Tesla Cybercab’s Front Light Bar Appears to Be RGB After New Purple Sighting

Tesla Cybercab’s Front Light Bar Appears to Be RGB After New Purple Sighting

Tesla’s Cybercab appears to hide another capability in its full-width front light bar. After the vehicle recently showed a red, white and blue lighting treatment at an autonomous vehicle event in Florida, a Cybercab was later seen in Austin with its front strip glowing purple.

Together, these sightings suggest the Cybercab’s light bar can display multiple colors, although Tesla has not confirmed the feature or explained its purpose.

Cybercab Appears With Red, White and Blue Lighting

The first hint surfaced during Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ recent autonomous vehicle event at the SunTrax testing facility, which featured several autonomous vehicles, including Waymo vehicles and Tesla’s Cybercab.

Photos depicted the Cybercab with apparent red, white and blue sections across its front light bar. It was unclear whether the effect came from a change to the lighting itself or from a decal applied for the event.

In normal operation, the Cybercab uses a continuous white front light bar. Unlike the new Model Y and the Cybertruck, the Cybercab integrates its headlights directly into this strip. The production version also features a revised front lighting arrangement.

Colored Lightbar Spotted in Public

Now, David Moss has spotted a Cybercab in Austin with its front light bar illuminated purple, calling it the Cybercab’s “RGB Light Bar In Action.” This makes a simple red, white and blue decal at the Florida event a less likely explanation for the earlier appearance.

Tesla has experimented with unusual Cybercab lighting before. At the original Robotaxi event, the car projected patterns onto the ground that were initially thought to possibly have a technical purpose. A Tesla engineer later confirmed it was simply part of a light show.

Colors Could Help Riders

A programmable light bar could serve practical purposes for a driverless taxi, such as using different colors to indicate whether a Cybercab is available, occupied, or out of service.

It could also help riders find their car in crowded pickup areas; the Robotaxi app could direct a passenger to look for a Cybercab showing a specific color.

Regulations would limit how such a system could be used. White and amber are generally permissible for front auxiliary lighting, while red, green and blue can cause confusion with other road or emergency signals.

As a result, some colorful effects may be restricted to parked vehicles, displays or private property. If the LEDs are individually controllable, Tesla could also create animations, such as a KITT-style sweeping light or an indicator showing the vehicle’s charge percentage while it is charging at a Tesla hub. For now, Tesla at least appears to be experimenting with different colors.