Tesla has been granted a design patent for the wheel covers that adorned the prototype Cybertruck back in 2019 when it was revealed and again at the beginning of March, at Tesla’s Investor Day event.
Interestingly, the design patent application was filed on November 21, 2019, the same day the Tesla Cybertruck was unveiled for the first time, but the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted the patent on March 7, 2023, with a validity of 15 years.
According to Drive Tesla Canada, the original 2019 prototype wore the funky wheel covers, with subsequent appearances of the Cybertruck featuring simple wheels, without any covers, which led many to believe that the finished pickup’s 35-inch wheels would be mounted as-is on the truck.
Gallery: Tesla Cybertruck Wheel Covers Design Patent
But when the latest Cybertruck prototype was put on display at the company’s Investor Day event at the beginning of March, it featured the same wheel covers as the initial vehicle. So, with the USPTO granting Tesla the rights to use this design on its products, it’s an extra indication that the production-ready Cybertruck might actually come with the black covers detailed in the patent.
However, it wouldn’t be the first time an automaker was granted a patent for something that never made into production, so there’s still a slight chance that Tesla will keep these wheel covers under wraps. But we’ll just have to wait and find out until production starts this summer.
Gallery: Tesla Cybertruck
According to the approved patent posted on the USPTO website, the covers were designed by Tesla’s chief designer, Franz von Holzhausen, along with Julien Blodeau, David Imai, and Ivan Lampkin. There are no technical details such as the size, the material used, or the mounting procedure, with Tesla saying that it’s claiming “the ornamental design for a vehicle wheel, as shown and described.”
As a quick reminder, the Tesla Cybertruck will go into limited production in the summer of 2023, with a ramp-up expected in the first quarter of 2024. It reportedly features an adaptive air suspension system capable of raising and lowering the vehicle depending on the road conditions, as well as the company’s latest Hardware 4 computer. According to an unofficial reservations tracker, Tesla has received over 1.6 million pre-orders for the Cybertruck as of November 2022.
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Source: USPTO via Drive Tesla Canada