What’s an old-school guy like me doing with a Tesla Cybertruck?

What’s an old-school guy like me doing with a Tesla Cybertruck?

I’m analog in a digital landscape; carburetion in a fuel-injected world. The Costco gas pumps love me because my collection features a 1969 Mustang, 1967 F-100, 1977 F-250, 1966 F-100 in the course of a restomod, and, stepping boldly into Y2K, a 2003 Corvette coupe.

And now, a brand new Cybertruck.

Like my kids, I won’t pick a favourite. The Vette accelerates, brakes and corners like a performance automotive should yet glides comfortably over the back roads. The F-250 sits high, rides as easily because the old twin I-beam suspension will allow, and I’m not afraid to fill the bed with a load of gravel.

Yet the Cybertruck combines all of that and more.

It’s a giant rig, little doubt, at 6,800 kilos and greater than 18.5 feet long, nevertheless it behaves like a performance vehicle. After about 350 miles and nearly two weeks driving this bizarre-looking creation, I’m smitten. And that’s from a man who never seriously considered owning an EV, much less this EV.

That modified in December once I got here home after a day on the golf course and my wife greeted me with, “Guess what we’re buying!?” She and our son, a Model Y owner and Tesla fanatic, had been texting throughout the afternoon after he had received an invite to purchase a Foundation Series Cybertruck – a supposedly limited-run model that features dual motor (600 horsepower) or tri motor (845 hp) all-wheel drive, special interior trim, lifetime connectivity, Tesla’s “Full-Self Driving” hands-free driving system when it becomes available, Foundation Series badging, and just a few other add-ons like all-weather floor mats, tie-downs, etc.

Our son had been among the many first to position a pre-order when those became available in 2019, and that got him an invitation in December. At his stage in life with a growing family, he wasn’t able to drop $100,000 on the Foundation Series. But we’re and we did after our son reminded us, “You’re not getting younger.”

Technically, he and my wife are owners because his name was on the reservation and Tesla wouldn’t allow multiple other name on the registration. However it’s in my garage, I’ve been driving it, and listed here are some thoughts after 350 miles:

Order/delivery process

The shortage of effective communication with Tesla is my biggest peeve. The data was either mistaken, inconsistent, or non-existent. At no time between placing the order in December and receiving the delivery date of May 1 did we’ve got a transparent idea of the truck’s status. With an expected delivery of January-March, would we get it early in that window or late? It could have been nice to have an approximate timetable because, , we’d prefer to make plans.

Calls to Tesla and even a visit to the local service center didn’t help. Probably the most common answer was, “They don’t tell us anything.” At some point we were told it’s “one stop away” from the service center. A number of days after that, “It’s still in Texas.”

You’ll be able to order a pizza and know what stage of creation and delivery it’s in. I had a vehicle shipped from Arizona to Seattle just a few weeks ago and knew its location throughout the journey, including a stop south of Vegas when the driving force took a leak. And yet, one of the vital technologically advanced firms on the planet was having difficulty tracking where our Cybertruck was throughout the construct/transport/delivery process.

After we picked up the Cybertruck on May 1, I used to be pleasantly surprised that it was clean. I’d seen just a few Cybertrucks fresh off the transporters and so they looked as in the event that they’d been off-roading, with dirt in all places on the outside. Thankfully, my only delivery-day nit was that no one had touched the dirt-splattered wheel wells.

We inspected it closely for fit/finish and located two burrs on the sides of the chrome steel panels, plus a small scratch on the proper quarter panel that, hopefully, can be smoothed out at a service appointment soon. The accelerator pedal cover, subject of a recall in April, had been temporarily secured with a rivet but additionally sported a few unsightly creases from where (I assume) someone put a clamp on it throughout the recall repair. That cover can be replaced.

What it’s prefer to drive the Cybertruck

It takes some time to get comfortable with any latest automotive, however the Cybertruck learning curve has been steep, especially for somebody driving an EV for the primary time.

How do you begin it? (Depress the brake pedal.)

How do you shift? (Swipe as much as go forward and down for reverse on the left side of the 18½-inch touchscreen. There’s one other set of shifter controls overhead.)

Turn it off? (Press P, between forward and reverse, on the screen and get out.)

Buttons on the steering wheel activate the turn signals, wiper (singular – there’s one 4-foot-long arm that sweeps the large windshield), headlight high beam, cameras, audio volume, voice commands, and cruise control.

And the remainder of the controls – heat and air, suspension and performance settings, audio, video, and a complete lot more – are within the touchscreen. I’m not technologically ignorant, nevertheless it took just a few days to get comfortable with the fundamentals, and I’m learning something latest with each drive.

Visibility is great out the windshield, and that’s about it. The tiny rear-view mirror contained in the cabin is useless when the tonneau cover is prolonged over the bed. Side mirrors are adequate, however the front, rear and side cameras offer one of the best views from multiple angles, and so they proceed to display at speed. One huge irritation: The thick A-pillar makes it difficult to see out the front, particularly to the left, and I find myself double and triple checking around that blind spot.

The Cybertruck accelerates impressively even in “chill mode,” and it’s hold-my-stomach fast in “sport mode.”

The ride in “chill mode” is ultra smooth. It glides over the open road and handles bumps and potholes like they were small ripples within the road. My wife has pain issues and desires cushions on her seat (and under her feet when she’s a passenger) to melt the bumps and vibrations that could make her feel miserable. Yet, during our first weekend with the Cybertruck, she felt wonderful after riding on freeways in addition to curvy, bumpy roads. The suspension is that good; the seats that supportive and cozy.

The unique steering would be the most impressive a part of the driving experience. The variable-ratio, steer-by-wire system is so responsive and, with lock-to-lock in lower than a full turn of the wheel, it takes some getting used to. It initially felt like I used to be doing tank slappers when turning. Now, I feel like an IndyCar driver.

While the Cybertruck doesn’t drive like a giant rig, it’s still huge – just over 18.5 feet long and nearly 8 feet wide. Up to now, I’ve avoided curb rash or a brush with anything inside my garage. I never nervous that the garage was sufficiently big since it’s actually housed something larger: I once owned a ’77 Lincoln Mark V and all 19-plus feet of that land yacht fit. Barely.

We haven’t driven it enough to check its range but recharging it to 80% gives it just greater than 250 miles, so the estimated 300ish miles seems accurate.

The look

I wasn’t a fan when the Cybertruck concept was unveiled in 2019. But I could not keep my eyes off it.

The outside looked like a badly folded paper airplane with wheels, something I probably doodled in fifth grade while I must have paid attention in math class. But I applaud out-of-the-box pondering, and the Cybertruck styling slaps the concept of how a pickup should look. You’ll be able to walk five laps around this thing and discover a unique approach that works with all the opposite angles and triangles. It refracts light a dozen ways depending on the way you take a look at it.

It draws a crowd wherever it’s parked. Kids like it, 35-year-olds think it looks amazing, and older people wonder what just fell out of the sky. Most do not know what it’s, and a few aren’t afraid to say how hideous it looks.

“That’s the ugliest thing I’ve seen in my life!” said a neighbor.

“Hope you may get your a refund,” said an older man, who added, “You aren’t going to haul gravel in that thing are you?”

My reply: “In fact not. I’ve got one other truck identical to yours that I haul gravel with.”

Some owners have wrapped their Cybertrucks in assorted colours and patterns. Ours will stay stainless because I like originality and there’s a rawness to the steel that I appreciate. If anything, I’ll add a small Holley carburetor sticker because I like messing with people.

And, because I’m old-fashioned.