Home » I Tested The Tesla Cybertruck’s Bed And It’s Totally Usable As Long As You’re Cool Getting Sliced Up Occasionally

I Tested The Tesla Cybertruck’s Bed And It’s Totally Usable As Long As You’re Cool Getting Sliced Up Occasionally

Cybertruck Bed Ts
ADVERTISEMENT

The Tesla Cybertruck has lots of haters, with plenty saying the origami truck is just a fashion statement and not a real truck with a real, useful bed. Noticing that many of these folks then turn around and extoll the virtues of 4.5-foot-bed-having Ford Mavericks and Rivian R1Ts, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were looking for things to dislike about the Cybertruck or if indeed, the vehicle’s bed was totally useless. So I gave the Cybertruck a try; I loaded up an Ikea dresser, a bunch of plants, a ladder, groceries, and more; here’s what I learned.

Let’s all just be honest here: Modern trucks aren’t what they used to be in terms of bed capacity. I don’t mean weight, of course, because we’ve got some beefy machines out there that can really haul. I’m talking about volume. Everyone’s buying crew cabs these days; in fact, many truck-makers don’t even offer long-beds anymore. The eight-foot bed has long since been replaced by the five and a half-footer, and more and more trucks are coming into the fray with even shorter boxes; the Hyundai Santa Cruz has a four-foot bed, the Rivian R1T and Maverick have 4.5-foot beds, the Jeep Gladiator has a five-foot bed, and there are a bunch of trucks with beds that stretch only five-feet and some change.

Vidframe Min Top
Vidframe Min Bottom

My point is that Americans have shown that they’re willing to give up bed utility to just be able to comfortably drive a spacious truck everyday. A truck’s main purpose is no longer to carry a bunch of stuff, it’s to be a reliable daily driver that has the capability to — every now and then — tow and haul things. Yes, America’s pickup truck market has definitely had a glow-up. In that context, the Cybertruck is surprisingly useful.

My first test of the Cybertruck’s bed was a trip to Costco, where I parked in the very back, since the vehicle is still rare and tends to cause quite a stir when folks see it. I just wanted to buy my groceries and go home, so I parked at the back and watched as only a couple of folks pulled out their phones and snapped pictures. I showed a few the interior; it was fun:

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 8.07.49 Am

ADVERTISEMENT

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 8.07.58 Am

I tried convincing my girlfriend to buy delicious foods like Totino’s Pizza Rolls, only to be reminded that I’m in my 30s and need to eat food that won’t put me into an early grave. As a result, we loaded our cart with oatmeal, bland non-Honey-Nut Cheerios, seaweed (which I do love), spinach, sardines, wheat bread, sparkling water, organic tortilla chips, and some paper towels.

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 8.17.09 Am

Things fit just fine, and though the tailgate’s considerable height meant we had to lean in quite far to get the groceries onto the bed floor, this was not an issue, and closing up the tonneau cover protected everything from flying away or getting jacked. I just hit the button on the left rear bedside, and down rolled that cover, making a bit of noise as it raced down the truck’s spine:

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 8.19.26 Am

ADVERTISEMENT

Upon returning to my girlfriend’s house, I was surprised to see that the truck fit in the garage reasonably well. It’s big, but I think it looks bigger than it actually is:

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 8.21.18 Am

Unloading my healthy, tasteless food required once again reaching over the tall, now-horizontal tailgate. It wasn’t a huge deal. What was more challenging was grabbing the short items over the tall, sloping bedsides:

But are the bedsides really that bad? No, actually. They’re not. The Tesla Cybertruck’s air suspension allows the vehicle to lower its ride height when parked; most other trucks (sans the Ram 1500 and Rivian R1T and maybe one or two others) don’t offer that. This drops the Cybertruck down to where the bedsides are at a more reasonable height.

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s worth noting that many other off-road trucks have tall bedsides. I tried reaching into the back of a Ford F-150 Raptor R the other day, and it wasn’t easy; the top of the bedside was way up at my shoulder. Sure, it had 37s instead of the Cybertruck’s 35-inch tires, but even with a ride height an inch or so lower, reaching something low in the bed wouldn’t exactly have been easy:

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.09.30 Am

The next job for the Cybertruck’s bed involved moving an Ikea dresser that I had just sold. At over 4.5-feet long and over two feet tall, this could be challenging to fit into, say, a small SUV. This was a great application for a pickup truck:

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.21.24 Am

Keen to avoid scratching the bed floor since this is a vehicle The Autopian’s sister-company Galpin is selling, I asked my girlfriend to lay down a blanket. At 5’7″ and standing on a curb, she had a little trouble reaching over those bedsides to get the blankets into the corners, as you can see here:

ADVERTISEMENT

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.25.21 Am Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.25.46 Am

Autopian reader Jack helped with the lifting, placing the dresser onto the tailgate:

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.28.02 AmScreen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.27.19 Am

From there, he pushed the dresser from the back as I lifted it from the front over the bedside. As you can see, it’s a little tricky given how tall the bedsides are, but since the dresser was also tall, it was doable. If we’d set the dresser on its back, it’d have been harder for me to reach down, but it’s worth mentioning that there’s an advantage to having a shorter load even if it comes at a cost to reachability: It can be longer. As you can see, the Cybertruck’s cab “leans” backwards into the bed, limiting the length of taller objects. Luckily, our dresser was only 4.5 feet long, and the Cybertruck’s bed is six-feet in length (and just over four-feet in width, if you were curious), so there was enough margin.

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 8.45.55 Am

ADVERTISEMENT

In the end, the dresser and its drawers fit just fine, even if there wasn’t a ton of extra room length-wise.

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.34.08 Am

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.36.03 Am

It is worth mentioning that, as I was lifting the front of the dresser over the bedside, I somehow accidentally opened the charging door. This is a silly design, of course:

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.37.48 Am

ADVERTISEMENT

Anyway, the third and final task I asked of the Cybertruck’s bed involved moving some plants that my girlfriend had bought from Home Depot, along with a ladder that we’re using to clean her upstairs windows:

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.39.48 Am

The ladder, which stands at about seven feet, fit just barely when placed diagonally across the bed. The big Fig leafs stood above where the tonneau cover would sit, so we kept that open on the drive home. Loading and unloading the plants was mostly fine except, when I reached over the bedside to move one of the plants, I cut myself:

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.40.26 Am

This, as you can see, is a very light scratch, but it wasn’t painless, and more than that, it just wasn’t necessary. I give Tesla a pass on a lot of this truck’s silliness because that’s what makes this truck compelling to so many people, but to make a sharp edge on a bedside that people will regularly reach over? Come on.

ADVERTISEMENT

Screen Shot 2024 05 21 At 9.40.10 Am

I Tweeted about this and, well, the replies from the Tesla-lovers were predictable:

This one’s seems like the norm on modern-day Twitter:

ADVERTISEMENT

Here’s some more of that macho BS:

Another:

And here’s one I should have just left alone:

ADVERTISEMENT

Anyway, what’s the takeaway here?

Well, the Cybertruck’s bed is definitely useful. The bedsides are sharp and tall, yes, but the air suspension helps them not feel that much taller than those of other full-size trucks on 35-inch tires.

Tall objects are reasonably easy to reach even over those tall bedsides, though the downside is that tall objects are limited in length due to the sloping rear of the cab. The tailgate, too, is a bit long, requiring one to really lean over to grab things in the bed. I think it’d be nice to have some kinds of indents in the bedsides to create dividers so things don’t slide around, but the under-bed storage is useful for this, as is the frunk. Here, allow me to show those:

ADVERTISEMENT

Obviously, the truck’s bed is compromised, but so is the Rivian R1T’s, which is only 4.5-feet long. The R1T’s bed is likely significantly easier to reach from the sides, and really, that’s the biggest downside of the Cybertruck’s bed, as reaching over from the sides is one of the main advantages of loading up a pickup bed over, say, the cargo area of a Tahoe or Suburban SUV. Still, there are other advantages like clean-ability and lack of a roof to constrain how tall your load can be. So, in the end, the Cybertruck has a legitimately usable bed that might cut you every now and then and require you to stand on your tiptoes as you accidentally bump open the charge door reaching over the bedside.

So take that for what it’s worth.

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on whatsapp
WhatsApp
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on reddit
Reddit
Subscribe
Notify of
248 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Greg
Greg
1 month ago

Guy in the purple “why didn’t I get blurred?!?”

Nice write up on the bed, the ability to reach over the sides shouldn’t be undersold. It’s almost impossible in any modern full size. I know a lot of people who would pay extra to be able to grab things out of their truck beds.

Matt Sexton
Matt Sexton
1 month ago
Reply to  Greg

I’ve had a ’93 S10, a ’97 S10, and I’m now on a ’12 Colorado. Only the Colorado was four wheel drive, so that might add some height. I wouldn’t want a bedside any higher than the Colorado’s. The way I use it, I’m going over the side 2-to-1 over using the tailgate.

I think the ability to go over the side easily is of major importance. I suspect however there’s an entire generation out there now who have never been able to go over the side, therefore they don’t know why it would be useful.

Greg
Greg
1 month ago
Reply to  Matt Sexton

Every week when I lift my fuel cans into the back of my truck, I remember. I guess it does help me haul an extra scoop of mulch, so there are trade offs. But I would rather the lower sides for everyday connivence and muscle relief.

Rusty S Trusty
Rusty S Trusty
1 month ago
Reply to  Matt Sexton

This is my biggest gripe with modern trucks. Excessive tallness and ugly hyper masculine styling have ruined pickups.

Scone Muncher
Scone Muncher
1 month ago

At least getting cut by the non-rusty CYBERTRUCK won’t give you tetanus, which seems like an upgrade for DT.

Dead Elvis, Inc.
Dead Elvis, Inc.
1 month ago
Reply to  Scone Muncher

You absolutely can get tetanus from a stainless steel cut. Tetanus isn’t rust-dependent.

Cheap Bastard
Cheap Bastard
1 month ago

I think it’s the pitting of a rusted surface that is the problem. SS is usually smooth so it harbors less pathogen.

Totally not a robot
Totally not a robot
1 month ago
Reply to  Scone Muncher

Much like tetanus is a stress for the body for those of us not named DT, getting a tetanus-free cut is a stress for DT’s body.

JerryLH3
JerryLH3
1 month ago

TwiXter really is something these days.

Bryan McIntosh
Bryan McIntosh
1 month ago
Reply to  JerryLH3

I think that Jerry Holkins from Penny Arcade nailed it when talking about Musk acolytes:

They’re all subscribers to some political package that involves, somehow all together, adulation of Musk, crypto, free speech, AI and tech accelerationism, and Twitter as a kind of rhetorical Thunderdome.

If anyone challenges them or their savior, the only possible response is performative outrage. After all, it’s central to the identity they’ve constructed for themselves, and in the smoldering wasteland that is the former Twitter it’s the law of the land.

Stoney got got (potentially)
Stoney got got (potentially)
1 month ago

Well, we all eat some traces of harmful chemicals basically no matter what, but just a heads-up about Cheerios, DT…

https://www.healthline.com/health/cancer/cheerios-cancer#recommendations

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
1 month ago

Will sulfuric acid corrode stainless steel? Asking for a friend.

VanGuy
VanGuy
1 month ago
Reply to  Canopysaurus

….I feel like that would do damage to just about any car’s finish/integrity?

Canopysaurus
Canopysaurus
1 month ago
Reply to  VanGuy

My friend was specifically curious about stainless steel. Not sure why.

Cheap Bastard
Cheap Bastard
1 month ago
Reply to  Canopysaurus
Last edited 1 month ago by Cheap Bastard
Sid Bridge
Sid Bridge
1 month ago

Young David: Hello, future me. What are you up to?
David: I’m driving my Cybertruck to the grocery store to pick up some spinach and bland Cheerios with my girlfriend. Then I’m going to haul some plants and Ikea furniture around LA. The attention is fun, but I really can’t wait to get back to my i3.
Young David (drops wrench into a pile of rust on the floor): What?!

DysLexus
DysLexus
1 month ago

Imagine hearing this in David Attenborough’s voice:

“Notice how the male Autopian progresses through his daily routine. Following the guidance of his mate, he deftly gathers the necessary items of sustenance for the nest. Watch as he also is able transition seamlessly between different social situations following the cues of others in his habitat.

Oh, what’s that? We see that he has injured a wing while fluttering helplessly against the side of a large shiny foreign object that has stored his bounty.

Nonetheless, he carries on with aplomb. Just another day in the natural Autopian habitat.”

Alexk98
Alexk98
1 month ago
Reply to  DysLexus

Comments like these are the only reason AI voice generators are even remotely OK in my eyes. Legal? Unlikely. Moral? Probably not 99% of the time. But Entertaining? Heck Yeah.

Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
1 month ago
Reply to  DysLexus

No imagination necessary.
I heard every word.

Bosco
Bosco
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

You’ll enjoy reading his memoir ‘Life on Air’

Jack Trade
Jack Trade
1 month ago

Dumb question perhaps, but I’m curious: what’s the cover actually made of? It appears to have articulated panels, but are they say glued to a piece of vinyl, or are they attached together like linked tank treads, or ??

Also, are the Cheerios banned or what? (I like that version myself)

Reasonable Pushrod
Reasonable Pushrod
1 month ago
Reply to  Jack Trade

It looks like it is likely the same construction as the covers sold by Retrax (very likely produced by Retrax). I believe those are built with aluminum panels.

Gubbin
Gubbin
1 month ago

I appreciate the hauling demo, this is the most informative Cybrtrcxxk coverage I’ve seen so far. Looks like it approaches my spouse’s Outback in terms of general utility.

Jacob Rippey
Jacob Rippey
1 month ago

Here’s me towing a WW2 Jeep, and here’s me rebuilding its transmission with hand tools. In my kitchen.”

We are missing the follow up:
…”and here’s me using said truck bed as a fridge during the winter as my kitchen is full of transmission parts”.

https://jalopnik.com/david-tracy-has-been-towed-find-him-at-your-local-pick-1848551072

Bongo Friendee Harvey Park
Bongo Friendee Harvey Park
1 month ago
Reply to  Jacob Rippey

> I wiped down the entire workspace and gave David the task of disposing the food. This, I reasoned, was fair. His solution was to huck fuckin’ everything—the cake, the chicken, the carrots, and the potatoes—straight into his back yard because “the raccoons will take care of it.” What the fuck, man.

Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
1 month ago

You know what vehicles would have worked perfectly for all this with zero hassle, bodily injuries or X bullying?

A Volvo wagon.
A pre-GM Saab 900 3 door
A Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon
Or an Audi A4 wagon

Do we need to stay EV?
How about a Tesla Model S
Or X
Or a KIA EV6
Or an EV9

Take your pick.

So yeah – The Cyberthing still sucks.

VanGuy
VanGuy
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

He addressed how carrying long things into a pickup is easier because you can reach over the sides. How do you do that in a wagon?

VanGuy
VanGuy
1 month ago
Reply to  VanGuy

For what it’s worth–I like wagons and a dresser could also be easily carried into a van, which is what I’d sooner advocate for. But to my eyes, the CT still has some “versatility” common to most pickup trucks.

Really, it’s its lack of safety (or lack of proof) is probably the worst thing I can say about it.

…and, if I must fish the bottom of the barrel for compliments, it’s still way lighter than a Hummer EV.

Will Leavitt
Will Leavitt
1 month ago
Reply to  VanGuy

It’s also lighter than a F-150 Lightning Platinum – 6603 vs 6855lbs.

OverlandingSprinter
OverlandingSprinter
1 month ago
Reply to  VanGuy

Van pros compared to a pickup

  • Load from front or side easily
  • All models weatherproof from the factory (theft resistant, too)
  • Low loading height (most models)
  • Can sleep in it without getting rained or snowed on with minimal mods

Van cons compared to a pickup

  • No mas macho compared to a pickup
  • Can’t drag a fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer
  • Can’t haul bulk mulch or manure easily

As this scientific, unbiased analysis demonstrates, vans are superior to pickups unless the owner/operator tows a large trailer, hauls bulk poop or its derivative, or has an inferiority complex.

VanGuy
VanGuy
1 month ago

Believe me, based on our display names, I’m quite certain we’re both on the same wavelength here (albeit I’ve only owned a conversion van and the most sleeping I’ve done is naps on the side of the road).
Vans are better for me and lots of people would be better off with them than pickups, but here we are.

A sibling was considering a full-size van when they had 4 kids at home, but were too concerned about safety to do anything but a minivan. Which, good decision, but unfortunate. Would’ve been funny for them to show up to the school with a Transit while the rest of the parents are in huge pickups and SUVs.

Cerberus
Cerberus
1 month ago

Pickups aren’t even very useful for bulk. If you need to move real bulk, not just enough soil to fill some window pots, you get it delivered by a dump truck. A 4’x6′ bed doesn’t even fit 1.5 cu yds! I fit that much in bags in the back of a Focus with plenty of room to spare (if not payload). I filled in the depression left by an 18′ above ground pool and it was 18 cu yds (IIRC). Doing that with a pick up would be nuts. Vans are so much better.

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
1 month ago
Reply to  Cerberus

Obviously earthmoving on the scale of 18 yards is not in the realm of light pickups(that much dirt is a full load in a large dump truck, or over half of a semi side dump).

But pickups can go lots of places a Class 8 dump truck can’t. Which is why I hauled like 4 yards of rock in my f150, which really really cant be done with an e150.

Cerberus
Cerberus
1 month ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

Yes, it was two loads (we actually got more than 18 in total for other parts of the yard we needed to level). IIRC, it’s 14 for whatever those kind of standard dump trucks are. My point is that it’s a rather small window where moving bulk makes sense in a pick up. Any real amount of work, it’s better getting it delivered, especially with the prices of trucks nowadays and the potential damage incurred when picking up bulk loads (yeah, a truck should be used for work, but when they’re $70k, a lot of people think twice). Plus with delivery, the dump truck delivers, dumps, and drives off—no driving somewhere, no scraping/sweeping the bulk out of a non-inclined bed, no vehicle clean up. The big disadvantage with delivery, though, is that the dumpers will only drop on a driveway, requiring other means of getting the bulk to a specific spot that might be some distance from the driveway, so a pick up will likely be able to get the load where it’s needed. For infrequent loads small enough to fit in a typical bed, almost anything will do and it seems silly to buy a pick up for such rare occasions unless someone just wants a pick up and feels they need to justify it. Of course, there’s also the option of a trailer, but, yeah, for the low percentage who do frequent small loads of bulk, they’re perfect.

Rust Buckets
Rust Buckets
1 month ago
Reply to  Cerberus

I gotta object to this: “For infrequent loads small enough to fit in a typical bed, almost anything will do…”

Even a 5.5′ bed is colossally better and larger for hauling rock, dirt, bulk mulch, bulk grass clippings, ect. than a van or minivan or wagon or hatchback. Trust me, I’ve done both.

It is silly to buy a pickup for such rare occasions as occasional light earthmoving, but it’s not like you cant use it for other things too lol

Cheap Bastard
Cheap Bastard
1 month ago
Reply to  Rust Buckets

A 5.5 bed is grossly impractical if not illegal for hauling a kids soccer team though. So the mini/van that CAN haul that soccer team and/or mulch/dirt/grass clippings/whatever wins on utility.

Sensual Bugling Elk
Sensual Bugling Elk
1 month ago
Reply to  VanGuy

By opening the rear doors and reaching through the side doors openings to pull items through.

I’ve hauled the same dresser/plants/ladder type loads in my Saab wagon, and it seems much easier compared to a Cybertruck.

Especially for short bed trucks, a side-opening tailgate (e.g. the Honda Ridgeline) would mostly prevent the need to ever reach over the bedsides to position items, since you could reach deeply into the bed from the vehicle rear.

Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
1 month ago

By opening the rear doors and reaching through the side doors openings to pull items through.”

Came here to say this.
Former Volvo wagon owner here.

Autopizen
Autopizen
1 month ago
Reply to  VanGuy

I could carry a 6’ ladder in our Volvo wagon, tailgate closed, by folding the passenger seatback forward. (Or many times put much longer stuff on the roof crossbars. Like, canoes.)

Yesterday I carried an 8’ 4×4 & a sheet foam cut into 2, 2’x8’ lengths down the center of our Fozz (modern wagon) tailgate closed.

Given a hauling errand (moving kids to/from college/apts I would take the Volvo all day long & twice on Sundays.

That thing – with auto load leveling – could haul a LOT. I once put our spare 19 sq ft fridge in there for my son’s apt.

Way more stuff than that? That’s what our 4×8 trailer is for.

Reasonable Pushrod
Reasonable Pushrod
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

Loading a dresser into any of those options, is more difficult than a truck.

Greg
Greg
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

I am a big hater on here, and I have to say, you’ve left me impressed.

OFFLINE
OFFLINE
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

The Cybertruck can handle 2500lbs of load and tow 11,000 lbs. None of the above can do that. Thank you for playing.

Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
1 month ago
Reply to  OFFLINE

When I need to move my 38M motor yacht from the Pacific to the Atlantic – I’ll give you a call.

OFFLINE
OFFLINE
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

When I need to trailer across the USA next month, I’ll call myself. None of these vehicles you listed can handle a 25 foot Airstream.

Jb996
Jb996
1 month ago
Reply to  OFFLINE

The Cybertruck definitely won’t tow anything across the USA either
… at least not with only 95 miles per full 100% charge.

https://www.theautopian.com/if-its-not-obvious-yet-heres-a-video-proving-that-evs-are-just-the-wrong-tool-for-serious-towing/

OFFLINE
OFFLINE
1 month ago
Reply to  Jb996

Depends on your drag coefficient.

Jb996
Jb996
1 month ago
Reply to  OFFLINE

Huh.
You think the 28ft trailers they tested are going to be that different from your 25ft trailer you have, to significantly increase that range number? The Cybertruck will go 302 mi at 70mph by itself*. The tested trailer went 85miles on 90% of charge. Even if your Cybertruck/trailer combo has 50% less drag (unlikely), is 130 miles of range per 90% charge useful?
What is a usable range per charge number for you?
You’re okay with detaching the trailer every time you have to charge? (Every 1-2hrs of drive time.)
How long do you plan to take to cross the US? An optimal route will require 25-35 hours of just charging, but likely much more.**

Maintaining 70mph, that’s 41hrs driving, and 35hrs or more of charging.&&

I’m actually not trying to be argumentative, I’m just genuinely curious about a detailed plan for someone who wants to tow 2900 miles using a Cybertruck with a very limited towing range.

* Cybertruck range at 70mph is 302 miles. (https://insideevs.com/reviews/717680/tesla-cybertruck-highway-range-test/)

** 2900(mi)/95(mi/chg)*1.13(hrs/chg)= 34.5hours charging
2900(mi)/130(mi/chg)*1.13(hrs/chg)= 25.2hours charging
This is optimistic because it assumes no detours to find chargers, that all chargers are SuperChargers, and that all are fully operational, and with no wait time.
(1.13 hrs/charge time from: https://www.carshtuff.com/post/cybertruck-charging-time)

&&. 2900(mi)/70(mph)=41.4 hrs

OFFLINE
OFFLINE
1 month ago
Reply to  Jb996

Airstreams *are* better than what they tested with for Cd. There are even better trailers coming. Detaching/attaching isn’t a big deal when you have a power tongue lift and air suspension on the tow vehicle.
I do have a plan. First: don’t go 70 mph, you’d be surprised how much less energy you use if you drive at 63 mph. Second: add battery with an accessory pack. Ultimately, third: one of these — https://lightshiprv.com/ My limitation is less the truck than my elderly MIL that needs to ride along. I’m not in a huge hurry. Battery pack + Lightship = 250 to 300 mile hops. Until then shorter hops.

Last edited 1 month ago by OFFLINE
Bongo Friendee Harvey Park
Bongo Friendee Harvey Park
1 month ago
Reply to  OFFLINE

Real question: how often do you need to tow the 25′ airstream?

OFFLINE
OFFLINE
1 month ago

I tow often enough to need something that can tow, but not often enough that it’s worth having a dedicated tow vehicle. If I was towing all the time, no question: 3/4 or 1 ton diesel truck. But those suck all the rest of the time. This will be an acceptable compromise because I’m not in any hurry. I’ve also got another very light trailer I use sometimes, and a cargo trailer I use locally.

Beached Wail
Beached Wail
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

I could carry those Costco groceries in the rear compartment of my Honda Fit without even folding down the seat. A 4.5 foot dresser will fit in the enclosed space after taking 15 seconds to fold the rear seat, and the liftover height is literally knee-level.

Need to adjust the dresser from the side? Open the Fit’s side doors, which swing out a full 90 degrees. Need to carry plants? The Magic Seat provides a 4 foot tall secure space. Lean ’em over slightly from each side of the car and you can carry 5+ foot plants easily.

I’ve never cut myself on my car in 15 years of ownership.

Yeah, I can’t tow the boat I don’t own over the mountain I don’t live near, but I can sell my car for almost 50% of its initial purchase price after 15 years, so there’s that.

V10omous
V10omous
1 month ago
Reply to  Beached Wail

Trucks have better resale than most cars, so it’s unclear what you’re trying to brag about? My 6 year old truck with 30,000 miles is worth ~100% of its purchase price right now.

TheDrunkenWrench
TheDrunkenWrench
1 month ago

Diced Tracy getting shredded like a Julienne salad just trying to load stuff in the bed.

As a 5’7″ individual, having non-level bed sides would be a MASSIVE pain in the ass, as I like to set things on the edge of the bed to then grab from ground level and vise-versa. Hell, sometimes my drink just sits there. The sloped edges are useless and nothing but an impediment for the sake of the design.

Reasonable Pushrod
Reasonable Pushrod
1 month ago

I had not thought about this. When I mow my yard, I always leave my drink sitting on my bedside.

Bongo Friendee Harvey Park
Bongo Friendee Harvey Park
1 month ago
Reply to  David Tracy

You mow your yard?

Alexk98
Alexk98
1 month ago

The irony of a truck designed entirely of straight lines not having a singular flat, level exterior surface is immense

StillNotATony
StillNotATony
1 month ago

Hey DT! You said the bed is a little over 4 feet wide, so perfect for the typical 4×8 sheet of plywood.

But I noticed the interior bed sides are sloped. Is that width measured at the bed floor or at the top between the sail panels?

John McMillin
John McMillin
1 month ago
Reply to  David Tracy

Des the canted-back front wall of the bed, allow Tesla to claim a longer bed length than is really usable?

Camp Fire
Camp Fire
1 month ago

I tried convincing my girlfriend to buy delicious foods like Totino’s Pizza Rolls, only to be reminded that I’m in my 30s and need to eat food that won’t put me into an early grave.

What’s that? Convincing DT to take better care of himself? Most excellent.

Well done, girlfriend!

Rad Barchetta
Rad Barchetta
1 month ago
Reply to  Camp Fire

Alas, never again shall the chunky tomatoes of Ragu spaghetti sauce clog his shower drain.

10001010
10001010
1 month ago
Reply to  Camp Fire

Meanwhile I’m staring down the barrel of my 50s and still eat pizza rolls.

Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
1 month ago
Reply to  10001010

My Bestie died at 58 eating pizza rolls.

Literally – That was his last meal before the second heart attack.
There was still some on the plate on the table above his body when they found him.

Last edited 1 month ago by Urban Runabout
10001010
10001010
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

I really don’t need that sort of negativity in my diet 🙂

Totally not a robot
Totally not a robot
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

Died doing what he loved, what a way to go.

JumboG
JumboG
1 month ago

That last Twitter comment reminds me of when a manufacturing plant about 15 miles from my house blew up around noon, and the boom woke me up rattling all the windows in my house. A couple of hours later I commented somewhere that it had done so, and the first comment was I was obvious a lazy do-nothing since I was asleep at noon.

I work night shift.

Autopizen
Autopizen
1 month ago
Reply to  JumboG

I’ve never participated in “social media”, and I don’t ever plan to. Never understood the appeal, frankly ….

Wait a minute, is THIS social media? Well, shoot.

I’ll guess I’ll see myself out.

Lizardman in a human suit
Lizardman in a human suit
1 month ago
Reply to  Autopizen

Don’t worry. This is Autopia. Our kind stewards make sure this is a safe place to talk about car stuff. We just keep around Tesla stans for entertainment value.

Pupmeow
Pupmeow
1 month ago
Reply to  JumboG

JumboG: Actually, I work the night shift.

The Internet: So you’re saying people who work during the day deserve to be summarily executed? Is that what you’re saying?!

T.B.A.
T.B.A.
1 month ago

I don’t know why it is only just now occurring to me; but with the tonneau cover closed you can’t see out the back of the truck. It seems like even with it partially closed it blocks the rear window.
I recognize that plenty of people will drive a truck with a load the blocks rear visibility, but as a “design feature” that seems a bit of an odd choice.

VanGuy
VanGuy
1 month ago
Reply to  T.B.A.

I’m wondering if it has an on-demand (not just when reversing) rear camera as partial mitigation?

Last edited 1 month ago by VanGuy
Reasonable Pushrod
Reasonable Pushrod
1 month ago
Reply to  VanGuy

My dad’s newer Suburban has a camera screen as the rearview mirror, it works exceptionally well. I would hope the CT has something similar.

Jack Beckman
Jack Beckman
1 month ago

It does. But for some of us, those rear-view cameras replacing mirrors don’t work as well because of the loss of depth perception. Torch has a great article on it on the site (but I am unable to find it).

VanGuy
VanGuy
1 month ago
Reply to  Jack Beckman

That makes total sense, and obviously it’s not ideal. But (to give an example) the few times I’ve driven my Prius v with the back loaded to the ceiling, I’ve had my aftermarket head unit show the rear camera continuously, since the mirror was all but useless.

Blind spots are tough to engineer around…mirrors add drag and cameras won’t appease everyone. (They appease me when well-executed, but I am not everyone)

Jack Beckman
Jack Beckman
1 month ago
Reply to  VanGuy

I had it in my Buick and it was OK in small doses, but it was disorienting if used for very long.

T.B.A.
T.B.A.
1 month ago
Reply to  VanGuy

Very good point; I would certainly hope it does.

Harmanx
Harmanx
1 month ago
Reply to  VanGuy

I saw a vid showing that the rear-view mirror can be removed easily and there’s a built-in hinged molding cover that makes it so that there’s little evidence the mirror was ever there. The driver just uses the rear camera (which can display continuously).

OFFLINE
OFFLINE
1 month ago
Reply to  T.B.A.

I was a bit hesitant about it, but for me it’s a non issue. The onscreen rear view is pretty good.

Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
1 month ago
Reply to  T.B.A.

“Don’t look back”

Autopizen
Autopizen
1 month ago
Reply to  T.B.A.

So many sacrifices to form over function, seems to me. Not my cuppa.

(Goes back to scanning listings for old, manual, rust-free wagons.)

Pupmeow
Pupmeow
1 month ago

Not many people know this, but everytime an article about the CT’s sharp edges is published, a plaintiff’s attorney gets a huge raging boner.

Max Johnson
Max Johnson
1 month ago

Throw out all that food you mentioned and just eat the paper towels. You’ll be better off

Mark Tucker
Mark Tucker
1 month ago

It slices! It dices! It Costcos and Ikeas!

It just looks dumb doing it.

DialMforMiata
DialMforMiata
1 month ago

Sage advice from “@hughmunguspepe”, who I’m sure has never, ever cried about anything on Twitter ever.

Rad Barchetta
Rad Barchetta
1 month ago
Reply to  DialMforMiata

Just imagine how big his pickup truck must be.

Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
1 month ago
Reply to  Rad Barchetta

I’m getting SDE from him.

Rad Barchetta
Rad Barchetta
1 month ago
Reply to  Urban Runabout

software development engineer?

Edit: Ohhhhh. Nevermind. 🙂

Last edited 1 month ago by Rad Barchetta
Urban Runabout
Urban Runabout
1 month ago
Reply to  Rad Barchetta

Same thing.

Vic Vinegar
Vic Vinegar
1 month ago

Arguing with Twitter about your cred as a truck owner isn’t going to pay many dividends.

Interesting you got both the “Tesla can’t do anything wrong” crowd, and the “Anyone who buys one is an idiot” crowd.

TOSSABL
TOSSABL
1 month ago

Just finally saw one in the wild some 25 minutes ago. It didn’t look quite as big as I expected. It did look as though the owner had not been keeping up with the Barkeeper’s Friend treatments, thought

Last edited 1 month ago by TOSSABL
JumboG
JumboG
1 month ago
Reply to  TOSSABL

I saw my first one a couple of weeks ago – it was approaching me on a city street at night and it appeared the front light bar took up the entire road.

Larry Brennan
Larry Brennan
1 month ago
Reply to  TOSSABL

I saw one a couple of weeks ago and it looked like something a hobbyist put together in their garage. Lots of the panels didn’t line up and it already had hints of rust. I guess being in the PNW between October and May voids the warranty

Lizardman in a human suit
Lizardman in a human suit
1 month ago
Reply to  TOSSABL

Same here. I think they look small, but others say they look big. Maybe the low poly look messes with size perception. Then again, I dive semi trucks. Everything looks small to me. Pissed off a few brodozer drivers by calling their trucks little.

V10omous
V10omous
1 month ago

The whole first part of the article is CCLB erasure and as a proud member of that group, I must object on their behalf. 8 foot beds are still out there!

My only question I didn’t see answered later is how wide the bed is. It looks quite narrow compared to “normal” trucks, but the proportions of the CT are so weird that I’m not always confident in judging stuff like that from pictures.

Livinglavidadidas
Livinglavidadidas
1 month ago
Reply to  V10omous

From what I gather you use your truck for truck things and I remember you once saying that if you had to downsize to only one vehicle it would most likely be your truck so I want to get your opinion on something. What do you think of dropside truck beds. I don’t mean F450 with a flat bed, I’m talking mid or fullsize with a bed shaped like that of a kei truck. When I had a Raptor the bed was too tall for me and I’m tallish myself, but ok it’s a special vehicle I thought. But now it seems every half ton has the bed sides as tall as the Raptor did.

Personally I think they look pretty cool and I think they would be convenient

V10omous
V10omous
1 month ago

I’m 5′ 10″ and cannot touch the bed floor of my F350 standing flat footed on the ground. So I do understand the concern, although what I will say is I don’t really consider this a major deal. If I’m loading something I either climb into the bed to position it exactly where I want it, or load from the back. The tradeoffs in ride height, ground clearance, and looks outweigh the small hassle when reaching in.

As for your question, I’m generally in favor of more options. I think it would be neat if the OEMs offered more cab & chassis models to consumers and had a few bed styles to choose from that could be installed at the dealership.

Professor Chorls
Professor Chorls
1 month ago
Reply to  V10omous

The very thought of a CC/CA cybertruck gets my seminiferous vesicules all energized and ready to disseminate.

Bongo Friendee Harvey Park
Bongo Friendee Harvey Park
1 month ago

Lol

Nycbjr
Nycbjr
1 month ago
Reply to  V10omous

David said 4′ wide

Pat Rich
Pat Rich
1 month ago

two things –

  1. The cyberturd is literally rough around the edges and needed to be developed a little longer.
  2. People are the worst. If my brand new vehicle injured me using it as intended, I for sure would let people know…even if it wasn’t my job.
Sklooner
Sklooner
1 month ago

Probably the first time a Cybertruck has actually done something useful

DialMforMiata
DialMforMiata
1 month ago
Reply to  Sklooner

The grocery run or injuring David?

Dr Buford
Dr Buford
1 month ago
Reply to  DialMforMiata

6 of one…half-dozen of the other…

1 2 3
248
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x