At the Tesla Cybertruck’s on-stage unveiling in Los Angeles on Thursday (21st November), the audience was dumbstruck by its stealth bomber-like design, by claims of 0-60mph in 2.9 seconds and a 500 mile range… And then by a live demonstration of its toughness that ended badly with the truck’s windows getting smashed.
Tesla’s first pickup for a country where big double-cab trucks like the Ford F-150 outsell regular cars, the Cybertruck is billed as having the utility of a truck and the performance of a sportscar. With armoured glass and its extreme flat-surfaced and angular body made from rolled stainless steel, Tesla says the Cybertruck majors on toughness and endurance with its “nearly impenetrable exoskeleton”. Nearly but not quite, as the backfiring demo showed…
But then the Tesla Cybertruck is still at the concept stage. Even as concepts go, it is unusual. With its origami-like lines, severe angles and flat surfaces without a curve or contour anywhere, it completely smashes the mould of vehicles like the Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram with which it would compete. Like those pickups, however, it combines a four-door double-cab body, with seats for up to six people, with a big load bed at the back.