Here's Why The Tesla Cybertruck Might Never Make It To Europe (Updated)

Weight, a penchant for smaller-sized vehicles, and the charging port all make for a tough pill to swallow.

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

Updated: Dec 5, 2023 at 3:39am ET

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Update: Lars Moravy, Tesla's Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, confirmed for TopGear Netherlands that the Cybertruck will likely never make it to Europe.

"First of all, the market for pickups in America is huge, and that is different with you," Moravy told TopGear. "And two: European regulations require a rounding of 3.2 millimeters on protruding parts. Unfortunately, it is impossible to make a rounding of 3.2 millimeters on a 1.4 millimeter sheet of stainless steel," he added.

The original story follows below.

The first production-spec Tesla Cybertruck units were finally delivered last week after four years of delays, rumors, and all sorts of weird remarks from CEO Elon Musk on what seems to be his preferred way of communicating with the world, the social media platform X.

But while American customers who placed an order for the angular all-electric pickup can expect to get their hands on the EV sometime next year, European reservation holders shouldn’t get their hopes up.

The reason for this is the spec sheet itself, which–while impressive–might make Tesla’s first-ever pickup a sort of forbidden fruit on the Old Continent.

Gallery: Tesla Cybertruck

Tesla Cybertruck

With up to 845 horsepower on tap and a zero to 60 miles per hour sprint in just 2.6 seconds, the Cybertruck is a quick truck, but it’s also a heavy one. Tipping the scales at 6,843 pounds for the top-of-the-line Cyberbeast model with three electric motors and a battery that has about 123 kilowatt-hours (according to Carwow), the Cybertruck is simply too heavy to be driven with a regular car license in Europe.

In this part of the world, people with a so-called category B license (for regular passenger cars) can drive a vehicle that has a maximum gross weight rating of 3.5 tonnes, which is 7,716 lbs. While the Cybertruck’s weight is under the limit, the 6,843 lbs number doesn’t take the 2,500 lbs payload into account. Add that up and you get 9,343 lbs or 4,237 kg. And that’s without taking into account the weight of the passengers.

According to the official VIN decoder that was submitted to regulators earlier this year, the Cybertruck has two possible gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR):

Class G – Greater than 3,629 kg to 4,082 kg. (8,001-9,000 lbs);
Class H – Greater than 4,082 kg to 4,536 kg. (9,001-10,000 lbs).