One of the great things about going to LA for the car show (we still have Autopians there, by the way, so stop by) is that you can also sneak your way into other fancy car-events, like the opening of the new Tesla exhibit being hosted at the Petersen Automotive Museum. David, Mercedes, and I managed to worm our way into the event, greedily downing the free sliders and guzzling booze we didn’t pay for, and checking out a sort of unlikely museum exhibit for a company so young. Still, it’s an important one, and despite being surrounded by a lot of Tesla fans who may not have minded so much were I to choke on one of those free sliders, the event was fun and the exhibit interesting, especially because it offered me a chance to inspect the Cybertruck prototype up close. Which I did.
Now, I can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of the Cybertruck‘s low-polygon, rendered-on-a-Super Nintendo-with-the-Super FX-chip look, but I do appreciate that something so unexpected and bold exists. Well, might exist. Sometime late next year, probably. Maybe. That said, you can’t ever really judge a car or truck’s design until you’ve at least encountered it in person, so I was very pleased to finally be next to this big stainless steel beast.
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This Cybertruck is that very first prototype shown back in, damn, 2019. Since that time, there’s been at least one revised version built, which has essentially the same look and size but differs in many details, ssome of which I showed here when I wrote about it for The Old Site:
I mention this to be clear that the Cybertruck I saw is that first prototype, and as such is an over three-year old one-off, so I don’t think – I mean, I really hope – we can’t take its build quality and every design decision as a likely indicator of what a production Cybertruck will be like. And that’s important to note, because this thing is not exactly reeking of quality, if you know what I mean.
Here, look at this shit:
Oy. Did they run out of window rubber and were too cheap to get a new roll, so they just stuck in a scrap?
I’m not sure if the frunk actually opens on this, but it kinda looks like someone tried to jimmy it open with a crowbar.
Also, so much of this thing is sharp, and I don’t mean that metaphorically, I mean that literally. The Cybertruck is full of edges and surfaces and points that want to puncture you. It’s like a gleaming steel riot of stabbing and pinching opportunities everywhere you look and touch.
Some of our auto industry professionals on staff had a lot to say about the Cybertruck prototype when I showed them pictures, but I think the crucial takeaway is: Maybe it would have been better not to show anything at all instead of this. Ouch.
Now, I don’t know if I agree in the case of the Cybertruck, because it’s become such an icon to hardcore Tesla fans, but maybe I’d have made the exhibit so you couldn’t get closer than about ten feet away from the Cybertruck. I bet that would help with liability, too, because I pity the kid that trips and takes a header into this thing.
What I suspected about the Cybertruck from the beginning hasn’t changed much after seeing the thing in-person: I don’t think its fundamental design lends itself well to being, you know, an actual truck. A truck that does actual truck things, like having large objects loaded into and out of it.
Walking around the Cybertruck, it feels more architectural than automotive; its massive bulk is unrelenting, and while most modern trucks are absurdly huge, only the Cybertruck really presents you with large, nearly featureless walls of steel. The proportions are 3/4 cab and hood, and 1/4 bed, and that bed is walled in like a medieval city. If anyone has ever, say, helped a friend move from an apartment and had to load a couch into a truck bed while parallel parked on a road, I think you’ll be happy you didn’t do that in a Cybertruck.
Loading something via the side of the truck would be a massive ordeal, and possibly painful, too. If you’re leaning against the sides of the truck while you’re muscling some heavy, ungainly thing in, you’ll have sharp edges and pointy things jamming into your tender flanks.
Also, where would you step to reach up and over the sides and into the bed? I guess you’d climb on the tires? That can work sometimes, I guess. And if you load exclusively via the rear, the tailgate design has all the same unforgiving issues of the rest of the truck. Would you want a bedliner in this? I suppose the lack of rear wheel humps is nice, though, as it’s a perfectly rectangular bed floor.
[Editor’s Note: Packaging fetishists among you may have looked at the photo above and spit out your Fruit Loops. “Oh god, the wheels don’t protrude into the bed, meaning the bedsides are rather thick. What a waste of space!” you might exclaim to your six-year-old who couldn’t care less. “This is a tragedy! Even the old Chevy Avalanche used this space for storage!”
But calm down (and stop eating your kid’s food), for Tesla claims that there will be storage all over the place, including under that bed and in those sail pillars (those are those big flying buttresses that extend from the cab and become the bedsides). From Tesla:
How exactly one would access that storage space, I’m. unsure. But I have no doubt that a Tesla fan will tell me in the comments. -DT].
Sure, the bed has a couple of tie-down posts cut into the corners, but I don’t envy anyone who has to try to jam an under-tension bungee cord end into those sharp triangular holes with their fingers made of sliceable meat. And you’re going to block that narrow slit of a rear window pretty quickly, too.
There are cameras inset into the fender flares, possibly on the most vulnerable part of the sides of this already extremely wide vehicle. I mean, they look like cool triangular eyes, so there’s that.
As a design, all just feels so unforgiving, and just uninterested in being an actual, usable, truck. It’s got a very specific look and form that really have nothing to do with utility or practicality. I suppose if we’re honest, that’s probably fine, as most potential buyers are not likely looking to use this as an actual work truck. I get that. But then the whole massive size of this thing just feels even more absurd, and it becomes even more silly, conceptually. [Editor’s note: It’ll be interesting to see how big the production version is. -DT].
Look, maybe the later prototypes and then the production one will solve these issues. Maybe it’ll prove to be a fantastic truck on its own merits. But, if we’re going by what this prototype actually is, then I can’t imagine anyone who actually needed a truck would choose this thing.
DT Shows A Few Suspension Bits
I snapped a few photos of the prototype Cybertruck’s underbody, and though there wasn’t a ton to see, there was some. So let’s check it out.
The two photos above shows the front air-sprung double wishbone suspension. You can see the tie rods up front, lower control arms holding the air springs/dampers, upper wishbones at the top, and CV axle there amongst all the suspension and steering bits. The CV axle and all the steering and suspension bits are angled quite sharply, which could cause not only CV joint longevity concerns, but also “jacking” issues with the steering and suspension (basically, drastic changes in geometry when you hit a bump, causing handling issues). But of course, this clearly isn’t the standard ride height of this front suspension; the front end appears to be lifted, possibly because there may not be a full-size battery in this display model (I’m not sure; I am sure that this thing drives, though), and possibly to help the truck squat for the ramp at the rear of the truck (the ramp that allows one to drive an ATV/bicycle/motorcycle/whatever into the bed — you can barely see it in the image above).
Here’s a look at the front suspension from above; you can see the air spring/damper and upper control arm, which appears to be painted cast aluminum if I had to guess:
Here’s a look from behind.
There’s not a ton to see here, but you can view where the knuckle connects to the control arm’s ball joint, and you can see where the spring/damper fasten to the lower arm:
Here’s a close-up look at the wheel shown above, but from the front:
Here’s a look at the air spring, and the upper control arm mounting location:
Sliding towards the rear, all I saw was a totally-flat belly, which should do wonders for aerodynamics and — if covered in tough enough material — off-road capability:
It’s hard to see the rear multilink suspension, though what is obvious is that the rear spring/damper leans inward at quite a sharp angle, which severely impacts the suspension’s installation ratio and motion ratio. I won’t pretend to be a suspension expert, but I will say that I rarely see rear suspensions with springs/dampers with such a steep rake (as I understand it, you’d normally want them closer to vertical so that their displacement better matches that of the wheels):
I’ll also point out the wheel covers, because they’re bizarre, and because Jason didn’t show them before:
Anyway, this is just the prototype truck, so it’s very likely that quite a lot of what we’ve shown will change before this thing hits the market. Still, it’s cool to see the O.G., especially the infamous steel ball that splintered the truck’s “unbreakable” glass:
Check out the “INSIDE TESLA: SUPERCHARGING THE ELECTRIC REVOLUTION” exhibit, which is active until October 22 of next year, at the Petersen Automotive Museum.
I see ts and am reminded of the diesel electric ‘vehicle’ that the OG Top Gear guys built. right down to the metal at 90 degree angles. Whoosh this thing is an abomination.
Is it just me or are those CV axles really, really small? Like on an ATV? Especially for the power numbers they kept claiming.
Oh, they are thicker at the back. But the front ones look like toothpicks.
My guess is, they are stock Model S or Model 3 pieces, since that’s what they had available to hash this together in a hurry.
OK, so if I had to guess, this is aimed squarely at people like me. We don’t need a truck but at the same time we have a lot of activities and hobbies that would benefit from having a truck- cycling and paddleboarding, buying vintage furniture and sheets of plywood, needing a bunch of mulch every year… And we want to get good gas mileage because we actually care about the environment.
So on the one hand, I get it.
But on the other hand, in the meantime, Ford snuck in with the Maverick, which is actually what people like me need/want. And, because Ford had a century of experience building trucks, it doesn’t feature things like super cool triangular metal cutouts for tie downs that, WHEN they inevitably get broken, will require you to replace the entire bed of the truck. And, the maverick actually exists AND doesn’t cost a lot.
There’s a reason the Honda Element, another vehicle aimed squarely at people like me, had all that silly plastic cladding- bikes and boards and furniture and plywood and camping gear all have an amazing way of being able to ding your car. And those sharp edges? Oooof.
This is true. There is another option though, I bought a used 5×8 utility trailer for $600 that serves all of the purposes you listed above, and still allows me to get 30mpg in our Tiguan all the rest of the time that I am not towing it (90% of the time). I’ll be damned if I don’t still want a Maverick though, they are so cool.
People like you would quickly figure out there’s no stake pockets or proper bed rails. So you can’t mount your kayak rack, or fit an adult sized bicycle anywhere in or on this thing. And your vintage furniture would instantly make that polished stainless bed floor look embarrassingly cheap. And that your adult friends don’t fit in the back unless you cut their heads off first. And that it doesn’t matter how efficient your vehicle is if it’s not capable of doing the things you need it to do.
And after that you’d find out that it costs $99,000 rather than $40,000, and none of that would matter ’cause you can’t afford it anyway.
And at that price we’d all be looking at a Rivan anyway ????
Except the R1T is “mid-size”, this is bigger (AFAIK)
What a stupid waste of time this thing is.. barf.
But will it pass the YouTuber/Ditch test? (like the moose test, I hope this becomes an industry standard)
Elon should have spent his 44 Billion buying Riven or one of the other independent electric Truck manufactures instead of still pushing this ugly, useless, heavy monstrosity.
Putting aside the terrible ideas behind this thing, let’s just talk about that horrible piece of craftsmanship. As a quick stage gimmick, ok, but I would be embarrassed to show that mockup 3 years later. At least the well-traveled VW microbus show cars were well made.
I still think the Cybertruck is Elon’s perpetual troll to the automotive establishment. It was a funny gag that served two purposes: cause conventional auto companies to go apoplectic, and serve as a barometer of Tesla-stans reality-bending loyalty.
I am not sure why nobody ever got that this was a press-brake exercise to troll the Big Three. That’s what it should have been. But his fanbois jumped on it so hard, he had to act like he meant to do it. (Reminds me of the Pee-Wee Herman line, “I meant to do that,” when he falls off his bike.)
Can we just ignore this joke that grew legs?
This is a awful looking vehicle, but I’ll probably have a chance to see on in the flesh when they start production (I have a Tesla mega-fan coworker who was early on the pre-order). On a different note. With that steep of a drive a drive angle, they would be better off fitting this thing with portal axels.
now much of a chance. how early he was in the preorders has nothing to do with when he gets his truck. its going to be based on region and texas isnt even in the top. cali id bet is number 1. there are several idiots flying drones over gigatex every single day hoping to get a glimpse and be the first fanatic to post a video while flying into the flight path of austins airport. youll see it on youtube first.
It’s truly absolutely horrific. I dread to think what will happen if this thing hits a pedestrian.
“What’s a pedestrian?” – Elon Musk.
Man, this thing really is the perfect companion piece to Tesla’s flamethrower.
“Man, this thing really is the perfect target for Tesla’s flamethrower.”
FTFY. 😉
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
B O T H ?
I’m on my phone reading this so I can’t tell for sure. Are those tires worn unevenly? This thing is an absolute joke of a vehicle though. Terrible in almost every way.
I’m really starting to hate anything the Chief Twat is involved in.
Which is really too bad, because there might be some good products and ideas here and there.
Agreed, can we dispense with the narcissists for a decade or two please.
This truck is rubbish. It’s a joke.
Jeez, Torch. All this whining about cutting your fingers, blah blah blah. You know Elon will sell a pair of $200 Tesla-branded stainless steel mesh gloves to stop that happening, right?
Brutalist styling, brutal execution.
As someone who uses a truck for actually hauling stuff, this looks like form over function. Also full disclosure I’d happily trade a pickup box for a drop side flatbed and 500 lbs more payload.
Kitchen knife set: the truck!
I don’t see the problem here. Enthusiasts have been wanting automakers to sell used trucks from the factory for years. Tesla is revolutionizing the market by selling new trucks that have already seen 7 years and 95k miles of hard use!
I am curious to see what collisions with other vehicles, and even cyclists or pedestrians, look like. Not that I want these things to happen, mind you, but I have a very morbid curiosity with this. It’s not going to bode well for anything or anyone hit by this monstrosity.
It’s like when the rocket sled hits that barrier but the explosion is a person.
I remember watching the reveal. When it rolled out there was stunned silence for a few moments.
Everybody was waiting for Mr. Musk to say that he was just kidding and now, here’s the real truck. When the horrible truth became evident, the applause slowly appeared like an obligation. Last laugh is on me, though. In the future the 100 made will sell at auctions for ungodly money. There’s the real investment.
Legacy OEM’s have nothing to fear.
If only their shareholders felt the same way.
Is some of the body painted ? It’s hard to tell but it seems to have some really bad paint or seam sealer or something…very rough …
You’re too nice, Jason. I’ll say it for you; This thing fucking sucks.
I own a KV Mini 1, so I’m already covered for the sheet-metal-brake school of automotive design and construction, thanks. At least KV/KVS had the excuse that the entire factory/warehouse/distribution center/world headquarters was a single building containing one director, three employees, and very little by way of metal shaping equipment besides the aforementioned sheet metal brake. It now houses a plumbing supply shop but the old KVS diamond logo is still visible above the door: