The Tesla Cybertruck range extender has been officially scrapped, with the EV-maker saying it is ‘no longer planning to sell’ the item and is refunding deposits.
Back in 2019, when the Cybertruck was unveiled, Tesla said it would offer 500 miles (804km) of range.
However, when the production model was launched in late 2023, it offered a lot less.
Instead, it had between 320 miles (515km) and 340 miles (547km), depending on the model.
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Tesla softened the blow of the lower estimates by announcing a range extender, effectively a battery pack that could be installed inside the bed of the truck, adding between 120 miles (193km) and 130 miles (209km) of range.
The range extender came with a $16,000 price tag and would take up around one-third of the truck bed, although Elon Musk had previously said that’d still leave ‘plenty’ of room for cargo.
Cybertruck owners could reserve the range extender for $2,000.
Tesla didn’t give a strict timeline for the range extender; it had initially been slated to land at the end of 2024, before being pushed back to mid-2025.
But last month, eagle-eyed Tesla owners noticed that the Cybertruck range extender had mysteriously disappeared from the marque’s website.
Naturally, this prompted speculation about what exactly was going on, and now it seems we have our answer: the Tesla Cybertruck range extender is officially dead.
On Wednesday, May 7, reservation holders were sent an email from Tesla telling them the product wasn’t going ahead and that their deposits would be refunded.
One reservation holder shared a screenshot of the email on X.
“Thank you for being a Cybertruck owner,” the email began.
“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.
“Thank you for your understanding.”
It’s unclear why Tesla has decided against releasing the range extender, but there’s sure to be some disappointment for those on the waiting list.
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