While in Cabo San Lucas on the hunt for a winter home to escape his Colorado icebox, Autopian reader Mario found himself blocked into his hotel parking lot by multiple Tesla Cybertruck prototypes. “Funny thing, they blocked me in so I couldn’t leave this morning,” he told me. “But when your rental car is a base model Kia of some sort, your man card doesn’t allow you to go out and say ‘excuse me, can you move your tundra and Cybertrucks, I have places to be.'”
There were two Cybertrucks and one white “chase/support truck,” as Mario put it via email. “I didn’t want to interrupt their photo shoot and prep but here are the best I could do,” he said, attaching the following photos that he took early this morning (check out the cool paint schemes, and the RC “Release Candidate” branding on the nose:
I’ll crop in a bit more to get some extra detail.
\
Here you can some Maxxtrax recovery boards on the tailgate, plus there’s something dangling under that rear bumper.
Here you can see what looks like a pretty standard tailgate cable, and a tie-down rail on the inside of the beside:
Here you can see some door panels, a rack on the tilted roof, and some instrumentation:
Here’s a rear shot. Hmm, what is that in the bed? [Update: Looks like it’s a wheel cover! -DT].
I’m not sure. It looks like some kind of cover? It’s large:
Ya know, that 2001 Acura Plybertruck was a lot more accurate than I would have guessed.
Friend, you are absolutely allowed to tell them to get out of your way even if you were sitting there in a Barbie Power Wheels jeep, and they should rightly have gotten out of your way.
Yes, absolutely. You don’t need a Hurst His N’ Hers to tell them to move.
Thank you! That comment really got to me.
Is there a harness bar behind the front seats? And are those actually “racing” bucket seats? If so, those are definitely not production ready “release candidates”
That’s a good spot. I think you might be right? Unless it’s some sort of structure for data acquisition (doubtful).
Look at the front door/window rubber seal, look at the gap at the junction between rear fender and rear structure, at the tailgate, the gap. Release candidate is just bullshit to calm down investors i guess.
You just know that Tesla will sell RC branded polo shirts, right? It will be like a certain motorcycle company. “I don’t own one. I’ll never own one. But I’ll give you money to advertise your product.”
I cannot wait to ask every Tesla stan how much RC Cola they had to drink to get the shirt. Or why they prefer Royal Crown over Coke or Pepsi. It’ll be almost as fun as asking them about that “Prius or whatever sedan” they have.
Suddenly, I’m craving an RC and a Moon Pie.
Sorta like the folks that wear Ferrari branded shoes or Porsche logos on hats.
You mean like The One with Joey’s Porsche? (sorry the link button isn’t working)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8shZ89EnA00
Great high res. spy photos Mario! Those door cards are definitely hand lay-up prototypes of a quality I wouldn’t let out of the shop. I thought the bed was to be stainless, looks like a ridged liner? Looks like an elbow bump into the bed edge would send you to the hospital.
That “cyber graffiti” is so cringe. I saw the same branding at the Petersen Tesla exhibit. It looks like a middle-aged vice principal’s vision of what’s slay with the kids these days.
Yeah I’m all for graphics packages making a comeback, but not those ones. They are absolutely “Hello fellow kids!”
I kinda like it. At least more than what the truck looks like without it.
Yeah, it’s a definite improvement. I’d never drive it either way so sharing the road with something that isn’t just a testament to brutalism is nice.
It’s playful in a way that truck balls, angry bull bars, and blue-line stickers aren’t.
Is Elon out of touch? No, it is the kids who are wrong!
For real though, as I approach 40 this is becoming true (except for the Elon part).
It’s giving Ed Hardy, circa 2003.
His investors in Twitter should have seen this and said, ya know, maybe this guy isn’t so much smarter than everyone else… but I’m glad the Saudi’s didn’t have that foresight. I think?
I still think that at least some of the investors saw him as a useful idiot. If your goal is to fracture one of the fastest sources of news and organizing protests, and maybe also use it to spread misinformation, Musk’s your guy.
And if you want to crash other Musk ventures, what better way than to get him tied up in a venture that is hemorrhaging cash so that he has to dig up some money somewhere?
The looks remind me of Citroën’s old FAF design, which was made to be easy to build in third world countries. Accordingly, the design only consisted of straight bends, no compound curves. The VW Hormiga and Bedford Harimau are other examples of the same trend.
These look like fake cars on the set of a shitty Robocop sequel.
In other words, they look like cybertrucks.
Are the headlights mounted on the frunklid? Are headlights not subject to the same regulations as taillights in this regard?
They look like they’re actually mounted below the frunklid, which contains a light bar like an old Mercury Sable
Oh, you might be right! I’ve only noticed the top light bar on the frunklid before, didn’t think they were hiding the headlights in plain sight like so many other new cars.
Great, so the next time “El Mayo” and what remains of the Guzman clan make a fentanyl run for the border they’ll be driving electric sleds.
You know how most trucks and SUVs have a sort of dignified look to them when they’re filthy? How their design is (usually) utilitarian enough that it wears the abuse well? That is not what’s happening here. I assumed it and I was right; if these Cybertrucks are ever used in a rough way, they’re going to look awful for it.
I’m genuinely curious about the interior. Is Tesla going to provide another sort of flimsy and minimalist interior design for the Cybertruck? From the couple of bits I can see, it seems the answer is yes. I can’t imagine a Model 3 interior holding up well to truck stuff. Hell, the Model 3 interior doesn’t seem to hold up super well to commuting.
I can’t imagine touchscreen and capacitive everything being good for any vehicle, much less anything you’re going to pretend can be used for working or going off-road. That said, the people buying this probably aren’t looking to do truck things, so it might be fine for them.
The frunk-mounted lights also seem like a bad idea, as does the angle of the rear doors. I can’t imagine anything about this being done particularly well.
I just think it’s going to be funny how ratty these things are going to look, even if someone is just taking it on a basic camping trip.
The roof angle for those rear doors is going to result in a lot of people seeing stars.
As someone who has definitely hit his head getting into normal car doors (cue jokes about that explaining a lot), I think I’ll pass on getting into the back of a Cybertruck. (I don’t really want to be seen in one, anyway.)
Electric cars aren’t common here, and neither are expensive cars. Put both together and I doubt I’ll have to worry about ever hitting my head on the roof getting into the back.
A friend of mine is actually a huge fan of the design and wants one badly. He, for whatever reason, genuinely believes that this thing might not cost 80k, and even believes it may come in near the original insane estimate.
I anticipate he will be disappointed.
I was thinking the same thing. These look pretty worse for wear already.
That rear door drop is about to hand out more concussions than the NFL. That thing looks like it was designed to make sure your head hits stainless at peak terminal velocity.
Between the compartment shape, the window dimensions, and the elegant door card, I’m sure the rear compartment will be a pleasant place to be — if you’re a cadaver.
I’m always surprised how caviler these “techs” are. I spent a month in a Residence Inn near Phoenix in July and a lot of the parking lot was test mules. They don’t seem to care about hiding anything, and seem to generally be having a good time. I would have had no issues telling them to make room, even if my rental was a Schwinn, and would have been pretty bold in taking photos. I took lots of photos while I was at the Residence Inn, including a Jetta with Kanji on the trunk (??)
A group of Germans “testing” a Sprinter, would return to the hotel sunburned with half empty beer cases, so serious bidness.. I saw one of them out having a cigarette and asked “do you work for Mercedes or a contactor?” he squinted at me, took a 1940’s espionage movie drag from his smoke and said “why you ask?”. “Because your truck is all set up with data acquisition, I’m wondering if you work directly for MB or..” he just put out his cigarette and walked off. mysterious
I mean what are they gonna do? Ask you not to take photos in a public place? Unless they plan to physically intimidate you they’ve got nothing.
I’ve driven a few prototypes in camo in my time, and if someone wants to take pictures I just ask them nicely not to get my face in it.
If the OEM really wants privacy they test somewhere that isn’t public.
Extremely lukewarm take: I’d rather drive the base-model Kia than a Cybertruck.
Barely tepid.
Maybe the members of the Torchinsky tail light club can answer this for me. If I were to be transporting say 4×8 sheets of plywood with the tail gate down on my Cybertruck, am I seeing correctly there are just 2 small taillights visible and no CHMSL?
I mean they’re not as small as RAV4 taillights.
Mario, those dudes aren’t more important than you just because they’re driving a free truck around. Tell them you don’t give a rats ass about their cyborg truck and to give you some space.
Hard agree.
Seconded
Also, anyone that relies on big trucks to gather man points should have their man card rescinded.
Yes! This!
You have every right to ride up to them on a My Little Pony in a prom dress, blast an old timey bicycle horn at them and say “can you get out of the way please.”
The state of those “trucks”, (so dirty, crap strewn about half hazard) the lack of social awareness of the drivers.
Those dudes don’t have man cards.
It was a long time ago and I might be getting the order wrong, but I’m pretty sure punch numbers one and two on the man card are for being “courteous” and “helpful”.
Which Mario was, given his situation.
Courteous: For how he treated the them (recognizing they were filming and staying out of the way).
Helpful: For getting the photos to The Autopian.
Hat’s off to yah internet stranger.
You also managed to make the best of a bad situation. Man card punch number 37 if I remember correctly.
The Tesla crew’s obliviousness to (or disregard for the consequences of) blocking in other guests at this location is really heartwarming. /s
I know these are still development mules, but for as far along as this project is alleged to be, all of the details sure seem to be a long way from anything that seems consumer-ready. Those unfinished-looking panel gaps. The overall design and fitment of the door panels. The tailgate structure that looks like I slapped it together in my garage with scrap steel, a bench vise, and my 110 mig.
Yikes.
Yeah these are garbage cars, not to say the final product is going to be better, but these guys are testing HVAC, motors, etc, not fit and finish, so these could be cobbled together from dumpster parts
I am not a Tesla fan (actually I despise Elon) and I think this is in no way a practical design, form factor or build philosophy for any car, let alone a pick up truck. However, I have to admit that I do like the looks of this car. I know, I am disgusting, I feel guilty and ashamed and no one should follow my example. But I like to look at it.
One day, 30 years from now people will be seeking out the stainless steel Cybertruck after Doc Brown turns it into a time machine in a Back to the Future reboot. I wonder if they ever solved the ballistic glass issue?
In honor of Mexico, I present a portion of the Wall of Voodoo classic.
I feel a hot wind on my shoulder
And the touch of a world that is older
Turn the switch and check the number
Leave it on when in bed I slumber
I hear the rhythms of the music
I buy the product and never use it
I hear the talking of the dj
Can’t understand just what does he say?
I’m on a mexican radio
I’m on a mexican radio
I dial it in and tune the station
They talk about the u.s. inflation
I understand just a little
No comprende–it’s a riddle
Here’s a scene brought back from the future
The Cybertruck is the next Model X. Too much input from Elon at the start. Eventually they can make it work enough to sell but it will be expensive and unreliable. The Roadster (original), Model S, 3, and Y were pure designs that started with a simple idea (fastest, cheapest, most efficient, etc.) and let the engineers iterate designs to meet that ethos.
If you start with the answer (Falcon wing doors, weird shape, etc.) you generally don’t get the best solution.
I hope not. The Model X is popular around here. I don’t want to see these abominations daily.
I have a feeling you will be seeing way more CTs than MXs. At least until they get a reputation for cramped interior, jammed sliding tonneaus, impossible bumper dimples, broken suspensions, and water leaks.
I don’t know, it looks so ridiculously huge that it might scare away urbanites, while also not appealing to the people willing to make the compromises inherent in driving something massive like an F350.
Hell, it might scare off suburbanites too. That thing is too big for a lot of driveways and wouldn’t fit in a single garage in my neighborhood.
Are those laptops on the roof? Hard to tell, but they appear to be plugged into a dangling power strip that might be plugged into the cab.
maybe solar panels?
Starlink antennas.
I think that thing in the bed is the hubcap. Like the one that went flying off the car on the highway in the video last week.
maybe it finally landed somewhere down in Mexico?
Agreed: looks exactly like the profile of the wince-worthy covers they showed on the wheels.
You have discovered the hidden Cybertruck Easter Egg. The hubcaps are actually flying drones that can photograph all your post-apocalyptic cosplay adventures!
The more photos I see of the release candidate Cybertrucks out in the wild, the less and less appealing these get. Setting aside any and all biases for or against Tesla and related parties, these things seem like terrible trucks, not to mention ugly as sin. Couple that with a likely $60k+ MSRP and the build quality of a middle school science fair project and I don’t see how this will do anything for Tesla other than bring its stock price down to reality.
I confess to having been quite excited by the design originally – a Mad Max Delorian? Yes please. But the design details revealed since then have me putting my head in my hands. Headlights mounted on a frunk lid – how do you keep that well-aligned? The flat corners of the tailgate – what happens when those inevitably get bent? -sigh-
“How do you keep that well-aligned” I hear you ask, why with sub-10 micron manufacturing tolerances of course! With such attention to detail and craftsmanship there is no chance for misalignment of course!
(I swear if I see someone unironically post this online one more time I may go insane)
Looks absolutely nothing like the concept lol. Styling is similar but this looks like the body of the concept slapped on a Model S chassis or something.