Elon Musk touted the You’re here Cybertruck like the perfect vehicle for an apocalypse at a launch event in Texas a few weeks ago. And on its website, Tesla complaints the futuristic electric vehicle is “built for any planet,” being “durable and sturdy enough to go anywhere.”
Many remembered such boasts when a video went viral this week, showing a Cybertruck, with a single harvested Christmas tree, struggling to navigate a snowy hill off-road in California’s Stanislaus National Forest. In the videoa Ford pickup truck on a road drives the Tesla vehicle up the slope.
The phrase “futile sports vehicle” spread across social media as the video went viral, with one X user assignment“Okay, seeing the Cybertruck called a ‘futile sports vehicle’ after having to be rescued by a Ford made my day.”
Others argued the problem was more with an inexperienced driver than the Cybertruck itself, noting that other trucks were also getting stuck on snowy hills. But there may also have been a problem with this particular Cybertruck, which, as a Tesla subscriber, note It appeared to be a prototype with some equipment issues.
Ford CEO Jim Farley, for his part, posted on: “Just to be clear…this is a Super Duty and NOT an advertisement. I’m glad a Ford owner is here to help us.
Just to be clear…this is a Super Duty and NOT an advertisement. Happy one @Ford the owner was there to help you. https://t.co/Rr78EY9k2T
– Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) December 13, 2023
Yesterday, the National Forest Service released a press release brazenly proposing to partner with Tesla on “an education campaign regarding the use of off-road vehicles on public lands.”
He issued the press release on Facebookwhere one user said they thought the video “was a parody”.
The Forest Service replied“While we may have been a little brazen in our response, our offer to Tesla is real and it actually happened in Corral Hollows on the Calaveras side.”
Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Jason Kuiken said in the release: “We are always excited when new opportunities to explore our public lands become available, but we think there may be work to be done to educate users about our Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM). »
He added: “You will never have to worry about a software update at an incredibly sensitive time with one of our MVUM cards. »
The Forest Service continued: “We are confident that if the Cybertruck driver had better understood the topographical features shown on our maps, practiced Leave No Trace principles, and been generally better prepared, this entire incident could have not only be avoided. , but also provided much-needed education to many new off-road users.
The Cybertruck has generated considerable enthusiasm among Tesla fans.
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who already owned a Model X, was among the first customers to pick up a Cybertruck in Austin, Texas, a few weeks ago. He said in a direct that driving it was “super futuristic”.
However, it remains to be seen whether the vehicle will attract the type of drivers who usually opt for the F-150 pickup truck or a similar, pragmatic vehicle.
Fair or not, the Cybertruck was roasted by many people on social media this week following the video going viral. A Facebook user joked about the Cybertruck driver in the clip, “Bless his heart…he thinks he’s in a truck.”
