So Beast Mode is Basically Pointless for $20k more

[Ruffles]

When you buy the best, you only cry once

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[HaulingAss]

FSD
Light bar
Faster
Alcantara
Premium connectivity for life
Bragging rights

But, while I can't speak for everyone, it's the early access to the bottle opener that won me over.

All Foundation Series come with free premium connectivity.

 

[vinsk]

You don't race do you? That extra 200hp will significantly reduce lap times. After multiple laps it adds up. Like that idiot in the exterior mods forum saying a rear wing will only increase drag and decrease mileage you guys just don't understand cars, if you can even be called guys.

Easy there buddy! “Guys” here would prefer other toys to track, truck may be the last option for many! Off Roading a truck is what “Guys” prefer mostly!

 

[Travis64]

0-60 in 2.6secs fastest pick up in world is worthless?
Other car makers would of charged more

 

[MotoBenelli]

Has anyone been able to measure the actual power delivery throughout various speeds? Obviously we’ve seen the 0-60 and different launches from stopped positions. Has anyone actually put the two on a prix style track with comparable drivers to see what the actual difference the Beast provides?
I ask the same with off road performance as well. Though there is on paper the theoretical benefits of the independently controlled rear wheels yet does that really translate to any significant performance advantage in the real world of off-roading? I can’t imagine it achieving much more than double lockers of any obstacles, t-vectoring or not.

 

[TyPope]

All Foundation Series come with free premium connectivity.

You are correct, sir. Same with FSD?

 

[Cyber07]

Dual rear motors and a front locker are an enormous upgrade offroad

Personally I prefer a rear diff locker vs a rear dual motor. I have no comparison how they behave off road but I suspect the diff is just better in those conditions. We have seen it with the Rivian how the quad motor can be screwed up because of the missing diff. Maybe, if they do something amazing with the software which can truly simulate the rear lock diff. I just think it is extremly hard to program that "dumb" thing.

 

[rudedawg78]

All Foundation Series come with free premium connectivity.

True that. They also come with FSD...eventually.

 

[carsly]

I had a Model S Plaid and lost a few nights sleep to AWD vs Beast thinking. While I generally prefer the max power available, when I thought back the overwhelming majority of the power differential in the Plaid could only be used very sparingly on public roads. Also, with a pickup truck it seemed the mechanical rear locker, less weight and longer range might work better for the type of vehicle it is. Went AWD and have been driving it a month, still quicker 0-60 than the dual motor Polestar 2 I once owned and still quicker than the 911 Turbo I had before that. YMMV, but for regular, even spirited, driving I doubt the AWD will disappoint.

PS from an absolute acceleration standpoint, both the AWD and Cyberbeast are measurably "slower" than the Model S Plaid that I sold, so my decision was about "how much slower". I've taken a demo drive in regular Model S and Model X and while the numbers may indicate otherwise on paper, butt dyno says the AWD Cybertruck digs in and launches harder 0-30 than either the regular S or X. Could be higher torque from rest being transferred through large contact patches, just speculation.

 

[HaulingAss]

Personally I prefer a rear diff locker vs a rear dual motor. I have no comparison how they behave off road but I suspect the diff is just better in those conditions. We have seen it with the Rivian how the quad motor can be screwed up because of the missing diff. Maybe, if they do something amazing with the software which can truly simulate the rear lock diff. I just think it is extremly hard to program that "dumb" thing.

I love my Dual Motor, and I've used the rear locker (and the front) to get through plenty of stuff I couldn't have with an open differential. That said, I'm not convinced it's any better than a motor on each side of the axle, assuming proper programming of the traction controls.

Using the Rivian as proof that it can't be programmed to act as well (or better) than a mechanical locker is not very convincing. Witness the recent poor performance when Mountain Pass Performance tried to hoon an R1T around the farm trails, it cut power everytime Sasha set it up to power out of the corner. It seems Rivian has a different philosophy of how much control they are willing to bestow upon the driver. Or maybe they are just protecting their hardware from abuse to prevent excessive warranty claims, I don't know.

What I do know is that Tesla has a proven ability to make really good traction and stability controls. What baffles me is why we haven't seen Youtube hill climb tests between the Dual and the Beast. Tesla knows the exact RPM of each motor at all times so it should be relatively easy to synchronize them to replicate what a mechanical locker does. They could one-up a mechanical locker by taking into account steering angle so the rear wheels turn at an appropriate speed for the sharpness of the turn (to further avoid breaking traction). A software locker could also be programmed with optional modes that could further improve upon a mechanical locker. The only thing it can't do is put the combined power of both motors through one wheel. But I fail to see how that would ever be useful.

Personally, I think much of the noise about a mechanical locker being superior to a software locker was simply EV haters trying to throw shade on some of the biggest advantages of an EV with independent wheel control. I'm still waiting for Beast vs. Dual Motor hill climbs in slippery clay, wet rocks, uneven ground, etc. to prove it. And I say this as someone who is super impressed with the off-road capabilities of my Dual Motor.

Last weekend my wife and I were climbing fireroads to an alpine trailhead. I knew we were a bit early in the season, but wanted to see how close we could get. About 1/4 mile from the top we drove by a couple in an off-road Toyota (lifted with big deep lug off-road tires) pulled to the side of the road one corner before the steep and deep snow started. They saw us go by and turned around and came right up behind us. We were the only two vehicles for many miles in any direction. I think they saw the Cybertruck and wanted to see what it would do.

I put in Park right before the snow started so I could enter Off-Road Mode. The other couple were already behind us. The old snowpack had what looked like one vehicle had powered through it, the tracks snaked up the hill in a manner that told me they didn't make an easy go of it and it might be tricky to follow. I wondered if the Toyota behind us had made the tracks (probably). It was well over 80 degrees outside, and I could see where the differential had dragged a furrow in the center of the deep ruts. It looked like I could probably back down if I couldn't get enough traction with the shallow lugs of the Cybertruck's tires so I locked both differentials and raised the ride height to Very High. I crept forward a few feet, saw the lockers had already engaged and the suspension had already raised so I entered the two deep furrows in the old snowpack and maintained a speed of about 10 mph. I just needed minor steering corrections to stay centered in the snaky tracks and the Cybertruck powered the last 1/8 mile or so to the trailhead at the top (which was snow free). The couple in the Toyota were whooping and hollering in a very enthusiastic manner, they got out of their truck and the guy said, "I saw you stop and look at the snow and I didn't know if you were going to go for it or not. That thing just powered right up it like it was nothing!"

I have to say, considering the OEM tires are not ideal for this kind of melting, icy slop, the locking differentials made it easy. I'm betting software defined lockers would be just as good, maybe better.

 

[JohnnyDadBod]

Dual rear motors and a front locker are an enormous upgrade offroad

Dual Motor has front and rear lockers.

 

[Jbrazda]

Dual rear motors and a front locker are an enormous upgrade offroad

No it's not, because it can't have a true locking diff on the rear, it is software controlled. It's not the same and has been proven that the awd is better offload than the tri motor.

 

[gentry1242]

For me, I ordered a loaded cyberbeast because I want to support Elon.
He is a nerd like me, he includes memes into his cars and rockets, and he is the only billionaire I see doing anything to really try to help this country.
So I am buying a vehicle I don't really need to support his continued innovation and philanthropy.

The faster acceleration and better off road performance is just a bonus.

 

[DarickHemphill]

Really all you get in beast mode is a sub 3 second vehicle weighing 240 lbs more with less range and no better truck capacity as far as towing and payload. Why would anyone pay $20k more to go from 3.9 to 2.6 sec. 0-60. That can't really be the only benefit. 99.9999999999% of people would never be able to tell the difference.

SO I have had my dual motor for about 2 months now. I actually disagree. I wish I had bought the beast. The 4k for install of the POWER SHARE is an amazing deal. Yeah you aren't gonna use the acceleration or the top speed very often, but I have made more TESLA believers by showing the acceleration than anything else. The smile on peoples faces as the are forced back into their seats is great. Having the light on top would have been amazing! When I ordered the truck back in 2019 I had no idea about the awesomeness of POWER SHARE. Even after mine was delivered I still had no idea how cool Power SHARE was. I do believe that the Beast will retain value better than mine. Time will tell.


Darick

 

[TeslaFANa]

I love the speed of my beast however, we plan on taking this car for family trips and I ordered the range extender. With the added 1000 lb (just guestimating), my cyberbeast may become a AWD in terms of speed.

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