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Tesla delays Cybertruck’s range extender, reduces its range

Tesla has further delayed production of Cybertruck’s range extender and reduced the range that it will add to the electric pickup truck.

When Tesla unveiled the production version of the Cybertruck last year, there were two main disappointments: the price and the range.

Tesla has missed on pricing with new vehicle programs before, and inflation has been exceptionally high in the few years between the original unveiling and pricing of the Cybertruck in 2019 and its start of production last year.

But when it comes to specs, Tesla has generally delivered on its promises. Not with the Cybertruck.

These were the original specs for the Cybertruck:

Most people reserved the “500+” mile range tri-motor version for $70,000. Now, Tesla’s tri-motor Cybertruck starts at $100,000 and gets 320 miles of range.

Instead of the Cybertruck achieving its promised range, Tesla said that it would launch a “range extender”, which consists of an additional battery pack that sits in the truck’s bed, taking about a third of the bed’s space.

Originally, Tesla said it would increase the range of the dual-motor Cybertruck from 340 miles to over 470 miles and the Cyberbeast from 320 miles to over 440 miles.

However, Tesla has updated its range extender specs:

Tesla now says that the range extender should result in “445+ miles” rather than “470+ miles” for the dual motor – a ~25-mile reduction in range.

Interestingly, the range extender’s impact on the tri-motor Cybertruck’s range hasn’t changed on the standard wheels and tires, but it is down to “415+ miles” with the all-terrain wheels.

Furthermore, Tesla has also pushed the beginning of production from “early 2025” to “mid 2025”.

Tesla started Cybertruck production in late 2023, which means that it will deliver the Cybertruck’s range extender more than a year and a half after delivering its first Cybertrucks to customers.

Oh, and also, it is expected to cost $16,000, according to Tesla.

Electrek’s Take

I previously described the Cybertruck program as a “mistake turned marketing tool” for Tesla.

At the time, I didn’t say that it was a failed program on its own because it was too early to say, but I said it was an error nonetheless because it’s not going to meaningfully contribute to Tesla’s EV deliveries and therefore, it created what Tesla calls “a gap between its waves of growth”.

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The CyberTruck was supposed to be a showpiece and turned into a nightmare. Already in the planning phase it was noticed that the consumption targets cannot be reached and the car‘s dimensions were reduced by 5%. Next, the battery production failed, the energy density was so low that it resulted in only 123 kWh. So the extender came as a crutch and it was clear that it will not be able to save the car.

It eats up payload, elevates the center of gravity and steals cargo space. Now that it will be available soon, it is about time to become more realistic with ranges. Let's not fool ourselves, of course there will be comparison drives with the Chevrolet Silverado and that car comes with EPA 492 mls. CyberTruck will surely lose any range test against the latest GM Trucks.

In addition, Tesla is technically in big problems. The off-road capabilities were not given at first, then they did not manage to adapt the assistance systems and one recall comes after the other. In addition, they apparently have major production problems. A lot of money and resources have been tied up to bring a car to market that does not even have a great chance in the home market, but cannot be sold somewhere else.

A blatantly wrong management decision.

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I think a cheaper and slightly more traditional pickup truck or a cheaper hatchback program would have had a much greater impact on Tesla’s mission globally, and it would have shortened that “gap.”

Now, Tesla has used the Cybertruck as a marketing tool to raise its profile, but it’s not clear how significant of an impact that has been.

Today, with the price and the fact that Tesla already went through its backlog in the US while delivering likely fewer than 40,000 Cybertrucks, I think there’s room to get quite worried about the Cybertruck program.

I wouldn’t be shocked to start seeing Tesla add it to its referral program and even start doing discounts next year.

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Avatar for Fred Lambert Fred Lambert

Fred is the Editor in Chief and Main Writer at Electrek.

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