I have vivid dreams. I woke up this morning just an instant before I hit the water, having been pushed or jumped out of an airplane hundreds of feet above the ocean. And I have recurring vivid dreams about wild and bizarre cars that can fly, among other things.
My first thought this morning after I awoke so abruptly was this: did I dream the Tesla Cybertruck reveal last night?
I anticipated this reveal unlike any other since I was a kid, as this was a perfectly kept secret, and all the speculations about it were decidedly off. And I feel rather like a kid again, because I have not encountered such a wild and extraordinary car since I first laid eyes on some of those incredible Italian concept cars of the late ’60s, like the Lamborghini Marzal and so many others. Of course I was also familiar with the great dream cars of the ’50s and early ’60s from Detroit, but mostly only retrospectively.
But these were just that: dream cars, to keep us salivating for the next production car, even if they almost invariably didn’t live up to the concept. Nobody actually built dream cars, until now.
Unless Elon Musk has just pulled an early April Fool’s stunt, the Cybertruck is for real, to be available in late 2021, although I wouldn’t bet on that date, given how optimistic Musk’s timetables tend to be. But then Tesla did just build a complete functioning factory in China in under a year, a timetable that was roundly laughed at when announced.
The Cybertruck’s shape and design is the most polarizing thing that’s happened in the industry in quite a while. It was the top trending thing on Twitter last night, and the media became a geyser of feedback. A lot of it very negative. TSLA stock is down today. Understandably so: this truck is very much out of the ordinary, looking like it just landed on Earth from outer space.
Not surprising, as Musk is all about space travel, determined to send humans to Mars, and he launched his personal Tesla Roadster into space, where it’s still exploring the solar system with its dummy driver.
Musk has been talking about a Tesla pickup for almost seven years. Tesla even released this rendering of one hauling an F150 at an earlier event. It was clearly inspired by the Tesla Semi (which we’re still waiting for), and not to be taken too literally.
He did drop a lot of hints in more recent months, saying it was inspired by Blade Runner and armored troop carriers, among other things.
This resulted in an endless stream of renderings on the web. Amazingly, all of them are drastically more conservative than the real thing. That alone says a lot about just how far out the Cybertruck is. Nobody could imagine something like it as a real production truck, except Elon and Franz von Holzhausen, his chief designer since the Model S.
Finally, a few days before the reveal, Musk said that the Lotus Esprit S1, specifically the underwater sub version built for the James Bond “The Spy Who Loved Me”, was a key design influence.
Aha; the car that essentially defined the origami school of design. If you want to read more of the history of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s 1971 concept that led to the production Esprit, I happened to find one on the streets of Eugene and wrote it up here.
But if Musk had really wanted to hint at the Cybertruck’s Italian dream car inspiration, he would point to the Maserati Boomerang, which Giorgetto also designed and was shown along with the Esprit at the 1971 Turin Motor Show. Now there’s a dream car.
If someone can come up with a better example as to the Cybertruck’s inspiration, please share it. There’s others, undoubtedly. Except for the sharply peaked roof on the Cybertruck, I’m seeing a lot of influence here. But then I might be dreaming…
The Boomerang even looks a bit like it has a pickup bed at the rear. Did I imagine in my wildest dreams in 1971 that the Boomerang would inspire an electric pickup in 2019? Nope.
Speaking of pickup bed, the Cybertruck’s “vault”, which is 6.5′ long, is normally enclosed with its integral cover. This is undoubtedly a critical aspect of squeezing out maximum aerodynamic efficiency, which is always a top priority at Tesla. Obviously, its aerodynamics are going to be much worse than the slippery Tesla sedans, but I’m quite eager to find out what it is. Despite its apparent boxiness, I would be surprised if it isn’t significantly slipperier than the current production pickups, with that integral bed covering being a key aspect to that.
This morning Tesla announced that there will a solar panel option, which will add up to 15 miles of range, and that there might even be extendable panels that could add up to 30 miles or more. In sunny climes.
The interior is relatively more predictable, in terms of Tesla’s cars so far. Is that faux marble on the dash?
Here’s the vault fully exposed.
And loaded with an ATV, a job made easy with its integral load ramp and a variable height suspension. At full height, it has 16″ of clearance, more than any other pickup, real or proposed. It’s approach and departure angles of 35 and 28 degrees are unbeatable too.
How about a Cybertent? Tesla plans to offer these accessories. Plenty of electricity available for cooking and such.
The Cybertruck can tow too; up to 14,000lbs in the top tier three-motor version, and 10,000lbs in the two motor version, which will undoubtedly be the most common one. More on specs and pricing later.
But this is no typical Body-On-Frame (BOF) truck. It has a unibody, made from “ultra-hard 30X Cold-Rolled Stainless Steel”. Its skin durability was put to the test when von Holzhausen put to the test with a sledgehammer against its door. No dent. Before anyone starts in on that “real trucks” have separate frames, please note that a unibody can easily be stronger than BOF, it just limits the flexibility of different body configurations. And it appears that there will be just this one here.
Von Holzhausen’s test of the Cybertruck’s “Armor Glass” didn’t go as well. Remarkably, Musk gave him the go ahead to try a second time. Another shattered pane. Musk mostly took it in stride, except for dropping an F bomb. There’s plenty of time to flesh that out, along with a few other details, I’m guessing. Who knows how finished this prototype is? Previous Tesla reveal cars have been far from genuinely production ready.
If you missed the reveal, here’s a handy 5 minute edited version. Musk’s many talents do not include being a very effective presenter, and there was a somewhat cobbled-up vibe to this one. Or dream-like.
The second biggest shocker of the evening was when the pricing was announced. Musk had long said the Cybertruck would start at under $50k. But who would have thought it would be $10k under that? Yes, the base version, with single-motor RWD, 250+ mile range, and a 6.5 second 0-60 time is priced at a jaw-dropping $39,900. That’s perhaps the insanest thing yet about this reveal.
Even this base version has to have a battery about as large as the 100kWh top of the line Model S, and yet it’s priced at just a few thousand more than the base Model 3. It’s hard to see how this is even possible. One wonders if the price will hold.
The two-motor AWD version, which will likely be the most common one, does 0-60 in under 4.5 seconds and has 300+ miles of range, and is priced at $49,900. And the tri-motor version will beat a Porsche 911 to 60, in under 2.9 seconds, and has a whopping 500+ mile range. It’s priced at $69,900.
Rivian’s RT1 EV pickup has a base price of $69,000. But it would take a mid-range Rivian with the optional 135kWh pack to roughly equal the two-motor Cybertruck. That’s probably going to be priced at about $80k. The Rivian does have four motors, which allows power to be vectored to each wheel individually. Its styling was polarizing when it came out…today it looks milquetoast tame.
This comparison shows just how shockingly cheap Tesla is pricing the Cybertruck.
The Bollinger B2 EV pickup, a rough-and-ready beast that now looks very tame compared to the Cybertruck, is priced at $125k, with 120kWh battery pack and some 200 miles of range. It has two motors and in-wheel portal gear hubs for massive 15″ of clearance. But as of today, that’s one inch less than the Cybertruck.
And of course Ford and Chevrolet have announced EV pickups too. All are arriving in roughly the same time period: about two years or so, give or take. It’s going to be the EV pickup shootout.
So the big question is how’s the Cybertruck going to be accepted and will it sell?
The answer to the first question is: it depends. Meaning folks are going to love it or hate it. That’s already the case. But there’s no doubt in my mind that while the Cybertruck will likely always be polarizing, the ratio of haters to lovers will tip to the latter over time. It always does, when something so new and different is dropped on folks. Humans largely are conservative and don’t do big change well. But look at how the Aztek has become an object of endearment. And a lot of other once-shocking cars. Folks will get used to it, mostly, eventually. Here at CC, where change does not come easy for most of our readers, it might be a while…
Will it sell? Sure. To the right folks, in moderate numbers. It’s not going to give Ford execs nightmares.
I’m going to recount an experience I had just a couple of days ago; it’s anecdotal, with its inherent limitations. But here goes:
I was parked at the curb in my xB, right next to the University of Oregon campus. There was an empty space behind me, and after a couple of minutes I saw an immaculately shiny Ford Raptor slowly pull in behind me, its giant grille blocking out everything else. I saw the door open and a mid-30s old mild-mannered and impeccably dressed Asian-American guy hopped down, and walked into a store. Probably an academic researcher or such. And his $70k Raptor almost certainly will never be despoiled in any dirt. He’d be a perfect candidate for a Cybertruck.
Let’s face it: big gnarly pickups are a hot item these days. Yes, I know that CC’s Jason Shafer will defend them eloquently for their multifold usefulness, but there’s no doubt an ever-larger percentage of them are being bought by city folks who most likely will not be using them to tow, haul or go off-roading. They’re a thing, now, and a mighty hot one at that.
I refuse to judge that; it is what it is. It is true that the growth of truck and SUV sales are now overshadowing the emission savings of EVs and hybrids. That’s not exactly a good thing, climatically speaking. So folks who care about that sort of thing may well be attracted to the Cybertruck, along with some of the other EV trucks coming.
But here’s the thing: depending on their socio-geographic-political orientation, if they’re “Tesla folks” they won’t likely be walking into a Ford dealership. And vice versa. That’s the increasing reality as all automotive brands increasingly are ever-more associated with the various tribes of our land.
Tesla bros are going to either love the Cybertruck from day one, or they’ll get used to it. Just don’t expect to see your contractor pull up in one. There’s a whole generation that grew up with Star Wars and has immersed itself in so many video games where the Cybertruck looks right at home.
As for me, I’m just blown away. In all my many years, never has anyone put something so uncompromising into production, and as a truck, no less. It took me about 30 seconds after it was first revealed last night to get over my incredulity, and then realize I was witnessing something highly extraordinary. That’s not say I want one, as I have no use for such a thing. But Elon Musk’s ability to keep blowing me away is utterly remarkable.
Musk is the kid that we’re all jealous of, because he’s getting to realize his toys (and doodlings) in full-size scale and turn his dreams of space travel into reality. He explicitly warned that some might not like the Cybertruck, and that it might limit its appeal; what other automaker CEO would feel that and still plow ahead, with zero compromises?
Love him or hate him, the automotive world is profoundly richer thanks to his endless appetite for risk and his ability to make his dreams come true. And in a world of look-alike cars and trucks, the Cybertruck is a very welcome addition to the streets. And no, I’m not dreaming.
SAYONARA ROBOCOP!!!
Lol I love your take “getting to realize his toys” it really is true. But what’s great is all he has really packed into this truck. While the look isn’t going to appeal to everyone… the stats do lol
6000SUX!
Because I’m an old car nut, I was reminded of a famous picture of Henry Ford hitting the trunk of a ‘41 Ford (I think) with a sledgehammer to show off a dent-resistant plastic that he’d had developed from soybeans.
You could say that Ford and Musk had similar abilities to move the goalposts and capture imaginations, I suppose.
What a comprehensive article, Paul! Kudos.
I’m shocked, first by the styling and then by the pricing. On the styling, let’s just say that Rivian and Ford must be very happy about it. There’s a healthy slice of the luxury truck market that will go for something with the conservative looks of the Rivian, but never this.
As for pricing, either the 2wd model will get quietly dropped, making it a $50K price, and/or Tesla is banking on their in-house battery manufacturing cost continuing to drop. I think it’ll be both.
I think that a decent proportion of the luxury truck market might well go for this, given that Tesla is the top selling luxury car brand, at least in certain markets, according to stuff I’ve read.
A certain percentage of rich folks like to be out in front with the latest toys, and this would certainly qualify!
I agree with you. The consultant with a Raptor that Paul saw (surely not an academic researcher, they’re poor!) might go for it. Bankers and real estate types will be driving the Rivian.
All the flat surfaces remind me of the radar-evading design of stealth aircraft.
+1 Reminds me of the cockpit of a stealth jet.
When I saw the pic (and before I read the article) I thought it was an autonomous vehicle, and the stark body planes and high ground clearance would be to minimize harm to the pedestrians it would inevitably hit.
This pickup intrigues me mightily in a number of ways. And if Tesla can keep the price point for the base model at $39k they will undoubtedly have a few converts from Ford, GM, and Ram.
But perhaps that is the intention. If so, kudos to Musk.
Yes, pickups are indeed the Swiss Army knife of motorized transport. The only demerit I could ever give to a pickup is they aren’t well suited for hauling a harp.
Day by day, I feel ever more like I am living in the future and this truck just pushed that feeling ahead by about a decade. I don’t know that it’s a good feeling, more just disorienting.
The future is always ahead. We cannot be in the future, we can only look to it.
The Cybertruck makes me feel like I’m living in 1972, myself 🙂
I simply love it. I don’t think the real thing will look exact the same in 2 years when it comes to the market, but probably 90% unchanged. What a way to enther this market segment, making all others look like something from the 1960’s.
Very well done and welcome back Paul. Honestly, when I first saw the photos, I thought it was covered in some kind a sheathing that would pop off during a big reveal. Took few seconds to grasp the reality!
Stealth Fighter looks like the closest influence. I wonder if it will show up in a speed trap?
Remember how the original Dodge Ram seemed to be way out there when it came on the market? Now all the pickups have that ‘big truck’ vibe. I’m inclined to say this is just too way-out for the pickup crowd to accept, but could history repeat? Is Tesla’s pickup the new Ram, so to speak? Maybe? That low, low price could do a lot to overcome people’s aesthetic objections.
FWIW, the polarizing 1994 Ram was the second generation. The Ram name was used first on the 1981 restyling of the ’72 D-Series.
This thing is straight out of Blade Runner. As in, it is totally believable that Rick Deckard would have driven this in either of the movies. I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Do people want to drive a truck that looks like it came from an actual dystopia? Who knows. In any event, it’s insanely bold. I can’t wait for the inevitable Rivian vs. Tesla comparison tests.
I love it. Just… Wow!
They could have built something that looked like the Rivian or the GM and Ford trucks in development but I’m glad they didn’t. This helps Tesla stand out in a segment that will soon have quite a few entrants.
I’m on the same wavelength as Paul regarding Tesla? How on earth…
I saw the reveal last night, even with the broken glass (Which I expected, bulletproof glass isn’t like the movies) I found it night and day in terms of excitement to the Mustang Mocky reveal on Sunday, which is basically a 10 year old Infiniti FX BEV with a Mustang badge, just completely predictable and nothing more than a Tesla imitator.
The cybertruck I’m not sure will be a game changer, but it is far more exciting than what I expected based on Tesla’s styling up to now. I have wished car designers would be this daring my whole life, they’ve played things so safe ever since the jellybean 90s look, where most designs look predictable upon release and boring after a few years. The mid 60s to the mid 70s was my favorite period of car design, when design was last left purely to imagination and free from aerodynamic, safety and marketplace realities, and this looks like a concept straight from it. I don’t necessarily want it, or even like it, but I can’t stop staring at it. But I’m a weirdo who tends to embrace “love it or hate it” designs, I tend to not be on the same wavelength as the masses that determine what’s successful and what’s not.
The biggest issue I see is that it isn’t actually that original, like you I instantly connected it to these wedgy late 60s-70s concepts, and I’d also include the Countach in production cars. Folks were used to it, and have moved on. Maybe this is a fashion that will come around again, but maybe not. The Aztec wasn’t really this level of unconventional, it’s why it was so easy to blend in after just a few design cycles of other cars. The Tesla faithful might come around, but defending the design is one thing, buying it is another. I believe Tesla will do just fine with or without the cybertruck, but if it’s mission was to shake this segment the way the Model S and 3 shook the luxury and sedan segments, I think we will have to wait and see. Very rarely does a vehicle *I* like become favored by the masses.
The other thing that went through my head last night was, “wasn’t a key aspect to Tesla’s success making a viable EV that wasn’t weird or goofy looking, like every EV prior had deliberately been? Nothing about any Tesla up to this point has defied convention stylistically, minus the Xs falconcrest rear doors anyway, they are pretty typical attractive designs of the era. The Cybertruck can easily be accused of being a step back to electric vehicles of yore who don’t appreciate the design inspiration and fun the way we do. We may see 70s Italian concept revivals, but others might see CitiCar…
Aack!!! You’ve nailed it with the CitiCar. Cybertruck looks like it was folded out of sheet metal, just like the CitiCar. Tesla cars are so sleek, the best-looking cars on the road, they dispelled the old golf cart stereotype.
Some people like it, so what can I say. Time will tell what they actually deliver in a year or two.
How on earth indeed! 🙂
And excellent call on the CitiCar.
Looks like a nightmare to me. I really don’t get the whole electric vehicle thing. Makes no economic sense at all and I certainly would not consider buying one.
I am steadfastly in the anti electric vehicle side of things. Given me a good old internal combustion engine any day.
For the first time EVER I am wishing I had the money to buy a new vehicle. A new electric vehicle! If Musk can make a grumpy old fart like me stop and go “wow!” he may just be on to something.
Styling is wild. Looks like a reject from a very early 3D video game where everything had to be super blocky and unshaded for the CPU to handle. Or someone’s first attempt in CAD.
I hear the body panels are super thick since they are so flat. It must weigh a significant amount.
I’m not sure where I am on this. While I don’t know that I would call the design necessarily appealing, I must say that it IS a good design overall: well-proportioned and good use of shape and surface. It does make everything else look outmoded, and, especially with the history of notable 70’s cars presented, is not nearly as radical as one might initially think. The specs sound shockingly good. Price – well, let’s see if they can deliver that.
On the other hand, the look is such a departure from common form factor today that a big chunk of the potential market is going to take a pass. The Model S that started the whole revolution was not a shockingly different design, just a clean, well-executed appealing one. They even slapped the fake grille on it at first to soften the blow
So much pollution is generated by trucks, and there is such a need for an efficient alternative, that if they had introduced something that was merely 5 steps ahead instead of 17, people would have been storming the gates for one. This is such an extreme reach that it’s going to really shrink its market and potential impact, and I don’t think it had to be that way.
Fascinating truck and article.
It really does look like the F-122.
I wonder if it has a lower than average radar signature.
I think the window thing was planned so the video would go viral.
I mean, they had to have tested for that, no?
I think Tesla is bringing the future in, but big oil has a way of maintaining the status quo.
They’ve been doing it for 100 years.
They can afford to short Tesla stock indefinitely in an attempt to stifle them.
G old
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D rugs
Musk has gotten further in the game than anyone else.
I hope he succeeds.
A meme I saw on Facebook earlier today compared the Cybertruck to a mid-century Eichler house crossed with a DeLorean.
Ah, that explains why I like it!
Talk about polarizing! I suppose that hardcore Tesla supporters will go for this in a big way, the rest of the population will be totally turned off by it. Personally I prefer the appearance of the Rivan pickup must more than the Tesla “pickup”. I cannot imagine in my wildest dreams a farmer who lives somewhere in the Midwest ever buying one of these. Bottom line: How many Tesla fanbois will buy one of these vehicles?
There are those who have a permanent hate-on or hard-on for Tesla. I have neither. My first thought when I saw the Cybertruck was “When this baby hits 88 miles per hour…you’re gonna see some serious shìt!”.
I found the launch pageantry ridiculous and juvenile, but I’m nowhere near any target demographic and I dislike auto shows in general and new-model launches in particular, so…whatever.
The shatterproof (not) glass demo foulup was entirely predictable and avoidable. Special glass not yet ready? Fine, maybe install Plexiglas for the demo…?
One of the tiredest insults often hurled around on this website is “It looks like something sketched by an unimaginative five-year-old”. That is actually apt for this truck. To my eye, it’s quite crude, and the dimensions are bizarre. It looks unfinished, frankly.
There’s a feeling of forced cheer, too, about the positive comments by people, almost as if anyone who dares to not like this design is some kind of fuddydud. It looks like a cartoon to me, and not in a good way.
If this look meets with acceptance, the cab forward Dodge Rampage might make a comeback. 🙂
that bears a surprisingly close resemblance to the Dodge Deora show car
I like it. I want to buy one. Why look like everyone else? The cyber truck makes all the current trucks and EV trucks look stale.
It seemed like most of the comments online were negative. Most of the commenters either hated it or thought Musk was trolling them. I’d say less than 10% were positive.
I currently drive a Kia Soul EV. I’ve never owned a pickup before, either. This truck would change my mind. I hope Musk keeps it close to it’s current form.
So much for the redneck in a pick up truck image.
I find it utterly hideous. The RoboCop theme is cool, no doubt, but as an actual production vehicle, I find it comical. This will never take the place of traditional pickup trucks. I wouldn’t even call it a truck, but more of a Coupe Utility, like the X6, Q8, GLE Coupe, and the dearly departed Acura ZDX.
Although it is yet another “macho” all-show vehicle, as so many SUVs and pickups have become, this vehicle will not appeal to traditional pickup truck drivers. It will be bought by trendy multi-millionaires who live in their $3+ million dollar contemporary homes on the California coast and equally expensive homes in East Coast cities and suburbs. And yes, I’m judging. I guess I’m getting older and becoming a “get off my lawn” type. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
I’m in agreement. And disliking the design does not make you a “get off my lawn” type. This design has none of the style and panache of the the current Teslas.
The Model 3 was a paragon of style from the moment it came out. There was a stateliness and a presence about it that set it apart from its competitors; This “truck” seems like it was quickly tossed off, putting stats (aerodynamics, coefficient drag, towing capacity, torque, etc) ahead of style.
If the style sucks, it doesn’t matter if it trumps its competitors in the numbers game. I agree that it is for the uber rich or for contrarians who feel that the more radically ugly the vehicle, the better.
I agree with Paul’s assessment regarding Tesla’s Pick-Up.
I would like to add, where does it say that a car company can only have one truck? If Tesla continues to impress Wall Street and maintain a semblance of profitability then Tesla will be able to add other (more conservative) pick-up truck designs later on. Perhaps even purchase some other failed Electric Car Companies and create a 21st Century Electric-Only General Motors? With Rivian or Workhorse ultimately becoming Tesla’s version of GMC?
A few things are for sure here
1. Tesla is fully committed to electric vehicles and are swimming in the “deep end” with their technology.
2. FCA, GM, and Ford are only just dipping their toes in the shallow end of electrics at this point.
2a.Even if GM makes an electric pick-up how long will they be committed to it if it is not both profitable and a smash-hit? One only has to look at recent GM history,
EV-1 dead, Volt dead, ELR dead, Sonic EV (was it ever alive to begin with?), Bolt is relying on an LG powered defibrillator for life-support, GM full size pick-up and SUV hybrids are dead also.
Can GM even sell a vehicle without a 20% off sale anymore in volume to “Real People” and not rental agencies and Municipalities? If not, how will GM be able to have 20% off sales on vehicles without a lot of margin built in and still compete against Tesla, an established company in its field of expertise without the trappings of a franchise-dealer model to complicate the supply-chain.
Remember that GM’s customers are its dealers. Joe Public is a customer of the dealership. *Must Take Stock From Available Inventory* At Tesla, Joe Public is Tesla’s customer.
2b. FCA owned GEM from December of 2000 until July 2011, I get that battery tech and computer tech was not then what it is today, but what would FCA look like today if they had turned GEM loose on converting a Chrysler PT Cruiser and Plymouth Prowler into an EV or hybrid and kept refining it? Also FCA actually manufactured a hybrid Durango and Aspen for two seconds and much like GM, gave up.
Sergio once said regarding the Fiat 500 EV ““I hope you don’t buy it because every time I sell one it costs me $14,000,” “I’m honest enough to tell you that.”
2c. Ford seems to be the most committed to EV’s. Ford has numerous developments in battery powered vehicles since Henry Ford and Thomas Edison worked together during the very beginnings of the Ford Motor Company. Through development of the Ecostar in the 1990’s and continuing through this weeks debut of the Mustang Mach-E.
Out of all the “establishment” American car companies going head-first into electric vehicles, I believe Ford will come to be the most successful. I believe that Ford always wanted to be an electric company or at least offer the option to its customers. But the technology just wasn’t able to make electric vehicles as robust as their gas counter-parts for more than a century, until now.
When you look at Ford through a historic lens they always seem to find the one memorable and successful product every time there is a “disruption” in the industry
First Mass Produced Car – Model T
First Mass Produced V8 – Model 18
First Personal Luxury Coupe – Ford Thunderbird
First Pony Car – Ford Mustang
First World Class Front Wheel Drive Family Sedan – Ford Taurus
The question for Ford is now, can it repeat history one more time and can its offerings be considered good enough in the marketplace to sell without heavy incentives and bolster profit? Is the brand still that desirable? For all of Fords success there have also been numerous failures and forgettable models too. Can quality become job #1 again?
Circling back to Tesla and its design. Let’s face it, customers are the most brand-loyal in the Pick-Up Segment than anywhere else in the market Even the mighty Toyota struggles to make inroads here. Even if Tesla designed the most capable, traditional looking pick-up truck in the segment it still would have a difficult time selling to established pick-up truck buyers. So why not try something radical and aim it toward existing Tesla customers looking for slightly more utility similar to Honda’s Ridgeline philosophy? At the same time capture the purchasing public that grew up playing Star Fox video game and watching Star Wars movies and wants a real live version of those types of vehicles that captured our youthful imaginations.
In the mean time, Tesla has a chance to gauge the market to see if it is interested in a more traditional electric pick-up for its next design.
I’m a car designer by trade and so want to like this….
I love it’s boldness, but it could have been so much less crude.. those origami designs of the 70s actually needed very sophisticated surfacing to make them work – look at a Countach LP 400 in detail and see how curved the lines and surfaces really are.
The “simpler” the design theme and the larger the surfaces, the more “love” those surfaces need.
Having said that, I’m glad to be genuinely challenged by a new product. There are many interesting ideas in this vehicle as well as some (like the windscreen angle) that look problematic.
I’ll really have to think about this one and that’s good!
I have several issues with the truck and after thinking about it for a large part of the day, here goes:
1. For something that has been teased for the last two years this thing looks remarkably unfinished. All of the concepts mentioned such as the Marzal, Boomerang, Esprit (that actually reached production) and even stuff like the MB C-111 and the Dome Zero, they all looked MUCH more production ready than this truck does.
In fact, this seems like it would work better as NOT a truck. Look at things like the Aston Martin Rapide, it works very well although in the abstract it seems wrong. Same with the Panamera, first gen looked weird, but current gen absolutely works. Lower this concept and it works better that way instead of a “pickup”.
2. I don’t get the price. While you can “reserve” one I’m guessing that the $39.9k is including $20k in gas savings (15,000 miles/yr x 4years @ 12mpg @ $4/gallon = $20k) once the full configurator comes online. So a real base of $59.9k. But in any case, why the fixation on the low price, nobody buys a Tesla because it’s the lowest priced product. Half the M3 buyers are coming from Civics and Priuses. They are happily paying multiples of their prior cars prices. It’s a premium product and if it wants to be perceived that way should be priced that way.
2a. – The corollary to price is cost – you have a body material that is 3-4 times the thickness of standard truck steel/Al. That costs more money. Who cares that it doesn’t ding, dings are easy to fix with PDR. If it won’t ding, will it crumple in an accident? If not , that’s another problem. And if it does then it’ll likely be harder to fix than Aluminum. Bulletproof windows? Who cares, its too late for Biggie and Tupac already. I’ve never been shot at in my ride, Joe Q. Public would rather save the money and Tesla doesn’t need more costs. If the special glass was cheaper it’d be used in every car so clearly it just adds cost. And doesn’t seem to work well anyway.
3. Form vs Function – I hear a lot about the shape being that way due to aero, ok that’s form following function. But it’s a truck, why do the other functions not follow the form aspect? Headroom in the back seat looks marginal and if it’s not then the front seat has enough room for the Coneheads which is totally unnecessary. The high bed sides look like the world’s biggest blind spot and were 100% panned on the original Ridgeline for example and force everyone, even Wilt Chamberlain, to get out the step stool or deploy the ramp to get a box out of the bed.
4. There’s not enough of a market for a polarizing design. The Model 3 sells worldwide because it works sizewise. This truck is as large as domestic fullsizers. Those are NOT popular anywhere else in the world due to their size (not the gas mileage, there are plenty of poor mpg vehicles around the world that sell), hence there is no world market for this truck. Tesla needs sustained profitability, and this is a low volume vehicle. Rivian is physically smaller, hence a larger worldwide market. Bollinger looks cool too, likely to more people than this does, and has some very practical features (that whole body passthrough for example).
5. Tesla currently produces a very expensive luxury liftback sedan, an even more expensive weird looking liftback SUV that’s overly complex, a right-sized sedan when supposedly nobody is buying sedans but people flock to the M3 although it could be a liftback and thus more practical without changing the shape…, and soon a liftbackish small CUV. Now here is this truck that will be limited in appeal for no good reason and eventually maybe the Semi and the Roadster. But where the hell is the midsize two-box SUV that EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD IS BUYING THESE DAYS and that might actually set Tesla on a path to real profitability by removing ANY excuse to buy their product due to practical concerns? The “aero” excuse is overblown, it just doesn’t figure into most people’s calculations and Tesla is arguably the most able to absorb a little efficiency hit of anyone out there based on their battery tech and charging infrastructure. They seem to be able to build a factory in a year, less time than to design a car so why not make the vehicle that actually sells for real money and will make them money while doing so? It’s not that hard of a concept. Instead we get these flights of fancy.
Oh, one more thing… as far as design inspirations, the Brubaker Pickup design from 1978 is a dead ringer for this thing at least as far as the back half is concerned. Definitely more than the concepts from above in that regard.
Good points. I didn’t mean to steal some of them, I was just doing other things so I didn’t see your post before I submitted. 🙂
Excellent points.
Pretty sure that’s a fake picture. I saw the exact same one on a car forum today, yet Google reverse image search comes up with nothing.
It’s referenced as from a 1978 magazine and linked to it, archive.org has the entire publication. It’s real.
My apologies – I realized that just after I posted the comment. I found the archive.org link through Jalopnik and subsequently deleted that comment. But I guess it didn’t delete?
Moderators, please check the comment delete function.
It’s cool that they took such a risk. But the the design is so amateurish, unfinished. It really does look like a cheesy ’80s movie prop. Those taillights are not legal, they can’t be on the tailgate. It needs mirrors. The bed has essentially no access from the sides. The visibility does not look good…actually the view from the front reminds me of my family’s Lumina APV back in the ’90s. And I wonder how practical the stainless steel is, though I do love how tough it is. Hard to believe they are taking orders, it can’t possibly reach production without significant changes. The website is very short on details as well. I guess $100 is not much risk, but I still find it amazing what Tesla is able to get consumers to do.
The price is right. The specs are good. But as a truck owner myself, I see too many compromises in the name of style to seriously consider it. The stories on this truck irritate me. Almost all of them are by tech media who have no clue what truck buyers look for.
Anyway, nicely done Paul, good to have you back.
I think it was a trick to gin up PR, and/or form a basis for further investor offerings/capital infusions or what have you. The design is too crude, the stats too good, and the price low to be taken seriously.
Well if so it didn’t work, TSLA was down 6% today. A nice day for the short sellers.
I for one would be totally stoked to buy a $40-50K pickup truck that is five inches short on rear seat head room because it is entirely made of triangles and planes.
Like many others watching the reveal I wondered at times if we were being trolled (especially after the glass debacle), and that the real Cybertruck would then be rolled out.
My instant reaction was decidedly negative, my first thought being that the windshield rake and the high apex of the roof would make for some bizarre and impractical interior spaces. That weird object sitting forlornly on the stage with two broken windows seemed to have ‘disaster’ written all over it.
But then inside shots from multiple YouTubers who had lined up for a drive-around started coming through, and it looked relatively practical. There were a LOT of YouTubers there. I’m a fairly recent convert to YouTube (Netflix be damned), and many Tesla & new tech channels were there (Teslanomics, Everyday Astronaut, Now You Know, Sean Mitchell, Marques Brownlee), some of them excitedly talking to each other. Most of them were positive although some were a little more hesitant than others.
Having slept on it I’m certainly more positive. It won’t be for everyone, but the specs and price make it impressive, and my sense is that in real life it will be a stunning object. The downside may be that it makes every other Tesla vehicle look kind of boring. And Tesla stock dropped 6% overnight.
Plain ugly. And if something’s ugly I don’t buy it, however modern and/or technologically advanced it may be, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that. I like to look at nice things and this thing does not qualify.
Ghandini wasn’t the best of the best, and the entire origami school folded up flat and died unmourned, but anything from him or it is the Mona Lisa next to this. This resembles the drawing an architect might produce to fill the carport of their proposed futurist extravaganza, but as a car, succeeds in looking like a stainless dumpster with some derivative ’80’s roof glass junk thrown into it.
However, in these virtual times for which it is designed, it is appropriately faceless, shiny, attention-seeking, crass and (inherently) empty. It should do well.
Put me in the love (ok, like) column. Unlike the factory brodozers, I don’t get the automatic feeling of, “Sorry your *fill in the blank* doesn’t work anymore and you have to overcompensate.” when I look at the Tesla.
As to being unrealistic, I think back to the famous over a century old Henry Ford comment, “If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”
First of all, welcome back Paul! Regarding design influences, I’m surprised no one has mentioned William Townes’ Aston-Martin Bulldog.
Awful. For a truck this big the wheels still seem to be too small although they probably are 20″ +. Bigger wheels would be more in line with the “design” although then I would applaud banning these tanks from the tiny town streets. Just too dangerous without a proper view out.
This thing make the Pontiac Aztek look good. Time for the car companies to ditch the monkeys with computers and hire some real car designers, if any still exist.
That “bullet proof” window stunt was pure genius. The video went viral and it got people worldwide to talk about this monstrosity, or whatever it’s supposed to be.
I did not like origami design in 1972 or 1982 and I still don’t. But then I am not the target market.
I think Tesla understands that it is never going to crack the FoCheRam market – that one is too entrenched and conservative to go for something like this. They need polarizing, something that gives those who love it a fervor that will make them evangelists for the new truck.
That said, I don’t see this going beyond a niche. Yes, those who bought a Prius because it was new and cool and who bought a Model S because it was new and cool will probably buy one of these because it is new and cool. The question is whether there will be enough substance to the design for it to find buyers after it is no longer new and cool.
Ready for the next Mad Max remake.
Or Breaking Bad
Proof that Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 parable “The Emperor’s New Clothes” still holds true today.
Someone had a close look at the 1980 Citröen Karin, methinks. There is nothing new under the sun.
I’m not sure how common my use case is, but to me, this is looking pretty amazing. Currently my family has a gigantic carbon footprint (and fuel bill). We own a business, we live out of town on a large piece of land that is continuously being molded into what we want, and we have hobbies that require trailers and travel. Not including employees (one of which drives 120 miles a day minimum) my wife and I cover the better part of 100k miles a year, all in trucks. I spend a lot of time specifying and selecting the trucks we buy for efficiency in their use case, and constantly try to improve on situation on that front. Last year, I thought about installing a compressor and switching to a CNG fleet. Ultimately, it just wasn’t worth it for various reasons. This however, would be a game changer for us.
PS I’m a form follows function kind of guy with an engineering background. I’m 100% on board with the looks and the unibody design.
After thinking it over, I’ve decided the Tesla Cyber Truck most closely resembles a Syrian home made armored car and is best used as a technical.
On a more serious note, this is not a practical truck, the high bed sides and sail panels make it hard to load from the side, the finely mitered tailgate has no tolerance for debris and the use of 1/8″ plate instead of 18-20 gauge sheet is incomprehensible. While concept vehicles can get away with a lot more
production vehicles, something that’s supposed to be on sale in two years should look a lot more like a production vehicle with crush zones, bumpers, cargo tie downs and a structure that can produced at a reasonable price.
I would have had more praise for something designed to be efficient than something designed to grab eyeballs. More refined surfaces, a taller more forward set cab and a more creative and usable bed instead of rehashing sail panels like Brubaker or Honda. Instead of building a wall at the side of the truck, Tesla could have built a door.
I feel like Tesla is a one idea company and apart from their revolutionary motor technology they have been muddling through from one stunt to another. The Model 3 shows promise as a reasonably priced and properly engineered product but so much of their production and engineering is tech bro cell phone app grade stuff with a side of Dunning-Kruger because they don’t know automotive hardware and think they are smarter than people who do.
Reminds me of a DeLorean that accidentally went through the dryer. Might that steering “wheel” make it into production ?
The Cybertruck is the Donald Trump of the pickup world. Just as Trump is the badboy, “outsider” politician who polarizes people, the Cybertruck is the badboy pickup from the outsider car company. A huge number of Americans are going to buy these. Remember that there is no longer a “traditional pickup truck buyer.” More trucks are sold than sedans. The Cybertruck will be the new luxury vehicle status symbol. I can easily see Arnold “the Terminator “ driving one of these around Hollywood!
I saw this in a dream last night………..no,make that a nightmare.
Looks like something designed by an 7 year old to be used in a 1980’s cartoon or video game.
The origami school of design was never one of my favorite design languages at the best of times, but this is an abomination.
This is also most as much of a wank for Musk as his launching of his personal Tesla Roadster into space. All the money frittered away in that endeavour could have been passed onto the needy for food and medicine.
And unfortunately once this is available in my neck of the woods, my nightmare of the tattooed toughs and other dubious types cruising around will be a reality.
Owning six vehicles, five of which are Fords, including an F-150, makes it hard for me to shake the label of being a “Ford Man”.
However, I have had GM and Mopar eras in my life. Price, perceived and experienced reliability, and convenience of ownership in terms of purchase, parts and service are my primary focus. Ford, for the time being, fits me.
Twenty years back when I built my home, I researched trying to incorporate solar into it. Living in the Midwest, with a lot of scheduled gray days, fairly hard winters, a lack of solar contractors, and price are still roadblocks 20 years later. But, change will come with how we make and use energy.
So, Tesla has intrigued me, and their holistic approach to electric everything regarding homes and transportation makes for good, if somewhat inscrutable reading on their website. With the passage of time, my doubt grows that Tesla will be the change agent as a corporate entity. Someone else is likely to take their ideas and bring them to fruition.
What’s missing for me with Tesla are the elements that have made Ford a fit: Price, perceived reliability, and convenience of ownership in terms of purchase, parts and service.
Cybertruck maybe finally hits one of my criteria with price. But, while I find the Tesla S simply gorgeous, this truck is more hideous than their Model X SUV. It has a sort of obnoxious Hummer H2 aspect, and overtones of the Pontiac Aztek. Bob Lutz called the Aztek an “angry appliance,” he’d be spot on again with the Cybertruck. And, this truck still misses most of my objective criteria. So, no sale.
Ford may finally do it for me with electric with the Mach E. I like the style, price is within my orbit, and range is realistic for my likely uses. Ford has a good reputation with their hybrids and PHEVS, sales are likely to be good; making purchase, parts and service convenient.
If Tesla has any mass market aspirations, they are going to have to make changes.
I love the Mustang Mach E. This, not at all.
I can’t say I love the styling but I don’t hate it, I’m realizing that new cars may eventually look like this someday and we’ll just have to accept it.
My only other observation is that photo with the tent in the bed brought the Aztek and it’s tent option smack forward in my mind and I think that’s what this is at least partially, a reimagining of the original concept by Pontiac as a capable, rugged and distinctive lifestyle vehicle. The Isuzu Vehicross also comes to mind just for the interesting styling and rugged mechanicals.
The Mach-E is just another generic crossover with a fashionable powertrain and a legendary name to leech from. I’d take Tesla’s windows breaking at the reveal over sitting through 45 minutes of Bill Ford skirting around the rationale of calling this long nose minivan a Mustang by telling us how how the infotainment works during and a leisurely drive around a racetrack with a driver who is known exclusively for driving sideways.
I’m changing my vote. I initially (scroll up) thought it reminded me of the DeLorean-based time machine in the “Back to the Future” movies, but on further thought:
I see your Moon Partol and raise you this:
https://youtu.be/Ctr54kopo8I
Yeah, but mine’s got nifty 8-bit theme music that certainly isn’t repetitive just because it has only four phrases! 😛
Check the Logicar by Jacob Jensen from 1982
Anybody posted an AWS Shopper yet?
Here it goes:
it’s hard to accept that this the cybertruck is anything more than a very cool concept truck. it’s hard to imagine that this is going to go into production in it’s current form. tesla needs to focus on getting the model 3 prices down, the model y out the door and creating a better system for servicing out of warranty cars. 2021 is a long way from now and by then ford will be selling the mach-e mustang suv through their extensive dealer network at prices that make sense for a lot of people.
Feels like a misstep to me.
When the first iPod was launched in 2001, there was a moment of perplexity before the love poured in. Before this, these sorts of digital music units (or in fact any sort of electronic thingummy) were expected to have more and more buttons, and yet Jobs and Ive went seemingly counter-intuitive with a extremely minimalist interface mechanism.
It worked, partly because it was actually highly intuitive and because it was also such a beautifully conceived object.
I think that’s what Tesla is trying to do here. But whereas the Apple market in 2001 was primarily a design cohort, the pickup market is almost the opposite.
Trucks (in the US, Hilux-sized utes here in oz) seem to be defined by two distinct influences;
1. Real trucks. See the highly anticipatory 1994 Ram with its separate fenders mimicking the semi-trailer cab design.
2. Plenty of fruit. See Ford Raptor with its layering of bolt-ones to make the whole shape appear even more encrusted and less clean.
I’m not going to go into price, but I think the volume market for pickups won’t go anywhere near the Tesla in its current form purely on the basis of its shape.
Personally, I don’t like it. I like origami big time – the Esprit is one of my faves and your call on the Boomerang is spot on. To me this is everything that the Tesla SUV is not – unsubtle, unbeautiful and ill-advised.
BTW, that Bollinger is a dead ringer for the old Land Rover shape right down to the angled rear shut-line of the rear doors. Not sure this will do any better as an EV but its pretty much exactly what LR should have done instead of the POS they’ve just replaced the Defender with.
With Elon channeling ‘Blade Runner’, I’m thinking Ford should have introduced their new EV as the Millennium Falcon.