As the Tesla Cybertruck nears the start of production, prototypes are popping up more often. New photos and video show the boxy pickup making tight turns, testing out the steering, and even hints at its acceleration capabilities. It’s looking more and more likely that it’ll actually make it to production sometime this year.
Doubt about the legitimacy of the Cybertruck and its production goals is nothing new. It’s been delayed multiple times, CEO Elon Musk has claimed that it’ll end up having different configurations than originally announced, and we still don’t know what pricing is going to look like. Nevertheless, the Tesla team has continued to reiterate that it’ll begin producing this truck in 2023.
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A new video first posted on Twitter and Tiktok by The Kilowatts shows a Cybertruck prototype in all its glory as it underwent testing in California. First, we see it make a sharp U-turn. Matthew Donegan-Ryan, a prominent Tesla shareholder who evidently has insider info on the truck says that we’re seeing four-wheel steering here and that the truck will have the turning radius of a Model Y.
Elon Musk himself replied directly to the message saying that it might actually be better than a Model Y in terms of turning circle. The video also shows how nimble the truck seems to be despite its large size. Placing the front tires so close to the front of the vehicle helps it to change direction incredibly fast. We also see the team inducing quite a bit of body roll as they see the wheel back and forth in a straight line.
It also seems to accelerate quite quickly though there’s no telling what motor and battery configuration this prototype has. Interestingly, it’s missing the large windshield wiper that we’ve seen on other prototypes. Whether or not Tesla is considering another solution or simply removed it from this vehicle is up for debate. What’s not is that evidence strongly suggests that this truck is indeed coming before the end of the year.
Musk has said that it’ll ramp up production in 2024 but that the first trucks should roll off of the line later this year. Tesla has documented the arrival and construction of production-line equipment like the Gigapress too. Whenever this thing does make it to public roads it’ll be a wild sighting.