Tesla Truck (Cybertruck) 2022 Review and Specifications

We continue to follow Musk’s great electric pickup truck closely. Here is a summary of the electric vehicle so far.

The Tesla Cybertruck. Even those who don’t follow the auto industry closely probably know about this wild electric truck, which CEO Elon Musk revealed back in November 2019. It’s a polarizing machine, that’s for sure. But beyond what everyone thinks about the truck, what do we actually know about it, two years later?

 

While production remains a long way out, we’re still learning more about the ambitious new truck. Read on below for everything we know about the Cybertruck. More and more as it draws closer to production, as it turns out: In July, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the new Cybertruck will be built in Austin, Texas, alongside the company’s forthcoming electric Semi, which has itself been delayed until 2022.

Design and engineering

We know the Tesla Cybertruck has a thick, unfinished stainless steel body. Stainless steel looks great, but could present several problems, based on attempts by other companies to make it work on a production vehicle—namely the DeLorean with the DMC-12. The material is hard and wear-resistant, but it is also difficult to repair and almost impossible to paint. Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims that the Cybertruck’s body is capable of withstanding heavy hammers and certain types of small arms fire. Car windshield, with that? Not much. You’ll need some mirrors as well, as catching hitting a traffic pillar on the road seems to highlight visibility issues. Those mirrors, by the way, will be detachable, according to the CEO. As it stands, it looks like Tesla isn’t quite done with what the Cybertruck slug will be made of. Back in July 2020, Musk telegraphed that metal changes were afoot for the new truck.
How do the public feel about this futuristic pickup door? Depends on who you ask. One early survey said a majority of Americans said they didn’t like it or hadn’t even seen the electric truck.
The Cybertruck’s dimensions bring it in line with other full-size trucks on sale today such as the F-150, Ram 1500, and Silverado 1500. Specifically, the Cybertruck is 231.7 inches long, 79.8 inches wide, and 75 inches high, and seats six. grown ups. Off-road performance feels decent too, with a 35-degree approach angle, 28-degree departure angle and 16 inches of ground clearance.

These dimensions may cause a headache for future owners, though. An augmented reality app has shown that Cybertruck will likely have a hard time in typical US garages. It’s not a problem unique to the Cybertruck, but even so, the electric truck does need a lot of space. Despite previous reports to the contrary, it appears that Tesla won’t change the dimensions of the original Model Truck to make it more powerful. However, a second smaller model is possible … in the end.

Perhaps a Cybunker would be of use to house the pickup truck. Yes, Cybertruck will have an accompanying housing unit, presumably ready for construction sometime next year.

It’s also interesting that while the Cybertruck’s body might look like it would efficiently slice through the air a piece of farm equipment, it might not be aerodynamically inefficient, according to some computer models done by an independent flight engineer.

Naturally, Musk piled onto that claim with more hype, saying that the Cybertruck could have a coefficient of drag of around 0.30 — around the same as a Ford Focus ST and much better than most trucks. Going back the year the Cybertruck broke cover, a 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500, for example, claims a drag coefficient of 0.38 and while that 0.08 difference doesn’t seem like a lot, it is. It’s unclear how dramatically adding an actual windshield wiper would affect that 0.30 figure.
An essential part of any truck is its bed, and how effective that bed is at carrying stuff. The Cybertruck takes the traditional truck bed concept and adds some features that are both cool and likely very functional. The first is that the Cybertruck’s bed comes with a sliding, metal tonneau cover that’s lockable — making the cargo area much more secure than an open bed.
The Cybertruck’s bed also features a built-in ramp and multiple charging outlets for things like electric ATVs (which seem to use an awful lot of Yamaha parts). Tesla claims a payload capacity of 3,500 pounds, which puts it ahead of Ford’s best-specced F-150.
Yet, the Cybertruck may not be classified as a light-duty pickup truck. Documents Tesla filed in California in December put the automaker on the record saying the pickup will “likely” boast medium-duty truck specs. That would make the Cybertruck an F-250 competitor, which far outpaces the Tesla’s pickup. It also may explain why the Cybertruck walked an F-150 away in a tug-of-war match up.
Inside, the Cybertruck is more spartan than even Tesla’s Model 3 — a vehicle which was considered incredibly minimalistic when it was introduced back in 2016. Like the Model 3, the Cybertruck has a large, centrally mounted touchscreen. It’s also sporting a not-at-all-wheel-like steering wheel, something we’d be shocked to see make it through to production.
Finally, Musk has claimed that the Cybertruck will be available with built-in solar charging. The system, he says, will be able to add between 15 and 40 miles of range depending on conditions, but he declined to state whether the system will be included with the truck, or available as an option.

Performance, prices and production

Tesla’s Cybertruck will be offered in four different trim levels, each with a different powertrain. The base model will feature a single motor and a range of around 250 miles. This version will be rear-wheel drive only, and Tesla claims it’ll tow approximately 7,500 pounds. The single-motor version will make the 0-to-60 sprint in a respectable but slow-for-Tesla 6.5-ish seconds. Tesla plans to offer this version for $39,900 before any incentives, according to the company.
The next rung up is the dual-motor trim, which starts at $49,900 and features all-wheel drive. Tesla claims this midtier model will have a range of better than 300 miles and will be able to tow around 10,000 pounds. The dual-motor’s 0-to-60 time drops to around 4.5 seconds. We’d expect that this would be the trim level that most people opt for. It’s right in the price-to-performance sweet spot that other trucks currently occupy.

A tri-motor all-wheel drive Cybertruck previously sat at the top of the model range. This version will set buyers back just a shade under $70,000 — $69,900 to be exact — but for that money, you’ll get a range of around 500 miles and the advertised towing capacity of 14,000 pounds. That range claim is a big deal, and we’re not 100% sure how Tesla plans to make it a reality in such a heavy vehicle with three motors, but we’ll see. The tri-motor trim’s 0-to-60 time will hover at or around 2.9 seconds.
On Dec. 3, Musk revealed there will be a four-motor variant. In fact, this will be the first truck set for production sometime in 2022. The CEO didn’t divulge many other details, but it will feature “independent, ultra fast response torque control of each wheel.” It’s not clear if this four-motor variant replaces the tri-motor truck, but those with reservations for other powertrain types will be able to upgrade their order to the four-motor Cybertruck.
This being Tesla, the options list is basically nonexistent, except for the Full Self-Driving option, which the company presently sells for $10,000. Other than that, who knows what kind of gear Tesla may offer with the pickup truck.
Prospective buyers can plunk down a $100 refundable deposit for their dystopian dream vehicle now, but Tesla swapped production priority around in early December. Originally, the cheapest Cybertrucks (single- and dual-motor) were planned for production in late 2021. Then, Tesla flat-out delayed the truck this year. The company plans to test beta vehicles by the end of 2021, with production now happening sometime in 2022. That should effectively shift production of the lesser Cybertrucks by a year as well. That also assumes the carmaker doesn’t run into any other issues along the way.