Several design proposals for the upcoming Tesla Cybertruck have been revealed in a photo posted by Walter Isaacson on his official Twitter account. Isaacson shadowed Elon Musk for two years and wrote the biography of the man who made Tesla what it is today, which is set to be released in September.
In the Twitter photo (embedded below), Elon Musk, Franz von Holzhausen (the EV brand’s chief designer), and another man look at dozens of images that would ultimately act as inspiration for the edgy all-electric pickup that will soon reach customers, after years of delays.
Robocop, the Delorean DMC-12, stills from the video game Cyberpunk 2077, fighter jets, tanks, and boats – they’re all on the board – which kind of explains the controversial finished design of Tesla’s first-ever pickup.
But the left side of the photo is what could stir up debate among those who don’t like the way the Cybertruck looks. There, more than a dozen design proposals are glued onto a white background, and it’s quite interesting to see where the minds of the pencil holders went throughout the development process.
One image stands out in particular, where a futuristic Tesla-branded pickup is pictured next to an older-generation Ford F-150, which – rather ironically – will be able to recharge at Supercharger locations starting next year (the Lightning EV, that is).
Isaacson goes on to describe how on one Friday in 2017, two years before the Cybertruck’s debut in prototype form, Musk decreed that the pickup will be made out of stainless steel. Before that, the company’s CEO said that traditional pickup trucks, like the F-150 made by Ford, are boring. So he goes on to present ideas from movies, sci-fi, and video games, but everybody is pushing him back at the meeting.
“He finally says stop it, we're going to do it. We're going to make it edgy," the biographer says.
It’s worth noting that going through several design proposals is normal for any respectable automaker, but we can’t help but wonder what critics of the finished product will have to say after seeing what could have been.
As always, we’d like to know what you think, so head over to the comments section below to give us your thoughts.
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Source: Walter Isaacson (Twitter)