Elon Musk has revealed the biggest changes Tesla is making to the Cybertruck production version compared to the prototype electric pickup truck unveiled last year.
Saying that the design of the Cybertruck is unconventional is a big understatement.
As you can see in the picture above, the electric pickup, which is a real prototype, looks like a computer-generated image.
It shocked many people at the unveiling, but a lot of people have warmed up to the design and Tesla now reportedly has over half a million reservations for the electric pickup truck.
The design evolved out of Tesla’s idea to build the Cybertruck with an exoskeleton body and make the vehicle efficient, which is rare for the pickup segment.
It’s a novel idea for the auto industry and Tesla is still refining the design.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said that “there’s more” to the Cybertruck and “It’s better than people realize”.
He said that Tesla is updating several aspects of the electric pickup for the production version.
On Twitter yesterday, Musk was asked what is the biggest change to Cybertruck from prototype and he responded that Tesla “reduced the size by ~3%”, made the “center line more level”, and “lowered the window sill height.”
The prototype that Tesla unveiled is 231.7 inches long, 79.8 inches wide and 75 inches tall, with up to a 35-degree approach angle, a 28-degree departure angle and up to 16 inches of ground clearance.
Musk has talked about making the truck smaller before. He said last year:
“We can probably reduce the width by an inch and maybe reduce length by 6+ inches without losing on utility or esthetics. Mininum height is below 75 inches when air suspension set to low. Will post exact number soon.”
The news comes as Musk revealed that he is “reviewing overall system” for the Cybertruck with Tesla’s vehicle engineering team next week.
We might have more details about the production version of the Cybertruck at that time.
Tesla is trying to bring the Cybertruck to market by the end of 2021, but the automaker doesn’t even have a factory to produce the vehicle yet.
Musk recently announced Tesla’s plan to build Cybertruck Gigafactory in the central US and a location should be announced soon.
Tesla said that it plans to launch the two higher-end versions of the Cybertruck in late 2021.
Those two electric trucks will have between 300 and 500 miles of range and be equipped with dual- and tri-motor powertrains and start at $49,000.
A cheaper and lower range version of the Tesla Cybertruck is going to be available later.
Electrek’s Take
I am having some issues visualizing these changes, but they sound interesting.
Any photoshop wizard want to give a shot at leveling the center line and lowering the window sills? Let me know.
If the changes are perfectly proportional, which is unlikely, the dimensions of the production would be closer to 224.7 inches long, 77.4 inches wide and 72.8 inches tall.
That sounds good to me. Closer to the F150 and should be able to fit the vehicle in more garages.
What do you think? Let us know in the comment section below.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments