Tesla dropped the ball on the Cybertruck’s twin promises of extended range (promised 500 miles, delivered 340) and price (promised tiers at $70k, $60k, and $40k; coming in at $100k, $80k, and $60k). That’s more than enough reason for any of the reported two million reservation holders to nope out of the deal.
This is to say nothing of the switch from holding six passengers to holding five and shrinking the overall size by about five percent from the prototype.
That said, the following hands-on reviews have given me a new appreciation for the Cybertruck. It is undeniably an incredible feat of modern automotive engineering and ground-breaking on several levels (steer-by-wire, 48v electrical, stainless steel exo-skeleton, etc.).
I’m one of the rare birds who’s not been polarized by the exterior design. Most people either love its Blade Runner-esque aesthetic or hate it with a white hot passion. I’ve not had either reaction, perhaps because I’m more drawn to functionality than appearance. It’s eye-catching and utterly different than anything on the market, particularly the truck market. I’m unruffled by this. If anything, I appreciate that it doesn’t look the same as every other truck on the planet.
I’m firmly in the camp of not caring about the frequent lunacy of Elon Musk when it comes to Tesla (or Starlink or SpaceX). He may be busying himself crashing the value of Twitter and spouting political opinions of questionable value or factual basis. He spent the $44 billion; I guess he’s entitled to waste it. Whether or not Tesla’s CEO is nuts doesn’t really weigh on whether the Cybertruck is a worthwhile purchase. It needs to be judged on its own merits and deficiencies. After all, if America boycotted car brands on the basis of rightwing CEOs, Henry Ford’s car-building endeavor probably wouldn’t have succeeded.
I hope you find these reviews as interesting as I did.
Marques Brownlee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxOh12Uhg08
Top Gear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uefydJUbRhc
Jason Cammisa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6WDq0V5oBg&t=2s