If you Google how much the Tesla Cybertruck can tow, in big, bold letters it will read, “11,000 lbs.” However, as three Cybertruck owners have already found out the hard way, that’s not necessarily true. Cody Detwiler, also known as WhistlinDiesel on YouTube (@WhistlinDiesel), was one of the three who gained over 20 million views when he revealed the frame of the Tesla being aluminum with little to no steel to support a trailer results with it… Snapping off.
Two more owners posted to social media to report their Cybertruck’s frame snapping off when towing and hitting a pothole, which made YouTuber Jerry (@JerryRigEverything), nervous after he bought a Cybertruck specifically for the high towing rating.
He started and owns Not a Wheelchair, which is a company that produces handicap-accessible electric bikes with a top speed of 12 miles an hour with a range of 10-12 miles. So, he tows a lot of heavy equipment.
“We tow with our trucks a lot,” he said. “So, I kind of just trusted the 11,000 lb towing capacity that Tesla gave us. But, I guess I should have known from when Elon put the infinity sign next to ‘towing’ at the launch event that Tesla was not taking towing seriously.”
Jerry’s issue is with the frame’s construction
As Detwiler explained in his Cybertruck video, steel is a much sturdier and abuse-friendly material as opposed to aluminum. Aluminum is soft, making it a less-than-ideal composition for towing. Especially as a trailer will bounce and transfer forces while in motion.
“I trust steel for towing, not aluminum,” continued Jerry. “Especially cast aluminum… Tesla has sold about 30,000 of these trucks so far, and from what I’ve seen there are about three that have had the hitch completely fall off.”
Jerry says the statistic, while small, was enough to convince him not to use the Tesla as a workhorse.
“As a company, we’ve decided to not use the Cybertruck as a work truck just because the risk is too high,” he said. “We still have the Rivian and the Lightning, which have a far lower potential for spontaneous disassembly. And it is a bummer that we can’t use the Cybertruck as a truck.”
