Tesla Cybertruck’s ‘Basecamp’ Tent Is A $3,000 Disappointment

So far, the Tesla Cybertruck has not exactly lived up to the hype surrounding it. And, as it turns out, neither does its “Basecamp” truck bed tent. What Tesla promised was a sleek, angular tent box that mounted perfectly into the Cybertruck’s bed. What the owners got is a $3,000 gray blob, and some do not seem too happy.

Tesla’s Cybertruck Has Finally Arrived

One owner, TownBiz on the CybertruckOwnersClub forum, detailed his experience with the Basecamp tent, from installation to actually popping the tent in his driveway. The results are, well, mixed at best. First of all, the installation seems like a bit of a pain, and Tesla actually recommends owners bring their Cybertruck to a Service Center for installation, but it seems like something you should be able to do yourself.

Here’s TownBiz’s experience with popping the tent:

Overall, it’s fairly easy to do, but I wouldn’t say it’s significantly easier than setting up a standard tent on the ground. My biggest issue with setup is the very first step, which is removing the CT’s “Aeroflap” (long metal piece right between the can and the bed). It’s tricky because you are blindly reaching the two T30 bolts that keep it in place and if you drop those bolts into the abyss below (likely falling into the area that the tonneau retracts into), bad things may happen and you will probably need to visit the SC to chase down the runaway bolts at a minimum. After you remove them a few times it’s not terrible, but between removing the bolts and then forcefully popping out the Aeroflap, it just feels like a less than premium experience. Removing and reinstalling the Aeroflap does make me a little concerned about losing some of the water proofing at the front of the vault, and I can see the plastic pieces/clips from the Aeroflap potentially breaking with repeated use.

That doesn’t sound great, but it is normal enough for a tent, I suppose. Putting up tents is a miserable endeavor after all. However, one thing that isn’t normal (unless you’re used to Tesla’s antics) is the fact the manual apparently tells you to activate “Tent Mode,” which very much does not exist on the Cybertruck right now. Maybe it’ll come later? Who knows? TownBiz says his Service Center reps are looking into it.

Here’s how the rest of the Basecamp’s setup works. Luckily, it sounds a bit better than the first bit.

Once the somewhat inconvenient Aeroflap is removed, the remaining install steps are pretty easy (not that removing the Aeroflap is terribly difficult either – just kinda unpolished). Unfolding the lightweight aluminium three-pieced is straightforward. However, if you don’t push in the buttons/springs to unlock + unfold each of the legs (which rest on the tailgate when deployed), you will easily snap the leg retaining mechanism. I suspect that this is another part that many people will need to replace because it’s very easy to break. Next step is finding the two “Roof Peak” clips and attaching them to the roof. This may sound weird, but these smartly designed pieces are just a great example of how the thought and attention to detail that went into Basecamp. They perfectly fit along the iconic triangle part of the CT windows and are critical for maintaining the structure of the tent. Very slick design. Once you easily find and close 3 of the 4 Heim Planet air valves, inflating the tent structure is straightforward and pretty sweet if you have never tried an inflatable tent.

TownBiz also went into detail about the materials and componentry of the Basecamp tent, which is awfully nice of him. I don’t have $3,000 and a Cybertruck to check it out myself.

The shelter materials + hardware (zippers, valves, tubes etc) feel really high quality and well made, which is to be expected from the premium Heim Planet brand. There are many CT specific logos on pieces of the tent including the zipper pulls – which may help mentally justify that $$$ premium a little. The visibility out of the tents windows is fantastic and placement of retaining bands for windows are thoughtfully placed. The mattress is about 1.5-2” foam pad that is segmented to enable the tent to fold. Because it is not foam + inflatable (like Exped brand sleeping pads which are super thick and probably as comfortable as my mattress at home), it’s definitely a very firm sleeping pad. It’s decent and definitely convenient, but people may want to bring another sleeping mat to throw on top for extra comfort. I didn’t try spending the night on it so I can’t say for sure, but that’s my quick assessment. As for the tent space itself, it’s the width of the full truck bed and a bit longer because the bottom of the Basecamp frame stands on top of the lowered tailgate. It’s smaller than a queen size bed but you can comfortably fit two adults or maybe 1 adult + 2 kids. I wouldn’t attempt 2+2 unless you want your kids kicking each other all night.

Taking the tent down seems to be an inverse of putting it up. That means it is still “pretty annoying + far more time consuming” than it should be, according to the forum user.

Unfortunately, getting the folded up tent + frame back into it softcover and zipped up can be pretty frustrating. Because the tent frame is wide enough to get every square inch of real-estate from the bed of the truck, there is very little wiggle room for getting the fabric of the softcover up and over the sides of the folded Basecamp.

To add insult to injury, TownBiz says one of the nylon webbing straps sewing broke when he was tightening it. Oof.

So, where does this leave Cybertruck owners? Well it leaves them with a choice to spend $3,000 on a tent with design and functionality issues, and it leaves you and me with something to gawk at when we see a Basecamp on the internet.

Even for hardcore Cybertruck enjoyers like TownBiz, the tent seems to be a bit of a disappointment. He wraps up his very long and detailed forum post (and we thank him for his service) by saying he isn’t sure if he’d recommend the Basecamp tent because he isn’t sure if the good elements of it outweigh the bad. That makes two of us, because I am also not sure.