Observations After 3 Weeks With The Tesla Cybertruck

Todd Shoulberg, who posted his Cybertruck ownership experience in The Tesla Cybertruck Owners group on Facebook, says his Cybertruck now has 1,000 miles on it and he nevere owned a truck before. But he was a Tesla guy. He came to Cybertruck ownership from a Tesla Model Y, and Model 3 before that.

Before I share Todd's observation about his new Cybertruck, I want to thank him for sharing them with the Tesla enthusiast community, and also mention that he has commented under his posts questions and said that he is "extremely happy" with the truck. He wrote that he would buy it again. "it drives like a sports car, but it's a truck, with amazing engineering."

By the way here we examine three fuzzy areas of the cost of ownership of a Tesla Cybertruck and make some predictions.

Todd Shoulberg's Cybertruck Observations After 1,000 Miles

It is much bigger in person than it looks. At time of delivery, it was on a raised platform, and I was thinking there was NO way it was fitting in my standard-size garage. We went straight home to see, and it fit. Barely, but it fit. Bought ceiling mounted laser parking assist to help me with this.

My Cybertruck had 2 minor issues with the truck the first few days. The screen went black on Day 2. It came back on about 6 hours later. The service chalked it up to an issue that happens on the Model X as well when cars “transfer” from the dealer to the owner. Haven’t had an issue what that since. The other issue was the back liftgate would be closed, but the notification and display would show it open. I had to slam it hard for it to display properly. The service center said it was a bad actuator and replaced it and it’s fine now.

The gawkers. As others have posted, the amount of attention is more than I ever imagined. Most cars on the road are either taking pictures or filming video. Some try to be sly with it and when you make eye contact, they stop and get embarrassed . Others are nice about it and even ask for permission. A side effect of this attention is the eradicate driving behavior of others on the road. Some cars are speeding up to catch you, others are slowing down to catch up to you, and with everyone on the phones, you must pay serious attention to the road and the surroundings. Cars speed out of nowhere to see you.

Be prepared to get the largest USB drive you can, as the amount of Sentry Events that happen, you will find yourself running out of space every week.

The internet (web browser) in the Cybertruck is much faster than it was in my Model Y.

Still no options for HomeLink, which is a bummer. It was the MyQ which is great for home garage, but if you have a community gate, you can’t open it from the truck.

The cooling ventilated seats are nice, coming from the Y.

The phone charger placement is so much better than the Y and seems to work better.

Items missing from the truck that I had in my Model Y: Zoom, Beach Buggy Racing, Santa Mode, Rainbow Road, Disney+

If you are not using the phone app, the keycard goes into the phone charger slot on the left.

Having no stalks, and the turn signals on the wheel plate feels natural after a few days. The beta of it auto going into Reverse or Drive is cool and works all the time.

Disappointed in the Frunk space. It does not hold as much as you would think. It is even less than you think, as the cover must close, and at times, it wouldn’t because of what I assumed would fit, was too bulky at top.

The 2nd row seats fold up for more storage room inside the cab is great. Easy to do and provides space to carry large suitcases upright.

The auto bed cover is amazing to watch, and people are surprised to hear that its 6’x4’. Other reports have said it’s not waterproof, for me it’s only rained a little and items in the bed stayed dry.

The turning radius is insane. I was afraid to make my first U-Turn, as I didn’t want to have to make a 3 pt turn, but it made it with ease. Getting out of parking spots and street turns is incredible. It turns tighter than my wife’s Corolla.

If you are still inside the Cybertruck and your passenger is getting, you must remember to lower the car to Entry level, or it’s a long way down, and you may pull a hamstring or hurt yourself, if you are not expecting that drop. Had this happen to us a few times when you are only used to getting out when parked and in entry mode.

The internal rearview mirror is useless; unless you have kids in the back, and you want to keep an eye on them. I know you can remove it, but I haven’t yet. You must train yourself not to look in it and rely on your display screen to view behind your truck.

It has had 2 minor software updates in the last week, both just said “minor bug fixes”.

No FSD, Lane Assist, Summon or Auto Park yet. It does have cruise control. No idea when the other features will be released for the truck.

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One person in the discussions asked how much Todd pays for his Cybertruck. He replied and said he is using State Farm and it costs him $175 a month.

What questions would you ask a cybertruck owner? Please, ask them in the comments section below.

The accompanying image of the Cybertruck is a screenshot from the above-mentioned facebook discussion.

Also see another Cybertruck owner's experience below from Torque News Youtube channe.

Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and Youtube. He has more than a decade of expertise in the automotive industry with a special interest in Tesla and electric vehicles.