Check Out Tesla Cybertruck's Unique Solar Charging Tonneau Cover

A patent application suggests Tesla has a solar charging tonneau cover in the works for the upcoming Cybertruck.

The Tesla Cybertruck Tonneau Cover Is Cool And Strategic At The Same Time

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By: EVANNEX

Jul 2, 2021 at 10:17am ET

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This article comes to us courtesy of EVANNEX, which makes and sells aftermarket Tesla accessories. The opinions expressed therein are not necessarily our own at InsideEVs, nor have we been paid by EVANNEX to publish these articles. We find the company's perspective as an aftermarket supplier of Tesla accessories interesting and are happy to share its content free of charge. Enjoy!

Posted on EVANNEX on July 02, 2021 by Iqtidar Ali

The next iteration, hopefully, the production version, of Tesla's Cybertruck should prove to be quite different from the prototype. Questions still remain about its size (ummm, garage-compatible?) and some of the forthcoming design tweaks. But one production-ready feature, teased via a recent Tesla patent application, really seems to stand out.

Above: A look at the Cybertruck solar-powered tonneau cover (Source: Tesla)

It turns out that a Tesla Cybertruck patent application recently surfaced on the websites of the US Patent Office (USPTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It's likely this patent application hints at Tesla’s eagerness to start Cybertruck production soon — sometime later this year at Giga Texas.

Okay, so what did the patent application reveal? It looks like Tesla could have a solar charging tonneau cover in the works. To be clear, the solar charging bed cover was already teased during Cybertruck's launch event — but this patent provides a definite sign that Tesla actually intends to take this to production.

Video: Watching the Cybertruck bed open and close (YouTube: Gresham Online)

The opening and closing of the Cybertruck bed cover was showcased on the evening of the unveiling (see above). However, Tesla's patent application shows how this functionality actually works — interesting stuff for those engineering nerds out there.

Section 0039 of Tesla's patent (WO 2021/102174 A1) notes, "In one embodiment, the tonneau cover comprises solar electric cells that are electrically connected to a photovoltaic charging system and battery... When the tonneau cover is deployed to cover the bed and the solar electric cells that make up the slats are facing the sun, the battery within the electric vehicle can be charged by the solar electric cells."

Above: Schematic from the Tesla Cybertruck patent application (Source: WIPO)

Back in 2016, Elon Musk had actually hinted at a solar car roof for the Tesla Model 3 on Twitter. And Tesla partner, Panasonic, has long been producing solar car roofs for the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid and Nissan Leaf as well. That said, a solar-powered tonneau cover would be something wholly new for the pickup truck segment.

That said, it’s not clear how much energy the solar cells (from the tonneau cover) will be able to "charge" back into the Cybertruck battery pack. According to some online observers (and their guesstimates), the size of the bed cover should be able to generate some 500 – 900 watts of energy for charging the battery on the go or while camping in the wild.

Regardless of the actual solar power available, it'll be nice to drive the dark, ominous, apocalyptic Cybertruck on shiny rays of sunshine.

Check Out More Related Cybertruck Articles:

Tesla Cybertruck’s Photovoltaic Bed Cover Could Add Usable Range

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Written by: Iqtidar Ali. An earlier version of this article was originally published on Tesla Oracle. Revised update edited by EVANNEX.

Source: Evannex

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