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Tesla’s Cybertruck will set the trend for future pickup designs, like it or not
Just over 24 hours following Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s grand unveiling of Tesla’s all-electric, rough-and-tough Cybertruck, a shift in perception has begun and automakers in America’s largest market should lookout. What was widely regarded as a “love it or hate it” type of vehicle with a polarizing design that’s characterized by an unpainted steel Exoskeleton is now seeing its narrative shift towards “I must have this thing”, from “oh no, never.”
It is true that the moment the Tesla Cybertruck entered the stage was a big “WTF” moment for practically everyone in attendance at the unveiling and those watching the event online. But this moment may actually end up playing in Tesla’s favor, as the electric car maker has taken a bold step towards a future where pickup trucks are expected to not look like every other truck in the market. This puts pressure on veteran carmakers such as Ford and even upstarts such as Rivian to eventually come up with vehicles that abandon the traditional pickup truck template.
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- (Credit: @rrosenbl/Twitter)
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- Tesla Cybertruck self-presenting door handles (Photo: Teslarati)
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- Tesla Cybertruck on stage at unveiling event in Los Angeles. Nov. 21, 2019 (Photo: Teslarati)
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- Tesla Cybertruck futuristic aero wheel makes debut in Los Angeles unveiling event on Nov. 21, 2019 (Photo: Teslarati)
Tesla’s Cybertruck is not for everyone; Musk has made that clear. But considering its aggressive pricing and trademark Tesla performance, the Cybertruck will likely be attractive for enough people that it will end up finding a pretty healthy consumer base, even among those who are traditionally averse to pickup trucks. And this, of course, results in demand for the Cybertruck. After all, it’s pretty silly to assume that a fleet operator or business or police department will shun a tough vehicle that can tow more than the average diesel truck, accelerate like a sports car, and cost very little to “fuel up” just because it looks unconventional.
For these potential customers, the appearance of a vehicle may very well be secondary. What matters is if the truck works, if it will last long, and if its operating costs make business sense. The Cybertruck meets these requirements perfectly, and it does so in a way that is unashamedly electric. As such, detractors of the Cybertruck’s controversial design are best advised to be prepared, since more and more vehicles like it will likely show up on the road in the next few years, or at least within the coming decade.
New designs and concepts, after all, have a tendency to be mocked when they are first introduced. Many may not remember, but the first-generation iPhone was mocked for lacking a physical keyboard. Apple’s Airpods also looked ridiculous when they were first introduced. Even the notches on bezel-less smartphones were criticized mercilessly. Yet today, all these things are the norm. That’s just what happens when something controversial is adopted by enough consumers. Eventually, what was once unsightly or ridiculous becomes accepted.
🖤🖤🖤 Syd Mead 🖤🖤🖤 https://t.co/8nbD5LrAQJ— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 23, 2019
Futurists, if any, appear to be embracing the Tesla Cybertuck, at least for its unapologetically sci-fi design. Legendary Blade Runner Art Director Syd Mead, for one, has praised the vehicle, stating that the Cybertruck “has completely changed the vocabulary of the personal truck market design.” The award-winning art director also called the vehicle “stylistically breathtaking,” further stating that it has exceeded his overall expectations. CEO Elon Musk has definitely appreciated these remarks, considering that Tesla did model the Cybertruck after the vehicles in the Blade Runner franchise.
One of Syd Mead’s most famous quotes is that science fiction is “reality ahead of schedule.” With regards to his vehicle design and creations, this definitely appears to be the case, with the Cybertruck becoming a real vehicle that’s available for consumers today. Mead’s comments are, if any, validation that Tesla and Elon Musk are really onto something with the Cybertruck’s design. Half the world may just not be seeing it for now. But if consumers react positively to the vehicle, or if it does get adopted by businesses or police departments or even the army for that matter, then there is little doubt that a few more futuristic pickups would likely be released by other automakers as well — definitely sooner rather than later.
After all, why get a traditional, “boring” pickup truck when you can get a sci-fi monster machine that’s cheaper to run for the same price? That just won’t make much sense now, would it?
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s AI Grok Bot can now handle banking while your Tesla FSD handles the road
Elon Musk says Grok Bot can manage your finances through linked bank and investment accounts.
Grok Bot now wants access to your wallet, with SpaceXAI rolling out a new Finance integration for its agent platform that lets users link bank, credit card and investment accounts thereby letting their Bots help manage spending, investments and more. Elon Musk amplified the announcement on X with a short endorsement, “Grok Bot can manage your finances.”
The feature builds on two earlier steps. In early September, Grok gained the ability to answer questions about spending, savings, investments and cash flow using accounts connected through Plaid, starting with users in the U.S. Before that, on August 28, SpaceXAI let Grok Bot buy things online through Link, with users approving every spend request and the Bot receiving a single use card for each payment.
Musk has already shown how far he wants users to push it. In late August, when Tesla investor account Teslaconomics said he was weighing whether to give Grok Bot access to his bank accounts, Musk replied, “Try it out. If Grok Bot messes up, we will make you whole.” That promise goes beyond SpaceXAI’s consumer terms, which make users responsible for what their agents do and generally cap the company’s liability at the greater of fees paid or $100. SpaceXAI’s own documentation recommends requiring approval for purchases and financial transfers.
For Tesla owners, the update lands five days after Tesla brought Grok Bot into its vehicles, letting drivers hand off errands by voice while FSD (Supervised) handles the road. Bot access inside the car is currently limited to SuperGrok Heavy subscribers, though Connectors are open to anyone signed into Grok. With Finance linked, a driver could ask for a spending summary or a check on upcoming bills during the commute.
Grok’s role in the car has grown quickly since Tesla’s Summer Update let it control cabin features by voice. We have been using Grok Bot in our own Tesla for several weeks, and here’s how our latest test went.
Elon Musk
SpaceX just got the green light Starship has waited years for
The FAA has cleared Starship Flight 14, setting up SpaceX’s first orbital attempt on Monday.
SpaceX has cleared the last regulatory hurdle standing between Starship and its first trip to orbit. The Federal Aviation Administration issued the launch license for Starship Flight 14 late Saturday, keeping the mission on track for liftoff Monday, September 28, from Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas.
The 75 minute launch window opens at 7:15 a.m. Central, and Boca Chica Beach closures are also scheduled for September 29 and 30 as backup dates. This will be Starship’s first revenue generating mission.
The license was the missing piece after SpaceX completed a full wet dress rehearsal with Booster 21 and Ship 41 on September 24. At the time, the company said the flight remained on track pending regulatory approval. Because Flight 14 flies an orbital profile, the FAA had to sign off on a modified license that met its safety, payload and financial responsibility requirements.
Observers combing through the new FAA paperwork also noticed that lightning no longer appears among Starship’s listed launch hazards. If that holds, it matters more for where Starship is headed than for Monday’s attempt. Florida and Louisiana, home to LC-39A and the planned Starbase Louisiana site, see some of the most frequent lightning in the United States.
SpaceX tells the FCC that Starship Flight 14 is going to orbit
Flight 14 is the mission SpaceX has been building toward for months. Ship 41 will carry 26 Starlink V3 satellites, the first operational V3 units to be deployed, and attempt roughly six orbits at about 275 kilometers over a flight lasting just under 10 hours. SpaceX says the ship will only perform its orbital insertion burn after flight controllers confirm enough hardware redundancy remains for the deorbit burn at the end of the mission. Ship 41 is targeting a splashdown in the Pacific west of Chile, while Super Heavy will return to the Gulf of Mexico.
The date carries some symbolism as well. A Monday launch would come 10 years and one day after Elon Musk first presented the Interplanetary Transport System, the design that became Starship, at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico.
SpaceX has not announced what comes next, but air traffic planning slides reported this week, list Flight 15 no earlier than October 19 and a first Starship launch from LC-39A in Florida no earlier than October 30. Both dates depend on how Monday goes.
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SpaceX completes another secret Pentagon launch, adding to suspected Starshield buildout
SpaceX launched the classified USSF-385 mission from Vandenberg, landing its booster on a tenth flight.
SpaceX launched another classified mission for the U.S. Space Force from California early Saturday morning, and the Falcon 9 booster that carried it landed on a drone ship in the Pacific for the tenth time. The USSF-385 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 7:00 a.m. PT.
Booster B1100 touched down on Of Course I Still Love You roughly eight and a half minutes after liftoff. It was the booster’s tenth flight and tenth successful landing, following the NROL-95 national security mission and eight Starlink launches. Its previous flight, a Starlink Group 15 mission on August 22, came just 35 days earlier. SpaceX ended its livestream shortly after the landing, which is standard for classified payloads, and neither the company nor the Space Force has said what the rocket carried.
Watch Falcon 9 launch the USSF-385 mission from pad 4E in California https://t.co/CAdbx85Ydy
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 26, 2026
USSF-385 is the fourth Space Force launch from the same Vandenberg pad in roughly six weeks, following USSF-366 on August 15, USSF-153 on September 10, and USSF-259 on September 17. When SpaceX flew USSF-366 in August, independent trackers noted that the rocket’s stage drop zones matched SpaceX’s Starlink Group 15 missions, pointing to Starshield, the government version of the Starlink satellite bus. The Space Force later cataloged 23 satellites after both USSF-366 and USSF-153, while USSF-259 placed 17 satellites into a different orbital plane, per KeepTrack. Launch databases describe USSF-385 the same way, though the payload remains officially unidentified.
The cadence lines up with the contracts, because in July, the Space Force awarded SpaceX $1.6 billion in task orders for 18 Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg through the end of 2027. SpaceX also holds contracts to build pieces of that same network, which pushed its Pentagon contract total for 2026 past $8 billion.
Saturday’s flight was also the sixth and final Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg in September, according to Spaceflight Now, while only one Falcon 9 flew from the East Coast this month as SpaceX shifts its Florida infrastructure toward Starship. Launch trackers list it as SpaceX’s 112th mission of 2026 and the 108th Falcon 9 flight of the year, with SLC-4E turned around about six and a half days after its previous launch.
The West Coast pad will not stay quiet for long, considering SpaceX has another Starlink mission scheduled from SLC-4E on September 30. Meanwhile, in Texas, the company is two days away from Starship Flight 14, which is targeting Monday at 7:15 a.m. CT for the vehicle’s first attempt to reach orbit.
Elon Musk’s AI Grok Bot can now handle banking while your Tesla FSD handles the road
SpaceX just got the green light Starship has waited years for
