Elon Musk unveiled “the most unique thing on the road” at the Cybertruck Delivery Event, claiming victory with “a product that the experts said would never be made”, and declaring that “the future will finally look like the future” on American roads.
Cybertruck vs. Porsche 911
The event had some jaw-dropping “wow” moments, but none of them bigger than the Cybertruck’s feat of combined speed and strength. In a head-to-head matchup between the Cybertruck and a 2023 Porsche 911, the Cybertruck outraced the Porsche across a 1/4 mile.
“But that’s not all,” Musk exclaimed… at which point the Cybertruck sped past the finish line with a literal Porsche 911 in tow. The Cybertruck is faster than a Porsche 911 while towing a Porsche 911!
How fast is the Cybertruck?
- 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds
- 1/4 mile in under 11 seconds
That’s a mind-blowing trick, but it makes you wonder: is it tough enough as a truck? Spoiler: it is.
Cybertruck vs. Ford F350 Diesel
Elon started his presentation by gloating about the Cybertruck’s toughness, rattling off a list of specs before putting the Cybertruck head-to-head with the Ford F350 Diesel and other top trucks in a towing challenge.
That’s mighty impressive! It’s officially got 11,000 lbs. towing capacity and
2,500 lbs. payload capacity.
Cybertruck specs mentioned in the presentation include:
- Tesla-Designed Stainless Steel Super Alloy
- Steel exoskeleton
- Tesla Armor Glass (Rock Proof)
- Super tough truckbed floor (doesn’t need a liner)
- Large 6ft x 4ft bed (fits 4×8 pieces of plywood with the back down)
- .335 Drag Coefficient
- 35″ All Terrain Tires
- 17″ ground clearance
- Four-corner adaptive air suspension
- Rear torque vectoring
- Steer-by-wire (how modern jets are designed, dynamically adjusts how much the wheels turn based on speed)
- Four-wheel steering
- Incredible low-speed maneuverability (turning radius less than Model S)
- Ethernet Comms (70% less wire in the car)
It also seems that due to the Cybertruck’s incredibly low center of gravity, rolling it over is nearly impossible.
Cybertruck vs. Bullets
The biggest disappointment of the event occured when Elon revisited this snafu from the original Cybertruck announcement:
The second time around, Elon did not test his luck. Instead of throwing a steel ball or brick at the Cybertruck, they threw what appeared to be a rubbery baseball.
Surprise, surprise: it survived.
He consistently called the Cybertruck windows rockproof and limited his bulletproof claims to the steel body. That demo was impressive, but still skirted the question: what if the bullets hit the window?
It seems that the fragility of windows that roll up and down makes it quite difficult to make them bulletproof. Not necessarily a huge disappointment from a consumer perspective (who is expecting bulletproof windows?), but it would have been nice to have some transparency about the direction they chose and why.
The Bottom Line
It all boils down to one Elon comment: “if you’re ever in an argument with another car, you will win.” It seems that’s what the Cybertruck is all about.
- It’s faster than a sports car
- It’s tougher than a truck
- It looks futuristic and unlike anything else
The Cybertruck is a standout vehicle by all measures, but how will it perform once real people get behind the wheel and take it on the road?
You can watch the full Cybertruck Delivery Event here:
