The Chevrolet Silverado EV won't be in the wild until next year, sometime as a 2024 model, but we've already seen several teaser videos and close-ups of various components, including the truck's unique chassis design. Detail shots of the Silverado EV's top RST First Edition trim show an exciting design feature: a flat-bottom steering wheel. The upscale trim level is one of two Chevy will release to start.
Flat-bottom steering wheels look cool but are used only for cosmetic purposes in today's vehicles. The original intention for the wheels was to make it easier for racing drivers to slide in and out in driving gear. The RST gets a leather-wrapped wheel with silver accents and red RST badging, and the image shows the plastic cover on top of the wheel where Super Cruise-related components are housed.
The 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV will come in two flavors: RST and WT (work truck). The RST trim is a more luxurious truck with finishes and features that everyday drivers expect, whereas the WT model caters to commercial buyers and people wanting to use their trucks on a job site. It does not get a flat-bottom steering wheel, and its interior is far more utilitarian.
The sold-out Silverado EV RST First Edition gets two electric motors with a combined 664 horsepower and 780 pound-feet of torque. Four-wheel steering is standard, and Chevy says the truck can make the run to 60 mph from a standstill in just 4.5 seconds.
The electric truck landscape is changing rapidly and will likely look a bit different than it does not by the time the Silverado EV lands. The Rivian R1T finally hit the streets late last year, and the Ford F-150 Lightning entered production last week. It's also possible that Tesla gets around to releasing the Cybertruck. Chevrolet's corporate sibling, GMC, offers the Hummer EV as well, which shares a platform with the Silverado EV.
Chevy has seen strong interest in both Silverado EV models and says it has collected 140,000 reservations split between the WT and RST First Edition trucks. The RST First Edition starts at around $105,000, and the WT will start at around $40,000. Though there are only two variants at launch, Chevy will release other versions as time goes on, including less expensive models.