The Tesla Cybertruck’s long promised range extender has finally arrived. It’ll get owners more range, but the price for it is almost as big as the extender itself.
The range extender was originally mentioned around the time customer deliveries of the Cybertruck started in November 2023. Back then, all we knew were some light specs, the main of which was just how big the extender is. If you’re a Cybertruck owner and use it like an actual truck, you’re probably going to want to skip the extender. It takes up a full third of the truck’s six-foot bed, leaving just four feet to work with.
Even worse is the price. Tesla is charging a cool $16,000 for the range extender. That’s before tax mind you. Tesla is also asking for a $500 non-refundable deposit. According to Tesla, that’ll get you 120 additional miles on the 320-mile, tri-motor Cyberbeast and 130 miles on the standard dual motor model. And if you were thinking you could install this thing on your own, you can’t. The range extender requires installation at a Tesla Service Center.
Is the price and space sacrifice worth the range? That remains to be seen. And just off of what we know, there seem to be more downsides, like how payload capacity is affected. This thing looks big, and we don’t know how much payload capacity it’s going to take up. Remember, Tesla claims the Cybertruck’s max payload capacity is 2,500 pounds.
There’s also the waiting game. While you can reserve the range extender for the Cybertuck now, Tesla says it won’t be available until early 2025. And with this being Tesla, that could mean anything from February 2025 to late 2027.