Despite being announced over a year ago, the Tesla Cybertruck is still attracting a lot of attention within the industry. The schedule of its mass production, which may or may not take place this year, has already gotten a lot of people talking. Recently, there has also been a growing discussion on the truck’s potential design changes. According to a statement released by Tesla today, the final version of the company's electric pickup truck is expected to look almost identical to the original prototype. However, there is expected to be two minor differences: according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the electric pickup truck will no longer come with door handles, and a rear wheel steering feature is expected to be added.
Musk had made it clear when he had first introduced the Cybertruck back in 2019 that he was on a mission to “reinvent” trucks. Will this peculiar looking electric truck ship as scheduled now that the official time of mass production is approaching fast, or will it disappear off the face of the Earth like numerous concept vehicles?
The most popular topic among various discussions on the Cybertruck over the past year or so has always been its external design. A lot of people believe that this avant-garde vehicle may not be allowed on the road as it does not conform to the regulations of many countries. In an effort to comply with safety standards, Musk has assured that he would consider implementing multiple significant changes to the Cybertruck in the future, including a reduction in dimension, and a change of the rear mirror design.
However, it has become clear that such changes would not be implemented after the CEO took to Twitter today to confirm that the model will enter mass production with an almost identical design to that of the prototype. According to Musk, there will only be minor adjustments that will improve the overall vehicle.
The first adjustment is the removal of the Cybertruck's door handle, which will be replaced with a system that would allow the vehicle to automatically open the door upon recognition of the owner in close proximity. Although no specific details have been provided, it is believed that the automatic opening of the car doors will be made possible by the remote control features of smart devices like smartphones.
Tesla’s pursuit of a minimalistic design is very similar to Apple, which has been removing standard configurations of tech products for the past 20 years, from features like disc drives to headphone jacks, at the risk of upsetting some of its users. Tesla has been playing a similar role in the auto industry. When the company first announced that it would remove the shifter for the new Model S, it had ended up triggering a lot of opposition from users. There is bound to be a similar amount of backlash if the Cybertruck does in fact forgo its door handles.
The second adjustment of the Cybertruck is the add-on of a rear wheel steering feature, which is likely influenced by competing products like the Rivian and Hummer EVs. Both of these EVs offer a function similar to “Crab Walk” that allows the rear wheels of their cars to turn 10-15 degrees in order to handle various complex road conditions.
According to the confirmed information released by Tesla, the Cybertruck will come without a baking finish, rear mirrors, or door handles. Tesla is currently accelerating the construction of its Giga Texas factory so that it could initiate its operations at the end of the year and fulfill its target of making its first delivery in early 2022. By that time, the market of BEV pickup trucks will unfold ferociously under the competition between Hummer, Ford, Tesla, and Rivian.
(Cover photo source: Tesla)