China’s $41,000 Cybertruck Clone Comes With Steer-By-Wire, Adaptive Chassis, And A Wheel That Moves Side To Side

A bold new challenger has entered the electric pickup arena—and it’s not from Detroit or California. It’s from China. Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) has unveiled its Pickup 01, a futuristic electric truck that’s turning heads not only for its cutting-edge tech, but also for its disruptive pricing.

Priced at just $41,000, it’s drawing direct comparisons to Tesla’s Cybertruck, which starts at $62,490, but comes loaded with fewer features. The vehicle debuted at Auto Shanghai, where content creators and industry insiders wasted no time sharing its jaw-dropping capabilities with the world.

Captured in a viral walk-around video by Joyevs Studio during media day, the Pickup 01 instantly made waves. What makes it especially disruptive isn’t just the price tag it’s the hardware under the hood and the architecture behind the wheel. According to Technode, the truck delivers an impressive 12,000 Newton-meters of wheel torque, a figure that easily eclipses the 1,400 Nm rating for Tesla’s tri-motor Cybertruck, according to the EV Database.

One of the truck’s most talked-about innovations is its steer-by-wire system, which does away with the traditional steering column altogether. This setup digitally transmits steering inputs, reducing mechanical complexity and freeing up interior cabin space. It also enables a world-first feature: a steering wheel that slides from one side of the dashboard to the other. This means the truck can instantly switch between left- and right-hand drive configurations—a game-changer for global markets. As Supercar Blondie highlighted, this design not only enhances flexibility but also reduces manufacturing costs and tooling complexity for international exports.

Another standout feature is the adaptive intelligent chassis, which can scan the road 1,000 times per second, adjusting suspension stiffness in real time. Whether it’s gravel or pavement, the Pickup 01 adapts to the terrain with such finesse that passengers may not even notice the shift. This kind of tech not only boosts comfort but also points to a new level of intelligent EV design, one that merges utility and performance with high-end engineering.

The Pickup 01 is being developed under GAC’s Adaptive Intelligent Architecture platform, part of its broader One GAC 2.0 globalization strategy. Executives announced that full production is targeted for 2027, with pilot fleets already planned for Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Latin America—a clear signal of the company’s export ambitions and confidence in the truck’s “all-domain” adaptability.

While Tesla may have beaten GAC to market with Cybertruck deliveries beginning in late 2023, it hasn’t been all smooth driving. A steering rack recall in February 2024 cast some shadows over Tesla’s debut, giving competitors like GAC an opportunity to showcase alternatives with greater precision and reliability.