A solar roof is a feature that Tesla said would be available on the Cybertruck, but with the electric pickup truck being closer to production, it’s not clear if it is still in the cards.
Tesla, like many other automakers, had previously explored adding solar to electric vehicles, but it has never pulled the trigger on the feature.
Other automakers offer it as an option, but the solar roof systems either only power auxiliary features and not the actual powertrain’s battery pack, or they only provide a few miles of range per day.
In 2017, CEO Elon Musk said that he pushed his Tesla engineers to look into integrating solar cells on Model 3, but they concluded that it wasn’t worth it at the time.
Solar cell efficiency has since improved, and Tesla developed its own expertise in embedding solar cells through the development of solar roof tiles.
It led to a surprise announcement.
After the launch of the Cybertruck, Musk surprised many when he said that Tesla’s new electric pickup truck will have a solar roof option that will add 15 miles of range per day.
A few years later, Tesla filed for a patent that showed the solar cells will be embedded inside the retractable tonneau cover.
However, years later and now weeks away from production, it’s not clear if the Cybertruck will be equipped with a solar roof or even have it as an option.
The feature hasn’t been spotted on the latest release candidates of the Cybertruck. It’s not impossible that it is on some prototypes and the solar cells are so well embedded that they have not been spotted, but it’s unlikely.
Since everything is embedded in the bed’s tonneau, it’s possible that Tesla would put the required inverter and wiring harnesses in all Cybertrucks and later, it would offer the solar tonneau cover has a retrofittable option.
Electrek’s Take
Top comment by pj
a 400W solar panel is roughly a square yard in area, and in terms of horsepower: it’s a little over half a horsepower.
This is just a rule of thumb but it helps when thinking about potential applications of solar and keeping expectations realistic.
I don’t think it’s a dealbreaker. It’s not a make-it-or-break-it feature for the Cybertruck, but it would be cool to have.
I like the idea that I could drive to the airport and leave my car in an open parking lot for a week and at the very least, it wouldn’t lose capacity, and would likely gain some for my drive back home after my vacation. Free of charge.
But I wouldn’t be surprised if the option cost was between $3,000 and $5,000, which would be a hard sale for most buyers.
What do you think? Do you think Tesla will stick to its word on a solar roof for the Cybertruck? Let us know in the comment section below.
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