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A short video was posted to the internet today with the best view of Cybertruck’s interior yet, including a glimpse at the car’s main interface in action.

As Cybertruck comes closer to production, we’ve been seeing more and more of it popping up in public. We’ve recently seen it supercharging, seen the frunk open, and seen it towing a big trailer.

But so far, interior looks have mostly consisted of videos while the Cybertruck isn’t in operation (e.g. parked at a show event, or after crashing into a ditch), or videos from the original unveiling event. We’ve seen one photo with the truck turned on, but that’s about it as far as recent looks go.

Well, now we have a 56 second video of the inside of the Cybertruck, taken by someone who kind of sounds like they’re not supposed to be there:

The language and captions are in Russian, though they don’t say much (“cool,” “this is how the hazard lights work,” “this is Elon Musk’s bag haha,” and so on). It doesn’t seem like it’s being taken by a Tesla employee, perhaps a transport company worker or someone who for some reason found a car that was momentarily unlocked.

Mostly, we just get a quick look at various parts of the car we haven’t seen before, especially the interface.

The car starts off with the backup camera activated, showing rear and side cameras. There’s still no around-view camera, something that many other cars have but Tesla currently does not.

Then our tour guide fiddles around with the map, showing that it responds quite smoothly, as one might expect. The car seems to be parked at or near a Manheim car auction lot outside Columbus, Ohio, according to the GPS on the map. Which is… kind of a strange place for an unreleased high-profile vehicle to be parked (complete with “service required” warnings for autopilot and safety restraint systems).

The interface is delineated similarly to that of Tesla’s other vehicles with the map on the right and vehicle display on the left, though the separation between the two is a blurred line rather than a solid one.

We get a look at the visualization of the Cybertruck while parked, but it’s just sitting parked on a low-polygon rendering of terrain, in what seems to be a default rendering for a parked vehicle. And behind the screen, we see Tesla’s new colorful ambient lighting strip which has started to show up on the Model 3 Refresh and Chinese Model Y.

The car shows 84% on the battery, but unhelpfully, there is no range display – even as our guide tries to tap it a few times to see what it might say. And the screen has a “swipe to change gears” indicator, just like other new Teslas that have suffered from stalk deletion.

And finally, as a fun easter egg, the backup camera has a hexagonal design. Which… almost matches up with the octagonal design visible on the cupholders.

Moving through the rest of the car, there is a “tray” area between the front seats, much like the old Model S had. It has some wires and an unreadable document in it. Above that, the center console has octagonal “cyber cupholders” like we’ve seen in the backseat, but which are different than the rounded ones on the Cybertruck Franz von Holzhausen brought to a car show in June. Both have 2 phone charging spots available in front of the cupholders.

We don’t see anything particularly new in the backseat, except for the massive glass roof which seems quite expansive from the inside. From our experience riding in the Cybertruck at the unveiling event, the interior already felt cavernous even at night, but this should add an even more open feeling during the day.

Finally, looking back to the front, we can see our guide operate the two-stage sun visor, which looks somewhat similar to that in the Model X.

Did you notice anything in the video that we didn’t? What do you think about this most recently look at the Cybertruck interior? What do you think this car could be doing being operated by a random Russian guy in a car auction lot outside Columbus, Ohio? Let us know in the comments below.

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Huawei Maextro set to challenge Maybach, Rolls-Royce in China with 852 hp

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Huawei Maextro set to challenge Maybach, Rolls-Royce in China with 852 hp

Packing up to 852 hp and a cutting-edge technology stack developed by Huawei, Chinese luxury brand Maextro just revealed its latest entry into the Mercedes-Maybach EQS and Rolls-Royce Spectre segment of ultra-luxe EVs. Meet the all-new Maextro S800.

Despite a somewhat steady stream of new Chinese EVs that defy expectations and threaten to re-set the global order of performance cars, semi trucks, and just about everything in between, brands like Maybach, Rolls-Royce, and even Bentley have seemed relatively “safe,” in the sense that their value is based on something a bit less objective than lap times or kW/mile.

The new Huawei Maextro S800, first shown as a series of renderings late last year, seems to have found some of Henry Rolls’ secret sauce – and they’ve sprinkled it liberally all over the S800.

Huawei sparkles – literally

The shimmering, sparkly, fiber-optic headliner was pioneered by Rolls-Royce over a decade ago, pushing back against the more open and accessible glass-roofs that were becoming popular in the higher end market. Huawei goes a step further, adding similar, Swarovski-like shimmer to not just the headliner – but the door handles, the headlights, projections dancing around the car as you approach it in the street.

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It looks and feels special, in other words. And these cars are all about making their owners feel special. Different.

When Henry Rolls began work on his first US factory in Springfield, Massachusetts way back in 1919, there was supposedly a mantra that management repeated to the workers. It went, “every time you touch the car, you add cost. Make sure you add value.”

I’m not here to argue that Huawei is living up to the same maxim with the Maextro, but I am here to argue that this car’s bespoke, purpose-built platform doesn’t share any parts with a lesser offering from the Mercedes or BMW or Volkswagen lineup in the way that a Maybach, Rolls-Royce, or Bentley does. That may not mean much to you and me, but the people shopping six- and seven-figure cars, it might.

Those well-heeled buyers will get a choice of EREV or “pure” battery electric powertrains good for between 480 and 852 all-electric horsepower. 32 ADAS sensors including both radar and lidar compliment a suite of cameras analyze the road ahead and feed data to Huawei’s ADS road perception system, which is constantly adjusting torque distribution, suspension compression and rebound, and front and rear steering to deliver a tech-driven chauffeur experience that Huawei insists is second to none.

That digital chauffeur is also pretty handy when the weather goes sideways, too. Huawei says the Maextro’s sensor array can help it to increase the detection distance in rain, fog, and dust by 60% compared to the benchmark, while delay was reduced by 40%.

In the event a collision is unavoidable, the car can adjust its stance, seating position, raise the windows, and unlock the central control lock to enable outside help to open the doors. Following the collision, the Maextro S800 switches the redundant power supply and calls for help, as well.

Finally, reports indicate that the Maextro S800 supports the 800V high-voltage system in some trims, suitable for 6C charging, which means it can be energized with up to 390 kW of charging power, taking just 10.5 minutes to charge the 66 kWh battery in the EREV version (523 hp) from 10% to 80%.

The Maextro S800 will enter the Chinese in May this year with a price range of 1 – 1.5 million yuan (about $135–205,000 US).

SOURCE | IMAGES: Maextro, via CarNewsChina.

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Volvo Penta set to show off its new BESS subsystem at bauma 2025

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Volvo Penta set to show off its new BESS subsystem at bauma 2025

Volvo Penta will debut its latest modular and scalable battery energy storage system (BESS) platform for the off-grid construction and mining industries at the bauma equipment show – here’s what you can expect.

Best-known for its marine engines and gensets, Volvo Penta is the power production arm of the Volvo Group, specializing in putting energy to work. Operating under the tagline, ‘Made to Move You’, Volvo Penta is headed to bauma 2025 with a plan to keep construction, port shipping, and mining operations moving productively and competitively throughout their transitions to battery and (in theory, at least) hydrogen power.

To that end, the company will show off a job site ready version of the scalable and modular BESS subsystem concept shown last year.

Volvo says its new, modular BESS subsystem will enable other OEMs and third party system integrators to seamlessly deploy electric power to meet the ever-exceeding energy needs in construction and mining.

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“Our modular and scalable battery-electric platform is designed to support the electrification ecosystem—combining high-performance drivelines with the crucial energy storage subsystems for efficient charging and operation in construction and mining,” says Hannes Norrgren, President of Volvo Penta Industrial. “We want to meaningfully collaborate with our customers on value-added customization that will enable them to stay productive, efficient, and future-ready.”

The Penta substation at bauma will be built around the company’s “Cube” battery pack, an energy-dense solution with a favorable C-rate designed to make it easy for BESS manufacturers to offer more compact job site solutions capable of charging and discharging energy with high levels of speed and efficiency, enabling both stationary and mobile BESS configurations that can change and grow to meet the evolving needs of a given asset fleet or project.

A Volvo Penta-developed DC/DC unit converts the voltage from the Cube battery packs (600 V) into lower voltage (24 V) for powering auxiliaries and portable offices.

Electrek’s Take

BESS concept packed with Penta Cube batteries; via Volvo.

Volvo Penta has always provided power. Historically that’s been from combustion, but the company is looking ahead, developing products that will bring energy to job sites, tractors, and more long after the last ICE engine shuts down.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Penta.

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Rivian Upfit Program offers fleet managers custom solutions for its EVs

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Rivian Upfit Program offers fleet managers custom solutions for its EVs

Just days after Rivian announced that it would be making its iconic electric delivery vans available to anyone willing to pay for one, the company launched the new Rivian Upfit Program, offering a “one-stop shop” to help fleet managers put its EVs to work.

Launched in partnership with commercial vehicle heavyweights Ranger Design, Sortimo of North America, Bush Specialty Vehicles, Holman, LEGEND, and EV Sportline, the Rivian Upfit Program helps fleet buyers make the switch to electric by simplifying the ordering process and delivering an experience that more closely reflects the experience fleet managers get at dealerships.

Despite partnering with leading brands and launching into a well-establish market, however, the program’s web page seems largely aimed at people outside the space – even kicking off with an explanation of what upfitting is:

Upfitting is the process of customizing a vehicle in order to meet fleet, business, or individual consumer needs to tackle the job at hand. This work is done after the vehicle has been built and released from the factory, and can include everything from shelving modifications, flooring options, to sirens and flashers and much more.

RIVIAN UPFIT PROGRAM

The program was announced on LinkedIn with a number of photos indicating upfit options for Rivian’s R1T and R1S vehicles focused on lifeguard and roadside assistance duty, and Rivian’s van upfit with a HVAC/telecom style toolbox arrangement.

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No word on pricing or turnaround time.

Electrek’s Take

The general consensus around the Electrek water cooler is that the direct-to-consumer model offered by Rivian, Tesla, and even CarMax deliver a superior customer experience, I’ve consistently drunk the franchise dealer Kool-Aid, arguing that the industry-leading margins enjoyed by these companies actually indicate they’re giving consumers an objectively worse deal than they’d get in a more competitive dealer landscape.

That same competitiveness has led to talented fleet managers at those franchise dealers putting in the effort to get to know the needs of the businesses and buyers in their regions, to understand what upfit options makes sense for their local markets, and – crucially – what to stock for quick turnaround when their customers need it.

Rivian is hoping its upfit partners will do a lot of that heavy lifting for them, but my two cents is that if building cars is hard, building relationships is harder, and Rivian isn’t going to make a good first impression by talking down to its customers. If you think differently, let me know how I got it wrong in the comments.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Rivian, via LinkedIn.

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