Revealed on online aggregation site Reddit this weekend was an image purporting to show an opened charge port door on the new Tesla Cybertruck pick-up – and it’s a remarkably compact and snug zone.
Sitting in the middle of the open charge port zone is a Tesla / North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug. This is unsurprising: with GM, Ford and Rivian joining Tesla’s NACS plug standard in recent weeks, the North American EV market appears to be moving away from the Combined Charging System (CCS) plug.
This image purports to show the charge port zone of the Tesla Cybertruck, with a NACS port for North America shown
But Australia and Europe are not. Both regions have adopted the CCS2 EV plug standard thus far, which differs from the North American CCS1 plug in important ways. There has been no indication so far that Australia (or Europe) will shift to adopt NACS, though it is a remote possibility.
Can the Cybertruck fit a CCS2 charging port?
Still, the CCS2 plug is a large implement, and the image of the Cybertruck’s small charge port zone raises questions about whether a CCS2 plug would even fit here, with necessary tolerances for the heat that builds up around the charging cable head.
The CCS2 port is significantly larger than the NACS port seen on the Cybertruck
The NACS connector is somewhat narrower in width and and around half the height of a CCS2 plug. Getting a CCS2 port would be a snug fit for the Cybertruck’s charging port zone, especially with the bulky packaging of many CCS2 charging heads.
Until May 2022, Australians could place a deposit on the Tesla website for a Cybertruck. Tesla’s other vehicles sold in Australia use the CCS2 charging port standard, just as they do in Europe.
However, the ability to make a new reservation on a Cybertruck was removed in Australia that month – though Tesla has not cancelled existing deposits in Australia for the Cybertruck.
In Australia and Europe, Tesla fits CCS2 ports to its vehicles – but will it fit the Cybertruck?
In June 2023, Tesla confirmed that the latest versions of its Model S large sedan and Model X large SUV would be left-hand drive only, and the EV manufacturer cancelled Australian deposits for the two cars.
Will Cybertruck be sold in Europe or Australia with CCS2?
There has been no such confirmation that the Cybertruck will be left-hand drive only, nor that the Cybertruck will be sold only in North America, where the NACS port is used for all Tesla vehicles.
However, the tight packaging of the charging port zone indicates either a cunning challenge for Tesla engineers to locate a CCS2 port there for Australia if deliveries of the electric ute are still planned for the local market.
Australians haven’t been able to place a deposit on a Cybertruck for more than 12 months
Commenters on Reddit have speculated that the CCS2 port will fit if rotated to a 45-degree angle. That does look potentially doable, albeit with very limited clearances – which could create a problem due to heat build-up.
Some have posited doubts about the ability to sell the Tesla Cybertruck in Europe due to laws on that continent regarding pedestrian safety that capture light trucks – though the vehicle is yet to be presented in production form or crash-tested by any regulatory body.
The Cybertruck’s target production date has been delayed many times, with late 2023 start-of-production the current goal.
Tesla’s first pick-up is currently undergoing mid-year cold-weather testing in New Zealand.
