Two Tesla Cybertrucks Spotted Testing At NorCal Off-Road Park

The Cybertruck release candidate units were apparently driven from Texas to Northern California for some off-road testing.

Two Tesla Cybertruck release candidate trucks spotted at off-road park

Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Sep 20, 2023 at 7:00am ET

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If Tesla wants to make it in North America's highly competitive pickup truck segment, the Cybertruck must be a very versatile product, a jack of all trades as the saying goes.

Besides being able to haul as much stuff as possible and tow heavy trailers, the Cybertruck also needs to prove itself against the competition when it comes to practicality, efficiency, and performance – both on and (especially) off the beaten track.

Tesla is obviously aware of this and is testing the Cybertruck in all sorts of environments and conditions. We've seen Cybertruck prototypes undergoing testing in cold weather, hot weather, driving in the city and on the highway, and even off-road.

Speaking of the latter, a pair of dusty Tesla Cybertruck release candidate (RC) vehicles were spotted recently in Northern California at the Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area, just an hour's drive south of San Jose.

An off-road enthusiast who goes by the name of MuddyRuttzz on YouTube was very impressed to see the Tesla Cybertrucks up close and personal, despite the fact he describes himself as a "Jeep guy and diesel guy."

The video he filmed on site shows both vehicles with the air suspension seemingly in the highest setting, revealing a generous ride height and good approach and departure angles for a truck of this size.

The Tesla engineers allegedly demonstrated the Cybertruck's air suspension to him – although that's not shown in the video – revealing the huge difference between its lowest and highest setting. The vehicles were equipped with 20-inch wheels and all-terrain tires.

The footage also shows one of the electric trucks climbing a hill and driving on a road, catching a glimpse of the rear-wheel steering system in action.

The video uploader claims the Tesla engineers who were testing the Cybertrucks at the site located in the Gabilan Mountains were very friendly and answered all of his questions.

That's how he learned the Cybertruck release candidate trucks were driven all the way up from Texas to Hollister Hills to do a little off-road testing. More importantly, he says the Tesla employees told him that deliveries of the Cybertruck should start in October.

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If this is accurate, it means that initial deliveries have been delayed by a few weeks as they were originally expected to happen before the end of Q3 – i.e. in late September – according to Elon Musk. Still, that's milliseconds compared to the four-year wait since the unveiling of the original Cybertruck show vehicle in November 2019.

Interestingly, the two Cybertrucks were accompanied by a Tesla Model X equipped with a satellite communications system. According to the video uploader, the equipment was used to send Cybertruck off-road data back to headquarters.