Tesla Cybertruck: pricing and specs for Elon Musk’s electric pickup truck
The Tesla pickup truck is now on sale, with a range of up to 340 miles and a starting price of just over $60,000
More than four years after the initial reveal of the Tesla Cybertruck all the way back in November 2019, pricing and specs have finally been revealed for Elon Musk’s striking electric pickup truck, with the first few Cybertruck examples making their way into customer hands.
Despite being one of the first electric pickup trucks to be announced, it took quite a while for the production Tesla Cybertruck to arrive. Therefore, plenty of strong rivals have gone on sale in the U.S in the meantime, such as the Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevrolet Silverado EV.
It remains to be seen whether the Tesla Cybertruck will ever be made available this side of the Atlantic. Brits are able to reserve one with a £100 refundable deposit but full-size US market pickups aren’t usually sold in the UK and there is some debate over whether the Cybertruck will comply with EU safety legislation. That being said, if Musk did decide to sell his plug-in pickup in the UK, the Cybertruck’s only current competition would be in the form of the Maxus T90 EV.
Tesla Cybertruck price, range, performance and payload
Tesla is offering the Cybertruck in three distinct variants, each with its own electric motor and battery configuration. The entry-level Tesla Cybertruck Rear-Wheel Drive starts from $60,990 (around £48,000 at the time of writing), which is roughly $20,000 more than Musk initially suggested. This gets buyers a maximum range of 250 miles and 0-60mph acceleration in six-and-a-half seconds.
Next is the Tesla Cybertruck Long Range ($79,990) which gets an extra motor on the front axle to provide four-wheel drive grip, a combined 600bhp and a 0-60mph time of 4.1 seconds. As its name suggests, this model also gets a larger battery for an increased electric range of 340 miles – more than even the Tesla Model Y Long Range.
Finally, there’s the top-of-the-range Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast (yes, our eyes are rolling as well). With a suitably beastly 845bhp going to all four wheels, the top-of-the-range Cybertruck can reach 60mph in 2.6 seconds. Range isn’t quite the 500 miles initially promised by Tesla, though; the American EV brand says this model of the Cybertruck can travel 320 miles before needing to be plugged in. It’s also pretty expensive, starting from an eye-watering $99,990.
Tesla has previously showcased a ‘range extender’ battery pack which can sit in the Cybertruck’s load bed and apparently extended its range to 440 miles – how much this will eventually cost and when it will go on sale still remains a mystery, though.
Of course, being a pickup truck, the Tesla Cybertruck is a tad more capable than your average EV; the Cybertruck’s 2.2 cubic metre loadbed has a maximum payload capacity of 1,134kg, while the maximum towing weight stands at 5,000kg. There’s also a lockable storage area – referred to as the 'Cybertruck Vault' – in the nose of the truck, which provides an extra 2.8 cubic metres of secure storage.
Tesla is yet to provide full details on optional extras, though the list of accessories includes a pitchable tent for the loadbed, a loadbed ramp, a colour wrap – just like those recently shown off for the smaller Model Y and Model 3 – and a sticker of a smashed window, in reference to the Cybertruck’s rather disastrous launch event.
Design and proportions
Elon Musk has described the Cybertruck as "looking like something out of Blade Runner" with its radical, angular lines. It’s what's referred to in the US as a ‘full-size’ pickup: that means it'll be much bigger than the likes of the Nissan Navara and Ford Ranger that dominate the market in the UK. The Tesla measures 5.9 metres long, two metres wide and 1.9 metres high, which is about the same size as the Ford F-150 Lightning and Hummer EV it’ll eventually compete against.
The exterior is fashioned out of stainless steel, which Musk says will not scratch or dent, though production models do have some aluminium panels at the rear. The Cybertruck’s window glass is also supposed to be reinforced – we say ‘supposed’ as this was disproven at the truck’s launch when a metal ball ended up smashing one of the show model’s windows. This issue is reported to have been resolved for production Cybertrucks, thankfully.
On the inside, the Cybertruck essentially looks like a more rugged, boxier version of the Tesla Model 3. In true Tesla fashion, the whole cabin centres around a huge touchscreen – here, measuring 18.5 inches – which runs the brand’s slick and feature-packed operating system. However, there’s also an additional 8.5-inch display mounted in the rear of the centre console for the rear seat passengers.
Speaking of passengers, Tesla says the Cybetruck has space to “seat six comfortably”. There’s room to seat three in the back, while the centre armrest and cupholders in the front can fold up to reveal a jumpseat.
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