Tesla launches Cybertruck with up to 470 miles of range, starts at $61,000

Tesla launched Cybertruck with up to 470 miles (756 km) of range and starting at $61,000 for the base version.

But we are getting more questions than answers despite deliveries starting.

We have been waiting four years for this, and it is finally here.

After several delays, Tesla has officially started deliveries of the Cybertruck, and with the first deliveries, Tesla has released the official specs and pricing for its first electric pickup truck.

Let’s get right into it.

Tesla Cybertruck Specs and Pricing

The specs are pretty close to the original announcement for the first two versions of the Cybertruck, but the top version got a significant downgrade.

Here are the main specs:

The prices are way up from the original unveiling in 2019, but that was to be expected.

The biggest changes are to the range since the top version of the truck was advertised at 500 miles of range.

Now, Tesla is advertising 340 miles of range for the dual motor version and 320 miles for the tri-motor version, which is now called “Cyberbeast”.

However, the automaker is now talking about a “range extender” that can add range for those two versions, but the company hasn’t explained what this range extender entails.

In the past, other automakers have used the term “range extender” for small gasoline generator, like in the BMW i3. I doubt that Tesla is going to use any kind of fossil fuel. It’s most likely going to be a battery add-on, but it would have been nice for Tesla to explain.

Update: Elon has since explained the range extender:

Tesla confirmed that the Cybertruck’s bed is 6′ by 4′ and the truck has a 6,859-lb curb weight

The electric truck also out pulls a Ford F-350 in a test that they shared during the launch event:

The design might be polarizing, but it does deliver on aerodynamic performance with a 0.335 drag coefficient, which is better than I and most people expected.

The vehicle comes with 35″ all-terrain tires and has 17″ ground clearance throughout the whole truck, thanks to a flat belly.

Tesla also confirmed that the Cybertruck is its first steer-by-wire vehicle, which we suspected following a recent patent.

Another first is the 48-volt system. Congrats to Tesla for having the guts to move away from 12-volt. It’s going to result in 70% less wire inside the vehicle.

In terms of performance, the Cyberbeast version can do a quarter mile in less 11 seconds and CEO Elon Musk even claimed that the truck can beat a Porsche 911 on the quarter-mile while towing another 911.

The vehicle’s bed is equipped with both 120 and 240-volt power outlets, which should cover all your needs on the go.

• Outlets: 4 x 120V
  • 2 cabin outlets (up to 20A)
  • 2 cargo bed outlets (up to 20A)
•  Outlets: 1 x 240V
  • 1 cargo bed outlet (up to 40A)

As expected, the vehicle is also capable of vehicle-to-home functionality that Tesla calls “Powershare”. We are going to have a whole separate article digging into that in a few moments.

The 240-volt outlet in the bed can also be used to charge other electric vehicles fairly easily.

Tesla shared this image as an example:

As for the interior of the vehicle, CEO Elon Musk didn’t spend much time on it during the event, but it hasn’t been updated much since the original unveiling.

Tesla took some cues from the Model 3 refresh and added an ambient lighting strip all along the dash.

Here’s an official picture of the Cybertruck’s interior:

Electrek’s Take

The event in itself was really disappointing. It was basically a redo of the original event in 2019 with a few deliveries.

Elon even claimed that they were going to remake the infamous steel ball test, but they did it with a baseball, which is hardly the same as a steel ball.

I can forgive that, but what was weirder is the fact that Elon didn’t even discuss range and pricing during the event. We had to wait until Tesla updated the configurator to know about those.

Then we have even more questions after the mention of a “range extender”. You can’t write that without going into more details and we are trying to learn more about it as I write this. (Update: Elon has clarified on Twitter – see above).

That’s stuff that needs to be clarified.

As for the pricing, which is probably the biggest new piece of information from this whole event (even though it wasn’t even discussed during the presentation), it is a bit disappointing.

It basically starts at $80,000 (just under the limit for the $7,500 federal tax credit) for the all-wheel drive and that’s before the range extender option, which we don’t have pricing on.

That’s not an easy sell in my opinion. It’s basically a 50% price increase across all versions of the truck compared to the 2019 prices.