Tesla Cybertruck UI Design Leaks in Surprising Video, Offers More Clues Than Expected

During the second-quarter earnings call, Elon Musk promised that a Cybertruck delivery event would be organized in the third quarter. As September days passed, it was clear this was another time Musk couldn't deliver on his promises. Now everybody expects the Cybertruck deliveries to be formally announced in the coming weeks.

Because one of the first Cybertruck units will be auctioned off during the Petersen Gala on October 7, there are rumors that Tesla will make an announcement by then. Others think the third-quarter earnings call, scheduled for October 18, is a more appropriate occasion. Either way, it appears that Tesla has already assembled a team to work on the event, and Cybertruck-themed jackets have been handed out to the employees.

Until then, Tesla fans and Cybertruck reservation holders grasp every bit of information that becomes available on the internet. On Monday, a surprising video popped up on YouTube just as Americans were making their beds. The footage reveals exciting details about the Cybertruck's cabin and, for the first time, its unique user interface.

Until now, we've mostly seen the Cybertruck cabin while the pickup was parked, with no access to the infotainment system. The best we've seen so far was a glimpse at the screen while Tesla's design chief, Franz von Holzhausen, arrived at the Petersen Museum in June. Taken from afar and with the interface in "Factory Mode," there wasn't much to discuss.

This time, the guy who entered the Cybertruck found the key inside, which is not unusual when vehicles are transported on trailers. In the short video, he plays with the interfaces and even offers a glimpse at the cabin. What's striking is the unique user interface this Cybertruck features, unlike anything we've seen on other Tesla models.

The video starts with the center screen showing the streams from the rear and side cameras. This is expected, as the Cybertruck is on a trailer, and the rear faces the truck's cabin. This tricks the car into "thinking" the driver needs guidance toward the back. The image reveals that Tesla still doesn't offer a bird's eye view image. It's disappointing but somehow expected.

As he fiddles with the display, we get to see that the screen layout is similar to other Tesla Models, with the car pictured on the left and the map on the right. The major difference is that these images blend instead of being separated by a hard line. The interface is fluid, as expected, but the more intriguing detail is the battery icon, which shows an 84% state of charge.

Instead of a solid icon, the Cybertruck features ten slanted lines, each depicting 10% SoC. In the video, we can see eight full bars and another half-lit, consistent with the battery's state of charge. Sadly, no range information is offered, and touching the battery icon doesn't reveal anything. Even if it did, it wouldn't be very useful unless we also knew the battery capacity and how the Cybertruck was used until that moment.

Another exciting discovery is that the interface features an app launcher on the left side of the screen. Five icons are pinned to the launcher, with the middle one being a hexagonal camera icon. This matches the shape of the cup holders in the center console, another nice detail the Tesla design team thought of.

The last part of the video reveals the rear window, which some expect to be powered to allow access to the vault. Even with all the wheels stashed in the bed, the visibility toward the rear is obviously better than expected. Turning to the front, the video operator reveals the two-stage sun visors, which look similar to the ones on the Model X. In the case of the Cybertrucks, the sun visors are mobile, sliding on the rails in the A-pillars.

We can disregard the comments in Russian, as they appeared more like small talk with no helpful information. Based on this, we can rule out him being a Tesla employee, with the other possibility being a transport company worker. This is obvious judging by the comment he made when he shows the bag marked with the name Max in the passenger seat ("This is Elon Musk's bag haha"). We figure Max is in deep trouble right now.

Nobody knows how the guy in the video got access to the Cybertruck. The fact that he speaks Russian reveals that the video is intended for the Russian audience. This is even more bizarre considering that the Cybertruck should not cross the Ocean. Some even speculate that Tesla might unofficially sell the Cybertruck to Russian oligarchs, which might explain the target audience of this video.