The Tesla Cybertruck finally got an off-road mode with an OTA update, allowing early owners of this huge electric truck to finally get the 4x4-style fine-grained control that was promised from the start. Tesla's Cybertruck account posted a post on X sharing a picture of the off-road mode screen, which includes different settings, locking the differential option, turning off the rear steering function, and more.
Off-road mode has two main settings: Land mode for stable handling and better traction on rocks, gravel, snow and sand, while Baja mode improves balance and "more control".
Wes Morrill is the lead engineer at Cybertruck, and he also posted some updates on his X profile. Morrill noted that the app can quickly view the car's vital signs, on-board camera feeds, and control off-road functions at the touch of a button.
Cybertruck owners can even quickly go into "wading mode" to elevate the truck for deep water conditions – although CEO Elon Musk has said for years that the Model S and Cybertruck can travel like a boat for a short period of time, this is not covered by the warranty.
Tesla has also introduced a "CyberTent" mode, which levels the truck on the horizon, runs the air conditioner, keeps the roof cover open and keeps the outlet powered. The feature is designed to work with Tesla's ugly but practical Basecamp tent plugin. Tesla has been selling the $3,000 kit to Cybertruck owners for more than a month — and before that, the software to fully use the kit had not yet been available.
Tesla's Cybertruck has long been advertised as a car designed to help owners survive a "Mad Max"-style apocalypse, but its prototype seems to have fallen into a place where the Ford F-150 or Jeep Wrangler wouldn't have gotten in. In other cases, the Cybertruck appears to be underperforming its EV rivals. After using the new app controls, though, Top Gear put the Cybertruck through a tough off-road test, and now things look more promising. Now, it's just a matter of waiting for Cybertruck to deliver on its other promises.