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Today in History
Topic:Science and Technology
The futuristic vehicle, with its trapezoidal silhouette, would not be out of place in a science-fiction film. (Reuters: Mike Blake)
Elon Musk had hinted at his dream for a battery-electric pick-up truck for years before the prototype for his Tesla Cybertruck was unveiled.
The futuristic vehicle, with its trapezoidal silhouette, would not be out of place in a science-fiction film, and the base version of the truck was slated to cost a cool $US39,900 ($60,000). Fashioned from the same stainless steel alloy used for SpaceX rockets, the car was "literally bulletproof", according to the billionaire.
But at an event launching the design in Los Angeles six years ago today, a designer threw a metal ball at the car's windows and they cracked.
"Maybe that was a little too hard," said Musk, who also claimed the doors could withstand bullets.
Elon Musk hinted at his dreams for a battery-electric pick-up truck for years before Tesla unveiled a prototype in November 2019. (Getty Images: Kevin Dietsch)
Hundreds of thousands of people were undeterred by the cracked windows and promptly placed their orders long before the model would even come into production.
But six years after Musk launched the Blade Runner-inspired prototype, and two years after drivers first got their hands on the real deal, sales are down well below Tesla's hopes, and the vehicle has been dubbed "the world's most hated car".
What happened? There's the commercial reality — the trucks were ultimately sold for far more than their initial price tag and while Americans are big pick-up drivers, they have so far shown brand loyalty to cheaper and more established brands, while competing EV models eat Tesla's lunch.
The Cybertrucks have had multiple recalls and Tesla is currently facing a lawsuit from the families of two young people killed in a crash, claiming the faulty door handles impeded their relatives' escape. And then there is the political dimension to this story tied to Tesla's CEO and the reason Tesla owners are buying bumper stickers that say "I bought this before Elon went crazy".
Tesla was once aligned with America's political left — it was given a $US465 million federal loan by the Obama administration and popularised electric vehicles for the environmentally conscious — but Musk's well-ventilated political beliefs have increasingly aligned with the right, which he has courted via the takeover of Twitter, now X.
Over the past few years, Musk has gone from a tech CEO to a key political player, endorsing Donald Trump's presidential campaign, for which he was ultimately rewarded with overseeing a new Department of Government Efficiency.
In November last year, controversial streamer Adin Ross gifted Trump a Tesla Cybertruck customised with a Make America Great Again slogan and a photo of the then-presidential nominee with his fist raised after he was almost assassinated at a rally.
Tesla's stock doubled in the weeks after Trump's election. Meanwhile, protests and property damage at Tesla showrooms ramped up and vandalism of Teslas themselves increased — a phenomenon Trump condemned as "domestic terror".
Elon Musk made a return to the White House this week, following a feud with Donald Trump several months ago. (Reuters: Nathan Howard)
While stocks have plummeted again and Musk and Trump's "bromance" turned into a feud, the consequences of being a Tesla driver live on as a writer for The Atlantic recently discovered when he drove a Cybertruck around Washington, DC.
While his car was not set ablaze as other Cybertrucks have been, he was sworn at repeatedly, "flipped off at least 17 times", and told he drives a "Nazi truck".
Other Tesla owners have reportedly been called Nazis after Musk did a Nazi-style salute during an inauguration day celebration for Trump.
The Cybertruck might not have taken off as Musk had hoped for when he stood on a stage in Los Angeles in 2019, but Tesla shareholders have approved a $1 trillion pay package for the CEO over the next decade, so perhaps he does not mind.
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