We Bought a Tesla Cybertruck. Was It Worth the Wait?

• We bought a Tesla Cybertruck Foundation Series.
• It's got two electric motors that make 600 horsepower.
• Our initial deposit for this truck was paid in November 2019.

The day has finally come. We own a Tesla Cybertruck.

This latest addition to our long-term fleet has been long awaited at the Edmunds office, considering that our initial $100 deposit has been with Tesla since November 2019.

What did we get?

Tesla gave us two options: Order a Foundation Series based on the dual-motor all-wheel-drive Cybertruck, or wait a little while longer and get a tri-motor Cyberbeast. We elected to go for the dual-motor version, as opting for the Cyberbeast would have added another $20,000 to the price tag and meant that we'd have to wait until potentially 2025 to actually get our vehicle. So, to better represent what most consumers will buy, and to get the truck as soon as possible, we purchased an all-wheel-drive Foundation Series for $101,985 (including destination charges but not taxes and fees).

The Foundation Series adds $20,000 to the base price of the all-wheel-drive Cybertruck on its own, bringing features like laser-etched badges and unique cabin graphics, white trim pieces, powershare home backup capability, all-weather floormats, a sunshade for the glass roof, dividers in the gear locker, D-rings in the bed to secure cargo and, of course, so-called Full Self-Driving Capability.

However, right before we took delivery of our truck, we got this message from Tesla:

"Tesla Vision: Your Cybertruck relies on camera vision to measure distance (sic) to nearby objects, deliver active safety features, and provide Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (Supervised) capability. This approach will enable improved visibility, better object detection, and greater abilities for Autopilot in the future.

"Some features will be temporarily limited or inactive at delivery including Auto Wipers, Lane Keep Assist and Emergency Lane Keep, Park Assist, Autosteer, plus Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self-Driving (Supervised) Capabilities. In the future, your vehicle will receive access to these features via over-the-air software updates."

So, not all of our Cybertruck's features were working when we picked it up. Rats.

Why did we get a Cybertruck?

Regardless of how you feel about the Cybertruck's very out-there styling, its strange origins or Tesla itself, there's no denying that this is one of the most interesting vehicles to launch in a long time. We'll be doing everything with it from the usual Edmunds EV range and charging tests to trying out its off-road capability to putting a microscope on that bodywork and seeing what this brutalist beast is like to live with day to day.

We'll also be keeping a close eye out for those safety features to come online and see how the Full Self-Driving suite works in such a large vehicle. And of course, you'll probably see it in a race or two because why the heck not?

Edmunds says

Stick with us over the next year to follow all of our updates on the Cybertruck experience. We have some big plans for this thing.

Photos by Keith Buglewicz