November 2019. That's the month when we were all introduced to two things that would swiftly take the world by storm: The Cybertruck, and Covid 19. When the Cybertruck was first announced, the cyberpunk aesthetic that it wore so brutally on its steel sleeves was, we think, steeped in playful irony. It was a bit of rock n' roll cosplay, a Blade Runner fantasy that was very science-fiction, emphasis on the fiction.
Oh, how things change. It's been a wild ride since then, marked by a devastating global pandemic, steep inflation, rising global conflict, political turmoil, AI anxieties and ever-more normalized climate catastrophe. Suddenly, the cyber vibes don't feel so far from fantasy. At the Cybertruck's first delivery event, Elon Musk quipped that this was a great truck for the apocalypse, without a hint of irony in his voice. Perhaps to hammer the point home, Tesla showed us a video of the Cybertruck's steel doors repelling a tommy gun attack (and also hit it with a literal hammer).
Tesla says, "The future should look like the future". That's a loaded tag line, when a truck is inspired by images of dystopia. Many have pointed to the similarities between the Cybertruck and its long-lost stainless step-sibling, the Delorean. The Delorean is another pop culture icon, forever linked to the time-traveling cautionary tale that the future is what we make of it. Marty McFly, through a few stumbling missteps, returned from 1955 to find a dystopian nightmare had replaced his reality. These days, it can feel like the world is stumbling toward a similar outcome. That's heavy.
So what role does this truck play in the future we're collectively creating? Well, it's not all doom and gloom. Under this truck's thick skin there's real bright-minded innovation. It's the first car to feature a 48-volt architecture, which reduces cost, wiring, weight and losses from heat while enabling features like variable steer-by-wire. That's right, this truck has no physical connection between its steering and drive wheels. The result is steering that adapts to your speed, taking no more than 170º of lock to U-turn this monolith in the space of a svelte sedan (helped along by 4-wheel steering). It also includes a corrosive-resistant body, Tesla's proven powertrain, excellent software, and an industry-leading charging ecosystem. In what we believe may be another first, Tesla offers a "range extender" battery pack that, when installed in the bed, will boost the range to as much as 470 miles. If the Cybertruck was just a Model 3 dressed up like Robocop, it would be a great EV. Turns out, it's much more than that. the Cybertruck might be the best and most capable Tesla you can buy (which would also mean it's one of the best and most capable EVs you can buy).
Such is the dual nature of this "beast". It may be the best EV from one of the planet's leading EV companies, a serious cause for optimism; however its bulletproof doors and "bioweapon defense mode" scream cynicism about the world we live in, a fear-fueled expression of apocalypse-now. Here we have a company on a stated mission to stave-off climate collapse, suddenly offering you a bit of a bunker.
In the end we suppose this truck's cloudy steel is a reflection of how we see our own reality and future. Is being apocalypse-ready just a party trick as the party rages on? Or is this truck offering a means from which to rage against the dying of the light? How you view the world may affect how you view this Cybertruck. This Cybertruck may also affect how you view your world.
