CYBER TRUCK
Car India|May 2024
Thirty-six hours with the world's most extreme car as the new Tesla rocks California and meets its key rivals
Piers Ward
CYBER TRUCK

'BRO, WHAT IS THAT?'

'Oh, wow!
My first Cybertruck." 
'What car is that? Does it fly?" 
'Did you build it?" 
'Is it a concept car?"

"Thanks for letting us see your geometry project." Welcome to America and to the world of the Tesla Cybertruck. In a nation historically well versed in all things automobile, this electric pick-up confounds every norm, from manufacturing to design.

It is easy to subscribe to the view that Tesla are the poster child for how to win at cars, with a cultural significance that stretches far beyond the number of actual vehicles they build. And yet, if our experience of 36 hours in the Cybertruck tells us anything, it is that the car is so other-worldly, so completely different from anything that has ever been built before, that it leaves people agog and confused.

Ironically, in a world dominated by Elon Musk, his X musings, and the pervasive Internet, it is his creation that proves there are black spots of coverage. It is almost reassuring.

One thing is certain: the Cybertruck never fails to light up a conversation. With no Tesla badging and a shape Pythagoras would be proud of, it stuns lookers-on. In 36 hours, we get every reaction from jaw-on-floor to cynicism to wide-eyed hysteria.

It is not a car that leaves anyone sitting on the fence. Nor is it a car likely to go on sale in Europe any time soon-blame myriad fundamental hurdles and, given Tesla no longer even fancy building the Model S in right-hand drive, little appetite to tackle them.

We collect it in a quiet suburban street in Los Angeles. It is a smart area of single-storey houses, tidy roads, and ever-present sunlight and the mix of metal is more diverse than you find in Britain, with saloons, hatchbacks, sport utility vehicles (SUV), pick-ups, and the odd modified car so integral to the Los Angeles scene.

Denne historien er fra May 2024-utgaven av Car India.

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Denne historien er fra May 2024-utgaven av Car India.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.