Don’t Take The Tesla Model Y Off-Roading, Wait For The Cybertruck

Even though it has an off-road mode, Tesla clearly never intended it to tackle any challenging terrain.

Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

Apr 13, 2020 at 8:05am ET

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Tesla Model Y is the higher and more practical alternative to the Model 3 sedan, but even though it has more ground clearance and an off-road mode, it is very clearly not designed to venture too far off smooth tarmac. It doesn’t have the ground clearance or wheel articulation needed, and you not only run the risk of being stranded teetering on a rock, but you may very well puncture the battery pack if you hit a sharp rock hard enough.

The guys over at TFL went deeper into the subject and started looking at facts and figures. Firstly, the Model Y has just doesn’t have enough ground clearance to make taking it off-road practical - the manufacturer states the Y has 6.6 inches of ground clearance, which is just around an inch more than the Model 3.

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And when it comes to wheel articulation and suspension travel, it’s really not very good for off-roading at all. The Model Y will lift one wheel in the air (and essentially lose a quarter of its traction) over even the smallest undulations in the surface it’s being driven over; this detracts from its capability a lot, even with the off-road mode enabled and its more clever and gradual distribution of torque to the wheels.

All the videos showing what the car is like to drive off tarmac clearly point to the fact that it’s really more of a tall hatchback that doesn’t really like going off-road. If you want an EV that can take you over rough terrain, you’ll have to wait for for the Tesla Cybertruck or one of the two Rivian models, at least based on what the guys in the video are saying.