Well, that was fast. Sure, Tesla doesn’t quite have a North American PR department as such, but that hasn’t stopped a couple of outlets from driving 2019’s most-anticipated vehicle, the polarizing Cybertruck. These reviews come just hours after the first deliveries occurred, and they’re packed with information on Tesla’s big bet. Let’s start off with what we learned in Jason Cammisa’s film on the Cybertruck for Hagerty, with a particular focus on performance stuff.
Cammisa and company ran the tri-motor Cybertruck down the quarter mile in eleven seconds flat, with that elapsed time growing by just three-tenths of a second with a low state of charge. That’s remarkable consistency, and it would make the tri-motor Cybertruck the world’s quickest factory pickup truck.
It’s worth noting that two of the three motors used in the top-spec Cybertruck are reportedly induction motors, the exact sort of motor tech Tesla built a name on. Remember, the original Tesla Roadster was a conceptual evolution of the AC Propulsion tzero, a prototype electric sports car that used an induction motor to prove electricity’s feasibility as propulsion for performance cars.
The Cybertruck Doesn’t Have A Steering Column
The Cybertruck uses steer-by-wire with no steering column in place as a physical backup. While the Infiniti Q50 is available with steer-by-wire, this “Direct Adaptive Steering” system still employs a physical shaft between the wheel and the steering rack. I don’t have terribly high hopes for Tesla’s steer-by-wire given that Infiniti’s DAS is genuinely one of the most wretched steering systems I’ve ever had the displeasure of experiencing, but it’s possible that changing the steering ratio based on speed may be less egregious in a multi-ton slab of stainless steel.
Here’s How Much The Cybertruck Weighs
Speaking of weight, the Cybertruck is on the more reasonable end of the electric truck weight scale. Sure, it may still weigh 6,843 pounds, but that’s still lighter than a Rivian R1T or a Ford F-150 Lightning with the extended range battery pack, to say nothing of the GMC Hummer EV. So where did Tesla save all that weight? Well, one area might be in the crash structure. Cammisa reports that because of the impact-resistance of the hard stainless outer panels, Tesla doesn’t have to use door bars for side impact protection. Of course, we haven’t actually seen the guts of a Cybertruck door, so that claim still needs a little extra verification in my eyes, but it’s certainly fascinating.
Here’s The Weird Cybertruck Hubcap Up Close
When Tesla first showed off the Cybertruck in 2019, an easy piece of low-hanging fruit was the wheel design that overlapped the tires. There was no way that could make production, right? Wrong. There’s actually a relatively cheap way of making that work, but it will lock Cybertruck owners into one type of tire. Let me explain.
Through MKBHD’s video, we get a better look at the hubcaps fitted to the Tesla Cybertruck. These aerodynamically-tuned hubcaps line up with styling elements in the factory tire sidewalls to give off a concept car look. The downside? Things might not quite look right if owners switch to a different model of tire once the stock rubber is due to replacement. Interestingly, each wheel cover is a two-piece design, with a visible cap snapping into what appears to be a plastic carrier, which then attaches to the wheel.
Styling Inspiration By… Lotus?
Since the Cybertruck doesn’t look like any other pickup truck on the road, it may be surprising to learn that its styling was inspired by one of Giugiaro’s most iconic sports cars. As Franz von Holzhauzen said to Top Gear, “In the early days of finding this form and this idea, we had a Lotus Esprit in the studio and we’d been looking at that.” While the end result might be more similar to Top Gear‘s own Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust, some principles of folded paper design are here either way.
Speaking of design, the styling choices made with the Cybertruck often have proper functional purpose. Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, told Top Gear that “The sail panel which goes from the C-pillar back out to the rear, it adds like 25 percent of the torsional stiffness of the vehicle.”
While we’re on the subject of styling elements, many Tesla owners struggle with frozen door handles, so Tesla’s solved this on the Cybertruck by removing traditional door handles entirely. The doors release via buttons and present themselves to the driver and occupants, and Moravy claims that these doors “actually can break through a half-inch of ice.”
In the Top Gear interview, Moravy also pours the cold water of reality onto Elon Musk’s claims of bulletproof status by highlighting the limitations of the Cybertruck’s unique material mix. The VP of Vehicle Engineering stated, “We can stop pretty much any handgun and anything that is sub-sonic, but if you get armor-piercing rounds or if you have a bullet that’s going faster than the speed of sound, that energy’s gonna hit it with velocity squared, and that tiny area’s definitely gonna go through.” To iterate, Moravy adds “You can definitely empty a whole clip from a Tommy gun, 9 mm subsonic, but I wouldn’t go around claiming that it’s fully bulletproof.”
Sliding inside the Cybertruck, it’s hard to ignore the conspicuous absence of a rearview mirror. It’s gone because the tonneau cover would interfere with an actual rear window. There is a digital rearview display on the central touchscreen that appears when the Cybertruck is in gear, but as we’ve previously reported, digital mirrors are crap for a variety of reasons.
The Cybertruck Has A Trick Bed And Bi-Directional Charging
Things pick up a little bit in the six-foot bed. There’s under-bed storage like a Honda Ridgeline, and a litany of in-bed outlets, including one 220-volt outlet and two 110-volt outlets. Speaking of power, the Cybertruck features Tesla’s first bidirectional charging system, which means it could eventually support vehicle-to-grid power bank capability. The Kia EV6 and Ioniq 5 also have this capability.
Oh, and bidirectional charging is only the tip of the electronic iceberg. The Cybertruck sports Tesla’s first 800-volt electrical architecture, catching up to the likes of Hyundai and Porsche and using the extra capability of 350 kW V4 Supercharger stations. In addition, the Cybertruck features the first complete 48-volt low-voltage electrical system in any car, which is great because adding voltage reduces required amperage, which should reduce the amount of wiring in the vehicle. Oh, and in case the standard range of 250 to 340 miles isn’t enough, Tesla will also sell a range-increasing auxiliary battery pack that slides into the bed.
While Cybertruck production will initially be limited, Tesla claims a production ramp time of 12 to 15 months, so expect Cybertruck capacity to really pick up the pace in 2025. Whatever you think of this shiny interpretation of an American workhorse, it’s coming to a road near you relatively soon.
(Photo credits: Tesla, Hagerty, MKBHD, Top Gear)
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So those awful-looking wheels are in the interest of aerodynamics? I call BS. The owner will keep having to buy special tires, while the car’s body was designed with no thought for aerodynamics whatsoever. Tons of complicated solutions to problems created by that ridiculous shape.
If a battery can slide in the bed to extend the range then so can a diesel generator right?
A range extender to slide into the bed and presumably completely negate the entire purpose of the vehicle, namely the space in the bed.
Interesting(? Maybe?) decision there
It could also be used for towing range.
As long as there’s enough payload left to tow with the battery in there. Very curious what the actual door sticker on these will say compared to the advertised payload.
Steer by wire with no physical column for backup. I imagine that there will be some newsworthy failures due to this. Seems a bit risky IMHO
Last I heard, the U.S. allows it, but a few countries overseas don’t. That was more than a few years ago, though.
The reviewer is just trying to make a living. The Cybertruck, well it can generate strong feelings. I personally think it looks like a poorly executed Cub Scout Pinewood Derby Car. A stainless steel exterior has been used by loads of successful cars, like, uh, the DeLorean. It seems to be more of a cartoon car than something real. What I would love to see is a reviewer actually put a refrigerator in the back, and with a dolly and a ramp. You know, doing some kind of PUT (pick up truck) typical use. I think the bed is too short for even a surfboard, maybe a boogie board. So you end up with a weird looking vehicle of little utility that even the slightest ding will show for the life of the car. It will end up becoming famous only if somebody casts it in a movie doing some form of time travel or boring a hole to the center of the earth. Oh…opportunity for Musk to merge two not so great ideas.
Yes, pinewood derby! That’s what this hideous thing reminds me of! Thank you, I’ve been trying to get that connection while trying to ignore what seems like every article on this site now.
I mean, I hate it too, but the bed is 6 feet long, which isn’t any worse than a lot of regular crew-cab trucks out there.
The pissing contests on specs continue to prove Tesla is just another car company.
It’s not going out of business, and that is good because more competition is better.
But it is not going to be to cars what Apple is to cell phones, which means a massive valuation crash sooner or later.
Speaking of specs, an article on tow ratings and cargo capacities would be interesting. My understanding is that there is some SAE and regulatory guidance, but in large part, manufacturers can claim whatever they want within the constraints of warranty claims and product liability lawsuits. And my guess is that Tesla is much more risk-taking in that regard than the big-3.
The wheels on the Cybertruck are hideous. Tesla, please resolve.
This looks so much like a garbage Chinese toy bought on a sidewalk in Queens; the wheels are the perfect finishing touch. It should light up and drive in random pirouettes too, just like the ones my 3-year-old has.
From WardsAuto;
In another gonzo demonstration, a man with a machine gun fired bullets into the side panels of the Cybertruck, with none passing through the metal. “At Tesla, we have the finest in apocalypse technology,” Musk comments glibly. “If you are in an argument with another car, you will win.”
Spoken like a true sociopath!
I acknowledge that he hired talented engineers at spaceX, and we should try to keep them when we wise up and federalize that enterprise. There is just no way this sicko should be able to call the shots on matters of national and international security!
Not sure it’s sociopathic to say a car is relatively more crash worthy than other cars.
Federalizing SpaceX would be rather communist. Elon seems to be doing a better job calling shots in this field than NASA has since the early 70s.
A tank is more “crash worthy” as long as the opposing force is less. You do not want to be in a vehicle that neglects crumple zones if it meets superior mass, and you definitely do not want to be on the receiving end. The U.S. roadways have been on a suicidal arms race escalation since the seventies. The crash test results of the Cybertruck have been unavailable, but from what I can tell, it has a front crumple zone, and that’s it, and it appears the 3X standard thickness skin could represent a serious threat.
Did you miss the news of Elon cutting off Ukraine from a starlink connection at a certain distance during an operation?
https://www.wired.com/story/the-us-wants-to-close-the-suv-loophole-that-supersized-cars/
If it has one crumple zone then that’s more than almost any other pickup, frames do not crumple. I don’t expect this to be particularly more or less destructive than any body on frame vehicle.
Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong.
Have you ever looked at a crashed body on frame car? Frames sometimes bend, sometimes kink, but that’s very different from how sheet metal just wads up. Unibody cars get shorter when you hit something head on, body on frame cars might get a little twisted but the frame rails don’t wrinkle up and get shorter. They often emerge unscathed from collisions that would have totaled unibody cars.
None of that means that pickups don’t have crumple zones.
Pretty sure not crumpling does in fact mean it doesn’t have zones that crumple.
Unless you count the four inches of frame at the front of my 1995 f150 that Ford made this weird accordion shape so it could sorta crumple, like an inch.
Really don’t wanna argue this anymore, so I’m gonna bow out.
I’d suggest you look up what crumple zones actually are, and the most recent pickup truck crash tests, though.
Glad it’s here in all its ridiculousness. This could be a legitimately useful vehicle. If and only if the features aren’t half-baked. V2L is a camper’s dream for off-grid camping. Stainless and aluminum won’t rust (depending on the grade of stainless), although galvanic corrosion may be just as bad if not worse. Tesla’s batteries are known to have a long life due to excellent management. Their drive units are also reliable. This may well be a “buy and hold” vehicle in a few years once they figure out how to build them. Well, if the owner can handle being seen in it.
Guy I work with just got his order invite. He’s not happy that he can’t change the spec, so he’s cornered into the $80k version if he decides to buy
I’m going to laugh my ass off when/if one of these things rolls up to the job site. OSHA might make them duct tape rebar caps to all the pointy bits for safety. All American trucks seem to be designed for men going through midlife crisises but this one seems more specific than the others. Like the guy who gets this wouldn’t be caught dead behind the wheel of some murderous looking GMC. The others are unconscious masculinity boosters for many of their customers but this truck is offering masculinity as a form of cosplay, I think. It’s the difference between the average dumbass taking gas station dick lengthening pills and someone who goes out and buys an actual codpiece. There’s a level of irony to this vehicle that is a bit much for an inanimate object. Maybe my observations of Elon are tainting my impressions.
Mine too. My inner child is geeking out over the tech, but, just glancing at it, I can’t help but see Elon’s ego
I am more than mildly horrified by the roof mounted gear select.. This whole thing just looks like an overcomplicated device to maim everyone around you and scramble everyone inside.
New Taco’s still the truck of the week.
Please, it is entirely form over function. It was doodled by an idiot and an idiot made it a product. The torsional stiffness is purely by accident.
The buttress approach was used by Honda on the first gen Ridgeline too. The statement as a whole is definitely a bit of PR spin, but the feature that was called out is 100% not by accident
100% really?
100% trying to justify the shape after the fact. I feel for those poor engineers and copywriters.
The sharp lines styling famously came from the impracticality of stamping curved panels from thick stainless steel. This has been well known for like 3 years now.
It was doodled very deliberately specifically to meet design constraints. Whether those design constraints(made of thick stainless) made any sense is questionable.
The new 4870 battery cells, 48V electrical, ability to play with 800V and 400V chargers, steer-by-wire (especially), the body panels and crash structure… is clever shit.
It’s just got to sell. The real proof in the pudding will be regarding how it does in calendar year 2026. So many vehicles do great up until the 2-year hump, and many fall off a cliff. If they can crank these out, I’ll admit that it might sail right past the hump.
Again, there’s some genuine, really clever shit here that all other manufacturers will copy.
How long before some YT influencer blesses the internet with a video of them wrecking a Cybertruck?
Why do they gotta be white?
They probably will be lol
Inb4 it’s whistlindiesel
He’s already put the word out on his IG to anyone who wants to flip their CT to hit him up.
He’ll have one before the end of the year.
Haha how did I know
I know I’m in the minority here, but if Teslas had CarPlay, I would have a fistful of bills yelling “Take my Money!” for the Cybertruck. But alas…
Tesla is basically the only infotainment system provider that I would consider to be above the “acceptable” threshold for not having either phone OS option
Yep. Teslas are the only cars I’ve driven where I don’t miss Android Auto. I mean, I’d still prefer to have it, but it doesn’t feel like as big of an issue with the Teslas.
So how do you get pulled out if it is on fire and it has no external doors nor can you break the glass?
Well if you don’t have balls of steel then I’m pretty sure your rescuer will.
Do what Lord Elon wants and #DieLikeAMan. /s
10/10
Subtle but effective. *chef’s kiss*
Supposedly they all have the same battery. How long until a jailbreak to unlock range?
Probably never, since this isn’t a new thing. Tesla and I believe several other electric cars have been doing this for years.
Will someone, anyone, please talk about the 48volt system. Camisa goes into it quite deeply on his podcast and it really is a massive step change for cars (and car affordability)
Copper is pretty expensive, and heavy. I don’t know the linear footage of wire in a modern car, but dropping the weight of it by 2/3 may be significant.
OTOH, as someone who had both car’s batteries crap out in the last week, I wonder about the cost & weight of functional 48 volt ones
We won’t know until customer’s post photos, but I think it’s safe to assume Tesla is using lithium for their batteries on Cybertruck. They switched their other cars a few years ago.
Also you have to wonder about the quality, quantity, and design of the VRM’s needed to step the voltage down to where the computers can actually use it. Last time I checked, Tesla still has to buy chips from existing manufacturers, and the voltage-current-heat equations don’t tolerate “yeah, that’s good enough” when you’re talking about silicon. *glares at Gigabyte*
I mean, it’s not like the computers themselves run on 12V directly. The I/O and peripheral bits are usually 3.3-5V, and the chips themselves more like 1-1.5V, so it needs a decent step down either way.
Correct, this just adds another layer to that. And as of lately, VRM design and manufacturing in the PC space has been rather hit and miss. I’m not saying it’s a given that it will be screwed up, but it’s adding complexity to designing, manufacturing, and maintaining the system. It could complicate things, or it could be a big nothing burger.
A massive step that other cars like the Bentley Bentayga made years ago?
Wrong, they still have a 12v system, let me quote this industry PDF:
The comment section on Autopian is getting to be quite the burden.
I guess all the reasonable commenters have left the building.
Everyone is scared of dying on the road from an errant cybertruck? What are the chances, people. Save your outrage on something you can actually change. Intellectual critics with discerning taste? No, just ineffectual whiners.
I do wish we could tag them by primary complaint and shove them into little tabs. Or let everyone just vote on their main concern. Too many comments are cringy repeats of the same complaints.
Too many comments are cringy repeats of the same complaints.
Too many comments are cringy repeats of the same complaints.
Too many comments are cringy repeats of the same complaints.
Too many comments are cringy repeats of the same complaints?
How so?
Isn’t it obvious?
Too many commenters keep repeating the same complaints in a cringeworthy manner.
Nobody is reading other comments before posting their own.
It’s almost like nobody is reading any other comments before posting their own.
I think too many comments are cringy repeats of the same complaints.
Because I don’t know better, I’ve been responding in line to comments. Here’s my actual take: it looks ridiculous; I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I want a market of stickers to come out for that front. I want WW2 airplane teeth decals, or Halloween spooky decals, or maybe a bunch of refrigerator magnets.
A surprising bonus is that it’s not ridiculously heavy compared to other EV pickups. I *love* a truck with a tight turning radius (my current one is a ’13 LR4).
I might get one when my current truck dies. It’s strange and different, and I’m a bit uneasy, but I’m also middle-aged, and I can either choose to adapt to the world around me or scream at the TV and watch Matlock. I’ll wait to see how I feel about its appearance (I mean, it’s a pickup, and all pickups are ridiculous in their dimensions). Plan B is an R1T or whatever comes out in the meantime.
Rivian’s interior looks so much warmer, but I do appreciate good software. No key fob is nice, and the supercharger network is nothing to sneeze at. I find those things *everywhere*.
“I can either choose to adapt to the world around me or scream at the TV and watch Matlock.”
Its not a force of nature. Such change only happens when its wanted. Buying this only proves Tesla is on to something and other manufacturers will follow suit. Buy this if you like it, not because its inevitable. Its only inevitable if you and others make it so.
The whole world’s changing and it’s too hard to find handsome boxy trucks.
Two words: Marketing Survey
refrigerator magnets on stainless ? Only if it’s 400 series …
He said stickers. Stickers that look like fridge magnets, to make fun of stainless car.
And even if magnets stuck, they’d either blow off at speed, bump off, or get stolen. Gotta be decals as Rust Buckets mentioned. But my sentence was ambiguous.