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When I heard Tesla was making
an electric pickup truck, my biggest fear was that
it would take an existing design,
chop the back off and bolt a pad on,
but it might look great when Simone Glertz does it actually
he can confirm she drove past us here in LA
and it looks incredible.
I guess I just didn't want Tesla to become
the kind of company
that makes an iterative update on an existing design,
and then tries to make it more exciting than it is
with a splashy press event.
Like I don't know, most smartphone companies
over the past few years.
Well, it didn't.
(upbeat music)
So yeah, this is the cyber truck.
No, it's not an April Fool's joke
or a prop from a reboot of space mutiny.
It's very real, and though even
when it's pulling to a stop right in front of you,
you still think you might be hallucinating.
I'm gonna talk more about the design at the end
because there were a few things
that might not make it to production.
And also, I wanna try to put Tesla's bombast
to the side for a second, mute the lasers
and the synth wave and Elon Musk
and let's talk about what really matters
when you're thinking about a pickup truck.
Row capability, right?
Well, depending on trim,
the cyber track can get you from zero to 60
in anywhere from three to six and a half seconds.
And yes, it has the same kick in the pants
I remember from my time and all the other Tesla's.
- Here we go - Here we go
- Here we go
(laughs)
(Car engine roaring)
(murmurs)
- And drive more conservatively,
and you can travel from 250 to 500 miles
before you need to recharge again, depending on trim level.
When you do top it up,
you'll get access to the Tesla supercharger network,
which no other EV can use and which I dearly missed
when driving the Jaguar I pace last time I was in LA,
the video on that is coming soon.
And then there's capacity.
One of the best selling pickups in the US the Ford F 150,
will let you haul a little over 2100 pounds
in most of its configurations.
But you can put up to 3500 pounds in the cyber truck.
And when it comes to towing it's a little tighter
with the F 150 maxing out around 13,200 pounds,
but cyber truck still just edges it out 14,000 pounds
in it's tri motor configuration.
Sitting in the back of the thing
for that all too short test ride.
I turned the camera around, took in that bed.
Tesla says there's 100 cubic feet of storage space back here
and while I didn't realize it at the time,
there's also a retractable tunnel cover
so you can secure that storage.
Fortunately, a gentleman named Matt Londre
whose last name I'm sure I just mispronounced
was also there to capture that cover,
which Tesla says is strong enough to stand on.
(light music)
The cyber track is all wrapped up in this exoskeleton
which might just be the most durable
ever offered on a pickup.
It's cold rolled stainless steel unpainted
and unbothered by a sledgehammer.
(whacks)
(crowd shouting)
The other demo didn't go quite as well.
(thwacks)
(crowd shouting)
- Well, turned out no too bad.
(crowd laughs)
- Turned out tossing a steel ball at a window
from a foot away will break even clout,
armored glass on the clout.
As Musk says, "Room for improvement."
As we bring both the design
and the company's founder back into the conversation,
it's clear there's really no way to cover this thing
without acknowledging the Tesla Mystique.
I mean the cyber truck was launched
at the Tesla Design Center,
which is literally next door to sister company SpaceX.
You remember when SpaceX figured out
how to return a Falcon rocket to its launch site
four years ago?
Yeah, well, we drove past that rocket
our way to the cyber truck event.
SpaceX and Tesla have built their success
on outlandish ideas like reusable VTOL rockets
and making electric cars mainstream
and executing successfully.
The best selling electric vehicles in the United States
are Tesla's, they travel the furthest.
They're the most convenient to charge
and they pack more features that people want.
In case in point, autopilot and adaptive air suspension
or standard on cyber truck, as is the 17 inch touchscreen
and you can get 220 volts out of the onboard power outlets.
When you deliver on promises like that,
and when you do it for a starting price of around $40,000,
you earn the license to make a truck that looks like a
cyberpunk fever dream.
My final thoughts on that dream
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Dr. That extended bout of cyber enthusiasm.
I'd like to close on a note of caution.
Because after all, we are talking about
a lot of money for most people.
First of all the truck we saw this event
is essentially a concept car.
Remember that Mercedes EQC I saw at South by,
well, by the time it came to market it was very different
and in my opinion, less interesting.
There's a lot that could change between now
and the official cyber truck launch in late 2021.
Also, keep in mind that while the model three was promised
as a $35,000 car, it took Tesla forever
to finally get close to that price.
That said, I do think the cyber truck
is the future of pickups.
Look, I get it. The design is polarizing.
It's aggressively ugly, and I'm positive Tesla will release
a more conservative look eventually.
But to me, a bold push into the future carries
an implied permission
for a commensurately aggressive design.
It's why I'm more excited about the Motorola razor
than the next Samsung Galaxy.
It's why I favor BNO over Sony,
the Volante design over Levi's and it's why
if I were in the market for a pickup,
I'd probably already have pre ordered a cyber truck.
(upbeat music)
This video was filmed at the cyber truck launch event
at the Tesla Design Center in Hawthorne, California.
No expenses were provided no compensation changed hands
and Tesla did not receive a copy of this video in advance.
They're seeing it for the first time right alongside you.
Special thanks to David Cogen of the unlocker,
Simone Glertz and Matt Londre on Twitter.
Until next time, thanks for watching
and stay mobile my friends.