Tesla Cybertruck software update adds a heap of off-road features

Every report about the Tesla Cybertruck makes it more understandable why Tesla had so little to say about its long awaited pickup at the launch event. The automaker says it's not far away from shipping out another big software update to add features to the electric off-roader, following an OTA package in February. The new code mainly enhances off-road features, but there are some on-road goodies as well. There's now an Off-Road driving mode with two settings, Overland and Baja. These are the activation and expansion of menus already in the infotainment menu that we found out about in December but that didn't work and didn't come with any explanation.

Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill broke the features down in a series of posts on X. Overland Mode lets the driver set the truck up for the best traction on all kinds of surfaces. New buttons and sliders enable a choice of terrain such as Rock or Sand, whether to activate a brake holding feature or let the truck roll when not on the brakes, three ride heights, activating rear-wheel-steering, locking the differentials, and wading. There's also a set of digital gauges indicating heading, pitch, and roll in degrees.

Note, Morrill explains the locking differentials as, "On uneven or slippery terrain, if a wheel has limited or no traction, Cybertruck can direct that torque to the opposite wheel." This sounds more like traction control or torque vectoring to us, or a feature lost in translation because the Cybertruck doesn't have solid axles, but as long as it gets the truck unstuck, who's complaining. The front and rear locking e-differentials are a boon for the dual-motor truck; the tri-motor Cyberbeast comes with a variable locking rear that's always active, and adds the front e-diff. As far as we can tell, the Wade Mode still doesn't put a number to maximum allowable water height. A graphic explaining the Overland Mode menu only indicates, "Use when navigating through shallow bodies of water."