As Tesla prepares to bring the highly anticipated Cybertruck to the streets of the US, concerns arise regarding the readiness of Tesla’s charging network to service the forthcoming all-electric pickup truck.
For the first time, Tesla is poised to introduce a pickup truck, expanding its vehicle lineup beyond sedans and SUVs. This new territory introduces unique challenges, especially regarding the charging infrastructure necessary to support the unique needs of pickup truck drivers, who may frequently need to tow trailers.
One of the apparent obstacles is the incompatibility of Tesla’s existing Supercharger stations with parking while towing a trailer. Apart from a few “pull-through” stalls designed to enable trailer charging without blocking other stations, there are no other dedicated solutions. Unfortunately, these stalls are only available at a small fraction of Tesla Superchargers in the US. It will take time for the stations to become standard fixtures at most locations.
Additionally, the charging speed presents an issue. As the Cybertruck is expected to be equipped with Tesla’s largest battery pack yet, charging is anticipated to take longer than ever before. Although Tesla has confirmed that the Cybertruck comes with an 800-volt battery system, its existing Supercharger network supports only 400-volt charging, making the faster charging capacity unavailable for Cybertruck owners.
Although these challenges do not make Cybertruck ownership impossible, they are significant and may persist for at least the first year. Tesla’s plan to address these issues and the impact on charging times for all Supercharging network users remains to be seen. Despite these obstacles, it is important to consider these limitations when evaluating the prospect of owning a Cybertruck.
Electrek’s Take
While these challenges are not definitive deal-breakers, they present significant concerns that Tesla will need to address in the near future. How Elon Musk addresses these issues could significantly affect the early adoption of Cybertruck vehicles.
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