Tesla’s unveiling of its Cybertruck has compelled many to give their opinion, and a lot of those opinions are very negative. Not too many can actually design something, but everyone has opinions. Aesthetics is very subjective. Someone once said, “There’s an ass for every seat,” and they were right. 

But if you think about it, wouldn’t you rather have something that people react to, instead of just another pickup truck in a crowded field? The Cybertruck has already got a big win for eliciting strong reactions. And don’t forget, electric pickups will be a very small segment. So, even if Tesla only gets a percentage of current Tesla owners to purchase one, it will be a good-selling product within the teslaverse.

Will we see changes to the Cybertruck?

Could Tesla reverse the course and redesign the Cybertruck if reactions are universally bad? Probably. The truck is based on an electric platform. So bodies can be bonked onto it at a faster pace than it takes to develop a vehicle from the ground up. Especially if tooling has only just started there would not be a lot invested in the actual sheetmetal. 

But will Tesla make a different body for the Cybertruck? No. By the time the truck is ready to ship it will have competition from Rivian, Ford, and Chevy. Maybe Lordstown and even Karma say 2021 is what they are shooting for with their pickups. It will need to stand out and be unique. As jarring as the design is to so many there will be others compelled to purchase just because it is jarring.

Musk says Tesla could do a conventional truck

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and founder, has said in interviews if everyone hates it Tesla could possibly do something else. “It’s something I have wanted to make for a long time,” he says. “If there’s only a small number of people that like that truck, I guess we’ll make a more conventional truck in the future. But it’s the thing that I am personally most fired up about.”

Could some tweaks come about? Yes, and we have some suggestions. The most pointed-to feature seems to be the pointed top. If the “Zippy the Pinhead” look were eased out it settles down the design. If that’s the only change made between now and production time that is enough in our modest opinion.

Different doesn’t mean it’s good

The other change we would like to see is with the DLO or Daylight Opening. That’s the side window to you and me. We would change the back window line to follow the line of the wheel opening in the rear. It would make the DLO a bit more distinctive. 

There seems to be a rigid adherence to straight lines in the design but there are no rules. There is no design majordomo demanding strictly straight lines. Honestly, the pointed top is just too severe and almost anti-convention. The silhouette is not enhanced by the triangle shape.

How does Cybertruck look in the open?

The real test of any vehicle design is how it looks on the road, out in the open. A fixed gaze upon the stage with laser lights is as unnatural as a fish flopping on the pier. Comments should be reserved until one can view it on the highway or pass it on a road. The way light travels around it as well as viewing it from your own vantage point helps to define the vehicle in a more common environment. 

There will be more to say about the Cybertruck, and we can hardly wait.

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