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Veteran trucker debunks Tesla Cybertruck styling complaints

(Credit: Tesla Cybertruck/Instagram)

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Just recently, the Tesla Cybertruck received some strong criticism from legendary automotive designer Frank Stephenson, the man behind some of the most iconic cars from Ferrari, Mini, and McLaren. In a YouTube video, the designer, who was named by MotorTrend as one of the most influential car designers today, lamented about the Cybertruck’s stark exterior and cold, angular frame. 

Stephenson outlined several arguments in his video, though he largely focused his criticism on the fact that the Cybertruck does not have dynamic lines that make the vehicle conventionally attractive. While these concerns have some merit (there is little doubt that the Cybertruck is hardly the friendliest-looking vehicle out there), it is these very elements that make Elon Musk’s all-electric pickup perfect for real truckers. 

YouTube host Cybertruck Truck Guy, a veteran of the landscaping business who has been driving trucks for decades, believes in the opposite. The YouTube host, who started his channel to provide insights on the Cybertruck from a true “Truck Guy’s” perspective, currently helps manage a company with a fleet of almost 20 trucks. According to the trucker, the Cybertruck’s cold, durable, apocalyptic theme is actually the very thing that makes the all-electric pickup more attractive for those who use trucks on a daily basis. 

Never mind that the Cybertruck looks like it’s made for a dystopian future. According to the trucker, the best trucks in the market are not supposed to look dainty and sleek. They’re supposed to look tough and beastly, even masculine to a point. Trucks must be tough, and their size and appearance must exude this. The Cybertruck plays this part perfectly well. It even has the advantage of durability, as modern trucks today have become so close to luxury vehicles that some of them get damaged or scruffed quite easily. These include his current truck, a Toyota Tacoma that has been beaten over its years of service and the occasional off-road session. 

During his critique, Stephenson remarked that the Cybertruck will likely age just as badly as a PlayStation 1 game. The designer noted that just like PS1 games that seemed revolutionary before but painfully dated today, the Cybertruck would look extremely old in the future. The veteran trucker challenged this, stating that when it comes to games, it’s not really the age or graphics that matter the most—it’s playability. This is one of the reasons why classics such as Doom and Among Us are still fun to play today. 

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The same will likely be true with regards to the Cybertruck. Yes, more traditional-looking pickups will be made by rivals. The Hummer EV is already one of them. Yet, the Cybertruck just needs to work to be fully successful. And considering its design and functions, the Cybertruck does seem capable of doing some real work for truckers, and perhaps even more. 

Watch the Cybertruck Truck Guy’s response to criticisms of Elon Musk’s all-electric pickup in the video below. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us for news tips. Just send a message to tips@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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xAI launches Grok 4 with new $300/month SuperGrok Heavy subscription

xAI also introduced SuperGrok Heavy, which is priced at $300 per month.

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Credit: xAI/X

xAI, the artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, has officially launched its latest flagship models, Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy. Alongside the release, the company introduced its most premium subscription tier to date, SuperGrok Heavy, which is priced at $300 per month and targeted at power users and developers.

Grok 4 is designed to compete with top-tier AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. As per xAI, Grok 4 demonstrates frontier-level performance across several benchmark evaluations. 

On Humanity’s Last Exam, an extensive test designed to evaluate general knowledge, Grok 4 scored 25.4% without using external tools, outperforming OpenAI’s o3 (high), which scored 21%, and Gemini 2.5 Pro, which scored 21.6%. 

When equipped with tools, Grok 4 Heavy scored 44.4%, making it the top-performing model in that category. For context, Gemini 2.5 Pro with tools scored 26.9%, as noted in a TechCrunch report.

xAI also highlighted Grok 4 Heavy’s “multi-agent” system, which enables multiple instances of the model to solve a problem in parallel and compare answers, similar to a study group. This collaborative approach is intended to improve both reasoning and accuracy in complex tasks.

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The company also shared results from the ARC-AGI-2 benchmark, where Grok (Thinking) achieved new state of the art (SOTA) score on the test with 15.9%. As per Arc Prize in a post on X, this score is “nearly double(s) the previous commercial SOTA and tops the current Kaggle competition SOTA.”

The $300/month SuperGrok Heavy plan grants users early access to Grok 4 Heavy, as well as upcoming product features. Upcoming capabilities that are planned for release in the coming months include an AI coding model in August, a multi-modal agent in September, and a video generation system in October.

Grok 4 and Grok 4 Heavy are available via API as part of xAI’s push to engage developers and enterprise users. The company’s enterprise platform, which launched just two months ago, will also expand via partnerships with cloud hyperscalers to bring Grok models to broader infrastructure environments.

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EVs getting cleaner more quickly than expected in Europe: study

Battery-electric vehicles are still championing emissions reductions, and a new analysis suggests they’re doing so even more quickly than previously expected.

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Credit: Tesla

As Europe’s electricity mix is getting cleaner, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are also offering a larger climate advantage than previously expected, according to the results of a new study released this week.

On Wednesday, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) released a study noting that BEVs sold today produce 73 percent fewer life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, even factoring in production. This figure also represents a 24-percent improvement upon the organization’s 2021 estimates for this year, meaning that BEVs are getting cleaner more quickly than expected as the continent’s renewable programs continue to grow.

The study was comprised of a comprehensive life-cycle analysis of all major powertrain types, and the results suggest that BEVs are the only widely available powertrain that can slash emissions levels enough to meet climate goals. By contrast, the study’s results suggest that other clean energy powertrains, such as hybrids and plugin hybrids, only have a marginal impact, if any, on reducing the overall climate impact of the transportation sector.

“Battery electric cars in Europe are getting cleaner faster than we expected and outperform all other technologies, including hybrids and plug-in hybrids,” says ICCT researcher Dr. Marta Negri. “This progress is largely due to the fast deployment of renewable electricity across the continent and the greater energy efficiency of battery electric cars.”

Credit: International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT)

READ MORE ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Study reveals hybrids could have up to 4.9x lifetime emissions vs. BEVs

ICCT Senior Researcher Dr. Georg Bieker says he also hopes the analysis can help fight misinformation regarding BEV powertrains. For example, he notes that, while it’s true that manufacturing emissions for BEVs can be up to 40 percent higher than for ICE vehicles, this is quickly offset by an electric automobile after just around 17,000 km (~10,563 miles) of driving.

“We hope this study brings clarity to the public conversation, so that policymakers and industry leaders can make informed decisions,” Dr. Bieker says. “We’ve recently seen auto industry leaders misrepresenting the emissions math on hybrids. But life-cycle analysis is not a choose-your-own-adventure exercise.”

Additionally, the ICCT study covers emissions from both vehicle and battery production, recycling, fuel and electricity production, fuel consumption, and maintenance.

“Our study accounts for the most representative use cases and is grounded in real-world data,” Dr. Bieker adds. “Consumers deserve accurate, science-backed information.”

U.S. EV adoption still on pace to reach 50% by 2030: data

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Tesla executive teases plan to further electrify supply chain

One of Tesla’s top executive hints at how Tesla is further electrifying its supply chain.

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Credit: Andrea Conway/X

A high-level Tesla executive has said the company is working to further electrify its supply chain, following a successful road test with the Semi this week.

After Tesla supplier thyssenkrupp completed a successful 5,000-mile winter trial with the Semi this week, Dan Priestley, the company’s Director of Semi Engineering, noted on X that the demonstration is a part of larger efforts to electrify more of the supply chain. The executive said that the company is already working to help suppliers like thyssenkrupp implement the Semi into their operations, particularly due to its cost savings and reliability.

Following the thyssenkrupp demo, the supply chain company has also begun integrating the Semi into its fleet, and Priestley suggests that more are still to come:

Working with our suppliers and logistics partners to electrify Tesla’s supply chain. With lower cost and higher reliability, it just makes sense. thyssenkrupp pushed the truck hard over this demo and now plans to integrate Semi into their fleet.

READ MORE ON TESLA SEMI: Tesla Full Self-Driving displays impressive collision avoidance with Semi

Tesla Semi factory nears official production as trials continue to impress

Tesla’s early Semi trials received positive results from both thyssenkrup and ArcBest’s ABF Freight this week, with the latter company logging 4,494 miles during a pilot period, and averaging 321 miles per day despite a 7,200-foot climb over Donner Pass.

The company has also been constructing a factory for volume Semi production at its Gigafactory in Nevada, and in recent weeks, the plant is looking nearly complete. Semi frames have been spotted in increasing numbers outside the facility recently, suggesting that Tesla is nearing early production on site.

The company also hired more than 1,000 workers for the Semi factory in April, while the plant is eventually expected to produce as many as 50,000 Semi units annually.

Tesla reveals Semi fleet data, shows off new feature and infrastructure plans

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