The Tesla Cybertruck is inching closer to production and as this happens, more and more details are starting to emerge.
We previously reported that the much-anticipated all-electric pickup truck will feature the company’s new Hardware 4 Autopilot/Full Self-Driving computer, which unfortunately won’t be retrofitted to older Tesla models, and now we get to see the Cybertruck’s air suspension system in action in a rather blurry video posted on the Cybertruck Owners Forum by the user Trucky.
In the short clip, a prototype of the pickup is slowly moving with what appears to be the suspension set in its highest position, making the wheels look tiny, but revealing the air struts that make it all happen. With this being said, however, it does seem that the wheels on this particular prototype are smaller than the ones fitted to the version posted on the company’s website.
Back in 2020, Elon Musk said that Tesla was working on increasing the air suspension’s travel for better off-roading, as well as tightly integrating it with the Full Self-Driving computer (FSD2) so that it acts automatically and adjusts the height and damping on the fly.
In other words, besides offering a selection of ride height levels that can be activated manually by the driver, the Cybertruck will probably benefit from an adaptive suspension system that works without any input from the driver, smoothing out bumps in the road.
The Model S and Model X already feature air suspension, but in the Cybertruck it will be much more versatile, as it needs to cater to both on-road and off-road conditions. Or, as Elon Musk put it in a tweet from 2020, it “needs to kick butt in Baja.”
Production of the Tesla Cybertruck is expected to begin in limited numbers this summer, with a ramp-up scheduled for 2024, when the American EV maker will have to make up for the several delays and cater to the reported 1.6-million pre-orders received beginning in November 2019 when the all-electric truck was unveiled.
But things seem to be finally in order, with several prototypes spotted testing out in the open, heavy production equipment being installed at the brand’s factory in Texas, and new job openings posted on the carmaker’s official website.
As always, we’d like to know what your thoughts are on this new Cybertruck sighting, so head over to the comments section below and give us your input.
