Did you really think the final version of the Cybertruck would be exactly as presented
during the reveal event? Well, think again, because the Cybertruck is still very much
a work in progress.
The Cybertruck is Tesla’s disruptive electric entrant into the well established light duty
truck category. The Cyperpunk inspired pickup truck may be the easiest vehicle for amateur
finger painters to draw, but don’t be fooled by its brutalist exterior. Even though the
polygonal pickup looks like it hasn’t finished rendering yet, the pointy stainless steel
box accelerates like a Lamborghini, and tows like a freightliner. Proof that the game runs
faster when you lower the graphics settings on your PC.
Constructed out of ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless-steel, the same material used by
Spacex on the starship spacecraft, the Cybertruck is infamously “bulletproof”Although your
biggest concern will be neighborhood kids throwing rocks at it to put Elon’s durability
claims to the test.
You probably know that the premium tri-motor Cybertruck will have an estimated output of
800 horsepower and 1000 pound-feet of torque, enough muscle to propel the burly electric
truck to 60 MPH in 2.9 seconds, and tow up to 14,000 pounds.
But we’re not here to regurgitate all of the Cybertruck’s rumored specifications
that have already been repeated ad nauseam. We performed a technical deep dive into the
specifications and story of the Cybertruck and uncovered some obscure facts you might
not have known, including some modifications to the trucks design no one ever saw coming.
These details really elucidate the engineering strategy that went into the Tesla Cybertruck,
and provide a glimpse into the complex mind of Elon Musk.
While the cybertruck is certainly designed as a rugged vehicle, we don’t anticipate
your next pickup truck going on any space missions, although with Elon, you never know.
The Cybertruck will share its stainless steel exoskeleton material with the starship spacecraft.
The starship is designed to be a fully reusable reentry vehicle. That means it must withstand
not just the red hot temperatures of reentering the earths atmosphere, but also the cryogenic
temperatures of space.
The 301 stainless steel alloy was originally selected for its strength, corrosion resistance,
ductility, and machinability.
Elon Musk recently announced that parts of the starship will be moving to 304L stainless
steel, A readily available austenitic steel alloy comprised of roughly 18% chromium, and
8% nickel, which is less brittle at cryo temps.
However, with SpaceX’s materials engineering initiative focused on developing advanced
new purpose made metals, the final production alloy will probably be an approximation of
304L, rather than an exact match of the alloy you might commonly find in the pots and pans
in your kitchen.
In a move likely related to supply chain efficiencies and synergies in metallurgy operations between
Tesla and SpaceX, Tesla has opted to use the same 304L stainless steel for the body of
their pickup truck. Although you probably won’t notice the difference, the cybertruck
’s shell will now be slightly more resilient in case a catastrophic meteor impact blocks
out the sun and the earth enters a sixth ice age, the low carbon content also makes it
better to weld.
The cybertruck makes use of some other unique materials in the vehicles interior as well,
and it’s definitely not something you’d expect to find in a vehicle, especially one
as tough as the Cybertruck…
The Cybertruck’s elegant looking dashboard is an element that attracted attention because
it’s in contrast with the raw industrial look of the vehicles outer shell. On first
glance the dashboard appears to be made from luxurious marble.
But think again, Marble is pretty dense, it weighs 2.711 grams per cubic centimeter, which
would put the Cybertrucks dashboard at a roughly estimated weight of 670 lbs.
and the cybertruck already comes in at an estimated curb weight of 6,500 pounds. A metamorphic
rock dashboard wouldn’t make much sense efficiency wise.
The marble dashboard of the Cybertruck is actually made out of… compressed paper.
Paper composite materials are a pretty popular building material since they’re quite sturdy
and can be made into almost anything: furniture, bicycle frames, and even buildings. The Christchurch
Transitional Cathedral in New Zealand also known as the “Cardboard Cathedral” famously
used 24” diameter cardboard tubes in the buildings construction.
The Cybertruck’s stylish dashboard being made from paper reinforces Tesla’s commitment
to sustainability, and is a component that can be easily recycled at the end of the Cybetruck’s
life cycle.
Tesla has a history of using sustainable interior materials. In 2020 Tesla announced that the
Model 3 was moving to a 100% leather free interior, with a plan to make all Tesla cars
fully vegan in the future. You’re welcome to try and eat the seats in your model 3,
although it is not recommended.
Detractors think the utilitarian design style of the cybertruck looks ugly and unfinished,
While supporters love the iconoclastic multangular form, saying it is indeed an innovative and
functional electric vehicle body style.
But one thing’s for certain, The Cybertruck’s design definitely contains elements of pop
culture sci-fi inspiration.
The Cybertruck was partially inspired by the Blade Runner universe. A fact that was not
hidden during the reveal event that looked like a dystopian sci-fi convention. In an
interview with recode Elon referred to the Cybertruck as a “futuristic-like cyberpunk, Blade
Runner pickup truck”
Musk has been accused of simply “playing to the public’s science fiction fantasies”
as a marketing scheme.
But if you know anything about Elon Musk, you’ll know that his early upbringing was
defined by seminal sci-fi titles such as a the Foundation Series, and the Hitchhikers
guide to the galaxy. The galactic scale storylines were formative to Elon’s unbounded world
view and the futuristic concepts are deeply embedded in his psyche. If you read some of
Elon’s favorite books, his astronomical initiatives will start to make more sense.
Elon is also an avid gamer and cites video games as the source of his early interest
in computer programming. He does not hide the fact the Cybertruck has an uncanny resemblance
to the Warthog from Halo. On twitter, Elon said, "Cybertruck is inspired by games like
Halo. Warthog irl!!
Sorry about that, I won’t do that again.
The real life Ironman himself is quite happy with how his ludicrous lorry turned out, and
he’s mentioned on multiple occasions that it was his dream to build a car inspired by
the James Bond movies: “It was amazing as a little kid in South Africa to watch James
Bond in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ drive his Lotus Esprit off a pier, press a button and
have it transform into a submarine underwater. I was disappointed to learn that it can’t
actually transform. What I’m going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain
and try to make it transform for real.”
Can the cybertruck really traverse through water? Well, that leads us to our next fact.
When Elon was asked on twitter if the Cybertruck could cross streams, the Tesla CEO proclaimed
that the Cybertruck won’t just be able to drive through water, but also float because:
“A Tesla works as a boat for short periods of time, as an electric car has no air intake
or exhaust to block & the battery/motor/ and electronics are water-sealed. Submarines are
just underwater EVs.”
Awesome, right?
In a weird internet video that surfaced from Shanghai, a Model 3 is seen wading through
deep flood waters like a dinghy, and people weren’t sure whether to be more amazed by
the dogged determination of the driver, or the aquatic abilities of the automobile.
But it’s not just the model 3 and cybertruck that are for scuba.
The Tesla Model X and S can also pull the floating trick as Elon Musk has been touting
since 2016 and even though his technical description for how to the use the Model S as a boat sounds
like spy movie fiction, he’s actually serious… we think.
Elon doesn’t like when car manufacturers show you one thing at the reveal event, and
then drop something else entirely for the final production car, usually compromising
all the most novel features that were promised.
Doing a Tesla earnings call, Elon said,
“Generally, at Tesla, we really aim to make the car that is delivered better than
the car that is unveiled. Because it always drives me crazy, car companies would unveil
these awesome looking cars, like, great, you can’t wait until they make that “And then
the car they actual[ly] make is like much worse, and—but it’s just—it’s like
really disappointing? So man, we always want to make the car that we deliver be better
than the car we unveil. And that’s the goal with the Cybertruck. So there’s like a lot
of small improvements compared to what was unveiled. I think it’s going to be better
than what we showed.”
The final production version of the Cybertruck will feature some minor tweaks, and they’re
definitely improvements, are you curious what they are?
If you’re the type of curious person who would enjoy diving deeper into the topics
we discuss in our videos, CuriosityStream has thousands of streamable documentaries
and non-fiction TV shows on topics like History, Nature, Science, Technology, and more. With
award winning exclusives and originals you can stream to any device, including your SmartTV.
The best part is, it costs just $15 to signup for the entire year. And make sure to use
the link https://curiositystream.com/ElectricFuture which i’ve added to the description below.
Elon announced that the Cybetruck will feature an improved air suspension with active ride
height and active damping systems for better offload performance, even teasing the cybertruck’s
entrance into the famed Baja 1000 off-road rally.
A lot of criticism had been levied against Tesla that the cybertruck was impractically
large, with some potential customers questioning if it would even fit in their garage.
Elon originally said the size will be reduced by about 3%, with a more level center line,
and lower window sill height. This will provide a more expansive cabin experience for the
driver, and lower the height of the truck bed.
He later overturned his size reduction statement, instead saying that, “We will probably make
an international version of the Cybertruck that will be kind of smaller, kind of like
a tight wolverine package. It will still be cooler but it will be smaller cause you just
can’t make a giant truck like that for most markets.”
All in all, no matter how many changes will be made to this electric truck, it will
keep its polygonal sharp-edged design that polarized so many Tesla fans because, let’s
face it, the 650k+ pre-orders are undeniable proof of its popularity.
The Cybertruck “lacks” a few features that we’re accustomed to find in a normal
vehicle. In case you haven’t noticed yet, there are no side mirrors, and the rearview
mirror is in fact a screen that shows you a live video feed of what’s behind the truck.
While having a camera instead of a rearview mirror isn’t unheard of, the lack of side
mirrors is not yet authorized in the US so the Cybertruck we’ve seen is not exactly
street legal yet, even though we’ve all seen Musk driving it around town. Elon believes
rules are meant to be…bent, at least when they apply to antiquated regulations that
didn’t factor in technological advancements when they were drafted by bureaucrats who
likely don’t even know how to use microsoft excel.
We’ve already seen the side mirrors replaced by cameras in the European version of the
Audi e-tron, but in the United States you’re still required to have physical ones.
In 2019, the NHTSA released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the use
of rear facing cameras in vehicles, and it appears Tesla is waiting on a final ruling
before they make their mirrorless design official.
Because the Cybertruck is such a behemoth of an electric pick-up truck, it will need
its own supercharger stations, and it seems that Tesla has just been granted permission
to build a new batch of V3 Supercharger stalls in Pasadena, California, with six of them
being specifically built for the Cybertruck. Tesla’s upcoming monster EV is expected
to use the same charge plug as the rest of the fleet but with it being so wide, extra
space between chargers will definitely be needed.
Tesla’s new V3 Superchargers are built on an entirely new architecture, having a powerful
1 MW cabinet that supports a peak rate of up to 250 kW per car that can charge the best
selling model 3 at rates up to 1000 miles per hour.
The Cybertruck might be able to support charging rates beyond 250kw as mentioned by Elon Musk
during the reveal event. Tesla hinted V4 superchargers are expected to be capable of charging at
rates up to 350kW, and during a recent earnings call Tesla’s President of automotive Jeremy
Guillen confirmed that Tesla is investigating 350kw chargers for its cars. Likely for next
generation high powered vehicles like the Cybertruck and Roadster.
These fast charging rates are essential for the Cybertruck, because the batteries are
like nothing we’ve seen before in a Tesla. Here’s Why…
The trimotor cybertruck is projected to have a massive 200 - 250 kwh battery pack, over
double the size of any Tesla battery before it. A necessary enlargement to achieve the
weighty pickups EPA estimated range of 500+miles. If you scaled up Tesla’s current 2170 battery
modules, you’d be looking at a battery weight of over 2,700 pounds. A colossal figure.
It’s possible that the Cybertruck is already making use of the new and improved tabless
4680 battery cells that were presented on Tesla’s battery day. Elon said on twitter
that they’ve already been using the jumbo cells in prototype vehicles for several months,
and in one slide he showed a Semi and Cybertruck as examples for high nickel cathode cells
in heavy vehicles. The new 4680 cells expect to achieve a 5 times
increase in energy storage, a 16% increase in range, and a 6 time increase in power.
This reduction in weight could be an important component in making the Cybertruck high power
requirements more feasible. A technically proficient tesla owner may have
uncovered a clue hidden inside Tesla’s recent software update that allows us to speculate
on the battery capacity of future vehicles. After updating his Model 3, YouTuber Bjørn
Nyland noticed that Tesla had shifted to an 11 bit package, up from 10 bits, which would
allow the software to accommodate a total battery capacity of about 205 kwh. Right in
the range of the projected battery size for the Cybertruck and Roadster. There’s a lot
of assumptions being made here, and there’s been no official comment from Tesla on this,
but it’s an interesting observation.
The cybertruck is also said to feature some new components which can improve efficiency
in unexpected ways..
The Tesla Model Y is the first Tesla vehicle to use a heat pump for interior cabin heating
and cooling, which can improve vehicle efficiency compared to Tesla’s previous models that
use electrical resistance to keep the car’s interior warm and toasty. A Heat Pump is a
device that transfers thermal energy, and can be used for heating, or in reverse for
cooling. Potentially one of the most advanced pieces
of new engineering in the vehicle, the Model Y’s heat pump contains a motorized “octovalve”
that distributes coolant to all of the vehicles components that need of thermal regulation
including motors, batteries, or sweaty passengers.
Elon recently confirmed that the Cybertruck will also feature a heat pump, giving the
prodigious pickup an efficiency advantage, and increasing range in cold weather. No,
not that cold.
When thinking about EV’s, the heating and cooling system might not be the first thing
to come to mind, but this seemingly insignificant detail has a big effect on the vehicles range,
because electric cars can lose up to 40% of their range in cold weather if you turn the
heat on full blast. Automotive engineering expert Sandy Munro,
said this new addition to the cars thermal management system is one of the most significant
changes to recent Tesla’s and and looks like something you’d find on a jet engine,
not a car.
Elon said that the Cybertruck resembles an armored personnel carrier from the future,
But could you really turn the civilian cybertruck into a serviceable armored tactical vehicle?
Well, we’re going to do just that. In partnership with Utah based vehicle armorer Armormax,
we have several trimotor cybertrucks on order with plans to up armor them into bonafide
bulletproof vehicles.
We’re trying to decide whether to go with Camo, or a Raw metal finish for our armored
Cybertruck. Vote in the comments by typing either “Camo Cybertruck” or “Metal Cybertruck”
and I’ll tally up the votes to help decide.
The Cybertruck's stout build and powerful electric powertrain provide a good base for
a high mobility uparmored vehicle, and the trucks sturdy suspension can easily accommodate
the extra weight of additional armor plating and ballistic glass. We’re even considering
adding some defensive features straight out of a James Bond movie.
Here’s what Armormax CEO Mark Burton has to say about the project
First off, I think we’re really excited about the Cybertruck, and I think any level
of protection is better than no protection. So what I would classify the Cybertruck at
is low handgun protection. As far as on the classes and the levels and everything, it’s
very basic. We could advance it to withstand high powered rifle rounds, we could have it
withstand IED blasts, we could have it withstand grenades. Uh, So there’s a lot of options.
Being able to quickly get out of a situation offers electric vehicles a huge advantage,
because some of these Chevy Suburbans, or Range Rovers that we’re armoring, I mean
the zero to sixty on some of those is going to upward of 5, 6 seconds.
With delivery expected in 2022, you’ll want to subscribe to our channel so you don’t
miss it, Because we’re going to be documenting the entire armoring process and when it’s
finished, we’ll definitely be shooting at it.
It’s universally known that Tesla pushes the boundaries of the Automotive market, and
Elon Musk will stop at nothing to make his electric dreams come true. This is how he
managed to build an industry dominating all-electric vehicle fleet despite the world screaming
impossible. With the Cybertruck, Tesla plans to penetrate
the pickup truck segment with an electrifying entry that outperforms every competitor in
its class, and looks outright alien in comparison to traditional pickup trucks.
The design language of the new era of electrification is still in its infancy, so maybe it doesn’t
need to blend in with the rest of the pack to lead the industry forward.
If you believe in an electric future, please subscribe to our channel and if you enjoyed
our research on the Cybertruck, please hit the like button.
You may be interested in watching one of these videos next.
Thanks for watching, and let the volts be with you!