Tesla has started shipping its Cybertruck tent, a $3,000 tent designed for the back of the Cybertruck. However, some people are saying it’s a bit of a disappointment as it looks nothing like what was originally unveiled. This article takes a closer look at the Basecamp and what it offers.
When it comes to trucks, accessories are big business. Their form factor opens up a bunch of interesting possibilities with the bed, but the Cybertruck’s specific design with the angle on the bed makes it more difficult to use some off-the-shelf accessories. To address that, Tesla has planned a series of accessories designed specifically for the Cybertruck.
One of them is Basecamp, a tent that fits in the back of the electric pickup truck. It was first announced with the original unveiling of the Cybertruck in 2019 and looked like an interesting design with a rigid bottom half that matched the design of the truck. However, the product became ‘Basecamp’ and was released for sale shortly after Tesla revealed the production version of the truck last year. It already seemed to be a lot less attractive design at that point.
Now, Tesla has started shipping, or rather installing, the Basecamp for early Cybertruck owners. You need your first installation to happen at a Tesla Service Center to attach the tent’s brackets, which support the base of the tent, to the Cybertruck’s vault side rails.
A top comment on a recent post about the Cybertruck tent says: “This thing looks like something I could make for 10% the cost at $300 and use $20 Walmart tarps cut and stitched. I’d say I’d be pretty honked off if I had a Tesla CT and ordered this, but the people that can afford all that probably wouldn’t miss a wasted $3k as most of us would.”
The tent that Tesla showed at the Cybertruck delivery event last Nov is exactly what is shipping now. This tent is much taller than the concept image one, so it seems more practical. However, the top comments cybertruck owner says that the tent in the 2019 photo is literally just a concept image, and one that includes a camp kitchen.
Tesla’s Director of Product Design reply the post says: “The picture shown in the Electrek article is not properly nor fully set up. They literally posted the worst possible picture they could find. When set up properly, the tent looks great. When stowed, it hides neatly under the tonneau cover avoiding aero drag when driving.”
“Correct, plus you have to pay additional for the crossbars to support the Rivian tent, total cost is $3,450. Porsche’s tent: $6,359; Thule’s: $2,899; iKamper Skycamp is $3,699 boy including crossbars. Roof top tents are not cheap. Tesla’s is the most integrated and still lower $”