Tesla claims its Cybertruck is built for any planet, and that it’s durable enough to go anywhere and tackle anything, but its owner’s manual says that its hitch assembly is only designed to support vertical loads up to 160 pounds. That’s less than the weight of the average American female. WhistlinDiesel’s Cybertruck Durability Test video on YouTube has over 23 million views, and caused quite a stir surrounding the real-world durability of Tesla’s most polarizing vehicle. A member of the Tesla Cybertruck Facebook group was the first to point out the hitch assembly’s shockingly low vertical weight limit in the truck’s publicly available owner’s manual.
Marc Thomas Sessa was the Cybertruck Facebook page member who pointed out the vertical weight limit section, and hypothesized that it could be a mix-up between the Tesla Model Y’s vertical hitch limits since it has the same limit. For the Model Y, a mid-size luxury crossover that will likely never face the strenuous use scenarios that pickup trucks face, that weight limit seems more reasonable. For a pickup truck that’s meant to compete with the likes of the Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado, three-digit weight limits haven’t been the norm for a long time. Sessa said,
Want to see something funny? #whistlingdiesel might have been on to something here. This is directly from Tesla website. Cybertruck can only support 160lbs vertical load on the hitch before causing damage.
What’s interesting is Cybertruck shares the same load limits as the model y. Was Tesla just lazy and copy/paste the same limits? Or is it really this low?
Most manufacturers don’t distinguish between vertical load and tongue weight limits. Usually tongue weight limit is 10% of towing capacity. So an F150 has about 700-1000lbs tongue weight limit.
160lbs is nothing on the hitch. Let’s demand Tesla either update their manual or update the hitch design so we can start doing truck things with our trucks.In the towing capacity section of the Cybertruck owner’s manual, maximum tongue weight is listed at 1,100 pounds. Tongue weight is supposed to be 10 percent of a vehicle’s maximum towing capacity, so the 1,100-pound tongue weight limit matches the Cybertruck’s 11,000-pound trailer towing limit. However, this conflicts with the Tesla-stated 160-pound vertical hitch weight limit. Other manufacturers don’t list separate hitch vertical weight limits, most just provide tongue weight limits.
In the towing capacity section of the Cybertruck owner’s manual, maximum tongue weight is listed at 1,100 pounds. Tongue weight is supposed to be 10 percent of a vehicle’s maximum towing capacity, so the 1,100-pound tongue weight limit matches the Cybertruck’s 11,000-pound trailer towing limit. However, this conflicts with the Tesla-stated 160-pound vertical hitch weight limit. Other manufacturers don’t list separate hitch vertical weight limits, most just provide tongue weight limits.
The owner’s manual says exceeding the 160-pound vertical hitch load limit can cause damage, but tongue weight limits exist to prevent uneven weight distribution that may cause poor driver control and overload the axle, not necessarily because the hitch is at risk of damage. A vertical weight limit for something like a hitch-mounted bike rack could potentially stress different components than a trailer since all of the weight is on the hitch without any wheels of its own to distribute the weight, but this is not noted as an issue for any other trucks. Torque News said,
Many people in the comments seem to believe the Cybertruck’s 160-lb hitch rating is just a typo carried over from the Model Y manual.
Whereas others believe since the Model Y and the Cybertruck are the two Tesla vehicles with aluminum gigacastings, the 160 lbs rating might be something inherent to that design.
Whether it’s an issue with Tesla’s aluminum gigacastings or just an example of Tesla failing to properly edit the Cybertruck owner’s manual, a 160-pound weight limit for a truck’s hitch is pretty pathetic. If any Cybertruck owners are reading this, proceed with caution since Tesla could potentially screw you out of repairs since the owner’s manual warns not to exceed this limit. Even if you don’t tow and you just want to install a hitch step to make accessing your truck bed easier, you might end up in serious trouble.