Cybertruck Off-Grid Stargazing: Joshua Tree Night Trip

Saw an Instagram post from Visit Joshua Tree about the Milky Way being visible, possibly a meteor shower that night too. Thirty minutes later we were loading up the Cybertruck with friends, gear, and zero actual plan.

Supercharging Stop at Morongo

We left the house at 67% and arrived at the Morongo Supercharger at 49%. Without stopping we’d have rolled into Joshua Tree at around 32% — technically fine, but not how I like to start a dark desert night with a group. So we plugged in, and everyone walked across the street to In-N-Out.

The station was charging at 142 kW at 52%. The app showed 25 minutes to 80%, which is right about when the congestion fee kicks in. I planned to stop there. I did not stop there.

As soon as the food arrived I had to run back across the street and unplug. Ended up going over 80%, so there may have been a congestion fee applied — I’ll put the charge totals in the video. Here’s the thing though: charging only feels long if you’re sitting there staring at a progress bar. Find something to do and it’s fine. In-N-Out is right there.

First Road Trip on the Falken Wildpeak AT4W

This was the first real trip on the new Falken Wildpeak AT4W all-terrain tires. I noticed immediately at the Supercharger that efficiency was taking a hit.

We arrived at Joshua Tree with trip data showing 100.9 miles, 49.7 kWh used, and 492.2 Wh/mile. For context, the last few hundred miles on the previous tires averaged 396 Wh/mile, and the overall first 14,000-mile average was 406 Wh/mile. The AT4Ws are running about 20% worse on efficiency, which is the expected tradeoff with all-terrain rubber. They’re also noticeably louder — turning up the music takes care of that.

The weather app said 86°F with an extreme heat warning. In the desert after midnight.

Joshua Tree After Dark

No cell signal out there. I had the Starlink dish set up, the Anker SOLIX C1000 running power, an electric fridge from Astro AI, chairs, bins — basically a proper off-grid setup in the back of the Cybertruck.

Connectivity-wise: Starlink showed online with 18.9% ping success and 27ms latency. Not exactly blazing, but connected in the middle of Joshua Tree with no towers in sight — I’ll take it.

The sky was dark. Really dark. My camera couldn’t capture it properly, but stars were out and I was using the Sky Guide app with Starlink to identify constellations. Got Ursa Minor, Ursa Major, and Cassiopeia. One tip I picked up: bring a red flashlight. It’s easier on night-adjusted eyes than white light and won’t kill everyone’s dark adaptation.

Clouds rolled in early in the night

Clearer view later — rocks, stars, Joshua tree

We had a big group out there. Friends, family, everyone pointed at different parts of the sky arguing about which smudge was the Milky Way.

Trip Data and the Drive Home

Here’s the full round-trip breakdown from the Cybertruck screen:

200.6 miles total · 88.2 kWh used · 439.6 Wh/mile

That’s below the 492 Wh/mile we hit on the way out — the return leg brought the average down once we were back on the highway. Still worse than the 406 Wh/mile overall average from the previous tires, but consistent with what you’d expect from all-terrains. The Falken AT4Ws are doing their job; efficiency just isn’t it.

Got home at 3:30 in the morning. Had to be back up in a few hours for a SoCal EV meetup at Bates Nut Farm in North San Diego. Worth it though — the spontaneous ones always are.

I’ve taken the Cybertruck out to Joshua Tree before with the Rivian crew and done a longer Cybertruck road trip down to San Diego — the off-grid setup keeps getting better each time.