It’s a mistake.
The Cybertruck design targets emotional buyers. That’s a fine idea because there’s an evergrowing group of people who want a feel-good car even if it’s pricy. It’s a proven premium concept ranging from the Mini Cooper all the way to the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.
And it makes sense to place an emotional car model in the pick-up truck segment. Many owners do not use their truck for work, but simply like its masculine style. That opens the door for a bold design that neglects practicality, as it may appeal to status-symbol buyers.
Thing is, the Cybertruck blueprint is deeply influenced by the individual tastes of its CEO. Elon Musk’s fondness of computer gaming and Mad Max and Blade Runner films completely dominates the truck’s design.
His abstract ideas supposed a huge challenge for the Tesla engineers, who were unable to resolve several issues, such as the glueing of steel panels, the draining of water and the wiping of windshields. There have already been five recalls since the car’s launching, and complaints about its lack of performance are numerous.
Even worse, from a marketing point of view the Cybertruck has been placed in a superniche corner. How many people relate to the tastes and interests of a nerdy tech billionaire? Basically just the hardcore cult of Tesla followers that can afford an EV vehicle of $90,000.
Market research nor consumer feedback were used in the designing process, relying on the boss’ personal input instead. That’s wrong because a brand needs the vision of its CEO, but not his tastes.
A company ought to be professional enough to separate those two concepts, especially when entering a new segment. The Cybertruck exemplifies a highly frivolous way of car designing, that has led to a very small pool of target buyers.
Just 6-8.000 units were sold in Q1 2025, with production capacity being almost tenfold of that. All the invested time and money would have been much better spent on a premium mainstream pick-up model.