With the presentation of his planned truck, Tesla has virtually burst a bomb. Much was speculated in advance about details and what the pickup truck would look like. But nobody had expected this design. Accordingly, the topic polarizes in the media. While some find the design ingenious, futuristic and innovative, others call it a fantasy, unworkable and ugly. Tastes are just different. But don’t forget that this is not Tesla’s first vehicle. And so far, designer Franz von Holzhausen and his team have always had a good knack for whether a design goes down well with customers.
The new Tesla Truck: Details known so far about the Cybertruck
The Cybertruck is to come onto the market in three variants:
- Single engine rear-wheel drive – 39,900 US dollars (expected from the end of 2022)
- Dual Motor All-wheel drive – 49,900 US Dollars (expected end of 2021)
- Tri Motor All-wheel drive – 69.900 US-Dollar (expected end of 2021)
As with the other Tesla models, the variants differ in range and engine power. With the Tesla Cybertruck the Truck variants will differ also massively in the maximum trailer load, details about the horsepower are however not yet known:
Type: | Single Motor | Dual Motor | Tri Motor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Range: | >400 km | >480 km | >800 km |
| Acceleration (0-100 km/h) | < 6.5 seconds | < 4.5 seconds | < 2.9 seconds |
| Horsepower: | not yet known | not yet known | not yet known |
| Max speed: | 177 km/h | 193 km/h | 209 km/h |
| Tow load: | 3400 kg | 4500 kg | 6350 kg |
Most likely the Cybertruck will not be available in this form outside of North America. According to Elon Musk, it is impossible to meet the global requirements of road traffic regulations with a vehicle like the Cybertruck.
The design with its corners and edges also has a technical background. To build the vehicle as stable as possible, a skeleton structure was used instead of a body on a frame. In addition, the Cybertruck is equipped with the special “Tesla Armor Glass”. A test of these “bulletproof glass panes” was not successful during the vehicle presentation. But Tesla still has time to work on it and as this test in the laboratory shows, it worked quite successfully.
The extremely hard structure skin made of 3 mm thick cold-rolled 30x stainless steel is even supposed to stop a 9 mm pistol bullet. Another shape would obviously not have been possible with this material, as Elon Musk reported on Twitter:
“The Cybertruck is so straight because you can’t press 30x steel – it would destroy the press.”
Despite the almost 2-metre-long loading area, the Cybertruck still offers space for 6 people in the passenger cabin. The tailboard can be folded down completely and used as a ramp for the loading area.
Additional features are an air compressor and 110/220 volt power supply for power tools. The adjustable air suspension, which can be raised or lowered by up to 10 centimeters, offers ground clearance of up to 40 centimeters.
The following video shows the lockable cargo hold promoted by Tesla as “as safe as a vault”. The payload is expected to be around 1590 kilograms.
The roof of the loading area in motion – Video credit: Twitter
The loading area can be converted into a bed – video credit: YouTube
The Tesla Cybertruck interior
In the interior the design looks futuristic, but still typical Tesla style.
Instead of rear-view mirrors and side mirrors, screens are installed in the vehicle shown. In this video this is briefly visible during a test drive. The autopilot cameras are apparently also used as an image source for the mirrors. Whether this will be the case in the final version is still unclear. In some countries screens instead of mirrors are not yet allowed. The video also shows a revised navigation system, which looks very interesting.
My USB Flash Drive recommendations for Sentry Mode and Dashcam:
For the loading area a superstructure is also offered, which makes the Cybertruck ideal for camping and according to this Twitter Post from Elon Musk a solar panel option should also be offered:
The door handles have obviously kept to the well-known design of Model S. The retractable door handles are clearly visible in this photo.
The ATV bike shown during the presentation is only sold as an optional accessory to the Tesla Cybertruck, but more details are not yet known. Photos of the ATV in the TFF-Forum and on Instagram.
Conclusion about the planned Truck
When I first saw the Cybertruck, I was shocked. But the longer I look at it, the more I like it. The technical limitations of processing stainless steel require this design. You can find an interesting article with another guess why Tesla chose this design here at Mario Herger. Nevertheless, I have NOT reserved the Cybertruck yet. My Model S with its 5 meters length is often too big for parking. I don’t want to imagine what that will be like with the Cybertruck…
Video of a test ride:
Interesting close-ups of the Cybertruck:
