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Comment by acejam | Hacker News Reader

Tesla building the Cybertruck is their attempt to get people to buy something specifically because it is "cool", and not because it is "an EV".

If the customer buys it, they switch to an EV platform, thereby accelerating Tesla's mission of "transition[ing] to sustainable energy".

Leading with "it's an EV" is the primary reason why "legacy auto" has been scaling back their EV manufacturing, because people generally don't care about "EV". They do care about something "cool" though.

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They should've gotten some second opinions on what makes something "cool" because the Cybertruck is not it.

Reports from YouTubers who own the Cybertruck is that (at this stage) owning one makes you feel like a celebrity. People come to you constantly to take ask questions and take pictures with the CT. So, people seem to disagree with you.

If that's not enough, there's a long list of celebrities that now own cybertrucks, including Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Jay Z, Steve Aoki, Pharrell, and more. Might not fit your definition of "cool", but clearly, it does for a lot of people.

Affirming that I have even less in common with the likes of Kim Kardashian and Steve Aoki than previously understood is perhaps the nicest compliment you could have given me. Thank you!

I would encourage you to watch any recent YouTube video produced by any Cybertruck owner. Middle America, who is generally anti-EV, disagrees with you. That is why Tesla is doing this.

Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y are also cool cars, and they have the advantages of being EV. And this formula was working with these models, increasing EV adoption massively. Why change a winning formula?

Cybertruck tried to be over the top cool, and sacrificed some basics like time-to-market, easy production, range, safety... And it was a totally unnecessary change of strategy. Cybertruck really didn't need to be stainless steel or low-poly in order to sell. Model Y being one of the best selling cars in the world proves this.

It was working for people who were willing to buy an EV. Those people generally fall into two groups: 1) They specifically want an EV due to $reasons or 2) They are looking for a new car, and are willing to consider an EV. Both of these groups are fine with the current S3XY lineup because they resemble "normal" cars. That's why the Model S originally had so much success - it was a normal car, but electric. Even then, it was still a hard sell in 2013 to early adopters.

I'm going to stereotype a bit here, but Tesla YouTubers/Tweeters/Fanatics and the two groups above aside, everyone else is generally "against" EVs. If you own one, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The Cybertruck is Tesla's attempt to change that. Don't convince them on the green-ness or potential cost-savings of home charging, convince them because it's cool. It's something that no other manufacturer can compete against. (for now)

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