How Tesla is Targeting Electric Pickup Range Anxiety With the Cybertruck
Upon our second visit with Elon Musk and Tesla’s new Cybertruck, we learned some interesting details about what it means for the future of the automaker’s charging network. Right now, Tesla’s network of Superchargers consists of 1,636 charging station locations and a total of 14,497 individual Superchargers around the world. The issue is, most of those stations are located in densely populated urban areas or along major highways.
As an effort to appeal to traditional truck owners, Tesla plans to install more Superchargers in rural areas, which should ease the range anxiety that might prevent them from pursuing an electric pickup. Tesla tells us that wherever they install a new Supercharger, local sales numbers increase “significantly.”
More on the wild Tesla Cybertruck electric pickup right here.
We expressed some concern that Cybertruck owners towing a trailer may have trouble positioning alongside Superchargers, which typically require the driver to back into a parking space for easy access to the charge port. (The Cybertruck has a single charge port hidden within the driver’s side rear taillight, as do the Model S, Model X, and Model 3.)
Our suggestion was to have multiple charge ports on the truck, perhaps one at each corner, though it wasn’t in the cards. Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen tells us the additional wiring required would add too much weight.
The charging solution? The plan is to build Cybertruck-friendly pull-through chargers, which will minimize the headache of charging with a trailer, just as standalone diesel pumps do for the 80-foot tractor-trailers hauling cargo across the country.
If that’s not enough to convince traditional truck buyers to consider going electric, there’s a chance the rest of the Cybertruck might. We estimate it’ll make up to 690 hp and 824 lb-ft of torque, the dual- and tri-battery configurations will allow it a longer range than any electric vehicle on the road, and it’ll tow more than your F-150. We’re skeptical, sure, but if Elon and the gang manage to pull this off, it has the potential to change the pickup market entirely.
More on the Tesla Cybertruck electric pickup:
- Tesla Cybertruck Revealed! Photos + Details on the Wild New Electric Pickup
- Is the Tesla Cybertruck *Really* Bulletproof?
- Can the Tesla Cybertruck Go Off-Roading?
- How the Tesla Cybertruck Shatters the Engineering and Manufacturing Paradigms
- Tesla Cybertruck Could Hit 1,000 Lb-Ft of Torque With Plaid Power
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