The Tesla Cybertruck was announced as a revelation in four-wheeled capability. It was going to be fast, sturdy, bulletproof, and also somehow a boat. But now that the truck is finally out in the wild, it’s being forced to contend with a hazard no one could have foreseen: Snow.
It seems Cybertrucks have flown far from their Texan origin, and are now being found on the sort of snow-filled roads that crisscross most of the United States in January. The trucks are most likely still out on those roads, because if footage from social media means anything, they sure as hell aren’t making it home.
Posts abound on Instagram, TikTok, and even what’s left of Twitter, showing Cybertrucks struggling with entirely normal amounts of snow. In the above video, posted to Instagram, a Cybertruck struggles with a modest snowy incline — fishtailing its way up the hill before coming to a halt. Based on other posts shared around the Internet, that truck appears to have later gotten a rescue.
Other videos, even dating back to before the Cybertruck’s release, show similar issues. One in particular shows a Release Candidate truck struggling with the barest dusting of snow while carrying a Christmas tree in California:
The problems facing the Cybertruck in snow are, in fairness, not the truck’s fault. Whether due to tread design, compound, or a combination of both, it appears the stock tires simply don’t have the grip to handle snowy roads. Yet, based on the Release Candidate footage, Tesla was clearly aware of the tires’ flaws before launch. Why give your first ten trucks those same flawed tires?
Was the extra range provided by hard-wearing rubber worth the aggravation of having a truck that doesn’t work for four months out of the year? Does the efficiency bonus from having such little tread make up for the lack of capability? As a lifelong Northeasterner, I don’t know that I’d make that trade.
