I received my invitation to order my CyberTruck last week, as I was one of the very first people who placed my pre-order minutes after they opened it up, 5 years ago in November of 2019. The image above shows how I plan to wrap my CyberTruck when I get it...
I am not really a fan of the standard white decor interior panels (pictured below) which are the ONLY option Tesla is offering now. I heard Tesla was planning to offer a black interior panel option, and I recently discovered the photo above which shows the all-black interior option.
I am going to wait until Tesla offers the black panels, as I want my CyberTruck to be as ManCave as possible. Don't get me wrong, I like the white panels, but definitely prefer the all-black look..
It took me 5 years to figure out the exact details of how I plan to wrap my CyberTruck (pictured above), although I came up with the original concept 5 years ago and it hasn't changed that much, just figuring out all the details which I lay out in this article.
If you are a reader of Jake's Tesla World, you know I am a huge fan of the CyberTruck, as well as a very early reservation holder. Just after I ordered my CyberTruck, I immediately knew I wanted to wrap it in black on the bottom, possibly with a red pinstripe, as well as adding additional rear window shape extensions to the back of the rear side sail to complete the pyramid shape as seen above.
Tesla will be offering a generic PPF wrap which covers the entire car, in one color, which I am not crazy about as it doesn't really make the car pop as much as I would like. In other words, I believe the standard CyberTruck is already two monotone with all the stainless steel and if you wrap the entire CyberTruck in one color, like black as seen below, you end up with the same "too much of a good thing is not a good thing kind of thing", as seen below.
CyberTruck Designer, Franz von Holzhausen showed up at the beach with a CyberTruck wrapped in matte black.
Don't get me wrong, I think Tesla's all black wrapped CyberTruck looks really cool, but in my design mind it camouflages the unique geometrical lines of the magnificent CyberTruck design.
With my CyberTruck concept seen above, I love how the fat red side stripes appear to extend out of the parking light-bar located on the front of the CyberTruck. I spend countless hours over the past four years, experimenting with different ideas for exactly how to wrap my CyberTruck. It may look like it was really simple to decide on a final layout, but it actually the opposite.
Originally, I was planning on doing a thinner red pinstripe as seen in my JAKE'S TESLA WORLD header located at the top of this page, but I ended up going with a bolder red pinstripe as I believe it best compliments and completes the geometry, while cohesively balancing and tying together all the otherworldly design elements of CyberTruck.
To my way of thinking, this design creates a somewhat startling bold and almost unreal looking, if not otherworldly look and vibe. In other words, it takes the already radical CyberTruck design language to the next level.
I plan to wrap my CyberTruck with a high quality Pain Protection Film, (commonly referred to as PPF) with a hydrophobic coating in black, but I also plan to cover the exposed stainless steel areas with a clear PPF with a hydrophobic clear matte coating, as the naked stainless steel surface of the CyberTruck is a fingerprint and smudge magnet of the highest order.
Clear PPF will make it fingerprint proof, kind of like one of those new generation stainless steel refrigerators that hides fingerprints and smudges. I am also considering doing a matte PPF for the limited exposed stainless steel pyramid sections.
This will also make it easy to keep cleaner. I have never owned a car before that was was wrapped, but I was experimenting with the image below that shows a CyberTruck with the LightBar installed at the top of the windshield, and it made me realize that in order for my wrap design to look its best, will likely require me to also wrap the wheel well covers as well as the connecting running board, and front and rear bumpers in black.
The reason I believe it's important to wrap all black elements in the same black, is if I don't there will be two completely different shades of black competing with each other, thus adding too much distractive contrast.
Also, I intend to customize the interior of the CyberTruck by creating a custom MagSafe compatible charging mount for my BulletTrain SAFE WALLET which will be located directly in front and slightly above the squircle steering wheel as seen below. Also, I am seriously contemplating blacking out all the white panels in the CyberTruck as well, as I prefer it to be all black, for the ultimate man-cave vibe.
Below is a cool photo I took of the CyberTruck in a Tesla showroom. I could not help but notice that in the real world, the stainless steel exterior of the CyberTruck gets really dirty looking really fast. In other words, unless you clean it all the time, the stainless steel finish gets dirty looking quickly from fingerprints and smudge marks as seen below, and keep in mind that Tesla doesn't let any customers touch the truck.
Notice how on the rear quarter panel on top in the sail area who uneven and crappy the stainless steel looks. My wrap design eliminates all large sections of exposed stainless steel. Also, I plan to wrap the stainless steel sections with PPF so it can easily be cleaned, and won't show fingerprints, just like on a modern stainless steel fridge that doesn't show fingerprints.
In the next two photos we see how I added elements of my wrap design. In the next two images are identical, but the last one adds the fat red stripe.
I keep flip-flopping back and forth on whether or not I like my wrap design concept better with or without the red stipe.
Wrapping a CyberTruck
As mentioned before, I have never wrapped a car, as it seemed like a waste of money, but for my CyberTruck there are multiple benefits. The video below is from OCDetailing, located in Fremont California, which is located near the Tesla factory.
This first video begins with a sped up version of all the steps to wrap the CyberTruck with STEK|Automotive DYNOChrome-black matte PPF metallic wrap as well as tint all the window surfaces as well as the sunroof, doors and windshield. Then the video shows glamour shots of the CyberTruck strutting around, looking tough, like it's on parade in a Miss America contest. Then Joe from OCDetailing talks about all the detail choices they made, and why, as well as discussing some of the subtle nuances and complexity of wrapping the CyberTruck.
The video below addresses the question of which is better, Matte v. Glossy v. Natural Stainless?
In the video below, OCDetailing wraps the hood of a new CyberTruck with Stek | Automotive DYNOchrome-black matte PPF.
One of the first guys to get a CyberTruck (OurCyberLife) who works for Tesla as an engineer, wrapped his in a minty matte forest green color and it looks great as seen below.
He documented the steps in wrapping his CyberTruck with photos and in the photo below you can't help but notice the severe contrast between the fingerprint and smudge marks on the stainless frunk lid, compared to the front quarter panel which has been wrapped with the minty forest green matte PPF, which appears to eliminate the possibility for any fingerprinting.
The photo below shows the front drivers side quarter panel and A pillar, which look horrendously bad with the fingerprint and smudge marks. Once again, contrast this with the drivers door, which has been wrapped, and shows no fingerprints. Ironically, the CyberTruck has a tremendous beneficial characteristic of being scratch and dent proof, but at the cost that the naked stainless steel looks pretty bad as fingerprints make it look horrible, and there is not way to avoid this, unless you wrap it.
The minty green matte CyberTruck looks awesome, and notice they wrapped the side mirrors with a really cool wrap that looks like carbon fiber.
I was recently having a conversation with my pal, Matthew Tower who is a fellow Tesla enthusiast and we were talking about how masculine the CyberTruck is, and Matthew quipped:
"CyberTruck is the single most masculine product
ever created in the history of the world!!!"
—Matthew Tower
(December 2023)
I completely agree with Matthew's assessment, so much so, I thought I would write an article on this subject.
In my article, named "Jake's TAKE on the Production CyberTruck", I elaborated on this subject so I decided to share the part of that discussion below, as well as expanding on my philosophy.
CyberTruck Exterior
A Masculine Avatar for the Ultimate ManCave on Wheels
In the movie, Trainspotting there is a really funny scene where they get high and watch an old Bond flick, and Sick Boy says, in what could be considered a Jeff Spicoli like moment and quips: "That Sean Connery—he's a masculine actor!!!" The CyberTruck is exactly that. As an anthropomorphized avatar, CyberTruck is the Sean Connery as Bond of vehicles. Masculine, modern, handsome, timeless, bold, clean-cut and highly athletic.
"That Sean Connery—he's a masculine actor!!!"
—Trainspotting
(1996)
I argue that if the CyberTruck was a man, he would be most similar to Sean Connery as James Bond, in Dr. No as seen below in the sense Connery was a large, muscular man who was extremely athletic, handsome, charismatic, modern and clean-cut.
In the photo below we see a white Tesla Model X parked next to a Tesla CyberTruck, which gives us an excellent sense of the difference in size and scale. Both are essentially Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV), and the Model X is basically a soccer mom SUV in looks, curves and function. If you think about it, the Tesla Roadster isSMALLsize vehicle, the Model 3 and Y, areMEDIUM size, and the Models S & X areLARGE, which makes the CyberTruck the firstEXTRA-LARGETesla model.
The CyberTruck is like the Dude version of the Model X—on steroids, in the sense its larger and looks a million time more masculine, muscular and utilitarian—so much so, it's a 21st Century ManCave on Wheels.
When set to the lowest default parked position the CyberTruck is not much taller than the Model X. One of the things that differentiates the Model X and makes it an SUV is its command seating front seat view which seats the driver up much higher than in a car. The CyberTruck, using its air suspension can be raised up 17 inches higher on demand.
I think the Model X is an amazing vehicle in many ways, but don't get me started on the super ill-designed falcon wing doors, which are HORRIBLE at best. Also the second row captains seat chairs are located too close to the doors, and the seats are way too narrow. In other words, sitting in the front seats is amazing, but the second row of seats is terrible and the falcon wind doors are a complete nightmare on wheels.
King of the Road
I personally perceive the CyberTruck as being more of a serious halo statement piece SUV than a truck. The CyberTruck was clearly designed as the ultimate cutting-edge modern Alpha male status symbol.
If you want to go on a roadtrip with a single bike, you can't fit a decent size bike inside the back of the Model X, so you have to buy and use a bike rack that can only go on the back. If you have nice bikes on the back of the Model X, on a bike rack, and you want to stop and grab a sandwich, you have to worry about somebody cutting the locks and stealing your bikes.
With the CyberTruck you can store bikes in the bed with the tonneau cover closed, so you don't need to buy and install/uninstall a bike rack, and the CyberTruck will not only hide your bikes, but would be almost impossible to break into. It's also worth noting the CyberTruck bed is super clean and utilitarian in the sense it lacks the traditional large wheel well blisters or humps for exposed wheel wells, like you would find in a traditional truck like a Ford F150 Lightning. This translates into even more useful space utilization, which can easily accommodate 4x8 foots sheets of plywood.
Speaking of the CyberTruck being a statement piece: CyberTruck is a hardcore statement piece!!! If you think about it for a moment, EVERY SINGLE car on the road today makes some kind of statement, but there is no other vehicle made that makes the kind of bold declarative statement quite like the Tesla CyberTruck. It’s deeply polarizing and looks kinda like an old souped-up El Camino had a baby with an old lotus Esprit from the 70s, who that then had offspring with a Ford F150 whose father was a stainless steel Delorean.
In my personal opinion, I believe the CyberTruck will displace and do the most damage to the Range Rover brand, as it's like a super high tech/all-electric Range Rover. I am not a truck guy—at all. If you offered to give me a top of the line Ford Lightning truck for free, but told me I couldn't sell it and had to drive it, I wouldn't take it. Which is why I say I perceive the CyberTruck way more as a high-end SUV than a truck.
I took the photo below of the CyberTruck in a Tesla showroom, which really shows of it's masculine build. The photos below with the red stripe show my design concept for how I intent to improve my own CyberTruck.
Sandy Munro takes us on a tour at Tesla's Texas Gigafactory so we can see how Tesla developed their special technology to bend the cold rolled steel doors that are used on CyberTruck. We also learn that the thickness of the steel doors is 1.8MM thick, while the rest of the steel outer panels are 1.4MM thick. Also, we learned that the 1.8MM steel doors are so strong and thick and protective that CyberTruck side doors don't require any side impact reinforcement bars inside them, as the door skin can absorb 75% of the load from a side impact!?!?!?
I remember the when I was a kid, going to one of my first field trips which was to a farm to see how things worked, and I was surprised to learn a lot. About a decade ago I was invited by Rolex to be the first journalist to tour all four Rolex Factories in Switzerland, and it completely blew my mind. I mean I was totally stunned. Then a few years later, I toured Tesla's factory in Fremont, California, which also completely blew my mind. The video below explains how I felt watching the amazing Tesla factory tour above:
I still have many unanswered questions about CyberTruck so I decided to created this formal FAQ, which I will updated as soon as I am able to answer them. For the record, I went to my local Tesla showroom today and spoke with the manger and asked him all 15 questions and he didn't know the answer to one question, and I seemed to know more than he did. This is a source of great frustration for me, and kind of a buzzkill, but that is the price we pay if we are interested in being at the cutting edge of the cutting edge:
I ordered a CyberTruck within the first 5 minutes of Tesla opening up for pre-orders and I received an invitation today for one of the my two orders.
Question 1: From what I can tell the $7,500 tax credit only applies to the Dual Motor motor as the IRS limit is $80K. Tesla.com states the limit of $80K “includes all optional equipment attached to the vehicle at time of purchase.” So I assume this means the Foundation Series "LIMITED EDITION" Dual Motor does NOT qualify for the $7,500. Is this correct?
Question 2: My understanding is beginning on January 1, 2024, the $7,500 rebate will be automatically applied at the time of purchase, but before then it is not. Does anybody know the answer to this question? [Yes. The rebate is applied at time of purchase after January 1st, 2024]
Question 3: If you don’t order your CyberTruck within a certain timeframe will Tesla remove your ability to order, or do you keep your place in line indefinitely?
Question 4: I know a lot of people really like the “white decor” interior panels, but my preference would be to have the interior be all black. I heard Tesla plans to offer an all black interior, and I wonder if anybody has heard when Tesla plans to offer this option?
Question 5: Speaking of the FOUNDATION SERIES, Tesla refers to this as a “LIMITED EDITION”, but what does this mean? I think I heard somebody say the first 1,000 CyberTrucks will we part of this, but has anybody heard anything more on this subject?
Question 6: Is Tesla still incorporating the $50K penalty if you sell your CyberTruck in the first year? If so is this limited to Founders Series, Foundation Series, or all CyberTrucks sold within the first year?
Question 7: How does the Powershare Home Backup Mobile connector work, and how much will it cost if purchased separately? How much is it by itself? and what else is required to make it work? I heard it requires a Tesla Powerwall battery pack. Is this true, and if so does anybody know how much the total cost will be to implement this option?
Question 8: Does anybody know how long the charging cable that comes with the CyberTruck is? [Apparently Tesla's no longer come standard with the portable charging cable, but the Foundation Series CyberTruck does include one that is 20 feet long.]
Question 9: Does the CyberTruck SoftClose like a Model X door, meaning if you bring it within 2 inches of closing will it grab the door and close it? [Yes. I have confirmed that the CyberTruck doors auto-open, and if you close the door to within a few inches, it will grab the door and auto-close it.]
Question 10: I purchased a Model S just over a year ago, and I bought the FSD. I am thinking about trading-in my Model S, but if I do so will Tesla give me a pro-rated trade-in value, or allow me to transfer it to the CyberTruck? I realize this is likely a sticky issue, but in all fairness, it would be a total turn-off if I would be out $15K. Tesla.com/tradein [I went to Tesla.com/tradein and put in the information and it offered me around $25K less than they offer to sell me the exact same vehicle for, without FSD!?!?!?!?!?!. This obviously does not make me happy, but it is what it is. The Tesla manager pointed out that if you trade in your car in our state, the amount of the trade-in is deducted from the sales tax amount, since you already paid it. For example, if you got a trade-in of $55k, on an $80K purchase you would not pay sales tax on the first $55k].
Question 11: When will Tesla offer CyberTruck test drives? As much faith as I have in Tesla, it feels really strange being asked to spend $100K on a vehicle you can’t test drive?
Question 12: When will Tesla allow potential customers to sit in the car in the showroom and play with it?
Question 13: What is the 0-60MPH time for the Tri-Motor model WITHOUT Rollout, Cheetah stance, and launch mode? I think it's deceptive and unfair for Tesla to publish the Tri-Motor 0-60MPH WITH Rollout at 2.6 seconds, but for the Dual Motor they say 4.1 WITHOUT Rollout. They should publish BOTH WITHOUT ROLLOUT!!!!
Question 14: Does adding the lightbar on top of the CyberTruck affect the range, and if so by how much? Also, does anybody know how much it will cost?
Question 15: Will CyberTruck come standard with Autopilot, or will you have to pay for it? Also, will CyberTruck offer Enhanced Autopilot, and if so how much will it cost? I think I saw something that said “Enhanced Autopilot would be $6,000 and include Navigate of Autopilot, Auto Lane Change, Autopark, Summon and Smart Summon.” Tesla.com says that Full Self-Driving is $12,000 for a Model X and:
Your car will be able to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal driver intervention and will continuously improve
* All functionality of Basic Autopilot and Enhanced Autopilot
* Autosteer on city streets
* Traffic Light and Stop Sign Control
Can anybody confirm or elaborate on this?
Question 16: How much will the Bigger 35” tires cost when you can order everything Ala carte?
Question 17: What is the current Tesla Interest rate for CyberTruck for people who have excellent credit? [Around 6%]
Question 18: Do the side rearview mirrors auto-collapse when the car locks itself using the self-locking when walk away feature? [Yes. Which is great because that way you have an easy visual indication to let you know all the doors are locked on the CyberTruck. I also discovered the side rearview mirrors are heated, so if you can condensation on your mirrors it will melt away.] On a side note, I really think the side mirrors would have looked great if Tesla had built-in turning signals into the side mirrors like Rivian did.
Question 19: Are the CyberTruck's front seats seatbelt tensioners adjustable so you can move them up and down so they don't jab your neck? [From what I have seen, they appear to be! Unlike the Model S, which is fixed and drives me nuts sometimes as it often times just hits me the wrong way, which is uncomfortable.
Question 20: Why cant the CyberTrucks RGB LED ambient light strip in the vehicle change colors over time like the Mercedes EQS does? The CyberTruck allows you to select ONE color manually at a time, so you can have it glow in red, or blue or pink or green, but you can't have it automatically change colors, and or cycle/chase through colors like the new Mercedes EQS can, where it's almost doing a multimedia light show in the car, which is pretty cool. Hopefully Tesla will be able to enhance this functionality in the future thought a software update.
My CyberTruck Improvement Ideas
I am a designer, and a Tesla fanatic, and I decided to put together this list of things I think should be improved on the CyberTruck:
Idea 1: Tesla should offer an option that would allow customer to have rear screens on the back of each front seat. Basically, like being able to attach an iPad. The current setup with the single screen on center is TERRIBLE for many reasons. If people in the back seat want to watch video content, they have to sit in an extremely awkward position with their neck cranked over and downward, which is an ergonomic nightmare.
Idea 2: The front camera has a washer, but for some bizarre reason the rear camera does not, so if it gets too dirty, you can't see out of it. This is a blunders mistake, and Tesla should add a washer to the rear camera. A lack of rear washer is so stupid as the cameras are supposed to be like human eyes, but human eyes are constantly being cleaned and washed automatically with lubricant called water. In my opinion all 6 cameras on the CyberTruck should AUTOMATICALLY and regularly wash and clean themselves, like a cat. Don't forget, if the camera view gets obstructed FSD won't work, which make no sense.
Tesla needs to better understand the CyberTruck is a Luxury car, and with trying to save a few bucks here and there with things like the windshield wipers being controlled by the front camera, or failing to put a washer on all cameras is ridiculous. It’s like Tesla ran the ball down to the 2 yard line and stopped!?!! In my option this is completely nonsensical.
Idea 3: The power open/close frunk is awesome and long overdue. That being said, Tesla should add the feature like Mercedes offers where if you wave your foot under the front bumper it will open the frunk. This way if you are carrying groceries or anything that require both hands, you won't have to put it down on the ground, but could easily open the frunk by waiving your foot. Tesla, could even build in a feature where if you press the front license plate area, while standing in front of the car, it would open the frunk.
Idea 4: The steering wheel in the current Model S and X was horrible as the horn was activated by pressing a tiny button, and the turning signals were turned into haptic buttons on the steering wheel.
The CyberTruck fixed these features by making it so if you press on the airbag area in the center of the steering wheel, it will not honk the horn, and they also made all the buttons on the steering wheel physically buttons that actually move when pressed. That being said, the Yoke on the Model S and X was made using a stitchless method. I think they used glue, but when they replaced the Yoke with a steering wheel they put the stitching in the WRONG place. Specifically they moved the sticking backwards to make the steering wheel look cleaner, but not your fingers constantly touch the stitching which is really Uncomfortable. I hope this was fixed with the CyberTruck steering wheel.
Idea 5: ELON: Fix the Fucking automatic windshield wipers so they work??? It never ceases to amaze me that my Tesla can drive across town AUTOMATICALLY on its own, door-to-door, but the stupid windshield wipers when placed in AUTOMATIC do everything backward. In other words, it's common that it will be pouring rain and the automatic windshield wipers don't activate at all, or move very slowly. Then when the windshield is dry, and there is no rain, they go full speed ahead.
The broken/defectively designed automatic Tesla windshield wipers consistently doing the exact opposite of what they are supposed to do would be the equivalent of an automatic (autonomous) car that regularly drives into traffic on red lights, and stops for no reason on green lights.
The Tesla windshield wiper fiasco began when Elon was reviewing features on the Model 3, trying to figure out how to remove unnecessary parts. Elon reasoned that if a Tesla could drive by using the cameras, the front camera on the windshield should be able to see and gauge how much rain is falling on the windshield and adjust the windshield wipers accordingly, but it failed miserably and does not work.
Ironically, my P85D Tesla I purchased almost a decade ago had a rain sensor on the windshield wiper and the automatic windshield wipers worked perfectly, but on the Model 3, Model Y and Model S, the automatic windshield wiper works about as effectively as a severely drunken person. Hopefully Tesla finally fixed this with the CyberTruck. If not, Tesla, you need to either stop what you are doing and fix this problem or offer a retrofit that goes back to the old fashioned method that worked perfectly.
So how is it possible that Tesla could go all these years without noticing or fixing this issue? I think it's because they are so focused on FSD, that they put little or not resources into solving the windshield wiper performance issue. Also, I think that most Tesla engineers live in climates like in California where it doesn't rain much, so the are not aware of how bad the windshield wiper automatic performance really is.
Idea 6: I am certain I am preaching to the choir when I say that in two way the CyberTruck was launched as a minimum viable product in the sense the maximum range is only 340 miles, and that is if you drive the dual motor model with all season tires at 55MPH on the freeway. In the real world this vehicle has a true range of around only 250 miles which is way too low. My understanding is Tesla is aware of this fact as the performance of the 4680 has fallen short of where Tesla was hoping to be at this point in history. Also, the initial pricing for the "FOUNDATION" series is a turn off and seems like a cash grab. I understand why Tesla did this, but I don't think it's very cool...
Idea 7: Since the CyberTruck is a complete fingerprint magnet, I think it would behoove Tesla to offer a clear PPF option, so it would be like a new generation stainless steel refrigerator that does not show fingerprints. I think ideally, CyberTrucks should come standard with the clear-coat finish like a modern appliance does, but if it would be too labor intensive to include, they could offer it as an option.
Idea 8: Why doesn't Tesla modify the CyberTruck to the front daytime running light-bar can act as a turning signal indicator? In other words, when you turn from left to right, the LEDs could Chase across the front driving light bar to indicated high direction you are turning, which would look super cool.
Tesla showcased their second generation Optimus robot today and freaked everybody out!!!
It's remarkable how similar yet difference the Tesla Optimus looks compared to Star Wars C-3PO. The look kind of similar, but the Tesla robot is much smoother in the way it moves.
Prototype Tesla Optimus Robot showcased at Local Tesla Showroom with CyberTruck in Background
Optimus Robot
Below are photos I took of the 1st generation Tesla Optimus Robot.
The Tesla Optimus Robot has the potential to completely revolutionize the way we live. For instance, its hands posses the same manual dexterity of a human being, which means it could work in a factory 24 hours a day doing things like hand assembling iPhones, or basically anything a human can do, but better, faster and way cheaper, as it doesn't require breaks, health insurance or a 401K account. Elon Musk said that he believed the Optimus would be so precise, it could thread a needle with its hands.
In a home, a Tesla Robot could cook and clean, and put out the recycle as a serious domestic helper. It could save us all kinds of time by doing things like washing and folding laundry, and changing the sheets on your bed, as well as taking care of plants and even walking a dog. It could even run errands and get in your CyberTruck and drive to pickup groceries or take out food. Also, potentially Tesla Robots could potentially also double as bodyguards or security guards, like a home attack dogs.
They could also potentially do other things like rock a crying baby to sleep, or spell check your writing as well as handle other administrative tasks. If you think about it, the options are almost unlimited.
Automotive engineering legend, Sandy Munro sits down with Elon Musk to talk about many of the details and struggles of building CyberTruck.
Tesla CyberTruck DEEP DIVE with 5 Tesla Executives!
This is an AMAZING video where Sandy Munro sits down with 5 of the top Tesla executives who are responsible for bringing the CyberTruck into reality. Sandy Munro is best known for his tear-downs of vehicles, and I know he was very much looking forward to tearing down a CyberTruck to see how it's made, but after this meeting with the Tesla team he may have learned enough to not have to teardown an actual vehicle!!!
Herbert from Brighter sat down with Hans Nelson and micro analyzed Sandy Munro's video, and Hans explained how Tesla is using air to bend cold rolled steel:
This next video is absolute fascinating as the dudes psychoanalyze the CyberTruck.
"Cars are avatars. They communicate who you want to be. They have personalities. The average person sees more cars in a day than trees. They have a huge visual impact on our cities, our world, how we feel, who we are. How we see ourselves. How we feel about ourselves. It’s an amazing statement of who you are, and a statement for your business. And a talking point for clients."
Prototype Tesla Optimus Robot showcased at Local Tesla Showroom with CyberTruck in Background
Production 2024 CyberTruck on display at Local Tesla Showroom
JAKE'S TAKE
on the Production
CyberTruck
"CyberTruck will be the biggest product launch of anything by far on earth this year!"
—Elon Musk
November, 2023
I am a designer, with an insatiable appetite for knowledge coupled with a high level of curiosity. I’m a man who wants to know everything about everything, and the cyber truck is no exception. So if you’re like me this article is for you...
My intention with this article is to write the definitive article on the CyberTruck...What do I mean by 'definitive' article? My goal is to create an article that so accurately encapsulates all the major and minor significant details of the CyberTruck, when you are done enjoying the article you feel like you completely understand what sets it apart from all others trucks and cars in the marketplace...
Let's begin by hopping in the Tesla Time Machine and take a trip back a decade ago and see this tweet from Elon where he first hinted he wanted to create a Tesla pickup truck:
Fast forward to Tesla's formal launch event in November of 2019, as seen in the video below which was a bit embarrassing, yet extremely iconic, in-and-of-itself. I remember watching this live, and being completely shocked when Elon first brought out the CyberTruck on stage. The first prototype CyberTruck looked so shockingly different, I remember initially thinking to myself, 'Is this some kind of joke!?!!". It took me just a few minutes to appreciate and understand the CyberTruck design language. Just after the event ended, within the first five minutes, I placed an order for a CyberTruck!!!
I remember after the Tesla CyberTruck Launch Event, thinking to myself, 'Tesla now has the entire automotive industry in checkmate!'. I believe that statement to be even more true today than it was then.
Why? If four years ago, a company like Mercedes Benz, or BMW decided to commit itself to genuinely competing with Tesla, it would have to not try and compete with the Tesla vehicles that existed at the time, but would have needed to try to leapfrog Tesla, which at the time would have been almost impossible.
Here we are four years later, and it turns out only ONE COMPANY SUCCESSFULLY LEAPFROGGED TESLA, AND THAT WAS TESLA ITSELF, with all of the new design language and technology just introduced with the production CyberTruck. But nobody else took Tesla seriously as a threat, so nobody 'bet the ranch' to try and leapfrog Tesla, so the net result other companies finally caught up to where Tesla was years ago
Tesla is now so far ahead of the entire automotive industry with its new Cyber technology platform, including the SuperCharger network, that nobody will be able to compete with Tesla in the future...Keep in mind the CyberTruck is only the first model built on this platform, but Tesla has been working on additional Cyber models, like the CyberCompact, at GigaTexas.
BLADE RUNNER
The 2019 Tesla CyberTruck Launch Event was held in Los Angeles, which is profound as Elon Musk had mentioned months before the truck was unveiled that it looked like something out of the seminal 1982 science fiction movie, Blade Runner which starred Harrison Ford. The supreme irony is that in the opening of Blade Runner we see the image below which states that Blade Runner is taking place in Los Angeles, in November of 2019:
"All those moments will be lost in time. Like tears in rain." —Blade Runner
The Future Doesn't Look Like The Future
Below, we see a screen grab of a car from the 1982 movie, Blade Runner. It's supremely ironic that Blade Runner took place in 2019, and this clearly there are no cars on the road today, that look like the Blade Runner car below!?!!
Deckard's car from the 1982 science fiction movie Blade Runner pictured above.
I think the Blade Runner police car design language may have been based upon the French 1980 Citroën Karin pictured below.
Below, we see a photo of the original Blade Runner police car and if you look closely, you notice the crazy large windshield and snub nose is similar to CyberTruck.
Keep in mind I am not talking about or referring to Blade Runner 2049, which starts Ryan Gosling, but Blade Runner 1982.
The BIG Event
It has been an amazing couple of weeks as the formal launch of the CyberTruck came and went. I finally had a chance to collect all my thoughts on the Produciton CyberTruck and decided to share them with you. Like so many other people I had so many questions I recently found answers to which I cover in this detailed article.
Tesla CyberTrucks first went out on display in select Tesla Showrooms around the United States on Black Friday (2023), and of course I HAD to go and check it out in person.
I arrived about 45 minutes before the Tesla Store Showroom opened up to the public, and it was fascinating to see how many other people were extremely curious to see the CyberTruck in the flesh and take photos of it.
The design language of the CyberTruck is unmistakably iconic and represents an instantly recognizable trademark, despite the fact it lacks ANY Tesla logos. In other words, the unique design language itself is an invaluable trademark and makes it a living billboard, whether it's parked or driving around. This magnificent level of brand differentiation is something no amount of marketing dollars can buy.
Not to mention, the fact that this absolute masterpiece was designed and manufactured in the U.S.A. illustrates that America is still capable of producing amazing products. It's bizarre if you think about it for a moment that the company pushing the envelope in 2023 is not a German or Japanese's company, but an American company@?@@
I took the photo above through the security gate (pictured below) before they opened the Tesla showroom. As we see, I was not the only person who could not stop staring at the CyberTruck in person.
Tesla custom-formulated the extremely tough, special cold-rolled, ultra-hard, 300-series stainless-steel super alloy just for the CyberTruck, which also gives it a unique vibe. Tesla's head of vehicle engineering, Lars Moravy said Tesla had to invent a process referred to as 'air-bending' in order to custom form the CyberTruck panels. This process requires floating of the tool on a table, kind of like air-hockey, or a vacuum chuck, that blows super-high-pressure air over the surface without touching it in order to reform the steel.
The CyberTruck consists of 10,000 different component parts, which makes it relatively complex for design and manufacturing. Elon Musk sent out a memo to Tesla employees on August 23, 2023 that said:
"Due to the nature of the CyberTruck, which is made of bright metal with mostly straight edges, any dimensional variation shows up like a sore thumb...All parts of this vehicle, whether internal or from suppliers, need to be designed and built to sub 10 micron accuracy."
The Tesla CyberTruck production line is exclusively located at the relatively new Tesla Gigafactory in Texas, and the CyberTruck is almost completely assembled by custom robots that are automated.
The ONLY other time I recall EVER seeing people wait in line outside a store to see a new product for the first time in person was at the Apple Store and that was years ago, which made it almost kind of surrealistic to see a large crowd of people waiting to rush in and see the CyberTruck.
Seeing is Believing
The Future Should Look Like The Future
"I specifically wanted to make something that looked like the future...
'What car would BladeRunner drive?'
...CyberTruck is an armored personnel carrier from the future.
Judge Dread would drive this car for sure!"
—Elon Musk (December 5, 2023)
Seeing the CyberTruck in person in the Tesla showroom was IMPRESSIVE and really took my breath away!!! As prepared as I was, after having studied so many photos and videos of the CyberTruck, I was still blown away seeing this 6700 pound (3040 Kilogram) beast in person.
Viewing the CyberTruck in the Tesla showroom reminded me of when I used to go to car shows back in the 1980s where you could see really cool concept cars like the original Delorean, but the challenge was that by the time the concept cars turned into reality, if they did, they were unrecognizable, and disappointing.
The beauty of the CyberTruck is that Elon Musk and Tesla originally showcased a concept CyberTruck in 2019, that was wicked cool, but then delivered a final product that radically exceeded the concept vehicle, which is the opposite of what we as consumer are used to seeing. In other words, concept cars usually get watered down and diluted so terribly they no longer resemble the concept.
The CyberTruck is outstandingly magnificent on so many levels, as the production model is extremely true to the original concept Tesla showcased four years ago.
When I first looked at the CyberTruck up close I was stunned and its otherworldly looks took my breath away. The CyberTruck is big and bold while maintaining an unapologetically sporty stance, coupled with a highly geometric minimalist vibe. It looks like no other vehicle made today...
"It’s very rare that a product comes along that is seemingly impossible, that people said was impossible, that experts said was impossible, and this is one of those times."
—Elon Musk
CyberTruck Launch Event, 2023
No Curb or Road Rash
Every detail on the CyberTruck has been optimized. CyberTruck owners won't have to worry about scratching paint, door-dings, or getting nicks in the paint or even on the windshield as it's made from a specially developed dual-pane, laminated 'rock-proof' Gorilla acoustic glass, originally referred to as Tesla Armor Glass.
Tesla Armor Glass was custom fabricated by Corning for Tesla and is made from super-smooth, super-tough, borosilicate float glass. This super high-end glass features heavy-duty sound insulation that is incorporated double glazing, which features a sheet of plastic sandwiched between two glass laminated panels. Also, the CyberTruck Windshield might look completely flat, but it's slightly convex or curved so the glass doesn't collapse upon itself as well as to avoid wind noise.
This attention to detail offers real and meaningful peace of mind, for both the inside and outside of the Tesla CyberTruck...In the event that you do need to replace the CyberTruck windshield, it will set you back $1900, and the shatterproof side windows will cost $200 to $260 to replace.
Speaking of peace of mind, the CYBERTRUCK AERO WHEEL COVERS on the bold all-terrain tires not only look totally awesome, iconic and sporty, but increase range since they are so aerodynamic. The rims are 20" with 35" All-Terrain A/T tires (Goodyear Wrangler Territory RT(285/65R20) which cost $470 per tire to replace.
Most interestingly, they are made out of special grade of rubber (as apposed to standard hard plastic) that is ultra-flexible and sturdy, so you basically can't scratch your rims on a curb when parallel parking, which will save a lot of money from having to repair damaged rims, and keep the wheels looking fresh, thus completely avoiding curb rash...Nobody has ever made wheel covers out of rubber, which is pure genius and true innovation...
"We would have been more adventurous with the Model 3 and Model Y, but we couldn't take a chance on being too radical because those were bet-the-company cars. With the CyberTruck it's no longer a bet-the-company situation, so we have the freedom to be adventurous."
—Elon Musk (December 5, 2023)
It was fun watching as so many people stare at the CyberTruck—like it was lunch—in the Tesla Showroom...There was something deja vuish about seeing the CyberTruck the weekend after Thanksgiving and I just remembered when I was a young man the big car show in San Francisco was held at the exact same time of year—the weekend just after Thanksgiving!!! The fact the CyberTruck is literally bulletproof is a benefit, particularly since you not longer have to worry about scratching paint or getting dings.
In the photo seen above, I captured the CyberTruck from an unusual upper position that really makes it look like a retro-futuristic concept car from the late 1960s...
Optimus Robot
When I visited the Tesla store they had a Tesla Optimus Robot on display, which ironically is probably even more profound than the CyberTruck.
What makes the Tesla Optimus Robot so profound you ask? It has the potential to completely revolutionize the way we live. For instance, its hands posses the same manual dexterity of a human being, which means it could work in a factory 24 hours a day doing things like hand assembling iPhones, or basically anything a human can do, but better, faster and way cheaper, as it doesn't require breaks, health insurance or a 401K account.
In a home, a Tesla Robot could cook and clean, and put out the recycle as a serious domestic helper. It could save us all kinds of time by doing things like washing and folding laundry, and changing the sheets on your bed, as well as taking care of plants and even walking a dog. It could even run errands and get in your CyberTruck and drive to pickup groceries or take out food.
CyberTruck Thoughts
I will start by offering my overall conclusion based upon all the preliminary details I have observed. I am still super-stoked on the CyberTruck, and it appears as if Tesla has done a great job in many ways.
There are so many positive attributes the CyberTruck features, including the fact it looks super RAD!!! It's super quiet, and has great front visibility out its largest windshield ever made for a truck or car which is also chip-proof.
My understanding is Corning helped develop special Gorilla ARMOR glass for the CyberTruck which is highly shatter resistant, and designed to resist the impact of a baseball at 70 MPH, or Class 4 hail. This special Tesla acoustic glass also makes the cabin much quieter, or in Tesla's own words "Acoustic glass helps make the cabin as quiet as outer space."
CyberTruck Designer, Franz von Holzhausen showed up at the beach with a CyberTruck wrapped in matte black
CyberTruck Exterior
A Masculine Avatar for a ManCave on Wheels
In the movie, Trainspotting there is a really funny scene where they get high and watch an old Bond flick, and Sick Boy says, in what could be considered a Jeff Spicoli like moment and quips: "That Sean Connery, he's a masculine actor!!!" The CyberTruck is exactly that. As an anthropomorphized avatar, CyberTruck is the Sean Connery as Bond of vehicles. Masculine, modern, handsome, timeless, bold, clean-cut and highly athletic.
In the photo below we see a white Tesla Model X parked next to a Tesla CyberTruck, which gives us an excellent sense of the difference in size and scale. Both are essentially Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV), and the Model X is basically a soccer mom SUV in looks, curves and function. If you think about it, the Tesla Roadster is SMALL size vehicle, the Model 3 and Y, are MEDIUM size, and the Models S & X are LARGE, which makes the CyberTruck the first EXTRA-LARGE Tesla model.
The CyberTruck is like the Dude version of the Model X—on steroids, in the sense its larger and looks a million time more masculine, muscular and utilitarian—so much so, it's a 21st Century ManCave on Wheels.
When set to the lowest default parked position the CyberTruck is not much taller than the Model X. One of the things that differentiates the Model X and makes it an SUV is its command seating front seat view which seats the driver up much higher than in a car. The CyberTruck, using its air suspension can be raised up 17 inches higher on demand.
I think the Model X is an amazing vehicle in many ways, but don't get me started on the super ill-designed falcon wing doors, which are HORRIBLE at best. Also the second row captains seat chairs are located too close to the doors, and the seats are way too narrow. In other words, sitting in the front seats is amazing, but the second row of seats is terrible and the falcon wind doors are a complete nightmare on wheels.
King of the Road
I personally perceive the CyberTruck as being more of a serious halo statement piece SUV than a truck. The CyberTruck was clearly designed as the ultimate cutting-edge modern Alpha male status symbol.
If you want to go on a roadtrip with a single bike, you can't fit a decent size bike inside the back of the Model X, so you have to buy and use a bike rack that can only go on the back. If you have nice bikes on the back of the Model X, on a bike rack, and you want to stop and grab a sandwich, you have to worry about somebody cutting the locks and stealing your bikes.
With the CyberTruck you can store bikes in the bed with the tonneau cover closed, so you don't need to buy and install/uninstall a bike rack, and the CyberTruck will not only hide your bikes, but would be almost impossible to break into. It's also worth noting the CyberTruck bed is super clean and utilitarian in the sense it lacks the traditional large wheel well blisters or humps for exposed wheel wells, like you would find in a traditional truck like a Ford F150 Lightning. This translates into even more useful space utilization, which can easily accommodate 4x8 foots sheets of plywood.
Speaking of the CyberTruck being a statement piece: CyberTruck is a hardcore statement piece!!! If you think about it for a moment, EVERY SINGLE car on the road today makes some kind of statement, but there is no other vehicle made that makes the kind of bold declarative statement quite like the Tesla CyberTruck. It’s deeply polarizing and looks kinda like an old souped-up El Camino had a baby with an old lotus Esprit from the 70s, who that then had offspring with a Ford F150 whose father was a stainless steel Delorean.
In my personal opinion, I believe the CyberTruck will displace and do the most damage to the Range Rover brand, as it's like a super high tech/all-electric Range Rover. I am not a truck guy—at all. If you offered to give me a top of the line Ford Lightning truck for free, but told me I couldn't sell it and had to drive it, I wouldn't take it. Which is why I say I perceive the CyberTruck way more as a high-end SUV than a truck.
Value Proposition
The design of the CyberTruck is extremely polarizing, in the sense people typically either love it or hate it. Many of the haters and critics say the CyberTruck under-delivers on Elon Musk's original promise and essentially accuse him of a bait-and-switch scheme. Vice said "The CyberTruck is a Disappointment Even to CyberTruck Superfan's: Looking at the specs alone, the car is delivering 30 percent less range than expected for 30 percent more money." On the surface this might be an accurate statement. I will point out I am a Tesla 'Superfan', but I would NOT say the CyberTruck is a disappointment overall.
I would point out that both of the Production CyberTrucks are significantly faster than originally estimated in 0-60 MPH performance in 2019. In 2019 Tesla said the Tri-Motor would do 0-60 MPH in 2.9 seconds, but the production CyberBeast does it in 2.6 seconds! Tesla claimed the dual-motor would do 0-60 MPH in 4.5 second, but the production model does it in 4.1 seconds, so in the case of 0-60 MPH Acceleration, Tesla impressively overdelivered.
The dual motor CyberTruck offers 340 miles of range which is 40 miles more than was promised in 2019. So far, Tesla has overdelivered.
But the HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT comes with the range of the production CyberBeast Tri-Motor which only has a range of 320 Miles!?!! This is 180 miles LESS than promised in 2019.
I wish the Tri-Moter CyberBeast was at least the same as the standard Tesla Model S with 400 miles, and preferably 500+ miles of range would be ideal. It's not a dealbreaker for me, but a bit of a letdown!!!
"The CyberTruck is an amazing product. I do want to emphasize there will be enormous challenges in reaching volume production and then in making CyberTruck cashflow positive…We dug our own grave with CyberTruck."
—Elon Musk
Q3 2023 Earnings Call
The initial pricing is significantly more expensive than Tesla said it would be four years ago when Elon first launched the CyberTruck Project. This is a fact.
In 2019, when Elon launched the CyberTruck, he said the top-of-the-line CyberTruck model, would cost $69K but it ended up being $99K today, which makes it $30K more than anticipated, and if you add the additional battery pack which will not be available at the earliest in a year, if ever, you would still not be at 500 miles of range, but it would cost you $116K, which is around $56K more than what Elon originally promised.
I am not knocking Tesla as I understand the current market dynamics that in the final analysis determined this price/performance value proposition delta.
So much has changed in the past four years since Elon originally introduced the CyberTruck. Let's start with the Covid Plandemic, which wreaked havoc on supply chains. This resulted in a shortage of chips and other core components not just for Tesla, but for all automobile manufacturers.
The cost of raw materials has shot up significantly over the past four years, including the price of stainless steel, which has gone up in price 30% to 50%. The level of inflation caused by the Covid Plandemic has forced the price of just about everything up, including a doubling of the price of things like housing, milk, eggs, orange juice, soda, coffee, bread and meat. Reality dictates, Tesla is not immune to shortages and the marketplace.
Steer by Wire
CyberTruck over-delivers in many ways by including a lot of genuinely innovative features including steer-by-wire, which is commonly also referred to as drive-by-wire.
Steer-by-Wire is power variable steering, and CyberTruck couples it with four-wheel steering, which turns the rear tires in the opposite direction at slow speeds (out-of-phase) to significantly decrease the turning radius. The CyberTruck features a turning radius of approximately 17.5 feet, which is about the overall length of the CyberTruck. At highway speeds, four-wheel steering turns the rear tires in the same direction as the front tires (in-phase), so all for faster and more stable lane changing.
STEER-BY-WIRE is essentially digital steering, kind of like how you would drive a car in a video game with a joystick, or fly a drone with a remote control in the sense there is no direct connection between the steering wheel and tires. The CyberTruck is the first mass Produciton vehicle to incorporate this super innovative steering system.
People might be initially worried about the reliability of STEER-BY-WIRE, but Tesla's system uses triple redundancy, and cars have been using brake-by-wire and acceleration-by-wire for many years, not to mention all commercial airplanes have used steer-by-wire for decades.
CyberTruck features up to 10 degrees of rear steering. At speeds below 40 MPH, the rear tires turn in the opposite direction as the front, but above 40MPH, they turn in the same direction to increase stability when changing lanes.
I believe it's likely, the amount or degree of rear turning radius at lower speeds might be controllable in the CyberTruck preferences app, so if a driver, as part of their profile wants to turn if off completely they might be able to, or set it to a any fixed amount between 1 & 10 degrees.
Many years ago, just after I got out of college, my first real job was as a car salesman at San Francisco Honda. I will never forgot an accident I got into because I was backing up a then top of the line, fully loaded Honda Prelude, which featured four-wheel-steering, which I was not used to. I was trying to back it up through a doorway that had a fairly tight opening, which normally would have been a piece of cake, but I was not used to backing up a car with rear tires that could turn, and I hit the side of the car.
Moral of the story, when backing up a car with rear wheel steering, be really careful and go slower. I also remember I used to get really squirrelly doing donuts in the Honda Quaalude, as I used to call it, since it could turn on a dime, making U-Turns a breeze. In a nutshell, steer-by-wire offers excellent economy-of-motion.
4680 Batteries
The expected range of the CyberTruck 4680 batteries seems to be lower than expected, which is based upon the lower than expected energy density of the battery cells. It is widely believed Tesla fell a bit short with the development of the charging capacity and expected energy density and efficiency of the innovative new 4680 battery, which is understandable.
In other words, Tesla ideally hoped by now the 4680 would have a higher charging capacity density, but it's taking them longer than expected or hoped for. I remain confident Tesla will figure out how to improve the charging density of the 4680 in the future...
CyberTruck models include a total of 1,366 Second Generation 4680 Battery cells. 4680 batteries are made in-house by Tesla and are extremely efficient and cost far less to produce than conventional 18650 Cells currently used in the Tesla Model S & X, as well as the 2170 cells currently used in the Model 3 and in some Model Y's. 4680 cells can output more power without overheating, and I believe with the new 800 Volt architecture can also charge way faster.
Tesla's 4680 batteries were developed in-house and there are something like 1280 of them in one CyberTruck. The 4680 is about the size of a mini Coke can, so they are pretty large compared to standard battery cells. Tesla fills in all the area between the 4680 cells with the pink foam stuff seen below, which results in a remarkably stiff and strong structural battery pack chassis.
Tesla essentially has the largest GigaCasting machines made, that make the chassis of the CyberTruck out of 3 separate cast parts: a front cast, center cast which the 4680 batteries fit directly into, and a rear casting. By casting 3 chassis parts, Tesla radically increased structural integrity, which results in a vehicle that is extremely protective and sturdy, and requires for less parts and assembly. Below we see a photo of the Tesla CyberTruck battery pack just before it is inserted into the CyberTruck exoskeleton. Just to be clear, when the battery pack is installed the front seats are already attached as seen below.
In the following video, teardown expert, Sandy Munro goes into detail on how the Tesla Model Y built at the Texas Gigafactory incorporates 4680 cells, which is somewhat similar to the CyberTruck:
The two videos below goes into great detail on Tesla's mega casting technology incorporated into the CyberTruck chassis.
What is CyberTruck?
What is a CyberTruck exactly? Was it designed to be a cheap utility truck, that looks like every other truck out there, but is electric? Or, was it designed to be a Cyber retro-futuristic supercar? If you carefully examine the early value proposition history of the CyberTruck, Elon and Tesla really kind of positioned it as a relatively inexpensive truck that looked like it was from the set of Blade Runner, or Back to the Future.
The challenge is once Elon and Tesla dove into reinventing the truck for the 21st century, they clearly decided it was in their best long-term interest to leave no stone unturned in completely reinventing what a truck is, and I can't knock them for doing so. As a matter of fact, I applaud Tesla and say 'BRAVO!!!!'
If you thought Elon promised you a futuristic, maintenance free, cheap electric truck, with epic range you are probably disappointed, but if you look at the CyberTruck more realistically for what it ended up becoming, which is an ultra-smart, ultra-safe, maintenance-free, super-fun, Blade Runneresque electric supercar disguised as a truck, then the value proposition scale tilts much more favorably on the side of being an amazing value! And that is really what this article is about, which is celebrating and extenuating the positive attributes, while acknowledging some of the drawbacks.
Photo of CyberTruck Exoskeleton Chassis Design @ Texas Gigafactory
"The future is definitely electric. Companies that are not making a significant investment in electric vehicles are basically consigning themselves to the fate of the horse and buggy market in the 1920s. There were companies that doubled down on horse carriages. You don't want to be the buggy whip manufacture in the age of automobiles."
—Elon Musk (December 5, 2023)
As a man who has ONLY owned and driven Tesla vehicles for the past 10 years, (I've driven Tesla Models S, 3, an X) I can say it's primarily been a fantastic experience. My first Tesla, which was a Model S P85D, was essentially the precursor to the Plaid Model S, was literally maintenance free. My experience overall with Tesla is that despite their small drawbacks, the price of admission has always been worth it to drive a car that felt like I got in a time machine and went 50 years in the future and brought a car back to today to drive it around. Also, NEVER having to go to a gas station, and always leaving the house with a fully charged vehicle is worth the price of admission alone...
CyberTruck Interior
Let's take a closer look at the interior of the CyberTruck. An earlier prototype of the CyberTruck featured an additional screen behind the steering wheel like in the current Model S and X, which I prefer over the single screen of the Model 3 and Model Y. That being said, I am open-minded and since the screen is now 18.5 inches, maybe Tesla figured out a way to have it all work well on one screen.
It appears the screen does not have the ability to be angled toward the driver like in the current Model S and X, which would have been a nice touch, but perhaps not necessary. The CyberTruck comes standard with a heated steering wheel as well as heated/cooled ventilated seats as seen below.
Tesla CyberTruck features customizable RGB LED ambient light strip, which look really cool.
There are so many genuinely innovative features including drive-by-wire, and 4-wheel steering which will make the CyberTruck feel like driving a Model S, as apposed to driving a bulky pickup truck. I think the interior is well designed and laid out, but I am not a fan of the white accent interior door and dash accent panels, and wish Tesla would offer an all-black interior option. Who knows, maybe it will grown on me?
Image above from TopGear shows the interior of the CyberTruck
The steering wheel in the CyberTruck is significantly improved over the Tesla Yoke and standard round steering wheels found in the current Tesla Model S and X. All of the buttons now offer real physical pressing feedback—as apposed to touch capacitive buttons with haptic feedback—which is a likely a very big improvement. Also, the airbag area in the center of the steering wheel now honks the horn if you press it—as expected.
Image above from TopGear gives a good idea of what the driver seen when driving CyberTruck
Since CyberTruck features drive-by-wire steering the steering wheel only can be rotated 170 degrees in each direction, which means that if you make a U-Turn or are trying to parallel park, you won't have to engage in cumbersome hand-over-hand 3-point/multi-point steering turns. Tesla's goal with all these features was to make the CyberTruck steering a lot more agile, responsive and user-friendly like a sports car, more so than a truck.
Image above from TopGear shows the maximum amount the squircle steering wheel can be rotated
Tesla refers to the shape of the CyberTruck Steering wheel as "The Squirkle" as it is shaped like a square with rounded corners. Apparently Tesla will also offer a sueded covered steering wheel option.
There is a button located on the right side of the steering wheel that can swap the live rear camera view to the live front facing camera.
Another beneficial feature since there is no steering column is you don't have to worry about getting harpooned by it in a frontal collision, which makes the CyberTruck safer for the driver.
The center console located between the front seats is unusually wide, which is probably great so that if both the driver and passenger both want to rest their elbows/arms on the center console, they won't bang into each other.
The center console armrest is hinged and opens upward as seen in the photo above and below. The CyberTruck comes standard without the addition optional "CyberTruck Center Console Tray" pictured installed below. If you look closely at the image above you can see that MKBHD has removed and is holding the additional $40 organization tray in his left hand. This tray would be a good place to store sunglasses and other small items like a pen, and perhaps some Kleenex tissue.
There are two cupholders as seen above and below and in front is a wireless charging dock bay that is designed so you can place your smartphone inside at an angle so it can wirelessly charge while you can see the screen. You could also use that same open space for holding eyeglasses, sunglasses or a key fob.
The back seats offer a fold-down wide center armrest with built-in cupholders, which is great to see.
One detail I am a bit confused about is the area located on the floor in front of the center console which could be used for holding a backpack or purse. There appears to be a tremendous amount of unutilized space which probably would create a superb opportunity for a manufacturer so make an accessory to take advantage of all that empty space. The first generation Tesla Model S had this same goofy waste of space, but until I drive a CyberTruck I can't really speak intelligently about this space.
CyberTruck glove compartment is unusual in that it essentially pops out when activated just like a drawer as seen in the image below:
SansRearview Mirror
It appears CyberTruck lacks an interior rear view mirror altogether, but on Tesla's website they also show it with a center rearview mirror. CyberTruck features rear facing cameras that capture an image and keep it up on the main 18.5 inch center screen at all times while you are driving, as seen below. Also, the side mounted rear view mirrors are designed to be easily removable by the user if you are so inclined, which might make the CyberTruck more aerodynamic, and thus improve range. By law Tesla has to deliver the vehicle with the side rearview mirrors. My understanding is CyberTruck finally introduced a feature that can wash the camera lenses if they get dirty, which is a long overdue Tesla feature!
In the photo below we see there is no standard rearview camera at all, but I think this was a prototype CyberTruck. I am fairly certain the production model added the rearview mirror. Notice the traditional shifting choices of Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive have been placed in this area, which is a really interesting design choice. Also, notice the white horizontal strip pictured behind the windshield is the interior light controller which is touch-activated.
In the photo below we see the panoramic rear glass seat which is pretty cool looking.
The backseat storage space utilization seems to be well thought out, practical and highly utilitarian. As we see there appears to be a lot of storage space in the doors, which would likely accommodate a larger water bottle, or pair of over the ear headphones.
The rear bench seats three, and comes standard with a fold-up design as seen below. Thus, you can fold the rear seat bench up and out of the way so you would have a large storage area in the back.
The photos below shows the CyberTruck with the optional storage compartment that fits under the bench seat.
This extra storage area would be great for stowing away things like extra jackets, and hats, or headphones and charging accessories, including the Tesla charging cable. It could also be used for storing extra blankets or empty grocery bags. Also, it's great to see Tesla included seat-back storage compartments on the back of the seats that can hold a smartphone, tablet/iPad, book, laptop or magazine, just like in an airplane.
Notice the CyberTruck pictured above features optional all-season rubber matts which are water and mud proof. There is also a 9.4 inch center touch rear seat screen that can be used by rear occupants to watch video or control rear seat temperature as seen below.
As a designer, I think this is a an epic blunderous mistake, and for the life of me, I can't understand how shortsighted and poor a design decision this was. Tesla should build in the same displays on the back of each front seat, (where they belong) which would be significantly more ergonomic and convenient for watching video. If you have a back seat occupant, be it a child or adult, sitting for hours at a time with your neck slanted downward and to the side is completely ridiculous and terrible for comfort, posture and health.
"When you’ve got a product with a lot of new technology or any brand-new vehicle program, especially one that is as different and advanced as the CyberTruck, you will have problems proportionate to how many new things you’re trying to solve at scale."
—Elon Musk
[Tesla Investor Call, October 18, 2023]
I realize Tesla makes is look really cool in the image above, but I am certain this is symbolism over substance. Tesla should at least offer an accessory screen that can be added to the back of each front seat. Even if they were expensive I believe many people would purchase them—particularly if they have children.
Below we see a diagram from Tesla which mentions the CyberTruck has 'recording studio sound dynamics' including two subwoofers located underneath the rear seats for unparalleled sound.
Frunk n' Bed
"This is the first truck that we're aware of that will have four doors over a six-foot bed and fit into a 20-foot garage. So...it's sort of biggish on the outside, but it's even bigger on the inside."
—Elon Musk
(Q2 2023 TESLA Investor Conference Call Q2)
"You know, I have one simple request, and that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads!!!" Sorry, I couldn't help myself :-0
A Truck is all about utility, and it's remarkable how well thought out the overall space utilization is on the CyberTruck. Despite the fact the actual production model looks remarkably similar to the original 2019 CyberTruck prototype, it's approximately 5% smaller overall. Specifically, it's about 7-8% shorter in overall length, and 3% narrower. This means the production CyberTruck is 223.7 inches long, which is just under 18.75 inches long, which means you might be able to park it in a garage that is 20 feet long. It's pretty important to be able to park a car in the your home garage if you want to use your CyberTruck as a house battery backup.
Tesla's lead designer, Franz von Holzhausen (pictured below sitting in the frunk, wearing a black T-shirt with the CyberTruck logo on it) appears to have done an amazing job of optimizing every aspect of the CyberTruck. My understanding is the interior cabin is extremely roomy, comfortable and ergonomic for both front and back seat occupants, and there is a ton of useful storage space, which is ideal for a tuck, as well as the ultimate family SUV.
If you look at the front trunk (pictured above), also known as the Frunk in Tesla parlance, it can comfortably seat two dudes, and even shelter them from rain. The CyberTruck frunk offers 7.1 cubic feet of cargo space. This is even larger than the Model X frunk, which offers 6.5 cubic feet of frunk space. The Ford F1 Lightning frunk offers a whopping 14.1 cubic feet in its front trunk, which is about twice the capacity of the CyberTruck.
The CyberTruck frunk offers easy access and would probably be ideal for doing things like changing from shoes to snowboarding boots or ski boots at the resort, and the frunk is also ideal for carrying groceries or picking up food to go, and anything larger can easily stow away in the CyberTruck bed or back seat. Also, this is the first Tesla model that offers a power open and power closing frunk—thank God!!!!
The rear truck bed is 4x6 inches when it's closed, which is pretty good, and the tailgate features a clock-spring which makes it really easy to manually raise the tailgate with minimum effort.
There is a standard 'smugglers bay' underbed storage pop-up sub-trunk compartment located beneath the front edge of the bed (pictured open above and below) which is great for storing things like blankets, or an extra jacket, gloves and Ballcap, or anything you want to really secure, like a backpack with an expensive laptop.
I don't know if they come standard or are an option, but as we see below there a dividers to help organize the contents of the 'smugglers bay' rear sub trunk.
Tesla offers an additional battery that increases the range of the CyberTruck, but I am surprised they didn't utilize this space for more batteries? Maybe based upon the available volume of space, there would not be enough to make much of a range difference, or maybe adding extra battery weight this far back in the vehicle would create an imbalance?
Rear, 'smuggler's bay' sub trunk underfbed storage compartment shown above with optional dividers
The front CyberTruck trademark LED 'daytime running light' (DRL) strip panel located on the front of the CyberTruck is always on and is pretty much for decoration as the actual low and high beam matrix beam headlights are located in the much lower position between the steel frunk cover and bumper as seen below. The headlights are only 15MM to 20MM tall, but bright, and they are placed in an ideal position as they are so low to the road, thus being able to provide superior road illumination characteristics.
The CyberTruck matrix beam headlights are really bright, but protect oncoming traffic from being blinded. Also, they are unusually protected from breakage as they are so small, and set back to far. In other words, if you compare them to a standard truck headlight, which features much more surface area, they are much less likely to crack or get damaged.
Speaking of which, there are blindspot monitoring lights located near the front corner of each front side window, as seen below glowing in red.
It's worth noting the CyberTruck is a stunning exercise in maximized minimalism, in the sense everything serves a highly functional purpose, and nothing was left to chance. Despite the fact there are two different performance model options, it's brilliant that there is only one interior and exterior color option.
"You want a truck that's tough? You want a truck that's really tough—not fake tough?"
—Elon Musk (2019)
Tesla originally showed the CyberTruck 4 years ago in 2019 with an additional light bar located at the top of the windshield, but removed it as a standard feature, although they mentioned they plan to offer it as an option as seen below, but they haven't offered a delivery timeframe or pricing information.
Tesla CyberTruck Light Bar Pictured Above
Tesla said "Light Bar illuminates your path up to 525 yards. That's more than five football fields. Installation required." If you look closely at the photo above it appears the light bar is mounted at an angle which might have a negative effect on the aerodynamics, and thus reduce range. Also, if it's too bright, it might be blinding to oncoming traffic, so I wonder what its intended purpose is? Maybe it's only for off-road driving?
Tesla PowerShare
Bidirectional Charging + 5 Outlets
They say that good things come to those who wait. One of the most interesting and potentially valuable standard features built into the CyberTruck, is named PowerShare. In the past people have quipped that the CyberTruck is not a car, but a smartphone, or tablet, on wheels. With the advent of PowerShare, one could argue the CyberTruck is now a charging brick, or battery on wheels in that it can power just about anything including power tools, another electric vehicle, or even a home.
The CyberTruck can provide backup power for a residential home that is properly equipped with specially installed equipment which requires only a single Tesla Power Wall battery. Tesla claims a fully charged Tesla CyberTruck can keep a home charged for up to 3 days!!! My understanding is the standard battery in the CyberTruck features the capacity of 9 Tesla PowerWall Battery systems which would cost around $40k if you purchased them separately.
The CyberTruck comes standard with four 120 Volt (20AMP) plug in outlets, just like you would find in a home. Two are located in the cabin as pictured below, and two are located in the back of the bed. Also, in the back of the bed is a single 240 Volt (40AMP) outlet, which can charge another EV, or Tesla. I am trying to think of why you would want 110 outlets in the cabin? You could plug in a laptop, but then again most modern laptops can charge off USB-C, which I assume the CyberTruck also features.
Below we see an image of the front of a CyberTruck which has been test crashed on purpose. The CyberTruck, just like all other Tesla models is designed to offer the highest level of safety. If you are not aware, the Tesla Models S, 3, X, and Y are the four safest vehicles ever tested by the NHTA, and from what I can tell, the CyberTruck is likely even safer than any of them. The stainless steel side doors on the CyberTruck are so strong, they don't require internal safety accident protection bars...
Range Extender
As you have probably noticed by now Tesla is offering many accessories for the CyberTruck, and this includes a Range Extending Battery which will offer up to 470+ miles of total range. This extra battery pack must be installed by Tesla in the back of the bed as pictured below. The cost is around $16,000. While I REALLY would love to have close to 500 miles of range, I think this would be a huge waste of money for most people and it also defeats the purpose of having the larger truck bed as you lose so much space.
I also learned Tesla will not be offering the Range Extenders until the end of 2024, and require a $500 per-order deposit. This could be because Tesla wants to gauge demand, and thus might not come out with this accessory at all. This reminds me of when Tesla built a battery swapping station that nobody ever used. Also, I believe a year from now, it is likely Tesla will have figured out how to increase the capacity of the 4680 batteries, so they will be able to offer a CyberTruck with 500+ miles of range, which would obsolete the battery pack.
Performance & Pricing
The ONLY 0-60 MPH metric I care about is when I am driving and come to a complete stop, then decide to accelerate petal to the metal. For me personally, 0-60 MPH acceleration is the key metric I judge a car by. Why? If I hit the accelerator, I want the car to immediately accelerate, not so much for driving around like a jackass, but as a defensive driving benefit.
Jason Cammisa from Hagerty (at 49:30 in the last video in this article) claimed in order to achieve 0-60MPH in 2.6 seconds no battery preconditioning is necessary, or special mode, to achieve this, which would run contrary to how the Model S Plaid 0-60 MPH is measured with having to precondition the battery pack, which is ridiculous. I assume the CyberTruck does not require preconditioning the batteries in order to rapidly accelerate based upon the new 800 volt architecture coupled with the much larger 4680 batteries and 48 volt system.
Jason Cammisa said if you just press down on the brake and accelerator at the same time while stopped, it will put CyberTruck in a cheetah stance, which will lower the back of the vehicle, and he consistently achieved 0-60 in 2.6 seconds. If this is true, then I would say the extra $20K for the CyberBeast might be justified, depending on what you can afford and how important that extra 1.5 seconds faster 0-60MPH is for you personally. Basically if you upgrade to CyberBeast, you are paying a significant premium of $1100 more per extra tenth of a second acceleration.
If you compare the CyberBeast model CyberTruck to a Ford F350 Raptor, The Ford offers 700 HP, and the Tesla offers 845 HP, but the Tesla cost $10,000 less and accelerates 0-60 a second faster. The Tesla also can carry a payload of 2300 pounds, but the Ford is limited to only 1300 pounds. The Ford F350 can tow 8700 Pounds, and the CyberTruck can tow 11,000 pounds.
The Tesla is also 10 inches shorter in length than a Ford F350, yet features a bed that is a half foot longer. The Tesla runs on Electricity and can drive itself, and if you want to drive the CyberTruck, it features drive-by-wire, which the Ford does not. The Tesla has a ground clearance of 17.44 inches, and the Ford offers 13.1 inches. The Tesla comes standard with a tonneau cover which cannot be broken into, and offers a frunk you can sit in or put groceries or luggage in...I think you see where I am going with this...
Delivery Dates & Cost
Tesla confirmed CyberTruck AWD deliveries have an estimated window of December to March, while the CyberBeast is estimated for "early 2024."
The 340 mile (547km) range on AWD CyberTruck is only achievable when equipped with the smaller super-lame looking all-season tires, and this model will not be available until 2024. This means if you take delivery now with the 35" all-terrain tires, your range drops down from 340 to 318 miles (512km).
A CyberBeast with the same all-terrain 35" ultra-cool looking Cyber Tires will experience a range loss of 19 miles. In other words, with the goofy all-seasons tires you get 320 miles of range, but with the 35" bad boy Cyber Tires you get 301 miles (484km) of range.
Tesla charges a destination fee per CyberTruck of $1,995 and an order fee of $250 :-(
The Founders series CyberBeast, apparently comes standard with laser-etched badging, full-self driving, lifetime premium connectivity, universal wall connector, PowerShare mobile connector, PowerShare home backup and off-Road Lightbar. It also comes standard with 3D All-Weather floor mats, smuggler's bay dividers, sunshade, bed D-rings, L-Track Hooks with Tie-Downs and a Bottle Opener.
I reserved a CyberTruck within the first 5 minutes they were made available for preorder, so I should get one of the first CyberTrucks, and assuming this is the case I will do a detailed video review.
48-Volt Architecture
The CyberTruck is a technological Marvel of automotive engineering, and is without precedent. It not only seeks to reinvent the truck, but in many ways reinvents the automobile.
Specifically, its new 800 volt Charging infrastructure will allow it to charge from 10% to 80% in 15 minutes at a new Tesla Level 4 Super Charger station, and its new 48 volt architecture completely leapfrogs the current industry wide automotive standard of 12 volt architecture.
Just to put things in perspective, the diagram above shows a traditional huge 12 Volt architecture, which is primarily made out of copper, and is very expensive and wastes a great deal of energy, while adding significant weight to the vehicle. Each component in a vehicle requires its own set of point-to-point wires in order to connect to the central ECUs, to be functional. This central nervous system connects to every actuator, button, switch and speaker throughout the entire vehicle.
Ethernet Ring
CyberTruck 48 Volt is Low Voltage architecture which is much simpler and cheaper electronically, and Tesla designed 100% of it in-house. This revolutionary new daisy-chain, self-contained cable system incorporates much thinner gigabit ethernet/etherloop cabling coupled with 48 volt power running data over CAN wire bus to every single component located within the ethernet ring, while using the same ethernet cable. Basically, this is a form of Power Over Ethernet (POE). This requires far fewer point-to-point wires, and runs power and data through the same highly interconnected ethernet ring cabling system. You can think of this as a highly evolved and ultra-efficient central nervous system.
In other words, a door handle can use the same wire that is currently running thought your window, speaker and ambient LED light accent system, by using a continuous data stream that listens for data commands which control all operations—kind of like a highly redundant and reliable mesh network. As a result of this genuine innovation, the CyberTruck requires for less copper and reduces the total amount of wiring by more than 75%, while eliminating fuses and cross car wiring!!!
Tesla executives said:
"We switched to gigabit etherloop, which is bidirectional gigabit ethernet, thus reducing complexity. All data flows over one communication link over etherloop, so the CyberTruck only has one controller. This allows the vehicle to be debugged in real time. Etherloop allows for 200 times more data bandwidth over cam-bus. Despite using Gigabit Ethernet, the custom controller software developed in-house by Tesla does not use ethernet protocol. It more closely resembles a token ring network, for accuracy and precission. It’s time-sliced and can’t drop packets, in a highly deterministic way so there is no variable latency. Millisecond scale latency and microsecond scale synchronicity are achieved and audio flows over the same network, that actively cancels noise in the vehicle."
Tesla was so impressed with their revolutionary new 48-Volt Vehicle Architecture, they created and sent a manual to all legacy automotive CEOs and suppliers named "How to Design a 48-Volt Vehicle". Tesla made all their own 48-Volt components which include HVAC blowers, screens, and actuators as they were not available off the shelf. This innovative architecture likely came from the development of the Tesla Optimus Robot.
In the final analysis Tesla is actually doing what Lexus pretended to do with their Passionate Pursuit of Perfection, which involves constant innovation, in order to continually improve the state of EV technology, while reducing the costs to manufacture. Tesla takes intelligent risks and dares where other manufactures rest on their laurels. While regular vehicles use a 12-Volt cigarette lighter as an option to plug in devices, the CyberTruck offers multiple 65 watt USB-C ports as well as four 120-Volt plugs, and even a plug that you could charge another EV with!!!
Science Reality
Fake News v. Real Science
The CyberTruck is real science fiction that has evolved into science reality. In other words, we as humans get excited about and look forward to a number of things like the next Star Wars, or Indiana Jones, or James Bond movie, or video games—but in the final analysis those are all false fantasy constructs, which is the same as fake news. The CyberTruck, conversely is a very real fantasy construct that will allow owners to live in the real future.
The CyberTruck is 10 inches shorter than the Ford F1 Lightning, yet its bed is 6 inches longer. Both models of the CyberTruck feature a 123kWh battery. This is half the size of the battery in the General Motors Hummer EV.
When I first saw the CyberTruck announced four years ago, I remember thinking to myself Tesla had the entire automotive industry in Check Mate, and I believe that to be true today, as we are witnessing with the advent of the CyberTruck. If it's not evident to the world now, it will be soon enough.
I believe Tesla has set a new standard with implementing the drive-by-wire system, as well as including four-wheel steering which I believe are likely to become the industry standard in the future. This powerfully innovative combo largely results in obsoleting the need to make annoying 3-point turns.
Regarding the somewhat disappointing range of 340 miles in the dual motor CyberTruck variant, I am confident that range will improve over the course of the next few years. I believe the target market today for sales of CyberTruck are early adopters who want to be on the cutting edge, and are willing to pay a premium to do so.
In many ways I think the CyberTruck being released today is a Minimum Viable Product when it comes to range, and I also believe as time goes by, once Tesla catches up with demand, they will lower the price as well as introduce more variants including a potential 8 or 11 seat people transport model, that would be more akin to a modern GM Suburban family mover.
It'sAWrap
I have been a professional designer for four decades, and more than anything I am a knockdown, drag-out design fanatic of the highest order. Thus, upon seeing the CyberTruck for the first time four years ago, my design mind immediately saw the CyberTruck as being an incomplete work of art.
Specifically, I though the side windows needed an end piece to complete the pyramid side window shape, which looks super wicked cool/clean/sporty/fresh to me. I think adding the Pyramid shape makes the CyberTruck look WaaaaaaY more like an and SUV than a truck, which as previously mentioned is the way I see it. The glass pyramid structure reminds me of various Louvre pyramids by architect, I. M. Pei.
Also, I thought the all-stainless steel body was too monochromatic and needed some flavor, contrast and color, and thus I experimented like crazy and came up with the two wrap design concepts seen above and below. I will probably go with the black bottom with the fat red pinstripes as seen above.
Tesla will be offering wrapping options they call "CyberTruck Color Paint Film" which can be seen below. Black and will cost $6500, but I think my tri-tone wrap looks way cooler as seen above. Once again, if you wrap a CyberTruck in one color it still suffers from a lack of contrast, and pop. Tesla will be offering this self-healing PPF option in many different colors and finishes including matt and glossy for $6500.
Matte Black Wrapped CyberTruck picture above priced at $6500
Cyber Future
Many people are questioning why Tesla took so long to get the CyberTruck to market, when obviously they could have rushed it to market in far less time, but instead Tesla went way beyond what was necessary with technical sophistication.
I believe they took the four years to not only develop the CyberTruck, but to also develop the entire Tesla Cyber Vehicle Platform.
Tesla announced back in 2021 they planned to build compact vehicles for the European and Chinese markets, and they issued a call for design submissions for the Chinese version. I reached out to Tesla to enquire about how to submit my design ideas, but nobody ever returned my email.
As a designer, I could not stop thinking about this amazing challenge, and created a design reference for a modular design concept to create a family of compact Tesla Cyber Vehicles. I put a great deal of time and effort into trying to enter my submission, and since I never heard back from Tesla, I decided to reach out directly to Elon Musk and Franz von Holzhausen, and I sent them my ideas.
I am sharing my design ideas as I believe it is VERY likely Tesla is working on a series of new vehicles based upon their Cyber Platform. My design reference which can be seen above in the collage includes a Cyber Mini, Cyber Compact, and Cyber Compact SUV and a Cyber SUV. Below we see larger images from my design reference I attempted to submit to Tesla:
$25,000 Tesla Cyber Mini Concept by Jake Ehrlich Pictured Above
Tesla Cyber Compact by Jake Ehrlich Pictured Above & Below
My Cyber SUV concept was to create a much more compact version of the CyberTruck as seen in the three images below:
I took things to the next level by coming up with an interesting display system that places RGB LED panels on the exterior of my concept car that can communicate important contextual information as seen below:
Last we see my concept for a Cyber Mini SUV. You can see my complete design reference and learn more by checking out my article named Tesla Cyber Vehicle Family Design Concept by Jake Ehrlich. I believe Tesla is currently working on vehicles like the ones presented in my design reference, at least I hope that is the case ;-)
Unanswered Questions
I still have some unanswered questions about the CyberTruck and as I answer them I will update the list below:
1. What happened to the solar panel option Tesla showed off four years ago that features solar panels on the tonneau cover, which was supposed to add between 15 and 20 miles of range per day? Tesla filed a patent for these solar panels and Elon Musk sent out this Tweet four years ago when the originally showcased the CyberTruck
2. How much will the upper LED strip accessory light cost and what is its real life value proposition?
3. How long is the charging cable that comes with the CyberTruck?
4. Do side doors auto present or auto-latch like they do on the Model X? [My understanding, from people who had early access to CyberTruck is the four side doors can auto pop open and auto close, similarly to a Model X, meaning, they can open a few inches on their own, as well as auto close themselves if you gently close them to within a few inches of being closed. Jason from Hagerty said the CyberTruck has soft close doors with actuators that also can open themselves.]
5. Do all four side windows roll down all the way? [Yes. I was confused as Tesla showed all the CyberTrucks at the launch event with the front passenger window up a few inches.]
6. How many bikes can fit in the bed with the tonneau cover closed? Assuming you remove the front tires?
7. How does the CyberTruck generate the rear-view camera image on-screen? Since keeping the tonneau cover closed increases range by 10%, the CyberTruck displays a constant rear-view image. I am wondering which camera(s) this comes from. In other words, is it a composite image of the left and right rear-facing side mirrors, that get stitched together, or is it somehow based upon a camera located on the back of the CyberTruck? [From what I have seen it appears as if the image is coming directly from the rear camera and NOT the side cameras.]
8. Do both models available at launch, being the two motor and tri-motor CyberBeast both have the same size 123kWh batteries? Besides the CyberBeast having a three motors, what else, if anything is different about it?
9. I know the side mirrors are removable by the end-user, but I am wondering if they auto-collapse when the car has been parked and armed? [From what I have seen so far I can confirm the side mirrors do feature the auto-collapse/fold feature which is great as it gives you a visual cue that the CyberTruck is locked and armed.]
10. I am pretty certain the CyberTruck comes with the new Hardware 4 platform which includes much higher resolution cameras, and I think an even faster and better CPU, but I am not certain and would like to learn more about this subject.
11. Do the front seats feature adjustable seat belt tensioners, so you can control the height position of the seat belt where it comes out of the B pillar? [From what I can tell, looking at photos of the interior of the Production CyberTruck, it does posses this feature]. Why am I asking this question? For some bizarre reason, the Tesla Model S has always lacked this feature, and since you can't adjust the height position, the seatbelt regularly jabs my neck, which is irritating.
The One More Thang
If you made it this far, chances are you are probably totally enjoying the launch of the CyberTruck, and I saved the best for last. The review of the CyberTruck below by Hagerty is by far and away the single best review, and the second video is where he discusses the making of the review and shares some shockingly profound insight on the CyberTruck.
Pro Con List
The CyberTruck finally arrived, with some disappointments, but with MANY surprise features nobody was expecting, so I thought I would put together a formal list of them:
PRO
[Features I was not expecting but perceive as being a surprising advantage that add real value]
-PowerShare: Accommodates bi-directional charging which can charge your home or another EV.
-Power opening and closing Frunk, that you can use as a bench to sit on.
-Front bumper camera with build-in washer.
-Front/Rear/Side camera view on display while driving
-Rear passenger screen that can play separate video in back seat using Bluetooth headphones for back seat occupants.
-RGB LED Linear Cabin Light Strips.
-Single Katana Wiper
-Invisible Door Handles
-Active Road Noise cancellation.
-Rear Wheel Steering [9-10 degrees]
-350 kW Charging Capability.
-800 Volt Architecture.
-48-Volt Electrical System
-0-60 Acceleration in 2.6 seconds [2.9 anticipated]
-Steer by Wire which eliminates 3 point turning.
-Comes standard with rubber bed liner protection.
-Rubber Hubcaps to avoid curb rash.
-Gigabit Etherloop
-4th Generation Hardware and Cameras
-Red Light for Blind Spot Indicator
-Rear Subtrunk for storing items under rear bed.
-Large storage area under rear seats, which fold up.
-4680 Structural Pack
-340 Mile range for Dual Motor, which originally was supposed to be 300 miles.
-Air Cooled and Heated seats
-Heated Steering Wheel
-Huge HEPA filter
-Probably Safest Vehicle ever produced
-King of the Road Performance and Design
CON
[Features I was looking forward to that have been omitted or price increased]
-Pricing is more expensive on all 4 models
-No solar charging option for tonneau cover slats.
-Full Self-Driving Price has gone up.
-No built-in light bar.
MAYBE
[Features that have been removed which I didn't care about]
-Removed built-in Tailgate ramp
-Removed build-in air compressor.
-No 6 seat option
-No sail panel for side storage
-Water Mode, which pressurizes the batteries for driving through water.
Looks Like A...
So where did the design language for the CyberTruck come from? People keep coming up with things that remind them of the Tesla CyberTruck, so I thought I would share some interesting images. First we see the F117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter.
Below we see the 1970 Ferrari 512S Modulo Concept car, which also shares the swooping roofline.
My friend Christian was making fun of the shape of the Tesla CyberTruck and texted me the the image below of the original Apple Mouse, as well as the images below of the high-jacked Tesla Pickup.
My name is Jake, and I started Jake's Tesla World as an online magazine which is a superb resource for all things Tesla. In my opinion as a designer, the Tesla Model S is not only the best car ever made, but a true gateway to the future of clean and safe transportation.
I'll never forget an evening back in early November of 2011, when I saw a movie named, "The Revenge Of The Electric Car", which showcased the plight of Elon Musk, and Tesla Motors. The movie blew my mind, and made me really excited about the potential promise of electric vehicles.
Tesla design is so timeless, as is it's story, so the when you spend time on Jake's Tesla World, since everything is in reverse chronological order, you can literally go back in time, and see exactly how everything evolved.
When I see or experience something that blows my mind, like the TESLA Model S, I want to learn absolutely everything I can about it. My goal with Jake's Tesla World is to share everything with you that I have learned about TESLA, as well as everything you would ever want to know or understand about Tesla, and obviously every detail is absolutely fascinating!!!
I hope you enjoy exploring Jake's Tesla World as much as I enjoy putting it together.
