Now that Cyber Monday is behind us, get ready for Cyber Thursday.
That’s the day of the week when Tesla will officially launch the production version of the Cybertruck at its factory in Austin, Tex., on November 30.
Tesla has confirmed the private event will kick off at 3 p.m. ET and will be livestreamed on X.
The first trucks are scheduled to be delivered to customers then, when Tesla is also expected to release all of the Cybertruck’s important specifications that it has largely kept close to the vest up until now
It has let a few cats out of the bag, however, and is also displaying production spec trucks at several of its showrooms across the country, including the one in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District where American Cars And Racing got an up-close look this week.
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A display sign located next to the vehicle contains the only official details, which the store staff are not able to elaborate on. They include a claimed 11,000-pound towing capacity and 2,500-pound payload capacity, but not the truck’s driving range speed or power. Neither the sign or the truck itself indicate if it is dual-motor or tri-motor version, or which of them will be offered at launch.
The sign also highlights its “ultra-tough” composite bed, “ultra-hard stainless steel exoskeleton,” and “shatter-proof glass,” the last a different description from the “Tesla Armor Glass” that the Cybertruck concept was advertised with when it was revealed in 2019.
Elon Musk claims that the stainless steel body is bulletproof against a Thompson submachine gun as well as 9mm and .45 Magnum rounds, but images of a test vehicle that had been shot up show no damage to the windows, which were probably not targeted.
The display truck looked like it was built well and had mostly straight panel gaps, with only a few minor deviations that stood out. The way the body panels line up vertically against the roofline and hood is a bit odd, however, as it creates an exposed gap that looks like it could trap a lot of dirt and liquid.
The interior is as minimalist as possible. There are a rectangular steering wheel a central touchscreen, but not much else to be seen attached to what appears to be a marble dashboard. Tesla has patented a method for shaping a type of glass for this kind of application, so that’s probably what’s being used. A low-glare fabric covers the expanse between the top of the dashboard and the base of the windshield.
The doors to the truck weren’t open, so it’s difficult to judge its outward visibility, but the low nose of the truck combined with large quarter windows ahead of the pillars that the sideview mirrors are attached to seem to open up the view quite a bit.
On the driver’s left side of the enormous windshield you’ll find the proportionately large wiper that parks along the roof pillar for better aerodynamics, as there is no place for it to hide under the flush-mounted hood.
The bottom of the truck is also flat below the battery pack, which should be filled with Tesla’s newest 4680 cells that have been engineered to act as structural components within the chassis.
The Cybertruck rides on custom-designed Goodyear tires in a 285/65/R20 size that are nearly 35-inches tall and an adaptive air suspension system.
The charging port is hidden in the driver’s side wheel arch extension and there are buttons on the top of the bed sides to operate the tailgate and retractable tonneau cover.
The headlights aren’t hidden, but their location isn’t obvious. They’re located just above the front bumper while the light bar that stretches along the edge of the hood is primarily decorative.
Of course the biggest secret everyone is waiting to learn is the price, which will hopefully come on Thursday.
At the original unveiling in 2019, Tesla listed pricing at $39,900 for a single-motor model, $49,900 for a dual-motor model and $69,900 for a tri-motor model, but removed that information from the Cybertruck website in 2021. No one expects any of those targets to be hit today, but Tesla has been aggressively cutting prices, so you never know.
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American Cars And Racing will be carrying the livestream of the Cybertruck reveal and live-blogging it, so check back on November 30th to find out.