What’s Going On With the Cybertruck’s Half-Empty Battery Pack?

We may have to add the battery pack to the long list of Cybertruck mysteries.

In a teardown video from Munro Live, we get our first look at what the inside of a Cybertruck’s battery pack looks like. It’s a thankless sacrifice from the YouTube channel, but one that gives us insight into the battery’s design that shows a significant amount of extra space.

In response to a post on X calling the battery pack “half-empty,” Tesla’s lead engineer Wes Morrill cheekily responded that “it’s half-full.” Semantics aside, that extra space beckons more questions than it answers. Here’s what we know:

Some Speculative Answers

With no clarity from Tesla, we’re left to speculate on why the Cybertruck’s battery pack looks like it could use a top-off. The most plausible theory has to do with weight since batteries are often the heaviest part of EVs. Tesla likely had to consider the weight-to-range ratio since filling up the battery could negatively affect the Cybertruck’s range. That may sound unreasonable since Tesla plans to offer a Range Extender option for the Cybertruck anyway, but as MBKHD points out, the accessory is optional.

From a more pessimistic perspective, this empty space could be Tesla’s excuse to build a Cybertruck with a more robust battery down the line and offer it as a premium model. As noted by an engineer on X, it looks like the Cybertruck’s 4680 battery pack has enough room to fit taller individual cells, which would translate to more battery capacity and range.

There’s also speculation that the unfilled space could also serve as a buffer for cooling purposes or added structure since the battery pack is on the floor of the EV. Still, all of this raises the question of if there could have been a more efficient design for the Cybertruck’s battery pack.

Another Unanswered Question

We may never know if this battery pack design was an intentional choice by Tesla’s engineers or an oversight. With how vague Tesla has been with the Cybertruck details, we doubt we’ll get much explanation on why the battery pack has that space.

For a better idea, Munro Live has done other battery pack teardowns, including with Tesla’s Model X. As seen in the video, the Model X’s battery packs look much more full by comparison. We don’t want to compare apples to oranges, but this whole battery pack question does raise a valid concern about efficiency, especially when you’re going to spend more than $60,000 on an EV.