The Cybertruck Is Just A Concept Car

Don’t expect the Tesla Cybertruck to stay this cool, it’s bound to change

Elon Musk’s big reveal successfully captured the attention (and news headlines) of the world, which is exactly what he wanted. The Cybertruck looks bold, outlandish and futuristic to the highest possible degree. However, we’re not convinced.

It’s undeniable that the Cybertruck is unlike any other car or pickup truck currently on the market and maybe that’s because it does things that other cars can’t. The extremely angular body, the minimalist rear and front lights, the lack of conventional car technologies such as wing mirrors and wipers. Now, though, it begs the question of ‘is that even allowed?’.

Tesla are known for standing out with their bold designs and extreme minimalism. For example, the Model 3 interior literally features nothing more than a screen and a steering wheel. There’s no gauge cluster, no visible air vents, no buttons or dials. Just a screen and a steering wheel. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but in a way, it’s revolutionary.

The Cybertruck, however, is just a different ball game altogether. Sure, other Teslas do things differently as well, but the difference is that they’re still regulation-compliant.

First off, the truck has no wing mirrors which is a stark indication that this is, in fact, a concept car rather than a production car. It doesn’t stop there, though. No wipers, as previously mentioned, a butterfly steering wheel, ridiculous protruding wheels, sharp angles on the exterior of the car and much more.

What I’m saying is, don’t expect the final product to look like the Cybertruck that was shown.

For some reason, everyone seems to be forgetting that this is not a production car being unveiled for the first time.

Tesla have announced that production for the Cybertruck isn’t due to start until ‘late 2021’ and we know that when Tesla say late 2021 they actually mean mid-2022. When production does eventually come around, we expect the designs to have changed pretty drastically so that they meet safety regulations set by the EU.

Small things, such as the lack of wing mirrors and the non-reflective front and rear lights can probably be fixed without much of an issue, but the whole idea of the car may have been problematic from the start. One of Elon’s main points in his reveal presentation was that the Cybertruck is very strong.

He explains that while most ordinary pickups are strong on the inside and soft on the outside, the Cybertruck will feature an ‘exoskeleton’ of sorts. This was then demonstrated with someone hitting the car with a sledgehammer, with no dent or scuff to be seen afterwards.

Modern cars, to pass safety tests, are designed to be soft. They’re designed to crumple in a crash and they’re also designed to protect pedestrians in the event that they’re hit. Now, we’re no experts in safety but it’s probably safe to say that if a sledgehammer can’t even dent the solid steel then a person isn’t going to fare very well at all.

Furthermore, if the Cybertruck is going to achieve the impressive claimed range of up to 500 miles, it will likely need to shed some weight. Electric vehicles need all the help they can get to achieve 300 miles, let alone 500 miles. From special aerodynamic alloys to regenerative braking, EVs are often made as light as possible for the sake of range.

Now, when we’re talking about an all-stainless-steel pickup truck with armoured glass that’s as big as a Ford F-150 and has to lug around the notoriously heavy lithium batteries, we assume there will have to be some compromise if the car is to actually travel 500 miles on a single charge. Either that or Tesla are going to need to incorporate some groundbreaking battery technology.

Another unusual, unconventional move that was made at the reveal of the eccentric Cybertruck was the announcement that customers could make a fully refundable reservation for just $100. Call me a sceptic but the small amount and the fact that a point was made about it being fully refundable does raise some questions. Perhaps Elon knows that people will be disappointed when they see just how different the production Cybertruck looks to the one they saw at the initial reveal.

We’re all very impressed by this statement-making pickup truck, but if the production model doesn’t deliver on the promises that were laid out at the reveal event (including the outlandish design) then it’s all for nothing.

Let us know what you think of the Cybertruck. Are you ready for the production model to look nothing like the concept?

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