Toyota & Fort Copying Tesla's Playbook

Amazing Documentary!!! 
Toyota & Fort Copying Tesla's Playbook 

The episode below of Connecting The Dots is AMAZINGLY articulate and informative regarding how Ford and Toyota are attempting to copy Elon's playbook in order to survive. I have been arguing for the past 8 years, that it was crystal clear to me that Elon had the entire automotive industry in checkmate, and ever since then, we have been seeing this reality slowly become more and more obvious. Can Toyota and Ford actually compete with Tesla? In my opinion, I would say no, as I think the only thing they can do is postpone the inevitable. Why? Lack of FSD, If you want to learn much more about the reality of how and why Tesla has the entire automobile industry in check mate, watch this amazing video!!!

Ferrari LUCE Ferrari's "NEW COKE: Moment

Ferrari LUCE

Ferrari's NEW COKE Moment

Decades ago, as a clothing designer, an associate quipped, “Nobody does it like the Italians! They’re the absolute masters of luxury—so much so, they do British better than the British.”

Puzzled, I asked him to explain. He continued: “The British have their herringbone wool sports jackets with suede elbow patches, but Italians elevate them with cashmere blends that eliminate itch and softer patches for true comfort.”

This feels especially fitting now: a Brit (Jony Ive) reinterpreting Italian design for Ferrari’s new Luce.

Ferrari recently introduced their first all-electric EV vehicle, designed by former Apple lead designer, Jony Ive and it has been met with a great deal of resistance from EV and ICE enthusiasts. I published a super detailed article on RolexMagazine.com which goes into great detail on this new Ferrari, which I highly recommend reading.

In my article I pointed out that the Ferrari is almost identical in length, width, and wheelbase as the outgoing Tesla Model S, but it's .5 seconds slower doing 0-60 than the PLAID, yet it costs a whopping $640,000!?!!

In my article on RolexMagazine I basically point out that  the Ferrari LUCE is essentially Ferrari's attempt and making their own Model S. the only significant improvements are that the LUCE is 4.5 inches taller than a Tesla Model S, and it appears to perhaps be a little bit more cab forward in the front. In my article I pointed out that I recognized the core silhouette looked remarkably similar to the Model S as seen above and as a result I put together the render below, which looks much better to me that the LUCE.

I referenced and shared the video in my article to the render below that somebody created for how they thought the LUCE should look, and I agree 1000% that if Ferrari replaced the current model with an updated version that looked like the one below it would be a huge hit.

Beauty is Skin Deep

I am madly mostly in love with my CyberTruck, although there is certainly room for improvement, but I like it waaaay better than my two prior Model S Tesla vehicles I have owned. So here is an interesting thought experiment. "What if anything could get me to want to replace my CyberTruck with a Ferrari LUCE?" First of all, it would have to look like the render pictured above in red and black.

So let's say Ferrari made me an offer and said, "We will give you a Ferrari LUCE for free, but you can't sell it and you have to give up your CyberTruck, would I take the offer? Not a chance in hell. But what if they offered me a significantly updated version that looks really cool like the render I showed up above the photo of my actual JAKEeWRAP CyberTruck? Nope, and here are some of the serious impediments and why:

• The Price is way too high at $640K. This would stop me dead in my tracks as it offers or horrible value proposition, or value for money.
• Keyless/Fobless: My CyberTruck is Keyless, meaning I can use my iPhone like a key to do everything. The Ferrari uses a cool looking thick key fob, which I would never want to have to carry around with me.
• Lack of FSD: I mentioned earlier that in my opinion as a designer, the Ferrari LUCE is essentially Ferrari's version of a model S, but much more like a 2012 Model S, in the sense the Ferrari lacks FSD, which make it a complete non-starter for me.
• User Interface: I think there are some interesting design details on the Ferrari, but overall I find the User Interface to be ridiculously complex with way too many unnecessary buttons and levers that add complexity and visual noise.
• Back Seat: The Ferrari copied the back of the Model S with the single screen on center, which I dislike. I think all Tesla's should have screens on the back of each front seat instead. Also, the back seat of the Ferrari doesn't seem to have any cool video features.
• Lack of Grok: Obviously the Ferrari lack a build in AI assistant, which is very 2012.
• Lack of Frunk: The Ferrari lacks a Frunk, which is lame, and the overall cargo capacity of the Ferrari LUCE leaves a great deal to be desired.
• Drive by Wire: The new state of the art Ferrari lacks any really technological innovation, including features like drive by wire, or 4 wheel steering.
• Too Low: I love how high up I sit in my CyberTruck, and I didn't like how low my Model S was.
• Performance: For $640K, the sales tax alone would cost more than it would cost to purchase a used Tesla Model S Plaid, which would outperform the Ferrari LUCE in 0-60, which is lame. For $640K I would expect much better performance.
• Supercharger Network: Ferrari, as of this writing is not on the Tesla Supercharger network, so if I owned one and wanted to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles, I would have to rely on EVGo or other interior EV charging solutions. Yuck!!!!!

So just to conclude, I think the Ferrari LUCE is a complete non-starter, and I would not one at any price, even if it was free, as I think the standard $80K CyberTruck, which costs just a little more than the sales tax alone on the Ferrari destroys it. To sum it up, I would say there is no real or meaningful innovation in the Ferrari LUCE, which I find to be very disappointing as I would expect much more from Ferrari and Jony Ive.

The incoming Ferrari LUCE is almost identical to the outgoing Tesla Model S in length, width and wheelbase, with the exception being the LUCE is 4.5 inches taller. This was very smart as the Tesla Model S was always way too low of a sedan, as it was low like a Ferrari sports car, which made getting in and out a pain.

Comparing the LUCE to the Model S, made me wonder what it might look like without that bizarro front (pictured in blue above) air intake shell, especially after carefully studying the silhouette of the Ferrari LUCE underbody which is pictured below. I will point out I could not help but notice the LUCE lacks a front trunk "Frunk", which the Tesla Model S has famously always featured.

I ended up creating the rendering below, which removes all the goofy blue cover, exposing the underbody while using its lines. Doing so makes it much more masculine. In my opinion, we end up with a Tesla Model S looking Ferrari LUCE. In other words, it appears to my way of thinking as as designer that Ferrari made their own version of a Model S sedan, but styled it way differently to make it NOT look like a Tesla Model S. In my opinion, if Ferrari had simply made it look like this, it would have been a HUGE HIT!!!!!

Ferrari's Perfect Solution

It turns out I am not the only person to consider this, as we see in the renders in the video below, that shows much, much, much better lines on the Ferrari LUCE. I think this dudes renders look way better than mine, and a ZILLION times better than the actual Ferrari LUCE. I would go so far as to say the LUCE represents Ferrari's NEW COKE moment. If I were Ferrari, my top priority would be to redesign and retool to update the LUCE to look like this beauty!!!!!!!!:

Apple Designed Ferrari

Project Titan Realized

Where did the design language of the Ferrari LUCE come from? It's worth pointing out that we may very well be looking at the actual Apple Electric Car come to life as a Ferrari!?!! Apple's long rumored Electric Apple car was officially axed by Tim Cook in 2024, or was it just quietly sold to Ferrari? 

Apple's senior vice president of Services, Eddy cue has served as a non-executive director on the board of directors of Ferrari for the past 14 years. If you examine the lines on the original Apple prototype render pictured below, that matchup pretty well with the LUCE. Thus, my best guess is Apple originally tried to created a vehicle that would surpass the Tesla Model S, and it ended up as the Ferrari LUCE. 

If you want to learn way more about the genesis of the new Ferrari LUCE, I highly recommend checking out my in-depth article I published on RolexMagazine.com.

Joe Tegtmeyer and other Tesla Thought Leaders on CyberCab

Here Comes The CyberCab!!!

Amazing Model S Documentary

Amazing Model S Documentary 

Did NVIDIA Just Solve Tesla’s Biggest FSD Problem?

Did NVIDIA Just Solve Tesla’s Biggest FSD Problem?

NVIDIA showcased its Alpamayo system at GTC for autonomous driving in front of 35,000 attendees. The vision-based end-to-end AI model processes camera data directly into vehicle control actions. It reasons through complex edge cases using human-like logic, trained on vast simulated and real data.

Tesla's head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, spoke at the event. The video compares approaches, noting Tesla's lead with over 10 billion real-world miles from millions of vehicles. 

Alpamayo runs in Mercedes vehicles with planned rollout. It includes a parallel safety stack for redundancy using multiple sensors. The system handles tricky scenarios smoothly, like double-parked cars in San Francisco tests. NVIDIA's open-source model and simulations aim to accelerate development across partners like BYD and Uber. Both companies push end-to-end AI forward in the race for reliable self-driving.

Yet the true test lies in the "long tail" — those rare, unpredictable "edge cases", or "corner cases" that dominate real-world failures. NVIDIA’s Alpamayo adds explicit reasoning via vision-language-action models, making decisions more interpretable and auditable, which is very innovative, intuitive and un-Tesla like. 

Tesla’s pure end-to-end neural net relies on massive scale to learn patterns implicitly, but critics note it can still falter in novel scenarios without clear step-by-step logic.

Ashok Elluswamy and Elon Musk have highlighted this exact challenge: reaching 99% capability is straightforward with simulation and data, but conquering the final 1% demands billions of diverse real-world miles to train robust behavior. NVIDIA accelerates partners through open-source models and powerful simulation tools, yet lacks Tesla’s unmatched fleet generating over 10 billion miles of actual driving data. Mercedes CLA will debut Alpamayo soon, but scaling that reasoning across chaotic global roads remains unproven.

In the end, NVIDIA validates Tesla’s end-to-end vision while exposing the core difficulty: data volume and iteration speed decide who escapes the long tail trap first. Tesla’s scale gives it a formidable edge today, but the industry race intensifies as reasoning layers meet reality. Reliable autonomy will reward whoever masters both intelligence and experience at volume.

Tesla further benefits from unmatched manufacturing prowess—gigafactories spitting out cars at insane speed—and economies of scale that make EVs cheaper than anyone else. Mercedes? BMW? They're still outsourcing, no real vertical grip.

But here's the kicker: Tesla's basically done with cars. FSD's solid, robotaxis are coming unsupervised, Cybercab's rolling off lines... yet they're laser-focused on robots now. Optimus Gen 3 hits factories this summer—imagine unboxing one: sleek, glowing, folding your laundry or grabbing snacks like it's nothing. Cars are just the data engine; bots are the real prize—humanoids stacking shelves, running errands, turning homes into sci-fi.

Mercedes gets Alpamayo in the CLA soon—nice dash, smooth drive—but no fleet, no data flood, no robot army. BMW's even dialing back Level 3. Tesla's not winning autonomy; they're building the next world. If Optimus clicks, wheels might just be yesterday's tech.

What does this NVIDIA video actually mean? 

I watched it and legit went "whoa"—Alpamayo isn't some gimmick; it's a vision-only brain that talks through decisions like a real driver, dodging chaos in San Francisco with zero hesitation. Before this, I figured Tesla owned the game. Now? NVIDIA's throwing down: "We can reason, we can scale, we can open-source it for Mercedes, BYD, Uber—everyone." It's not just tech porn; it's a wake-up call. If they crack those nightmare edge cases faster than Tesla's data hoard, the whole self-driving race flips.

But Elon? Come on—he's not blind. He's already dismissed it as "five years out," while FSD v14's doing unsupervised robotaxi laps in Austin, Cybercab's building, and Optimus Gen 3 starts factory runs this summer. Cars? They're the old goldmine. The real play's bots—humanoids that fold your shirts, grab beer, maybe even chauffeur your Tesla while you're napping. Tesla's got the fleet, the factories, the chargers, the vertical everything. NVIDIA's impressive, sure—but Elon's three moves ahead, turning EVs into data farms for a robot empire. If Optimus clicks, steering wheels become relics. Game over, or is it? The only thing for certain is we are headed into a fascinating new world, and the two leaders are NVIDEA and Tesla...

Elon Musk Introduces TERAFAB

Elon Musk Introduces TERAFAB

Joby Aviation's Electric Skies...

 Joby Aviation's Electric Skies

Beyond Drones and Helicopters

Bringing Air Taxis to Your Community 

Imagine gliding silently above traffic jams, hearing only wind and distant waves—no rotor roar, no exhaust fumes.

In spring 2026, as America marked its 250th anniversary, Joby Aviation's S4 eVTOL lifted off from Oakland International Airport. Piloted by Andrea Pingitore, the sleek electric air taxi soared over San Francisco Bay, past the Golden Gate Bridge. Its six tilting propellers shifted seamlessly from vertical takeoff to fixed-wing cruise at 200 mph. The 30-minute flight was so quiet that surfers at Steamer's Lane could be heard below—100x quieter than helicopters on takeoff/landing, near-silent in flyover.

Bay Area commutes that once took 2+ hours now shrink to ~30 minutes: clean, emission-free, and efficient.

Just as Tesla redefined electric ground travel with battery innovation and vertical integration, Joby pioneers the electric skies—zero-emission propulsion for urban air mobility.

BTW: This Joby has no relation to the company that makes the cool tripods...

A half decade ago, back in 2021, I published my first article on this Joby VTOL, so I thought it would make sense to see how it's evolved.

Spring 2026. As America marked its 250th anniversary, Joby Aviation's S4 eVTOL—not a drone, but a piloted electric air taxi with 1 pilot + 4 passengers—lifted silently from Oakland International Airport. Pilot Andrea Pingitore guided the craft over San Francisco Bay past the Golden Gate Bridge. Six tilting propellers shifted from vertical takeoff (100x quieter than helicopters) to fixed-wing cruise at 200 mph. The 30-minute flight was so near-silent that surfers at Steamer's Lane could be heard below—unlike noisy, fuel-burning helicopters.

This is no helicopter either: it combines vertical landing with airplane-like efficiency for urban air taxis, slashing Bay Area commutes from hours to minutes. Range: 150 miles. Zero emissions on renewable electricity. Energy use: 0.21–0.23 kWh per passenger-mile—four times better than helicopters, 37% less per trip than a gas car in LA models, though still above ground EVs.

Founded in 2009 by JoeBen Bevirt (unrelated to the separate Joby making GorillaPod tripods and USB flashlights), the company focuses on commercial services via partners like Uber and Delta—not consumer ownership like personal planes or Jetson ONE eVTOLs. Aircraft sell to operators under FAA oversight, with 2026 milestones including the White House eVTOL Integration Pilot Program across 10 states (NY, TX, FL) and first conforming flight tests toward certification.

Tesla parallels are clear: battery-electric propulsion and vertical integration echo Tesla's ground revolution. Elon has teased flying cars; Joby delivers certified reality today, with SuperPilot autonomy advancing. Progress sets up quiet, clean skies.

By 2050, experts expect similar tech evolved to consumer-owned, fully AI-autonomous eVTOLs—personal airborne mobility for all. The future isn't grounded. It's electric and airborne.

Inside CyberCab with Kim Java

 

Inside CyberCab

with 

Kim Java + Kyle

JAKEeWRAP CyberTruck in the Wild

 

Oh, The Places You'll Go

JAKEeWRAP CyberTruck Out in the Wild

If I didn't know any better, I would assume that when I look at my CyberTruck with my JAKEeWRAP, (from an outside-the-fishbowl-perspective) that the person who owns it is a show-off, or exhibitionist of sorts. In other words, somebody who is craving attention in a "Look at ME!!!!" kind of way. The truth is the exact opposite. I don't wish to call attention to my CyberTruck at all, but when it looks this OTHERWORLDY there is no avoiding it. 

In other words, I came up with the JAKEeWRAP with its crazy geometric lines, and wrapped it this way because I LOVE the way it looks, not because I want to show off (for lack of a better metaphor).

Often times my JAKEeWRAP CyberTruck will be parked somewhere, and out of the corner of my eye, it will notice it, and think, or say: "DaaaaaaYuuuuuM". Sometimes when this occurs, I will take a photo of what I am seeing, and that's exactly what I did with the photo pictured above. 

The JAKEeWRAP looks so sharp, like a switch-blade, and it contrasts so much with all other vehicles, including unwrapped CyberTrucks, which is why I say it looks OTHERWORLDLY to me. Like it was designed by aliens, or like somebody traveled 50 years in the future in a Time Machine and brought it back with them, and this photo really captures that notion.

Elon Musk's Real Secret Isn't First Principle's. It's this...

...Connecting The Dots...
Elon Musk's Real Secret Isn't First Principle's. It's this...

Elon Musk's $10 Trillion Blueprint

 

Elon Musk's $10 Trillion Blueprint

From $1.74T Portfolio to Planetary Sensorium

 The Inevitable Rise to History's Largest Enterprise

With Elon Musk's SpaceX-xAI merger igniting talk of broader consolidation—including Tesla—Rajesh Iyer's explosive white paper maps the full Musk portfolio (Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, X, Neuralink, Starlink) as a self-reinforcing 'planetary sensorium' poised to hit $10 trillion and surpass the Dutch East India Company as history's largest enterprise.

This is an exclusive story on a white paper you won't find anywhere else. Rajesh Iyer, a brilliant researcher, analyst, and writer, delivers "The $10 Trillion Blueprint: How the Musk Portfolio Will Eclipse the Dutch East India Company to Become the Largest Enterprise in History."

Iyer's thesis: Elon Musk's companies—Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, X, Neuralink, and Starlink—form a unified "planetary sensorium." This integrated stack captures real-world data across vision, motion, language, and emotion, feeding xAI's Colossus cluster to build the ultimate world model.

Current portfolio value: ~$1.74 trillion (as of early 2026).

Projected ceiling: Over $10 trillion in a decade through massive TAM capture:

• Autonomous vehicles: 15% of $10T = $1.5T
• Robotics: 20% of $5T = $1T
• Energy: 10% of $3T = $0.3T
• AI infrastructure: 25% of $2T = $0.5T
• Satellite broadband: 40% of $1T = $0.4T
• Plus 2–3x platform premium

Tesla leads with 9M vehicles generating petabytes of weekly driving data, creating an uncatchable temporal moat. Optimus robots add proprioceptive "tacit knowledge" from physical interaction. Starlink delivers global connectivity patterns. X supplies real-time human discourse. Neuralink captures raw neural intent.

The flywheel is self-funding: Products generate revenue that funds more data, which improves models, which sell more products. No competitor matches this hardware-data-control integration under one authority.

Iyer compares it to the Dutch East India Company (VOC), history's peak enterprise at ~$8 trillion inflation-adjusted. VOC dominated via trade infrastructure and info asymmetry. Musk's sensorium does the same with data network effects—owning the world model makes markets follow.

Risks exist: Regulatory hurdles, execution delays, over-reliance on Tesla's fleet. But the structure favors open societies where authentic data thrives.

Iyer concludes this isn't hype—it's structural inevitability. The Musk portfolio isn't just companies; it's infrastructure that reshapes competition itself.

I am including the first page of the white paper below, tiled "The $10 Trillion Blueprint." For the full white paper click here: [Link to PDF].

Tesla owners and fans: This is the future we're building.

Elon Musk AI Compute Heads to Space

Elon Musk

AI Compute Heads to Space  

In ~30 Months as xAI Undergoes Major Reorganization

In two must-watch recent videos, Elon Musk delivered fresh insights into the explosive future of AI, robotics, and infrastructure—topics with massive implications for Tesla. From orbital data centers solving Earth's power bottlenecks to xAI's strategic overhaul, these discussions underscore how Musk's companies are aligning to accelerate autonomous driving, humanoid robots, and energy abundance.

The Dwarkesh Patel Podcast: "In 36 Months, the Cheapest Place to Put AI Will Be Space" (Feb 5, 2026)

In a wide-ranging interview with Dwarkesh Patel, Musk zeroed in on the hard limits of terrestrial AI scaling: electricity. While chip production grows exponentially, electrical output outside China remains largely flat, creating an imminent bottleneck.

Amazingly Insightful Video on Tesla's Future

 

Amazingly Insightful Video on Tesla's Future

It's rare, but I love coming across videos from really intelligent people who discuss Tesla's value proposition in a unique way, and this is certainly a video that meets that criteria. I HIGHLY recommend watching this short video if you want to understand Tesla's future. In particular, he discusses Tesla's competitive advantage over Nvidia's "Alpamayo", which is fascinating...

Future Tesla Design Reference CyberVAN by JAKE EHRLICH

The Future of TESLA

"Transportation as a Service"

Earning call changes everything 

I originally published this article several months ago, back on September 19, 2025, and I decided to bring it back up to the top as it seems so perfectly on-point as a response to Elon's remarks on the Tesla Q4 Earnings call, which I posted below:

In the earnings call Elon said something really strange, when he was asked if he would consider making a more traditional looking CyberTruck? He said in the future he could see making an autonomous version of the CyberTruck.

“We will transition the Cybertruck to a fully autonomous line. There is obviously a market there for cargo delivery—localized cargo delivery. An autonomous Cybertruck could be useful for that.” 

 

—Elon Musk (Q4 Earnings Call)

Lars Moravy, who is the Vice President of Vehicle Engineering said that the CyberTruck production line is flexible and could be changed to make other products, and then quipped that the CyberTruck is the best selling EV Truck today.

What exactly did Elon mean when he said "We will transition the CyberTruck to a fully autonomous line"? I believe my article below, originally published last year answers that question. In particular with this image:

The image above which depicts a smaller Tesla RoboVan delivering USPS mail and packages could just as easily by a UPS, FedEx, DHL, or Amazon delivery truck. I made the video below using Grok to show what my CyberVan concept might look like if it came to life:

I have much more to say on this subject, and will update this article as time permits.

---------------

Article below originally published on TeslaMagazine.org on September 10, 2025:

Thoughts On The Future of Autonomous Vehicles

The Shape of Things to Come 

Part 2: 2030 Predictions

CyberVAN

Autonomous Tesla Transport 

Design Concept by JAKE EHRLICH

Five years ago, Back in 2020, here on TeslaMagazine.org, I wrote an article titled "Thoughts On The Future of Autonomous Vehicles: The Shape of Things To Come", where I shared my outlook on where things would go over the next 10 years. This is an updated version of that story, which continues exploring down that same road. Several days ago I published a fascinating story named "When Will Tesla Launch CyberVAN/CyberSUV? A vehicle that can resurrect the Cyber Platform" and I must admit it completely freaked me out, in a remarkably positive way!!! This is a follow up story that takes things much further—arguably to the logical inevitable final perfect design state. 

CyberVAN concept pictured above is identical in height, length, and

 width to the current CyberTruck but has infinitely more cargo space

 as there are is no steering wheel or forward facing front seats.

In my recent article on the Tesla CyberVAN, toward the end, I made a bold declarative statement saying within about 5 years from now, once autonomy is achieved, this memorable event will cause the vehicle form factor the world has lived with for the past 125 years to become largely obsolete. So much so, I believe 100 years from now, the seminal dividing line in automobile history will be referred to as the 2030 demarcation line between people driven vehicles/ and autonomous vehicles. This will have profound implications for our society in many ways.

Specifically, front facing, front row seats, and steering wheels will disappear. In other words, 5-10 years from today, I believe no traditional vehicles with steering wheels will be made any more in the same way the horse and buggy gave way to the automobile in the earlier decades of the twentieth century". It's a fact that by 1917: In one decade (1907–1917), automobiles replaced horses and buggies as the standard U.S. transport, with registrations surging from 140,300 to nearly 5 million cars and 400,000 trucks.

I decided to take the current Tesla CyberTruck design language, and modify it to turn it from a Cybertruck to a CyberVAN, but instead of doing it the way I did in my previous story, I decided to turn it into a form factor that provides the ultimate autonomous people mover, that is kind of like a modern limousine which looks kind of like a pod on wheels. Keep in mind, all my Tesla concept images in this story are identical in size to the current CyberTruck, in length, width, height, and wheelbase. The only thing that changes is the overall form factor, which gets transformed from a truck to a van.

The image above shows my CyberVAN Autonomous vehicle concept with the two sliding doors closed, and the image below shows it with its two door in the open position. This form factor could easily transport a family of four, anywhere, with tons of extra storage space in the front and rear of the vehicle as illustrated below.

CyberVAN concept pictured above with two powered sliding side doors in the open position.

The image below shows my CyberVAN with a high volume roof rack storage system that could hold a ton of items like suitcases, backpacks, sleeping bags, etc. Keep in mind this vehicle would be equipped with wireless charging, so a family could board this vehicle in Los Angeles in the evening, and it could drive them straight to the Grand Canyon, and while the family sleeps in the very comfortable and luxurious zero gravity air cooled and heated seats, could stop and wirelessly charge itself at Tesla Supercharging stations, so they could go to sleep in Los Angeles and wake up the next morning at their next destination, like San Francisco, or The Grand Canyon.

CyberVAN concept pictured above shown with optional roof storage rack system that can hold luggage, or a tent.

Not only could you have a tent on top of the CyberVAN, (not shown), but you could sleep on a full size mattress INSIDE the CyberVAN as seen below. Users can’t camp in the CyberTruck as the truck bed is too small, and most importantly, the truck bed is not heated or cooled like the cabin of every other Tesla. With the CyberVAN, not only would you have HVAC access to fresh, warm, or cool filtered air, but you could fit a much longer mattress in the back for sleeping. Not to mention, sleeping in a CyberVAN in public places would be much safer and quieter than sleeping in a tent on top of a CyberTruck. Also, the owners would not have to climb up a ladder to reach the tent on top of a CyberTruck. 

CyberVAN shown with rear bed with passenger area up front

Optimized Space Utilization

The CyberTruck is limited to 5 passengers, but the CyberVAN could comfortably seat up to 10 adults. The rear seats in the CyberTruck are fixed and cannot recline at all, so for long rides, since they are fixed in a completely upright position, they can get uncomfortable. A CyberVAN could easily allow all seats to recline. There are potentially so many ways this vehicle could be used and configured to completely optimized space utilization. For instance the large roof could be used as an observation deck with foldable portable chairs for watching anything from a Space X launch, to a sunset, to a soccer game. I haven't shown the vehicle with a tent on top, but as you can imagine, it could easily fit a very large tent on top.

CyberVAN shown with modular roof rack being used as an observation deck

The next image below shows an alternative layout that could contain two extra sets of 3 seats each, in the front and back of the vehicle. This would allow my CyberVan concept to comfortably seat 10 people, and with the optional roof storage system pictured below, could hold and transport all their luggage. This vehicle could contain every modern convenience like a built in fridge, and starlink to provide super fast satellite internet. The vehicle could easily have a 1000 mile range, and charge very quickly. Once again, this vehicle is all about optimizing space utilization in the most modular ways possible.

CyberVAN autonomous concept pictured above can comfortably and easily 

transport up to 10 adults, and notice roof rack storage can 

hold their luggage for vacations and long road trips.

The next image below shows two Tesla Optimus Robots standing next to the CyberVAN, and the interesting thing is they could sit in the rear seat behind the mother and father pictured below when the vehicle is driving. In other words, a family 2-7 members could fit in the vehicle, and bring along two or three Optimus Robots on a long vacation or road trip, and it would even be possible to have 10 humans riding in the CyberVAN with two Optimus Robots stored away in the roof rack storage system. This would allow a large family to go on vacation, and bring their robots with them.

CyberVAN concept pictured above with Tesla Optimus Robots that can sit in

 rear seats, or even stow away in cargo roof rack cargo storage system (not shown).

The image below Shows my CyberVAN concept which has RGB LED panels built in to the front and rear panels of the vehicles (not shown) as well as on the side doors in the middle as illustrated below. These contextually sensitive screens could display all kinds of things, including charge state as a percentage at a supercharger, as well as all kinds of other information, including a "HAZZARD" message, when the vehicle has it's hazard lights blinking. This would be potentially invaluable for Tesla CyberVAN vehicles that have opted into the Robotaxi network, which would make them infinitely easier to spot when customers are looking for them in a parking lot, or in line at an airport. These screens could be programmed to display just about anything.

CyberVAN concept has invisibly integrated RGB LED screens built into front, rear and

 side panels that can brilliantly communicate contextual and feedback messages.

In my recently published article titled "When Will Tesla Launch CyberVAN/CyberSUV: A vehicle that can resurrect the Cyber Platform" I argued that a CyberVAN could easily hold 4 x 8 sheets of plywood with the rear tailgate closed, unlike a CyberTruck, as pictured below.

A CyberTruck ONLY has a 4 x 6 foot bed, which can hold sheets of plywood, but is far from ideal. 

As an example, if it rains, that could damage the exposed plywood sheets.

This vehicle could have seats that fold down flat, like in a Tesla Model YL, that would easily allow it to transport 4 x 8 sheets of plywood or sheetrock. Not that it would be typically used for such, but could do so. As we see with my illustration below, a CyberVAN could hold infinitely more 4 x 8 plywood sheets, not only inside the vehicle, but also on top. This vehicle would also be the ultimate work vehicle for companies like Tesla's mobile service center technicians and work trucks.

Semitransparent Image shows CyberVAN with tremendous cargo capacity, 

including large items like 4 x 8 sheets of plywood, lumber of sheetrock with tailgate closed safely.

Ultimate Delivery VAN

The design of my CyberVAN is so easily customizable due to its highly modular nature. For instance if you want to add more cargo space on top of the CyberVAN you could do see as seen below in the example that shows a USPS mail delivery truck, with two Tesla Optimus robots actually delivering the packages and mail. Just like the CyberTruck, the CyberVAN lends itself beautifully to being wrapped as we see with the example below.

The uses for a CyberVAN with Tesla Optimus robots is endless. This could be the ultimate food delivery system with warming ovens inside. Imaging you order food using DoorDash, and a half hour later a Tesla Optiumus robot rings your doorbell, and drops off your fresh cooked food. These vehicles could delver groceries, and just about anything else. Tesla could even start it's own package deliver service to complete with UPS and FEDEX if it wanted to.

Speaking of customizing the roof area, the CyberVAN concept below has a huge built-in long ramp which would allow bikes, or ATVs to be moved up and secured on the roof of the vehicle for transport as pictured below.

Modular Design Approach

One of the great takeaways from this design is that once you get rid of the steering wheel, and pedals, as well as the need for front facing front row seats, it opens up a tremendous amount more space utilization. Also, if Tesla can figure out out a way to put all the seats in the vehicle on rails where they can be easily moved back and forth by the user (as pictured above) it would open up a world of possibilities and options with enhanced modularity. Tesla could even OEM this vehicle to other companies, and let them customize the interior.  Also, the construction of this vehicle would radically compliment the unbox feature, as all interior seating components could be added after the production process.

I am certain this is the future of vehicle transport that will become reality in the not so distant future, and if given the opportunity, I would LOVE to design these vehicles with Tesla, as I am certain I could do an amazing job!!!! Elon, if you read this, I am ready to perfectly design and bring this puppy to life!!!!

ONE MORE THANG

I was contemplating an intriguing concept. Years ago, I recall a Tesla enthusiast expressing his frustration. He reached out to Elon Musk, stating, “I’m a huge Tesla fan, but we have a large family of seven children, and there’s simply no way we can all fit in a Model X.” He expressed his hope that Tesla would soon introduce a larger SUV that could accommodate a significantly larger number of passengers. This thought sparked my curiosity. Imagine if my autonomous Tesla CyberVAN concept became a reality? 

Two CyberVANs show driving and traveling in lockstep unison to

 significantly increase range, and offer a second vehicle on long road trips.

Most American families typically own two vehicles. What if a family with seven children also had my CyberVAN vehicle? Not only could they all fit comfortably in a single vehicle, but if both parents each owned and drove a CyberVAN model, they could easily embark on long or short trips out for dinner by combining two of these vehicles. This arrangement would allow the younger children to drive alongside their parents in the lead vehicle, while the older children could sit in the rear vehicle. 

Since these vehicles are fully autonomous, they could be programmed to drive in perfect lockstep synchronization, as illustrated above. This would significantly reduce energy consumption, as the rear vehicle would constantly benefit from the aerodynamic drag coefficient advantages including a lack of rolling resistance for the rear vehicle. On a long trip, the vehicles could take turns driving in front as the lead vehicle, and as a result could drive further on the same amount of electricity as just one vehicle could travel by itself.

When families embark on road trip vacations, it’s common for the mother to prefer a specific destination on any given day, while the father might have a different preference. With a CyberVAN vehicle like the one featured in this article, it would be incredibly convenient to accommodate both parents’ wishes, ensuring a harmonious blend of their preferences. Having a local vehicle at their disposal would allow each parent to enjoy their preferred destination.

Imagine if you wanted to optimize a CyberVAN as an ultimate commute vehicle. It could be optimized to be the ultimate home-office man-cave on wheels, that could even drop you off when you reach your destination, then go and park itself, and if for some reason it was not able to fine a good parking space, could just drive around while it waits to pick you up.

Years ago, I was at the Coffee Roastery on Chestnut Street in the San Francisco Marina. I was standing in line, and I heard somebody say "Hey Jake!" It turned out, it was a friend of mine who had recently gotten married and moved from Silicon Valley to Belvedere Island in Marin. He showed me his chauffeur-driven vehicle double-parked out front, disguised as a delivery vehicle, and it freaked me out. He had purchased a large Sprinter cargo van, with no side or rear windows, which looked like a big brown UPS delivery truck, and his driver was up front. He had set up a forward-facing office inside with a full-on desktop workstation, and he would drive back and forth from Marin to Palo Alto every day, in his office on wheels. The CyberVAN would be perfect for this, and it would drive itself.

Steampunk Design

Where did this design idea come from? It came from my imagination, meaning I saw it in my mind‘s eye, identically to the way it’s shown in this article. 

That being said, I kept thinking to myself that the overall shape reminded me of the original hard-core Steampunk, Art-Deco trains from the 1930s as pictured above. Just to be clear, it is JUST A COINCIDENCE that my CyberVAN design looks like it was modeled after the Mercury train, but it was not. 

After I designed my CyberVAN concept as you see it in this article, it got me thinking about how trains work and that’s what inspired me to come up with the idea of one CyberVAN, following another, as pictured above, so a family could bring two cars with them on a road trip vacation, instead of just one.

Once again, after designing the CyberVAN depicted in this article, my mind kept telling me it resembled something else. I realized it was similar to the VW Buses from the past (pictured below) and a modern bus or school bus. The reason I named my design CyberVAN is that it indeed resembles the shape of a VAN. However, I could also envision it being referred to as a CyberPOD, CyberTransport, CyberLimo, or CyberMiniBus.

Speaking of Busses: Where I live, it's common to see public double length articulated/accordion commuter busses driving around all day and night with just one or two passengers, if not empty, which are designed to be able to sit 98 people. 

All over the West Coast, you see these accordion style double-length buses that can seat close to 100 passengers, driving around empty, or with 1 or 2 passengers, which is a complete waste of financial resources for municipalities. Replacing these with CyberVANs, would not only save significant financial resources, but would also take passengers door to door, instead of them having to walk to bus stops.

Purchasing and maintaining these busses with drivers and mechanics and fuel cost municipalities a fortune to purchase and maintain. As a matter of fact, these articulated buses cost approximately $1 Million each. A Commuter version of the CyberVAN could easily cost under $100K, thus a municipality, could buy 10 CyberVANs. Most importantly, the 10 CyberVANs could also transport 10 passengers each, thus offering the exact same capacity, but 10 times the flexibility.

It strikes me that any municipality would be way better off replacing those huge inefficient busses with CyberVan's. Not to mention, CyberVAN's could drive door to door instead of require people to have to travel to bus stops. Same thing with school busses, which still typically feature loud diesel engines, that are super loud and highly toxic. You get the idea...

This article is part of my series on the Future of Autonomous Vehicles, and since I have't updated my story from 5 years ago, I thought now would be a good time to do so.

Also, back in 2021 I published an article named "Tesla Cyber Vehicle Family, Design Concept by Jake Ehrlich", which was my first attempt at designing future Tesla vehicles.