Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated that the Cybertruck would likely be Tesla’s best vehicle to date, and the all-electric pickup truck would be so impressive that its four-year wait would be worth it. But as the specs and price of the production Cybertruck were released on Thursday, a number of longtime EV watchers were quick to voice their disappointment.
In a way, it is unsurprising that many were disappointed by the production Cybertruck. The vehicle, after all, was smaller, had less range, and was significantly more expensive than the hulking steel beast that was unveiled in 2019. Even the production Cybertruck’s Armor Glass demonstration featured a baseball, which was far less impressive than the steel ball that was used four years ago.
This does not mean to say that the production Cybertruck is a complete miss, however. Far from it. A look at the production Cybertruck’s details would show that the vehicle, despite losing some size and range, gained a number of key features that make it a pretty stellar truck in its own right. Perhaps Elon Musk was right — maybe the Cybertruck is really destined to become Tesla’s magnum opus.
Here then are five features that we love about the production Tesla Cybertruck.
Steer-by-Wire
The production Cybertruck does not have a regular steering wheel. Instead, it has a rounded yoke that seems like a cross between the Model S and Model X Plaid’s yoke and a regular steering wheel. As it turns out, the Cybertruck is the first Tesla that is being shipped with a steer-by-wire system. This makes the vehicle very nimble and easy to maneuver. Tesla showed off some videos showcasing this feature, and they were quite impressive.
CONFIRMED: Cybertruck uses steer-by-wire. #DriveStainless @cybertruck @Tesla pic.twitter.com/znhO9y1tqG— Ryan McCaffrey (@DMC_Ryan) November 30, 2023
Critics of the original steering yoke in the Model S Plaid noted that the system would have worked if it used steer-by-wire. Well, the Cybertruck has it, and so far, reviewers of the vehicle seem to appreciate the feature.
Powergate
Despite being smaller than its original prototype, the Cybertruck is still a fairly large vehicle. It’s also made of stainless steel. With this in mind, consumers might find the Cybertruck’s frunk heavy and cumbersome if it was manually operated. Fortunately, this won’t be the case, as the production Cybertruck comes with a powered frunk system called the Powergate.
Tesla’s first powered frunk called Powergate.
It has one of the longest LES lighting elements on any passenger vehicle and reveals a hidden bench for two. pic.twitter.com/QrxS0q0JVa— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 30, 2023
As noted by Tesla, the Powergate features one of the longest LED lighting elements on any passenger vehicle in the world. It also reveals a hidden bench for two, plus over seven cubic feet of storage. These features, together with its powered nature, make the Cybertruck’s frunk the best in Tesla’s lineup today.
Beast Mode
The Cybertruck could be considered a flagship vehicle from Tesla. Its price certainly commands such a designation in the company’s lineup. It is then unsurprising that the electric vehicle maker gave the Cybertruck a dedicated high-performance mode called “Beast Mode.” Tesla explained Beast Mode as follows: “Cyberbeast features a rear drive unit with dual induction machines, active torque vectoring, and an electro-mechanical, front-locking differential producing a combined 845 HP.”
Beast mode Cybertruck will have 845 horsepower pic.twitter.com/TVZr097EMP— Rob Maurer (@TeslaPodcast) November 30, 2023
With Beast Mode, the Cybertruck would be able to achieve a 0-60 mph time of 2.6 seconds, a metric that actually exceeds that of the original Cybertruck prototype in 2019, which was listed with a 0-60 mph time of 2.9 seconds.
Rear-Wheel Steering
Together with its steer-by-wire system, the Cybertruck also features rear-wheel steering. Demonstrations of the Cybetruck in action show how the vehicle’s rear wheels help with maneuverability, allowing the stainless steel all-electric pickup truck to achieve a turning radius that is better than the Model S sedan. That’s pretty insane considering the physical size of the Cybertruck.
NEW VIDEO – 40 minutes of every single detail you need to know from my time driving the Tesla Cybertruck, from the stainless steel to hidden storage to the rear wheel steering to the range extender. Enjoy! Full video: https://t.co/5OaHnzpbNL pic.twitter.com/6eWstORrPr— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) December 1, 2023
Interestingly enough, rear steering is also a feature that is an improvement over the Cybertruck’s 2019 prototype. The hulking vehicle, when it was unveiled four years ago, did not feature a rear-wheel steering system at all, despite Elon Musk seemingly confirming the feature on Twitter prior to the 2019 unveiling.
Range Extender
While it is true that the production Cybertruck’s range is disappointing compared to the announced range of the original Cybertruck prototype from 2019, one could argue that a range extender actually makes sense. Tesla, after all, is not looking to become a niche automaker. The company wants to be a mass-market carmaker, and to do that, it must be able to produce as many vehicles as it can with the resources it has.
EXTEND
YOUR ADVENTURE
BEHOLD: The Range Extender®https://t.co/cqtl5Mi2sj pic.twitter.com/IMFvOhYPU0— Jose del Corral (@J0se) November 30, 2023
Being a large vehicle, the Cybertruck would have to eat a lot of batteries to achieve its target range from 2019. Thus, it is quite reasonable for Tesla to offer a range extender that adds about 130 miles to the Cybertruck Dual Motor (around 120 extra miles for the Cyberbeast) only to those who actually need the extra battery. Tesla could then produce the Cybertruck Dual Motor and Cyberbeast with 123 kWh battery packs, which is a pretty fair size for such a large vehicle.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.
Elon Musk
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered the closure of an investigation involving Elon Musk and social media platform X. The inquiry had been pending for about two years and examined whether the platform was used to coordinate attacks against members of the judiciary.
The decision was issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a recommendation from Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet.
According to a report from Agencia Brasil, the investigation conducted by the Federal Police did not find evidence that X deliberately attempted to attack the judiciary or circumvent court orders.
Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet concluded that the irregularities identified during the probe did not indicate fraudulent intent.
Justice Moraes accepted the prosecutor’s recommendation and ruled that the investigation should be closed. Under the ruling, the case will remain closed unless new evidence emerges.
The inquiry stemmed from concerns that content on X may have enabled online attacks against Supreme Court justices or violated rulings requiring the suspension of certain accounts under investigation.
Justice Moraes had previously taken several enforcement actions related to the platform during the broader dispute involving social media regulation in Brazil.
These included ordering a nationwide block of the platform, freezing Starlink accounts, and imposing fines on X totaling about $5.2 million. Authorities also froze financial assets linked to X and SpaceX through Starlink to collect unpaid penalties and seized roughly $3.3 million from the companies’ accounts.
Moraes also imposed daily fines of up to R$5 million, about $920,000, for alleged evasion of the X ban and established penalties of R$50,000 per day for VPN users who attempted to bypass the restriction.
Brazil remains an important market for X, with roughly 17 million users, making it one of the platform’s larger user bases globally.
The country is also a major market for Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet service, which has surpassed one million subscribers in Brazil.
Elon Musk
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr criticized Amazon after the company opposed SpaceX’s proposal to launch a large satellite constellation that could function as an orbital data center network.
Carr made the remarks in a post on social media platform X.
Amazon recently urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s application to deploy a constellation of up to 1 million low Earth orbit satellites that could serve as artificial intelligence data centers in space.
The company described the proposal as a “lofty ambition rather than a real plan,” arguing that SpaceX had not provided sufficient details about how the system would operate.
Carr responded by pointing to Amazon’s own satellite deployment progress.
“Amazon should focus on the fact that it will fall roughly 1,000 satellites short of meeting its upcoming deployment milestone, rather than spending their time and resources filing petitions against companies that are putting thousands of satellites in orbit,” Carr wrote on X.
Amazon has declined to comment on the statement.
Amazon has been working to deploy its Project Kuiper satellite network, which is intended to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink service. The company has invested more than $10 billion in the program and has launched more than 200 satellites since April of last year.
Amazon has also asked the FCC for a 24-month extension, until July 2028, to meet a requirement to deploy roughly 1,600 satellites by July 2026, as noted in a CNBC report.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently has nearly 10,000 satellites in orbit and serves roughly 10 million customers. The FCC has also authorized SpaceX to deploy 7,500 additional satellites as the company continues expanding its global satellite internet network.
Energy
Tesla Energy gains UK license to sell electricity to homes and businesses
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
Tesla Energy has received a license to supply electricity in the United Kingdom, opening the door for the company to serve homes and businesses in the country.
The license was granted to Tesla Energy Ventures Ltd. by UK energy regulator Ofgem after a seven-month review process.
According to Ofgem, the license took effect at 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday and applies to Great Britain.
The approval allows Tesla’s energy business to sell electricity directly to customers in the region, as noted in a Bloomberg News report.
Tesla has already expanded similar services in the United States. In Texas, the company offers electricity plans that allow Tesla owners to charge their vehicles at a lower cost while also feeding excess electricity back into the grid.
Tesla already has a sizable presence in the UK market. According to price comparison website U-switch, there are more than 250,000 Tesla electric vehicles in the country and thousands of Tesla home energy storage systems.
Ofgem also noted that Tesla Motors Ltd., a separate entity incorporated in England and Wales, received an electricity generation license in June 2020.
The new UK license arrives as Tesla continues expanding its global energy business.
Last year, Tesla Energy retained the top position in the global battery energy storage system (BESS) integrator market for the second consecutive year. According to Wood Mackenzie’s latest rankings, Tesla held about 15% of global market share in 2024.
The company also maintained a dominant position in North America, where it captured roughly 39% market share in the region.
At the same time, competition in the energy storage sector is increasing. Chinese companies such as Sungrow have been expanding their presence globally, particularly in Europe.
Brazil Supreme Court orders Elon Musk and X investigation closed
FCC chair criticizes Amazon over opposition to SpaceX satellite plan
