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Tesla’s Cybertruck is one of the most polarizing electric vehicles in production. And its brutalist exterior is only part of the story. Underneath the angular stainless steel skin lies a uniquely engineered underbody that blends innovation, efficiency, and crash safety. The team at Munro explore a high-resolution image clipped from Tesla’s April Fool’s Day video—a rare peek at the Cybertruck’s painted front cradle assembly, captured mid-crash test via a Lexan window.
From suspension geometry to crash test optimization, here’s our analysis of what makes the Cybertruck’s underbody stand apart from its EV peers.
Color-Coded Engineering: What the Paint Tells Us
The first thing we noticed in the image is the vibrant array of painted components. Each color corresponds to a different structural or functional element:
- Green: Forged lower control arms, mounted far inboard for enhanced suspension travel.
- Red: Primary subframe or cradle—this supports suspension links, gearbox mounts, and contributes to crash energy management.
- Yellow: Longitudinal rails—key structural members that tie into the front crash structure.
- Light Blue: A stamped steel X-member likely functioning as structural reinforcement and a crush-energy pathway.
This color-coded breakdown helps identify the complex architecture Tesla uses to balance structural rigidity, crash compliance, and serviceability.
SORB and the Art of Crush Management
A central focus of the teardown is how Tesla has designed the front cradle to perform during a Small Overlap Rigid Barrier (SORB) test—a stringent crash test where only 25% of the vehicle’s front end hits a barrier.
The Cybertruck’s subframe integrates a broad, solid crossbar that interfaces with the yellow longitudinal rails. This creates a triangulated structure designed to resist both compression and tension forces during an offset impact. Depending on the hit angle, the member will either:
- Crush cross-car (compression)
- Stretch the control arm wings downward (tension)
The objective? Keep the longitudinal rails aligned and the structure intact, which in turn helps deflect the vehicle away from the barrier—keeping occupants safer.
Mounting Strategy: Double Shear and Modularity
Another feature of interest is the use of threaded fasteners instead of welds to join the front bar to the red cradle. Why not weld? Likely due to dissimilar materials—potentially high-strength steel joining aluminum or other alloys—which are difficult to weld reliably. Fasteners also allow for modular build processes, such as attaching a fully-assembled cooling module as a subassembly.
This modularity extends to the cradle’s structure. Tesla uses double shear joints to stabilize long cradle runs. These joints place bolt flanges on different vertical planes, increasing the load-bearing surface area and reducing deformation. It’s a strategy seen on many modern BMWs and even the Audi A8, which used similar X-bracing to protect critical systems and cradle mounts from road hazards.
Stamped Steel vs. Extruded Aluminum: A Strategic Tradeoff
For many EV enthusiasts, the question of material choice is critical. The Cybertruck uses a stamped steel weldment for its cradle—pragmatic, cost-effective, and strong. Tesla’s competitors, like Rivian, use aluminum extrusions, which are lighter but significantly more expensive and complex to manufacture.
For example:
- Rivian’s subframe: 25.5 kg, heavy, costly, highly engineered
- Tesla Model 3/Y: Lighter, simpler, and made from stamped steel
The Cybertruck builds on this lineage, scaling up the same core approach while optimizing for cost, serviceability, and structural integrity.
Suspension Insights: Simplicity Over Virtual Ball
In a surprising deviation from other Tesla models (Model S, 3, X, Y), the Cybertruck does not use a virtual ball front suspension. Instead, it employs a simpler setup with one lower control arm per side. While it might seem like a step backward, this simplicity may actually enhance durability and reduce complexity for a vehicle designed for rugged terrain.
Moreover, the wide separation of control arm mounts increases arm length, maximizing vertical travel without compromising geometry—ideal for off-road use.
Gigacasting Influence and Integration Potential
Although the teardown image doesn’t fully expose the powertrain or drive unit mounts, the Munro team hypothesize that Tesla continues to mount drive units to the body-in-white, supplemented by a torque strut on the cradle. This aligns with Tesla’s broader trend toward gigacast integration, where large vehicle sections serve multiple functions.
We also speculate whether the cradle’s cross-braced structure may also supplement other functional systems, like the steering rack, as BMW once did with its F10 5 Series. Given Tesla’s history of multi-function design—where one component often serves three or more purposes—it’s a theory worth investigating in a future physical teardown.
What the X-Geometry Tells Us
Look closely and you’ll see the entire cradle assembly mimics a giant “X”—a structural motif repeated in several bracing members. This X-geometry is not just aesthetic. It:
- Distributes loads effectively during a crash
- Provides lateral and vertical rigidity
- Helps stabilize mounts and protect underbody systems
It’s a thoughtful balance between structural efficiency and manufacturing cost.
Final Thoughts: Rugged, Rational, Ready for Real-World Abuse
From front-end crush management to stamped-steel pragmatism, Tesla’s Cybertruck underbody reflects a bold but grounded design philosophy. It’s not just about looking futuristic—it’s about delivering rugged capability, repairability, and safety in a real-world package.
While we eagerly await the physical analysis of a production Cybertruck, this early glimpse already reveals an underbody packed with purposeful engineering choices. Tesla isn’t just building electric trucks—they’re redefining how structural underbodies can be optimized for modularity, manufacturing scale, and crash performance.
The Cybertruck Underbody Analysis continues. . . .
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