Tesla Cybertruck: EV With Futuristic Design and Divided Opinions

Production Challanges

Tesla started delivering the Cybertruck since November 2023 after almost 4 years after its stage appearance. Despite Tesla Cybertruck having millions of customers reserved thier Cybertruks, the deliveries were delayed due to production challenges. These production challenges are mainly related to design and manufacturing, as one can see its a quit futuristic truck with no resemblance with the normal road going vehicles. The production of Tesla Cybertruck was halted several times and the latest one was in December 2024. The production halts were mainly made to address the quality issues.One of the major issues was the faulty accelator pedal, which used to stuck on the floor and won't allow the accelerator pedal to come back to its position. That caused 3878 units to recall in April 2024 which caused the unrest among the customers. Tesla Cybertruck had rusting issues as there is no paint layer on the exteriors. Tesla has currently sold close to 40.000 units of Tesla Cybertruck and had overcome the issues from the past. Tesla is ramping up the production to increase the annual output to 250.000 by 2025.

Performance

The Tesla Cybertruck is available in 2 variants, Base Variant and the Cyberbeast Variant. The Base variant of Tesla Cybertruck is equipped with 2 electric motors setup that churns out 600 horse power/711 Nm and 0 to 100 kmph in just 4.1 seconds, with a top speed of 180 kmph. On the other side the Cyberbeast Variant has 3 electric motors configuration capable of reaching 0 to 100 kmph in whooping 2.6 s with a top speed of 209kmph. To give you an idea that the BYD U9 goes from 0 to 100 kmph in 2.36 s which is a Hyper car! Just imagine how fast the the Tesla Cybertruck is in comparison to an electric hyper car! The power output of Cyberbeast variant is 800 horse power/1395 Nm. These figures for this mamoth size truck weighing 3000+ kg are impressive. Naturally this makes the Tesla Cybertruck one of the fastest production vehicle available on the sale.

Range and Charging

The Tesla Cybertruck's range is dependent on the variant. The single motor base variant (RWD) can cover 402 km, Dual Motor (AWD) 547 km and 3 Motor (AWD) can cover 515 km. With the range extender option, one can get an additional range of 193 km. The Tesla Cybertruck has in house developed 4680 cell battery pack with 123 kWh standard battery capacity (Range extender 50 kWh). These figures are impressive however the biggest enemy of any EV is the weather conditions. Cold temperatures can reduce the efficiency of the battery leading to lower driving range by 25% to 33% in extremely cold weather as low as -20 degrees. These extreme winters are quite common in USA now days due to climate change. We all agree that bigger is better, but not with the EV battery. Because at home charging the Tesla Cybertruck can take about 12 to 14 hours to charge from 0 to 80%. On the other hand the Super chargers can charge the Tesla Cybertruck from 15% to 80% in 20 minutes.

Features and Safety

The Tesla Cybertruck is loaded with features and offers plenty of safety features too. The most impressive feature of the Tesla Cybertruck is that it has a towing capacity of 5000 kg (~ 2 sedans or 1 Rhinoceros or 1 large fishing boat). The Tesla Cybertruck has spacious interiors that can fit 5 adults easily and they can enjoy the massive whole glass roof offering better visibility. Thanks to its massive bed oen can carry plenty of goods and there are also many hidden yet practical storage compartments. Tesla is always adding some gimmicky features such as Bioweapon defence mode. With this Bioweapon mode you can protect yourself against any air borne parcticles by 99.97%! This is equivalent to High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) used in Hospitals to filter the air. The Tesla Cybertruck is practical as you can use it for using power tools or charge other EV's! Besides this one can opt for Solar roof that can add 24 km of range which might be useful in many situations. From safety perspective, Tesla Cybertruck is equipped with Forward collision warning, Automatic emergency braking, obstacle aware acceleration, rear cross traffic alert and lane assist. Besides this Tesla Cybertruck is also capable of Full Self Driving capabilities allowing it to be most desirable EV currently on sale.

Pricing and Availability

The Tesla Cybertruck is on sale at the starting price of $60.990 for the base variant (RWD single motor). The dual motor (AWD) costs $79.990 and the Cyberbeast variant costs $99.990. The range extender costs $16.000 more addition to the any above variants. Tesla also offered the Foundation variant (limited edition) of the Cybertruck that was costing around $120.000! Pricing is one of the challenge on the story of Tesla Cybertruck as it was way to expensive than what the customers were hoping for. In order to boost the sales of Tesla Cybertruck is also available on monthly leasing program of $750. The another challenge is that the Tesla Cybertruck is currently available only in North American continent mostly in USA and Canada. Another challenge with the Tesla Cybertruck is that its dimensions and weight doesnt allow one to drive on the normal Car driving license, especially in EU. Also the the Tesla Cybertruck's sharp edges does not allow it to be launched as the current variant. Tesla will need to overcome these main factors in order to make it available in European markets and also in rest of the world.

Summary

I came across the podcast on wgnradio "Are cybertruks proving to be a flop?" and made me to think and write about it. The Tesla Cybertruck is indeed a great vehicle but not as compared to its hype when launched. We can say that Tesla Cybertruck is still making an impact on the electric pickup truck market and the new increased production capacities bring the pricing down to attract more customers. Tesla will for sure come up with innovative ideas to overcome the regulatory requirements to launch in other global markets.

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Image Credits: Official website of Tesla

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