Cybertruck at the Auto Show: Stir Over Tesla's "Curve-Phobic" Pickup

 

The Tesla Cybertruck is stealing the spotlight at the 2024 Montreal Auto Show. Everyone wants a glimpse! It's like giving Pythagoras magic mushrooms and asking him to draw a "car" to illustrate his theorem.

This geometric oddity with flat faces resembles a diamond. Its polished stainless steel shell sparkles under the aggressive neon lights of the Palais des congrès.

You won't find any indifference around this peculiar truck (it's a pickup with a bed that closes like an armored curtain). The faces of onlookers express vivid emotions.

There are smiles of surprise and amusement, open-mouthed expressions, perplexed furrowed brows, and even grimaces of disgust.

The wheels seem to be the only round part of this vehicle. The designers took their "curve-phobia" to the extreme by embedding these wheels in "alveolar" alcoves reminiscent of the upper part of the Desjardins logo.

Only the wheels are round in the Cybertruck, placed in alcoves with honeycomb-like patterns. LOUIS-PHILIPPE MESSIER

The mirrors? They're pyramidal. Is the steering wheel circular? Of course not! It's rectangular, naturally.

"It's as ugly in real life as in photos!" comments 62-year-old Marc-André Latulippe from Piedmont. "It looks like it was drawn by a child," adds this car enthusiast who is not swayed by the cyber-truck.

A young couple from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu strolls around the security cordon protecting the incredible electric truck (which you can't touch or get into).

"It looks like a Transformer!" laughs Alyssann Paquin. "I come to the Auto Show every year, and I've never seen anything like it! It's impressive: even the windshield wiper is gigantic!" exclaims Yannick Poirer.

This unique wiper seems to measure two meters.

Alyssann Paquin and Yannick Poirier LOUIS-PHILIPPE MESSIER

The "Tesla Cult"

About twenty volunteers in Club Tesla Québec shirts chat with visitors. It's amazing that the hosts of this Tesla-dedicated booth are enthusiasts here for fun... because they have faith!

"I bought a Model 3 last October, and it changed my life," Elias, one of the happy volunteers, tells me. "People often say we're a bit like a cult!" laughs Mario Langlois, one of the founders of Club Tesla Québec and its current vice-president.

Mr. Langlois assures me he doesn't burn incense in front of an Elon Musk idol at home. He drives his $100,000 Model S purchased eleven years ago and believes he has saved tens of thousands of dollars in fuel costs.

In a showroom where 80% of vehicles are hybrids or electric, other four-wheeled monsters are attracting attention not far from the Cybertruck—the electric Hummers. It seems the imposing shine and eye-catching appeal won't fade with the replacement of the gasoline engine.