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May 24, 2023

New Tesla Cybertruck Is Driving With Never

What's important, is that this time as Tesla X blogger Sawyer Marritt noted, the Cybertruck was spotted with never before seen aero wheel covers. In case you don't know what aero wheel covers are,

What's important, is that this time as Tesla X blogger Sawyer Marritt noted, the Cybertruck was spotted with never before seen aero wheel covers.

In case you don't know what aero wheel covers are, they are devices on vehicle wheels that aim to reduce drag and turbulence around the wheels. Manufacturers of these devices claim they will save 1 to 2 percent in fuel. They also claim to add more range to electric vehicles.

The aero wheel covers are immensely lighter, as the snap-on plastic piece that they are, rather than if the wheel was designed to look like this, with just five small openings between thick spokes. In fact, in 2019 Car and Drive took their Tesla Model 3 to test with and without aero wheel covers and reported from 2.8 to 4.7 percent range improvement when the Model 3 was driven with aero covers vs without.

By the way, see Jeremy Johnson's coverage on how you can hack a Tesla vehicle's range with multiple wheel covers.

Now, Tesla is testing its electric pickup truck with aero wheel covers to see if the Cybertruck can gain some more extra range.

There’s something important with these wheels and covers. Apparently, in the past, Tesla has filed a patent for a design that is just for aesthetics. But I can't confirm, if you guys know, let me know please in the comments section.

Do you think the Cybertruck now looks a little extra beefy?

Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.

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If Tesla was worried about Cybertruck aerodynamics, they wouldn’t have designed the thing with so many drag inducing sharp edges. Perhaps they need the 1982 Pontiac Trans Am wheel covers in an attempt to counteract the bad aero of the rest of the truck?