Funky features on Tesla's Cybertruck
With a bulletproof body and 500-mile battery-powered range, Tesla's electric pickup isn't like every other truck.
It looks like the Tesla Cybertruck will drive softly and carry a big stick … to clean its enormous windshield with.
The original Cybertruck concept did not have a wiper or side mirrors. (Tesla)
A new electric Cybertruck prototype was spotted by a drone photographer being tested at Tesla's Fremont, Calif., facility equipped with several new features not seen on the original concept that debuted in 2019. Chief among them is a giant, single-arm windshield wiper parked vertically along the roof pillar, which appears to house two blades along its length.
Elon Musk commented on the photos on Twitter, writing, "The wiper is what troubles me most. No easy solution. Deployable wiper that stows in front trunk would be ideal, but complex."
Tesla recently filed patents for both a laser system that could zap debris off of a windshield or camera cover, and wipers that move on electromagnetic rails instead of the traditional recirculating motors, but neither is evident on the vehicle.
Tesla has filed a patent for a new type of windshield wiper design. (Tesla)
The truck also now has conventional rearview mirrors that Musk said are required by law, but removable, suggesting it will also have a side-view camera system that can be used instead.
The Tesla Roadster concept revealed alongside the Cybertruck had a large single wiper blade attached to two arms with a centrally-located motor. (Tesla)
Telling of its final size, there are three amber marker lights between its headlights. The lights are required for trucks wider than 80 inches, such as heavy duty pickups and also the high performance Ford F-150 Raptor and Ram 1500 TRX. The upcoming GMC Hummer EV pickup, which is launching with a heavy duty model, is also large enough to require the lights.
What appears to be a trunk opening in the cargo bed, similar to the ones featured on the Honda Ridgeline and Hyundai Santa Cruz, can also be seen in the overhead photographs and the charging port is now integrated into the left rear fender flare.
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Musk said that "there will be a few tweaks before production," and, after much online debate ensued over the wiper, added "that is not the production wiper."
He also confirmed that the first version of the Cybertruck that will be available when production begins late next year will have four-motor drive and four-wheel steering that will allow it to drive sideways in the same fashion as the Hummer EV.