A Tesla Cybertruck prototype has been spotted driving on public roads near the company’s engineering headquarters in California. This is the first sighting of the Cybertruck going for a drive on public roads since the original prototype drove through New York City in 2021, and is a good sign that production is getting closer.
The new sighting happened over the weekend on Page Mill Road, just around the corner from Tesla’s new Engineering headquarters, and where several other Cybertrucks were recently spotted. Photos and a short video were shared on Reddit by u/P1ggy, showing the Cybertruck stopped at a red light next to a VW Atlas, a fairly large SUV in its own right. At first glance it appears as though the Cybertruck is considerably smaller than the Atlas, but this is an optical illusion as the Cybertruck is not directly adjacent to the Atlas.
We know this is the latest beta production build of the Cybertruck, like the one that was on display at Investor Day earlier this month, as it features the new side mirror design. It also has the same aero covers that appeared on the original prototype, and for which Tesla recently received a design patent.
To go along with the photo the Reddit user also shared a short video of the Cybertruck accelerating as the light turned to green (at the bottom of the article). It is from this angle that we get a better size comparison against the Atlas as the two vehicles were briefly side by side, showing the electric truck appears to be quite a bit taller than the VW (70.1 inches).
One feature that was on this Cybertruck was the massive wiper, which we affectionately refer to as the Gigawiper. That wasn’t the case on another Cybertruck sighting from the weekend. In a photo shared by @greggertruck on Twitter the attachment point for the wiper was still there, but there was no wiper arm, indicating Tesla could have implemented a design which makes it easily removable.
While having no wiper might not be ideal all of the time, there are many parts of the world where you could drive for months without needing to use it. Elon Musk has said the Cybertruck will come with removable side mirrors, and maybe the same design will be applied to the Gigawiper.
I <3 U Cybertruck pic.twitter.com/XVbq6RinkW
— Greggertruck (@greggertruck) March 25, 2023
All of these recent sightings, and in particular this most recent one of it driving on public roads, is a good sign that production is not that far away. Musk has stated production will begin later this summer in limited quantities, before ramping up to volume production in 2024.
Tesla has been taking all the steps to do just that, having installed a 9,000 ton Giga Press (and in the process of receiving a second) and other related production equipment. The company has also been on a hiring spree for workers at Giga Texas to work on the Cybertruck production line.
You can watch the short video of the Cybertruck below.
