I Touched the Cybertruck! – CleanTechnica

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After writing about sightings of the Cybertruck throughout Australia (you can read about them here and here) and Steve Hanley’s exciting article about the possible size of Australia’s Cybertruck market, I am eagerly anticipating the truck’s impact Down Under. Approximately 30,000 light trucks are sold in Australia each month, mainly the Toyota Hilux, Toyota Land Cruiser, Ford Ranger, and Ford F-150.

Tesla Owners Club Queensland (TOCQ), in conjunction with the south Brisbane Tesla showroom, organised an exclusive look at the Cybertruck for members only. We felt very special. Majella and I were excited to attend this recent local event.

When we entered the showroom, we saw a black draped vehicle — Cybertrucked shape. The only sign of life was the indicator lights peeping through the cloth. It brought back memories of other “viewings,” but the Cybertruck is hardly dead. It’s little indicator eye was winking at us as we watched and waited. Over 60 enthusiastic TOCQ members attended. TOCA organised the excellent catering and soft drinks and we chatted around the room while we waited for the car to be revealed. The expectation energy was palpable. This thing is actually real!

The store manager gave a brief talk and, voila, the cloth came off. All of us had read about the Cybertruck, watched videos, read articles (a bit like the buildup for the Model 3). I must say, I was seriously underwhelmed. It looked smaller than I thought. It wasn’t until the vehicle was later raised to the full extent of the suspension that the “ooh’s” and “ah’s” started. Very impressive, very aggressive, ready to take on the Toyota Hiluxes, Land Cruisers, Ford Ranger Raptors, and other tradies utes that dominate Australia’s highways and sales figures.

The store manager says it has been a real buzz driving it around the local streets! He even organised a vintage Roadster on loan from a private owner to be part of the display. We weren’t allowed to touch it, but just to see it, and with the Cybertruck — what a treat.

Of course, Majella wants a Cybertruck, and yes, we will have it wrapped in red. Always the pragmatist, she noticed that there was still some red dust from Western Australia in the bed of the truck. Majella noticed that there are no door handles — there is a button to press on the pillar. Folding back seats will make it easier to get the dog in for family trips. The space between the front seats made the cabin feel roomier. And she thought the geometric designs on the tyres were “cool.” The picture shows just how high the truck can ride. Note the camera on the wheel arch.

She commented: “To buy one, you really had to like triangles or polygons” Perhaps trigononophilia?

I played comedian by getting people to touch that beautiful stainless-steel body and left our fingerprints all over the truck — a boon to CSU perhaps? Or a pain to keep clean? When we got home, we accessed the site to order one (I expect to have a few years to save up), but found we could not. There was a time you could order a Cybertruck from Australia, but not anymore. One participant at the showing has ordered 3! And is building a special garage to house them!

Another TOCQ representative commented: “My first impressions were how long and low it was. Reckon if you owned one of those then shares in the company that makes WD-40 (a widely used lubricant) wouldn’t go astray either, as Cybertruck owners  will be buying WD-40 in bulk to clean and polish the fingerprints off. As much as the Cybertruck is not for me, as I have no use for it, the cutting-edge engineering within impressed me greatly.”

As I have said before, though, we need it here! A clue to the delay comes from a Skoda Enyaq dealer I spoke with yesterday. He told me that Australia has the strictest regulations, which make it onerous to launch a new vehicle in this country. Australian Design Rules are stricter than those in North America, and align more closely with European requirements. Elon is quoted as saying: “We might be able to certify it for other markets sometime next year [2025], but for sure this year it’s just North America. We did design the car to North American requirements, because if you start going with the superset of all international requirements, it forces a lot of constraints on Cybertruck that would make the product, frankly, worse.” Though, there is some hope as when Cybertruck reaches higher volume production, there is a possibility of a China/European/Australian-compliant model being made.

However, the Rivian R1T and the Ford F-150 Lightning have made it to Australia mainly to be converted and sent to the mines. Perhaps that would be a way for Cybertruck to enter the country. Twiggy Forrest could put them to work in the Pilbarra!

As a TOCQ member, we were given a look inside the vehicle. This was another underwhelming item — it looks just like the inside of my Model 3. To be truly impressive, I think we would need to do test drives in Australia’s rugged outback — then the truck would show its worth. BYD has done this with the Shark to great effect.

Another great demonstration would be to stage the use of the truck on a building site. Later in the week, the Cybertruck made an appearance at Bunnings Hardware on the Sunshine Coast. The headline in the local media: “Monstrosity seen at Bunnings.” Still, the focus was on the looks and not the utility. Let the Cyberbeast loose!

Arran Bloomfield, the TOCA representative for Queensland, felt that the Cybertruck showing was the most successful event that TOCQ has organised this year. His organising committee agrees with him.

Enough with the foreplay, Elon. Time to get away from bait and switch. Launch the Cybertruck in Australia. The Rivian is here, the Shark is here, the F-150 Lightning is here. Time for the Cybertruck to come out and play (and work).