Tesla Cybertruck: all the news about Elon Musk’s futuristic pickup truck

2 weeks ago 4

About that State Department ‘estimate’ for a $400 million order of armored Teslas.
After questions were raised earlier this month about the line item proposing $400 million for “Armored Tesla (Production Units),” the State Department said the solicitation stemmed from a Biden-admin request. However, an NPR reporter says a document shows the Biden administration had approved less than $500k to look into armoring electric vehicles, while experts said the new figure would just about account for replacing the department’s entire 3,000-vehicle fleet with Tesla trucks.
TikToker projects anti-Elon screeds on the back of Cybertrucks.
After tracking down an unsuspecting Cybertruck stopped at a traffic light, the anonymous TikToker in a Jack Skeleton mask uses a projector mounted on their dash to display crude jokes about Musk on the truck’s lift gate. Messages include “The most recalled truck in 2024” and “Musk, this truck is really like you... tons of hype, underwhelming in bed.” There’s also plenty of Nazi imagery, after Musk’s infamous fascist salute at Trump’s inauguration. Sure, it requires more technical skills than spraying “Fuck Elon” on a bunch of Teslas. But @cybertruck_hunters certainly wins points for ingenuity.
The Cybertruck is the latest Tesla to score a 5-star crash rating
The Verge / Photo by Bloomberg, Getty Images
The Tesla Cybertruck finally has its first crash safety rating over a year after deliveries first began in November 2023. And like all other Tesla vehicles before it, the electric truck scored a 5-star rating in nearly all the individual categories.
The categories include frontal and side crashes, as well as risk of rollover. To simulate a head-on collision, the Cybertruck was driven into a flat rigid barrier at 35 mph. For that, NHTSA awarded the truck a 5-star rating for drivers and a 4-star rating for passengers.
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Tesla says the Cybertruck is ‘bestselling,’ so why is it offering discounts?
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
Tesla is declaring the Cybertruck to be “America’s bestselling electric pickup truck in 2024.” And yet, for the first time, the company is offering discounts of up to $2,600 on the low-poly truck, a sign that demand may not be as strong as Tesla would like you to think.
The discounts, which appear on the company’s inventory webpage, are as high as $1,600 for brand-new Cybertrucks and up to $2,600 for slightly used demo versions of the truck. The price reduction you see will depend on how you configure your Cybertruck.
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Tesla Cybertruck hit with sixth recall this year, this time over a bad inverter
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled for the sixth time this year — and the fix won’t involve an easy software update.
Tesla voluntarily issued a recall for approximately 2,431 Cybertrucks manufactured between November 6, 2023 and July 30, 2024. The issue is related to something called the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors, or MOSFET, in which the inverter has the potential to stop creating torque, resulting in a loss of propulsion for the truck.
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Tesla’s Cybertruck range extender just became an even worse deal
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Tesla has delayed the release of its range extender for the Cybertruck and downgraded the amount of mileage it will add for the dual-motor version of the truck, as noticed by Electrek. The reduced range and delay are just more ways that the Cybertruck, which saw some big changes from when it was first announced, has had trouble living up to its hype.
Previously, Tesla said the range extender, which will take up a good chunk of the Cybertruck’s bed space, would give the dual-motor Cybertruck an estimated total of 470 miles of range.
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The cheapest Cybertruck is now almost $100,000
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Tesla has stopped selling the $60,990 RWD Cybertruck, the cheapest version of its angular EV truck, Jalopnik writes. At the same time, the company increased the price of the next-in-line AWD Cybertruck by $20,000. Now $99,990, it elevates the EV’s price floor by a whopping $39,000.
The Cyberbeast — the tri-motor version of the truck with more torque and a higher top speed than the standard all-wheel drive EV — is also costlier, at $119,990 (it was $99,990 before August 6th). The updated prices are especially bleak when you consider Tesla had said in 2019 that the Cybertruck would start at $39,990.
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Dozens of Tesla Cybertrucks vandalized by someone who really doesn’t like Elon Musk
Elon Musk may have just won approval for a $56 billion pay package from his adoring supporters, but someone in Fort Lauderdale is clearly not a fan of the controversial CEO. Last week, dozens of Tesla Cybertrucks were defaced with the words “Fuck Elon” in black spray paint, according to InsideEVs citing local news reports.
Police say that 34 stainless steel trucks were tagged with the message, which was discovered on Friday. The Cybertrucks were being stored in the public parking lot, without any fencing or security, likely being held because of a previously reported problem with the windshield wiper. Tesla is also experiencing an inventory pileup as a result of cooling demand for its electric vehicles.
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Tesla reportedly delays Cybertruck deliveries because of windshield wiper issues
Image: Parker Ortolani / The Verge
Cybertrucks might have another issue.
Posts on the Cybertruck Owners Forum, Reddit, and on X say that Tesla has notified them their Cybertruck deliveries are being pushed back. Some say they were told it was a wiper blade issue, while others say they weren’t given a reason.
The reports come just two months after the company recalled all Cybertrucks over stuck accelerator pedals. Tesla didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment.
Tesla Cybertruck finally gets more off-road controls
Image: Tesla
The Tesla Cybertruck is finally getting an off-road mode via an over-the-air software update, allowing early owners of the monstrous electric truck to finally get granular 4x4-style features that were promised from the start.
The news comes via a post by Tesla’s Cybertruck account on X, which shared an image of the Off-Road Mode screen with different settings, options for locking differentials, the ability to turn off rear steering, and more. Off-Road Mode has two main settings: Overland Mode for consistent handling and better traction on rock, gravel, snow, and sand, plus a Baja Mode that improves balance and “handles more freely.”
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This is Tesla’s riveting fix for recalled Cybertruck accelerator pedals
Cybertruck owner reveals Tesla’s very riveting fix for pedal problems.
In a Facebook post, Jim McGlone wrote that they installed a temporary rivet to secure the pad that might slip off and get stuck. With that in place, he picked up his new Cybertruck yesterday after it had been in a “containment hold.”
Cybertruck owners say deliveries halted over bad accelerator pedal
Image: Parker Ortolani / The Verge
Over the last few days, Tesla has delayed some Cybertruck deliveries. The company hasn’t specified why or even publicly commented on the delays, but commenters in the Cybertruck Owners Club forum have reported receiving texts or calls telling them their deliveries were being rescheduled.
One user said they’d been told by their dealer that the truck was recalled over its accelerator pedal. Another claimed Tesla sent them a text saying it’s not scheduling deliveries at the moment for the same reason. Several others reported receiving texts about issues with “the preparation of your vehicle.”
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The Cybertruck isn’t Tesla’s long-haul towing champ.
Long says the Tesla Model X, on the other hand, pulled the same trailer 235 miles.
Tesla’s litigiousness is why Doug DeMuro hasn’t reviewed the Cybertruck yet.
Tesla’s threat to sue anyone who tries to resell their Cybertruck within the first year has owners “spooked,” which is why the polarizing electric truck hasn’t shown up on his auction site Cars and Bids. He also hinted at some sort of retaliation from Tesla when he reviewed one of the first Model 3s back in 2017. “It wasn’t pretty,” the popular YouTuber chuckled. Say more!
Eventually he’ll review the Cybertruck, he says. His neighbor even has one! DeMuro was just hoping to promote his auction site as part of the review. That’s capitalism, baby!
Want to know what the Cybertruck can do to carrots and hot dogs?
The folks over at the Out of Spec Reviews channel started this Cybertruck look by comparing the pinch sensors (or lack thereof) of the doors and frunk of a Rivian truck, a Cybertruck, an F-150 Lightning, and a Tesla Model X.
Something to watch if you’re curious about what happens if you don’t get your snack out of the way in time.
Pharrell Williams was up all night to parallel park his Cybertruck.
Just kidding; it wasn’t all night. But according to Business Insider, when the recording artist and producer pulled up to Louis Vuitton, he struggled for about 10 minutes to get his chunky metal triangle car into a spot before giving up and letting a valet handle it.
Guess he just couldn’t find the right angle.
Software problems apparently stranded this Cybertruck.
According to the updated caption, this Tesla Cybertruck suffered from software problems that caused traction control issues and a failure to air down, while another post said it also had the wrong tires. That left it spinning its wheels during a recovery at the Corral Hollow OHV trail by the same kind of Ford SuperDuty pickup Tesla claims its electric truck can out-pull.
Also, at least on this release candidate, the people who recovered it said the truck lacked recovery tow points — they had to tie the ropes to its suspension.
Tesla Cybertruck starts at $60,990 and can get up to 340 miles of range
Four years after its debut, the Tesla Cybertruck has finally reached its first batch of customers. The truck was delivered to about a dozen people during a lavish event at the company’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, at which Elon Musk predicted the truck would usher in a new, more exciting future.
The company also provided updated details about the pricing, range, and features for the truck, much of which has changed significantly from the originally announced numbers. The rear-wheel drive version of the electric truck will start at $60,990 — up from the original price of $39,900 in 2019 — and will get 250 miles of range on a full charge. That version won’t be available until 2025.
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How to watch Tesla’s 2023 Cybertruck delivery event
Tesla is about to deliver the first Cybertrucks to buyers at an event on Thursday, November 30th, starting around 3PM ET / 2PM CT / 12PM PT in Austin, Texas.
The electric pickup truck, with a jarringly polygonal design, was first revealed in November 2019 by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The Cybertruck’s unique design helped it make its mark, and many people immediately plunked down $100 to hold a place in line to get one. Even the botched “armor glass” demonstration, in which Tesla’s lead designer smashed the driver’s side window with a metal ball, did little to deter interest.
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The Cybertruck made a mark but missed its moment
The Verge / Photo by Bloomberg, Getty Images
It feels like a thousand years since Tesla first introduced the Cybertruck, but it’s actually only been about a thousand days. Still, that’s a long time in the auto world, and to say people are getting antsy waiting would be a huge understatement.
The Cybertruck certainly took its time getting here, slogging its way through a global pandemic, a presidential election, two ongoing wars, and many other terrible things that have happened over the past four years. Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and his emergence as a “haver of bad opinions, especially about Jews” also took place within this time and is sure to cast a shadow over the Cybertruck’s big moment.
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Tesla’s Cyberquad for Kids is back and officially a toy again
After being recalled last year for not meeting product safety standards, Tesla’s $1,900 Cyberquad for Kids is once again available to purchase on the Tesla webstore in the US. The latest release of the Cybertruck-inspired ride-on toy — identified as Model 915 — is an updated version of the Model 914 Cyberquad for Kids that launched back in December 2021. Orders for the Model 915 are expected to begin shipping in late November.
Like the Model 914, the new Model 915 Cyberquad for Kids was jointly created by Tesla and popular children’s toy maker Radio Flyer, best known as the makers of the Little Red Wagon. The battery-powered Cyberquad for Kids has a 500W motor with a top speed of 10 mph (that parents can switch to 5 mph) and a max range of 15 miles, with LED headlights and taillights. Much like its Cybertruck inspiration, this pint-sized version of the Cyberquad ATV for adults also features a steel frame and high-pressure rubber air tires.
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If you buy a Cybertruck, Tesla says you can’t sell it for a year.
Whatever you think of its windshield wiper, if you are one of the first Cybertruck owners (price still TBA), Tesla intends for you to hang onto your electric truck.
Tesla’s order agreement says “You agree that, you will not sell or otherwise attempt to sell the Vehicle within the first year following your Vehicle’s delivery date,” without getting permission. Breaking the deal could result in your truck being remotely deactivated.
Is the Cybertruck’s wiper actually multiple wipers in a row? An investigation
As Vergecast listeners know, I am deeply and forever fascinated by the Tesla Cybertruck’s wiper — it is one of the silliest design compromises in automotive history on a vehicle that is itself a rolling design compromise. I love it so much.
Anyway, I’ve been asking listeners to send in detailed shots of the wiper to confirm a rumor I’ve been hearing — my thanks to the dozens of people who’ve passed along photos. I didn’t have anything worth running until today, though: our own Parker Ortolani spotted a Cybertruck in NYC and took several photos that appear to show that the “single wiper” is actually multiple wiper blades stacked in a row.
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