It’s great to see that the Tesla Cybertruck is finally real. It’s reaching a very limited number of first customers. Competition is healthy for all of us. We cannot wait to test a Cybertruck in the real world, the way we test all pickup trucks. However, we cannot help but be disappointed by the production Cybertruck. Here are the Top 10 reasons.
Concept versus Production
This is not a part of the Top 10 disappointments. Most concept vehicles never reach production unchanged. This is simply to set the stage.
Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, promised the following in November 2019.
A full-size pickup that is 231.7 inches (19.3 feet) long with seats up to six (6) people and a 6.5-foot long bed. By the way, a Ford F-150 crew cab with a 5.5-foot bed is also 231.7 inches long.
Here is what we get in production starting in November 2023.
A smallish full-size pickup that is 223.7 inches long. This is approximately the same length as a Toyota Tacoma crew cab with a 6-foot bed, one of the largest midsize pickup trucks you can buy today. The Cybertruck will no longer seat six (6) people, it’s now made for five (5). The bed is 6 feet long, not 6.5 feet as promised.
Now, that you have a rough idea for the size of this thing – let’s get going.
Gamechanger?
I spoke with one of my friends in the Denver region. He currently owns a Rivian R1T pickup truck and an R1S SUV. He has a Cybertruck reservation, but the delivery event did not make him want to run out and trade his R1T for a Cybertruck. Although they may cost about the same.
The Cybertruck does introduce several industry-disrupting technologies: 48-volt base electrical architecture and ethernet internal communication. Steer-by-wire, variable-ratio steering, and four-wheel-steering have all been done before.
Simply put, the Cybertruck is not a real gamechanger that it could have been two years ago.
Towing
Tesla initially promised up to 14,000 lbs of maximum towing ability, which would have been class-leading. Now, the production Cybertruck is rated at up to 11,000 lbs.
Elon Musk says a “truck pull” is the ultimate measurement of a truck’s power. Well, this sport is generally referred to as a “tractor pull” or a “sled pull”. This is a fun sport, but it also has to do with the truck’s tires and ultimate traction because it’s performed on packed dirt.
At TFLtruck, we think the ultimate truck test is the Ike GauntletTM. A Cybertruck is shown pulling a sled over an impressive distance of 300+ feet. Can it tow near its maximum 11,000 lbs up an 8-mile stretch of the I-70 in the Rocky Mountains up a 7% grade? We must find this out soon.
Payload
Don’t get me wrong. 2,500 lbs of payload is a great number. The disappointment comes when you remember that Tesla originally promised up to 3,500 lbs of payload in the Cybertruck. This 2,500 lbs payload rating is more than the capability of any other electric pickup truck on the market. It’s also more than most ICE half-ton trucks that are currently sold in 2023. Still, 2,500 pounds is not a ground-breaking number like 3,500 pounds would have been.
It’s great to see that the bed is four feet wide, so it can fit a 4×4 sheet of plywood with the tailgate down. Most full-size pickup trucks are
Range
The maximum stated range is 340 miles for the dual-motor Cybertruck variant. This is not class-leading or ground-breaking by any measure. The 2024 Chevy Silverado EV is currently rated at 450 miles of range. We confirmed that it’s capable of going even further on our Denver 100 range loop.
Tesla says Cybertruck owners can choose to purchase a “Range Extending” additional battery pack to push the driving range up to 470 miles. There are two huge drawbacks. First, this Range Extending battery takes up nearly half the truck’s bed space. Second, Tesla originally promised 500+ miles of range from the Cybertruck.
TFLstudios have owned four Tesla cars over the last several years. We have rarely seen our Teslas approach the Tesla-promised range in the real world. Will the Cybertruck be the same?
Charging Speed
The maximum charging speed is listed at 250 kW. This is what most current Tesla cars are capable of. When the Tesla semi-truck was unveiled with up to 1 mW (1,000 kW) charging speed, there was a hint that the Cybertruck may be getting this super fast charging rate as well.
Perhaps, this is still coming in the future. If the current Tesla charging network cannot support speeds of over 250 kW, then we may have to wait until the grid catches up.
New information says that the Cybertruck will be able to charge at speeds up to 350 kW at Supercharger v4 stations. This matches what the Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, and GMC Hummer EV trucks can currently do.
Lack of Door Handles / Small Frunk
Many pickup truck consumers will be bummed to hear that the Cybertruck does away with door handles completely. If you live in a cold climate or are working a dirty and dusty job site – the lack of door handles may be a significant issue.
The frunk cargo space only has about 7 cu-ft of volume. This is about half of the volume offered by the Ford F-150 Lightning frunk. The front of the Cybertruck is just big enough to hold two carry-on suitcases.
Off-Road / No Spare Tire
17.44 inches of ground clearance in “Extract” mode? This sounds too good to be true.
Don’t get me wrong, we love the fact that electric pickup trucks have a relatively flat bottom without axles, differentials, transfer cases, and other components hanging down. This is a great attribute for off-road performance, however… The Cybertruck has 35-inch tires, the spec sheet says 17.44 inches of ground clearance in the highest suspension setting. That means the tires are a perfect 35-inch in diameter (which no tire is), and there are no suspension components that hang down past the halfway point of the tires. Some videos of the Cybertruck show suspension a-arms protruding a little below the halfway point of the tires.
The Cybertruck also has no provision for carrying a spare tire. Tesla says you can bring a spare inside the bed if you need it. This is not a good solution for an off-road vehicle.
Truck or Car?
Elon Musk kept calling the Cybertruck a car during the reveal.
The definition of “car” revolves mainly around moving people. The definition of “truck” is about moving stuff or doing work. A vehicle with a bed that is meant for carrying things should be referred to as a pickup truck. Although it can also carry several people and perform “car” duties.
Since we still do not know how to operate the Cybertruck’s trailer brake controller (if it has one), and we don’t know the GVWR or GCWR of the Cybertruck. I hesitate to call it a “truck”.
Lack of Rear Visibility & Powered Tonneau Cover
When the tonneau cover is closed, there is no visibility out of the rear window. There is a video feed from the tailgate-mounted camera that is shown on the main central screen on the dashboard. However, the rear video feed is not coming to the interior rearview mirror. This is not ideal because the camera feed may have some delay in it, the camera may stop working, and the camera feed is somewhat low on the dash. The driver needs to lower their gaze and switch their eye focus to check the rear camera. This is not ideal for safety when towing trailers.
Price
The original promise was $39,900. Now, the base model Cybertruck that may or may not come in 2025 has a price of $60,990. The dual-motor 2024 Cybetruck will start at $79,990, and the tri-motor 2024 Cyberbeast starts at $99,990. This is a huge price difference from what was communicated four years ago.
