The moment was long-awaited and yesterday, it happened: Tesla delivered the first Cybertrucks to customers. The event took place at the automaker's Texas plant and was broadcast live on Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter.
Musk was full of praise for his product, describing it as a truck that's better than a truck, and a sports car that's better than a sports car.
As expected, the presentation had its share of memorable moments. There was another demonstration of the strength of the model's windows, only this time the shatterproof glass didn't shatter, as it did when the vehicle was unveiled in 2019. This go-round, Cybertruck designer Franz von Holzhausen threw a baseball at the window and it bounced back. Tesla says you could whip a 120 km/h fastball at it and the result would be the same.
Not enough to convince you? Tesla also showed a video in which the Cybertruck withstands a barrage of bullets from a machine-gun.
Point being, you'll be able to drive this EV in a war zone.
On a more relevant note for buyers, Tesla confirmed figures from a few weeks ago regarding the 11,000-lb towing capacity and 2,500-lb payload.
As for the weight, well, this is a heavy truck at 6843 lb for the three-motor version.
The Cybertruck is equipped with an adaptive air suspension with a maximum ground clearance of 17.4 inches, and rides on 35-inch all-terrain tires. It’s not known whether those tires are standard or optional. Tesla gives a drag coefficient of 0.34 for the truck.
The Cybertruck features a steering system with no mechanical link to the wheels. This adjusts steering wheel rotation according to vehicle speed. The pickup is also equipped with steerable rear wheels and a rear torque vectoring system. Tesla says the turning radius is smaller than that of a Model S.
A Cyberbeast version will be offered, pushing the limits of performance to another level for this type of vehicle. We're talking about a 0-97 km/h time of 2.6 seconds, which is as impressive as it is useless. More interestingly, the model's architecture is 800 volts.
Three versions
Further specifications were published on Tesla's website as the model was unveiled. We learned that there will be three versions: RWD, AWD and Cyberbeast.
Tesla claims the rear-wheel drive (RWD) model will reach 97 km/h in 6.5 seconds, while offering a top speed of 180 km/h. This model will be able to tow up to 7500 lb. Its range will be around 450 km. This product, which will be the least expensive of the family, is not expected before 2025.
As for the all-wheel-drive (AWD) version, it will offer 600 hp and reach 97 km/h in 3.9 seconds, with a range of around 550 km. The company mentions a “range extender” that will boost range to over 750 km. Weight of this version: 6603 lb.
This model will be able to recover 220 km of range in just 15 minutes on one of the brand's fast chargers.
Finally, the Cyberbeast version will deliver 845 hp, enabling a record 0-97 km/h time. The range will be shorter at 515 km, and 708 km with the announced extender.
What about availability?
According to Musk, deliveries start now. Recall however that in recent weeks, he admitted that the company had made life a little complicated for itself with this model, and that volume won’t be very high initially. It will be interesting to see how quickly Cybertrucks reach customers.
In the U.S., the rear-wheel drive model set to arrive later will start at $60,990 USD. The AWD variant is priced at $79,990, while the Cyberbeast goes for $99,990.
Pricing in Canada remains to be confirmed.
