Tesla's New Cybertruck Is Revolutionary

The so-called Cybertruck is an angular, stainless steel, all-electric pickup truck that quickly became polarizing.

With a collective gasp and puzzled looks, the world was recently introduced to Tesla’s newest vehicle. The so-called Cybertruck is an angular, stainless steel, all-electric pickup truck that quickly became polarizing.

The launch didn’t go very smoothly. The truck’s windows shattered when its lead designer smashed them with a metal ball, causing Tesla founder Elon Musk to curse under his breath.

Some love its futuristic look. Others hate it.

Even Lego made fun of it.

Regardless, pre-orders for the Cybertruck approached 250,000 within a week. Such an explosion of interest with no advertising, and an arguably disastrous grand opening event, is probably unprecedented.

On a global scale, it’s clear that electric vehicles — known colloquially as EVs —have reached a new level of public acceptance. As of 2018, more than five million EVs were sold around the world. Canadians have been somewhat slower at adopting this technology, with all-electric vehicles representing 1.2 per cent of sales in 2018, or approximately 46,000 units. That said, Canadian sales of EVs grew 165 per cent year-over-year in 2018.

With the Cybertruck, Tesla has integrated several of its technologies into one offering. The truck features the same stainless steel alloy being used at Musk’s other company, SpaceX. And it has lithium ion batteries, software and hardware for self-driving and a solar roof option to help boost the Cybertruck’s range.

The efficiency of most gasoline engines is between 17 and 21 per cent. For EVs, the conversion of electrical energy into power to drive the wheels is 59 to 62 per cent. This gives EVs a clear performance advantage. The cost of operating EVs — including fuel and maintenance — ranges between 65 per cent to 77 per cent less across Canada than it costs to drive and maintain gasoline-fuelled vehicles.

Due to its weight and size, Tesla’s Cybertruck is likely to be somewhat less efficient than the electric passenger cars currently available. However, when compared to other non-electric trucks, the inherent efficiency advantage of electric motors and the aerodynamics of the Cybertruck are substantially better.