wing door eliminates any possibility of a roof rack and roof-mounted cargo. Activities involving any sort of large luggage or hauling of gear can be a logistical challenge, especially if the excursion involves the use of Model X’s third-row seating, be it for passengers, cargo, or the family pet.
Tesla Model X owner, Nick Deninno, with his family of six, knows that all too well.
As an active New York-based Dad to four young children, the trunk area and folding third-row seats of Nick’s Tesla Model X gets plenty of use. But it has its limitations.
“I found quickly that once you have the 3rd-row seat up, all cargo space is all but lost. For a few years, I left one rear seat down on the third row and filled cargo next to my children that would eventually fall on them,” Nick tells Teslarati.
During the day, this Tesla owner runs a successful engineering and design firm. Putting his expertise in action, Nick devised a way to increase the storage capacity of his Tesla Model X, but without compromising battery range, rear-visibility, or parking in tighter locations, including Supercharging.
He called it X-Rack.
X-Rack Tesla Model X Cargo Carrier
Photo: Teslarati
Made in the USA and specifically for the Tesla Model X, the X-Rack incorporates the unique shape of the vehicle’s trunk deck into the cargo carrier’s overall shape. This design enables the rack to be at-the-ready without interfering with rear space when not in use.
X-Rack is manufactured out of lightweight aluminum as opposed to range-robbing steel and engineered to withstand cargo up to 500 lbs (227 kg).
Give Me Range
Teslarati testing the X-Rack on a Tesla Model X P100D in San Francisco
Weighing only 16.5 lbs for the ultra-light X-Lite Cargo Carrier and 21 lbs for the heavier-duty XHD carrier, both versions are extremely lightweight, corrosion-resistant due to the aluminum construction, and has a powder-coated finish.
The X-Rack was designed with efficiency in mind, both to maximum battery range and for ease of use. Unlike other steel racks on the market that are often bulky and cumbersome to use, Teslarati found the X-Rack to be relatively simple in use and can be installed or detached in roughly 90 seconds. Most of the time is spent loosening the bolt and pin that secures X-Rack to Model X’s receiver.
There’s also a sliding receiver tube that stores flush in the rack and enables Model X to return to its factory look when not in use.
Put it Away
X-Rack lightweight aluminum cargo carrier designed specifically for the Tesla Model X (Photo: Teslarati)
“The problem with hitch cargo carriers is that most are very large, heavy, and poor quality. But also you had to find a place to put it once you made it to your destination, or forced to drive around with it attached to the car for the entire trip.” – Nick, on why he decided to create X-Rack
The X-Lite and XHD Cargo Carrier can act as a replacement for Model X’s carpeted trunk floor cover or stow beneath it on a lower tier. The X-Rack can also tilt up and mimic the exact function as the factory trunk deck.
Photo: Teslarati
The frame of the X-Rack cargo carrier is powder-coated in either black or white, while the deck is offered in black or silver.
Along with color options, the X-Rack frame has a rear receiver port for additional attachments like a fishing rod carrier, a swing-out bike rack, and other lifestyle accessories. There are also mounting points on the frame for the relocation of the license plate bracket. Nick tells us that a snowboard carrier adapter and X-Rack’s snow accessory mounts are on the way, along with a variety of other solutions for nearly any cargo need.
As avid Tesla drivers, we’re all well aware of the perks offered by driving electric, especially when combined with Tesla’s extensive Supercharger network. Now, with the added convenience and flexibility of cargo transportation offered by X-Rack, that experience can be made even better.
Learn more about the X-Rack, including specifications and pricing.
For a century, the car has asked the same thing of its owner, which is basically to pay attention. Even the best ride-hailing app like Uber or Lyft only moved the problem into someone else’s hands. You stopped driving, but you still sat in a stranger’s car, while half listening, and wondering whether to take a phone call in the car without being rude. The Cybercab has no wheel, no pedals and no driver. With Grok @bot now live inside it, it becomes something else entirely, and I think that matters more than the fleet count that everyone is tracking.
Grok @bot is an agent, not a voice assistant. A rider signs in once, and from then on can say what they need and watch it happen. Order dinner from a favorite restaurant. Fill the grocery cart. Move money, answer email, adjust a calendar, push a work project forward. Tesla engineer Yun-Ta Tsai confirmed it is enabled across every Cybercab and the rest of the Model Y fleet, and Tesla’s own pitch is that Full Self-Driving handles the commute while Grok handles the errands.
Think about what that does to a thirty minute ride. Uber sells you a trip, while Waymo sells you the same trip in a more private setting. Tesla is selling the thirty minutes themselves, returned to you with an assistant attached. Errands that used to eat a Saturday get done between pickup and drop off. The ride stops being dead time between two places and becomes a place of its own.
Tesla integrates Grok Bot into its vehicles for the ultimate personal assistant
Best of all, your Bots follow you into any Cybercab, and presumably your own Tesla, then logs you out automatically when you step out. Anyone can bolt a chatbot onto a screen, but much harder to own the vehicle, the autonomy stack and the assistant at once. It also quietly ties SpaceX’s Super Intelligence business to Tesla’s fleet, after Tesla converted its xAI stake into SpaceX equity. The relationship between those two companies is getting harder to describe as separate.
This is also where the hard questions start, because an agent that can spend your money in a vehicle other people also ride in needs some answers. How does it handle a voice it shouldn’t trust? What gets recorded, who can see it, and for how long? What happens when a rider leaves halfway through a task?
If Tesla gets those answers right, the scoreboard changes. We have been counting Cybercabs and wait times. The more telling number may be what riders accomplish per trip. That is data almost no one else will ever have, and it is the real reason to watch Grok @bot.
What do you think? Leave me a comment.
Lifestyle
Tesla’s mirrorless Cybercab will give riders a visibility upgrade
Tesla engineer confirms Cybercab update letting riders pull up rear and repeater cameras on demand.
Tesla is working on a Cybercab update that would let passengers pull up the vehicle’s rear and side cameras on demand, and the request came straight from a rider.
The exchange played out on X late Friday. Cybercab rider Dan Burkland shared photos of the two-seater’s cabin screen after an evening ride, praised the UI team’s work, and left one request: let riders open the rear and repeater cameras whenever they want, “especially for peace of mind.” Tesla UI software engineer Evan (@CarCoder) answered with two words: “In development.”
The Tesla UI team absolutely crushed it with the infotainment software. Nicely done @CarCoder!
One feature request: Allow folks to pull up the rear & repeater cameras on demand. This would be great especially for peace of mind. https://t.co/mNAOSLx6pE
— Dan Burkland (@DBurkland) October 10, 2026
The idea fits a pattern Teslarati has tracked since public rides began. Days after paid Cybercab service opened in Austin, Tesla sent riders a survey that asked them to rate the touchscreen, the app and the cabin, and to pick the features they wanted most. We reported on that survey in September, and a camera view is the kind of small software change Tesla can push quickly if riders keep asking.
It also speaks to something unique about the vehicle. With no steering wheel, no pedals and no driver, passengers have no mirror to check and no way to see behind them. The hardware is clearly built for camera awareness, from the repeater cameras to the rear camera. Letting a passenger look through those same cameras would give a nervous first time rider a way to confirm what is around the car.
The timing matters because the fleet is growing fast. Tesla’s Robotaxi account said on Saturday that more than 300 Cybercabs are now serving Austin, an eightfold increase in 30 days, and Tesla AI chief Ashok Elluswamy named Dallas as the next city. More cars and more cities mean more people riding in a driverless vehicle for the first time, which is exactly when small trust features carry weight.
For now, the feature is confirmed only as in development. If Tesla follows its usual pattern with Cybercab software, riders could see it appear in a point release without any announcement, and Teslarati will watch for it.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s surprise addition to the X Takeover lineup has fans talking
Elon Musk will join Saturday’s X Takeover at Giga Texas for a live virtual interview.
Elon Musk will join X Takeover at Giga Texas on Saturday for a live virtual interview, according to Sawyer Merritt, who shared the news late Thursday. Musk will not be on stage in Austin. The conversation is set to stream for free on the @teslaownersSV account on X.
Organizers had kept expectations in check. In a September update, Tesla Owners Silicon Valley said Musk had appeared at the event twice before but was not promising a third appearance, even as fans hoped he would walk the Giga Texas grounds in person. A virtual spot matches 2024, when Musk gave a surprise interview of about an hour to the crowd in San Luis Obispo, as Teslarati reported at the time.
Wasn’t expecting this 🫡
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) October 9, 2026
This year’s edition is a first in several ways. It is the first X Takeover held outside California and the first at a Tesla facility, with tickets selling out in eight days. Tesla provides the venue, but the event is produced independently by Tesla Owners Silicon Valley. The main event runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT, followed by a drone and light show at 9 p.m. Maye Musk is the keynote speaker, Franz von Holzhausen is set for a virtual keynote, and Nicki Minaj is the special guest. Joe Tegtmeyer, whose drone footage Teslarati used to track the Optimus factory steel frame at Giga Texas, is also on the speaker list.
Musk’s interview topics have not been revealed, but the backdrop is busy. Tesla doubled its Cybercab fleet in Austin in late September, and last week Musk explained why Robotaxi hours only moved from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.. Merritt also reported Thursday that Texas DMV records now show 319 registered Cybercabs, up from 169. NHTSA’s deadline for Tesla’s sworn answers on Cybercab certification is October 30, and Tesla reports third quarter earnings on October 21.
Fans who cannot make it to Austin can watch the livestream on X. Musk tends to say more in unscripted settings than he does in prepared remarks, which is the reason this one is worth having open on Saturday.
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