Range Extender - Any Updates? (MAR 2025)

[OUTLAW]

I still have no idea why Tesla didnt offer extended range truck from the beginning after taking five years to develop the truck, as they always had the batteries. Especially with the length of this truck the battery just would’ve been a few inches thicker.

I would bet they redesign it again before release.

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[Deleted member 22486]

I’m starting to think it will never see the light of day.

 

[Cybertruck2024]

It seems like Tesla may be backing the wrong horse in this race. Even if the dry cathode can give 20% more energy density, or 60ish extra miles on my Beast, that wouldn't get the CT up to the same range as competing (i.e. - GM) vehicles. If other companies are doing 400, saying "we've improved to 360" still doesn't mean a whole lot.

Tesla ultimately is the charging network in the U.S. I'd love to see them update at least one location in each city to V4 and work on improving charging speed. This would be sufficient in the short term, they could direct slower charging vehicles to older superchargers in the near term. Lighter vehicles with less expensive batteries would be the right approach if charging was industry best, upgrade the network and upgrade the charge curve on new vehicles. The biggest miss with MY Juniper is the outdated charging specs, which look pretty weak versus the competition.

 

[VAF84]

It seems like Tesla may be backing the wrong horse in this race. Even if the dry cathode can give 20% more energy density, or 60ish extra miles on my Beast, that wouldn't get the CT up to the same range as competing (i.e. - GM) vehicles. If other companies are doing 400, saying "we've improved to 360" still doesn't mean a whole lot.

Tesla ultimately is the charging network in the U.S. I'd love to see them update at least one location in each city to V4 and work on improving charging speed. This would be sufficient in the short term, they could direct slower charging vehicles to older superchargers in the near term. Lighter vehicles with less expensive batteries would be the right approach if charging was industry best, upgrade the network and upgrade the charge curve on new vehicles. The biggest miss with MY Juniper is the outdated charging specs, which look pretty weak versus the competition.

That’s actually a valid point. Although I still find myself in places where I need range due to lack of infrastructure, if I can get a charge from 10%-90% in 10 minutes or less, that would be a game changer.

 

[Gigahorse]

I’m starting to think it will never see the light of day.

I don't think these will ever be sold unfortunately.
They are not for everyone but with a 500+ mile trim never being produced this will exclude the CT as an option for people who tow a significant distance.

 

[cyberville]

I'm torn on the RE....initially (at time of order), I believed it was a must as I was hell bent on still achieving the charging stop #'s envisioned for our long trips at reservation time. While the extra stops are sometimes annoying, I'm starting to question whether a permanent RE is worth the weight/space premium in order to address these 3x year situations for me. For now, prolly not....but later, YES.

So my sense of urgency for it is down now and selfishly hoping the CT battery engineering team takes a little extra time to blow away our distance/packaging expectations ? Whoa!!!

 

[Sjohnson20]

Seems like a lot of money and takes up a lot of bed space for an extra 100 miles which isn't even 100 miles in reality.

I can get 100 miles back at a supercharger in 10 mins. I think the answer is more chargers and not more batteries.

Maybe if you plan to tow a lot then that makes sense. How many people do that though? I just don't see a big market for this.

 

[Deleted member 22486]

I don't think these will ever be sold unfortunately.
They are not for everyone but with a 500+ mile trim never being produced this will exclude the CT as an option for people who tow a significant distance.

I believe you are correct.

 

[YDR37]

I don't think these will ever be sold unfortunately.
They are not for everyone but with a 500+ mile trim never being produced this will exclude the CT as an option for people who tow a significant distance.

You could be right. But realistically, are any BEV trucks a good option for people who tow a significant distance?

If not, then the unavailability of the Range Extender doesn't put the CT at a competitive disadvantage in the BEV pickup market (although it does remain at a disadvantage relative to ICE pickups, which is the market that Tesla was hoping to target).

 

[dalton108]

Seems like a lot of money and takes up a lot of bed space for an extra 100 miles which isn't even 100 miles in reality.

I can get 100 miles back at a supercharger in 10 mins. I think the answer is more chargers and not more batteries.

Maybe if you plan to tow a lot then that makes sense. How many people do that though? I just don't see a big market for this.

I want to tow my trailer every weekend if I could. I like nature and I like a change of scenery. unfortunately, I’ve had to admit that the cyber truck is not going to get it done. I agree with you about the battery I don’t wanna lose that much of my bed and I don’t wanna drag it around. That’s pretty much why I have ordered my scout harvester and I’m hoping to actually get the 500 miles promised. Or, close to it. If I can plug it in, recharge the battery with gas and also recharge the main battery with solar it seems to me to be the universal solution.

Rivian technology, VW backing and international harvester Heritage (where my great grandfather worked) I’m all in on that.

My CyberBeast will never go anywhere though, I’ll use it when I wanna go fast/hard, but don’t need to go far.

 

[Gigahorse]

You could be right. But realistically, are any BEV trucks a good option for people who tow a significant distance?

If not, then the unavailability of the Range Extender doesn't put the CT at a competitive disadvantage in the BEV pickup market (although it does remain at a disadvantage relative to ICE pickups, which is the market that Tesla was hoping to target).

The Chevrolet Silverado EV has 450+ miles of range so I would consider it a competitive towing option even vs ICE trucks, maybe not as good but pretty close.
The Lightning, Cybertruck/Rivians just don't have the battery capacity to be able to tow anything large and heavy for much more than 100 miles which in a lot of parts of the country is further apart than V3-4 superchargers.

The range extender, despite taking up half of the vault would at least give the CT a bit more range towing, even if still less than the Silverado it would make it so people could realistically get form SC to SC in most parts of the country with some planning and low speeds.

 

[Gigahorse]

I believe you are correct.

Wish it was not the case, or truthfully really wish they had delivered a 500+ mile CT, that would eliminate the towing problem and there is ample room in the overall design to accommodate that in the pack design.

 

[Docedward]

Asked GPT about Tesla’s history of over promise and under deliver as I really think the RE is a must for towing as others have said. I just couldn’t imagine Tesla would- to this day- continue with the PR about in their sales material.

But, there have been other things we are still waiting longer than expected on:

Most relevant Tesla overpromises:
• Full Self-Driving (darn close now- but pretty delayed- and this really has been a stretch)
• Roadster (not my cup of tea- but it’s been promised)
• Solar Roof- still waiting on this

In the end, towing and competitive edge in the truck EV space would suggest a needed strategy for dealing with the ~150 mile towing or the ~250 real world highway travel range. ( your range WILL vary)

Yes, the Tesla Supercharger network is an EV solution for ALL EV’s ranges, but the CT does have some special needs in the range area for towing and long haul truck stuff like In semi- remote areas (where a lot of trucks do truck stuff).

250 miles is plenty range on a road trip with the average human bladder - but when towing- even with BPH (IYKYK), it’s still a bit much for 20-30 minute charge stop every 150 miles and especially if you have to unhook and hook up each time.

Growing pains that someone (probably at Tesla) is going to easily solve soon enough!

Wish it was not the case, or truthfully really wish they had delivered a 500+ mile CT, that would eliminate the towing problem and there is ample room in the overall design to accommodate that in the pack design.

 

[dalton108]

I actually had a opportunity to visit the Gigafactory in Nevada and got to see the solar tiles up close. They were a real product and I was trying to get them installed on my house but apparently they just cannot get them right. There is apparently one house in my area that has them and they are doing no more it’s discontinued indefinitely maybe never will be seen again.

Got to hold them and look at them up close, If they could’ve gotten it done, it would have been incredible!!! They were absolutely stunning as a product!

They had a cool kind of iridescent character to them almost like mother of pearl, but not so vibrant - hard to describe. Would’ve looked awesome on my house!

 

[cyberville]

Wish it was not the case, or truthfully really wish they had delivered a 500+ mile CT, that would eliminate the towing problem and there is ample room in the overall design to accommodate that in the pack design.

It's kinda fun to wait for this one because longer time prolly means better. I have faith that the CT team will make it happen. Just need a little more time for the chemistry and engineering creativity to come together....the truck and us are ready. In my mind, I don't see the RE as a revenue/profit item but more so a product/promise mission ?

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