The Tesla Cybertruck. The name alone conjures images of sleek angles, futuristic design, and a level of public attention usually reserved for Hollywood A-listers. It’s not just a vehicle; it’s a cultural phenomenon, a lightning rod for opinions, and a magnet for both fervent adoration and outright dismissal. Every move is documented, every tidbit of information dissected and amplified, every quote twisted and reinterpreted until it’s devoid of all meaning. It’s a self-fueling frenzy, where each mention generates a surge in clicks, each photo ignites social media – either in fury or elation.

From the moment the Cybertruck concept was unveiled in 2019 to a chorus of gasps and cheers, with Elon Musk promising production starting in 2021 and an initial price of $40,000, it’s lurched from one highly publicized issue to another. Design Director Franz von Holzhausen famously smashing the ‘unbreakable’ window with a metal ball on stage was just the tip of the iceberg.

Next came multiple delays, leaked engineering reports citing terrible sound insulation and dodgy brakes, Elon’s infamous email to employees emphasizing the Cybertruck must be “built with sub-10 micron precision [because] if Legos and soda cans, which are very low cost, can do this, so can we,” as prototypes with panel gaps wider than a football rolling down public roads. Finally, Elon admitted that “we dug our own grave with Cybertruck” and they likely wouldn’t reach full ramp-up production of 200,000+ trucks per year at Giga Texas until 2025.

Is it Real, Though?

Yes. Stop rolling your eyes at the back. Customer deliveries began at the end of November 2023, and options include the 845-horsepower, tri-motor ‘Cyberbeast’ that we drove, priced at $99,990 with 320 miles of range, and a dual-motor AWD version at $79,990 with 600 horsepower, 340 miles of range, and 0-60mph acceleration in 3.9 seconds. In 2025, a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive will launch with 250 miles of range and 0-60mph acceleration in 6.5 seconds. You can have any color you like, as long as it’s raw stainless steel, and it has a starting price of $60,990 for that single-motor truck.

The tri-motor beast comprises two induction motors at the rear axle and a permanent magnet motor up front (Model S Plaid tri-motors are all permanent magnet). It can rocket from 0-60mph in 2.6 seconds, run a quarter-mile in 11 seconds, weighs 3,100kg, and has a 123kWh battery – Tesla’s largest to date. The claimed range is 320 miles, similar to a Ford F-150 Lightning, although Tesla will offer an optional plug-and-play 50kWh range extender – essentially a standard Model 3 battery pack – that bolts into the bed and takes up a third of your cargo space but extends range to 440 miles (470 miles for the AWD version).

The powertrain runs on an 800V architecture – a first for Tesla – that can charge at up to 350kW if you can find a V4 Supercharger and is entirely designed and manufactured in-house.

Why Does it Look Like That?

For this, we must defer to design director Franz von Holzhausen: “We started by taking apart existing pickup trucks and realized that the market hadn’t changed. In the early days, we had a Lotus Esprit in the studio, the submarine car, and then started looking at what else was in this simple, angular theme; things like the F-117 Nighthawk and the Countach.

“Like Gandini, we wanted to do something striking that could change everything. I had this simple idea from the very beginning, the idea of an exoskeleton, a sort of low-resolution pickup. And from that side project, we made a full-size clay model for Elon to see. And he said, ‘that’s what we’re doing.'”

Technically, Lars Moravy, VP of Vehicle Engineering, takes a slightly different view: “At launch, everyone was confused because when you look at the shape, the stainless steel, and Elon says it needs to drive like a sports car but still have all the utility of a pickup… we basically had to sweat bullets.”

What’s it Made Of?

Stainless steel panels are bolted directly to a solid steel exoskeleton, creating a literal bulletproof exoskeleton. A truck with a tough exterior… is the brief. As usual, turning Elon and Franz’s Delorean-gets-jiggy-with-aF-150 vision into reality was easier said than done.

It turns out it’s very difficult to bend stainless steel, and when you do bend it, you get orange peel on the folds, and there is no paint to hide it here. There are no stamping dies, steel can only bend one way, so Tesla had to invent something new: a process called Airbending, where they float the tool on a type of high-pressure air hockey table, so it doesn’t actually touch the surface when bending.

The Details

The steel used is special because stainless steel doesn’t actually resist staining, it corrodes over time so they had to add a number of different elements to the mix to make it resistant, get it perfectly stiff, and have enough malleability to bend. However, the big benefit is super-car-like torsional rigidity of 45kNm/degree. However, there is no “flange,” where you “wrap the outside around the inside like in a traditional panel,” Franz von Holzhausen explains, which means all the edges are exposed. They are, of course, chamfered to avoid scratching your fingers, but you’ll need some getting used to. Put it this way, you won’t want to slip in your garage and hit some certain angles on your way down. There’s only one part that has a rubber strip to protect you: the underside of the front trunk. Because when it opens, it’s head-height.

The raw metal and flat surfaces look spectacular under gentle light, but they attract fingerprints like moths to a flame, and in direct, harsh light, you’ll see a rippling effect across the largest flat surfaces. Don’t worry, internet, the tolerances and alignment have tightened for production, but there are oddities in how the panels meet, look, and feel (the way the base of the A-pillar meets the front fascia is particularly tricky). But it’s constructed differently, and that should be celebrated.

What’s the Public Reaction?

It’s like Taylor Swift just rolled by in a one-wheeler wearing Lady Gaga’s meat suit. The constant and intense attention this truck receives is unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. Even before we left the Tesla Design Center car park, there were staff lining up to take selfies with it, and this is a car they’ve worked on for years. Whether it’s deadpan skepticism, mild irritation, or breathless excitement, there’s an attraction that’s beyond the human brain’s control. You have to look, take photos, post videos, tell your friends, shout something, or just stand there, mouth agape, rubbing your eyes.

And yes… we like the way the Cybertruck looks. We like the way it gives the finger to anything that has come before, that it infuriates some people and fills others with awe. We are amazed at how risky it is and how genuinely confusing it is to look at from almost every angle. It’s crazy, not by adding wings, and cut-outs, vents, and stripes, but by incinerating design conventions and urinating on the ashes. It’s brutal, not beautiful, but committed one hundred percent. It’s all in. We like it. We expect Toblerone to file a lawsuit any day now.

Can it Do Truck Things?

We haven’t yet tried the Cybertruck off-road beyond a dusty track, but the components look promising. Things like the air suspension with 12 inches of travel (for a maximum ground clearance that can be 17.4 inches) and all-terrain tires fitted as standard (although you can opt for rubber that is more road-biased, and efficient and a little quieter if you like, we’d go for all-rounder). There’s an electronic differential so you can lock the front axle, but with two motors on the rear axle controlling each wheel individually, you don’t need one at the back, which is a marvel for ground clearance, actually.

Alongside the standard ‘Off-road’ mode, there’s a ‘Baja’ mode with a front/rear torque split that is just fast and actually quite loose. Engineers rave about its jumping ability when they take it out playing in Mexico. It can tow up to five tons, which will halve your range at least, so the extra battery pack is a must.

So, What’s the Verdict?

“The way it drives… isn’t ideal, but it’s solid, composed, and brutally quick when you pin it.”

Are you one of the millions who put down $100 to buy a Cybertruck years ago? If you loved it then and can stomach the price increase, you’ll still love it now. Tesla has done the rarest of things – although much later than promised – and put into production, essentially unchanged in form, the science-fiction concept pickup truck we first saw in 2019.

The way it drives, especially at low speeds with the too-quick variable-ratio steer-by-wire system, isn’t ideal, but it’s solid, composed, and brutally quick when you pin it. Crucially, though, beneath the stainless-steel exoskeleton, it meets all the metrics the pickup-truck owner is after – towing capacity, torque, space, versatility, and durability. You can wallow in an accessories catalog including an inflatable tent to attach to the back, a super-bright light bar to fit on the roof, and an additional 50kWh range extender battery pack for when 123kWh simply isn’t enough.

In two days of use, the public response ranged from denial to astonishment. But we were in a wealthy beach suburb of LA. It’ll be another story in the American heartland, where sales are religion and functionality always trumps form.

However, there are similarities to the way the Countach changed everything and hit the reset button in the ’70s. The Cybertruck was born to shock, but arguably goes even further than Gandini’s wedge masterpiece, because it isn’t a supercar – Tesla has chosen the most utilitarian vehicle category for its Countach moment. Say it out loud for full effect: the weirdest-looking vehicle in the world is a pickup truck.