2022 Tesla Cybertruck

Great specs as a bad 70s Sci-Fi flick meets the full electric future.

Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – November 21, 2019

2022 Tesla Cybertruck

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Los Angeles, CA -- Just 3-days prior to the LA Auto Show, Ford had its day in the sun with the introduction of its ground breaking Ford Mustang Mach-E. Two days later, Audi pushed its e-tron Sportback albeit without the same level of fanfare. From the LA Auto Show floor, Toyota's 2021 RAV4 Prime and its 39-miles of All-Electric Range owned the show for what that is worth. Also from the floor, Nissan’s intro of the all-new 2021 Sentra did not grab nearly the attention it should have given its every day affordability and no-sacrifice platform for the masses. Porsche’s 210 and 240-mile all-electric range Taycan 4S garnered even less attention as the basic range simply is not there.

As LA Auto Show Press Days came to a close, Ford appeared to have won the media war with the most attention and even controversy tying the iconic Mustang name to an all-electric Crossover. That story was worth of attention until...

The day after Press Days completion, another entry took "all the air out of the room" and it is quite possibly the most radical “thing” I have seen in decades. To put it bluntly, Tesla once again owned the airwaves regardless of the product that was introduced.

Tesla’s Cybertruck is a pickup truck with the performance of a sports car. It will be available with a 250+ mile range, Single Motor RWD with a 7.5k tow cap that is said to start at just $39,900. A second model, the Dual Motor AWD, provides over 300-miles of range, a 10k lb tow cap, and is being offered at $49,900. The third is called the Tri Motor AWD and is a powerhouse with more than 500-miles of al-electric range, a 14k lb tow cap, and a 0 to 60 time of under 3-seconds for $69,900.

On paper, the Cybertruck will surely kick @$$ and take names but…

Tesla Cybertruck Design

The Cybertruck is built with a body consisting of high strength cold rolled steel and glass made of what Tesla called almost impenetrable. Regarding the glass, well that did not work out so well…

Armor Glass test ultimate fail from the reveal.​

Design? I always thought the short lived 2001 – 2005 Chevrolet Aztek was the worst car design I have ever seen. There was a good reason it lasted only 4-years. That is because it was F*&$#)# ugly?!

Taking a page out of a third graders pencil sketch, Tesla has produced what they say will be the 2022 Cybertruck. It will never reach the road as shown due to the lack of side mirrors for one. The DOT has not approved anyone to use simple cameras just yet so that is out. The C-pillar sail panels shaping the upper rear end of the bed creates one of the largest blind spots we have ever seen. More importantly, if you were to try and build the least cost body structure, you straight edge everything. No complex curves, not contours, and no feature lines. The problem being it leads to the type of vehicle many o us drew in grade school. Inside, simplistic but functional.

Inside the all-new 2022 Tesla Cybertruck. Sparse but functional I guess?​

In some fields of study and design, the simplest approach is often found to the most effective and I guess the simplest solution is the path Tesla took with the CyberTruck. From my own eyes, “Damn”, WTF did you do???!!!

Outside of my own bias’, there are approximately 175k pre-orders in just 3-days which is an incredible launch volume. Remember the Tesla Model3 pre-orders reached over 500,000 vehicles and from that, over 450,000 of those hand raisers actually took delivery.

Vehicle Specs:

• Payload: Up to 3,500 lbs on what I assume will be the RWD Single Motor
• Bed length is a std. 6.5 feet
• Lockable storage including the bed, frunk, and sail pillars
• Suspension: 8”
• Touchscreen size: 17”
• Seating cap: 6
• Charging: > 14,000 Superchargers, including the 250kW V3s

Single Motor ($39,000): 250+ miles of range, 7,500+ lbs. tow cap, 0 to 60 in < 6.5 seconds
Dual Motor ($49,000): 300+ miles of range, 10,000+ lbs. tow cap, 0 to 60 in < 4.5 seconds
Tri-Motor ($69,000): 500+ miles of range, 14,000+ lbs. tow cap, 0 to 60 in < 3 seconds

Tesla’s controversial Self-Driving feature adds $7,000 to the total price of the Cybertruck.

2022 Tesla Cybertruk


Functional and simplistic for sure but wow is it ...​

After millions of dollars spent on wowing the crowds by Ford, Audi, Nissan, Toyota, and Porsche, Tesla once again owned it without even attending the LA Auto Show.

 

Hi All:

I will point out an additional item. Nissan sold just 2,134 Titan's last month. With falling demand, I doubt they will reach 30,000 vehicles next year (2020) as 2019 YTD sales of 27,546 are already off 34.3 percent from the 41,953 sold through the same period of 2018.

2022 Tesla Cybertruck

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Tesla's pre-orders for the Model3 breached the 500k mark of which over 450,000 were converted to outright purchases. Tesla's CyberTruck has almost 200,000 preorders in just 3-days and will surely breach that level before the day is out. How much you want to bet they can convert at least 150k of those to actual purchases?

Now compare that 150k in sales to Nissan's Titan YTD results?

Yes it looks like a Lego Toy. According to the public however, that does not matter just as most pickup truck buyers never use their trucks for anything but the commute. Sales matter, not what the vehicle can or cannot do or what it looks like or what it does not.

Wayne

 

Hi Carcus:

I thought that about the Model3. I found out how wrong I was. $35k? Yeah right.

In any case, Tesla owners have big $s to spend/waste and do not care about what features are included beyond the 0 to 60 and range. That 500 mile range monster at $70k is right in the heart of the lux LD pickup truck market.

It still looks and will surely drive like an abomination but I find the Lamborghini fits that same bill. Both will certainly grab your attention and maybe that is all it needs to do.

Wayne

 

Hi Carcus:

Very good point. The skin is just a few mm thick however. It does not matter how strong it is, it will crumple like a sheet of paper impacting anything of substance. Elon's statements about it had to be designed this way because the shell would break the sheet form presses is pure and total BS.

Reservations surpassed 200k overnight.

Wayne

 

Hi Neil:

I have read a lot about Tesla's new battery tech and it appears they will be the first to offer a 1,000,000 mile battery that provides less than 10 percent degradation over 4,000 charge cycles.

Wayne

 

HI All:

Pre-orders have reached 250k. If they can convert even half of these... From the F-150 to CyberTruck tow bar to to bar tow off - huge success - and armor windows shattering 0 huge failure - stunt(s), it appears larger than a full-size pickup and will not fit in many garages. I do not get it but there sure are a lot of Tesla fans out there.

Wayne

 

Hi All:

More from the Tesla brand tonight on this ground breaking beta truck.

Cybertruck is designed to accelerate from 0-60 in less than 2.9 seconds and provides an estimated range of over 500 miles in Tri-Motor configuration. Standard adaptive air suspension offers up to 16" of ground clearance with self-leveling capabilities for any occasion.

An exoskeleton of SS and Tesla armor glass protects you and your passengers. There is also 100 cu. ft. of exterior, lockable storage.

The Tri-Motor will have a tow rating of more than 14,000 pounds and 3,500 pounds of payload capacity.

All those specs are world class but ... The RWD Single Motor and AWD Two Motor are planned for the end of 2021. The heavy lift Tri-Motor with all the great specs will not be available until late 2022. This means they do not have the full spec truck even close to ready.

Wayne