Elon Musk: the Tesla Cybertruck isn’t getting any smaller
In the days and weeks after Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the cybertruck - a post-apocalyptic inspired vehicle made of cold-rolled steel - there was a lot of speculation about whether it would be smaller once it actually made it to market.
Production of the Cybertruck is still a long ways off. There isn't even a factory to build the all-electric truck yet. However, Musk did provide some clarification Saturday on its size. In a tweet, Musk wrote Reviewed design with Franz last night. Even 3% smaller is too small. Will be pretty much the same size. We'll probably do a smaller, tight world truck at some point." (Musk was referring to Tesla's head of design Franz von Holzhausen. And we assume Musk meant to write light" not tight" truck.)
The change is important to note since he told Jay Leno that the vehicle is actually 5% too big, according to a teaser video promoting an upcoming episode of Jay Leno's Garage that will air Wednesday on CNBC. If we just take all of the proportions and drop them by 5%," he told Leno, later adding it has to fit into a normal garage."
Musk had previously said the company could probably reduce the width of the cybertruck by an inch and maybe reduce length by 6-plus inches without losing on utility or esthetics."
Reviewed design with Franz last night. Even 3% smaller is too small. Will be pretty much this size. We'll probably do a smaller, tight world truck at some point.
- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 23, 2020
Tesla hasn't shared the dimensions of the vehicle. And TechCrunch failed to bring a measuring tape at the launch. (Lesson learned).
In the past two months, Musk has provided a few other updates around the cybertruck via Twitter, noting that the company is increasing dynamic air suspension travel for better off-roading and that it will float for awhile," a claim he didn't explain further.
Tesla said it will offer three variants of the cybertruck. The cheapest version, a single motor and rear-wheel drive model, will cost $39,900, have a towing capacity of 7,500 pounds and more than 250 miles of range, according to specs on its website. The middle version will be a dual-motor all-wheel drive, have a towing capacity of more than 10,000 pounds and be able to travel more than 300 miles on a single charge. The dual motor AWD model is priced at $49,900.
The third version will have three electric motors and all-wheel drive, a towing capacity of 14,000 pounds and battery range of more than 500 miles. This version, known as tri motor," is priced at $69,900.