The Cybertruck wouldn’t look out of place in a budget PS1 racing game. Almost like it’d fit right into Dakar ’97…

Speaking with the Dakarianos podcast, Dakar Rally director David Castera revealed Tesla has reached out about potentially competing in the 2026 race’s Mission 1000 category. Castera stressed that nothing is set in stone and added he “[doesn’t] know if they’re officially participating in 2026,” but there is “real interest” from the American electric vehicle maker. In the meantime, he noted Tesla plans to send observers to the 2025 race.

Mission 1000 doubles as a test bed for vehicles on alternative engine power such as electric, hydrogen, and hybrid. It does not explicitly follow the same route as the Dakar Rally or the adjacent Dakar Classic, instead competing on a separate 1,000-kilometer route each day, it still joins the main race in heading from stop to stop. 2025 entrants include the HySE-X2, a hydrogen-based SSV jointly developed by Japan’s manufacturing giants, and the MAN TGA hybrid truck of KH-7 Ecovergy Team that uses hydrogen and hydrotreated vegetable oil.

“Tesla called us to only talk about Mission 1000,” said Castera. “They want to put the truck, which they call the Cybertruck, in the Mission. They’re preparing one for ’26 and they’re going to come as visitors this year.

“We talked about developing elecrtidc vehicles, et cetera, et cetera, that is the idea.”

The Cybertruck has garnered polarizing reviews since its unveiling in 2019 and production four years later. As remarked above, its design resembles low-polygon vehicles in older racing games, which was purportedly intentional on Elon Musk’s request. Various concerns have been raised about its safety as well, especially with multiple recalls following release. Nonetheless, the electric truck has become a symbol of sort for Tesla and Musk’s increasing influence in society.

As far as motorsports, Tesla does not maintain any official presence whatsoever, so the Dakar entry would theoretically be its first factory racing program. Musk tweeted in 2020 that the Cybertruck “needs to kick butt in Baja,” which some surmised indicated a potential run at the Baja 1000.

Electric vehicles have been tried at off-road races like Dakar and Baja to varied results. Most notably, the electric Audi RS Q e-tron E2 won the 2024 Dakar Rally outright with Carlos Sainz only to shut down soon after due to a lack of parts.

Featured image credit: Tesla