The long-awaited Tesla Cybertruck has a fresh prototype, giving us a glimpse of what the electric pickup might look like when it ultimately goes into production. A Tesla fan account shared video of the pre-production Cybertruck on Twitter, purportedly taken inside the electric vehicle manufacturer's factory in Austin, Texas.
The Tesla Cybertruck's rear end has been somewhat modified, integrating a thin strip of LEDs and now with a bigger panel gap to the main section of the tailgate. The front and side features of the electric pickup are mostly unchanged from earlier designs. The outboard brake lights have two LEDs stacked vertically, whereas the center brake light on the Tesla Cybertruck has three horizontal LEDs. The number plate holder insert has two reverse lights positioned inside of it that illuminate both the number plate and the road behind the electric pickup.
Since the electric vehicle manufacturer's previous public display of the Tesla Cybertruck in April 2022, fog lights, door mirrors, and a windscreen wiper have been included. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, stated in June that the Cybertruck would go into production in the middle of 2023, or about four years after it was debuted as a concept automobile in late 2019. Last month, Musk confidently asserted that the Tesla Cybertruck could "cross rivers, lakes, and even seas that aren't too turbulent" and be "waterproof enough to serve momentarily as a boat."
Image source: Twitter
According to Tesla's Technoking, Musk, who cited growing inflation and production costs, the price of the Tesla Cybertruck will be "different" from its 2019 forecasts of $US39,900 for its entry-level single-motor electric pick-up.
Renault Rags Tesla
Elon Musk predicted that the Semi would arrive at PepsiCo, its first client, on December 1. Some people used the news to make light of the delay, while Tesla investors rejoiced because it only took the company five years to deploy its Class 8 electric truck. Even Renault Trucks produced an advertisement to remind Tesla that 300 electric trucks have already been deployed on the road.
Battery packs for the electric Renault Truck, the E-Tech D, range in size from 200 kWh to 565 kWh. Its range with the biggest one is up to 560 kilometers (348 miles). Even though it has a significantly lower capacity than the Semi, it would qualify as a Class 8 truck in the United States with a GVWR of 16 metric tons (35,274 pounds) (82,000 lb., or 37,195 kg).
According to Renault Trucks, a truck with a 265-kWh battery pack could be fully charged in about 10 hours using a 22 kW charger. This is the suggested method of charging it, despite the fact that most truck owners will find it inconvenient to leave their vehicles idle for a significant portion of the day.
Renault has a rapid charging option for people who need to use the E-Tech D most of the time, however it is fairly conservative: 150 kW DC, or just more than one-tenth of what Tesla may require to charge the Semi's battery pack to 70% in half an hour. The battery pack can regain its charge in two hours, claims Renault Trucks. The truck manufacturer withheld the identity of the battery pack that recharged during that time, but we suspect that it was the one with 256 kWh that the business was using as a benchmark with the 22-kW AC charger.
If Nikola enjoyed creating advertisements, he might tease Tesla just as much as Renault Trucks did in the latest advert. Even though its former CEO was found guilty of fraud, the electric truck start-up was the first to offer clients this kind of product before Tesla. Perhaps not 300 units, as with Renault Trucks, but in this kind of game, one electric vehicle immediately puts any disagreements to rest.
