JerryRigEverything: How far can the CYBERTRUCK tow 11,000lbs in Freezing Weather?

[REM]

I really want Cybertruck to be viable for reasonable towing. It’s frustrating that someone on YouTube can’t tow a reasonable sized boat, a reasonable distance, on rural roads at 55 mph reasonable speeds, in warm temperatures to show what occasional towing would be like for those hopeful customers who do tow but don’t tow excavators or solid concrete slabs 400 miles daily at highway speeds.

I fully agree it is disappointing that initial numbers appear to be less than stellar from Cybertruck with regard to range and charge speed. However, I would pose a different perspective that if we ignore those two factors for just a moment, the rest of the truck is pretty impressive.

Here’s why I think that may be relevant… both of those big negatives relate directly to the 4680 cells. If anyone has been paying relatively close attention since battery day, a lot of the specs they announced were based on expected future advancements and there have been hints that the 4680s are not currently achieving the specs Tesla anticipated back at battery day. Also Elon has said when giga Texas first opened the 4680 wasn’t necessary for the Texas Model Y but was necessary for Cybertruck. We now know they abandoned 4680 for Model Y because it wasn’t working well, so that’s another hint 4680s aren’t quite there yet and that hurts Cybertruck more than Model Y.

So again, yes I agree the current numbers aren’t stellar, particularly for towing, but I think Tesla/Elon made the design of the truck with a certain battery dimension because of the battery enhancements they anticipate will eventually occur for the 4680s, AND they want to keep weight/cost down. I have a hunch they rushed the truck to production quicker than they would have wanted to with respect to where 4680 development is currently and range and charging will improve as time passes. How long is anyone’s guess. (Not likely 2 weeks)

Also, it has been stated by Tesla engineers in one of the tour videos that 350kw charging would be available on Cybertruck. Whenever those superchargers get operational, just that improvement would significantly improve the charging part of the equation which is somewhere near half the battle in this case.

I think Elon is pretty well known for projecting how things will eventually be rather than how they will be on day 1. I mean Cybertruck doesn’t even have basic autopilot enabled yet and everyone knows that’s definitely going to get added. So I hold out hope it will improve at some point.

Nailed it!

Sponsored

 

[BannedByTMC]

Also, it has been stated by Tesla engineers in one of the tour videos that 350kw charging would be available on Cybertruck. Whenever those superchargers get operational, just that improvement would significantly improve the charging part of the equation which is somewhere near half the battle in this case.

I don't see how 350kW is going to change much considering how quickly the CT charge rate starts dropping on the existing 250kW chargers. After 25% it goes under 250 and drops quickly. They need to improve the cell level charge acceptance rate to make a big difference.

https://evkx.net/models/tesla/cybertruck/cybertruck_cyberbeast/chargingcurve/

 

[Fleetwood75]

Still waiting to see a towing test on any BEV truck with one of these, which is what I’ve got

If nobody does it first then I’ll post something after I get my truck

 

[SolarWizard]

This doesn't make sense to me, why would it be "typical" to start with less than 100% when towing in a range limited vehicle? You know range is going to be drastically reduced so common sense and IMO "typical" behavior would be to start with a full charge. Why handicap yourself?

Because it takes absolutely forever to get there on a supercharter

 

[Crissa]

I don't see how 350kW is going to change much considering how quickly the CT charge rate starts dropping on the existing 250kW chargers. After 25% it goes under 250 and drops quickly. They need ...

You answered your own question. If you're charging 0-50 on a road trip and 0-25 is capped, uncapping it will speed up charging.

-Crissa

 

[CloudNull]

Don’t care. Just secured mine today.

 

[BannedByTMC]

You answered your own question. If you're charging 0-50 on a road trip and 0-25 is capped, uncapping it will speed up charging.

-Crissa

Few people will push their luck by going to 0% when pulling into a Supercharger, more likely 10% and above, which means for most 15% of the charging time might be accelerated.

 

[aadams1278]

Few people will push their luck by going to 0% when pulling into a Supercharger, more likely 10% and above, which means for most 15% of the charging time might be accelerated.

That’s accurate, but I’m not sure why no one has pointed this out before. It’s not really that much different from the other Tesla charge curves according to out of spec charge testing. Model S plaid and Model Y are only slightly different from the Cybertruck curve. It’s not like it’s worse by 50% or something.

My suspicion is because the battery is bigger and the wh/mi is higher it takes longer for miles to increase and that feels more noticeable to people when in reality a very similar amount of kWh are being added. This is another reason I suggested in my previous post if Tesla enables 350kw charging it will make Cybertruck charging better than the rest.

According to this graph, we should expect the Model Y charging to be the most disappointing. I own a Model Y, do not drive to super low battery levels, and have not been disappointed with supercharging speed.

 

[Luftpilot]

Here's what a canceled res looks like. Just can not justify that little towing range for that price.

 

[agordon117]

Here's what a canceled res looks like. Just can not justify that little towing range for that price.

 

[Madmax76]

Here's what a canceled res looks like. Just can not justify that little towing range for that price.

I’m thinking about canceling mine too. I probably won’t even tow with it but even when the truck is not hauling or towing the real world range is too low for my needs. I live in Wyoming where it’s hilly and windy with long cold winters. With Superchargers spaced out here the way they are I’ll be lucky to make it from one supercharger to another.

 

[Cybergirl]

I went back and watched the Rivian towing run. I interpreted the two drives more favorable to the Cybertruck.

Zach drove the Rivian 69 miles with a 10,300 lb trailer load. The trailer weighed 9300 lbs for the first 9 miles until he added 1000 lbs of steel plate to the trailer. After driving 78 miles he reduced the weight of the trailer back to 9300 lbs before continuing on barely making it to a Camping Word where all the charging stations were being ICEd. At 78 miles he ESTIMATED that it would go another 30 miles based on the truck's range instrumentation which was acting very strangely throughout the drive. At the end of the video he backed off and claimed the Rivian would go 100 miles towing 10,000 lbs. Again, an estimate.

In my opinion, the Cybertruck did better than the Rivian. The Cybertruck started out the trip at 32 deg F, while for the Rivian it was 37 deg F. The CT display showed that Zach was often driving near 70 mph until nearing the end, not keeping it a 65 as he said he was for the Rivian. CT went a full 90 miles with a 10,400 lb trailer using 108 kWh from its 123 kWh battery. He made a big production of range anxiety, but in reality was in no danger of running out of charge. The CT could have traveled another 12 miles for a total distance of 102 miles to empty. The Cybertruck averaged 0.83 mi/kWh. Zach never gave an efficiency value for the Rivian for comparison purposes, but knowing that the Rivian has a 135 kWh battery vs 123 kWh for CT, the Cybertruck is clearly more efficient.

He also claimed the 0 to 60 time of 12 seconds was the same for both. That's true, but the Rivian was a quad motor while the CT was a dual motor. The CT Tri-motor would have out performed the Rivian.

It's pretty clear that Zach is biased in favor of the Rivian, he even said so at the end of the video. Liking one truck over another is fine, but making apples-to-oranges comparisons to show that your favorite is better is a bit dishonest.

 

[Cybergirl]

Was hoping the Cybertruck would CRUSH the competition between Rivian and Ford. Not get beat by both of them.

Rivian didn't beat the Cybertruck. Zach's "test" was riddled with flaws.

 

[Flaskman]

Bummer. I have been waiting for years. My cabin is 168 miles away. Looks like I am waiting until the next battery breakthrough.

Sponsored