Tesla Cybertruck Will Most Likely Be Classified As A Medium-Duty Pickup Truck

Tesla has informed California regulators that the production version of the Cybertruck will very likely qualify as a “Class 2B-3” medium-duty pickup truck.

“While we have not yet begun production of the Cybertruck, we expect it to have a towing capacity of 7,500-14,000+ lbs., and it should very likely qualify as a ‘Class 2B-3’ medium-duty vehicle,” Tesla said in a letter to the California Air Resources Board, first seen by Automotive News.

Watch Elon Musk Run Over A Kid-Sized Pylon In A Cybertruck And Not Even Notice

This means that Tesla’s electric truck will fall into a different segment than the F-150, to which was compared on a highly criticized stunt video showing the Cybertruck drugging the Ford in a tug-of-war contest.

Critics said at the time that the comparison was unfair since it appeared that the Ford F-150 on the video was a two-wheel drive model and the Cybertruck was already rumored to be much heavier.

The 2B classification covers pickup trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of between 8,501 to 10,000 lbs, and includes models like the Ford F-250 Super Duty, Ram 2500 and Chevrolet Silverado 2500.

While Elon Musk promised that the Tesla Cybertruck will trump the Ford F-150 in almost every single metric figure -which for now it looks like it does-, the fact that their truck will be from the segment above means that its specs should be compared to models like the F-250 instead.

Ford’s medium-duty truck features a maximum payload of 4,260 lbs and a tow rating of 19,500 lbs with a petrol engine, while the diesel version offers a payload of 3,940 lbs and a towing capacity of 22,800 lbs. Both models beat the Cybertruck’s expected payload of 3,500 lbs and towing rating of more than 14,000 lbs.