I’ve been thunderstruck by the Cybertruck.
Earlier this month I was driving down a side street in my neighbourhood when I spotted the latest Tesla iteration sensation from Elon Musk.
I had seen the Cybertruck at a car festival in September and, yes, it was interesting, but it was among hundreds of cars I looked at that day – some old, some new, some high-powered and some that aren’t even produced anymore. But however much I was fascinated in the Cybertruck that day, this was different because it really stood out on this street with no other cars in sight in the middle of the day. I live in a modest neighborhood with primarily sedans and SUVs and CUVs, so it was like what’s wrong with this picture? I just had to take some photos.
While I was doing this, some municipal workers who were using a truck with a vacuum to scoop up leaves were watching me. I thought one of them owned the Cybertruck. Not sure why I came to this notion – maybe they drove their car to work, so to speak. But I guess because they were the only people in sight, my mind wandered to some fanciful speculation.
But one of them pointed to me as if to ask if I owned it. I had to laugh and say no. I didn’t have the nerve to say mine was parked elsewhere on the street. For the record I drive a 2018 Mazda 3 and I’m quite happy with it, thank you.
But I digress. Back to the Cybertruck.
As the workers and I stood there looking in awe, all of a sudden a voice said: “You want to look inside.”
I actually thought it was the voice of God – okay that’s an exaggeration – or maybe even Elon himself. The guy is everywhere, whether he’s promoting rockets, cars, his social media channel or becoming part of Donald Trump’s administration.
The person turned out to be the owner, so I introduced myself and told him I am an automotive writer (and presented my business card for added proof) and asked if I could interview him and take his photo.
He didn’t mind answering some questions but told me I couldn’t use him name or take a head shot or photo revealing himself because he’s a private person. That seemed to be a reasonable request.
So for purposes of this story, I will refer to him as Jim. He is 27, from Toronto and had just picked up the truck the previous night in Etobicoke, where the first deliveries of the latest “Muskmobile” were dropped off in the Greater Toronto Area. The others were delivered in B.C. and Quebec. Jim was visiting his parents, who lived in a home with a one-car garage that would not have had enough room to fit the truck.
I told Jim I was dumbfounded, gobsmacked and fully amazed seeing this thing in my neighborhood. He admitted it is not your average truck.
“It’s almost like a rendering of some alien car somebody came up with and built it,” he said. “I just liked the way it looked so different.”
Jim said he owns a 2020 Model Y, so why, I wondered, did he feel the need to buy the Cybertruck?
“I’ve had an EV for four or five years and have had no issues with that,” he said. “Of course there’s going to be some cosmetic issues, but no mechanical issues, no breakdowns. The only thing I have to do is rotate the tires every 20,000 kilometres, and the fluids and the filter in the cabin are the only maintenance you have and they come to your house and do it. Even though it’s a new truck, the tech is all Tesla, so they know what they are putting into it and you can’t go wrong with the stainless steel body corrosion-wise. It’s a pretty strong tank-like truck with a very strong body.”
He said it costs almost $700 less to insure than the Model Y.
“I was kind of shocked, too,” he said with a laugh. “I think that goes to the safety of the car. It might not get as much damage that other cars may have. I also have a clean driving record, so I get a multi discount. There are not high up there among stolen cars – I could be wrong. I’m sure the insurance companies have their own algorithms.”
He paid $75,000-$80,000 for the Model Y and basically double for the Cybertruck, which could cost as much as $200,000. He pre-ordered his car in 2019 with an initial deposit of $100 and then received notice he was eligible to configure the truck for a further $250 to place an order. The two choices for the interior were white or tactical grey. He chose grey because he thought it was “much more subtle, much more subdued and goes with the outside. The white, in my opinion, is too much of a contrast, too harsh.”
Though he’d only had the truck for less than 24 hours, it exceeded his expectations.
“It drives amazing, comfortable and steer by wire is a game changer,” he said. “I had never driven one before, but people who did said it drives really well, like nothing else on the road, very unique, it turns on a dime. Obviously not like a small car, but similar to a small SUV.”
I told him that not only was I taken aback seeing the truck, but so were the municipal workers. Jim opened the trunk by pushing a button – it can be programmed from the Tesla mobile app – and gave us all a look. He also showed us the interior of the car, which had some interesting infotainment systems, and the square-circle wheel, which has been termed a Squircle. The Leaf Guys and I all had a look of wonderment. Jim also said the truck has Joe Mode that makes all the tones in the car easier on the ears.
“You still get the warnings, but it’s much quieter,” he said.
He noted the steer-by-wire technology makes it easier to turn compared to a gas-powered car that requires more rotation.
While we were talking, some cars were driving by and you could see the drivers taking a peek. It’s one thing to see a Hypercar – though not in my neighborhood – but quite another to see this creation.
Jim laughed and acknowledged he has noticed the slack-jawed reactions. He fully expected it, both positively and negatively.
“People are just looking, they wonder ‘what is it, what is it?’” he said. “They’ve seen it, but now they are seeing it in person. It almost has this mythical unicorn kind of thing because of the negative press and everything else about this truck. I don’t think people assumed this would be here (in Canada) this fast. They assumed it would be only a U.S. thing or weren’t expecting it to be in production or on the road. So when they see it, it’s kind of like what you say, shock and gobsmacked.”
Then he said the truck is “very polarizing,” which I found quite interesting.
“It’s not normal looking, so that’s going to be polarizing to people anyway,” he said. “People either love it or hate it.”
He experienced the same reaction with his other Tesla.
“The main thing people look at is the build quality of the cars and it’s almost the extra attention because of the CEO of Tesla being so polarizing, so people are way more in tune to anything that Tesla does,” Jim said. “There hasn’t been that many around for people to actually see and test drive to know exactly what it is, but it is what it is. I accepted that. It doesn’t bother me.”
Here’s my take on the Cybertruck. It has elements of a DeLorean with the sleek stainless steel exterior, combined with the physical dimension of a pickup truck and an armoured truck, though with lines that are very bold and dramatic. My son, who is really into cars, compared it to the Ford Taurus used in RoboCop. Musk has said the design was inspired by Wet Nellie, the Lotus Esprit driven by James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me. He also was quoted as saying he wanted the Cybertruck to be able to drive like a sports car and have all the utility of a pickup truck.
The severely-slanted flat windshield has one four-foot wiper, as opposed to two shorter ones. The wheels are huge. I mean really huge like a Monster Truck.
Jim said he is also impressed with the safety factor because of the way the truck is built and its weight, which technically is listed as a heavy truck and does not have a green EV license plate. That surprised Jim, but again this is heavy truck in weight, but similar to a SUV or CUV in that it is not designed to pull anything. It’s really a five-seat passenger car classified as a truck.
“It seems like a big, bulky cumbersome car, but it’s not,” Jim said. “The stainless steel is what I think makes it what it is. If it’s painted it won’t look the same. It is literally a very raw-looking car with very defining lines and angles. It’s not like a truck where you are going to be bouncing around and have no comfort. It’s very comfortable.”
He told me the truck can be raised to four levels and for off-road purposes with even more ride height options.
It is controlled with a phone app to look at the six exterior cameras and one cabin camera to see live views, and he said he could basically walk away from the truck and it will lock itself. He said there is a card key to use as a backup in case the phone is lost or stolen.
As we were talking, the workers drove their truck around the corner and close to the Cybertruck. That’s when it him me, the contrast of the two trucks, and which one would suffer more damage if they collided.
So there you have it, my thoughts on the Cybertruck, which could go down in automotive history similar to the DeLorean, Bricklin and Hummer in terms of uniqueness. Time will tell about its long-term sustainability.
As an aside, the same municipal workers I saw the day before were driving down my street the following morning vacuuming leaves. I walked out of the house to say hello and show one of them some of the photos I took. We all bonded over this space-age truck that has become the rage of the automotive world in the unlikeliest of places.
I haven’t seen Jim since.
Perry Lefko is the Content Manager of The Car Magazine. He can be reached at [email protected]. Feel free to forward any story suggestions or comments.
