If you want a full-size pickup, you now have a whole new segment to check out: battery-electric trucks. Admittedly, there aren’t a lot of choices, but there are a few, starting with the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck and 2024 Rivian R1T.
These two pickups are some of the first all-electric offerings accentuating some of the traits you want in a truck: horsepower and torque. Although their towing range is limited, both trucks also boast impressive maximum towing capacities.
Let’s check out the highlights of the Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T.
2024 Tesla Cybertruck
This is CEO Elon Musk’s vision of a pickup truck. However, it’s far from a mainstream look and more reminiscent of a futuristic concept of a pickup. The exterior design is unlike anything else on the road; between its wedge-shaped ends and its stainless steel body, there is nothing else like it.
It’s a very large vehicle with seating for five. The cabin is spare and simple, just like other Tesla models. However, its size might accentuate this sparseness in the Cybertruck.
At publication, just two of the three versions — All-Wheel Drive and Cyberbeast — are available. They are the two more powerful versions, with drivetrains putting out 600 and 845 horsepower, respectively. Not that speed is the most important stat for a pickup, but the ability to race from 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds or 2.6 seconds in the tri-motor Cyberbeast is too much to ignore. The Cybertruck will also tow 11,000 pounds and travel 340 miles on a single charge. A more affordable rear-wheel-drive option is coming for 2025, but for now, prices start at $81,380, including destination charges.
Tesla Cybertruck Highlights
Supercharging: The increasingly crowded Tesla Supercharger network allows you to add 130 miles of range in about 15 minutes. There are more than 20,000 Superchargers across the United States.
Big screen: The pickup’s infotainment, climate, and other functions are routed through a 17-inch touchscreen on the dashboard. Rear seat passengers also get a 9.4-inch touchscreen.
Plenty of power: The Cybertruck can also tow 11,000 pounds and travel 340 miles on a single charge. Its maximum payload is 2,500 pounds, nearly 800 pounds more than the Rivian R1T.
Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the Cybertruck models near you.
2024 Rivian R1T
Considered a rival to Tesla before the arrival of the Cybertruck, Rivian’s R1T all-electric pickup is genuinely a top competitor to Tesla’s new pickup as well as others like the Ford F-150 Lightning, GMC Hummer EV, and others.
The R1T retains a more conventional exterior look than the Tesla Cybertruck. While most consider it a full-size model, it’s closer in size to a midsize pickup with room for five passengers. Many consider the R1T’s interior the best in the electric pickup segment. It’s filled with premium materials and features a layout that makes perfect sense, much of that focused on the customizable 12.3-inch center-mounted touchscreen.
Equipped with a 533-hp dual-motor setup that allows you to escape almost any situation on or off-road, racing to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds. You can move up to the 665-hp Performance Dual-Motor version, which does it at 3.6 seconds, or the Quad Motor model, which drops to just 3 seconds with 835 hp. It can travel anywhere from 270 miles to 420 miles on a single charge, depending on how it’s equipped. The R1T has an air suspension system with adaptive shock absorbers and an electro-hydraulic roll control system that does away with traditional anti-roll bars. Prices start at $71,700, including destination charges. (Cox Automotive, parent company of Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, is a minority investor in Rivian.)
Rivian R1T Highlights
Driving modes: Rivian’s All-Purpose driving mode, which drivers will use most of the time, self-adjusts the suspension to suit driving conditions, including lowering the ride height to improve freeway aerodynamics. Also, if you’re concerned about having enough juice to get to a charger, Conserve mode engages just the front-wheel drive and lowers the ride height.
Driver+: Every new R1T comes with this standard set of driver assistance features. It includes forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. The overall system has five radars, 11 cameras, and 12 ultrasonic sensors.
Gear tunnel: Here’s a feature you can’t get in the Tesla Cybertruck. It’s an 11-cubic foot storage compartment between the back of the cabin and the rear wheel arches. Only an electric pickup could do this because there’s no driveshaft connecting the engine to the rear axle.
Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the R1T models near you.
Similarities
The Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T offer plenty of power and performance, especially those overwhelming torque numbers. They also provide gobs of advanced driver assistance technology as well as off-road-focused tech and components, allowing drivers to get the full experience.
Conclusion
There are a few obvious differences between these two trucks, starting with the exterior looks. The Tesla Cybertruck lives up to its name with its polarizing look, whereas the Rivian R1T looks much more like a mainstream pickup. The Cybertruck is also $10,000 more (for now). Ultimately, these pickups provide plenty of ability, but the most important one is probably availability, which favors the R1T.
| 2024 Tesla Cybertruck | 2024 Rivian R1T | |
| Starting Price | $81,380 | $71,700 |
| Popular Powertrains | ||
| Engine | Dual electric motors | Dual electric motors |
| Horsepower | 600 hp | 533 hp |
| Torque | 743 lb-ft | 610 lb-ft |
| Transmission | 1-speed direct drive/AWD | 1-speed direct drive/AWD |
| Fuel Economy | N/R | 65 MPGe city/60 MPGe hwy/63 MPGe combined |
| Maximum Range | 340 miles | 420 miles |
| Also Available | 3-motor | 4-motor |
| Basic Warranty | 4 years/50,000 miles | 4 years/50,000 miles |
| Battery Warranty | 8 years/150,000 miles | 8 years/150,000 miles |
| NHTSA Overall Safety | N/R | N/R |
| Max Seating Capacity | 5 | 5 |
| Wheelbase | 143.1 inches | 135.8 inches |
| Overall Length | 223.7 inches | 217.1 inches |
| Width | 80.0 inches | 81.8 inches |
| Height | 70.5 inches | 78.2 inches |
| Turning Diameter | 43.5 feet | N/A |
| Headroom, Front | 41.7 inches | 41.1 inches |
| Headroom, Rear | 39.1 inches | 39.7 inches |
| Legroom, Front | 41.1 inches | 41.4 inches |
| Legroom, Rear | 40.9 inches | 36.6 inches |
| Shoulder Room, Front | 63.3 inches | 60.6 inches |
| Shoulder Room, Rear | 62.1 inches | 58.9 inches |
| Cargo Volume (bed) | 56.2 cubic feet | 29.2 cubic feet |
