Remember the time when Ford’s aluminum bed and GMC’s Multi-Pro tailgate were the most outside-the-box thing in the truck world? That was yesterday. Then, Tesla revealed its long-awaited electric pickup truck, the Tesla Cybertruck, to a collective gasp.
The gasp wasn’t just from truck traditionalists, it was from auto enthusiasts and tech giants, stock brokers and EV startup companies. Many people expected many different things from the Tesla truck, but what they saw on stage next to Tesla CEO Elon Musk wasn’t what most envisioned.
Off the bat, there are two words that come to mind looking at the truck – risk and chance. While Car Twitter bemoans the similarities between much of the vehicles in the crossover market day in and day out, the team at Tesla was taking inspiration from the film “Blade Runner” and designing something futuristic and unconventional.
Prior to the reveal, Musk teased the truck’s design inspiration.
He tweeted that the truck could possibly be used on Mars (without revealing the logistics of any type of operation that would get it there).
There’s been no word yet on who at Mars Tesla should write a check to in order to receive “Official Truck of Mars” status.
The truck has the traditional truck components. There’s a cab and bed, wheels, power source, and a drivetrain. Sure, it’s not a muscular beast like the Ford F-150 or even the Rivian R1T, but that doesn’t make it less of a truck, does it?
Consider the stats. The Cybertruck has the ability to tow more than 14,000 pounds and can handle a payload of up to 3,500 pounds. Those numbers are head and shoulders above what the Honda Ridgeline, Toyota Tacoma, and Nissan Titan offer.
The bed has 100 cubic feet of cargo space. That’s about twice what the 2018 Chevrolet Silverado short box delivered. None of the pickups currently on the market, with the exception of the Ridgeline, offer an under bed or frunk lockable storage area. Tesla is offering a frunk in the Cybertruck.
The body of the Tesla truck is made of steel, just like the body of most other trucks.
The design was risky and Tesla, a publicly traded company, took a chance. Love it or hate it, the Cybertruck is here. Well, at least one of them is.
