Elon Musk has long teased the idea of a solar roof for Tesla’s Cybertruck, but the feature remains unavailable. He said in 2019 that solar cells on the bed of the truck could add 15 miles of range per day and envisioned extendable “wings.” That appears, though, to have been scrapped.
Fortunately, a company that has just emerged on the scene at Consumer Electronics Show 2024, Sunflare, is going to attempt to make this dream come true. Their copper indium gallium selenide(CIGS)-solar-cell-laden Solar Car Film can simply cover the entire Cyber truck with power generating panels. On YouTube, “Electric Revolution” priced this option with a 5 kW battery inverter at US$10 000.
The exact increase in range is unknown. Torque News estimates a potential 12-18 miles per day under ideal conditions. While not massive, this wrap could be valuable for off-grid camping. Other roof-based solar solutions, like Toyota’s Prius Prime, offer minimal range gains.
Whether this wrap will make much difference in range for the Cybertruck is unknown, however. This heavy vehicle already has a below-average real-world range of around 230 miles. A few miles of solar range added won’t change that much. It may, however help mitigate “vampire drain,” a concern for some Cybertruck owners.
Solar panel accessories still have value, especially for adventurous driving and overlanding where free renewable energy can be crucial. Sunflare also develops off-grid power solutions for campers.
Reference- Futurism, Electric Revolution Youtube channel, Torque News, The Verge, Interesting Engineering