Cybertruck Showboating Calls Model's Visibility Into Question
Coming into work under false pretenses is what December’s all about. Everyone’s productivity is whittled down to a bare minimum in order to spend additional time browsing the internet for gift ideas, travel arrangements, and polishing off their list of must-watch holiday films. As a result, the news cycle gets slow and silly.
Over the weekend, the big automotive story was Elon Musk showboating the Tesla Cybertruck around Malibu while on his way to pick up some Japanese food — smacking into a traffic pylon and breezing through a red light after leaving the eatery. While a quick satellite view of the area absolves the CEO of any illegal maneuvers (Nobu’s parking lot is before the intersection), the fate of that poor barricade left us wondering about Musk’s driving ability and/or the visibility available from inside the Cybertruck.
Presumably the test platform we’ve seen before, the truck showcased quite a bit of body roll upon exiting the restaurant. It also had the same manufacturer plates we’ve seen before. Whether or not it’s the same truck we saw at the model’s bizarre debut, it’s clearly not a production-ready vehicle.
Frankly, we’ve wondered how Tesla could ever get the model to pass regulations as-is. It’s missing several essential components (wipers, mirrors, etc.) and has a shape that looks to be unfriendly to pedestrians and those peering out from the driver’s seat. Smacking into a two-foot-tall pylon seems to further hint that this may be a problem. A bummer for Musk, as this was turning out to be some decent free advertising for the brand.
On Saturday, the gossip kings at TMZ reported that Musk drove Cybertruck to dinner at Nobu in Malibu, California. The CEO was quickly met with fans eager to snap a picture, paparazzi, and even a few alleged celebrity encounters. Unfortunately, the point of the evening that stood out most was Elon hitting the pylon before slipping off into the night (video below). Everyone noticed and it became the soup du jour.
In truth, this was a supremely minor issue. Blind spots aren’t unknown on other vehicle models and this simply could have been the result of Musk having a momentary lapse in judgement. Your author once folded the edge of a no parking sign with a large box truck while pulling out of a warehouse garage. Nobody’s perfect. But, unlike Tesla, I wasn’t trying to frame that truck as automotive perfection and did not have the world’s eyes upon me — just one very amused co-worker.
We wouldn’t take this as a sign of Cybertruck’s failings. The odds of the pickup heading to market in its current state seem exceptionally low. Tesla isn’t even expecting to commence production until late 2021, leaving it plenty of time to address blind spots. Maybe it isn’t even fair to report on breaking glass and smashed barriers as failures, but Musk’s way of promoting products makes it difficult to resist. Tesla routinely makes big claims and continuously unloads some of the most in-your-face marketing in the industry. It often feels like we’re being dared to poke holes anytime the automaker attempts to deliver (or create) something worthy of coverage.
Then again, perhaps Elon knew hitting a small, inconsequential object would gather more media attention than a seamless exit — and we’ve all fallen into his trap.
$TSLA pic.twitter.com/E9NrscR4J8
— GuruLeaks (@Guruleaks1) December 8, 2019
[Images: Tesla]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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The truck seems to have a license plate on it, but I wonder if it is even actually street legal. Did it have wipers, side view mirrors, etc. on it? Or can manufacturers drive whatever they want on the streets while prototype testing?
So preorder is a free loan to Tesla, and the cybertruck is a way to make the Mars rocket alloy more affordable, right? Even if they only sell like 50000 of them during the lifetime, it will make the Mars rockets dramatically cheaper.