Tesla executives detail Cybertruck ‘Etherloop’ wiring system

Tesla began delivering initial Cybertruck units late last month, and many are curious about the details surrounding the highly anticipated electric vehicle (EV). In a recent interview, one automotive manufacturing expert sat down with five of Tesla’s top executives for a deep dive into the Cybertruck.

On Monday, lean manufacturing veteran Sandy Munro shared a video featuring a deep-dive interview about the Cybertruck with five of Tesla’s top executives. The executives include Tesla’s Head of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy, Head of Design Franz von Holzhausen, Head of Powertrain Drew Baglino, Head of Low-Voltage Hardware Pete Bannon, and Head of Software David Lau.

Interestingly, Munro notes at the beginning of the video that it was sponsored by Ford, which sells the F-150 Lightning, widely considered a competitor to the Cybertruck in the electric pickup space.

The nearly one-hour conversation covers a wide range of technical topics, notably including the unique EV’s revolutionary gigabit ethernet loop, or etherloop, which connects all of the Cybertruck’s high-speed controllers together. The result is a major reduction in wiring needed in the car, significantly reducing overall weight and communication latency.

As Bannon points out, the etherloop system reduces wiring needed in the vehicle from 490 wires across the Model 3 to just 155 in the Cybertruck, representing a roughly 68 percent decrease. This also comes despite the Cybertruck increasing end points to 368, from just 273 in the Model 3, highlighting the overall efficiency of the unique wiring system.

The executive also explains that the system improves communication speeds, increasing data flow with millisecond scale latency. Along with these improvements, the etherloop is also used to bi-directionally transmit audio data to the car’s speakers, both for using the sound system and for the Cybertruck’s active road noise cancellation system, which utilizes microphone and sensor data to decrease cabin noise.

Thank you to every single person who made our trip to Austin amazing@anuarbekiman @haya_austin @MattHolm3 @farzyness @woodhaus2 @baglino @eric_platzke @elonmusk and so many more pic.twitter.com/IzgrSbt5eg

— Sandy Munro (@teardowntitan) December 6, 2023

The conversation also touches on several other topics, including the Cybertruck’s stainless steel exoskeleton, Tesla’s Giga Press casting machines, the EV’s 4680 battery cells and much more. About halfway through the video, you can see Munro and the executives pivot from their seated conversation to a hands-on look at the Cybertruck’s various components

You can watch the full interview about the Cybertruck from Sandy Munro and five of Tesla’s executives below.

Updated 12:01 p.m. MT: Corrected number of wires in the Model 3 to 490 in the fifth paragraph. Edited the third paragraph for clarity.

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