• The Tesla Cybertruck is a testbed on wheels
• Tech found inside the truck will end up making it into future Tesla vehicles according to Tesla’s investor presentation
• This could be a smart move for Tesla: test the new tech in a low-volume, high-margin product so it be perfected before going with a wide rollout

---

It turns out that Tesla’s shiny Cybertruck isn’t just an attention magnet—it’s actually a sneak peek at Tesla’s future. Well, except for the stainless steel body, that is.

Tesla quietly underlined the Cybertruck’s true purpose in the slide deck for its recent Q4 shareholder meeting. As it turns out, the cheese-wedge-shaped hunk of stainless steel is actually the automaker’s experiment on wheels. And all of that new tech that Tesla’s so proud of? Tesla plans to make most of it part of its next-gen vehicle platform. 

Photo by: Tesla

It should come as no surprise that Tesla plans to use the 48-volt architecture in future vehicles. After all, the automaker literally sent an instruction manual to other manufacturers titled “How to Design a 48-Volt Vehicle.” Tesla did have some issues surrounding the switch to 48-volt architecture, but then again, now that we know the Cybertruck is essentially a real-world test of Tesla’s future vehicle tech, things are starting to make sense.

Tesla’s battery and powertrain architecture is also getting a bump. Its existing 400-volt battery tech is slated to get an upgrade to a more efficient 800-volt architecture that some other key players in the industry already utilize. This proved to be useful in the Cybertruck and Semi already, according to Tesla, and other “high power” vehicles could make use of it.

The automaker also calls out other specific features, like more efficient Etherloop communications network and steer-by-wire systems, which will likely find their way across Tesla’s lineup. Tesla also calls out bidirectional charging, which it said its models would have by 2025. There are some features like laminated glass, rear-wheel steering, and adaptive air suspension that may make it into other vehicles, however, may not be equipped in every new vehicle since those are generally more premium features.

 

There is one thing that’s staying firmly in the Cybertruck camp: its stainless steel “exoskeleton.” Let’s be honest here—it’s not really an exoskeleton. It’s just raw, cold-rolled stainless steel slapped onto the truck’s body to give it a particularly polarizing look. And it’s definitely polarizing. It’s safe to say that you won’t see a Model 3 or Model X rolling down the street with a shiny, angular body like the Cybertruck—but as the Model Y refresh shows, some of the Cybertruck’s design language has already trickled down.

All that being said, the Cybertruck isn’t just a bold experiment in design. It’s a crucial step in Tesla’s evolution as a car company (assuming it still wants to be one). The Cybertruck has become a proving ground for Tesla’s new tech and early adopters had the privilege of footing the bill. This raises an interesting question, though: was the Cybertruck ever really designed to be a best-seller, or was a high-dollar, low-volume niche testbed Tesla’s plan all along?

Maybe the better way to think of the Cybertruck is like a core part of Tesla’s family. Like the quirky uncle in your family tree. You know the one—that guy with the wild ideas and stories who doesn’t get invited to every family function, yet every family member has a crazy story to tell about them. That’s the Cybertruck.

The truck’s eccentric story is going to trickle down Tesla’s lineup of future vehicles. Sure, none of them will ever look quite like the Cybertruck, and that’s okay. Its DNA will be integral for the brand’s future models, and the low-volume, high-margin nature of the Cybertruck makes it a great testbed for perfecting that tech before it goes to the masses. Risky? Sure. But smart? Definitely.