- Carwow drives the new Tesla Cybertruck
- Prices start from £66,000
- Cheaper rear-wheel drive version coming in 2025
- Tesla not taking orders for Cybertruck in UK & EU (yet)
- Up to 845hp and 13,960Nm of torque
- 340 miles of claimed range
- Design stays true to concept
It’s been four years since Elon Musk first pulled the covers off the Cybertruck concept, and now it’s finally here. A handful of lucky customers picked up their (likely digital) keys on 30 November, however the majority of people will be waiting long into 2024 and beyond to park a Cybertruck on their drive.
Elon Musk has confirmed high quality 300 series stainless steel as their engineering team’s material of choice for the Cybertruck.It’s corrosion resistant, strong and affordable – that’s why the Tesla Cybertruck team chose a stainless-steel alloy to create the Cybertruck exoskeleton.
Tesla.com describes the new vehicle as … “built with an exterior shell made for ultimate durability and passenger protection. Starting with a nearly impenetrable exoskeleton, every component is designed for superior strength and endurance, from Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless-steel structural skin to Tesla armor glass.”
According to matmatch.com, “The Cybertruck exoskeleton is made from Tesla’s own stainless steel alloy, referred to as the Ultra-hard 30X Cold-rolled Stainless Steel. While the blend is proprietary, Elon mentioned during the product launch that the exoskeleton material of the vehicle is the same as the SpaceX Starship shell.”
The material impacted both the design and the manufacturing process for the vehicle. More from matmatch.com: “Besides the material used in the Cybertruck, Musk clarified that Tesla went with the planar design as a result of the cold-rolled 30X stainless steel’s capability to break a stamping press. Whether that statement is said in layman’s terms or the material is indeed too hard for pressing, the key implication is that Tesla would have to devise a new body manufacturing method that does not apply standard automotive manufacturing techniques.
“Musk has shared that the body panels will be laser cut and that standard stamping was not implemented in the Cybertruck prototype. Besides the impact on aesthetics, this new body manufacturing method will provide Tesla the flexibility to adjust, reduce cost, and improve manufacturing time with its simple flat panel design.”
Another reason Tesla is using steel innovation is to save millions on its Cybertruck program. According to WardsAuto:
“With the flat panels and straight lines, the automaker doesn’t need stamping dies to shape the body panels, or even blanking dies to form steel blanks. They can waterjet or laser-cut the panels to size and even cut out the window openings this way.
“Other standard tooling such as hemming dies won’t be necessary either. All Tesla will need is a simple break press to crease and fold the panels to the proper shape.
“The body is an exoskeleton, which is to say, the body panels are welded together to form the structure of the truck. This is not body-on-frame construction like a conventional pickup truck, nor a collection of panels bolted and welded into a unitized body shell like a typical car or crossover. Instead, it’s a different way of constructing a vehicle, which no other major automaker has ever done.
Things remain just as angular down the side, with this silhouette making the Cybertruck look a bit like an axe head on wheels. Speaking of the wheels they’re 20-inches in diameter, although they look smaller than this thanks to the gigantic tyres, and the aero wheel covers look exactly the same as the concept’s. All Cybertrucks will be delivered in this bare metal finish, although Tesla has just launched two wrap options which you can have fitted at a dealer for $6,500 (just over £5,000). There are just two to choose from though: matte black or white.
New Tesla Cybertruck price and specs
The new Tesla Cybertruck currently starts from $79,990 (£66,000) for a dual-motor car with all-wheel-drive, rising to $99,990 (£82,000) if you want the ‘Cyberbeast’ version with three motors and 845hp. That’s almost $20,000 more than originally promised in 2019, or over £15,000.
If that seems a bit rich for you, a rear-wheel drive version will be available in 2025 costing $60,990 (£50,000). You do have a hit in terms of range though, with it managing 250 miles on a charge compared to the 340 miles the dual-motor car can do.
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