Tesla Cybertruck tells its owner that locking differentials are 'coming soon'

Tesla touts the Cybertruck’s rugged capabilities, but one owner recently discovered that some of the funky EV’s primary off-road functions aren’t ready for primetime. YouTuber VoyageATX posted a video of his experience, showing that the truck’s locking differentials are labeled as “Coming Soon” in the infotainment system.

VoyageATX is a massive fan of his Cybertruck, even though he had some significant complaints about the missing lockers, the difficulty of using the off-road mode, and the fact that some of the truck’s bodywork was falling off after a single trail run. He correctly notes that Tesla can enable the feature via an over-the-air update, but the lack of such a primary feature on an almost $77,000 EV is inexcusable.

The Cybertruck seems to be hit or miss off-road. Early videos showed it struggling to conquer mild obstacles that others tackled easily, but others claim the truck has no problem with more challenging terrain. (VoyageATX was duly impressed the Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness in the video that easily climbed the hill his Cybertruck couldn't.) Tesla gave it the gear to perform on the trail, at least on paper. The Cybertruck has adaptive air suspension with up to a foot of travel and offers 17 inches of ground clearance in the highest setting.

Locking differentials would drastically improve the truck’s off-road performance. They “lock” the wheels on an axle together so that they turn at the same speed. That provides better traction in the dirt and loose terrain than an open differential and many off-road rigs have two, one in front and one on the rear axle.

Tesla hasn’t given any details about the locking differentials, so we don’t know when the feature will become available or if the automaker has plans to charge a subscription fee. While the missing diffs are frustrating for owners, their absence likely means that there are engineering or safety challenges left to address. That doesn’t give Tesla a pass for shipping the truck without everything working, but it’s understandable that issuing an OTA to activate the lockers is more desirable for the automaker than issuing a recall for an incomplete or malfunctioning system.