Tesla shared a test drive video of its Cybertruck cruising one of "one of the most challenging routes in the world", according to a company engineer in the vehicle.
Using two trucks directly off the line and a Starlink Mobility unit to post the live stream on X, the EV manufacturer followed the Baja 1000 rally route, an off-road raceway that extends up to 900 miles and includes mountains, dessert, sandy wash cactus forests and salt ponds.
The video has 2 million views and counting.
"Success is uncertain, but excitement is guaranteed," the Tesla engineer said to start the test. "The terrain we’ve been on has been unbelievably varied," the Tesla engineer said on the bumpy route. "We’ve got Baja desert, but we’ve also hit sandy wash. We’ve got rocky ridges; we’ve had forests of giant cactus we’ve made it through. Up and over a ton of mountains" he added.
After starting in San Diego, the Cybertruck, which has an off-road mode that includes air suspension and active dampers, had already been on the route for roughly a week when the feed went live on Sunday.
The Tesla Cybertruck is on display at the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing facility during the "Cyber Rodeo" grand opening party on April 7, 2022 in Austin, Texas. Tesla welcomed throngs of electric car lovers to Texas on April 7 for a huge party inaug (Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"We’ve taken the whole Baja Peninsula down to nearly the bottom in Cabo 1,280 miles later," the company engineer said. "The team had chargers setup at hotels all along the route, so anyone with a Tesla can go follow the same route we did."
The Tesla Cybertruck made its debut in Texas back in August after supply chain shortages affected the delivery of critical components and its initial launch date in 2019. CEO Elon Musk said it is expected to be released sometime this year.
The EV uses ultra-strong glass and polymer-layered composite to absorb and redirect impact force for improved performance and damage tolerance, while boasting a "nearly impenetrable exoskeleton" where every "component is designed for superior strength and endurance, from stainless-steel structural skin to Tesla armor glass," according to Tesla’s website.
Tesla co-founder and CEO Elon Musk introduces the newly unveiled all-electric battery-powered Tesla Cybertruck at Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, California, on Nov. 21, 2019. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
The truck was also designed to handle up to 3,500 pounds of payload with a towing capacity of over 14,000 pounds for both the "rugged to refined," Tesla says, while including on-board power and compressed air.
"These trucks are hardcore, they are super fun, super durable," the engineer added.
Despite reporting two flat tires, the Tesla engineer called the Cybertruck test a success.
The Tesla Cybertruck during a tour of the Elkhorn Battery Energy Storage System in Moss Landing, California, on Monday, June 6, 2022. PG&E and Tesla Inc. have built the 182.5-megawatt battery energy storage project at the utility's Moss Landing s (Photographer: Nic Coury/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
During a Tesla shareholder meeting in May, Musk said the company is aiming to produce roughly 250,000 Cybertrucks annually, depending on demand.
When Musk first announced the vehicle, the company allowed would-be buyers to pay $100 to reserve a future Cybertruck, which then had a projected initial price of less than $40,000.
According to auto research firm Kelley Blue Book, the initial cost may now start at $50,000.