Tesla open-sources the Cybertruck's 48V architecture for all carmakers to speed up adoption

Ford's CEO Jim Farley confirmed that Tesla has kept its promise to make the Cybertruck's 48V low-voltage bus architecture accessible to everyone, essentially open-sourcing it like it did with its NACS charging system. Apparently, Tesla sent out all of the 48V architecture's technical documentation already, and Ford received it on Tuesday.

Elon Musk confirmed as much, saying "you are welcome" to Jim Farley's thank you note. Tesla is sharing its 48V knowledge with the hope that it will become the common standard down the road, so it doesn't have to design and produce all the low-voltage components - from the electric bus to the cabin lights - from scratch like it did for the Cybertruck.

The move from the initial 6V to the 12V system took about two decades, but it's been six decades since the first 12V automotive architecture appeared, and things haven't budged much with only a few exceptions. Modern vehicles that are chock full of electronics, and especially smart EVs with their powerful autonomous driving computers and other current guzzlers, have stretched the 12V system to its limits already.

Not only that, but Tesla managed to create the current most advanced steer-by-wire system for the Cybertruck precisely because the voltage increase to 48V allowed it to push the turning motors to a level that would have beeen impossible with the 12V wiring.

Because of the voltage hike and lower current, the 48V architecture also allows for thinner wires hence lighter harness using much less copper. This resulted in cost savings for Tesla, as well as lower total Cybertruck weight.

Now that other automakers have gotten a glimpse of the 48V architecture's advantages in the flesh, Tesla is also supplying them with the technical documentation to spearhead the switch to a modern low-voltage bus system for the automotive industry as a whole.

"We are just trying to bring car electronics to the year 2023," says Elon Musk at the 14:57 mark in the video interview with Sandy Munro below.

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