Tesla Cybertruck Finally Spotted Doing Some Serious Off-Roading

Three Cybertruck release candidate prototypes were seen tackling a steep uphill climb known as 'the stairs' at an off-road park.

Tesla Cybertruck off-road testing

Dan Mihalascu

By: Dan Mihalascu

Oct 25, 2023 at 9:33am ET

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We've lost track of how many times the Tesla Cybertruck has been spotted testing on public roads this year, but we haven't seen it tackling off-road trails that often.

Actually, Tesla's electric pickup truck was spotted at a real off-road park only once before – last month at the Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area, just an hour's drive south of San Jose, California.

But even then, the camera didn't catch too much serious off-road testing; the video showed a Cybertruck release candidate vehicle climbing a hill and driving on a dirt road, catching a glimpse of the rear-wheel steering system in action.

Well, it turns out that Tesla has returned to the same off-road park in Northern California, and this time the Cybertruck has been spotted undergoing more difficult off-road tests. There were three release candidate prototypes at the site.

Several videos were uploaded on X by Dima Zeniuk, showing one of the Cybertruck prototypes tackling a steep uphill climb and another on an easier area of the road course. The climb, which is also known as 'the stairs' because of the irregular surface, did not seem like a walk in the park for the Cybertruck, though the vehicle did prevail at the end.

We can see Tesla's electric truck climbing it quite slowly, with some comments stating that the Cybertruck seemed to be struggling on the difficult section. The pickup seemed to have the air suspension in the highest setting as it tackled the climb.

Another video shared by The Kilowatts in the same thread provides a point of reference as it shows the Rivian R1T electric pickup on the same uphill climb.

The Rivian appears to do it faster, although it has to be said that its quad-motor powertrain with four-wheel torque vectoring differentiates it from the Cybertruck, which will reportedly be available with either a two-motor or a tri-motor system.

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From a previous Tesla video of the Cybertruck doing some Baja off-road driving, we learned that the electric truck has an Off-Road mode that changes the settings of the air suspension system and adaptive dampers to make it easier to traverse rough terrain.

We're guessing the Cybertrucks tested at the Hollister Hills SVRA had the Off-Road mode engaged, though that's obviously hard to say. Here's hoping Tesla will subject the Cybertruck to more severe off-road testing and someone will be there with a camera to capture the moment.

More Tesla Cybertruck off-road sightings

See A Pair Of Tesla Cybertrucks Drive “Off-Road” In Baja