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- This week on Trending in Tesla, there is plenty to improve with Cybertruck and the Tesla team is already on it with some big changes headed your way. - And Tesla is relaunching its free full self-driving transfer and also free supercharging transfers. - And Rivian is about to have its Model Y moment. All that and more starts right now.
All right, so let's get going right away talking about Cybertruck. Last week, we posted a video with the Model X and the Cybertruck comparing them both. And so many of you guys want to know which one we chose. So we are going to talk about that. But first, I wanted to talk about some of these software updates that Cybertruck is getting. And not just software too, Kim. We're talking physical hardware updates. There's another video that's going to publish a couple days after this podcast where we'll get into it. But we'll touch on some of them here.
We've got updates coming in physically to the aero wheels. They're being redesigned. They were damaging the sidewall from their current design. Also, we've been given some intel on the... - Don't say too much because the next video is gonna go into it. Let's just talk about the software.
yes the two improvements coming in via software updates are related to handling and also charging one of them i want to touch on that we've just learned here recently is that you can now be charging the cyber truck and still be able to charge another ev off of it off the ports which you tested in los angeles that wasn't possible it looks like yeah so what he's saying is that
When we tested it, we did a Cybertruck to a Cybertruck. And then while the Cybertruck was charging, we tried to charge a Model 3 at the same time off of that Cybertruck. It wouldn't do it. It wouldn't do it. Yes, but further software updates with Cybertruck in the release notes just coming out here saying that sport mode now offers a more consistent response on different surfaces, greater comfort on rough winding pavement, also expect reduced pitch and reduced body roll in off-road mode. So we've talked about how Cybertruck can reduce
really improve in so many areas, range included. It looks like this update here is going to kind of begin touching on some of these. - I did want to talk about this a little bit because the Cybertruck is so early, it's so new, it's really
just been released to a select few employees. So it's almost like in this beta phase right now, right? Well, I'll let you in on a secret here. We've had some intel coming in from within Tesla that has essentially told Tesla employees not to rent their Cybertruck to content creators, to reviewers outside of Tesla initially approving them.
The concern is, of course, that we know about nine out of 10 deliveries so far have been employees. The one out of 10 that's not employees is kind of a higher up person or a high profile person that's been getting these Cybertrucks. And now Tesla is kind of taking like, hey, let's back down a little bit on giving these Cybertrucks out to everyone. And I do feel like maybe it's not fair to Tesla in a way because
They have this incredible advantage of being able to improve their vehicles through software updates. And they have, as we've seen with our X, with our 3, with our family's Model S as well. And other ones kind of come out and that's how they're going to be out of the factory. That's what you're going to get. Tesla gets to improve, but then the initial reviewers get all the eyeballs on these features that maybe they're lacking. And the improvements aren't really covered as widely later on when they're introduced back into the car. Yeah, it's all part of that.
feedback loop, but at the same time, you can say maybe they make those changes because of the reviewers. Maybe, yeah. Or maybe they would have them either way with just those employees getting the vehicles first. And the range has been a big sticking point, right? Yeah. So that's been something that our source, once again, is telling us that they are actively working on a software update to optimize the motor for highway driving efficiency, and
We've seen the 3, I think initially was delivered with 310 miles. They boosted it to 325. This says 340. It's an estimated range there. But of course, it's nowhere near 340 on that long range Cybertruck. So the question is, can they really bump it up that significantly when it comes to optimizing these motors? And I think they do have the capability and they've shown the track record. We need the team that worked on the semi-truck.
to come to the Cybertruck and really get those range numbers. - The Semi has definitely lived up to its range predictions and expectations, but again, the Semi is significantly larger, so more battery capacity on board. Now you think about the Model X when it comes to the Cybertruck, the Model X is about 24, 26 inches I think it was, shorter. - Yeah. - Has a 100 kilowatt hour battery pack, where the Cybertruck has a 123 kilowatt hour battery pack.
So Cybertruck does have more battery on board to produce higher range, but obviously right now it's not getting there. Well, I think it has probably to do with the fact that the Cybertruck is heavier and maybe not as aerodynamic as the Model X. But is that true? Do we know that it's not as aerodynamic as the Model X? I'm not.
Let me look it up. Look it up. Oh, wow. Yeah. So it's quite a bit. The Cybertruck is quite a bit less efficient than the Model X. The Model X coefficient drag is 0.24. The Cybertruck coefficient drag is 0.34.
So yes, that shape that a lot of people kind of, it's almost counterintuitive, right? You think it's sharp angles, it's going to cut through the wind. You want smooth, rounder edges. But it looks cool. It does look very cool. It does look very cool. And it was spotted recently where they were doing some more testing. I think they had a trailer with some bricks on it. And I believe the engineers working on it were from the semi truck. So hopefully we'll see some improvements here soon. But what improvements...
would you guys like to see with the Cybertruck? So we actually asked this on a poll on our Patreon page and it was really interesting to see the results. And we had things like onboard wifi, massaging seats, paddle mode, which could be for a boat or other. And what did people think?
put for others. Some interesting insights from the Patreon members. Yes, it looks like the most popular being onboard Wi-Fi. Everyone hands down wanted onboard Wi-Fi. But the interesting responses from Henry Williams, he said a washer for the rear camera of the Cybertruck would be nice. Obviously, we have that for the front. Yes, and again, we are going to talk about that more in our next video. But the front camera does have a washer, but the rear is where it's needed because when the tonneau cover is closed, it's
you can't see out the rear view mirror. So you're just dependent on that camera. - Yeah, some of the other ones that were really interesting and kind of hit home exactly what we need right now. Kenneth W. Ponder says he wishes we just had the range. What we were promised, that comes in. Software update again can bring that to fruition possibly. Mike Malice says, "How about enabling autopilot and navigate on autopilot to be there with a Cybertruck?" Which you were surprised.
isn't there with the initial trucks being delivered right now. Mark D. Larson, he kind of joked with the size of the Cybertruck, maybe get an equally large nuts, truck nuts put on the back of this truck. And of course- What exactly are truck nuts?
It sounds like one of those, like, that's what she said type things. I don't even know if I know what it is. Really? Yeah. They're actual nuts that hang from the back of trucks. Like, not actual nuts, but they look like nuts that hang on the back of a truck's hitch. Why? Truck owners just think it's cool to be tough and have nuts hanging from the back. So they're like, they look like nuts.
Yes. Okay. They do. They look just like. All right. But what if Cybertruck owns this and puts triangular nuts, like very sharp nuts on
Yes, that is totally something that I can see Tesla doing. That's like, you know, right in with their line of, you know, grade school, middle school humor. I'm curious what you guys think should be added to Cybertruck. So leave that in the comments below. And if you want to go on our Patreon page, I'm going to be posting a new poll on there about the resale ban. This is something that gets me actually. I feel like they need to get rid of that resale ban. I know as...
someone that makes videos and covers vehicles, it's easier if I'm able to just buy the vehicle, keep it for a few months, make tons of videos, review it, and create content for you guys, but then be able to sell it like three or four months in. But of course with Cybertruck and this van, you're not able to do it. And honestly, I do feel like it is a little bit hypocritical of Elon Musk because he's all about capitalism, right? And he wants to...
change the incorporation from Delaware to Texas so that he can keep his 2018 payment package. And I actually am for that as well. Like I'm, I think Elon deserves everything, but at the same time, like he goes and puts this resale ban on cyber trucks. So to me, that feels a little bit hypocritical.
I mean, I see why he's doing it. But at the same time, yeah, it does. It's not even just you and content creation and being able to do these videos for the audience. But it's also just everyone that seems to want to protect their right of what they purchase and what they own is theirs to do whatever they want with it. And if people want to make a little bit of money off of, you know, ordering it early and getting it earlier, so what? Like, why not? Like, to me, I'm like, why is that such a big deal? Why should somebody else...
be telling you what to do. And obviously it's not unique just to Tesla. A few other car companies I believe that do it. I'm not for that. I'm not a fan of that one. So let me know what you guys think in the comments below or even better go over to our Patreon page. We've got exclusive access to footage, videos you've never seen, also early release of this podcast and one-on-one calls with Kim and I as well.
All right, up next, Kim, did you hear about unplugged performance that took the Cybertruck out to the King of the Hammers event and put it to an incredible off-road beating? Wanting to test it, they admitted they wanted to see exactly what it's capable of. They did damage and break the rear steering bolt, posted a picture of it.
And of course the headlines took with it showing the Cybertruck weakness. Yeah, Cybertruck breaks. It breaks its bolt when going off-roading. This is like a thing. The media loves to hold on to anything negative. But then according to Unplugged Performance, they were almost traumatized.
trying to break it. They were trying to break it. If you read the story. Yeah, overall, they were extremely impressed. They said, quote, I don't know too many other vehicles that can turn a 215 at Buttonwillow in Baja mode, then daily drive the kids to school, then go back to King of the Hammers all with the same hardware and state of tune all in the same week. So they were pretty impressed. But again, you see these headlines, other outlets take from it and they run. And honestly, I think in part, Cybertruck kind of brought this on themselves, making themselves
The bulletproof body and the shatter, baseball, you know, metal, ball, steel, all this stuff makes people want to take hammers and bash it and beat it up and see what it lives up to. Oh, yeah. Just this week, I've seen somebody take a guitar to it. I saw people with their bike doing jumps off of it. And it makes for great shorts and TikToks. But at the same time, like, yeah, people are going to do all kinds of crazy stuff with it. And it's also just interesting how...
people take these headlines, they read the headline, they don't necessarily read the article. We see that happen all the time. And I'm seeing it again too with all the stuff going on with FSC, with Full Self Driving. Kimball did an interview and we both kind of like, you know, I think I looked up the headline actually here and I didn't even fully read it. And you were like, no, did you watch it?
Well, I read a different headline that was from what you had put in our notes. The headline that you had seen was saying that Kimball doesn't believe that this is going to be here anytime soon. He's predicting five years out for FSD. Well, mine was like Kimball's optimism has it five years away. So it was two different takes with the same story. Now, I think the big thing is that Kimball said that full self-driving is five years away. And Elon always says, you know, by the end of
year we're going to have full self-driving. So that's like one of the big things people held on to is five years versus one year. But I think at the same time, Kimball's being realistic about when full self-driving will be ready and be good. Well, do we know that Elon's this year's stance is actually saying that this year he thinks internally they'll be able to pull this off and government approval can take longer? Because that's always kind of how he's
been able to wiggle his full self-driving predictions in and say, well, that's what I think is going to happen. Also, when is it actually done? Is anything ever really done these days, right? It's always improving. I think about myself when I was 18 years old, technically I was an adult, but now I would say I'm a lot smarter than I was back then, like when you think about it. So I think full self-driving and a lot of this like AI technology is just
Continuing to get smarter. Yeah, it's evolving. So it's really hard to say. It was actually announced this week that FSD is now transferable as well as the supercharging miles. For a Model 3, Model S, Model X, and Y. If you have one of those, you can transfer that in, pick up a new Tesla by March 31st, and then get all of this as well.
So this kind of bothers me actually, because we had so many free supercharging miles as part of like the referral program. And we asked Elon and Tesla over on X if we could transfer them. Gift them to some of the viewers and got a lot of traction. And I'm confident he saw it or someone within Tesla saw it. And no response, obviously. They kind of let it expire away. So 800,000 free supercharging miles. And we use like 2,000 of it. So
But this goes back. This all goes back to, you know, if it is technically yours, you should be able to do whatever you want with it, right? And that's personally how I feel, but I don't know. They gave us the miles and they took it back, basically. I know, I know. But what gets me even more is what's going on with FSD. So we are on our third Model X. We had full self-driving in our first one and our second one. And now our third one, I just couldn't.
could not handle buying it all over again, and now it's transferable. So I'm like, are you going to go back to the people like us and kind of retro that? And it doesn't look like they're going to. It bothers you a lot. I know it bothers a lot of Tesla owners. They reach out to us independently on all the platforms with those concerns.
And yeah, it's nice that you're able to voice some of this back out. I really feel like that is something that they should bring back because full self-driving wasn't even, wasn't a finished product. Again, it will never be 100% finished, but it wasn't,
even at the point where you could really use it when we had it and we paid for it. So it should be transferable until it's at this point where they really feel like it's a product. They told us that it's not ready, but they also did lead us on saying it's going to be ready at the end of this year and with this. And they've incrementally brought stuff in, but it still doesn't feel like worth the 10 plus K that we paid that second time. It's very frustrating. I know a lot of people feel that way. And it's also hard to verbalize this sometimes within the Tesla community because
Anytime you say anything slightly critical of Tesla, there's always somebody that kind of attacks you in the community, especially for an ex. Well, I mean, yeah, you've got to think about it. Where it was a decade ago when we first got into this, there was a lot of people that are very protective of the brand, right? Maybe because of investment reasons or what have you, or just believing in the product and what it served. And they almost went to incredible lengths to...
to defend it, even when they knew maybe other people had some validity to their concerns or points.
But yeah, now it does seem like there is there needs to be a line drawn. I'm actually grateful that our channel, you seem to at least go there and take some of the heat as a result. But to me, it's constructive criticism. Like, I feel like if I say something, then the cars, it all continues to get better. And I don't think it's like saying, oh, I don't like them because I love them. Obviously, I've changed my entire life and this is what I do now. And it's all about my love of electric cars and Tesla.
But at the same time, I still get people that sort of attack me. So, you know, be nice. Be nice. That's all I have to say. It's constructive criticism. And I think there are a lot of people, especially people that have been following Tesla and are on, you know, their second or their third Tesla feel that way. So let us know how you guys feel in the comments down below.
- All right, on a positive note, let's talk about some things we love because a software update, and I think you're gonna find this fascinating, coming into old Model 3s and Model Ys in Europe based on a document leak there is going to provide an update to the adaptive LED headlights of the 3 and Y. Now, we know the refreshed Model 3 has adaptive headlights.
This is different though. This is not just like turning off one layer of it as you approach oncoming traffic. This is going to allow pixel by pixel automatic transition. So the car will now dim certain pixels
and not only improve visibility for you, but also for the oncoming traffic. And again, this is gonna happen in all threes and Ys, which really speaks to Tesla's incredible advantage here, having that full suite of software stack built in where you're getting older and they haven't really verified exactly how many years back you've gotta go to still be able to get this.
But I think a lot of the Model Ys and maybe a lot of Model 3s out there are going to get this. Happening in Europe now, it's going to probably happen in the U.S. soon where you have the refreshed Model 3s headlights come to your Model 3s. That is fascinating. So this is dynamic, like it changes on the fly. So if a car is coming towards you, it would just automatically dim? Yeah. So according to the release notes, it says, "...the high beam now adjusts to reduce glare for other drivers and cyclists by detecting other road users and selectively dimming individual pixels of the headlights."
The
The high beam can remain on longer, enabling better visibility at night. Again, the new Model 3 has this. The old 3 and Y get this soon. And that is incredible. This is the stuff I love about Tesla is that they figured out this technology. They put it in the new one, but they're also going to give it to the existing owners with the older vehicles. Like they don't have to run out and buy a brand new one just for this one feature. And that is amazing. Some of the other amazing things going on right now.
has to do with Neuralink. And this is the one that like completely blows my mind because they've added this thing called telepathy. Yeah, Neuralink last year actually started recruiting to find patients that either had ALS or were quadriplegic to be able to do these trials on. And on January 30th, they successfully operated on someone. And to me, I've got something here. We're going to play a little game. Check this out. Something like this.
chip implanted into your brain where it goes in and telepathy is the name for it because now you're able to actually just think about something whether in this case it was being able to operate a computer or a phone and do it just by basis of thought. It's insane to me what they're able to do. I actually went back and watched a video that they had of a monkey playing pong with his brain and
And first of all, it's crazy that a monkey could play Pong. But then the fact that he's not using like any remote, he's just like thinking about how to do it. And I'm like, whoa, that is crazy.
Go back and watch it if you guys haven't. It will blow your mind. Taking something like this, which by the way, this is just a CR2032. This is a Model X battery fob. But it does fit the exact dimensions of these chips. But to put this in your head. This is such a PJ thing, by the way, to like go be like, how big is that? Let me go find my battery. I was just curious.
But, you know, they've talked about the use cases of being able to bring language into it, for example. And I don't know how that would work for muscles in your mouth to be able to speak certain languages. But being able to program Farsi, for example, plug it in. And all of a sudden, He likes to just like flex that he speaks a couple different languages, of course. But, I mean, wouldn't it be...
But wouldn't it be neat? And Elon Musk actually used the example of imagine being able to communicate with Stephen Hawking at a speed of a typist where he could actually get his dialogue out or even an auctioneer doing it extremely quickly without using words. I think it's fascinating. It completely blows my mind. But I do think about the use case, like you just said. And I feel like for people that have some kind of brain damage,
It's amazing for, but then what about regular people like you and I getting an implant like this? Like how is that going to change the world? Yeah. I mean, it's, it's changing right between that and vision pro and, and optimists and full self driving. I think the line is going to be drawn on an entirely different page, but we'll turn into those that are, have a lot of money. We'll be able to afford certain things like this and,
those that can't won't have it and then does that divide people even more or does it bring them together there's a lot of kind of different things to think about when it comes to all this new technology and ai and how we're going to fit it into our world moving forward and also just sort of like ethical you know it kind of turns into like the stuff people talk about with like cloning you know because we're essentially turning our bodies into like this cyborg and
And like, do we want to go there? Like, yes, maybe for people that have the brain damage, but regular people, like, is that something that we want to do? And do we want to cross that line? Let me know what you guys think in the comments down below. It's something that I get into these days
Deep thoughts with it's kind of a that's a Kim thing. We've got our That is gonna be I could talk about this for hours. I love this deep discussion So I want to know what you guys think we have to talk about Rivian because they are gonna unveil there are two It's a compact SUV on March 8th
Yes, and Rivian has a lot of people excited. They're one of the very few startups that have been able to execute the R1T, the R1S, bring it to market, meet all expectations, exceed it in a lot of ways. And now the R2 looks like it's coming to fruition. And again, we don't know much about it. RJ Skrindz, the CEO, has been pretty tight-lipped. What we do know, compact SUV, as you said, between $40,000 and $60,000, going to be built around the corner here in Georgia. Yeah.
I'm excited about that because we're at Atlanta base, so we'll be able to go over there hopefully and check it out. And production is expected to start in 2026. All of this is really close and it is pretty exciting to see what they have in mind here. I think it's really exciting for Rivian because I do think that this is going to be their Model Y moment with this vehicle. It's their affordable vehicle. We're going to see it on the roads. It's a lot of competition for Tesla. Yes.
It's a big competition, but I'm all for competition. Elon's for competition. It's just going to make things more competitive, but better at the same time. And it's also going to be Rivian's first car coming to market from the ground up that's got that NACS charge port built into it. Yes, that's right.
very very they're going to provide adapters for r1s and r1t this year but yeah r2 is going to have that out of the gate but again this is definitely going to be the model y moment that's going to propel them to be more mainstream it's really cool to see a new company like ribian again a lot of comparisons with tesla
with this one that's been able to make it. And speaking of being more competitive when it comes to pricing and affordability, did you see Rivian just announced they're introducing two new battery options for the R1S and R1T? Essentially lower range, more affordable, still falls into the U.S. tax credit compatibility as well. So this is a big deal and a big move for Rivian. And they've got the batteries here, nickel, cobalt, aluminum, new cell chemistry coming in for one of them, and also an LFP battery for their standard range model as well.
It's so interesting that they're coming out with these less miles but more affordable models. And I also wonder if part of that has to do with the fact that Cybertruck came out with less miles. And so it's almost like they're like, oh, we can bring down our miles and make ourselves more affordable at the same time. And it's just...
That's a really good thought. I didn't think about that. - Part of the psychology behind it, I'm not really sure. I do have another question for you. If you had to choose, and this is like the ultimate thing everyone talks about, between an R1T or Cybertruck, which one would you like? - Gosh, we've driven both of them, and we both loved the T even more than the S. - I do. I like the T more than the S, and I think a big part of that is that gear tunnel, and it's quieter. - I mean, I love what the Cybertruck looks like, especially in person. It is really kind of captivating when you see it in person.
Right now, I think the R1T is definitely more established. Now, the Cybertruck, again, with the updates that it's getting both physically and also software-wise, maybe it'll become more competitive in the price point area and especially in the range.
But the R1T having access to the Tesla superchargers this year, it doesn't have much else to lose besides that, I think. So I think the Cybertruck looks cooler, in my opinion. But again, that's subjective. It has steer-by-wire. Steer-by-wire. You can't forget about that. We got to talk about that comparison with the X we just did with the Cybertruck. People wanted to know which one we liked.
And it really kind of starts leaning in Cybertruck's favor in ways because you've got the steer-by-wire, you've got the 48-volt architecture, you've got 800 volts, which allows for a potential higher charging capacity down the road as well.
You've got all this stuff. The range isn't there. The features are still being refined. I think that goes back to Tesla sending this out maybe a little too soon and then kind of wanting to backtrack and be like, hey, let's not share all these details quite yet until it's ready. There's a reason why we're giving these to employees right now. Yeah. But I think right now I would lean to the Model X. But I think the steer-by-wire is really, really close for me because it is something else. It is. It is. And I wanted to say something about that because...
The Model X that we have has the yoke and the yoke would have been the perfect vehicle to have steer by wire in. But then here we have the Cybertruck and it has steer by wire and they didn't put a yoke in it. And I wish they had. Well, I think Tesla realized because they have all the metrics, right? When they put out the yoke as an option or,
as the only thing, I guess. They saw the take rate and they gave the wheel as the option and then people started swapping. So they probably realized that maybe it's not even worth bringing it to Cybertruck. Yeah. And I know Dan, we had him on the podcast last week. He's not a fan of the Yoke. He likes a wheel. Yes. So there definitely are a lot of people that prefer the wheel, but I feel like with steer-by-wire, that is where you need to have the Yoke. Steer-by-wire is going to come to Model S and Model X. Mark my words on that one. And then I think 3 and Y will get it as well. But
Those are all coming around, but I think it is coming to the higher price vehicle sooner. - I love it, but I think right now with us also having a family of five, I would choose the Model X. I like that third row. I think that's really important to have. Model X is a really cool vehicle too.
Now people are kind of used to it. Yeah. But eventually people are going to be used to Cybertruck as well. So I do prefer the Model X overall at the present moment.
Yeah. How about you? Same. Same Model X at the present moment. We'll see. If range and price improves, range goes up big time, price comes down big time, which both are almost certainly going to happen within the next two years. The battery pack, I don't know. I mean, is it an afterthought? We've talked about this so many times. It just doesn't seem like that extender is- I know, it doesn't. The range issue is huge for me, honestly. That is one of the deal breakers is just the range issue is that
For road tripping, the Model X is a better car because I can go further and I can still pull things in it. The Cybertruck, when they've done these range tests, when, you know, Jerry Rigg everything, did the range test, it did poorly. It did poorly with being able to do a heavy load. Yeah.
I don't know. I think also when you talk about it in comparison with the R1T, a lot of people that are actually going to be using it as a truck would go for the R1T because of those reasons as well. I think there's an age cutoff as well. I think once you get into your 50s as a truck buyer, maybe the Cybertruck is not as appealing as if you're in your 30s or 40s. Maybe. I don't know. But again, Tesla knows all these, I think, based on the take rates and the submissions. I really want to know what the take rate is. I think it's...
think it's so cool. That's, that's the problem I have is that it is so cool. I want it for that reason. It just looks so different and it has all this new stuff in it. Also, it is like the best vehicle. If you want to do mods and you like playing around with your car, your truck, it is the best vehicle for all that stuff. And the good news is, is that, you know, it's 2024 and we have options, options for electric vehicles. Yes. So I think that's like,
One of the coolest things ever. Let us know in the comments below again which one you guys like the best. So that was it for the stories of the week. At least the stories that we found to be some of the best stories of the week. But I do want to take a moment and thank our Patreon members. First off, we have Patrick Corman, Sean Neidig, Mark Garnett, Nathan and Amanda Van Dort.
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