From Joe Tegtmeyer.
I’ve been asked to do a comparison video between the original $100K Premium "Foundation Series" AWD Cybertruck with the new $59K Standard AWD Cybertruck.
I thought I’d do this a bit differently from what most do with driving them and giving impressions about how they drive, feel and work … most of that is really dictated by the person preferences of the drivers, so instead, I thought I’d go into detail about what is different, what had changed and some inside information from people who build the Cybertrucks into what some decisions were made along the way.
It should be noted that this $59K Cybertruck was ordered during the 10-day end of February promotion which then ended on the 28th of February. on 1 March, the price went up to $69K and then recently went up a further $5K to the current $74,990, so it is not the incredible deal it was at the promotional offer, but is it still the value leader in the Cybertruck lineup.
Here is a quick overview:
Two Cybertrucks, same stainless exoskeleton, and a much closer exterior than the price gap suggests. This is a materials, design, and engineering comparison between my 2024 Foundation Series Premium AWD and a new 2026 Standard AWD that launched at $59,990. It is not a driving video.
On first glance, the trucks look almost identical. The stainless body, proportions, glass, tonneau, and lighting signature carry over. The only obvious exterior difference from a few steps back is the wheels and tires: 20-inch Core wheels on the Foundation Premium, 18-inch steel wheels and covers on the Standard. Everything else takes a closer look.
Frunk. The rubber weatherstripping that ran along the sides of the frunk lid on the early Premium is gone on the Standard. That strip was there because of alignment challenges on the early trucks. Those fit issues have been resolved, so the extra seal is no longer needed.
Filters. The Premium AWD uses a HEPA filter. The Standard AWD uses non-HEPA filters. The HVAC unit itself is the same part number. The main difference in how the system behaves is software, not a different blower box.
Roof glass. I cover the glass change and a conversation with Cybertruck Chief Engineer Wes Morrill on why it was made. It was a supplier change. The new supplier had a different process and a heat oven large enough for this glass, which had been a difficult piece of equipment to source.
Bed. The motorized tonneau is still there. What is not: L-track on the Standard, the larger LED bed lights (the Standard uses smaller LEDs), and the under-bed storage container with its opening lid. The Premium bed is the fuller Vault layout.
Details that only show up if you look. The front fender camera housings are revised. The side-mirror plastics are different. Neither change reads from across a parking lot. Both are visible once the trucks are side by side.
Suspension is the large engineering change. Air suspension and the related hardware are deleted on the Standard and replaced with coil springs. Most of the rest of the suspension carries over, including the upper and lower control arms and the wishbones and steering knuckles.
I then show the Premium air suspension moving from Entry through Extract and set that against the fixed ride height of the Standard. Same truck geometry, one of them able to change height, the other not.
Interior. Materials, equipment, and features diverge more than the exterior. Textile seating on the Standard versus the Premium vegan leather, a simpler console, heated front seats only, no rear display, a 7-speaker system instead of 15, and no cabin 120V outlets. One change that is easy to miss: the rear-door armrest window switches are relocated about 30 cm farther forward.
What did not change is the structure and the powertrain. Dual-motor all-wheel drive, mechanical locking differentials, steer-by-wire, rear-wheel steering, the stainless exoskeleton, and the published 325-mile and 4.1-second figures are shared.
Towing and payload are not: 11,000 lb and about 2,500 lb on the Premium, 7,500 lb and about 2,006 lb on the Standard, in line with the suspension and bed hardware that was removed.
The useful way to read this truck is not “cheaper Cybertruck.” It is the same exoskeleton with a shorter bill of materials.
I hope you find this comparison helpful!