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I took a Tesla Cybertruck Demo Drive — Here’s what I learned
Upon learning that Tesla was offering Cybertruck Demo Drives across the United States, I decided to sign up for one. I have not gotten my hands on what is inarguably the most unorthodox vehicle on the market right now (and likely ever), but I’ve been lucky enough to see plenty of them in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida, where I took a vacation in April.
I went in with a very open mind. I love to drive a larger vehicle, and a pickup truck, while I’ve never owned one due to lack of necessity, is probably my favorite thing to journey around in.
I decided to book the Demo Drive at the West Chester, Pennsylvania, Showroom just outside of Philadelphia. I took the roughly 90-minute ride out to Chester County on Tuesday. Here’s what I learned from my 30-minute ride:
First things first, it’s a modern marvel of vehicle engineering
While I’ve seen a lot of Cybertrucks, I’ve never gotten up close and personal with one. I don’t necessarily feel super comfortable walking up to anyone’s car and doing a deep examination, so I waited for the right opportunity.
The Cybertruck is obviously eye-catching, but I was really impressed with how this one looked in terms of build quality.
I know that there were some issues early on with Cybertrucks, but it’s no surprise that something like this would be relatively difficult to put together early on. I didn’t see many inadequacies in how these units were built.
There were two parked out front and so many readying for customer deliveries in the back. According to the employee I took my Demo Drive with, they had delivered 300 units so far.
You don’t really feel like you’re driving a pickup
I’ve driven a lot of trucks in my life: F-150s, F-250s, Dodge Rams, Toyota Tundras, and Tacomas.
One thing I noticed getting into the Cybertruck, it doesn’t really feel like you’re driving a truck. It feels sporty, fast, and agile. I was impressed by that, I am not sure what it was about it; perhaps it was the standard ride height or just the overall design of the pickup. I feel like I sit up much higher in a traditional pickup.
The F-150 Lightning, for example, feels like you’re sitting in a regular truck: you’re up high, it feels wide and bulky. It’s in no way sporty. It’s fast, because it’s an EV, but it’s a completely different feel.
It truly captures what Tesla meant when it said it wanted to redesign the pickup.
Steer-by-Wire is incredible
The showroom employee I spoke to said that they have trouble turning a Model 3 around through their narrow parking lots. If they need to swing it around, they can do it, but it requires a multiple-point turn.
He then told me that thanks to the steer-by-wire on the Cybertruck, this wasn’t as much of a task. “We actually have less of a hassle getting the Cybertruck turned around. It’s amazing.”
I had to make a U-turn during a portion of my drive, and I was also told that a traditional pickup truck driver had to back their vehicle up to make the turn. When they were tasked to do the same turn in the Cybertruck, they didn’t trust that it would make it.
It did without any issues.
I felt like it was a very easy adjustment. It took all of 30 seconds to get used to the more advanced turning system in the Cybertruck compared to a regular vehicle. It is probably my favorite part about the whole truck.
It’s fun to drive on open routes and backroads
I remember writing about how much fun the Model 3 Highland was to drive on backroads. The Cybertruck is probably just as fun.
But it also is really fun to drive out in the open on state routes that are busy and have multiple lanes. Some cars get kind of monotonous on the straightforward streets. I wasn’t really ever bored with it (maybe I would be after more than 30 minutes).
It was smooth and fast and hugged corners really well. I never questioned taking turns in it, even sharp ones when I was at a stop sign. It just handled and drove really well, and I do think the steer-by-wire was a big reason for that.
I would get it wrapped
One thing that stood out to me a lot was the overwhelming amount of fingerprints on the door.
This was pretty much a non-negotiable argument that I would absolutely get my Cybertruck wrapped if I ever decide to snag one. I wouldn’t want to constantly be wiping these things off, even though I really love the stainless steel. Matte black would be my choice.
So … will we see each other again?
— Cybertruck (@cybertruck) August 14, 2024
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed my drive. I have been a fan of the Cybertruck since it was unveiled in 2019. It’s hard to believe I was only with Teslarati for a few months at that point, and here I am five years later, and this truck is now being seen pretty frequently.
Whether you’re a fan of it or not, I would really recommend you go see it and check out all the awesome features. Even if you have no intention of buying one, go take a drive and feel the steer-by-wire, the unique size, and agility of such a large truck, and take in what is one of the coolest cars out on the market right now.
I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.
Tesla’s dedicated factory for building up to ten million Optimus units is officially under construction at Gigafactory Texas.
Drone footage released on May 27 by Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer captures the significant milestone of the first steel structure officially standing at Tesla’s new Optimus factory on the North Campus of the facility.
Phase two of land reclamation is advancing steadily, and the progress will let the new building extend nearly the full length of the main Giga Texas factory, potentially exceeding 4,000 feet, while measuring somewhere between 50 and 70 meters narrower. Extensive foundation work is proceeding as well.
Big news at the new Optimus 10m/y factory construction site today! The 1st steel structure has been erected & as expected the second phase of land reclamation is underway.
This will allow this new factory to grow to nearly the same length as the main Giga Texas factory,… pic.twitter.com/FidRLV6XpU
— Joe Tegtmeyer 🚀 🤠🛸😎 (@JoeTegtmeyer) May 27, 2026
This facility forms a central element of Tesla’s broader North Campus expansion at Giga Texas. The project will add more than 5.2 million square feet of new industrial space. It sits alongside other advanced developments, including a Terafab for next-gen AI chips. The scale reflects Tesla’s commitment to transforming humanoid robotics into a core pillar of the company’s future.
Musk has said that Optimus will be the biggest product in the world on several occasions. He believes it will be Tesla’s biggest valuation contributor.
Tesla prepares to expand Giga Texas with new Optimus production plant
Tesla plans to build about 10 million robots at the site annually once it is completed, which would be about 27,000 units each day.
The Optimus plant at Giga Texas is part of Tesla’s phased strategy for Optimus manufacturing. In an effort to start production of the robot well before the Giga Texas plant is complete, Tesla ended production of the Model S and Model X vehicles, which were built in Fremont, California, to make way for initial Optimus manufacturing efforts.
Production there will start in either July or August of this year, and early units will support internal factory tasks while the team gathers real-world data to refine processes. The Gigafactory Texas facility will house a second-gen production line. It targets high-volume output starting in Summer 2027.
Musk has repeatedly described Optimus as potentially more valuable than Tesla’s entire vehicle business. Current versions are already completing minor tasks around various facilities, while Tesla continues to refine its abilities and add new features.
Tesla’s total investment could reach several billion dollars. Significant challenges lie ahead, including the creation of an entirely new manufacturing ecosystem, the refinement of AI systems for dependable autonomy, and the development of reliable supply chains for actuators, sensors, and other components.
Nevertheless, the visible progress at Giga Texas highlights Tesla’s capacity to translate ambitious concepts into physical reality.
Tesla’s Optimus factory stands as much more than a simple expansion project, as it is quite literally the second phase of what could potentially be the biggest product ever. With construction beginning, 2027 is poised to become a transformative year for Tesla, as it evolves even further from an electric vehicle leader into a pioneer of intelligent, general-purpose machines.
Tesla Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, Lars Moravy, recently revealed the company has thought about introducing a Plaid powertrain on the Model 3, but there could be some challenges involved.
On the Ride the Lightning podcast, Moravy revealed that he thinks about a Plaid Model 3 “all the time,” and it certainly has a place in Tesla’s potential lineup of future vehicles.
Now that the Plaid powertrain is technically defunct due to the newfound absence of the Model S and Model X, Tesla could find a way to reintroduce the lightning-quick trim level to its mass-market vehicles.
But there are going to be some challenges with it. Moravy said that the Model 3 Plaid would likely adopt the carbon-sleeved motors that the Model S Plaid had. However, packaging would be a major challenge, as Moravy said on the podcast, it would be a “tight engineering squeeze.”
It’s important to note that there are no active production plans for the Model 3 Plaid at this point, but it’s also worth noting that with the Model S and Model X Plaid no longer available, Tesla would likely be willing to introduce something that is even more white-knuckle than the Model 3 Performance, which already boasts a 2.9-second 0-60 MPH acceleration rate and a top speed of 163 MPH.
Of course, there is the Roadster, but we don’t know when that will exactly make it to market, and we know that, for sure, it will not be accessible to many.
Tesla unveils juicy new detail on the Roadster and hints at new unveil timeline
Tesla has prided itself in building some of the best cars out there, but they’re also interested in building cars that are simply fun to be in.
A Plaid Model 3 could truly push the limits and could end up being one of the best cars Tesla will ever build, especially if it can shave off at least half of a second from its 0-60 MPH time and increase its top speed slightly.
More than anything, the real changes will be in the ride and aerodynamics. Tesla improving things like the suspension, handling, and downforce will be the true trademarks of its Plaid powertrain; putting it in the Model 3 could be a great move for the company and for customers interested in high-end performance.
Elon Musk
NASA’s first human outpost on the Moon starts now – SpaceX on deck
NASA named the rovers, landers, and vendors that will build America’s first Moon Base.
NASA has laid out its most detailed Moon Base plan to date, describing a permanent outpost near the Moon’s south pole that the agency intends to build over the coming decade as a direct stepping stone to Mars. “The Moon Base will be America’s and humanity’s first outpost on another celestial world,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said, adding that every mission crewed and uncrewed “will be a learning opportunity as we return to the lunar surface, build the infrastructure to stay, and master the skills required to live and operate in one of the most demanding and dangerous environments imaginable.”
The plan is structured in three phases involving both uncrewed and crewed missions to deliver equipment, vehicles, and infrastructure to the surface, with the first three moon base missions targeted to launch before the end of 2026.
Moon Base I, targeting fall 2026, will use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to deliver scientific instruments to the Shackleton Connecting Ridge, the same region where Artemis astronauts will land. Moon Base II will send Astrobotic’s Griffin lander carrying more than 1,100 pounds of cargo including Astrolab’s FLIP rover to begin developing mobility systems on the surface. Moon Base III will carry the Lunar Vertex science mission on Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C Trinity lander to study lunar swirls near the south pole, with ESA and Korean science payloads aboard.
On the rover side, NASA awarded Astrolab $219 million and Lunar Outpost $220 million to build the first phase of Lunar Terrain Vehicles, with both rovers targeted for deployment to the lunar surface by 2028. Astrolab’s crewed rover weighs roughly 2,000 pounds and can reach over 6 mph. Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus rover can operate autonomously or via remote control at over 9 mph. Blue Origin separately received $188 million with an option worth $280.4 million to deliver cargo landers for rover transport.
NASA also confirmed that MoonFall, a mission deploying four survey drones to scout Artemis landing sites, has selected Firefly Aerospace to build the transport spacecraft, with a 2028 launch target.
SpaceX sits at the center of that commercial layer. SpaceX holds the NASA Human Landing System contract for the Starship-derived lander that will put astronauts on the surface under Artemis IV, currently targeting 2028. Before that can happen, SpaceX must demonstrate in-orbit propellant transfer at scale, a process requiring multiple Starship tanker launches to fuel a single mission. Water ice at the lunar south pole is central to the base’s long-term viability, as it can be converted into drinking water, breathable oxygen, and rocket fuel, directly reducing dependence on Earth resupply. That resource loop becomes far more practical if Starship can land and be refueled on or near the Moon itself.
Elon Musk has publicly stated that Starship V3, which recently completed its first flight, should be capable enough for initial Mars missions. The Moon Base plan announced Tuesday is the infrastructure layer that connects everything between those two ambitions, and SpaceX is the only American company currently contracted to build the rocket that gets humans to either destination.
Tesla’s dedicated Optimus factory construction officially underway at Giga Texas
Tesla teases going Plaid Mode with the Model 3
