How a stainless-steel monster became the world’s most hated car

Another wrote: “I would never have guessed five years ago when I ordered mine [Cybertruck] that when I in the end I received it, it would have been seen as a form of realization of Elon himself, or perhaps [Donald] Trump. “

The owners report other motorists who repeatedly manage their cars and drive in a discouraged way. In one case, a passerby rose on a parked cybertuck. Cars have a Sentry mode that collects video tests of this lack of respect.

“It takes a great personality to guide a cybertuck, and it is not for everyone because it stands out so much,” says Gene Munster, a deepwater asset management partner manager and a close follower of the company. He says that owning the car is like driving “an exclamation point”.

Since Musk became one of Trump’s most trustworthy lieutenants, the discouragement turned to vandalism in the midst of a wave of anti-stop protests in the United States in recent weeks. The cyberrucks have been repeatedly painted in spraying with leisure and in at least three cases, aimed at highly dealers, dealers,

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In the last accident on Tuesday evening, several vehicles were lit in Las Vegas in a Tesla structure, with the word “resist” with spray painted on the door.

The prosecutor general of the United States, Pam Bondi, defined the act “domestic terrorism”. Musk said Tesla was the victim of “hatred and violence from left”.

None of this would have been to Musk’s mind in November 2019, when he revealed the cybertuck to a crowd of fans. The billionaire was trying to crash the profitable American pick-up truck market, dominated by Stalwarts such as the Ford F-150. He believed that only a bold and unconventional design would be sufficient.

“It doesn’t seem to be nothing else,” Musk said to the public, a fact on which everyone could agree. He said that the car could exceed a Porsche 911 and exceed an F-150, and was a bullet proof. The statement was literally broken when an acrobatics to show off the resilience of the windows by launching metal balls against them led the glass to break.

This did not seem to discourage potential buyers, who were tempted by the promise of a retail price of $ 40,000 (£ 30,760). More than a million people have put down a refundable deposit of $ 100.

However, the swelling of interest has not turned into a sales boom. When the cybertruck arrived at the end of 2023 – two years after the Musk initially promised – the cheapest model cost $ 60,990, over 50 % above what had been advertised.

This coincided with a wider plateau of interest for electric cars and the growing competition for Tesla, who had dominated the market of American electric vehicles.

The production was besieged by the challenges. Tesla has employed a series of unconventional production techniques, including “Gigacast” most of the frame in a single piece instead of welding smaller pieces. While the production process in theory promises lower costs, the cybertruck has been subject to a series of references after problems including accelerator pedals removed and wipers of malfunction of the windshield.

In the last week, potential buyers have been said that orders are outstanding due to a problem with the metal coating of the car that flies out of the vehicle.

Sales may have already reached the peak, hitting more than 5000 per month in September last year, but going down below 3000 to February, according to Cox Automotive.

The prices used have collapsed and the company has seen the inventory accumulate. According to reports, he removed the badges of “Foundation” inclined to the laser by some of his expensive initial models in limited edition so that they can sell them as cheaper cyberrucks.

Nor is international markets to come to the rescue. Tesla made the Cybertruck on a showcase tour in Europe last year, but the vehicle is not legal in Great Britain or on the continent, since its sharp edges are not compliant with European security rules.

In January, the Greater Manchester police seized a cybertruck that was guided on roads of the United Kingdom, saying “there are legitimate concerns about the safety of other road users or pedestrians”.

Even if the cybertruck did not set fire to Wall Street, it has become a cultural phenomenon. His brazen uniqueness made him the favorite of the celebrities of celebrities including Katy Perry and Kim Kardashian, who posed with the car in a photo shoot for Perfect Last week.

The vehicle has become an indispensable declaration car for everyone from Shaquille O’Neal to Jay-Z, as well as more unpleasant characters.

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The Lord of the Czech war Ramzan Kadyrov scored an illegally imported cybertruck with a machine gun (the car was subsequently disabled at a distance) while the car was also rented by Matthew Livelsberger, the member of the American army that made him explode outside the Trump hotel in Las Vegas in January.

Some scholars have made comparisons between cybertruck and casspir, a strongly armored military vehicle used to impose Apartheid in South Africa, where Musk grew up.

For better or for worse, the car, like much of what Musk does, generates attention – a precious goods for a company that has resisted advertising.

Cybertruck appeared in extremely popular online video games such as Fortnite and Rocket League, a testimony of its meme status as much as a motor vehicle.

The marketing expert traders purchased them to replace their boring vans and decorated them in the logos of their activities, making sure that the cars move on the billboard.

Recently, Musk has been supported by the greatest celebrity of all: Trump. The president was standing with the Tesla boss in front of the White House and swore to buy his Tesla, as well as revealing that he bought the 17 -year -old grandson Kai a cybertruck.

Trump urged the Republicans to support Musk by purchasing Teslas as slides of the price of the actions of the car manufacturer.

Instead of interrupting the truck market, the vehicle has become a status symbol and a political declaration, although more expensive than a red hat.

“Many brands manage to attract some customers but rejecting or excluding others,” says Ike Silver, a marketing professor at the Southern California University.

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“In this case, the fact that some customers on the left oppose what [Musk] He is probably doing politically makes the brand more attractive for other customers. “

While Cybertruck sales are modest for now, Silver says that Musk’s alliance with the president could lead to an increase of interest for the entire range of Tesla cars.

“Tesla sold around 600,000 units in the United States last year,” he says. “Trump got 77 million votes.”

Telegraph, London

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