Tesla appears to have intentionally designed the Cybertruck rear view mirror to be removed by owners. A video shows how easy it is to remove the Cybertruck rear view mirror and the hexagonal cap Tesla left in place to complete the job.
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One of the biggest complaints regarding the Cybertruck is the positioning and size of the rearview mirror. Due to the Cybertruck’s unusual shape, rear visibility is rather limited, leaving only a small window to peer out the back.
However, to add insult to injury, Tesla has fitted the Cybertruck with what’s likely the smallest rearview mirror in any full-sized truck.
This is a problem even when the truck’s tonneau cover is open; however, due to the Cybertruck’s triangular shape, when the Cybertruck’s tonneau cover is closed, it goes all the way up to the roof, completely occluding rear visibility.
In this instance, even the minimal view out the rear of your vehicle is completely gone. This has led people to ask why Tesla even fitted the Cybertruck with a rearview mirror.
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You will only need the tonneau cover open if carrying a large object on the Cybertruck bed, which undoubtedly cuts into the already limited rear visibility. When the bed is free, closing the tonneau cover gives you close to a 10% bump in range, increasing efficiency and cost of operation.
Having said that, if you are starting to get the idea that the Cybertruck’s rear visibility is its fatal flaw, Tesla has fitted the truck with a high-resolution camera installed on the tailgate.
Some automakers feed the rear camera image onto the rearview mirror, which doubles as a digital screen. However, in the Cybertruck, Tesla feeds the image into the beautiful 18.5-inch center touch screen.
The Cybertruck operating system feeds the rear video straight into the center touchscreen. It takes a little bit of getting used to looking down at the touchscreen when trying to see what’s behind your vehicle, but once you get accustomed to it, the Cybertruck rearview mirror becomes almost useless.
This brings us back to the topic at hand. Given all its limitations, what if you want to remove the Cybertruck rearview mirror? Luckily for all of us, Cybertruck owner Jeremy Judkins on X has shared a video showing how easy the Cybertruck rearview mirror is to remove.
The Cybertruck rearview mirror is held down by a plastic cover and a single screw. First, you will need to remove the plastic cover attaching the rearview mirror to the rest of the vehicle; then, there is a screw holding the mirror to the roof of the vehicle.
Jeremy shows how to remove this part using a T20 screwdriver. Once undone, the entire rearview mirror detaches from the Cybertruck. What’s interesting here is that Tesla appears to have designed the Cybertruck rearview mirror to be removed by owners.
After removing the rearview mirror, Tesla designed a hexagonal cap that closes off the area where the mirror was attached, maintaining the Cybertruck’s minimalist and angular interior look.
As you can see in Jeremy’s video, it takes a bit of force to push the hexagonal cap into the area where the rearview mirror used to suspend from; however, once you are finished with that process, you can have a clean Cybertruck interior.
At this point, if you are wondering why Tesla shipped a component in the Cybertruck intending to be removed by owners, the answer lies in regulations.
Elon Musk says the superset of worldwide regulations for designing a production vehicle would fill an entire room if they were printed out. This is one of the major reasons the Cybertruck will not be sold outside North America.
In this instance, in the US, the law requires automakers to ship vehicles with rearview mirrors even though the job of that particular vehicle component can be better replicated using video cameras and a screen.
In addition to the rearview mirrors, Tesla appears to have designed the sideview mirrors on the Cybertruck to be easily removable. According to Musk, the law requires an automaker to fit its vehicles with side-view mirrors. Still, in many jurisdictions in the US, there is no law explicitly prohibiting anyone from driving a vehicle without side-view mirrors.
Several countries in the European Union have already permitted the use of cameras to replace side-view mirrors. Recently, major automakers like Volkswagen have started selling vehicles without side-view mirrors.
According to Elon Musk, removing the side view mirror in a Tesla Cybertruck can increase the vehicle’s range by as much as 5%.
There are already initiatives in motion trying to convince regulators in the US to no longer mandate side-view mirrors and rear-view mirrors, and we will be sure to keep you posted when we get an update on that front.
Until then, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.
So, what do you think? Are you surprised by how easy it is to remove the rearview mirror from a Cybertruck? Do you think removing rear and side view mirrors from future vehicles is a good idea? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below by clicking the red “Add new comment” button.
Image: Courtesy of Tesla, inc.
For more information, check out: Following the Successful Starship Flight 4, Elon Musk Reveals How Starship Inspired Him to Build the Tesla Cybertruck
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.
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