The Tesla Cybertruck’s New Off-Road Mode Explained

The Cybertruck has been with us for a few months, but it didn’t initially have a dedicated mode for tackling difficult terrain.

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Andrei Nedelea

By: Andrei Nedelea

Jul 19, 2024 at 3:00pm ET

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The Tesla Cybertruck has the hardware to make it excellent off-road (locking differentials, adjustable ride height, four-wheel steering and the ability to flatten small trees), but it couldn’t use all its capability until now. With the introduction of the new Off-Road mode with sub-modes tailored for different driving scenarios, the truck should finally deliver in rough terrain.

The big news is that you can now lock the mechanical locking differentials, given the usefulness of this feature in a wide range of off-road situations. The dual-motor Cybertruck has one in the front and one in the rear, while the tri-motor Cyberbeast only has one in the front, but it can simulate its effect in the rear since it has one motor controlling each wheel.

By locking the diffs, you’re splitting the torque equally and forcing both wheels on the axle to turn at the same speed. This is extremely handy in low-traction situations, like when driving over snow, ice or sand, as well as when rock crawling and the vehicle is in an extreme cross axle articulation situation.

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The Cybertruck had off-road hardware but lacked the software to use it

Tesla Cybertruck owners have had their vehicles for months but until the recent over-the-air update that added Off-Road mode, they couldn't use the truck to its full capability. Now they should be able to go a lot further off the beaten path and even cross a river or two along the way.

You can lock the diffs by going into the Off-Road screen and selecting one of the three options: off, all on or rear only. You can only lock the front diff in the Cyberbeast while the simulated rear locker engages automatically in certain modes.

The Overland mode has a broad spectrum of applicable driving scenarios and is customizable with its own sub-modes. All Purpose makes the vehicle capable on most surfaces, while Sand allows for a lot of slip and sets the ride height to High. Gravel/Deep snow keeps the suspension high but only allows for moderate wheel spin.

Rock mode doesn’t allow the wheels to spin and sets the suspension in its highest position. It also utilizes the air suspension’s cross-linking ability, which allows it to push down on wheels to help it maintain traction when rock crawling.

As its name suggests, Baja mode is designed to make the Cybertruck feel like a nimble Baja truck that can traverse unpaved surfaces and uneven roads at high speed. From the description Tesla provided in the official video, it sounds like Baja mode adjusts the handling to make it feel more like a rally car on loose surfaces, allowing you to tweak the handling.

You can adjust how much power goes to the front and rear axles via a slider. Slide it to the left, and the truck behaves more like a front-wheel drive vehicle with a preference for safe understeer. Move the slider to the right and it will behave more like a rear-wheel drive vehicle allowing skilled drivers to slide the tail out around corners.

It will be interesting to see how easy it is to drift the Cybertruck with its steer-by-wire, variable-ratio steering controlled through a very yoke-like steering wheel. Baja mode also allows you to choose how much stability control you want (Standard, Reduced or Minimal) and you can also choose the ride height depending on the terrain (Smooth, Rugged and Clearance).

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You can also select a High regenerative braking setting, which allows for off-road one-pedal driving. There’s also a Trail Assist mode, which is essentially low-speed cruise control for going off-road (at speeds between 1 and 25 mph) and it also works as hill descent and ascent control. In Trail Assist, the vehicle no longer detects objects around it, so you need to make sure there’s nothing in its path and steer around any obstacles.

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The final new addition is Wade mode, which, as its name suggests, is designed to allow the truck to traverse bodies of water, not turn the Cybertruck into a boat; that may come as a separate mode. When you enable it, the suspension automatically goes into its highest setting and it gives the truck a maximum wading depth of 32 inches measured from the bottom of the tire, making it possible to safely cross shallow rivers and creeks at no more than 3 mph.

Wade mode pressurizes the battery pack to make sure there is no water ingress. You can only use this mode for up to 30 minutes, and when you enable it, a countdown starts on the central screen. We wonder what happens if you exceed the allowed time and the truck is still in the water—does the battery pack depressurize and let water and debris in?