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With the Tesla Cybertruck into the Everglades: Beyond the ordinary

With the Cybertruck, Tesla delivers a pick-up that is more polarizing than any of its competitors. How does this unusual electric car drive?

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Tesla Cybertruck

(Image: Bernhard Filser)

7 min. read
Autos
By
  • Stefan Grundhoff
Contents

Export to Europe seems out of the question in its current form, and yet the Tesla Cybertruck is attracting a lot of attention in this country too. Its design and dimensions are hugely polarizing, and a trip to the Everglades does nothing to change the ambivalent impression. The Cybertruck is fascinating, but it's hard to imagine it in European city centers.

Visually, the almost 5.7-meter-long Cybertruck is a mixture of off-road pick-up and rolling geo-triangle and certainly not for aesthetes. Even the most hardened Tesla disciples will have a hard time with the chunky square timber on mighty 285 off-road tires. Even in southern Florida, where hardly anyone would notice a pink Lamborghini Aventador or a bright-green Mercedes G-Class, pedestrians and drivers alike turn their heads to look at the electric pick-up. It's off to the Everglades and, as the charging stations, there are fewer than the stations for the alligator tours, a charging stop at the last Supercharger before the Everglades at the Kendall Village shopping center is recommended. With a little searching, the charging flap opens, well hidden in the plastic wheel arch at the rear left.

Awkward operation

The angular, large-format design inside and out is a sight to behold, but it also means that operation is sometimes awkward and not entirely intuitive. This can be seen in the hidden tailgate as well as the doors without a handle. To open them, you first have to press a sensor button on the B-pillar before the door pops open a crack and can be opened via the edge. The result is plenty of handprints on all four doors. The Cybertruck is hardly more pleasing on the inside than it is on the outside. In typical Tesla fashion, the controls take some getting used to. As there are only a few buttons on the steering wheel, almost everything has to be controlled via the 18.5 -inch display in the middle – from the windshield wiper interval to the air vents, which are electrically controlled at the front and rear. In the rear, the occupants look at a 9.4  inch screen.

Open loading area = higher fuel consumption

With a charge level of 95 percent, we head south with the load area open. The display quickly informs me that the range is reduced by 25 miles (40 km) due to "poorer aerodynamics" – how attentive. So I close the electric load compartment roller blind again and get used to the fact that I no longer have any view to the rear through the interior mirror. Dust-sensitive cargo should at best be carried in the interior, because the closed load area is not completely sealed. There is also enough space for larger items, for example under the rear seat bench. Thanks to the volume of over 3400 liters, there is sufficient space for large items on the load area and, with the blinds closed, they are protected from prying eyes and theft. Electrical appliances of all kinds, from kettles to drills, can be connected to the plugs. The towing capacity is five tons.

Amazingly comfortable

With a good 483 km range, the US-41 W initially travels 32 km straight into the heart of the Everglades. These would actually be perfect conditions for the much-discussed Tesla Autopilot. This is not yet available for the Cybertruck, not even cruise control is available. The Autopilot would have had to capitulate on the gravel road of the Loop Road in the Big Cypress National Preserve anyway. It is striking that this electric monster weighing over three tons is extremely comfortable to drive. The Tesla masters driving around and through the countless potholes in an incredibly relaxed manner. Apart from the noisy all-wheel steering (after 24,000 km mileage), the Tesla Cybertruck's background noise is low. Off-road, hardly a puddle or pothole was missed – a tough test for the XXL windshield wiper. This wiper, currently the largest in a production vehicle, is so massive that an impulse is transmitted to the bodywork with every change of direction. You can feel it even behind the wheel.

The journey continues through jungle-like forests, over countless bridges and past many tourists who suddenly find the passing Cybertruck more interesting than the spectacular nature of the Everglades. Even in the USA, this spaceship is still a rarity. At the next photo stop, we are approached by a German: "What for a car is this?" The vacationer had never seen anything like it before, not even in pictures. We make up for this with a photo session; the unusual LED light bar is hardly noticeable.

All-wheel drive and 450 kW

The acceleration is impressive for such a colossus, as it reaches 100 km/h in 4.5  seconds at full power. Thanks to the all-wheel steering, the Cybertruck is also much easier to handle than one might have expected, with a length of 5.70 meters. Maneuvering and parking are equally effortless, but considering the overall width of 2.40 meters, it is likely to be uncomfortable in everyday city driving or on construction sites in Europe.

After four hours of driving and 200 km, the Supercharger in Coral Terrace, a southern district of Miami, is reached. The battery level shows 52 percent. The range is decent, considering that the air conditioning was constantly running considering the 35 degree Celsius and high humidity. Thanks to a voltage level of 800 volts, Tesla promises that its charging champion can be recharged to the equivalent of up to 217 km in 15 minutes at a latest-generation Supercharger.

Incidentally, the Cybertruck is not a unicorn on wheels in South Florida either. There were four encounters with other Cybertrucks throughout the day. People still greet each other. While I'm having a lemonade with my co-driver during the charging break, I find myself thinking about buying a Tesla Cybertruck if my life were to move to the USA. The pick-up newcomer is currently coming under a lot of pressure here because the endless waiting times are a thing of the past and the former surcharges for faster delivery are evaporating. Even Tesla fans are reporting a decline in new prices of up to 10,000 US dollars per month. There is no longer any sign of the black market prices of over 150,000 US dollars and the basic version of the Cybertruck AWD starts at exactly 99,990 US dollars. The waiting time is currently less than eight weeks.

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This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.