Towing Trailers with Electric Cars: Tesla Model X

Can you tow trailers with electric vehicles?

Many motorist today are showing more interest in electric cars or hybrid type vehicles. It's a fairly new technology for transportation and aims to replace gasoline powered vehicles.

Transitioning to these types of vehicles raises the issue of not being able to complete everyday task we already do with gasoline powered vehicles.

In this case, we want to review the practicality of towing a trailer with an electric car, SUV, or truck.

Benefits and Capabilities of Electric Vehicles while hauling trailers

We already know electric vehicles can help us reduce the amount of pollution in the environment and it is important we take care of the world we live in.

Not only that, electricity is cheaper than gasoline and the maintenance on the vehicles are generally less expensive too.

So, over time electric vehicles can benefit the health of the planet and our wallets.

However, what about completing practical task, how realistic is it with electric powered cars?

This technology will be constantly evolving and is expected to get better over time. Today there are dozens of electric cars, SUVs and trucks on the market, and most new ones are rated somewhere between 200 and 350 miles on a full charge.

Plenty of them can handle smaller trailers, bicycle racks, luggage and cargo carriers.

However, should you really be hauling a trailer behind most of these?

To figure this out, you'll want to contact your cars manufacturer and see if your vehicle is even approved for towing first and then get the towing capacity.

Also, If there's no information about this in your cars manual then it's best to not even consider get a hitch outfitted.

Reason to be cautious

1. Most of the electric cars today are not manufactured with towing in mind even though they may be physically capable
2. The motors for these vehicles are much heavier decreasing the actual towing capacity of the vehicle. More weight means more strain on the brakes and other mechanical parts.
3. Electric vehicles do most of their everyday slowing with regenerative braking, where the motor pushes energy back into the battery instead of the pads doing the work. They still have normal friction brakes underneath for hard stops. Add the weight of a trailer and both systems work harder, which is a good reason to pull with a trailer that has its own brakes instead of leaning on the tow vehicle.

Fully Electric cars able to haul a trailer today: Tesla Model X

When this article first went up, the Tesla Model X was about the only fully electric vehicle you could buy with a factory tow rating. That is no longer the case. Electric pickups like the Ford F-150 Lightning, the Rivian R1T and the Chevrolet Silverado EV are all sold with factory tow packages, and a growing list of electric SUVs are rated to pull a trailer too.

The Model X is still a clear example of how this works, so we will keep using it here.

That is not a stock photo at the top of this page. That is a Model X on our own lot, hitched to one of our single axle enclosed cargo trailers.

Tesla offers a factory tow package for the Model X and rates it to haul up to 5,000 pounds. The exact number depends on the wheel and tire package on that particular vehicle, so check the rating for the one you own. Tesla does not approve the Model X for towing at all without the factory tow package, even with an aftermarket hitch bolted on.

Without going into too much detail, your range is going to be affected by how much weight you are hauling and how fast you are going.

So most people recommend adjusting your speeds as you travel so you can properly calculate your distance and make it to your location.

The added weight of your trailer is going to decrease your vehicles driving range so you'll want to make sure you're fully charged before starting and there are locations to charge along the way.

Please consult with Tesla and the vehicle's manual to get more information about towing with the Model X.

Future of Electric Towing

The Tesla Cybertruck is no longer an announcement. It went into production and has been going out to customers since late 2023. Tesla rates the Premium AWD and Cyberbeast versions to tow up to 11,000 pounds with the factory tow package and all terrain tires, and the bed carries a 2,500 pound payload.

So hauling trailers with electric trucks and SUVs is not really the future anymore. As we've seen, technology is capable of growing quickly over a short period of time.

The world we live in may start to transition into alternative forms of energy and innovation, so we can imagine the engineers behind the scenes will be working hard to accomplish new milestones in their products.

Even with the Model X having a 5,000 pound towing capacity for safe hauling, it has proven to be more powerful than those ratings.

Although, not recommended, the SUV has been able to free a 95,000 pound tractor trailer from being stuck on an icy road. At The Boring Company, it was able to pull 250,000 pounds of muck rail cars. Even more, it was capable of pulling a 300,000 pound Boeing 787-9 airplane.

These are impressive feats for an SUV being rated for 5,000 pounds. Keep in mind the 5,000 pound rating is for traveling speeds. Nonetheless, it's nice to know these electric motors are already capable of moving large amounts of weight at reasonable speeds.

Conclusion

We could imagine the positive benefits to the environment electric cars would provide to us once they are fully available for practical and public use.

This technology is on the rise, and the electric trucks and SUVs already on the road show it.

As the technology keeps improving, electric trucks and SUVs that can pull a real load are only going to get more common.

We hope you enjoyed this article about electric vehicles and what we can expect to see in the future.

If you enjoyed it, please check out our other post, sign up for our Newsletter, and visit our Facebook and Youtube Pages. All our content is trailer related and you'll probably end up finding what you're looking for.

Whatever you plan to pull it with, match the trailer to your tow vehicle's rated towing capacity before you buy. You can browse what we have in stock on our trailer inventory page, and we stock hitches, ball mounts and jacks in our trailer parts department.

If you have questions for us, feel free to give us a call at (336) 276-0329.