X
- Tesla’s Cybertruck appears to struggle off-roading in a new series of videos from social media.
- A video that was reposted on X show the Cybertruck’s wheels spinning in place as it climbs a dirt hill.
- Elon Musk has promoted the vehicle as a tougher than most trucks, with a bulletproof exterior.
Tesla’s Cybertruck might not be the best vehicle for off-roading after all, at least according to some new videos.
A series of videos originally posted to Instagram that were later reshared by a Tesla fan account on X, formerly known as Twitter, appear to show a some Cybertrucks off-roading. In three of the videos, a Cybertruck appears to struggle to gain traction up a steep and uphill slope and with some turns on the sandy terrain.
With its supposedly bulletproof stainless steel exterior and even the added option for fixed bulletproof glass windows, Elon Musk has promoted the electric-pickup truck as the type of rough-and-tumble truck you’d want to own in the event of an apocalypse.
In one video, the Cybertruck appears to spin its wheels and the tires screech as it struggles to get up a dirt hill. The EV eventually climbs the hill, but only after about 10-15 seconds of spinning its wheels near the crest of the hill.
“Is it even on?” a woman in the video can be heard asking while watching the Cybertruck. The Instagram post’s caption said that three Cybertrucks were being tested at Hollister Hills, a vehicular recreation area in California, and that the onlookers “had to show them how it’s done” with an off-roading Jeep. A different video from the same user shows a 1946 Jeep CJ-2A successfully navigate the same hill without stopping or struggling.
“Piece of cake!” the same woman heard in the earlier video says as the Jeep summits the hill. “That poor Tesla’s broke down there.”
The reshared clips have already generated over 342,000 views on X.
The cybertruck is tearing it up on these hills. It is an off-road MACHINE pic.twitter.com/3iA1PlNWJW
— Dr. Sparkle (@Chrontendo)
November 1, 2023
#Cybertruck off-road testing 😋
Rattling noise apparently from other car pic.twitter.com/cc7gqRTpoN
— Berlinergy (@Berlinergy)
October 26, 2023
Another video from the same location and user shows another instance of a Cybertruck appearing to struggle to climb the hill. The driver appears to repeatedly adjust the vehicle in an attempt to climb the hill, but the video ends before the viewer can see whether the Cybertruck successfully summits it.
The Cybertruck was likely undergoing off-road testing in the lead up to the truck’s release. Tesla has set a Cybertruck delivery event for November 30.
It’s not the first time where people have spotted a Cybertruck struggling to deal with difficult terrain. In May, a X user posted a video that appeared to show a Cybertruck allegedly stuck in a field of mud in Texas.
A spokesperson for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication, but Musk has said the vehicle is designed to be “tough.” An auto expert previously told Insider that it’s unfair to judge a vehicle off a prototype, especially one that has gone through rigorous testing.
During an interview with Joe Rogan earlier this week, the billionaire confirmed the vehicle can raise its ride height to avoid obstacles.
“Normally in other vehicles — gasoline or diesel vehicles — you’ve got the differential which hangs down low between the rear wheels,” Musk said. “So you look under a truck, there’s almost always a differential there that’s hanging down pretty low. So if you hit the diff on a rock, you’ll break it. But no, the bottom of the Cybertruck is completely flat and has the best clear height of any vehicle.”
