I Changed My Futuristic Tesla Cybertruck “Cyber Wheels” to the Unsightly Core Wheels & Pirelli Scorpion Tires, & My Range Increased to 377 Miles

The biggest complaint when it comes to the Cybertruck is the truck’s less-than-stellar range. The two Foundation Series Cybertruck variants, the dual motor All-Wheel-Drive and the tri-motor Cyberbeast have an estimated EPA range of 318 miles and 301 miles, respectively.

Cybertruck owners who live in cold climates or use their trucks to tow heavy objects report consistently getting below 200 miles of range with a full charge.

A Cybertruck driver towing 11,000 pounds in a cold climate even showed that his truck was only able to travel 94 miles before it died.

Given these numbers, the Cybertruck’s range is by far the truck’s biggest weakness in an otherwise exceptional vehicle.

However, what if I told you you can sacrifice some of the vehicle’s aesthetics to get a measurably longer range?

That is exactly what happened when a Cybertruck owner decided to swap out the admittedly beautiful “Cyber Wheels” & tire combo that shipped with his Cybertruck for the unsightly Core Wheel/tire combo.

The Cybertruck Cyber Wheels come with the all-terrain Goodyear Wrangler Territory RT tires, whereas the Core Wheels ship with the Pirelli Scorpion ATR all-season tires.

Both wheel variants feature a unique wheel cover: Tesla offers a futuristic Cyber Wheel cover for the Cyber Wheels and a Core Wheel Cover design for the Core Wheels. 

The Cyber Wheel cover is the same wheel cover that was recalled because it was rubbing against the tire side walls and causing accelerated wear and tear. 

If you have seen a Cybertruck on the roads, you most likely saw the vehicle with Cyber Wheels and all-terrain Goodyear tires. With its adorned sidewall and futuristic design, this tire/wheel combo is certainly beautiful to look at.

Unfortunately, this tire wheel combo comes with a range penalty. As mentioned above, the two Foundation Series Cybertruck variants currently shipping with the Goodyear all-season tires have an EPA range of 301 and 318 miles.

However, Garnherr, on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum, decided to swap out his Cyber Wheels and Goodyear tires for the Core Wheels with the Pirelli tires, and he saw a massive improvement in range.

Garnherr reports that after making the switch, his Cybertruck energy usage went down from 371Wh/mi to 326Wh/mi. With a 123KWh pack in his Cybertruck, he was averaging around 332 miles of range using his previous wheels and tire combo.

However, after moving to the Core Wheels and Pirelli all-season tires, his range improved to 377 miles per charge.

For context, that is a 14 percent range improvement simply by changing the wheel and tire combo. Even more impressively, Garnherr was able to get a 377-mile range without the core wheel cover, which is intended to increase the Cybertruck’s efficiency.

Another surprising fact is that the tire and wheel sizes on the Cyber Wheels and Core Wheels are identical. Both wheels are 20 inches in diameter, and the Goodyear and Pirelli tires are 35 inches with 285/65R20 specifications.

These numbers then raise the question: Would you sacrifice beauty and off-road performance for an extra 45 miles of range?

Also, since both wheels are 20 inches and the tires are 35 inches, would you go with even smaller wheels and tires, potentially sacrificing ground clearance in order to get more range?

A hypothetical Cybertruck with 18-inch wheels, smaller summer tires, and a plain core wheel design can potentially increase the truck’s range by an extra 10 to 15%. This will easily push the Cybertruck’s range over 400 miles.

Other People on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum have raised similar questions. However, the discussion appears to suggest that if you sacrifice off-road capability with summer tires, load-carrying capacity, and ground clearance with smaller, more efficient wheels and tires, at that point, do you even need a truck?

If you are going to remove everything about the Cybertruck that makes it a good truck at that point, why not make the vehicle smaller, remove the bed, and go with something like the Tesla Model Y, which is a spectacular vehicle in its own right?

Having said that, if you choose a Model Y over the Cybertruck, you will obviously sacrifice the stainless steel exoskeleton and the triangular futuristic aesthetics. We understand this might be a deal breaker for many Cybertruck enthusiasts.

In an ideal world, Tesla would make a smaller version of the Cybertruck similar in size to the Ford Maverick pickup truck; that vehicle will likely be a smashing success.

Overall, although the increased efficiency comes at the expense of looks and off-road capabilities, it’s nice to see that there are easy ways to increase the range of your Cybertruck.

Currently, Tesla is working on a range extender battery pack that will increase the Cybertruck range to 470 miles at $16,000 cost, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted when this or other longer-range Cybertruck variants become available.

Also see: Three Issues I Encountered While Pulling a Trailer With My Cybertruck from SoCal to Texas in 4 Days.

Until then, make sure to visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

So, what do you think? Are you surprised to learn you can increase the Cybertruck’s range by 45 miles while using the same size wheels and tires? Would you choose a longer-range, more efficient Cybertruck over off-road capabilities? Let us know your thoughts in the comments by clicking the red “Add new comment” button below.

Image: Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.

For more information, check out: A Dealer Sold a Cybertruck to Shaq Falsely Claiming He Has “a Bigger Version of the Tesla Cybertruck Called the Cyberbeast”

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.