The Tesla Cybertruck has always been a love-it-or-hate-it kind of car, and the exterior design is the main reason for this.
Its controversial, paintless, and shiny shell made some critics say it looks like it’s been designed by a four-year-old, while people who have fallen in love with it say nothing else on the market comes close to it and that it is forward-thinking and futuristic.
Now though, Tesla’s first-ever pickup got some praise from one of the most prolific and well-regarded car designers in the world, Giorgetto Giugiaro. The Italian design legend, now 85, is behind icons ranging from the original Volkswagen Golf to the Lotus Esprit, Maserati Ghibli, BMW M1 and many more. (Basically, if it came out in the 1970s or ’80s and had angles, he probably had something to do with it – and his career spanned many more decades after too.)
Coincidentally, he was the man who signed off on the original DeLorean’s design, a car that stood as inspiration for the Cybertruck and got its fair share of criticism when it debuted at the beginning of the 1980s.
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Similar to the Cybertruck, the DeLorean has paintless stainless steel outer body panels and a boxy shape. It was also bathed in controversy from day one, with its creator, John DeLorean, playing a big part in the rise and fall of what could have been a fantastic sports car but ended up with an underpowered engine and questionable build quality.
The controversial design of the Cybertruck is arguably the defining characteristic of Elon Musk’s utilitarian four-wheeled baby, and Giugiaro went on record saying that it will help Tesla find the appropriate audience for the pickup.
“When you step outside the norms, it’s almost always seen as a provocation,” the 85-year-old designer said for NPR in an email interview. “It happens in all fields, from furniture to cooking, etc. Everyone wants to distinguish themselves; it’s a market necessity, and the Cybertruck will surely be successful, I’m sure of it. I’m convinced it will find its admirers,” Giugiaro added.
Controversy sells, we’ve known that for years. But even so, the original DeLorean, with all its fame from the blockbuster movie Back to the Future, was in production for just one year and sold fewer than 10,000 units during its short stint. Mind you, the company’s financial situation wasn’t exactly top-notch, which contributed to its fast downfall.
But Tesla isn’t in financial trouble, far from it. So can the Cybertruck live up to all the hype and prove it’s a good truck, albeit a controversial one? We’ll just have to wait and see what happens after the much-awaited Nov. 30 delivery event.