As of: February 24, 2024, 10:53 a.m
By: Simon Mones
Comments
Press
Split
Despite its heavy weight, the Tesla Cybertruck moves quickly.
© Tesla
With a weight of 3.1 tons and an angular design, the Tesla Cybertruck is unique.
But it is precisely these characteristics that could prevent sales in Europe.
What do the DeLorean DMC-12 and Tesla's Cybertruck have in common?
At first glance it's probably just the use of stainless steel for the body.
But the similarities continue.
Both cars did not go into production until several years after their introduction.
At Tesla, even the engineers rebelled against the electric car.
And the intended purchase price also doubled for both vehicles.
And like the DeLorean DMC-12, the Cybertruck will probably never be sold in Europe.
Simply too heavy: Tesla's Cybertruck can only be driven with a truck driver's license
There are various reasons for this.
One of them can already be found in the data sheet of the latest Tesla model: its weight!
The up to 845 hp accelerate the electric pick-up to 100 km/h in 2.6 seconds, but the Cybertruck is not a lightweight.
The angular electric vehicle weighs a whopping 3.1 tons.
The problem: In Europe, a normal car driving license (Class B) has a permissible total weight of 3.5 tonnes.
The Cybertruck is still below empty, but it can carry around 1,130 kilograms.
At 4.23 tons, the electric pick-up is too heavy.
At least for now!
The EU is planning to increase the permissible total weight to 4.4 tons.
In England, this change was implemented in 2018.
If you want to drive a Cybertruck in the EU, you need an expensive driving license for trucks (Class C).
Pick-up has no crumple zone: Tesla's Cybertruck fails due to EU regulations
Security also plays a role, as the
Bayerischer Rundfunk
writes.
The Cybertruck lacks a crumple zone.
“European regulations require a rounding of 3.2 millimeters on protruding parts.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to produce a 3.2 millimeter curve on a 1.4 millimeter thick stainless steel sheet,” Tesla’s vice president of automotive engineering, Lars Moravy, tells
Top Gear Netherlands.
The heavy weight also makes damage to other cars more likely.
Or as Elon Musk put it: “Once you have an argument with another car, you win.”
And the edges on the outer skin also make approval in Europe more difficult, as the protection of pedestrians and cyclists is very important here.
My news
Double-dashed center line: What the road marking means read
Tesla customer after picking up his electric car: “I have to admit that I’m very disappointed” read
Travel over 2,000 kilometers: Tesla driver draws conclusion – read “A fantastic truck”.
Motorcycle with a yellow scarf on the side of the road: what does that mean? read
Ola Källenius questions the end of combustion engines from 2035: “Maybe there was a bit too much optimism” read
New hybrid version of the Porsche Cayenne in everyday testing
No Cybertruck for Europe: Expert sees no market for Tesla
In addition, large pickup trucks are not as popular in Europe as they are in the USA.
"European pickup trucks are relatively small compared to the U.S. market," Pedro Pacheco, vice president of research at Gartner, told
Business Insider.
He therefore sees “no big market” for a vehicle the size of the Cybertruck.
Tesla seems to have recognized this too, as Moravy also cites the comparatively small market as the reason why the Tesla Cybertruck should not make it to Europe.
You can find even more exciting car topics in the free newsletter from our partner 24auto.de.
Editor's note: This text has already appeared in the past. Many readers were particularly interested in it. That's why we're offering it again.
However, there is another problem: the charging plug.
The CCS2 plug has established itself as the standard in Europe.
Things are different in North America.
There, Tesla's so-called North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug is becoming the preferred connection for electric cars.
The Cybertruck would have to be converted for Europe.
According to
Insideevs
, this requires hardware and software changes.
However, this could be too costly for Tesla given the expected demand.
In addition, demand on the domestic market is already high.
There are said to have been more than a million pre-orders in the USA alone.
According to Musk, it will still be years before the targeted 250,000 Cybertrucks per year leave the factories.