Tesla Cybertruck buying guide

Three trims exist. The tri-motor Cyberbeast and the dual-motor All-Wheel Drive arrived first, and a single-motor rear-drive Long Range followed in 2025. Early Foundation Series trucks carried extra equipment and a premium.

Consumer Reports gives the Cyberbeast a claimed 2.6 second 0-to-60-mph time and a 301-mile range. The dual-motor truck makes 600 horsepower from a 123 kWh battery, with a manufacturer-estimated 325 miles of range and a claimed 11,000-pound towing capacity. Consumer Reports adds that the Cyberbeast is 1.5 seconds quicker to 60 mph, with a shorter range and a nicer interior.

Its verdict is that the standard AWD handles all needs for most buyers, and we agree: take the AWD unless the Cyberbeast's extra speed matters to you. Browse every All-Wheel Drive for sale or every Cyberbeast. If you are weighing other Teslas, our Model S guide is there too. A $16,000 Range Extender option lifted the estimated range to at least 445 miles (415 for the Cyberbeast), so check whether a truck has one.

Charging peaks at 250 kW, which Consumer Reports says is about nine miles of range per minute.

Most of the trouble reported so far sits in trim, electrics and the drivetrain of early trucks.

Detaching exterior trim

Recalls covered exterior trim that could detach through adhesive failure. InsideEVs reports rear panels beside the tonneau coming loose or falling off while driving after double-sided tape failed, and A-pillar front trim loosening and bending at highway speed on some vehicles.

Accelerator pedal cover

A recall on early trucks dealt with a pedal cover that could come loose and jam the accelerator, as BumperScan also records. Confirm the fix was done.

Wiper motor failures

Wiper motor failures were a pain point on early trucks, and a recall covers the motor controller failing from excessive electrical current.

Drive unit failures

InsideEVs says some trucks had drive unit or Power Conversion System failures at delivery or within the first miles. Early owners also reported half shaft grinding noises.

Air suspension errors

Early owners reported air suspension errors that needed parts replaced. Test the system through its full height range.

Coolant fill

Edmunds had a long-term test truck arrive with too little coolant. It went into limp mode with many errors, and no coolant error was shown.

Panel fit and finish

Owners reported factory scratches and very poor panel gaps on early trucks. Surface contamination on the stainless can look like rust, but it is iron particles that clean off.

Rearview camera delay

A recall covers a rearview camera image that may be delayed after shifting into reverse. NHTSA's record shows an over-the-air fix.

Tesla's owner's manual recommends a brake fluid check every 4 years, HEPA filter replacement every 2 years (yearly in off-road driving) and tire rotation every 6,250 miles. In salted-road areas it wants brake calipers cleaned and lubricated every year or 12,500 miles.

Squeezed says tires are expensive and wear quickly because of the truck's weight. One high-mileage AWD truck covered by InsideEVs used 25,628 kWh over about 50,000 miles, costing $2,819 at home or $7,688 on Superchargers.

Budget for insurance and body repair too. Squeezed calls insurance expensive and says body repair is specialized and slow.

Buy a dual-motor AWD, and choose the Cyberbeast only if the extra speed matters to you. Squeezed says these trucks lost value faster through 2025 than almost any recent vehicle, which favors the used buyer. See every used Tesla for sale and the cheapest Cybertruck listings to compare.

Insist on proof that every recall was done, panels that sit true, and an air suspension that moves smoothly. One 50,000-mile AWD truck covered by InsideEVs had only a misaligned tonneau cover as a real issue, and its range estimate slipped from 318 to 309 miles, so a good one is out there.