Cybertruck
What is that!!?
“What is that!!?” was one of the first questions I got, and that one coming from a police officer passing by at an Interstate exit ramp. I could not hear her, but my wife could read her lips. Then the next morning a young man at Starbucks ran up and asked the same question followed by “that is so cool!,” one of my favorite and most frequent responses.
If you have seen my travel stories then you may have noticed that I include Travel Notes, which sometimes reference my experiences traveling in an electric vehicle. My tours have included travel in a Tesla Model 3, a Model S loaner, and now the Cybertruck! The Cybertruck is by far the best, with a smooth and quiet ride, better than the Model 3 and Model S.
Anyway, this Cybertruck is amazing, but wow, does it draw attention, and questions. So for the curious, I’ll share …
“Can I get a picture?” Of course! I have been patient and let the curious see inside and out, and take all the pictures and video they want. Why not, it’s cool! Another comment from a police officer, “Can I get a picture for my son? He plays this video game where he will get an extra 100 points for Cybertruck pictures.” Now that is really cool! No wonder so many kids and teens have recognized what it is and shown an interest.
“What is the range?” My Cybertruck, fully charged, shows a range of about 318 miles, but you never want to run it all the way down. I say about 250 miles so I can keep 20% in reserve. I purchased the Foundation Series, All Wheel Drive model, with reservations for the Range Extender, meaning I’m still due an upgrade to add an additional battery with a range closer to 470 miles.
“What is your gas mileage?” Uh, well it’s not gas, it’s all electric, and “How long does it take to charge?” In town I charge at home in my garage, so it is always charged up every morning, no charging time for me, and no more trips to the gas station.
On long roadtrips there are Tesla Supercharger stations about every 100 to 150 miles along the Interstates. Charging stops typically need 20 to 30 minutes for charging, which means for an all day roadtrip of 600 plus miles I budget an extra 2 hours for stops. That is probably approaching an hour longer than most people need in a fossil fuel vehicle. I’m hoping the long range battery upgrade helps, so that my travel time is no different. We’ll see. Oh, another perk is that many hotels now have overnight charging available for guests, for free, so my Tesla is ready to go in the morning.
“What kind of car is that?” and “How big is the trunk?” Okay, so, this is not a car, it’s a truck, and that is a truck bed back there!, see? So, I raise the tonneau cover to show off the bed. In general, I ride with it open in town so I can use the rear view mirror. There is a rear camera too, so on the Interstates I close the bed cover so the vehicle is more aerodynamic.
Oh, and there really is a trunk under the bed though. I’ve noticed that the Tonneau bed cover is not 100% water tight, but so far the trunk seems to be completely water tight.
There is a Frunk too, meaning there is a trunk in the front. There are two motors, one each between the front wheels and rear wheels, and the battery is under the floor board. So the layout is very efficient which allows room for a Frunk.
And for the golf fans, you will be pleased to learn that your golf club bag will fit perfectly.
General comments have included “that’s interesting” and “that is so weird” and “I’ll have to think about that” and “I don’t know what to think about that,” which probably means that this truck is not for them.
“Look at the size of that windshield wiper!” yes it is big, but it works great. And from the inside you can hardly see it.
“Look how big the wheels are.” They are 36 inch diameter tires on 20 inch wheels, much larger than most production model vehicles.
“Have you hauled anything yet?” Yes, so far that has included picnic items, furniture, tree limbs, and my bicycle.
At first I did not think the bike would fit with the tailgate up, but when you rotate and reverse the front wheel it makes the bike a little shorter and then it fits fine. I’ve looked for bike racks to fit in the bed but they all take up too much room. So, I’ve devised a method using two standard tie downs that seems to work fine for my short trips to the bike trails around town.
“How do you open the doors?” There are buttons above the door panel that light up when my cell phone key is close by, which I demonstrate with a touch, and the door pops open.
“Can I see the TV?” Well, it does not have a TV, but maybe the display for the back seat could be used like a TV. I have it locked right now, but I guess I’ll be figuring that out when the grandkids arrive. The dash board is simple with all the controls on the display up front, and a few thumb controls on the steering wheel.
“How long did it take to get it?” I put in my reservation the morning after Elon Musk unveiled it in 2019, so that was four and a half years ago. Tesla contacted me in January 2024 to complete my order, and so I picked it up in April 2024.
I heard from another Cybertruck owner that they have worked the list down to about 7 months for the Foundation Series, and that the less costly versions without Full Self Driving, and the two wheel drive models are coming out soon.
“How much did it cost?” and “Does it really cost $100,000?” Yes, this Foundation Series model was expensive, and I’ll admit that spending that much on a truck feels extravagant given all the other needs in the world. I bought my first Tesla, the Model 3, in 2019 for two specific reasons. 1) it was all electric, meaning exactly what my old bumper sticker said, “No gas, no smog, no oil to fight over.”
And 2) Tesla is committed to developing self driving vehicles, which hopefully means I can stay independent well into my retirement years. This Model 3 that I traded in was up to Full Self Driving, Supervised, which was pretty amazing. My Cybertruck will be self driving too, but at this writing the software is still under development. So I decided the extra cost was a good investment for the Earth’s future, my future, and all future generations. So far I am very pleased.
“How fast will it go?” The specs say 112 miles per hour, but I’ll never see that. I’ve taken it up to between 80 and 85, and it is a smooth and stable ride. Chill mode is my driving style, I’m just not in a hurry. Plus, given the interest from the police, I have made a point to keep to the speed limit, or at least just cruise with everyone else so I don’t stand out.
I tell my family and friends that this is my spaceship, Galileo 7, named for the first shuttle craft shown in the Star Trek TV series. No one has described it as a spaceship, but I have herd it called “back to the future” and that it “looks better than the DeLorean”.
And finally, speaking of the DeLorean, I attended the last Tesla stock holders meeting online and saw a photo that included future models under car covers. One looked like a van and the other looked something like a DeLorean body style. So, more cool things are coming!
Travel Notes
If you are into travel and travel writing be sure to visit my Travel Log. I visited a lot of capitols and other historic sites in my Model 3, all east of the Mississippi. I hope to be headed west soon in this Cybertruck!
Notes and References
Story and photographs by David Smitherman.