Tesla Cybertruck: new cheaper Long Range RWD model and full details
The crazy all-electric pick-up truck now gets an entry price of $69,990 in the US thanks to a new version with a longer range
After a long wait we (by which mean Americans) finally got to see the Tesla Cybertruck hit the road last year and now the entry point to Tesla’s angular EV has been brought within easier reach thanks to a new, cheaper single-motor version.
At $69,990 (roughly £55,000), the Cybertruck Rear-Wheel Drive is around $30,000 more than Tesla originally suggested the Cybertruck would cost. Still, it undercuts both the All-Wheel Drive - which sits at $79,990 and the range-topping $99,990 Cyberbeast. While a handful of Cybertrucks have been imported to the UK, there are still no plans for Tesla to officially sell the vehicle here.
At the Cybertruck’s launch in 2023, CEO Elon Musk was in attendance, stating: “I think it’s our best product; the most unique thing on the road and the future will look like the future.” At the event, Tesla showcased a few videos highlighting the Cybertruck’s durability and performance, standing up to gunfire and managing to beat a Porsche 911 in a drag race while towing another Porsche 911. We were also treated to a view of some of the Cybertruck accessories, including the range extender battery unit that fits in the load bed.
When it was announced back in November 2019, the Cybertruck captured imaginations and made headlines with its polarising, angular styling and equally bold performance claims. But since then it’s also become known for numerous delays. It was originally supposed to arrive in 2021.
Musk previously maintained that Tesla will eventually be producing around 250,000 Cybertrucks per year, but so far just under 50,000 units have found homes in total.
What are the specs and options on the Cybertruck?
Tesla is yet to release full equipment lists for the Cybertruck’s different trim levels so we don;t yet know what equipment owners can expect to receive. We did get a new accessories brochure, however. The options on offer include a $2,975 extendable tent attachment to the load bed, a $6,500 colour paint film, a $400 tailgate ramp, $800 roof bars and even a $55 decal of a smashed window (as a tribute to the infamous ball-throwing mishap of the original unveiling).
What are the Cybertruck’s performance figures?
Each Cybertruck trim level gets its own powertrain. The Rear-Wheel Drive sends power to a single rear-mounted electric motor for a 0-60mph time of 6.5 seconds. The All-Wheel Drive gets a dual-motor set up with 600bhp and a 4.1-second 0-60mph time.
The range-topping Cyberbeast gets 845bhp thanks to a tri-motor set up taken from the Model S Plaid. The 0-60mph stands at a faintly ridiculous 2.5 seconds.
The range-topping Cyberbeast gets 845bhp thanks to a tri-motor set up taken from the Model S Plaid. While range decreases to 320 miles, the 0-60mph stands at a faintly ridiculous 2.5 seconds.
What is the Cybertruck’s range?
As for range, the Rear-Wheel Drive variant gets a maximum 350 miles, the All-Wheel Drive has 325 miles and the Cyberbeast 320 miles - the same as the Ford F-150 Lightning. Tesla has shown-off a ‘range extender’ battery that will bump range up over 440 miles, although it’s not been revealed exactly how this will work. It appears to be a removable battery pack that can sit in the load area to increase the Cybertruck’s range or provide extra power for running tools or charging other electric vehicles.
What do we know about the exterior design?
Despite concerns over pedestrian safety and the requirement to pass different vehicle type approval laws around the world, the Cybertruck’s distinctive flat-panel design has made it to production largely unchanged from the original concept creation.
The distinctive roofline and squared-off wheel arch extensions jutting out from the bodywork characterise a vehicle design that is instantly recognisable and completely different from anything else on the road. The windscreen sits flush with the bonnet and uses a single vertical wiper to reduce drag, a key factor in boosting range for an electric vehicle.
Despite its brutal-looking design, the Cybertruck’s aerodynamics are actually fairly sophisticated when compared with more conventional, combustion-engine-powered pick-up trucks, particularly at the front. The continuous straight panel from the top of the windscreen to the ‘kamm tail’ rear end also helps the truck produce less turbulence than the boxy silhouette of rival trucks thanks to the faired-in load bay.
Where the Cybertruck does deviate from initial plans is in its structure. While most of the body serves as a steel exoskeleton as intended, the production Cybertruck adopts a cast aluminium section at the rear. This will be produced using an 8,000-ton "Giga Press" machine at the Texas factory.
What is the Cybertruck like inside?
Inside, the general architecture of the Cybertruck's cabin is heavily based on the 2019 concept and will feature a square-set, blocky dash design, plus an enormous 18.5-inch central touchscreen mounted in the centre of it. Tesla says the Cybertruck can “seat six comfortably”, with additional storage under the rear bench. You should also be able to fold down the front middle seat, giving the driver and a single front passenger a central armrest and cupholders. To the rear there’s a 9.4-inch touchscreen with a new infotainment system.
One of the more controversial elements of the Cybertruck’s cabin is the closed-top steering yoke, similar to the ones offered for the firm’s latest Model S and Model X. However, it’s possible that Tesla will offer a regular steering wheel as an alternative.
One of the more controversial elements of the Cybertruck’s cabin is the closed-top steering yoke, similar to the ones offered for the firm’s latest Model S and Model X. The steering inputs are transmitted electronically to all four wheels via a steer-by-wire set-up.
What are the weights, dimensions and carrying capacities?
The Tesla Cybertruck is big. It measures 5,885mm long, 2,027mm wide and 1,905mm tall, which makes it around the same size as the Supercab version of North America’s current best-selling truck, the Ford F-150.
Tesla claims the Cybertruck has almost 5,000kg in towing capacity with the four-wheel drive variants. Payload capacity stands at 1,134kg.
At the presentation of the Cybertruck in Texas, Musk claimed it has better torsional stiffness than a McLaren P1. This is in part helped by the Tesla-made steel alloy that makes up the Cybertruck’s body. In All-Wheel Drive form the Cybertruck weighs 2,995kg but with the additional motor of the Cyberbeast, weight increases to 3,103kg.
Tesla says there’s 3,423-litres of storage and the load bed can accommodate items up to 1,981mm long.
Musk promises that Tesla's first pick-up will be capable on loose surfaces too; the Cybertruck boasts 406mm of ground clearance, an approach angle of 35 degrees and a departure angle of 28 degrees – which is better than a Ford F-150. A range of new traction control settings designed to simulate mechanical locking differentials is also promised.
How tough is the Tesla Cybertruck?
Like the Tesla Model X (which is no longer on sale in the UK), the Cybertruck rides on air suspension, which means that drivers can lower the pick-up at the rear to help when loading or unloading payload. The truck can also be fitted with a retractable ramp, which was highlighted by a rebadged and rebodied Yamaha all-terrain vehicle driving across the stage and up into the load bed at the Cybertruck's original unveiling. This also outlined just how vast this area is.
Musk claims the Cybertruck will be the toughest pick-up on the market, thanks to a body made of ultra-hard 30X cold-rolled stainless steel. Tesla’s design boss, Franz von Holzhausen, demonstrated the strength of the pick-up’s body by attempting to dent one of its doors with a sledgehammer.
The Cybertruck is also claimed to be fitted with Tesla Armour Glass – an ultra-strong polymer-layered composite, which Elon Musk described as “transparent metal.” Its on-stage demonstration at the Cybertruck's unveiling didn’t quite go to plan, however. While the bodywork stood up to the sledgehammer test, when Holzhausen threw a heavy metal ball at the pick-up’s front and rear door windows, both panes cracked. Musk admitted to the crowd that there was “room for improvement”.
What are the rivals to the Cybertruck?
Since the initial launch of the Cybertruck, several other rival EV pick-up trucks have landed, such as the aforementioned Ford F-150 Lightning and Rivian R1T, plus the GMC Hummer EV and Chevrolet Silverado EV. None of these are available in the UK, however, and we don’t expect the Cybertruck to go on sale here, either. The Maxus T90 EV is currently the only electric pick-up you can buy in Britain, though Isuzu is also working on one that it intends to bring to the UK.
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