New Tesla Cybertruck prototype spotted with mirrors, more

New Tesla Cybertruck prototype spotted with mirrors, possible rear wheel steering

Electrek.co by Fred Lambert October 19, 2021

[{"selector":"#anim-aee5459d-8213-480f-a579-f12beaf303fe","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] A new video of a Tesla Cybertruck prototype has surfaced, and it appears to show a new prototype with side mirrors. Tesla seemed to be testing the electric pickup truck’s turn radius, possibly with rear-wheel steering. We haven’t seen much progress on Cybertruck since Tesla unveiled the vehicle in 2019.

[{"selector":"#anim-8ca4fe34-9294-4780-abfd-97b43ac0df3a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] The electric pickup truck was supposed to launch this year, but it has been delayed to late 2022. Even with this delay, we would expect to see Cybertruck prototypes being tested on public roads, like Ford F150 Lightning and Rivian R1T trucks spotted over the last year, but Cybertruck prototype sightings have been scarce.

[{"selector":"#anim-3fd885b6-66db-49f1-8bdc-099eb851dcc5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Tesla has brought a Cybertruck to a few events, New York, and Gigafactory Texas , but we could never confirm that there was more than one prototype. Now a new Tesla Cybertruck sighting gives us hope that the automaker might be testing a new prototype.

[{"selector":"#anim-cd66d84e-6b4a-4f29-bdf7-ab76ae8420de","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-4a62d49c-981d-4ee6-af46-ee6dda0b21f6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Jesse Sandoval spotted the Cybertruck last week at Castle Airport in central California a few hours from Fremont factory. He posted a low-quality video of the sighting to the Tesla Cybertruck Facebook page:

[{"selector":"#anim-05155979-32a6-47c1-962b-9d7e6845b985","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Due to the low resolution, it’s hard to glean a lot of information from the footage, but there’s one thing that is clear: The vehicle has side mirrors. Previous Cybertruck sightings showed that the prototype had no side mirrors. Tesla has been pushing to allow cameras to replace side mirrors to improve aerodynamic performance, which in turn improves efficiency and range.

[{"selector":"#anim-45678040-9c58-4a2e-a304-347ce600cb5f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] It’s legal in Europe, but it hasn’t been approved in the US yet. If Tesla was launching the Cybertruck right now, it would need side mirrors, which shows some progress toward the launch of the vehicle. Furthermore, at the very beginning of the video, it looks like Tesla is testing the turning radius of the truck, and it appears to be doing a very short turn.

[{"selector":"#anim-c276d9d4-4ff5-48de-8556-f1e2046f54c2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] We can’t confirm it, again due to the resolution of the video, but it’s possible that the vehicle features rear-wheel steering. Tesla has been expected to update the Cybertruck for the production version, and one of the main improvements is going to be adding rear-wheel steering. Earlier this summer, Elon Musk confirmed that the Tesla Cybertruck will have 4-wheel steering , which should enable features similar to Hummer EV’s “Crab mode.”

[{"selector":"#anim-598339db-f0a4-48d8-bff6-e5a83fca0e0b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Musk said that it will enable “tight turns and maneuver with high agility.” Other EVs have recently been launched with rear steering like the Mercedes-Benz EQS.