Promised range of 500 miles ?

[Markkinak]

lol. Had to jump in and post because of all the faulty fanboy logic about why people don’t need a 500 mile range battery. I’ll keep it simple. Illinois winters + 320 mile battery range = 150 mile actual range. Add heat and snow traffic and facing a real nail biter and crapping your pants hoping to get home safely. You all do remember last year all over the news when Teslas were dead all over the chicago roadways?

So the argument for a 500 mile range battery is not an edge case for some unlucky schmuck that needs to tow or some mythical super distance round trip every day. The real argument for 500 mile range is because 320 is the myth. It’s not real life, not even close to support the average daily commuter in the winter.

Fact: My car will spend 100 miles of range for a 52 mile commute to the office. It will lose another 100 miles of range sitting in the parking lot at 0 degrees for 8 hours. Now I have 120 miles of range, give or take, left to make my 52 mile commute back home in rush hour traffic, sometimes 2 hours. So no, I don’t need a 500 mile range battery to drive 500 miles. I need a 500 mile battery to ENSURE I have a safe buffer of 250 miles of ACTUAL range in freezing cold, hazardous, or long traffic jam winter conditions. (Me and the other 200 thousand DAILY commuters that take the I-355 tollway every day).

*Here come the dudes with the calculators and the expertise on battery conditioning features, and advice on charging in the office parking lot, and pointing out that its only zero degrees 30 times per year, etc. Save it please. All i’m saying is stop with the “nobody needs 500 miles of range” deception, when EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the midwest require more than 200 ACTUAL miles worth of range.

And THAT is where the argument begins and ends. That is also why my Cybertruck has yet to be configured.

I'm currently driving an awd cybertruck here in Alaska- I'm seeing my wh per mile go from summer around 408 to winter 518- due to the efficiency being 2.4ish miles per kw the range hit brings ya down to 1.9 miles per kw. If i don't run sentry mode my truck loses less than a % of range. Definitely not as significant as my other teslas. Temperatures I've been driving in have been between -5f to 35f mostly in the teens. I am getting the range extender due to the lack of charging here in Alaska. Even with CCS it's limited as a bunch of the ccs chargers don't work with the Cybertruck due to their age.

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[cybercricket]

I'm currently driving an awd cybertruck here in Alaska- I'm seeing my wh per mile go from summer around 408 to winter 518- due to the efficiency being 2.4ish miles per kw the range hit brings ya down to 1.9 miles per kw. If i don't run sentry mode my truck loses less than a % of range. Definitely not as significant as my other teslas. Temperatures I've been driving in have been between -5f to 35f mostly in the teens. I am getting the range extender due to the lack of charging here in Alaska. Even with CCS it's limited as a bunch of the ccs chargers don't work with the Cybertruck due to their age.

I was looking at the Tesla charging map recently, and looks like they're planning a few new charging locations in Alaska.

 

[Markkinak]

I was looking at the Tesla charging map recently, and looks like they're planning a few new charging locations in Alaska.

Yup. Hopefully they will get them this summer. I've spoken to a Tesla employee that would know and they indicated there are more planned. The 3 shown and 1 additional in fairbanks were part of the NEVI grants. Oddly the fairbanks site hasn't shown up on find us. Rumor is the site owner was going to place the chargers in a right of way and so now they are looking for another site... the ccs chargers that won't work are the RT-50 units that 3 bears and recharge Alaska have. Also there are some freewire chargers on the kenai that I haven't been able to test due to the bankruptcy issue... North of palmer and Wasilla the only ccs that work are the flo in catwell and fairbanks...

 

[jerhenderson]

I am certainly hoping Tesla will get the range up near the 500 miles. The cold winters in northern Canada requires it before ownership is practical.

Northern Canada here. All good.

 

[CT Owner Vito]

The OP is in Canada. Tesla's estimated price for the Range Extender is actually $22,000 in Canadian dollars, with a $700 CAD deposit. It's $16,000 in US dollars, with a $2,000 USD deposit. No idea why the deposit is so much lower in Canada ($700 CAD is about $500 USD).

Alternatively, Tesla's estimated price for the Range Extender is $350,000 in Mexican pesos, with an $11,000 MXP deposit.

I pre-ordered it and the deposit was only $500. I’m in NJ.

 

[Markkinak]

I pre-ordered it and the deposit was only $500. I’m in NJ.

My deposit was also 500. I hear they upped it a few months ago. Only issue I'm currently seeing is the date for availability keeps pushing to the right... first fall of 24 now spring of 25. But that's tesla...

 

[YDR37]

My deposit was also 500. I hear they upped it a few months ago. Only issue I'm currently seeing is the date for availability keeps pushing to the right... first fall of 24 now spring of 25. But that's tesla...

The US Cybertruck order page currently states:

$16,000 Est.
Range Extender
Increase range to 445+ mi (est).
Production planned to begin in mid 2025.

Reserve today: $2,000

Non-refundable reservation deposit.
Requires Tesla Service Center installation after delivery when available.

That "mid 2025" date is for the start of production, not availability. Seems possible that general availability could be later. Would not be surprising if new REs are distributed slowly, to avoid overwhelming the Service Centers.

 

[scottf200]

I was looking at the Tesla charging map recently, and looks like they're planning a few new charging locations in Alaska.

Also supercharge.info
https://supercharge.info/map

 

[Markkinak]

Also supercharge.info
https://supercharge.info/map

Tracking all of thoes- plus a reliable rumor about cooper landing and glenallen. Rumor is the 4 north of anchorage will happen this summer as they are tied to NEVI grants that were announced earlier this year. The girdwood site is on hold as well as the other sites I mentioned above. I've heard May time-frame for them. Won't be before mid April due to weather/frozen ground...

 

[Cincycyber]

When Sandy Munro of Munro & Associates tore down the CT battery pack was only half filled. It was a decision to not fill it. So in theory, the range could be double what it is today if the battery pack was filled. Just more than is needed practically outside of special circumstances like Canada, perhaps.

 

[ABILISK]

If the initial adoption of CT tells us anything, it’s that wait times for the range extender won’t be crazy. I didn’t reserve (due to a non refundable deposit and not sure I need/want to sacrifice bed space), but I’m sure I’ll be able to get one lickity split once released if I want it.

 

[Markkinak]

I watched that sandy Munro video and it's not half full- it's actually full and has an air gap designed in to control a battery failure. If i recall without going back and watching the video again there isn't enough room for another layer or batteries and the air gap for the safety venting. I believe the decision to reduce the truck dimensions by 5% played greatly into the loss or the tri motor with 14500 lbs towing... the only way I see anything happening with the current battery is by making it thicker and reducing in cab clearance a little and ground clearance by a few inches. I don't think it will happen due to potential for battery damage and a redesign of how to protect the bigger pack...

 

[cybercricket]

When Sandy Munro of Munro & Associates tore down the CT battery pack was only half filled. It was a decision to not fill it. So in theory, the range could be double what it is today if the battery pack was filled. Just more than is needed practically outside of special circumstances like Canada, perhaps.

It may have been a deliberate engineering decision to leave an empty space at the bottom of the pack, like for mechanical protection.

 

[CT Owner Vito]

The US Cybertruck order page currently states:That "mid 2025" date is for the start of production, not availability. Seems possible that general availability could be later. Would not be surprising if new REs are distributed slowly, to avoid overwhelming the Service Centers.

Well, it’s fine if it keeps pushing the availability back. Just please keep the promise of the 500 mile range and the cost of $16K. Or better yet, keep the range and lower the cost!

 

[electricAK]

I am certainly hoping Tesla will get the range up near the 500 miles. The cold winters in northern Canada requires it before ownership is practical.

I just posted my experience driving through the Yukon for the winter Solstice. The truck did great!

https://www.cybertruckownersclub.com/forum/threads/?-the-ultimate-winter-test-yukon-cybertruck-solstice-trip.33144/

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