You’re Going to Want a Cybertruck – CleanTechnica

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My neighbor has an early, bright red Tesla Model 3 Performance that he purchased in 2019. I purchased my Model 3 later that year on October 22. On November 21, 2019, Elon Musk held the huge Cybertruck unveiling event. During the event, that evening, my neighbor went online, put down his $100, and placed his preorder. He speculates that he was in the first 2000 out of possibly over a million Cybertruck preorders.

We know that late last year Elon held Tesla’s Cybertruck delivery event, but only 10 Cybertrucks were delivered.

Just now, only a little over 4 years after the unveiling and my neighbor’s preorder, on January 30, 2024, he got an email saying he could configure his order. He immediately chose the all-wheel drive Cybertruck. That configuration with delivery fees, etc., costs $80,000. However, at this point, only the Foundation Series is being delivered. There is an additional $20,000 fee required for a Foundation Series truck. He could have chosen the rear-wheel drive option, but that is only available in 2025. He also could have chosen the CyberBeast for another $20,000.

Fortunately, the Foundation Series is not just a premium for a bit of extra chrome on the back of the truck. The Foundation Series includes Full Self Driving (normally a $12,000 option), Lifetime Premium Connectivity (normally $10 per month), and premium accessories. Premium accessories include Powershare. Powershare allows the Cybertruck to power your house. With this option, you do not need to purchase a Powerwall.

Tesla gave him a delivery window of February to April 2024. Note: We are already in February!

My neighbor had installed solar panels on his house over 9 years ago. At the time, a battery backup system wasn’t an attractive option for him.

Later on January 30, my neighbor went to the Pleasant Grove, Utah, showroom and saw the Cybertruck for the first time in person. Note: The Pleasant Grove showroom and service center is only ~4 miles from our houses. On February 10, 2024, he went back to the showroom and got to inspect the truck in person, mess with it, and actually sit in the driver’s seat. He is a big man and he reported that the left and right back seats were big enough for him, but the middle seat was tight.

Last night I made an excursion with my wife from Lindon, Utah (30 miles south of Salt Lake City) and drove south 80 miles in our Model 3 to Mount Pleasant, Utah, to the town my great grandmother immigrated to in 1869. As we returned home, we stopped by the Tesla showroom in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Because it’s only 4 miles from our house, we still had enough charge to make it home.

The Cybertruck was sitting in the showroom in all its glory. It was also being inspected by a handful of other people. My impression: anyone who wants to make a statement is going to jump on it in a minute. It’s gorgeous!

There was a Tesla guy sitting at a desk in the corner, but we were left to our own devices to mess with the truck. My wife and I took turns sitting in the driver’s seat.

Before I knew it, she had popped the frunk (see below). There’s quite a bit of space in there but nothing to keep stuff from falling out.

I noted that there is a center display similar to the one in my Model 3 but nothing directly in front of the driver like the Model S and X.

Sitting in the back seat, I noted the center display for back seat occupants.

There is a button to operate the tonneau cover (see button on the right of the partially open tonneau cover in the picture below). We had to open and close the tailgate manually because we couldn’t find a button for that.

The Tesla Model 3 was first delivered in 2017. The the design is quite conservative and timeless and numerous software improvements have been downloaded automatically since then. However, almost seven years later, one would expect some notable changes and improvements. For the last year, we have heard about something called the Highland update to the Model 3, delivered first by the Chinese factory in Shanghai but not available until now in the US. While we were at the Tesla showroom, the Tesla employee told us that “Highland” is not an official Tesla name. He took us out to a refreshed Tesla Model 3 in the parking lot as shown in the last two pictures below. As you can see, the changes to the front are quite subtle. However, the taillights are pretty sexy. They have a pointed spike on the top of the taillight that is much different from the previous version.