The Tesla Cybertruck will soon get an over-the-air (OTA) software update, which will boost the pickup's DC fast charging capabilities.
Currently, the Tesla Cybertruck can Supercharge at up to roughly 250 kilowatts. According to specs, in 15 minutes, it can replenish up to about 40 percent of state-of-charge (SOC). That's up to 128 miles of range for the Cyberbeast (with 320 miles of EPA range) or up to 136 miles in the case of the AWD version (340 miles of range of EPA range).
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Tesla Cybertruck DC fast charging
According to Tesla, the Cybertruck can replenish up to 136 miles or range (AWD version) in 15 minutes. That's about 40 percent points of the battery capacity. The upcoming upgrade will increase that to 154 miles in 15 minutes.
The initial real-world test in late December 2023 revealed that a Tesla Cybertruck was able to recharge from 14% to 90% SOC in 49 minutes and 52 seconds. During the first 15 minutes of the session, the battery SOC increased from 14% to 49%, which means 35 percentage points or about 112 miles out of 320 miles total. Not far from the Tesla's specs.
This level of charging rate is not particularly bad, especially compared to other pickups on the market (Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian R1T). However, many expected a higher charging speed.
This week, Drew Baglino—SVP of Powertrain and Energy at Tesla—wrote on X (@baglino) that the Tesla Cybertruck will receive a software update, unlocking a higher DC charging speed.
The charging curve will be improved so the average range replenishing rate will increase to up to 154 miles in 15 minutes: "Cybertruck charge curve improvements are coming OTA later this quarter to unlock up to 154 miles recovered in 15 minutes."
The brief info does not explain how the curve will be improved, but we assume that the curve will be flatter. Secondly, Drew Baglino does not say whether the 154 miles in 15 minutes relates to the Tesla Cybertruck AWD or the Cyberbeast.
In the case of the AWD version, a jump from 136 miles to 154 miles would translate to an improvement of 13% (45 SOC percent points in 15 minutes). In the case of the Cyberbeast, an increase from 128 miles to 154 miles would be a 20% improvement.
The charging speed improvement is not the only thing. Tesla also identified a bug in its software, which caused issues while charging from a very low SOC. The problem was highlighted by Kyle Conner (@itskyleconner / X) during intensive testing.
In other words, Tesla is patching and refining the Tesla Cybertruck to improve user experience. The question is whether, at some point in the future, the truck will also get some high-voltage charging boost to unlock even higher charging speed.
