Tesla Cybertruck’s Steer-By-Wire Update Keeps Everything Chill On Ice

Steer-by-wire is the controversial technology implemented by vehicles like the new Tesla Cybertruck where signals, motors, and computers are used to connect the interior steering wheel with the front wheels on the road, instead of a classic mechanical connection from the past. Some praise the tech as smoothing out the handling while maintaining intuitive control of the vehicle, while others bemoan the loss of so-called “road feel” that you get from feeling the exact inputs on the road surface on the tires and wheels through a mechanical linkage.

A Difference In Handling… Slightly

Other automakers have employed steer-by-wire systems, including Lexus lately, and more now have patents for the tech likely coming to next-gen vehicles from Stellantis and its staunch rival Ford. The Tesla Cybertruck’s latest batch of updates included one for its steer-by-wire system, but after installing the updates, many owners reported no noticeable difference in handling. Now, Tesla Cybertruck lead engineer Wes Morrill has taken to a post online to explain what exactly changed.

According to Morill, the update came from lessons the Tesla team learned over the course of recent winter testing. The update is intended to improve the feeling of “the nuance of reduced surface friction” on certain surfaces.

The goal was to make the Cybertruck have better, or more, steering-feel fidelity when on snowy and icy surfaces with reduced traction. Specifically, the force feedback on the steering wheel has been reduced to offer less resistance when the vehicle detects it’s on an icy surface.

Change You Can Sorta Feel

Following the clarification, some owners replied online to claim they could sense the improved signaling for road feel and grip level on icy surfaces, but that the system still had some difficulty communicating exactly what was happening when pushing the truck harder toward its limits.

It’s worth noting that the electric steering systems in most contemporary cars are similarly devoid of feel, despite a direct connection, so the gulf in sensations will be relatively small, at least compared to either system versus a hydraulic connection.

Related

Ford Is Learning Tesla’s Steer-By-Wire Tricks

The Blue Oval is working on steer-by-wire and brake-by-wire technology; is this thanks to Tesla?

It’s for the best that most Tesla owners likely won’t notice the change to the steering setup, as you wouldn’t want to alarm anyone or make them have to readjust to the vehicle they’re used to driving. Instead, this is for a small set of circumstances and stands to only make the truck slightly safer if it better communicates its handling to the driver in limited-grip situations.