Cyberbullying: Tesla Cybertruck Owners Are Sick Of Getting The Middle Finger

The Tesla Cybertruck was controversial long before it ever hit the streets. Some of that was down to the long delays ahead of production beginning, some of it was down to design, and many lay blame at the feet of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Indeed, we’ve discussed previously that it’s virtually pointless to review the Cybertruck since so much public opinion is based on the wacky antics and politics of the company’s enigmatic founder. In any case, now the vehicle is out in the real world, Cybertruck owners have been discovering their trucks are drawing a certain level of attention. Would you believe it’s not all friendly?

If you bought a new Corolla, or even a new Mustang, you might expect a raised eyebrow or a knowing nod from a few of your colleagues. The rest of the world would not blink as you passed by. That doesn’t appear to be the case with the Cybertruck, though. No surprise, given it looks like nothing else on the road, but still—some of the stories from the community are surprising to say the least.

Drive one of these polarizing trucks, and you can apparently expect harsh words and middle fingers just about wherever you go. It might be made out of stainless steel, but the Cybertruck is a magnet for the haters — whether haters of EVs or haters of Elon Musk.

Big Metal Thing

You might cast your mind back to David Tracy’s Cybertruck review from June this year. Most notably, he received a charming unsolicited comment from the sidewalk. “Your truck is ugly!” went the cry.

So when David saw Cybertruck owner Don Turner post on an owner’s page how tough it’s been for him to deal with insults, we figured we’d look into it a bit. It turns out, it’s not just David Tracy getting harsh word on the streets of LA. Many Cybertruck owners deal with it regularly.

David found that at least one person in LA really didn’t like the design. Credit: David TracyI chatted to members of the Tesla Cybertruck Owners group on Facebook, and heard from Floridian owner Marcus Story. “I’m a day-one reservation holder for the Cybertruck with a low VIN,” he says. “As an early adopter of Tesla vehicles, I’ve experienced firsthand what it’s like to own an EV in a southern car-loving town, and it has certainly been interesting!”

“Politics and election seasons play a significant role in people’s perceptions—many instantly assume you vote a certain way just because you drive a Tesla,” Marcus explains. “I’ve encountered plenty of false information, blatant lies, and fear-driven propaganda, like claims that the truck will catch fire in a car wash, that the battery will die after two years, or that it’s worse for the environment.”

He’s had some darker experiences, too. “I’ve received late-night hate messages and threats, been flipped off, ‘coal-rolled,’ and had people deliberately slow down in front of me,” he says. “But I’m not a pushover, and I confront this behavior directly.” Ultimately, he usually knows where it’s coming from. “I know a lot of people in my town, and it’s easy to trace their comments back to some of the points I mentioned earlier,” he explains. “I’m vocal and quick to counter with facts and logic, which helps shut down any nonsense.”

Others tell similar stories. Gary Lopez of California told me that while kids are usually very into the spaceship-looking vehicle, adults have been profoundly negative. “Kids that see the truck absolutely lose it with excitement… then there are grown adults who throw tantrums at you for whatever reason,” he says. “Although negative reactions are ten percent of reactions, I had a range of thumbs down all the way to ‘go k** yourself.'” One suspects Gary missed an asterisk there, but I’ll present the quote as he wrote it. He notes that this is all happens out on the road while driving. “No one says anything to my face,” says Gary.

Say what you will about the quality of the truck, the company, or the people who made it. It’s hard to think of too many other cars that get such vile attention. One is perhaps reminded of the way Prius owners were once treated by die-hard pollution fans, or the kind of gendered insults so often levelled at the Miata community.

Meanwhile, over in Ohio, Ryan Fry says he’s seen a bit of both. “I would say it’s eighty percent positive and twenty percent negative…but the negative is really negative,” he told me. Tina Cyr agreed. “The haters are with a capital H,” she says. “Someone yelled out on a crowded street, ‘That is so ugly!'” Much the same as happened to our own David Tracy. “I wanted to shout back ‘LIKE YOUR MAMA!’ but I didn’t,” she laughs.

The Bird is usually reserved for people that can’t merge or jerks that steal your parking space. Now, though, it seems to be intimately associated with the Cybertruck based on the endless posts from owners on Facebook. “Got my first middle finger today,” said Josh Olberding on a Cybertruck owners page. “The driver that flipped me off had a Kia Soul with its bumper missing… I smiled and waved, maybe they just need some love?” Others find the attention is particularly upsetting for their family. “It’s really annoying when people give us the middle finger and our kids are in the car, or they keep pointing at our Cybertruck and then keep giving us a thumbs down,” says Sadaf Saleh. For some, these instances of negative are remarkably frequent, too. “We’ve gotten like six flip-offs and some people yelling at us,” said Ashley Sarpolis. “We’ve only had it four days, lol.”

Others have seen hate escalate to violence. Washington D.C. owner Rico Clark noted he’d had a glass bottle thrown at his vehicle. Perhaps one of the uglier responses seems to come from the diesel set, too. Numerous members of the Tesla Cybertruck Owners group reported people “rolling coal” on them, wherein a diesel truck dumps a large plume of black exhaust smoke on other cars. It’s not just offensive, it’s also illegal as per the EPA, and pretty terrible for your lungs.

As for why it happens? You could surmise that it’s people attacking something that’s different, or tearing down what some see as an ostentatious display of wealth. However, for owner Hollie Holcombe, the cause is largely down to one big personality. “Living in a place with so many progressive people around, I get a lot of hate,” she says. “I am also progressive, but some of my friends in this area don’t agree that Tesla is a good company.” A lot of it comes down to the Tesla CEO in her eyes. “They see Elon as evil,” she says. “They’re upset about the cobalt issue, which they either don’t understand or don’t believe it when Elon says they’re reducing it… I’m not sure what else they’re upset about.”

Negative perceptions around the truck’s design have come up, too. “My child’s best friend is not allowed to ride in the Cybertruck because they think it doesn’t have crumple zones,” she explains. The one benefit? She’s noticed that she’s getting less hassle from diesel drivers now than before. “Coal rollers were only an issue for me when I was driving the Model S,” she says. “They now somehow think I’m on their side because I drive a truck.”

Don Turner

Hi, it’s David Tracy. I had a chance to talk with Don Turner — the LA-based Tesla owner who works in the senior care industry and whose Facebook post inspired this article — after Lewin finished writing this piece, and I figured I’d add some notes about our chat. Turner’s post was about the mistreatment he’s received as a Tesla Cybertruck owner (that’s his truck below; he’s very proud of it).

He says there are a number of factors that make the Cybertruck a target for hate: It’s the truck’s value, it’s the fact that it’s electric, it’s the fact that it looks the way it does, and it’s Elon.

“No matter what area [I’m driving in] — it can be a very affluent area — they throw their thumbs down,” he told me over the phone while doing his daily morning walk. “Very few people say they like the truck because of Elon Musk; nobody really claims to like the guy,” Turner told me before making his thoughts on Musk clear.

“Elon Musk… that jackass — I like his technology, I like his truck — ….he doesn’t shut his freakin’ mouth. He’s a bigmouth turkey. He’s probably going to do something stupid before the election. I just don’t like Elon Musk. If he sticks to the technology and building companies, there’s no one smarter.”

“Once he gets into the political stuff, it really ruins his brand, it ruins the Tesla brand,” he told me, saying loads of folks dislike his truck specifically because of the controversial CEO.

Not All Bad

As was the case with Don Turner, the owners that are getting hate out on the road are getting some nicer reactions, too. Just as the truck pulls in the haters, it catches plenty of interest thanks to its unique design. Marcus told me he’s seen a lot of positive reactions to the vehicle since he’s owned it. “The reality is that there are so many positives,” says Marcus. “I get a lot of thumbs up, and even after months of daily driving, people still comment on how cool it looks.” He says a lot of people ask questions about the truck, and that many people come around to liking it after having seen one up close in person. It’s perhaps the case that familiarity helps to temper that weird human impulse to hate on the different and unique.

Down in Texas, owner Steven Walker told me he had a lovely experience with his example. “We had someone post in our neighborhood page… she had asked if she could pay us to bring it to her son’s 10th birthday party because he loved the Cybertruck,” he says. “We absolutely did and refused money for it, lol.” It’s a charming example of spreading the car culture to the kids. At the same time, though, he admits there are some that don’t like it, and feel the need to make that known. “We definitely get more thumbs up than middle fingers,” he says. “But it is quite disappointing that people feel the need to act negatively towards a vehicle owner because of the vehicle they own.”

I dropped into the Cybertruck Owners Club forums to get their perspective, too. Ultimately, the mood was that while there are some haters, more people like the truck than despise it. “I get about one negative for every hundred or so positives,” said sgmorton. “Half the time even the negatives are curious to take a look inside or are just ignorant of the vehicle.” Similarly, Tecyber1 reports lots of thumbs up and friendly signals from other Tesla owners, and people asking lots of questions and one family asking if their son could sit in the vehicle—”Of course I let him!” Meanwhile, some stories are just funny. “I have had one negative reaction… a passenger in a Dodge Charger signaled me to roll down my window on the highway, [and] he asked ‘How much did you pay for that refrigerator?!'” said Pops. “I laughed, answered him honestly and then drove away.” Outside of that, he says the truck gets a lot of love. “Endless thumbs ups,” he muses.

As you might expect, though, it appears the public is beginning to grow familiar with the sight of the big metal triangle on the roads. Many in the Tesla Cybertruck Owners group report that while they faced a flurry of interest in the early phase of ownership, the hype has started to die down. By and large, given Tesla are making these in significant quantities, it makes sense. As more of these trucks are getting around, they’re increasingly less novel for a broader share of the public.

Here’s the thing, though. While it’s nice that Cybertruck owners are getting some thumbs up and nice comments, that doesn’t excuse the hate. Nobody should be getting middle fingers, coal rolled, or bottles thrown at them because they drive a weird truck. That’s just totally unacceptable.

In any case, there’s hope for the future. Marcus reckons it won’t always be this way. “For sure my guess is it will slow down after the election,” he says, laying the problem at the feet of political division in America. “But mechanic shops, parts stores, and die hard engine people will forever hate on the EV.” Ultimately, though, he puts it down to ingrained adult biases. Given what he’s seen from the younger generation , he reckons this attitude won’t carry forward much longer. “It is a learned behavior for sure, as I have yet to meet a kid that doesn’t like them,” he says. If Marcus is right, we’ll see the middle fingers subside in due time.

Image credits: Tesla, David Tracy, Facebook via screenshot, Wham Baam Teslacam via YouTube screenshot