Looking Out - The Podcast: Ep. 13
CyberWTF?!
14 December, 2023
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You’ve waited.
We’ve wavered.
And now we’ve delivered.
Yes, we’ve finally addressed the sharp-edged elephant in the room, the most provocative new car in at least three decades, the Tesla Cybertruck.
Back in our last newsletter of 2019, Drew said of the prototype:
Some will argue that the CyberTruck is another stoke of Tesla genius. The reality may be more troubling.
On the surface of it, the Cybertruck’s aesthetic speaks of a future so anti-human that one could easily think its arrival heralds the end of days.
And Joe said:
It feels singularly un user-centric in its design. But then I’m sceptical it’ll actually come to market in the shape it’s in, if at all.
For me its value is in kick-starting a debate about the car’s cultural relevance, how vehicles are built in the future, and challenging the status quo. The Cybertruck will have significant impact in car design studios across the world for sometime to come. And for that I admire, and applaud it.
And here we are, in the last podcast of 2023 revisiting those words to see how they stand up.
Here are the main themes of our discussion:
The crisis of masculinity that helps contextualise the Cybertruck
By most measures, American men are having a tough time of it. As traditional notions of genders and their roles are torn up — along with the ideal of American dream, which always centred the male anyway — there’s a lot for men to feel confused about. The Cybertruck, unabashedly, aggressively masculine in its presentation, gives disaffected blokes something to rally around.
How the Cybertruck exists on three different levels
We can’t think of another car that provokes such distinct conversations about what it represents.
There’s Cybertruck as a piece of technology.
There’s Cybertruck as a piece of aesthetic design.
And then there’s Cybertruck as a cultural artefact.
Each level would be worthy of a discussion on their own, and we’ve only just scratched the surface of each in this episode.
The incredible innovation in and under the skin
Whatever you make of its design or its meaning, the stuff of which the Cybertruck is made is the stuff of wonder. The gigacasting, the 48v electrical architecture or the drive-by-wire steering would, on their own, be remarkable achievements. But when you combine all of these, along with the way in which it’s put together, you have a truly remarkable achievement.
The apocalyptic pitch
One of our YouTube commenters said:
Guys, love the pod, but the whole "tesla is the leader in apocalyptic technology" is obviously just for the lols, it's called humor. Look it up
To which we say “Yeah… but…” as we remember the school bully who beat the crap out of his target, all while thinking it was the funniest thing on earth.
In any case, Musk’s wild interview with Sandy Monroe — to say nothing of his behaviour elsewhere on the internet and within his businesses — seems to suggest that all the talk of the apocalypse might be less funny-ha ha and more funny-weird. Or perhaps just plain horrifying.
What the Cybertruck says about automotive design (and designers)
The need to be intentional about the products we create and the meaning we give them has never been greater. Democratic norms are being torn up before our eyes, and peoples’ fear of the dehumanising effects of technology are palpable. Therefore the intention that sits behind something so culturally polarising — so us versus them — as the Cybertruck is both important to understand, and vital to question, as is the role of the designer in giving it form.
And if any Tesla designers are reading and watching, and you want to put across your point of view, we’re here for it - get in touch!
As ever, we’d love to get your feedback:
What did you like?
What didn’t you like?
What would you like to hear or read more of?
What would you like to hear or read less of?