Tesla Cybertruck got stuck in some mud - here's why it's not a big deal

The Cybertruck made another public appearance this week at the groundbreaking ceremony for Tesla’s new lithium refinery outside Corpus Christi, Texas. The Cybertruck was sporting a never-before seen tool rack, which may not make it into production, although someone else certainly will.

After the event SVP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering at Tesla took the Cybertruck out for some fun in the muddy fields which will soon become the lithium refinery, sharing a photo of the electric truck a little dirtier than when CEO Elon Musk drove it on stage.

Had some fun muddying up Cyber after Tesla Lithium groundbreaking today! pic.twitter.com/DOXRhCkiWq

— Drew Baglino (@baglino) May 8, 2023

Apparently someone else decided to take it for a spin, but didn’t have as much luck as Baglino, as the Cybertruck was later spotted apparently stuck in a muddy field. The moment was captured by a passer-by, who shared a video of the incident on Twitter.

Hey @elonmusk I thought those @TeslaCybertruck were supposed to be 4wd lol. Either way I was super excited to see y’all in my area today! pic.twitter.com/XMBQqY1YIP

— Stephanie (@stephfischer13) May 8, 2023

Tesla critics were quick to jump on the bandwagon by calling into question the Cybertruck’s capabilities. But the truth is any truck with the same equipment would have gotten stuck in that muddy field, and that’s because the Cybertruck was sporting All Terrain (AT) tires, and not Mud Terrain (MT) tires. The Cybertruck’s AT tires can be clearly seen in images captured during the day, like this photo shared by the official Tesla Twitter account that we zoomed in on.

Credit: Tesla

The difference in off-road handling when using AT tires compared to MT tires, especially in muddy conditions, is massive. Ask any off-road enthusiast and they will tell you that even if your truck has lots of horsepower (which the Cybertruck has) and high ground clearance (which the Cybertruck has), it will all be useless and the truck will be spinning in one spot if the mud stuck between the tread blocks can’t be removed. That’s why MT tires have larger and wider tracks between the tread, which can be clearly seen in this comparison of AT versus MT tires.

Credit: Discount Tire

Would the Cybertruck still have gotten stuck if it had MT tires on it instead of AT? We will never know, but based on how muddy it was (some pictures of the aftermath below), we’re pretty sure any truck with MT tires would have gotten stuck like the Cybertruck.