Tesla Cybertruck announced: Models, price, specs, details
Whacky entrepreneur Elon Musk just introduced the new Tesla Cybertruck: an AWD, eco-friendly pick-up ute that offers off-road lovers the future at an incredible price.
You've got to hand it to Elon Musk: the guy isn't going to let convention get in the way of anything. Taking to the stage in California, the eccentric billionaire stumbled his way through an endearing demonstration of Tesla's latest electric vehicle. He started by taking aim at the generic, stagnant pick-up truck market in the USA. Showing 100 years of ute lineage through still photos, he pointed out that over 1.5 million pick-ups are sold in the USA alone.
In Australia, the ute is even more popular (relatively at least). At the end of 2018, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries claimed three of the top four selling cars in Australia were utes – the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton were one, two and four respectively. And according to Musk, if it wasn't for the badge, you could barely tell them apart.
You'll have no problem spotting the Tesla Cybertruck on the street. When it first rolled onto the stage, this writer thought it might have been a joke. Blade Runner, the iconic dystopian neo-thriller, was cited as an inspiration for its design, but the DeLorean from Back to the Future must also be worthy of a nod, perhaps even the Warthog from Halo.
Almost looking like a cross between a tank and a tent, the Cybertruck is unlike anything you have seen before, but it is absolutely a ute. In the demonstration, with the press of a button the back slid up to show a 6ft-5inch tray, with a collapsible back tailgate that creates a ramp. A Tesla ATV, also announced at the event, was driven-up into the tray live. It was even plugged in so it could power itself off the Cybertruck.
But we're getting side-tracked. The Tesla Cybertruck reveal has just finished, so here is a quick summation of everything we learned.
Tesla Cybertruck price, models and Australian release date
While the Cybertruck is available for pre-order now, no specific Australian release date was revealed at the event. And the only pricing, which came in well under expectations (see table below), was in US dollars. As a release date and local price becomes evident, we'll update the below table as required.
Tesla Cybertruck specs
- 5.89m long
- 2.03m high
- 1.91m wide
- Seats 6
Cybertruck design and appearance
- The chassis is made from ultra-tough stainless steel, the same material used in Musk's SpaceX Starship.
- That toughness was tested live on stage with a sledgehammer and held up to the hits.
- A demo was shown of it shot by a 9mm handgun and the bullets could not penetrate.
- Unlike traditional vehicles, the weight and strength of the car is held in the outside chassis, providing more room inside and ensuring it doesn't become crippled by its own weight.
- The glass is made of a transparent metal called Tesla Armour Glass.
- A live demonstration showed panels of the glass surviving brutal hits with a fist-sized metal ball. However, when said ball was thrown at the car directly, the window shattered. Oops!
Tesla Cybertruck off-road features
- It has adaptive air suspension, which means the car doesn't have to be set up for off-road or highway use, but can shift accordingly. Adaptative dampening and adaptive ride height can be adjusted in real-time or can shift dynamically based on loading.
- At full ride height, it sits 16-inches off the ground, the highest of any ute.
- The air suspension system can double as a compressor, handy for deflating and filling tyres during sand use.
- As mentioned, the tray is 195cm long, big enough to accept a mattress and be slept in.
Tesla Cybertruck performance
- The Cybertruck is a beast. The top model can do 0-60 in 2.9 seconds and the quarter-mile in 10.8 seconds.
- A demo was shown of it out-sprinting a Porsche 911.
- Tesla also showed a demo where it smashed a Ford F-150 in a tow-off.
- It has an incredible towing power of 6.350 tonnes in the highest model.
- The tray can hold a tickle over 1.5 tonnes.
- Top speed varies between models, but at the top of the range can eclipse 200km/h.
- Autopilot, auto parking and other such Tesla features are all included.
Is there really a Tesla Cybertruck remote control car?
Yes there is. It was built in partnership with Hot Wheels and it's a 1:10 scale replica. We've got a full review of it where we take it through its paces, or you can watch the video below.