Elon Musk unveiled his Cybertruck and delivered on his outrageous design promises. Tesla’s pickup truck may have been a labor of love for Musk and those who worked on it. The CYBRTRK’s design, capabilities, and features revealed that Tesla may actually have been holding back with its previous car designs, and it hasn’t fully unleashed its potential for next-gen vehicles yet, until now.
Tesla Cybertruck Details
Tesla's Cybertruck had a smooth geometric design all throughout its body. Elon Musk stressed its exoskeleton, which was made of ultra-hard stainless steel. Musk boasted that the CYBRTRK'S skin was made of the same alloy as SpaceX's Starship rocket.
The Cybertruck also featured a transparent metal glass, which can also be found on the Tesla Semi. During the live demo of the glass, it actually fractured, but the metal ball thrown at it did not go into the pickup truck's cabin. To be fair, though, Musk said they had thrown everything at the Cybertruck's window before the event--including a kitchen sink, literally. So those windows were probably pretty stressed and at their limits.
The CYBRTRK comes standard with Adaptive Air Suspension, allowing it to change the ride height as it sees fit. This feature turns the Cybertruck into a pickup that can accommodate different loads and needs. Tesla's pickup truck can carry payloads up to 3500lbs and can tow 7,500lbs to 14,000lbs.
Credit: Tesla
By far, the best mind-blowing information Musk shared was about the Cybertruck's on-road performance. It can do 0-60 in 2.9s, a quarter-mile in 10,8s, and has a 28-degree departure angle.
Range-wise, the Tesla Cybertruck has three variants: 258+, 300+, and 500+ miles. Cybertruck owners can charge in one of Tesla's 14K+ superchargers in the nation. The pickup truck is Supercharger V3 capable and has 110v/220v onboard outlets.
The most surprising info about the Cybertruck was its starting price of US$39,900 with single-motor RWD--with no incentives, which is significantly lower than Elon Musk's initial figures. The mid-range variant costs US$49,999 with Dual Motor AWD, while the top-tier version costs US$69,999 with Tri-Motor AWD. Basic Autopilot comes standard for all variants and all tiers are compatible with the company's full self-driving suite.
Elon Musk and Team Tesla Unleashed
Elon Musk kept mum about Tesla’s pickup truck for the most part, which has been seven years in the making. He offered only vague details until the unveiling. However, his excitement and pride for the Cybertruck exuded through his tweets and conversations about it in the past. It was crystal clear that the CYBRTRK was one of Elon Musk’s favorite vehicles in the Tesla fleet.
The resulting pick-up truck revealed what Elon Musk and Tesla’s most innovative minds could do with a vehicle without constraints. So far, Tesla has had to work within specific parameters with the Models S, 3, X, and the Roadster.
With the Roadster, Tesla was confined to a Lotus body. It didn’t exactly work out seamlessly since Tesla had to modify the majority of the sports car's frame. When it came time to make the Model S, Tesla needed to make a full-sized sedan that would attract fossil-fuel consumers in the market. So, the all-electric automaker couldn’t really make the Model S too different from the cars already on the road. It already had to convince people to buy an all-electric vehicle. If the Model S’ design was too drastic, it could make consumers second-guess buying it.
Credit: Tesla
The Model X’s predicament was much the same as the Model S. On top of that, the Model X was filled to the brim with unbelievable never-before-seen tech, which was the reason deliveries were extensively delayed. Tesla rested the waters with the Model X’s tech to see if people could learn to accept more futuristic designs and features. Consumers did appreciate the Model X's rather over-the-top tech, but Tesla had to strain itself in delivering the vehicle
Then came the Model 3, which has a design made for mainstream tastes, like the Models S and X—but to an even bigger degree. The Model Y fits the same taste palate. The Models 3 and Y are for everyday use, and Tesla played it safe with their design—at least what’s safe in Tesla’s standards anyway. The whole focus with the 3 and Y was to make a car the majority of people would buy so their design couldn’t be too out there.
The Cybertruck wasn’t made for mass consumption. It was made to be jaw-drop awesome—based on Tesla’s scale. With the CYBRTRK, it’s evident that Tesla and Elon Musk wanted to see how far they could with their design, capabilities, and features. Musk and his excellent Tesla team put their all into the Cybertruck, and only time will tell if it was enough to make people reimagine the American pickup truck and any other vehicle in the future.
Featured Image Credit: Tesla
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About the Author
Claribelle Deveza
Longtime writer and news/book editor. Writing about Tesla allows me to contribute something good to the world, while doing something I love.
