Elon Musk has a dual bachelor’s degree in economics and physics. He is the founder, chief engineer and CEO of SpaceX, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, founder and CEO of Boring Company, and Neuralink. He is co-founder of OpenAI. He is also the founder of X.com that later transformed into PayPal.
Therefore, those who say Elon Musk does not know what he is doing with the Tesla truck is wrong. Musk understands his business and knows what he is doing.
So, the question is why does the Tesla truck look different? Why is the Tesla Cybertruck so ugly?
Here’s the short answer. The design of the Cybertruck is heavily influenced by the video game “Halo” movies like “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Blade Runner.” Moreover, Elon wanted to build a futuristic sci-fi truck that can drive on Mars. So, he chose SpaceX made 30x steel alloy that’s very hard to stamp. Because of this design influence and material choice, Cybertruck is planer in design and looks ugly.
Let’s elaborate.
Radical Design Change:
When Elon unveiled the Model 3, many didn’t like it for its minimalistic design. There are no buttons and no instrument cluster display. There is only a giant display in the middle of the dashboard. It shows everything, including the car’s speed. Many complained that it’s not a practical design because drivers have to look on the side to see the car’s speed. It’s also impractical because radio, fan speed, windshield wiper, etc. are controlled through this display. However, now Model 3 is the best selling Tesla. Moreover, it earned praise from numerous car critics for its minimalistic and futuristic interior.
When Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone, everyone — CEO of Microsoft, CEO of BlackBerry — laughed because it did not have a physical keyboard, had one home button, and was priced at $450. But the consumers were smart. They saw the benefit of the iPhone and iOS. Since then, Apple has sold billions of iPhones.
Over a hundred years, we see pickup trucks. Therefore, we have a preconceived notion of how a pickup truck should look like. When Elon said Tesla would unveil a pickup truck, we knew how the truck’s shape would be. However, when Elon presented us with a pickup truck with a radical design change that no one has seen before, it defied our expectations.
It’s our human psychology and gut reaction to disagree with a change. However, if we find the benefit is more in that change, we gladly accept it.
Video Game Influence:
Elon Musk is a big fan of video games, science fiction books, and sci-fi movies. At the age of 12, he created a PC video game called Blaster and sold the game code to a magazine for $500. Every Tesla also comes pre-installed with numerous arcade games. So, games and sci-fi play a vital role in Elon Musk’s life.
Elon said that the video game Halo warthog had inspired the Cybertruck design1. The movie “The Spy Who Loved Me” also partly influenced the Cybertruck design2. Elon also often talks about the “Blade Runner” movie. Therefore, as we can see, all these futuristic sci-fi movies and games have influenced this truck design.
Official Truck of Mars:
When eBay acquired PayPal, Elon made $165 million from that sale. The first thing he did to visit Russia to purchase a rocket launch. Elon wanted to send a small greenhouse with a plant to Mars. He wanted to Livestream the plant’s growth throughout the world 24-7.
However, Russia not only refused to sell anything but also humiliated Elon because of his meager budget. All other rockets from the US to Europe were so expensive that he couldn’t buy a rocket launch with this little money.
On the way back from Russia to the US, he decided to build a rocket company that would colonize Mars.
To colonize Mars, Elon needs a lot of tools. So, he created SpaceX rocket company to send cargo to Mars, started “Boring Company” to dig tunnels, started “Starlink” internet to provide high-speed Internet in space, and designed the Cybertruck to drive on the planet Mars.
According to Elon Musk’s word, “Tesla Cybertruck (pressurized edition) will be [the] official truck of Mars.3“
Road Legal Tank:
Elon wanted to make a futuristic truck that can drive on Mars. Elon knew that many would not like the design. “I’m most excited by the Tesla Truck. Maybe it will be too futuristic for most people, but I love it,4” he said on Twitter.
According to Elon, It’s an armored personnel carrier and a road-legal tank from the future.5
However, Elon also said that “If it turns out nobody wants to buy a weird-looking truck, we’ll build a normal truck.6“
30X stainless steel:
Tesla made the Cybertruck with an Exoskeleton design. The truck skin is 3mm 30x cold-rolled stainless-steel. It’s significantly stronger than the Ford F150’s aluminum body. SpaceX developed this new 30x stainless-steel alloy for their Starship rocket, and Tesla is now using this steel in its Cybertruck.
Elon Musk said, “Reason Cybertruck is so planar is that you can’t stamp ultra-hard [3mm] 30X steel because it breaks the stamping press.7”
“Even bending it requires a deep score on inside of bend, which is how the prototype was made,8” he said.
Therefore, Elon’s design idea and material choice shaped the Cybertrucks design.
Shock value:
Have you seen Polaris slingshot on the road? We have seen a few on the road. Whenever it goes, we noticed it attracts people’s attention because of its unconventional and unique design.
Elon Musk understands marketing. That’s why he launched a Tesla Roadster into space by a SpaceX rocket. He knew it would generate a lot of press, which is good for Tesla.
There’s no bad publicity. People may hate, may love, but certainly will discuss. The Cybertrucks raw, powerful, heretical design departure will undoubtedly turn people’s heads. This shock value will create more word of mouth advertisement for Tesla.
Elon said, “Cybertruck does feel like cgi irl.9“
A design not for everyone:
Vehicles come in many shapes and forms — sedan, coupe, hatchback, convertible, minivan, SUV, etc. It’s because people have varied choices and tastes. Even sedans come in various designs from different car manufacturers. Moreover, some prefer Toyota; some prefer Lexus. Therefore, there’s no way Tesla can satisfy and target every demographic.
If Tesla designed a pickup truck similar to a Ford F150, then it’s nothing but another pickup truck from another OEM. However, Tesla Cybertruck’s design is so wild that it will attract a new type of pickup buyers. And the proof is half a million people reserved Tesla Cybertruck in the first week of its announcement.
Functionality over design:
What is the functionality of a pickup truck? The answer is, a pickup truck should carry passengers, cargo, and if necessary, should tow.
A Ford F150, RAM 1500, Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Silverado, etc. all accomplish this goal, and all these trucks look the same.
A Tesla Cybertruck also does everything a traditional truck does — carry passengers, cargo, and tows if required.
However, A Cybertruck also accomplishes more than traditional trucks. These are:
- It’s electric. Therefore the long-term operating cost of this truck is less than an internal combustion engine truck.
- It has an Exoskeleton body with 3mm 30x cold-rolled stainless steel skin. It can withstand a sledgehammer, prevent a 9mm bullet. It’s stronger than any truck on the market.
- Because of steel construction, it will not dent and will not rust.
- The windshield, door glass, is made out of “Tesla armor glass.” This glass will not break even if you throw a steel ball at it.
- It has a built-in automatic tonneau cover. It’s so strong that nothing will happen even if you stand on it.
- Tesla Cybertruck has a built-in ramp.
- The Tesla pickup truck has a huge onboard battery. Technically it can power your house for weeks. It comes with a built-in 110V and 220V outlet. Whether you are camping or doing construction works, you don’t need to carry a generator anymore.
- This truck comes with a built-in air compressor. Therefore, you don’t need to carry any air compressor to a job site.
- The truck has an embedded tie-down L track rails on the sidewall of the truck bed.
- Every Tesla Cybertruck has standard Autopilot features. It enables your car to steer, accelerate, and brake automatically for other vehicles and pedestrians within its lane. This driver assistance feature also includes blind-spot monitoring, emergency braking, and collision warning.
- You can also purchase the “Full Self-driving” feature for your truck. It enables your Cybertruck to drive itself on any road (improvement is ongoing).
- Moreover, this Tesla truck comes with all the technological features that Tesla ships with other cars. No other truck manufacturer currently has all the features described above.
Therefore, the design of this truck is to provide functionalities to consumers. As a result, it looks different from other trucks.
Conclusion:
We say Cybertruck is hideously beautiful. It’s a new truck design that no one expected, and it blew everyone away. In real life, however, it looks gorgeous. We have seen it. In our opinion, a Cybertruck does not look ugly; it’s different.