The Tesla Cybertruck is already shaping up to be a very impressive electric truck, but a patent application suggests it might be even better than we first thought.
The patent reveals a bunch of key details about the Cybertruck’s UI, including details on accessories, features and an astonishing 610 mile range.
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Tesla has been playing up the fact the tri-motor Cybertruck can offer over 500 miles of range on a single charge. That’s pretty astounding, especially when you consider that the only electric car capable of matching that is the Tesla Model S Plaid Plus. That offers up to 520 miles per charge.
But images in the patent application, named “Context Sensitive User Interface For Enhanced Vehicle Operation“ display a consistent 610 mile range estimate. That suggests there will be a Cybertruck that can drive that far without recharging.
For reference, it's a 270-mile drive from LA to Las Vegas. So not only could this Cybertruck make a round trip without stopping to recharge, it would still have plenty of power to spare.
It sounds pretty unbelievable, and it’s not exactly confirmation that the Cybertruck will be able to handle those kinds of distances without recharging. After all, Elon Musk loves to show off what his cars can do, and you’d think he’d have mentioned if the Cybertruck could handle that much distance on a single charge.
Oh and the UI itself looks like a menu screen from a PS1-era video game. Which is pretty fitting, since the Cybertruck itself looks like the kind of polygonal vehicle you’d find in some ‘90s-era cyberpunk adventure.
The UI also illustrates a portable camper kitchen that lives in the Cybertruck’s rear bed, references pulling up to 20,000 pounds of cargo (twice the weight currently advertised) and suggestions that the truck will be able to see the terrain around it.
The slides also mention features like a mirror with eye tracking, automatic off-road detection, facial recognition, wireless communication with a trailer and passenger recognition. The all-electric Cyberquad ATV, which was announced at the same time as the Cybertruck, gets a shout-out as well.
The only question I have is why Tesla never mentioned all this stuff before, if it's true. Terrain recognition is a heck of a lot more useful than knowing your car door can withstand blows from a sledgehammer or shots from a 9mm handgun.
But with the first Cybertruck models currently on track to arrive before the end of this year, we shouldn’t have too long to wait before we start hearing about all the other things the truck can do.
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