TESLA

Cybertruck review blitz tips 4680 battery size and interior controls as it goes to off-road and crash tests in Beast mode

The Tesla Cybertruck is indeed powered by a 123 kWh battery, augmented by a 50 kWh range extender pack that adds extra 130 miles of range. The first Cybertruck review drives reveal many more important specs and ride comfort impressions.

From MKBHD to Sandy Munro, the first real-life impressions of driving Tesla's new Cybertruck are in, but perhaps the most comprehensive Cybertruck video review awards go to Top Gear and Hagerty. After a long time in the Tesla review freezer, the Top Gear team was finally thawed just in time for a Cybertruck review unit a few weeks back.

The level of access to the Cybertruck engineering and design heads is unprecedented, too, resulting in many Cybertruck specs that haven't been filled by the official specs list just yet.

Cybertruck battery size and range extender capacity:

123 kWh in 1,366 4680 battery cells

50 kWh range extender battery

The rumors that the Cybertruck will have a 123 kWh battery turned out true, spread across 1,366 of Tesla's new 4680 battery cells. That capacity returns an energy consumption metric of about 36 kWh/100mi for the dual-motor AWD trim, or about 38 kWh/100mi for the tri-motor Cyberbeast. This means that the Cybertruck is more energy-efficient than the Ford F-150 Lightning or the Rivian R1T, at least according to the EPA estimates.

Another 130 miles of range can be added via an optional Cybertruck range extender accessory which turned out to simply be a 50 kWh battery pack that goes on the truck bed behind the cabin, and may cost the whopping $16,000, or $123 per each extra mile of range added.

Cybertruck interior comfort and interface controls...The Cybertruck interior comes with a giant 18-inch central console display that offers access to a new Tesla touch control interface where the Cybertruck is rendered in 3D. The imagery can be rotated at will, showing the state of the truck, down to whether the window is half or fully closed, in real time.

The rotating also reveals various control points, depending on whether one wants to open or close the frunk, tonneau cover and liftgate, or bring the truck up for off-road adventures.

The large amount of storage space around the truck's cabin also got a praise, as well as the premium audio system with 15 speakers and two subwoofers. Four adults can ride very comfortably in the Cybertruck, with the fifth place in the middle slightly squished by the A/C and display console in the middle, but still very usable.

There are also two 120V outlets front and back for charging laptops and the like, as well as 65W USB-C ports and wireless charging pads for your phones at the front. Speaking of the front, there are no outlets in the Powergate frunk, just storage space that can fit two suitcases of overhead luggage, or it can be used as party bench for two people.

Ride height and off-road modes can also be set from the single Cybertruck point of interaction - its central console display - up to the Extract mode which lifts the Cybertruck fully.

Cybertruck off-road, drag, and rollover tests...At the Cybertruck delivery event, Elon Musk showed that it can outrun and outpull everything out there, comparing it with the Ford F-350 diesel in the truck pull test, as well as with the 2023 Porsche 911 in the acceleration one. It managed to beat both handily, but Hagerty did one more.

The team drag-raced the Cybertruck against the quad-motor Rivian R1T, which got beat despite its more suitable tires, and then against the 1000 HP electric Hummer which got destroyed, too. In short, the Cybertruck is the fastest truck ever made, at least the tri-motor Cyberbeast version, and it also offers stellar off-road capabilities with its low center of gravity and suspension full of 420 liters of air that can raise it 17 inches above the ground in Extract mode.

Last but not least, the hard stainless steel exoskeleton of the Cybertruck and its low center of gravity make it both immune to the rollover or crash tests, and fun to drive on winding roads. The steer-by-wire system also got praises for the ability to turn the Cybertruck on a dime. The new 48V low-voltage architecture of Tesla made this possible, as it requires much less current to be sent to the motors turning the front and rear wheels.

There are plenty of other impressions in the first Cybertruck reviews which might be the closest one can get to Tesla's first electric pickup before production ramps up in the next few quarters. 

Mundoquatrorodas