Tesla Cybertruck Pre-Production Beta Prototype Reveals Many Updates

The prototype was on display at Tesla's Investor Day, and guests were allowed to take photos and videos of its exterior and interior.

Tesla Cybertruck pre-production beta prototype at Tesla Investor Day 2023

Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Mar 2, 2023 at 6:13am ET

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Besides listening to executives' plans for the long-term future of the company and their vision of a sustainable energy economy at Tesla Investor Day yesterday, attendees were also able to take a look at something that will become a reality much sooner: the Cybertruck electric pickup.

More specifically, a pre-production beta prototype of the Tesla Cybertruck, which was on display at Gigafactory Texas ahead of the event and was available for guests to take a close look at, including the interior.

Many participants used the opportunity to take photos and videos of the Cybertruck prototype, revealing interesting updates in the process. This is hands down the best look at the truck we have yet, so here are the highlights.

Seen from the outside, the Tesla Cybertruck appears to look much better in-person than in photos; at least that's the opinion of some of the participants, such as Matthew Donegan-Ryan or Sofiaan Fraval. That's also the impression conveyed by the above walkaround video by Tesla Daily.

Although some misaligned panel gaps can still be spotted, the vehicle looks much better put together that some of the prototypes we've seen so far.

On top of that, the finish of the full-hard, cold-rolled stainless-steel structural skin looks really spectacular under the spotlights, and the truck bed area appears neat and tidy, although we don't get to see the retractable tonneau cover.

The giant windshield wiper sticks out like a sore thumb, though (here's hoping Tesla will come up with a more elegant solution further down the line). The video also shows cameras all around the Cybertruck, including in the front bumper, as part of the Hardware 4.0 Autopilot sensor suite.

There's more to talk about when it comes to the interior, which features a regular steering wheel – albeit with flattened top and bottom – instead of a yoke like the original prototype.

What do you think?

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It also has bucket front seats, rear seats that fold up to free up more cargo space in the cabin, and a screen for rear passengers located on the center tunnel between the front seats. The center console looks bigger but it's hard to tell if it still doubles as a jump seat like on the original prototype.

Overall, Tesla's ongoing development work does show on this prototype, and we're definitely looking forward to seeing more in the coming months. Tesla aims to start initial Cybertruck production this summer but mass production will begin next year.