--- title: "Awesome Video Shows Cybertruck Towing Gigantic Starship Engine" description: "Videos show Tesla's Cybertruck slowly driving down a road, with a second-stage Raptor Vacuum on a trailer behind it." date: "2023-10-06" modified: "2023-10-06" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-cybertruck-towing-gigantic-starship-engine" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" tags: - "cybertruck" - "SpaceX" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Awesome Video Shows Cybertruck Towing Gigantic Starship Engine ![Videos show Tesla's Cybertruck slowly driving down a road, with a second-stage Raptor Vacuum on a trailer behind it.]() *\Image: Starship Gazer/YouTube\* ## Rocket Slinger We still have plenty of questions about Tesla's long-awaited Cybertruck. The brutish vehicle is [several years behind schedule](), and what we've seen so far [isn't exactly]() [confidence-inducing](). But chances are that its towing capacity, at least, won't be much of a letdown. Images and videos [circulating on social media]() earlier this week showed the electric pickup towing a gigantic SpaceX Raptor rocket engine at the space company's testing facilities in South Texas. Footage [shared by the YouTube channel Starship Gazer]() shows the truck slowly driving down a road, with what appears to be a Raptor Vacuum, designed to propel SpaceX's Starship through outer space, strapped to a trailer behind it. According [to *Electrek*](), a Raptor engine weighs in at 3,500 pounds. Tesla has promised that the Cybertruck will have a towing capacity of over "[14,000 pounds]()," depending on the configuration, but we'll reserve our judgment until third parties have had a chance to take the truck for a spin. Nonetheless, it's a sight for sore eyes. We've come across plenty of images of [broken down and banged up Cybertrucks](), undermining Tesla's braggadocious marketing for the truck — but this clip does seem to suggest that towing capacity won't be one of the truck's shortcomings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-2rjmL8MgY ## Tow Truck We still haven't gotten the truck's exact specifications and real-world performance, even [almost four years]() after Musk originally unveiled it on stage. Tesla promises the truck will be able to accelerate from 0 to 60 in just 2.9 seconds and have a range of up to 500 miles — though [don't expect]() to get anywhere near that kind of mileage while towing. But a [separate video making its rounds]() earlier this week shows the truck rocketing to blistering speeds from a standstill at a red light, indicating it won't disappoint in the acceleration department, regardless of real-world performance. At the same time, that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise given Tesla's and its EV competitors' offerings. Fierce acceleration has become a hallmark of electric vehicles. We still don't know when customers will finally get their hands on their Cybertrucks, though. Tesla [has yet to announce the date]() of its delivery event — despite [Musk promising]() to have one "probably in Q3" of this year, which has now drawn to a close. And while chances are it [won't wow in terms of fit and finish](), it'll clearly pull a rocket engine just fine. **More on the truck:** *[Piece Comes Flying Off Cybertruck While Driving]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()