Leaked Tesla Cybertruck specs have brought a few more disappointments, the main issue being towing capabilities

The electric drive seems to be perfect for towing heavy trailers, but as a result, it obviously runs into the same limit that electric cars always run into – limited battery capacity. But it’s not the only other disappointment that the leaked Cybertruck specifications bring.

Some people like girls and others like muffins. While the Japanese, for example, are most often associated with titular kei cars, i.e. cars whose length cannot exceed 3.4 meters, the Americans, for a change, fell in love with giant pick-ups. That’s why Elon Musk already talked about ten years ago that he would like to direct Tesla in this direction. In 2017, the automaker indicated that the upcoming novelty would be at least as big as the Ford F-150, so that it could change the rules of the game. Two years later, a bizarre machine named Cybertruck was revealed.

However, in 2019, it didn’t look like much to rewrite the rules, because the version presented at the time measured 5,885 millimeters in length. That is, exactly like the representative of the blue oval. On the other hand, the Cybertruck should have been available to the masses even with an electric drive. At the time, Musk stated that the basic design would start at 40 thousand dollars (approx. 918 thousand crowns), which is only 5,000 USD (115 thousand CZK) more than the price for which an internal combustion F-150 can be purchased. The electric version of Lightining is considerably more expensive.

We can move to the present, when we are only three weeks away from handing over the first serial pieces to selected customers. And it was supposed to be just the first swallow from a large flock, as it was already rumored that the number of Cybertruck reservations had grown to more than two million units, which is why it seemed that Tesla had really hit the jackpot. Now, however, the head of the car company compares the pick-up truck to a grave that it dug itself. Why? There are more reasons, but one of them is that none of the previously announced actually applies. So the rules of the game will not be rewritten, certainly not in terms of off-road abilities – in this area Cybertruck clearly lacks.

Tesla has not yet officially published the prices of the car, but we know from unofficial information that the basic version for the promised 40 thousand dollars will not arrive now and most likely it will never happen. Instead, only variants with two or three units will be available. But their price goes up to millions of crowns, which is why many people have already written off their interest. Others can then easily follow as other specifications are out there. And for Tesla, they represent perhaps an even bigger problem than the price.

The people from the TFLEV channel on Youtube got hold of the leaked internal data about the features of the serial version, which brought a few more disappointments. It turned out that the production Cybertruck is noticeably smaller than the concept, measuring only 5,670 mm in length. That may still seem like a huge amount from a European perspective, but pick-up fans know that 215mm of difference compared to the 2019 version is a big difference. Because of them, the Cybertruck is moving from the category of the largest to the segment of medium-sized trucks.

So Tesla will deliver even less for more than it promised. It does not come with an axle even in the case of the body, as it has a length of 1,850 mm. This is indeed more than the shortest version of Ford, but the blue oval offers the F-150 with a body in three sizes, the largest of which is 2,438 mm long. But in the end, the most important thing for customers is that the opponent from the blue oval can tow a trailer weighing up to 6,350 kg, while the maximum on Tesla’s side is 4,990 kg. Powerful electric motors could certainly handle much more, but then where would the car go? Even with a five-ton “load”, the reality will be tragic.

So if there was some rewriting of the rules, then perhaps only in the sense that there are even more unfulfilled promises associated with the Cybertruck than with all of Tesla’s production to date. It’s actually understandable why Musk is worried. On the other hand, we should never underestimate a marketing wizard who could apparently sell refrigerators to Eskimos and tanning beds to people in the Sahara.

As a concept, the Cybertruck measured 5,885 millimeters, but its production version is 215 mm shorter. However, it does not lag behind its biggest competition in the form of the Ford F-150 only in this respect, it loses mainly in the key ability to tow a trailer. Photo: Tesla

Source: TFLEV@YouTube

Petr Prokopec

All articles on Autoforum.cz are comments expressing the editor’s or author’s opinion. Except for articles marked as advertising, the content is not sponsored or similarly influenced by third parties.