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A few weeks ago, WhistlinDiesel’s Cybertruck torture testing was the talk of EV social media. When the vehicle’s hitch basically snapped off under extreme circumstances, EV haters used it to lampoon all EVs. EV fans were split between Tesla fanatics, who blamed the unusually rough hits it took, and others who mocked the unconventional vehicle’s construction. While the question of abuse versus use is a valid one (I’m mostly on the side of the testing being abuse), a recent article at Jalopnik raises a strange point straight from Tesla.
Here’s a screenshot from the Tesla Cybertruck’s owner’s manual:
What’s strange about this is that most manufacturers don’t make any distinction between a vertical load limit and a towing tongue weight limit. After all, some e-bikes pushing down on that hitch and a trailer pushing down on that hitch are both pushing down on the same hitch. Because it’s safe practice to put 10–15% of a trailer’s weight on the hitch, the Cybertruck’s tow rating of 11,000 pounds simply isn’t possible with a 160 pound tongue weight limit. There’s also the tongue weight limit in another section of the manual, which is 1,100 pounds!
There are a number of theories people are raising about this discrepancy.
One obvious one could be that this was a misprint. Could the weight rating for carrying cargo have been a copy and paste from a Model Y weight limit? It’s certainly a possibility. It might make sense in some cases for a hitch cargo weight rating to differ a little bit from the towing tongue weight limit, but not by a difference of almost 1,000 pounds!
The other theory Jalopnik sort of raises is that Tesla could be trying to keep from needing to provide warranty repairs when people actually overload the hitch. Hitch weight limits are sometimes exceeded when people improperly load a trailer or cargo rack, or do something extreme like WhistlinDiesel does. It’s possible that because the owner’s manual sets a low limit, Tesla could possibly use that to deny a warranty claim.
It could also be possible that there is a serious problem and that the manual has a legitimate cargo limit of 160 pounds. I don’t see how a cargo rack pushing down compared to a trailer could make a big difference, but there may be something slightly different with some hitch racks or something. I’d ask Tesla, but when you send them an email, all you get back is a poop emoji, and that’s not going to answer our question here.
The Most Likely Answer Here
After considering everything, I’d have to say it’s likely a misprint. There’s no way a hitch that can handle 1,100 pounds of tongue weight from a trailer could only handle 160 pounds on a cargo rack. There’s also no way that the rear cast frame that we’ve seen handle the stress of towing big trailers could buckle under the stress of a couple of e-bikes and a rack. This idea just stretches reason.
As much as I disagree with Elon Musk on the avant-garde design of the truck, cast frames, and all of the political nonsense — I just can’t bring myself to claim that this is a legitimate limit that shows weakness in the Cybertruck design. That would be funny, but it wouldn’t be fair.
So, I’m going to call this one “busted.”
Featured image by Kyle Field.
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