We hit the Tesla Cybertruck with sledgehammers
Check out our brand-new film on the Tesla Cybertruck in the latest installment of “Jason Cammisa on the ICONS,” which you can watch right now on the Hagerty YouTube channel.
If being visionary means having the power to peer into and understand the future, how do we define the ability to create the future? Is that not much rarer? Doesn’t it demand a boldness that verges on being preposterous, a willfulness that balks at the conventions that block so many others? Can it take the form of … an unpainted pickup truck?
What about an electric, 800-horsepower tri-motor four-wheeled Frigidaire that completes the quarter-mile in 11 seconds flat and can outrun a go-kart… on a go-kart track?
We just spent two days at Sonoma Raceway filming, drag racing, and whacking the Tesla Cybertruck with sledgehammers in vain attempts to dent its “HFS” exoskeleton. (It was a riot.) HFS, by the way, is short for Tesla’s immature-but-accurate name for the in-house alloy developed for the Cybertruck: Hard F*cking Steel. That it seems a fitting but clunky moniker for an aspiring adult actor is pretty in line with Musk’s brand of humor. But we digress.
This truck doesn’t need crude jokes to get noticed. Even at California’s Sonoma Raceway, a place regularly populated with high-end racing cars (more than a few scenes had to be reshot thanks to the sporadic background yawps of a hotlapping Fly Yellow GT3 Ferrari) the Tesla slab was a gravity well of attention. Every single soul who caught a glimpse wanted another. And they all had something to say: “What in the Cyberf*** am I looking at?“ “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!” “That’s hideous. May I please test if it’s bulletproof?”
Hagerty video host Jason Cammisa summed it up best: “[The Cybertruck] is going to become a polarizing status symbol parked in the driveway of every Lamborghini owner as their ‘suburban assault’ daily driver, but very much like a Lamborghini, there’s real genuine substance baked in … And the sad part is, you’ve already made up your mind about the Cybertruck based on the way it looks. So did I, so did everyone else. But that’s not fair to this thing.”
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He’s right. Beneath the controversially curveless skin lies the truly interesting bits. For starters, the Cybertruck features a “steer-by-wire” system wherein there is no mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels. Instead, a group of sensors interpret it all for the driver, changing the steering ratio depending on the environment. This technology isn’t new, but Tesla’s use of it here feels dramatic, and there’s no physical failsafe as there was in the decade-old Infiniti Q50. While hauling down the highway at 80 mph, the ratio is high; while navigating a tight parking garage causes the ratio to drop so you’re not rotating the wheel around like you’re driving a dump truck. In other words, the Cybertruck’s four-wheel steering system is bolstered by a variable steering ratio for greater adaptability. That’s not just a party trick, like the Tesla whoopie cushion gag that makes a fart noise when you sit down, that’s a very practical piece of tech. The Cybertruck uses proprietary batteries that are both more efficient for vehicular power and manufacturing. The batteries feed a 48-volt electric architecture.
And that bodywork that we had so much fun slamming with our sledgehammers? It’s not just a fun way to show off your Mars-mobile to your idiot friends—it translates into a structure that’s so tough that Tesla doesn’t need to put crash bars in the doors. If you want to see what that looks like in a crash test, pay special attention to that part of our Cybertruck film, which goes into much more technical detail on the aforementioned gizmos.
Time will reveal whether the Cybertruck heralds our driving future, or if it merely becomes one of many alternate realities that atrophied in ours. What’s certain, though, is that it’s unlike any other new vehicle. And even the people firmly opposed to its existence must admit that this truck is fascinating. In a time when we’re seeing a massive paradigm shift in the way we think about personal transportation, yet only see a handful of cars and trucks that seem to be doing more than trend-chasing, we say “the more the merrier.”
Backing up a provocative design like the Cybertruck with genuine innovation is how seemingly farcical visions become visionary realities, and this thing falls squarely (or is it rectangularly?) in the latter category.
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As the article said, “You have already decided.” So many responses come off as angry or even frightened. This was the same response for many years about the Toyota Prius. The batteries will be unaffordable, it will be unreliable! Yet the latest Prius won Car and driver car of the year this year. Our 2007 Prius went 270,000 care free miles and hybrids are now everywhere. A couple of obvious points are being ignored that should be mentioned. One: the design is partly a result of the materials limitations. The stainless is not a material that can be curved into lovely curvy shapes. But when I look at the body of my 2003 Tundra a vehicle less easily dented without peeling clear coat somehow sounds like an idea worth exploring. Second: All this talk about, “Its not able to do truck duties” assumes that most people buy a truck to do truck duties. The sad truth is that many many people buy trucks in America and never use them as trucks. All cars have limitations and finding out what they are and looking at what you will do with them should be a deciding factor. I have owned many against the grain vehicles like a Suzuki X90 which I enjoyed even as they were maligned. My Triumph Spitfire was never a practical car from many points of view but I still love that machine. I guess what gets me is we all have our opinions and that is what the comments are for but being open to the adventure while commenting rather then being absolutist in the responses is what our world currently lacks. Still in the look back at history the galvanizers, the pushers of edges, the controversial often lead to profound changes and the angry naysayers remain unchanged. While I doubt I will own a Tesla truck, I will enjoy seeing them out in the wild, and look forward to watching where this takes us next in the ever evolving world of transportation.
Pretty funny, I saw this very car (w/Texas plate) driving on the 5 North in So Cal about a month ago. Maybe on its way to Sonoma?
As a Sheetmetal Fabricator and Welder, I thought how cool, someone took a Tesla and built a homemade body !
I was impressed, but not so much after reading this is a production vehicle…
I think it will sell.
Most people don’t use their truck as a TRUCK. It’s just their daily driver that they haul trash off in, or maybe haul a piece of furniture they just bought. Some will be horrified at the thought that you would want to put the washing machine you just bought in the bed of their truck. I actually had that happen — asked a friend if he could haul a washing machine I just bought… what? NOTHING has ever been back there that could possibly scratch the bed!! (it had a bed liner too…).
Those who really NEED a truck for work, what it was designed for (obviously not the Tesla…), won’t have a use for the Tesla, or most electric trucks. I’m a handyman, and I could actually use an electric truck with about a 300 mile range. I average 80 miles a day (I live in a rural area), and don’t haul a big load often. When I do haul a big load it’s usually one way — like material to build a deck — I’m returning with an empty trailer. So no big deal if I only get 1/3 of the range (which is why I said about a 300 mile range though). So for daily work it would be fine, but I couldn’t pull my camper anywhere with one. It’s 180 miles to our favorite beach camping destination — about a three hour trip. Pulling a 7500 pound camper I wouldn’t make it with a 350 mile range (Ford Lightning F-150 extended range.. standard is 240 miles). From what I’ve read range is typically reduced to about 1/3 with a heavy load. One I remember was towing a 10,000 pound camper, so I should do a little better, but they didn’t even get half the advertised range.
No one ever mentions the fact that Tesla is against any notion of your Right to Repair. Having maintained all of my Pontiacs for 40+ years, I will NEVER buy a Tesla based on that fact alone. Ask yourself: Are you really an automotive enthusiast? I won’t even mention how much Tesla makes selling your driving characteristics that you created and should rightfully own.
Looks like something I drew with the drafting set my uncle gave me when I was in third grade. Ick.
That Musk feller! He can sell anything!! (or can he?)
Well, I think it’s the most beautiful vehicle I’ve seen in a long time or perhaps ever! I have a Tesla Model Y and it simply amazing and absolutely reliable. You see them everywhere. Do you see them broken down all over the roads? No you don’t. I now have a Cybertruck on order too but will have to wait behind millions of other buyers. That’s OK because I will still have to at least sit in one to know if I will like the interior.
If it proves to be tough and reliable over the first few years then I would buy one – I need something tough for work off road in forestry then smooth on the highway home. I need lots of ground clearance and deep water crossing capability, and on the highway I like to accelerate with as much force as possible just for kicks. So this might fit the bill. I ordered one a few years ago and will probably have to wait at least 18 months to get one so that gives time for testing it in all conditions of cold, heat, water etc.
The bead on the tires looks unusual, are you going to have to go to Tesla to get them?
Stop worrying about its usefulness as a truck. No one in my area buys trucks for truck tasks, they buy them for status, and because they feel safe. On those points this thing is the undeniable winner. Fingerprints? That’s now a real concern??
When you pull up to the fast food window, how do you reach out to grab your bag of food?