My response to designer Frank Stephenson's criticism of the Cybertruck (Video)

[Dids]

The Model T was a phenomenal success, and I may desire one, and pay big bucks for it today for what it nostalgically represents.

But it has absolutely not remotely, stood the test of time. It failed it a long long time ago.

Thankfully there has been much improvement since then, functionally and very very much aesthetically.

The Model T is well and truely absurd rubbish by the time we get to the standards of the 1930's let alone after that !

Neanderthal's were genius' for harnessing fire, in view of any other creature that came before, but they are just a little behind, to put it mildly, compared to the achievements of those who harnessed it just a little better, a little later in time., let alone by the time paradigm shift after paradigm shift, after revolutionary invention, after revolutionary discovery was made . . . . . over and over and over again.

I wouldn't be trying to suggest the Cybertruck will stand the test of time like the Model T.
The model T didn't. But it was a phenomenal success at the time.

What is a great success but for an even more fleeting time, is called a fad.
Like Yoyo's are fad. And they don't even have a functional purpose at all . . . . . . perhaps improving dexterity or demonstrating some physics principles or mental soothing.

So, no, not even sales success can dilute the designers valid criticism about the Cybertruck is very Plain and simple, and runs the risk of dating quickly.
Not a concern for those that buy it for its phenomenal utility value, but it is for others who want function and more.
For those that would buy regardless of how ugly it is, its saying something,
but for those who deny how ugly it actually is to many, I think are like those people who cant see the reality of those drawing that contain 2 images in one.

Personally I don't think its ugly, but it is definitely plain and simple and runs the risk of dating quickly. But its a great platform and very easy to refresh and personalise.

P.S.
in the immortal words of Kent Brockman, this is my 2 cents !
I'm guessing the following is in the list of many small improvements.
increases the approach angle at the wheels.

Like Frank it took me a long time to distill a response.
I think your argument is that different people see different things. I belive that is a definition of good art. But that would mean the design of Cybertruck is good as opposed to Frank's opinion and opposed to dating very quickly.
The measure of success of a tool is not that it was superseded but that it was used to build the next generation. This measure of the model T makes it iconic and precludes it from ever being rubbish. The same is true for the Neanderthal, thier genes reside in modern humans.
So if Cybertruck progenitors practical enviromentalism for truck people, as Tesla did for cars, then Frank is wrong again. He thinks the design is anti environmental because for him environmentalism is niche and aspirational instead of practical and present. (Yes I'm saying he is old, and because you implied that old things that are superseded are rubbish, rubbish!).
Bye, Frank.

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[fritter63]

1st picture: 1956 Ford Truck (Beautiful IMO)
2nd picture: 1957 Ford Truck (Bufugly IMO).

And yet that second form is the standard everybody is comparing the CT too. it's just a matter of what you've gotten used to.

 

[Crissa]

1st picture: 1956 Ford Truck (Beautiful IMO)
2nd picture: 1957 Ford Truck (Bufugly IMO).

I kinda like the 57, it's easier to repair.

^-^

-Crissa

 

[MEDICALJMP]

Veteran trucker debunks Tesla Cybertruck styling complaints

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-cybertruck-design-defended-real-trucker-video/


BySimon Alvarez
Posted on December 21, 2020

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.

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.

 

[Warhawk123162]

The Model T was a phenomenal success, and I may desire one, and pay big bucks for it today for what it nostalgically represents.

But it has absolutely not remotely, stood the test of time. It failed it a long long time ago.

Thankfully there has been much improvement since then, functionally and very very much aesthetically.

The Model T is well and truely absurd rubbish by the time we get to the standards of the 1930's let alone after that !

Neanderthal's were genius' for harnessing fire, in view of any other creature that came before, but they are just a little behind, to put it mildly, compared to the achievements of those who harnessed it just a little better, a little later in time., let alone by the time paradigm shift after paradigm shift, after revolutionary invention, after revolutionary discovery was made . . . . . over and over and over again.

I wouldn't be trying to suggest the Cybertruck will stand the test of time like the Model T.
The model T didn't. But it was a phenomenal success at the time.

What is a great success but for an even more fleeting time, is called a fad.
Like Yoyo's are fad. And they don't even have a functional purpose at all . . . . . . perhaps improving dexterity or demonstrating some physics principles or mental soothing.

So, no, not even sales success can dilute the designers valid criticism about the Cybertruck is very Plain and simple, and runs the risk of dating quickly.
Not a concern for those that buy it for its phenomenal utility value, but it is for others who want function and more.
For those that would buy regardless of how ugly it is, its saying something,
but for those who deny how ugly it actually is to many, I think are like those people who cant see the reality of those drawing that contain 2 images in one.

Personally I don't think its ugly, but it is definitely plain and simple and runs the risk of dating quickly. But its a great platform and very easy to refresh and personalise.

P.S.
in the immortal words of Kent Brockman, this is my 2 cents !
I'm guessing the following is in the list of many small improvements.
increases the approach angle at the wheels.

And some people think the Mona Lisa is overrated some like Rock some like classical. Love my 2008 F350 crew cab and can’t wait for my CT. For two reasons the utility and the way looks.

 

[ElectricSheep]

Yeah. The Cybertruck will be dated-looking like a Lamborghini Countach, and who wouldn't want that old car in their garage... even now?

I had a poster of the Countach 5000S in my bedroom as a teen (along with Heather Thomas) and I would love one in the garage, but the maintenance costs are a nightmare compared to today's supercars and I fear it would just sit in the garage for fear of having to get the 48 valves adjusted alone. I really liked the Vector W2 (prototype) and W8 (production) and would own one of those in a heartbeat and the CyberTruck has a lot of similar design features.

 

[ElectricSheep]

There is a minor adversarial relationship between "designers" and engineers. Designers grab their pens and sketch the facade and then rationalize it, like architects, with heaping piles of steaming rhetoric. Yes, eye candy sells and in the truck market it is brutish grills with gravelly voiced men and boxy trucks that are shown doing hard work or chewing up the environment.
Engineers are more like morlocks in the underworld. They make the ugly insides that is shrouded by the facade. They need to make it work and producible.
The CT is more of an engineer's truck and a designers nightmare. The form, Zen like, is the look of its manufacturing process with a priority on durability, weight reduction, simplicity and utility. So gone is the pricey complexity of stamping and painting complicated assemblies replaced low cost sheetmetal and limited welding of 304L SS.
Yes, Franz was involved but with engineering and manufacturing leading- not me-too marketing and designers.

I always joke that systems engineers give crazy and sometimes completely irrational design requirements and then mechanical and electrical engineers actually make reality happen.

 

[FutureBoy]

I had a poster of the Countach 5000S in my bedroom as a teen (along with Heather Thomas) and I would love one in the garage,

Which one? Or do they come as a package deal?

 

[ElectricSheep]

A package deal would have been great, although at 16 I would probably would have crashed the Countach and if I lived, wouldn't have know what to do with Heather, but would at least give it the old college try.

 

[FutureBoy]

A package deal would have been great, although at 16 I would probably would have crashed the Countach and if I lived, wouldn't have know what to do with Heather, but would at least give it the old college try.

Well if you were ready for college at 16 you were doing better than I. Perhaps we can each get a CT in our garages (I hear they won't fit most garages) and relive the greatness of those times.

 

[Hungedu]

I had a poster of the Countach 5000S in my bedroom as a teen (along with Heather Thomas) and I would love one in the garage, but the maintenance costs are a nightmare compared to today's supercars and I fear it would just sit in the garage for fear of having to get the 48 valves adjusted alone. I really liked the Vector W2 (prototype) and W8 (production) and would own one of those in a heartbeat and the CyberTruck has a lot of similar design features.

I had a Countach poster on my wall in the late 80s and had the actual car in my garage 10 years later. Like you said, it was a maintenance nightmare, so I replaced it with an NSX, which I still have today.

 

[Cyberrides]

I think the CT will become a classic in design. I really think it will be looked back as breakthrough in auto design constraints. In person it looked a lot better to me than pictures, It was good experiencing in person, Ordered a second one after going to battery day.

 

[fritter63]

I think the CT will become a classic in design. I really think it will be looked back as breakthrough in auto design constraints. In person it looked a lot better to me than pictures, It was good experiencing in person, Ordered a second one after going to battery day.

why two?????

 

[Dids]

why two?????

Because 2 is better than 1. It takes 2 to make thing go right.

 

[Cyberrides]

I added the second one for a couple of reasons.
first one is dual motor with Fsd and fairly early in production numbers.

The second one I ordered is a tri motor, I ordered it when I did mainly To lock in Fsd.
Fsd has now gone up about 4000 Canadian since it was announced.
I am also considering using it in a promotional rental /Tourist guide vehicle. Probably wont own both at the same time for long

It will be about a year and a half from first one so will have the option of selling the first one if Trimotor ends up being that much more spec.
Shouldn't loose much or any on a CT that early on, especially with FSD.