Gary Zhou 
Key Points
- 🚗 Tesla delivered the first 12 highly anticipated Cybertrucks and a reviewer conducted a drag race against Rivian R1T and GMC Hummer EV.
- 🏎️ The Cybertruck, labeled as “Cyberbeast,” showcased impressive acceleration speeds, with 0-60 mph in 2.6 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 11 seconds.
- 🔌 The Cybertruck features steer-by-wire handling, 800-volt architecture, Powershare, and a range extender option.
- 🧲 Unlike Rivian R1T with four permanent magnet motors, Cybertruck has two induction motors, reducing rare earth metals in the battery.
- 🔄 The Cybertruck’s high voltage (800v) architecture helps save money on materials, and Tesla increased the low voltage from 12v to 48v, a first in EV history.
- 📚 Tesla sent a cheeky manual to other OEMs titled “How To Design a 48-volt Vehicle” due to the industry’s difficulty in adopting 48-volt architecture.
- 🚗 The video review covers various aspects of the Cybertruck, including its unique steer-by-wire handling, safety features, crash preparedness, and interior details.
After Tesla delivered the first 12 of its highly anticipated Cybertruck this week, one automotive reviewer took the truck to the race track against two competitors in the electric pickup segment.
The Tesla Cybertruck “Cyberbeast” version got the full review and drag race treatment from Hagerty this week after the automaker delivered the vehicle’s first units on Thursday. In the video, auto journalist Jason Cammisa takes the Cybertruck up against rival electric pickups, the Rivian R1T and the GMC Hummer electric vehicle (EV).
Along with the Cybertruck including notable features such as its steer-by-wire handling, its 800-volt architecture, Powershare, and the option for a range extender, Cammissa starts with the R1T and Hummer drag races, emphasizing the truck’s impressive acceleration speeds.
As Cammisa points out, the Cybertruck was designed to offer driving dynamics matching a Porsche 911, while featuring more utility than a traditional pickup truck. Although Cammisa says it doesn’t quite drive like a 911, he says it may be faster than one, noting later that the Beast Mode Cybertruck is the quickest-accelerating pickup in history — both in its 0-60 mph and 1/4-mile times (landing at 2.6 seconds and 11 seconds, respectively).
Cammisa also points out that only one of the motors in the Cybertruck uses permanent magnets, unlike the four included in the R1T. Instead, the Cybertruck sports two induction motors in the rear, substantially reducing the rare earth metals needed to create the vehicles’ battery. Tesla and other automakers have already announced plans to reduce the use of rare earth materials in future EVs.
Although the Porsche Taycan added 800v architecture in 2019, Cammisa brings on “Engineering Explained” host Jason Fenske to discuss how high voltage helps Tesla save money on Cybertruck materials. In addition, Cammisa notes that Tesla also quadrupled the Cybertruck’s low voltage from 12v to 48v, resulting in reduced material needs and effectively marking the first time in history an automaker has increased an EV’s low voltage capacity.
Since the industry has had a difficult time switching to 48-volt architecture, Tesla also sent a cheeky manual to other OEMs with the title “How To Design a 48-volt Vehicle.”
Cammisa goes on to discuss several other features of the Cybertruck, including its steer-by-wire handling and turn radius, the vehicle’s safety and crash preparedness, and a handful of interior details, among others.
In the steer-by-wire portion of the video, Cammisa talks about the Cybertruck being the first production vehicle to have no physical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels. On Saturday, the video section was also reposted on X by CEO Elon Musk.
You can watch Hagerty’s full coverage of the Cybertruck below, complete with drag races against the Rivian R1T and the GMC Hummer EV, and a comprehensive review of the truck’s driving, interior and exterior.
