Tesla has announced that it has finally begun first deliveries of its Cybertruck electric ute, close to four years after a concept was first revealed by Tesla’s chief executive officer Elon Musk.
It’s been significantly delayed, but what exactly is the Cybertruck and what makes it important? And will it ever reach Australian shores?
Here are five interesting things about the new 2024 Tesla Cybertruck.
Camping with the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck
It has four-wheel steering for greater manoeuvrability and active air suspension
Being the big beast that it is, the Cybertruck features four-wheel steering (with the front wheels turning in the opposite direction to the rears) to aid turning in tight confines. Tesla claims that the Cybertruck has the same turning circle as a Tesla Model S.
The Cybertruck also has steer-by-wire, which only requires only one full rotation lock to lock.
Rear wheel steering is a feature of the new Cybertruck
Active air suspension can be adjusted on the fly, with two settings available. Owners will be able to have a low ride height for better handling through corners, while the high-riding setup will obviously be best for off-roading scenarios.
It’ll be available with three configurations
At launch in the USA, the Cybertruck is available with an all-wheel-drive model and a high-performance tri-motor model called the Cyberbeast.
Interior is very simple, with little to no buttons in sight
The mid-tier all-wheel-drive variant is offered with 547km of claimed electric range and will be powered by two electric motors to produce 447kW (or 600 horsepower).
The Beast model steps things up even further with 630kW of power and has a claimed 0-100km/h time of just 2.6 seconds.
The ute can fit a quad bike in the back
The load tray in the rear of the Cybertruck measures in at 1897 litres of capacity and is 1828mm long and 1219mm wide. That’s longer than the tray on a current dual-cab Toyota Hilux, which measures at 1570mm long and 1645mm wide.
The platform and battery pack underneath the Cybertruck
As well as being able to load large objects into the tray, the Cybertruck’s rear cargo area is also lockable and has a sliding tonneau cover, much like on the current Toyota Hilux Rogue and Ford Ranger.
The Cybertruck is much more expensive than expected
Tesla USA has announced that pricing for the Cybertruck will start from USD$68,900, but tops out at very close to USD$100,000 for the Cyberbeast tri-motor variant.
This is almost 50 percent more than the figure Elon Musk announced back in 2019 when the Cybertruck was first unveiled.
The Cybertruck is more expensive than planned
A cheaper rear-wheel drive variant is set to launch in the USA during 2025, priced at around USD$50,000.
The futuristic electric pickup is not confirmed for Australia
Although the Cybertruck is shown on the Tesla Australia website, including most of its specifications and features, you cannot order a Cybertruck in Australia.
We’re not sure if the Cybertruck will be coming to Australia
Last year, Tesla Australia cut off pre-orders for the Cybertruck locally, making it very unlikely that this new electric ute will come to Australia after all.
It’s uncertain whether Tesla will build the Cybertruck in right-hand drive, or whether the truck would even pass Australian Design Rules (ADR) compliance if it was available in RHD.
But if you’re still really keen, you can sign up for updates from Tesla Australia, just in case the Cybertruck does become a reality down under.
