Long Range RWD Cybertruck launched! 362 miles range w/ soft tonneau ($62,490 w/ tax credit)

[HaulingAss]

Perhaps Tesla will rethink the electric pickup and design something more affordable and real world tested. CT was a mistake from its conception: Elon was fixed on his vision and he clearly is not qualified to do design or the child that suggested that a truck should look like the future. As it turns out, the future does not look like the cybertruck. The first clue was the omission of wipers in the prototype and the wipers are still problematic. Ballistic SS panels that were promised to be structural ended up being facade and glued leading to a recall that didn't fix the design. The casting, while a great idea, are aluminum and likely not appropriate for long term truck abuse due to aluminum being prone to metal fatigue.
Too many compromises and too expensive. Tesla will do better next time.

Too many verifiably false narratives crammed into one post:

1) My mono-wiper works great. The fact that the initial prototypes didn't have a wiper is meaningless. There is likely a little room for improvement, and improve it will. It already has with an OTA update.

2) The Cybertruck outsold every other electric pickup last year buy a good margin, including pickups that were in their second or third year of production. Whatever happened to the "first-mover" advantage?

3) The stainless steel certainly is structural, there's no way the load area could handle 2500 lbs. of payload on undulating terrain without those large rear stainless panels firmly affixed to the underlying structure. This has been confirmed by numerous people in a position to know.

4) The aluminum castings are highly unlikely to start failing due to fatigue. Tesla's structural engineers are well-versed in material properties. The fact that other trucks are not aluminum is because no other manufacturer had the balls to invest the kind of money required to make it a reality. Even Ford thought they were going out on a limb to change from steel body panels to aluminum. And that's only a body on frame truck. Tesla has the engineering and materials science chops to make it a reality. Worrying about metal fatigue is sometthing you should leave to the materials science and structural engineers, it's not a secret how you avoid it from becoming a problem, it just takes accurate engineering analysis (which Tesla is world class in).

Do you have any narratives grounded in reality to share? Why don't you just stick to bashing it's looks? Because you don't have to like it, even though plenty of others do.

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[Aces-Truck]

I think the plan on the RWD CT is to cut as much as possible to make it less expensive to manufacture. That's step one. Step two is to offer it at a lower price; but not as low as your cuts warrant. Step 3 comes after the initial RWD sales start to dwindle. That's when you lower the RWD to match what you cut.

 

[WHIZZARD OF OZ]

I don't consider the stiff tonneau cover a party trick.

Not only is it very hard to break into, it's great for standing on to get another 5 feet of extension for your pole pruner or to clean out a gutter, etc.

That's makes for a BLOODY Expensive 'Ladder' in my Christmas Stocking ?

 

[truckninja]

It really highlights how much value the Dual Motor Cybertruck offers for such a low price.

Most truck buyers plan on buying a bunch of expensive accessories to outfit their new truck (often including bigger wheels and tires). A Dual Motor comes witth the best motorized tonneau cover in the industry (that completely disappears in the bowels of the truck when it's open) and the bed of the Cybertruck doesn't cry out for a bedliner either.

At only $79,990 before the $7500 tax credit the Dual Motor is a screaming deal. Show me another truck, even one without a damage resistant body and glass, that compares favorably on specs, comfort and features, safety, convenience, running costs or driving experience. You're not going to find one.

That's why I have no regret owning a dual-motor cybertruck. The tonneau does have serious leak issue when: 1. there is a payload pushing upward to the tonneau in a manner that tonneau still closes but there is a little bit of upward tension. 2. Heavy rain. My theory is the upward tension creates a gap on the side and water comes down from there.

 

[RadoRage]

I actually think that Tesla would sell more EV trucks if they competed in the smaller pickup market against Tacoma, Ranger, or Maverick (rather than in the full-sized truck market against F-150, Silverado, or Ram). Basically just offer a modified Model 3/Y with a bed, something like the famous custom "Truckla":



You may laugh, but the sales of compact and mid-sized pickups are far higher than those of the Cybertruck. And the owners of small pickups tend to be younger, more urban/suburban, and more open to EVs than the owners of full-sized pickups.

Yes, and Jeff Bezos is trying to do just that by beating Elon to the small truck segment.

https://www.carscoops.com/2025/04/is-this-jeff-bezos-25k-electric-pickup-or-something-else/

 

[Gigahorse]

Why don't you just buy FSD (or equivalent) from one of Tesla's competitors? Nobody is forcing you to buy Tesla's FSD.

I mean on the highway BlueCruise is pretty equivalent Around town FSD (Supervised) is way better but not to the point where you don't have to be on the edge of your seat waiting to take over.
Hopefully both improve dramatically this year and we can get to UNSUPERVISED before 2026

 

[Outdoors]

I think Tesla wants to sell more trucks.

Nope. I know that Tesla wants to sell more trucks. That is why they added this to the lineup.

 

[Tfran1521]

Pretty sure that image is of a Cyberbeast. I can’t zoom in on your image from the email but you can and I’m certain that it’s the exact same image from the order page. That’s an unfortunate bait and switch by Tesla. Traditional marketing ploy and a dick move that I’m sorry they’re stooping to.

Show the top trim while you say “starting at.” The DLR bar is the “signature light” and the RWD will not have it and it’s sure shit doesn’t have the factory light bar. Don’t be fooled.

I'm thinking the "signature lamp" is down around the actual headlamp and the drl light bar will stay

Just light it says the RWD will have

*Standard tail lamp vs the premium tail lamps for the other models

When the headlights come in there is an extra little light bar looking lamp next to it I believe where the turn signal is located.

That's just my thoughts

 

[dalton108]

I'm thinking the "signature lamp" is down around the actual headlamp and the drl light bar will stay

Just light it says the RWD will have

*Standard tail lamp vs the premium tail lamps for the other models

When the headlights come in there is an extra little light bar looking lamp next to it I believe where the turn signal is located.

That's just my thoughts

“Signature light bar” is what tesla calls the DLR and they expressly state the the RWD won’t have it. Not really speculating on that part. That doesn’t mean I know for certain, but my expectation is it’s still going to have the same white opaque lens there just won’t be lights behind it.

 

[Mini2nut]

@Mini2nut finally ordered? Nice!

I came to my senses this morning and cancelled my RWD order. $20k of de-contenting for a $10k discount made me hit the cancel order button. I would have regretted my decision if I followed through. IMO the RWD trim is a good value at $60k but overpriced at $70k.

I fully understand Tesla’s marketing attempt is to push shoppers considering the RWD trim towards the AWD model for ”only” $10k more.

If Tesla decides to significantly cut RWD prices in 2026/2027 I will give the CT a second look.

 

[YDR37]

Yes, and Jeff Bezos is trying to do just that by beating Elon to the small truck segment.

I had never heard of Slate Motors before; they are secretive and have been flying under the radar. I guess if a startup company has financial backing from Jeff Bezos (of Amazon), they don't need to promote themselves to other potential investors.

I like that they are gambling on a traditional 2-door cab, when the rest of the truck world (both ICE and BEV) overwhelmingly favors 4-door crew cabs.

I'll reserve final judgement until we know more about it; release is apparently scheduled for late 2026. But if the final product has decent capabilities, and comes in near the target price of $25,000, it has the potential to be the top-selling BEV truck. That doesn't necessarily mean that it will take sales away from the Cybertruck though; the truck market is large and Slate is obviously targeting a different market segment.

 

[Friday]

Atlis, Lordstown, Nikola, Bollinger..................a few gravestones to trip over to get into the BEV truck market. Lordstown and Nikola had GM attachments (Hi Mary Barra!).

Slate, maybe. They always toss out the magical $25K number.

 

[YDR37]

if the final product has decent capabilities, and comes in near the target price of $25,000, it has the potential to be the top-selling BEV truck.

They always toss out the magical $25K number.

If $25,000 sounds unrealistically low, that could be the base price for a totally-stripped "Blank Slate" vehicle, which could maybe lack basic features that modern truck buyers ordinarily take for granted (like a radio or A/C) . It sounds like their game plan is to offer an unusually wide variety of customizable options at additional cost. In that case, the $25,000 base price could be misleading, although the potential for customization does seem intriguing.

the young company is attempting to build a business around the truck that involves selling it at a low price of around $25,000. Slate plans to upsell customers on customization and accessories of a wide variety. The company has filed for a trademark on the phrase “WE BUILT IT. YOU MAKE IT” and has mentioned something that sounds like a customization program called “Slate University” in job listings.

Another Slate trademark that has not yet been reported is for the phrase “Blank Slate.” That is one way that the company may refer to the base model of the truck before a customer chooses any customization options, according to the person familiar with the matter.

 

[Mini2nut]

Even at $29,995 a single cab BEV would be a great marketing strategy and a good value if equipped right.

They are targeting the single cab pickup buyer judging by the photo. This segment appeals to baby boomers, retirees and students . The single cab pickup has been abandoned by pickup manufacturers.

 

[Beetlebug62]

I wonder if they had offered a MR-RWD CT with everything the current model dual motor has, but the smaller 250mi battery, for $70k, would people feel the same?

Or what if the MSRP was $64k and not $69,990, would that have made a difference? I picked $64k, since the percentage difference is the same between $40k to $50k, as $64k to $80k. Would that have changed the perception? Because now, I feel like most people feel the price is too high for the LR-RWD, and that the dual-motor is the better value.

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