Why Tesla Won't Offer Range Extender and Autosteer for Cybertruck

A month after removing the optional range-extending battery pack from the Cybertruck ordering page on its website, Tesla is informing owners that it no longer plans to produce the $16,000 Range Extender at all.

Key Points:

• Cybertruck buyers who had ordered the range extender were sent the following via email: “We are no longer planning to sell the Range Extender for Cybertruck. As a result, we will be refunding your deposit in full. The amount will be returned to the original payment method used for the transaction.”
• Tesla initially promised top-spec versions of the Cybertruck would boast a range of more than 500 miles. When it came to market, it actually only offered around 320 miles (and cost a lot more than projected, too). The Range Extender was supposed to bump the max figure up to 470 miles.
• Sales of Tesla’s electric truck have been disappointing. Though the base price has been reduced in recent months, reports suggest there are more than 10,000 unsold Cybertrucks sitting on lots in the United States.

Tesla delivered the bad news to Cybertruck customers who had ordered the optional range extender via email. After stating that it no longer plans to sell the Range Extender for the Cybertruck, the automaker said it would refund deposits for the $16,000 option.

The Range Extender, which in reality was a massive battery pack that took up a third of the Cybertruck’s bed and had to be installed and uninstalled by Tesla technicians, was meant to bring the electric truck’s range closer to the 500-plus miles Elon Musk initially promised when he unveiled the truck way back in 2019. When it actually came to market, the three-motor Cybertruck was advertised with around 320 miles of range. The Range Extender was supposed to push the truck’s range up to 470 miles.

In addition to the Range Extender’s death, Tesla further told customers that Autosteer, which is Tesla’s name for the part of Autopilot that keeps the vehicle in its lane, won’t be coming to the Cybertruck. “As we improve our Autopilot technology, our feature sets will change. Accordingly, Autosteer will not be available for Cybertruck outside of Full Self-Driving (Supervised),” the automaker said in its email to Cybertruck buyers.

In place of the promised Autosteer, Tesla says Cybertruck owners will be eligible for a year of Full Self-Driving (Supervised) instead. After the free year, owners will have to pay for the FSD package if they want what basically amounts to lane-keeping assist, unless Tesla comes through with some other technology for the Cybertruck.