Back in late June, it was reported that the first Cybertruck had landed in full camouflage for winter testing across the ditch in New Zealand. Since then, multiple Cybertrucks have been roaming the winter testing facility of Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds (SHPG).
Now, new photos from SHPG reveal some of the other tests Tesla has been conducting in icy New Zealand. This time photos shared by Dima Zeniuk on X show a Cybertruck parked next to a large trailer with heavy weights on the rear end of the trailer.Ā
New photos of Tesla Cybertruck taken in New Zealand! š³šæ@Tesla @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/4IGMAirLX1
— Dima Zeniuk (@DimaZeniuk) August 6, 2023
This sighting has sparked the interest of many Cybertruck reservation holders, mainly due to the placement of the weights on the trailer.Ā
Being located closer to the rear suggests that the Cybertruck is being put through its paces for towing capabilities and potentially to test for improvements in stability via drive motor controls and software.
One Cybertruck enthusiast who has been following the Cybertruck developments closely highlighted the area in blue to showcase the odd placement of loads on the trailer.
I think they may be doing some cold-weather tow testing with Cybertruck in New Zealand.
Looks like a trailer with weight plates on it circled in blue.. š¤ pic.twitter.com/r66okLvIns
— Greggertruck (@greggertruck) August 6, 2023
To this, other fans with knowledge of tow testing chimed in with insights into what can happen if trailers are loaded like that, causing low loads on the tongue of the trailer:Ā
āThat’s specifically a trailer with weights positioned to create absolutely zero tongue weight. Emergency stability testing? Trailers loaded like that can cause huge wrecks if they start to sway, I wonder if Cybertruck will be able to detect and counteract a situation like that šā.
The Cybertruck fan continues to elaborate on this by mentioning that the rear-steering, a known feature of the Cybertruck, can be used to increase stability with a trailer loaded in such way:
āTheoretically, the rear steering could be automatically controlled to negate the motion before it gets out of control š¤Æā.
Tesla in recent times has been figuring out ways to improve towing and safety using itās drivetrain and software to actively manage the shifting of load on wheels due to poor vehicle stability.Ā
The companyās CEO, Elon Musk, famously spoke of how the Tesla Semi class 8 truck has features making it nearly impossible to jack-knife when fully loaded. āJack-knifing is impossible,ā Musk said at its unveiling in 2017.
There are many features of the Cybertruck that are unknown as Tesla is yet to do an official delivery event of the utilitarian-like vehicle.Ā
In recent weeks, the space on the inside and outside the Cybertruck has been a key point of discussion. Ā More details of the external size were seen in the last week when a Cybertruck was seen supercharging next to a couple of Tesla Model Ys in Texas.Ā
Now the company appears to be using stability technologies on the Cybertruck while testing, giving it high stability features, regardless of the terrain owners will face in the coming years.
RizĀ is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.