We recently shared that the Tesla Cybertruck was out testing, and it was clear the electric pickup truck was wearing traditional side mirrors. There has been talk of small revisions to the truck, and we've either heard about or seen a few recently. The same Cybertruck was reported to have four-wheel steering, but there's no way we can prove that with 100-percent certainty.

When any new Tesla news pops, and especially when it's related to the Cybertruck, the online community starts talking. People pointed out that the prototype had side mirrors, which wasn't the case with the earliest prototype.

Some Tesla fans and owners appreciated the fact that the Cybertruck may not have physical side mirrors, while others weren't too keen on it. Regardless, they're required by law in many areas, so the Cybertruck will have to have them, at least for now.

One Tesla owner tweeted that he's "not ok" with the side mirrors. CEO Elon Musk replied:

 

Tesla has to produce the Cybertruck with the side mirrors. According to Teslarati, they're currently required by a US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard referred to as “Rear Visibility.” The side mirrors assure that a driver has a good view of obstacles around the sides and rear of the truck.

Some automakers, Tesla included, have flirted with the idea of using camera-based side mirrors. Some cars already have something related, but it's a blind-spot camera. All modern cars also have required to have rearview cameras, and some rearview mirrors already project footage to the inside of the car, so instead of it being an actual reflection, it's a live video feed.

Tesla is known for future-proofing its vehicles, not only via hardware, but also over-the-air software updates. Musk says the Cybertruck's side mirrors are designed to be easy to remove. This way, if the rules change in the future, owners will be able to take the mirrors off.

Since the mirrors will be easy to remove, some owners may just remove them and hope they don't get into trouble.

 

While it's against the law, it's really not much different from folks tinting their windows too dark, adding loud exhaust pipes, etc. People make all sorts of illegal mods to their cars (and especially to their pickup trucks) and hope for the best. Some say Musk is "encouraging" people to take the mirrors off, but he never said that. People will do what they're going to do.

What do you think of the Tesla Cybertruck side mirrors? Would you take them off? Do you think most people will take them off? If so, will they end up getting cited? Start a conversation about this topic in the comment section below.

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