With dubstep as the soundtrack and neon lighting as the backdrop, Elon Musk delivered the first Cybertrucks to a select group of customers that included Reddit co-founder and VC Fund Seven Seven Six founder Alexis Ohanian and Trousdale Ventures founder and CEO Phillip Sarofim.
The live stream of the Tesla Cybertruck delivery event was a short affair – about 30 minutes. But the event still had all the traditional features you’d expect from Tesla: the procession and dynamic music, VIP guests and, of course, Musk.
Tesla Cybertruck deliveries come at least six years since Musk first tweeted about building a truck, and four years since he debuted the futuristic pickup.
Looking past some of the more impressive features – it’s bulletproof – here’s everything we know so far. tl;dr: the Cybertruck is much more expensive than the targets Musk shared in 2019. And other details shared were minimal. Some reviews, incl one by Marques Brownleethey were much more enlightening than what Musk or Tesla’s official website shared.
Three editions
Image Credits: Tesla/screenshot
The Tesla Cybertruck will eventually be available in three configurations.
The cheapest of the lot, a single rear-wheel-drive version with 250 miles of range, a 6.9-second zero-to-60-mph time and a $60,990 base price, won’t be available until 2025. That leaves a dual all-wheel drive version and the so-called Cyberbeast, which has three engines.
The all-wheel drive version has an estimated range of 340 miles, a top speed of 112 mph and a starting price of $79,990. The Cyberbeast comes with an estimated 320-mile range model with 845 horsepower that can travel from 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds, can reach a top speed of 130 mph, and comes with an estimated price of $99,990. Both of these versions have a strong towing capacity of 11,000 pounds.
The company is also set to offer a range extender that will push the all-wheel drive version to around 470 miles and the Cyberbeast to more than 440 miles of range. But Tesla isn’t providing any other details about the range extension or pricing. After the incident, Musk took to X, formerly Twitter, to offer a slightly less opaque explanation. He said the range extender will be an “optional package that fits about 1/3 of the truck bed. Still room for plenty of cargo. It is intended for very long trips or towing heavy things in the mountains.”
No word yet on how much it will cost. Either way, any EV or SUV truck priced over $80,000 will not qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit. Which means the range-extended mid-tier variant probably won’t.
The numbers above differ from the initial specs Musk first shared when the Cybertruck debuted in 2019. The company was planning three variants, but pricing, towing and the lineup have changed since then. The dimensions of the production vehicle have also been reduced by about 5% from the prototype introduced four years ago, making it slightly smaller than the Ford F-150 Lightning. In 2019, the company planned for its cheapest version to cost $39,900 and have a towing capacity of 7,500 pounds and more than 250 miles of range. The mid-level version was planned to be a dual-motor all-wheel drive priced at $49,900, have a towing capacity of more than 10,000 pounds, and be able to travel more than 300 miles on a single charge. The third version had to have three electric motors and all-wheel drive, a towing capacity of 14,000 pounds, and a battery range of more than 500 miles. This version, known as the “tri motor”, costs $69,900.
Today, all production Cybertrucks have a 0.335 drag coefficient (that’s good aerodynamics, fyi), 35-inch all-terrain tires on 20-inch wheels, a six-foot-by-four-foot composite truck bed, a hidden gear box, and a front trunk. The company says there’s a total of 67 cubic feet of lockable storage and a maximum payload of 2,500 pounds. Specifically, Cybertruck is a steer-by-wire vehicle, which should enable it to make tight turns and maneuvers.
It’s also worth noting that Tesla switched from a 12-volt to 48-volt electrical system as other automakers like Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have done. The 48 volt system provides more efficient power distribution and can provide enough current to charge things like power tools.
The Cybertruck is also equipped with an electronically adjustable air suspension that allows up to 17 inches of travel if needed.
Tesla Cybertruck exterior
The Tesla Cybertruck still has the same trapezoidal shape and stainless steel exterior as it was introduced in 2019. However, there are a few changes. The truck bed is no longer stainless steel, but instead is lined with composite material. And those side mirrors? They are removable.
The exterior includes tempered glass that’s supposed to withstand the impact of a baseball at 70 mph or Category 4 hail. Testing of the glass didn’t do so well in 2019, shattering. This time lead designer Franz von Holzhausen successfully threw a baseball at the vehicle’s window without breaking it. Although it should be noted that in 2019, von Holzhausen threw a baseball-sized metal ball. On Thursday, it appeared to be a regular old baseball, and not one thrown 70 mph.
Inside the Cybertruck
Now that the Tesla Cybertrucks are being delivered, there is more information about some of the interior details and features.
As Musk delivered the Cybertrucks, he pressed what looked like a button on the B-pillar to open the doors. Notably, the tailgates open 90 degrees, a detail that wasn’t highlighted at the event, but was revealed in some of the review videos released since then. Once inside, drivers and passengers may notice an 18.5-inch touchscreen in the front and a 9.4-inch touchscreen in the rear. Apparently, there’s also a new interface, though Tesla doesn’t specify how it differs from the current version.
Unlike the original, the steering wheel is a wheel and not a yoke. And another oddly placed element is the gear selector, in this case the buttons that allow the driver to move from park to hold or drive is placed where the mirror would normally be. Oh and yes, there is no rearview mirror.
Interestingly, and as noted by Brownlee, there’s a front-facing camera outside the Cybertruck — a Tesla world first — that projects an image onto that center screen to help the driver see any obstacles.
The Cybertruck also comes with a 15-speaker audio system that includes two dedicated subwoofers and distributed amplifiers. Also included is an integrated HEPA air filter (also in other Tesla vehicles), a wireless charging system, and 65W USB-C and 120V/240V outlets.
