Things About Tesla’s New Cybertruck You Didn’t Know

 

photo credit: CNN.com

photo credit: CNN.com


 

So, I’m sure you’ve seen Tesla’s new pickup truck model coming out in the future called the Cybertruck. Some people loved it, some people hated it, but one thing is for sure it definitely turned heads. Elon Musk announced awhile ago that Tesla was building a pickup truck because roughly 6,500 trucks that run on fossil fuels are sold per day just in the US. Like other Tesla Models, the Tesla Cybertruck is run by all electric motors, absolutely no carbon emissions. With the Cybertruck there are going to be three models, with different specs and prices. 

The first model is a single motor truck with rear wheel drive that has a range of 250 miles. It goes 0-60mph in 6.5 seconds, has a payload of 3,500 lb. and can tow up to 7,500 lb. This model only costs $39,900. Now that might be cheap for a Tesla but honestly for those specs you can get a lot more truck for $40,000, though it would be gas powered. 

The second model has two motors and is all wheel drive. It can go 300 miles on a single battery charge. It goes 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds, has a 3,500 lb. payload and can tow 10,000 lb. This model’s price is $49,900. 

The third model is the fun one. It has three motors and is all wheel drive too. Its range on a single battery charge is 500 miles. It also has a payload of 3,500 lb. but can tow 14,000 lb. Its top speed is 130 mph and it can go 0-60mph in just 2.9 seconds, which is super impressive, making this model also a performance truck. The 500 mile range is also impressive, though I bet its way less if you’re towing an RV. And of course each model can come with full self-driving technology for an extra 7 grand. 

The truck is set to come out in late 2021. You can reserve one now online for just a hundred dollars that is refundable. Now that you know the basics of what’s happening with the Tesla Cybertruck, here are some things you probably didn’t know about it. 


 

The Bed 

So, obviously what makes this truck so unique, besides it only running on electricity, is it’s design. There are absolutely no curves on the Cybertruck, making it look aggressive like a futuristic military vehicle. Personally, I go back and forth on if I like the design or not. It seems that people either hate it and think it looks like something a 5 year old drew, or they like it and think it’s innovative. 

photo credit: CNN.com

photo credit: CNN.com

A cool feature (I think) is that there’s a cover for the bed. The whole thing (including the bed cover) is made from 301 stainless steel so you can actually stand on the bed cover if you want. Inside the bed are slots at the bottom in the corners and a L bracket that runs alongside of the whole bed so you can put a rope or a bungie wherever you want. That certainly makes tying stuff down very easy. What’s also cool is there are two electric outlets in the truck bed, a 110 V outlet and a 240 V outlet. So if you’re ever camping and need a power source you’re good to go. 

photo credit: Teslarati.com

photo credit: Teslarati.com

What was also announced with the Cybertruck was the Cyberquad. A Tesla made, all electric ATV that charges in the bed of your Cybertruck. Don’t worry it’s just as angular as the truck too. We still don’t know if Tesla is going to sell the Cyberquad separately from the truck and how much it would cost.  It’s rumored that the quad could come as an add on or already included to a certain model tier. There’s also a cool ramp that folds out so you can drive your quad easily into your bed. 

photo credit: Fox News

photo credit: Fox News

Speaking of cool add-ons, Tesla will also come out with a special tent that will fit directly on the Cybertruck bed. So, when you go camping in this truck you’ll be completely off the grid, which is awesome. 

photo credit: Electrek

photo credit: Electrek


 

The Interior

So like the other Tesla cars, the interior of the Cybertruck will be simple, sleek, modern and minimalist. A very unique feature is its dashboard is made of marble. Okay, not actual marble, it’s made of paper composite materials that make it look just like marble. Whether or not you think marble even belongs in a car it looks pretty good.

photo credit: Ford Authority

photo credit: Ford Authority

Another cool feature inside the truck is its rear view mirror. It’s not actually a mirror, technically it’s a display screen that shows a live feed of a high-def camera in the back. When you adjust the mirror (I mean screen) it adjusts the camera at the same time. The display in the middle of the dash is a 17 inch landscape screen. There are two rows of three seats. The middle seat in the front also can fold into a middle console with cup holders. The steering wheel isn’t really a wheel. I guess they had a rule of absolutely no circles on this car, besides the wheels of course. But who knows, maybe they spent good R&D money trying to make those geometrical too, wouldn’t surprise me. The steering wheel on this truck more resembles an airplane yoke, which is the airplane term for a steering wheel. 


 

The Exterior 

So what’s also interesting about this truck (everything is) is that it doesn’t have any paint on it. It’s just straight up stainless steel. Elon said a plus to this is that if it ever got bumped or scratched it wouldn’t be noticeable because there’s no paint to get scratched off. He also said that since there’s no paint it’s very easy to have it wrapped in what ever color you want. Tesla did announce that it will also come in a matte black. 

photo credit: Tesmanian

photo credit: Tesmanian

So, right now the truck is still in concept mode which means a lot could change about it. If you didn’t notice, the concept truck didn’t have any side mirrors or windshield wipers on it, which they need to put on to make it street legal in most countries around the world. What I’m wondering is,  are they are just gonna put conventional side mirror and wipers on the Cybertruck? Or are they going to be innovative with those as well? Are the side mirrors going to be large display screens with a few camera feeds at different angles, so you know exactly what you’re doing when you’re backing up this large vehicle? Is the windshield going to be a special type of glass that just never loses visibly when it gets wet? Both those ideas would be cool, but I think if they were doing something special with them, they would have showed those features at the show as well. But you never know.

Elon also hinted that he wants to have the truck come equipped with solar panels as well. They would attach onto the truck bed cover. Elon said this would add an extra 15 miles to the battery.  There also might be an option where additional solar panels fold out, giving the battery an extra 30-40 miles per day. This definitely is a dope idea because people on average in the US drive 30 miles a day.

photo credit: Futurism

photo credit: Futurism


 

Why the Armored Glass Broke? 

Obviously, the most viral part of the video wasn’t actually the way the Cybertruck looked, but was that its bullet proof windows broke during the demonstration. I don’t know why anyone cares about having bullet proof windows on a truck but it is pretty cool I guess. I just wonder how much extra you’re paying for those special windows. 

In case you didn’t see it, one of the demonstrators threw a baseball size steel ball at the front window and it broke. The ball didn’t go through but it did crack it a lot. That wasn’t suppose to happen, so they did it again and threw the steel ball at the back window (this time less hard). It broke the window again. What was funny is that Elon was so shook why when it happened. Before the show they did same exact test and the windows held up. 

Window test before the show.

Sledge hammer test.

After the show Elon announced that he knew why the windows broke. Right before the window test, he was showing the audience that the doors can’t be dented. The other demonstrator took a sledge hammer and hit the two doors with it, very hard too. The doors didn’t dent and it looked really cool. But it cracked the glass window behind the door panel, on both doors. So, when the steel ball hit the glass next it broke even more. I’m sure they did the sledge hammer test also before the show too. Who knows how many times they hit this thing with a sledge hammer. Anyways the whole thing was pretty amusing watching something not go to plan.