News
Why Tesla can’t ditch the Cybertruck for a traditional pickup design
The Tesla Cybertruck is so “Tesla,” it’s not even debatable. To me, at least. The truck is the true embodiment of everything the electric automaker had stood for during the last seventeen years when it was established in 2003. It breaks all the rules; it goes against the look and feel of “traditional” automotive manufacturing. It is a rebellious statement against the normal boundaries of what a truck is “supposed” to be. Making a traditional, typical, and standard pickup truck would break all of Tesla’s rules, and if the company ends up designing it, it would mean that the legacy automakers have won.
Earlier this week, CEO Elon Musk said that if the Cybertruck happens to tank in sales, Tesla will end up designing a more traditional pickup for the market to consider. Even though I openly said I don’t think that Tesla will have to worry about designing and manufacturing a Cybertruck alternative, the possibility still worries me.
I know what many of you are probably thinking. “Joey, that’s really extreme.” Or, maybe, “Joey, that’s ridiculous, Tesla is just doing what it can to stay competitive in a popular market in case the Cybertruck tanks.”
Sure, I can agree with the second one from an economic standpoint for the company, but I certainly don’t see my point of view as extreme.
Tesla’s Cybertruck, when it was unveiled, shocked the world. It made everyone question what the company was doing. I’ll admit, when I saw that beast roll out onto the stage in Hawthorne, California, I was skeptical. I think I said something along the lines of, “What the hell is that thing?”
But as the presentation went on, I found myself increasingly interested in what Tesla was doing. I realized it was meant to be ridiculous, different, and “polarizing,” as so many people like to call it. It made the entire automotive industry look at the company, and it has worked thus far because it is arguably the most talked-about vehicle in recent memory.
Let’s be honest: Tesla has always broken the rules. Skeptics said the Model S would fail. It didn’t. They said Tesla couldn’t attain a considerable or acceptable range for its EVs. The company did and has scrapped vehicle models that aren’t capable of “acceptable range” of over 250 miles. They said the company couldn’t make an affordable vehicle. The Model 3 and Model Y are both mass-market cars geared toward affordability. They said Tesla couldn’t turn a profit. It just did, for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Tesla has always done what people said wasn’t possible. The Cybertruck is just one of the latest examples.
When the Cybertruck was unveiled, people said, “Nobody will buy that.” “It’s ugly.” “Even if people buy it, it won’t perform well against petrol-powered pickups.”
It has a substantial amount of pre-orders. According to CybertruckOwnersClub’s reservation number decoder, it has over 750,000 pre-orders.
It may be ugly to some, but that’s an opinion and subjective. I find the truck unique and beautiful in its own way.
The Cybertruck won a Tug-of-War against an F-150.
There are those three theories debunked.
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But more significant than that, the Cybertruck is really an embodiment of Tesla’s mission as a whole. It has always been to prove the doubters wrong, to change the way people look at cars. Before Tesla, people saw their everyday drivers as a way to get from Point A to Point B. Some were faster than others, some were louder than others, and some had better stereos than others. The point is, when Tesla’s came out, their vehicles became more than a daily transportation outlet. They became entertainment machines, and they changed the way the world looked at a car.
The Cybertruck did the same thing. It changed the way people looked at trucks, even though nobody has one yet. It is a summarization of what Tesla has always meant and tried to convey to people. Change the way people look at something, and the possibilities become limitless. Before the Cybertruck, people thought that the “truck” had to have a cab, a bed, and look nearly the same as every other pickup on the market. But that’s the thing. Tesla has never used the rules or the “typical” idea for anything. That’s what makes Tesla, Tesla.
People knew battery-powered cars were possible, but nobody was good at it. The other car companies in the world were too focused on making their petrol engines more advanced at the time. After all, nobody was anxious about climate change at the time. At least, it wasn’t widely accepted by people until the mid-2000s from what I remember.
Tesla changed all of that. They proved electric cars didn’t have to be slow, or boring “like a golf cart,” as Elon Musk once said.
In my opinion, we won’t see a traditional Tesla truck. I don’t think the Cybertruck will tank in terms of sales, and I don’t believe that Tesla will be interested in being just another car company that makes a truck that looks like everyone else’s.
The Cybertruck goes against all the rules, and that’s more “Tesla” than anything.
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News
Tesla’s Sweden standoff draws UAW support as unions widen pressure campaign
In a post shared on social media, the United Auto Workers stated that it stands with IF Metall workers who are striking against Tesla Sweden.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) has publicly expressed solidarity with Swedish union IF Metall as its strike against Tesla continues, adding international attention to the extended labor dispute in the European country.
UAW supports IF Metall’s strike
In a post shared on social media, the United Auto Workers stated that it stands with IF Metall workers who are striking against Tesla Sweden. UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith stated that the union fully supports IF Metall’s efforts to secure a collective bargaining agreement with the automaker.
“UAW stands with IF Metall workers on strike against Tesla, fighting for a collective bargaining agreement. UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith pledged the UAW’s full support and solidarity,” the UAW International Union stated in its post.
IF Metall launched its strike against Tesla Sweden in late 2023 over the electric car maker’s refusal to sign a collective agreement. The action has since been supported by other unions through sympathy strikes affecting ports, logistics, and service operations.
Tesla Sweden has maintained that it complies with Swedish labor laws and offers competitive pay and benefits, though the company has not publicly commented on the UAW’s latest show of support.
Tesla owners get union attention
Pro-union groups in Sweden have recently expanded their outreach beyond Tesla’s facilities and workforce. Activists have begun distributing informational leaflets against the EV maker directly on Tesla vehicles parked across Stockholm, as per a report from Swedish outlet Dagens Arbete.
The yellow slips, designed to resemble parking notices, urge regular Tesla owners to pressure the company into signing a collective agreement. Organizers involved in the effort have argued that the leaflets are intended to simply inform consumers rather than single out individual owners. When owners are present, however, activists stated that they explain the dispute verbally.
Tesla has not issued a public response regarding the leaflet distribution campaign as of writing.
News
Starlink goes mainstream with first-ever SpaceX Super Bowl advertisement
SpaceX used the Super Bowl broadcast to promote Starlink, pitching the service as fast, affordable broadband available across much of the world.
SpaceX aired its first-ever Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, marking a rare move into mass-market advertising as it seeks to broaden adoption of its Starlink satellite internet service.
Starlink Super Bowl advertisement
SpaceX used the Super Bowl broadcast to promote Starlink, pitching the service as fast, affordable broadband available across much of the world.
The advertisement highlighted Starlink’s global coverage and emphasized simplified customer onboarding, stating that users can sign up for service in minutes through the company’s website or by phone in the United States.
The campaign comes as SpaceX accelerates Starlink’s commercial expansion. The satellite internet service grew its global user base in 2025 to over 9 million subscribers and entered several dozen additional markets, as per company statements.
Starlink growth and momentum
Starlink has seen notable success in numerous regions across the globe. Brazil, in particular, has become one of Starlink’s largest growth regions, recently surpassing one million users, as per Ookla data. The company has also expanded beyond residential broadband into aviation connectivity and its emerging direct-to-cellular service.
Starlink has recently offered aggressive promotions in select regions, including discounted or free hardware, waived installation fees, and reduced monthly pricing. Some regions even include free Starlink Mini for select subscribers. In parallel, SpaceX has introduced AI-driven tools to streamline customer sign-ups and service selection.
The Super Bowl appearance hints at a notable shift for Starlink, which previously relied largely on organic growth and enterprise contracts. The ad suggests SpaceX is positioning Starlink as a mainstream alternative to traditional broadband providers.
Tesla engineers deflected calls from Apple on a daily basis while the tech giant was developing its now-defunct electric vehicle program, which was known as “Project Titan.”
Back in 2022 and 2023, Apple was developing an EV in a top-secret internal fashion, hoping to launch it by 2028 with a fully autonomous driving suite.
However, Apple bailed on the project in early 2024, as Project Titan abandoned the project in an email to over 2,000 employees. The company had backtracked its expectations for the vehicle on several occasions, initially hoping to launch it with no human driving controls and only with an autonomous driving suite.
Apple canceling its EV has drawn a wide array of reactions across tech
It then planned for a 2028 launch with “limited autonomous driving.” But it seemed to be a bit of a concession at that point; Apple was not prepared to take on industry giants like Tesla.
Wedbush’s Dan Ives noted in a communication to investors that, “The writing was on the wall for Apple with a much different EV landscape forming that would have made this an uphill battle. Most of these Project Titan engineers are now all focused on AI at Apple, which is the right move.”
Apple did all it could to develop a competitive EV that would attract car buyers, including attempting to poach top talent from Tesla.
In a new podcast interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, it was revealed that Apple had been calling Tesla engineers nonstop during its development of the now-defunct project. Musk said the engineers “just unplugged their phones.”
Musk said in full:
“They were carpet bombing Tesla with recruiting calls. Engineers just unplugged their phones. Their opening offer without any interview would be double the compensation at Tesla.”
Interestingly, Apple had acquired some ex-Tesla employees for its project, like Senior Director of Engineering Dr. Michael Schwekutsch, who eventually left for Archer Aviation.
Tesla took no legal action against Apple for attempting to poach its employees, as it has with other companies. It came after EV rival Rivian in mid-2020, after stating an “alarming pattern” of poaching employees was noticed.
Tesla’s Sweden standoff draws UAW support as unions widen pressure campaign
Starlink goes mainstream with first-ever SpaceX Super Bowl advertisement
