The exoskeleton. The angular silhouette, all angles and sharp edges. The body made entirely from stainless steel. The futuristic design. The tech. And above all, the wait from the moment it was unveiled in November 2019 until the moment it started being delivered in November 2023. They all built anticipation. But what lies underneath what we see when we are looking at the Tesla Cybertruck?
Michican-based shop Caresoft, under the supervision of president Terry Woychowski, has dissembled the Cybertruck, trying to figure out how it actually works. Woychowski and the host of the Autoline YouTube channel, John McElroy, are now standing inside the shell of a Cybertruck.
His team took out just about everything in there: battery, seats, and doors. Everything except for the steer-by-wire system, though. The body in white does not have a floor. The front and rear seats are mounted on castings, which are coated to avoid corrosion.
The 48-volt architecture integrates wires with blue stripes. High-voltage wires are in the usual orange. Some are 28 volts; it's not all 48 as advertised. You don't need 48 volts for literally everything on board a car.
The vehicle sports the innovative steer-by-wire system, which means that there is no actual connection between the steering wheel and the wheels. It is, however, a system that can't fail.
There is an electric motor under the dashboard that pretty much replaces the entire normal steering system. The steering wheel is connected to the steering gear through the steering column, which is linked to the tie rods by an intermediate shaft. This one is, indeed, a 48-volt system.
On the other side, underneath the vehicle, there is a rack that gets a signal and runs an electric motor. There are actually two electric motors operating in there because when you are dealing with the steering, you have to make sure it won't fail you on the move. However, if one does fail, in order for the steering to operate properly, the second one cuts in. However, there is just one at the rear.
Some hate the steer-by-wire system. It takes time to get used to it. Maneuvering the vehicle at first may seem complicated.
The 800-volt battery system is now sitting on a table in the Caresoft shop. It came out with the casting for the front seat. The team will dissect that one as well.
There are some launch-series quality issues on this Cybertruck. The seal over the side sills pops up every here and there. The front doors open wide, while the rear doors open even wider at 90 degrees. Terry Woychowski says that the front door should open just as much. The top hinge at the front is to blame for it. They probably put in the wrong one.
The castings under the load bed are also coated. Terry says that taking the tonneau cover down is, indeed, a challenge. "It takes a doctor's degree to get one of these out," he jokes. It is a tonneau cover that can withstand up to 300 pounds (136 kilograms). So it is designed to hold on. Even when someone tries to pull it out.
Caresoft actually has two Cybertrucks in its shop to work on right now. But number 2 will remain in one piece. And no, they are not using it to make sure that they will be able to put the disassembled Cybertruck back together again.
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