[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

The test they did was to tow a 40,000 pound sled to see how far four different trucks could tow it in the same amount of time. The trucks were Cybertruck, F350, Rivian R1T, and F150 Lightning. And that’s the order they finished in.

Here’s the clip of the event. https://youtu.be/0QCe7ktx1o8?si=tL92Yf6bd780KSOJ

As I look at it again, it looks like maybe the effective weight being pulled is not always the full 40,000, but might be varied by the block on the rig moving forward to generate more downward force (weight) until the truck can’t pull it anymore. So this could be a situation where the CT gets out further faster (and thus with a lighter load) before the weight gets to the point where it can’t pull anymore. If that’s true, the actual terminal weight is an unknown and could be more or less than the F350.

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

Ahhh, ok. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, it has the power to move weight but rated to 11K or is it 14K. And I know where you are going with this, but there is a lot more in towing than just raw power.

That’s why I edited to write what I wrote after the photo (now in bold). In the video you can see that there is a mechanism on the sled that moves forward as the sled moves forward. That has the effect (I think) of moving the blade downward and increasing the braking force. So if I’m reading this right, and if the mechanism moves at the same rate of speed no matter how fast it is being pulled, then there is a natural advantage for the Tesla because it launches so fast. Meaning it can travel farther faster with effectively a lighter load. Thing is, the same should have been true for the Rivian and Lightning, but both finished behind the F350.

***EDIT***
I managed to find this explanation of how the sled works. Similar to what I thought, but it does seem that the weighted mechanism is at the same position based on position on the track. So either way, we’d need an engineer to calculate exactly how much effective weight any of the trucks actually pulled. And the article also brings in the variable of traction. This particular stunt may be more about the combination of traction as well as towing capability. This is from Motor Trend…

How Does A Pulling Sled Work?
One of the more confusing parts of sled pulling is just how the sled itself works. These specially designed vehicles feature a moveable weight box and a large steel pan that drags along the ground. The weight box, which can hold varying amounts of steel ballast, travels from the rear of the sled gradually toward the front. In doing so an increasing amount of pressure is put on the steel pan, which translates into resistance for the vehicle doing the pulling. The weight box's movement is controlled by movement of the sled's drive axle and completes its movement about halfway through the course. With the both the amount of weight in the box and the speed of its movement set by the operator they can easily get any truck to about the 300-foot mark.
This is worth mentioning, because the Cybertruck running a "full pull" is not entirely impressive on its own without more context. What is impressive, however, it the margin with which it beat this competitive set of trucks. Watching the video in slow motion we can see that the ballast in the sled's weight box remains constant for all trucks, giving us confidence that this was in fact a legitimate result.
The moral of this story is simple, it might be worth thinking twice before lining up beside a Cybertruck at either the drag strip or sled pull unless you're absolutely certain it isn't a Cyberbeast variant.