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After four long years,Teslas Cybertruck is finally here.
Deliveries started on Nov 30 and are ongoing, but reactions have been somewhat negative.
Meanwhile, naysayers are celebrating, saying, “We told you so!
Love it or hate it, the Cybertruck’s tech is a game changer.
I dont think the Cybertruck is pretty, but its certainly grown on me.
Fully steer-by-wire
Steer-by-wire isnt anything new.
Back in 2013, Nissans Infiniti Q50 was the first car to use steer-by-wire for primary steering.
What makes the Cybertruck different is that its fully steer-by-wire.
Nissans decade-old tech still used a mechanical shaft from the steering wheel to the steering rack as a failsafe.
This results in three changes.
First, turning the steering wheel does nothing unless the Cybertruck is powered on.
Turning the steering wheel does nothing unless the Cybertruck is powered on.
Without a steering shaft and thicker 12V wiring, Teslas steer-by-wire system reduces complexity, weight, and cost.
The Cybertruck is the first production vehicle to ditch 12V and use a 48V low-voltage system.
Why does 48V matter?
For example, the Cybertrucks steer-by-wire system uses 5 horsepower of peak power or about 3700W.
Thats roughly 300A of current at 12V, or 75A at 48V.
300A requires much thicker wires than 75A.
More current also means more heat, and heat is wasted energy.
Basically, a 48V low-voltage system is more efficient and more affordable.
And with EVs, lower weight and better efficiency translate into more range.
The high-voltage battery then charges the 12V battery via a DC-to-DC converter (instead of an alternator).
If this 12V battery dies, you have to jump-start it.
Today, most EVs including all Teslas before the Cybertruck use a 400V high-voltage architecture.
800V lets manufacturers use thinner wires, which saves weight and cost, reduces heat, and improves efficiency.
The Cybertruck also benefits from an 800V high-voltage architecture.
Any modern smartphone charging at 80W or more typically features two battery cells that are being charged in parallel.
wiring harnesses have become incredibly complex and dense.
SinceSDVs (software-defined vehicles)use fewer hardware components, Teslas always managed to keep its wiring manageable.
Cybertruck cranks things up a notch, with a radically new wiring harness that Tesla calls Etherloop.
This consists of a single continuous gigabit Ethernet cable that loops around the interior of the Cybertruck.
But the Cybertruck cranks things up a notch, with a radically new wiring harness that Tesla calls Etherloop.
This consists of a single continuous gigabit Ethernet cable that loops around the interior of the Cybertruck.
It connects to 368 endpoints and reduces cross-vehicle wiring by 68%.
Data is time-sliced and latency is just 0.5ms.
If the loop is cut, data will travel the other way around.
The other benefit is that all the data is available to every electronic module.
Aluminum gigacastings and stainless steel body panels
Ivewritten about gigacastingbefore, but let me jog your memory.
It streamlines production, lowers manufacturing costs, reduces weight, and increases crash safety.
Tesla pioneered gigacasting and currently uses it in the front and rear structures of the Model Y and Cybertruck.
While it took some time for Tesla to perfect these manufacturing techniques, there are significant benefits.
Better yet, Tesla is dragging risk-averse legacy car manufacturers and suppliers along, kicking and screaming.
Thats why the Cybertrucks tech matters.
Plus, all this new tech wont just benefit the auto industry.
Either way, its a win.
So, if youre in the market for a Cybertruck, I suggest you wait a year or two.
Until then,there are other options.
