Why The CyberTruck Is The Most Revolutionary Vehicle Since The Model T
You could get the Model T in any color so long as it was black, (and you can get the Cybertruck in any color so long as it is stainless steel). After the Model T things started to get more individualized, new colors, new models, new features. A cynical person might say that the car industry engages in planned obsolescence. The Cybertruck is anything but planned obsolescence and there is a good chance that is frightening the bajesus out of the incumbents.
The Cybertruck may look like a niche product but do not let that fool you — with the Cybertruck Tesla is going for the jugular of the entire industry. How?
It does not rust, scratch, or dent; the paint job will never fade because there is no paint job. It is believed that the Tesla battery will eventually last for 1 million miles. Combine a battery that lasts for 1 million miles with a body that stands the test of time and what do you have? Well, you don’t have many customers year in and year out because the product itself is lasting for too damn long.
So maybe it would be better for the bottomline if Tesla build a car that only lasts 100K — 200K miles and rusts and dents and falls apart, and then Tesla could sell more vehicles, just like the incumbents do.
But Tesla does not want to sell you vehicles. (Sidenote: so they really do not care that you do not like the “look” of the Cybertruck.) With the Cybertruck Tesla is taking a giant leap towards its grand ambition: building the Tesla network.
The Tesla network will be owned by individuals, yes. But it will also and perhaps mostly be owned by Tesla. Tesla vehicles will be like hardware nodes in the network. There will be no benefit for Tesla to have its hardware breaking down all the time. For the network to be as robust as possible each cog in the network needs to last as long as possible.
The vehicles will drive themselves and take you from point A to point B. So there will be less of a reason to own a vehicle, and therefore less of a reason to care what it looks like. A taxi is not an extension of your personality. For many people their privately-owned vehicles are an extension of their personality, which is why many people today are so quick to weigh in on the look of the Cybertruck. But it is inconsequential to the grand scheme of Tesla whether you like how it looks or not.
If the Cybertruck is the future of Tesla and the future of transportation in America (as the first real piece of the Tesla network) what will the other pieces look like? Could we get odd shaped sedans that are only stainless steel too?
A better question might be “In 20 years will we care?” Today we do not bemoan the shape of hammers. They are shaped the way they are shaped because that is how they function best, and so it is with the Cybertruck: form has followed function — function being to build a vehicle that will complete its objective (be a truck) and last for as long as possible in the Tesla network.
(I am long Tesla)
