Elon Musk Says the First Cybertruck Will Drive 'Diagonally Like a Crab'

Elon Musk has taken to his favorite social media platform to announce new details about the much-hyped Tesla Cybertruck, a report from Business Insider reveals.

In a series of new tweets, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO stated that the first model of the Cybertruck will come with four motors, which contradicts the information Tesla revealed at the vehicle's original unveiling.

When Tesla first revealed the Cybertruck to the world in 2019, the company claimed the vehicle would come with no more than three motors. Then again, Elon Musk did also famously say the pickup truck's windows would be shatter-resistant mere moments before they were dramatically smashed on stage.

"Initial production will be 4 motor variant, with independent, ultra fast response torque control of each wheel," Musk said in a response to another tweeter. So it seems like Tesla may be taking a leaf out of Rivian's book. That company has so far released the only electric pickup on the market, the R1T, and it has four motors to help it tackle rough terrain with impressive torque.

Initial production will be 4 motor variant, with independent, ultra fast response torque control of each wheel

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 3, 2021

Driving like a crustacean

Impressively, Musk also stated that these four motors with independent control setup will allow the Cybertruck to "drive diagonally like a crab" and also turn on the spot by having one side drive forward while the other one drives backward. General Motors recently made the same promise with its Hummer EV, stating that it will feature a "Crab Walk" capability.

All of this is exciting, but when will people finally get their hands on the first version of the Cybertruck? Perhaps all this anticipation is only serving to heighten people's expectations as Tesla has an impressive reservation backlog of more than 1.2 million Cybertrucks, worth over $80 billion, despite delays to production that have pushed back its production to 2022. All of these delays, however, may see Tesla lose customers to its competitors. The Hummer EV, for example, is starting production this month, while the Rivian R1T went on sale in September 2021.

While we can't guarantee an exact release date for the Cybertruck, one thing we can guarantee is that Elon Musk will continue to hype the angular pickup EV until that date comes — and will likely continue to do so after the fact.