The all-new 2024 Chevy Silverado EV RST is Chevrolet’s latest sporty and luxurious electric truck with up to 754 horsepower. It has a price tag of just under $96,500, which is around $5,500 less than a new Tesla Cybertruck Foundation Series. Is the new electric Silverado RST better than the Cybertruck? Let’s dig in!
The Silverado EV RST is Chevy’s next electric pickup truck that is coming to market. Deliveries of the First Edition trucks is happening right now.
Power
This RST is a dual-motor truck that can put down a maximum of 754 hp and 785 lb-ft of torque in its Wide-Open-Watts (WOW) sport mode. Chevy says it’s capable of dispatching a 0-60 MPH run in under 4.5 seconds. We will confirm this very soon. Tesla says that their dual-motor 600 hp truck is capable of a 4.1 second 0-60 MPH run.
Utility
The Silverado EV RST has a maximum payload rating of 1,500 lbs and a maximum tow rating of up to 10,000 lbs. The Cybertruck has a maximum 2,500 lbs of payload and up to 11,000 lbs of towing. How come the Cybertruck has an acceleration and a payload advantage? It’s because the Tesla pickup has a much smaller battery (122.4 kWh) and it weighs much less. On the flip side, the new Silverado EV RST has an approximately 215 kWh battery and the truck we tested has a curb weight of 8,943 lbs.
Range
This big battery means that the Silverado EV RST has an estimated driving range of 440 miles. The Cybertruck’s estimated range is 318 miles, but it is less in real-world testing. Our previous Silverado EV WT testing suggests that GM’s range estimate will match the real world and it may actually be conservative. We will do more range testing soon.
Technology, Cabin & Bed
The Silverado EV RST has an upper hand on cargo volume, passenger comfort, and usable bed space. The Silverado has 10.7 cu-ft of frunk volume versus 7 cu-ft for the Cybertruck. The Silverado has a manually folding midgate that extends its 5’11” bed length to a massive 9′ feet with the tailgate closed. The RST’s bed can easily swallow a 4×8 sheet of plywood or a stack of them with the tailgate closed. The Cybertruck’s bed floor is about 6′ long, but the bulkhead is tapered inward, so there is less space if you are stacking up the plywood.
Indeed, you can put considerably more weight in the back of the Cybertruck.
The RST comes with GM’s Super Cruiser hands-free driver assistance system. This is one of the smoothest and most capable hands-free systems. You can also tow a trailer with Super Cruise enabled. The Cybertruck Foundation Series that is currently on sale does not support Auto-pilot or Full Self Driving modes at this time.
The RST and the Cybertruck both have height-adjustable air suspensions, about the same wheelbase length, and four-wheel steering.
Charging
The RST can level-3 fast charge at up 350 kW. It is currently the quickest charging electric pickup truck (along with the GMC Hummer EV). The Cybertruck is currently able to charge at up to 250 kW, but the speed could improve if/when the Supercharger stations support higher voltages.
Join me for a first hands-on video walkaround of the new Silverado EV RST.
