Tesla’s Cybertruck is getting a significant platform upgrade, with Elon Musk confirming that the specifications for the controversial electric pickup will be updated before it has even gone on sale. Announced in late 2019, the Cybertruck proved divisive with its stealth bomber-inspired aesthetic, but its speed promises also set it apart from the truck status-quo.
0-60 mph, Tesla promised, could come in as little 2.9 seconds. Range, meanwhile, could be up to 500 miles on a charge. Up to three electric motors could be configured, depending on performance and traction demands.
Since then, however, we’ve seen other electric trucks join the party. Rivian’s R1T is already begin delivered to preorder customers, complete with four electric motors. GMC’s Hummer EV is set for release soon, similarly boasting a motor for each wheel. Now, Musk has confirmed, the Cybertruck is raising its game to better compete.
Initial production will now be of a four motor variant, Musk tweeted in response to rumors about why the Cybertruck configurator had recently been pulled down from the Tesla site. That’ll allow for “independent, ultra fast response torque control of each wheel,” he added.
The Cybertruck will also have both front and rear wheel steering, Musk added. That way “it can drive diagonally like a crab.”
That’s a word we’ve heard used to describe another big, outlandish EV truck, of course. GMC’s Hummer EV and Hummer EV SUV will have a “crab mode” which allows them to track diagonally. The automaker has shown how that could be useful for navigating through tighter parking lots, or – when in off-road situations – for tiptoeing along arduous paths.
Musk clearly isn’t unaware of the features his rivals have been talking about already, or the fact that adding a fourth electric motor to the Cybertruck will draw comparisons with those competitor EVs. “Insane technology bandwagon” the Tesla CEO tweeted, apparently aiming to preempt suggestions that the Cybertruck is copying other trucks.
It’s not, of course, like GMC or Rivian actually invented either feature. Torque vectoring, controlling the amount of power that’s directed to different wheels on a vehicle, has been commonplace for years now, particularly on sports cars where it can be used to improve cornering performance. Electric motors have the benefit of being more directly controlled – as on the hybrid Acura NSX’s wheels – versus using brakes to limit power on particular wheels.
It’s not, of course, like GMC or Rivian actually invented either feature. Torque vectoring, controlling the amount of power that’s directed to different wheels on a vehicle, has been commonplace for years now, particularly on sports cars where it can be used to improve cornering performance. Electric motors have the benefit of being more directly controlled – as on the hybrid Acura NSX’s wheels – versus using brakes to limit power on particular wheels.
It’s not, of course, like GMC or Rivian actually invented either feature. Torque vectoring, controlling the amount of power that’s directed to different wheels on a vehicle, has been commonplace for years now, particularly on sports cars where it can be used to improve cornering performance. Electric motors have the benefit of being more directly controlled – as on the hybrid Acura NSX’s wheels – versus using brakes to limit power on particular wheels.
