by Tesla Cybertruck Owner Added a Center Seat to Transport Four Kids in the Front
Tesla car owners often modify their vehicles. Sometimes this is due to a desire to increase safety, and sometimes it’s because the manufacturer itself did not fulfill previously made promises. In this case, both aspects came together.
A father of four needed space for the whole family. When it became clear that Tesla does not offer a six-seat version of the Cybertruck pickup, he took matters into his own hands. The owner ordered a custom center seat and then shared the results in a Tesla Facebook group.
More details: The $16,000 Range Extender for the Cybertruck is No Longer Available, and Tesla Doesn’t Explain Why
Features of the Custom Solution
The custom modification involves removing the center console and installing a narrow vertical seat in its place between the standard driver and passenger seats. The seat is equipped with a seat belt, but safety may raise questions. Let’s first consider the design itself.
This solution is very different from the bench seat that Tesla showed on renders in 2019, but the upholstery at least matches the original. Because of this, some people might not even immediately notice that the seat is not standard.
Why Did Tesla Abandon the Center Seat?
Although Tesla initially demonstrated a similar layout, it never appeared in production vehicles. Many believe the reason is safety requirements for the center seat.
Some experts note that the pickup has a side airbag on the driver’s side, which, when deployed, could strike anyone sitting in the center. There is also no airbag directly in front of this position. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the seat may not be mounted on sufficiently strong anchors to withstand an impact.
Balancing Desire and Risk
It is important to note that this is not a criticism of the owner’s intentions. The desire to transport the whole family together is completely understandable. However, this situation highlights a recurring theme for the Tesla brand: the company and its leader often make bold promises and show impressive renders, but production cars are then released with fewer capabilities.
Tesla once showed a front bench seat. That version never made it to production, and now an owner has filled this gap himself with a custom modification. In doing so, he assumes a certain level of risk, which may cause concern given the car’s price of over one hundred thousand dollars. Perhaps the solution in such a situation would be to consider the Model X, which truly has space for the whole family.
This story shows how user needs can stimulate unconventional technical solutions when the official manufacturer does not provide the required options. At the same time, it touches on important issues of responsibility and safety when interfering with the design of a production vehicle, especially one as innovative as the Cybertruck. Such modifications often exist in a gray area where enthusiasm and practicality meet regulatory constraints and engineering challenges that remain off-screen on social media.
