The forthcoming Tesla Cybertruck is sure to be a lot of things; revolutionary, high-tech, animal-like. Yes, that’s right: animal-like. Elon Musk has confirmed that the yet-to-be-revealed Tesla Cybertruck will have four-wheel steering, like a crab. 

So the Cybertruck will have four-wheel steering; what does that mean?

Yahoo has confirmed that the Tesla will have four-wheel steering, or rear-wheel steering, as Musk has called it. Four-wheel steering means that the Cybertruck will have the ability to move side to side without having to turn the way regular cars do. Imagine a crab; they scuttle left and right, their beady little eyes watching you warily, right? That’s what the Cybertruck will do, but it probably won’t scuttle. It may have eyes. 

Although the ability to move side-to-side makes it sound like you could just choose to drive sideways, four-wheel steering actually just gives your rear wheels some control over their direction independently of the front wheels. 

What other vehicles move like a crab?

The Hummer EV has ‘Crab mode,’ which, as the name suggests, allows the Hummer to move laterally across wet rocks in tidepools. Okay, fine, it just moves side to side, but it’s still pretty cool. Crab mode will likely come in super handy when you get tired of driving your car with the front of your car leading the way and want to freak people out as you pull into your driveway like you’re power sliding. Also, if you’re trying to fit into a tight parking space. 

In the case of the Hummer, the wheels can move diagonally in a straight line. The Hummer can only move at a ten-degree angle, not a ninety-degree angle as the same suggests. Plus, the Hummer doesn’t even have claws, so maybe Crab Mode isn’t as great as it sounds. 

Elon Musk confirmed the Cybertruck will have four-wheel steering

Elon Musk says, “We’re adding rear wheel steering, so it can do tight turns and maneuver with high agility.” 

Yahoo notes that the Cybertruck and the Hummer EV are both coming with 1,000 horsepower, which makes them very powerful electric vehicles. They can also get from 0 to 60 in three seconds, though hopefully, they have to be driving straight for that kind of acceleration. 

Perhaps the biggest difference between the Cybertruck and the Hummer EV will be the cost. While the Hummer EV is set to cost $112,595, the Cybertruck is a much more affordable (kind of) $79,990, even with Full Self-Driving (which isn’t quite full self-driving yet).

Rear-wheel steering isn’t the only cool thing the Cybertruck will have

Tesla filed a patent that indicates that the Cybertruck will have capabilities beyond any other vehicle we’ve seen so far. Its camera-based systems will likely allow the Cybertruck to do things like identify who is driving, and adjust temperature and drive controls for that person. 

Until the Cybertruck comes out, just exactly what it will include remains a mystery. It will be interesting to see whether the Cybertruck has four-wheel steering and how it works. Still, there’s reason to believe that it will be a truck that changes the futures for pickup trucks as well as EVs. If the Tesla Cybertruck will have four-wheel steering, it can only add to its appeal.