Tesla Cybertruck Owner Claims His Truck Has a 500-Mile Range at 55 MPH – He Adds, “It Only Costs $16 To Travel 500 Miles”

Tim, a Cybertruck owner from Pennsylvania, says his truck can travel 500 miles on a single charge. 

Tim mentions that he recently took a 2200-mile-long road trip and was surprised to learn that the truck had averaged 241 watt-hours per mile. 

Given the truck’s 123 kWh battery pack, this results in approximately 510 miles of range per full charge. 

This is already a remarkable distance to travel on a single charge; however, what makes it even more impressive is that Tim usually charges his truck at home during off-peak hours. 

Using off-peak electricity, Tim pays only $16 to fully charge his Cybertruck, which means he can travel 500 miles for just $16. 

For comparison, a similar-sized pickup truck like the Ford F-150 would cost between $100 and $150 to cover the same distance. 

Tim says he’s pleased with the fuel savings and notes that these savings remain true even when using Tesla superchargers, which cost three times as much as home charging. 

Even at the supercharger, the 500-mile trip would cost around $50, which is half or a third of what an equivalent internal combustion truck would cost to fuel up.

However, Tim explains that he was able to achieve this impressive 500-mile range by using Tesla’s full self-driving software and setting the maximum speed to 55 miles per hour.

This is about 10 to 20% below the maximum speed limit, but Tim says he doesn’t mind driving slower, and it’s not an issue for him, especially when the truck is driving itself, and he’s just there to supervise.

Tim is really happy with his truck’s range, and he shared his experience on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum.

He writes…

“Now I see why Tesla initially advertised the Cybertruck as having 500-mile range because I just verified it at 55mph.

This is 139 MPGe based on my $0.13 per kWh off-peak electricity rate. Absolutely astonishing. (Based on a $4/gallon gas price)

At a real-world Tesla Supercharger rate of $.43 per KWH, that's still 38.5 MPGe.

I measured 241.8 Wh/mi during a 2200-mile trip. I finally determined that SPEED LIMIT MODE can set a hard limit of 55 MPH instead of FSD SLOTH mode. So I was in MAD MAX mode, but limited to 55 MPH.

THE MATH

I'm an engineer, so I get into this stuff. Based on analysis, this corresponds to a theoretical range of 509 miles from a 123-kWh battery. The route included approximately 1,100 feet of net elevation loss, about 20 traffic slowdowns, 40 hill climbs, 85°F weather, and a light 3 mph ESE headwind. Adjusting for elevation, I estimate that a comparable flat-road result would be roughly 250 Wh/mi, or about 492 miles in theory.

Bottom line: go 55 miles an hour, and you'll save tons of cash.”

Below his post, Tim shared several pictures of his Tesla mobile app and the Cybertruck's center touchscreen.

As you can see in his Tesla app under “Security & Drivers,” Tim has turned on “Speed Limit Mode,” setting the maximum speed to 55 mph.

He also shared a photo of the energy consumption tab on his Cybertruck’s center display, showing 241 watt-hours per mile, which translates to a 500-mile range per full charge.

Additionally, Tim shared a picture of the Cybertruck’s center touchscreen showing the current temperature is 85°F.

The temperature is ideal, and combined with the 55-mph speed limit, it’s one of the reasons Tim was able to travel so far on a single charge.

Tim says that, despite the favorable conditions, he’s happy with his 500-mile range truck; however, looking at the comments, fellow Cybertruck owners disagree, saying it’s not worth having 500 miles if you have to drive at 55 mph.

A fellow Cybertruck owner Neil, says…

“Like Sammy Hagar said, "I can't drive 55."

The cost of electricity to drive a Cybertruck is so low that the savings I personally would see aren't really on my radar. But if I mess up and can't get to a charger with enough charge, I would definitely take advantage of the lower speed power savings.”

A second Cybertruck owner writes…

“You wouldn’t survive driving 55 MPH on the highways around Philadelphia. Just the other day, a priest gave me the finger as he passed me on I-95 while I was doing 75. It’s rough around here.” 

A third Cybertruck owner writes…

“Is it worth the trade-off in the one thing you can't buy more of: time?”

Overall, a lot of Cybertruck owners say they would not be willing to drive 55 mph to get a 500-mile range. How. However, please let me know what you think in the comments. Share your ideas by clicking the red “Add new comment” button below. Also, be sure to visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.

For more information, check out: Tesla Cybertruck Owner Reports That His Truck Incorrectly Read the 25 MPH Speed Limit as 55 MPH and Started Rapidly Accelerating in a Residential Neighborhood.

Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.