The Cybercab is the lightest and most efficient Tesla ever

What these documents reveal is the lightest, most efficient car Tesla has ever produced — and perhaps one of the most efficient electric cars ever produced.

EPA filings confirm that the Cybercab is powered by a front-mounted 219-hp permanent magnet motor with front-wheel drive, a 48-kilowatt-hour compact battery pack that makes 326 hp, and weighs in at just 3,113 pounds — making it about 700 pounds lighter than the lightest Model 3 on the market. The testimony was submitted on May 21 and Noticed for the first time before Car and driveris required of all vehicles before they are allowed for sale in the United States.

At 3,113 pounds, the Cybercab is remarkably light, likely due to Tesla stripping away the steering wheel and many of the traditional controls that aren’t necessary in a car. A vehicle intended to be fully autonomous. Most EVs are notoriously heavy because they require massive battery packs to achieve a range of more than 300 miles. The great thing about the Cybercab is that it manages to weigh roughly the same as a gas-powered compact car while still carrying a relatively heavy lithium-ion battery.

The weight reduction also allows Tesla to achieve unprecedented efficiency, by squeezing maximum range out of a small battery pack. According to preliminary numbers submitted to the EPA, the Cybercab is listed as having a range of 418 miles. Once these unadjusted lab numbers undergo EPA testing, the real-world range will likely drop to around 290-300 miles, which is closely in line with what Tesla said it was targeting for the car.

The Cybercab achieves a rating of 165 watt-hours per mile, making it the most efficient electric vehicle on the market today. In comparison, Clear air — previously considered the most efficient electric car — gets 230 Wh/mi. With this efficiency rating, the Cybercab can travel about 6 miles on one kilowatt-hour of energy, which is great news for a company that intends to operate these vehicles for approximately 20 hours a day. Compare that to standard electric vehicles that get closer to 3 or 4 miles per kilowatt hour.

But what we lack is a real plan to operate these cars. As of press time, Tesla was operating fewer than 60 Model Y robotaxis in a handful of Texas cities — despite Musk’s claim that they will be available to half the US population by the end of 2025. Tesla is actively seeking permits to launch the service in Las Vegas, as well as several cities in Florida. But the company has not yet said when it expects the Cybercab to be operational.