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Tesla Cybertruck Hotwheels is a glimpse of Elon Musk’s brilliant marketing strategy
Just like the upcoming all-electric Tesla Cybetruck, Hot Wheels and Mattel’s 1:10 scale model Cybertruck RC is sensational, selling out five hours after its website launched.
The toy for the big boys remote-controlled Cybertruck was unveiled during the Toy Fair 2020 at the Javits Convention Center in New York. The $400 scaled version of the Cybertruck instantly became the darling of the fair. Primarily designed for collectors, the RC Cybertruck comes with functioning headlamps and taillights, full suspension, all-wheel drive, and, of course, sports the eye-catching dystopian design of Elon Musk’s much-awaited pickup truck. The toy Cybertruck will also feature an operational tonneau, a telescoping tailgate and a loading ramp. It will even have a removable exterior so one can appreciate the interior design of the vehicle.
“The CyberTruck was unveiled November 21, 2019 and on the 22nd we went to work. We started looking at internet references and screen grabs and we mocked up our best stab for a prototype,” Director of Product Design at Mattel Gerry Cody said in an interview with Fatherly.
Mattel and Hot Wheels’ partnership with Tesla is not new by any means as the toymaker started with the Tesla Roadster. In fact, they have a toy Tesla Roadster on the dash of the electric sportscar that Musk sent into space. It has also created products based on the Model S, Model X, and Model 3.
The two companies know Tesla well to the point that they were allowed to produce a reusable broken window glass vinyl that toy collectors can put on their scaled-down Cybertruck.
“When we started building the prototypes, my team and I started asking: what are the features, what are the specs, and we thought about the glass. We weren’t sure what Tesla’s sensitivity was going to be regarding that moment,” Cody said. “We said ‘How about a reusable vinyl sticker?’ And they were into it. It’s not full-time, you users can take it on and off, but it’s something that’s just a great little detail.”
According to Cody, the Cybertruck RC is the fastest item for Mattel that zoomed past idea pitch to pre-sale in a matter of 90 days. They’re also amazed how the mini Cybertruck sold out so fast in a few hours.
Only serious toy collectors and Tesla fans would spend hundreds of dollars to get their hands on a scaled version of the Tesla Cybertruck and this further proves the dedicated following of the company within the electric vehicle community.
Elon Musk’s authenticity also reflects on how the company handles unexpected events such as the breaking of the Cybertruck’s windows during its unveiling. Tesla turned it to a marketing opportunity and even released a Cybertruck “bulletproof” t-shirt. A genius move.
Tesla’s collaboration with Mattel and Hot Wheels is a way to extend its showrooms to the rest of the globe. A child holding a 1:64 fast Cybertruck RC or a Tesla fan showcasing a 1:10 scaled model of the electric pickup truck can ultimately help spread the word about the vehicle and the company as a whole.
Of course, the limited-production Cybertruck Hotwheels RC went viral and built up more awareness about the real Cybertruck, which according to Elon Musk had 250,000 orders a few weeks after its unwrapping and roughly 500,000 preorders based on a recent take of an unofficial tracker created by Tesla fans.
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Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in.
Tesla has officially landed approval to operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service in its third U.S. state, as it has landed a regulatory green light from the State of Arizona’s Department of Transportation.
Tesla has been working to expand to new U.S. states after launching in Texas and California earlier this year. Recently, it said it was hoping to land in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, expanding to five new cities in those three states.
On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in:
BREAKING: Tesla has officially received approval from the Arizona Department of Transportation to launch its Robotaxi service on public roads in the state!
I just confirmed directly with the Arizona DOT that @Tesla applied for a Transportation Network Company permit on Nov 13th.… pic.twitter.com/iKbwfGfiju
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) November 18, 2025
Tesla has also been working on approvals in Nevada and Florida, and it has also had Robotaxi test mules spotted in Pennsylvania.
The interesting thing about the Arizona approval is the fact that Tesla has not received an approval for any specific city; it appears that it can operate statewide. However, early on, Tesla will likely confine its operation to just one or two cities to keep things safe and controlled.
Over the past few months, Robotaxi mules have been spotted in portions of Phoenix and surrounding cities, such as Scottsdale, as the company has been attempting to cross off all the regulatory Ts that it is confronted with as it attempts to expand the ride-hailing service.
It appears the company will be operating it similarly to how it does in Texas, which differs from its California program. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat, unless the route requires freeway travel. In California, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat. However, this is unconfirmed.
Earlier today, Tesla enabled its Robotaxi app to be utilized for ride-hailing for anyone using the iOS platform.
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Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
A Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor appeared to doze off during a ride in the California Bay Area, almost ironically proving the need for autonomous vehicles.
The instance was captured on camera and posted to Reddit in the r/sanfrancisco subreddit by u/ohmichael. They wrote that they have used Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area in the past and had pleasant experiences.
However, this one was slightly different. They wrote:
“I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.
This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.
I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.
I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too.
Has anyone else seen this happen?”
My Tesla Robotaxi “safety” driver fell asleep
byu/ohmichael insanfrancisco
The driver eventually woke up after prompts from the vehicle, but it is pretty alarming to see someone like this while they’re ultimately responsible for what happens with the ride.
We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.
They should have probably left the vehicle immediately.
Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area differs from the one that is currently active in Austin, Texas, due to local regulations. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat unless the route requires the highway.
Tesla plans to remove the Safety Monitors in Austin by the end of the year.
Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.
Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.
It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.
In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.
The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.
Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.
Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.
Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.
Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.
We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:
🚨 Tesla Robotaxi ride-hailing Service in Austin and the Bay Area has opened up for anyone on iOS
Go download the app and, if you’re in the area, hail a ride from Robotaxi pic.twitter.com/1CgzG0xk1J
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 18, 2025
The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.
In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.
Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state
Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride
