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Giga Texas Cyber Rodeo: Tesla Cybertruck Development Advances, Will Soon Enter Production

Elon Musk started the Giga Texas Cyber Rodeo in a giant cowboy hat in front of a hysterical crowd and spoke about the new production facility and the future Tesla plans. They didn’t call it “Cyber Rodeo” for nothing though, so what people really wanted to see was the Cybertruck. Well, Musk delivered.
Tesla Cybertruck development advances 11 photos
Photo: William Dyer via Twitter
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Dark sunglasses and a cowboy hat might not be enough to entertain the crowd. Tesla’s boss kicked off the show with some impressive fun facts about the new gigafactory and the company’s plans for the next couple of years. We’ll skip on the number of hamsters that can be tossed inside Giga Texas (although they’d be quite a lot, by the way) and go straight to the Cybertruck, which is the hottest Tesla non-product right now.

Musk started humbly by apologizing for the delay in bringing Cybertruck to market. The oddly-shaped pickup truck is now slated for production at Giga Texas starting next year, some two years behind schedule. Considering Tesla’s track record, we’d take this with a grain of salt, just like the promises of more production debuts next year, like the Roadster and the Semi.

Nevertheless, a new, updated Cybertruck prototype entered the stage with chief designer Franz von Holzhausen at the wheel, apparently ready to break a glass or two. As he unmounted, he revealed that the updated Cybertruck does not feature door handles anymore. The truck allegedly detects the user and automatically opens the door when needed, like magic.

More info about the Cybertruck actually perspired from people attending the Cyber Rodeo event than Musk himself, so we were sifting through the social media posts to find out more. One obvious change that was highlighted by many attending the show was the fact that the new improved Cybertruck dropped the rear glass window and adopted a mid guard instead. This should make the Cybertruck better suited for carrying cargo, but we imagine the mid guard could still be folded down, just like the glass.

A couple of pictures with the Cybertruck interior show a Tesla Model X steering yoke, but without the center section, where the airbag should’ve been fitted. We don’t know whether the Cybertruck will feature a yoke steering (we hope it won’t), but we’re sure the Cybertruck’s interior was not meant to be seen at this stage.

Other pictures of the electric truck show updated side repeater cameras in the front fenders and a charging port concealed inside the vehicle’s fender flares. This looks half-baked too since it still features a Model S charge plug. This shouldn’t make it into production since Tesla transitions its vehicles to the universal CCS plug. We also hope Tesla will find a different solution for the humongous screen wiper, perhaps employing two wipers, like most of the cars have.

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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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