Walter Isaacson (Musk biographer) gives insight on Cybertruck's inception + early sketches / design inspiration board

[ModelAZ]

Walter Isaacson:

"About 6 years ago, he (Elon Musk) is sitting there with @woodhaus2 and they're looking at a Ford truck. He (Elon) says these things are boring. He doesn't like to be bored. He puts up things from movies, from sci-fi, from video games, and everybody is pushing back on him at this meeting. He finally says stop it, we're going to do it. We're going to make it edgy."​

​

"In my book, https://amazon.com/Elon-Musk-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1982181281, I describe how on one Friday in 2017, @elonmusk decreed, “We are going to do this whole thing in stainless steel.” I note: "The use of stainless steel opened up new possibilities for the look of the truck. Instead of using stamping machines that would sculpt carbon fiber into body panels with subtle curves and shapes, stainless steel would favor straight planes and sharp angles. That allowed— and in some ways forced— the design team to explore ideas that were more futuristic, edgier, even jarring."​

​

"I don’t care if no one buys it,” he said at the end of the session. “We’re not doing a traditional boring truck. We can always do that later. I want to build something that’s cool. Like, don’t resist me."​

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[CyberC]

Looks like they just printed out all of the "what will the Cybertruck look like" fan art that was on the internet before the 2019 reveal. I'll still end up buying the CT in its current form, but I also still would've preferred the mini Semi look that floated around briefly.

 

[RVAC]

Looks like they just printed out all of the "what will the Cybertruck look like" fan art that was on the internet before the 2019 reveal. I'll still end up buying the CT in its current form, but I also still would've preferred the mini Semi look that floated around briefly.

Would be a good design down the line for a HD Tesla truck (think F-350 and above).

 

[Sirfun]

Those sketches look like Hot Wheels designs. I really like the CT as is. It's functional, and will be very useful.

 

[cvalue13]

Love finally getting a glimpse at the CT inspiration board.

It partially confirms my long-held belief that the inspiration isn't merely "sci fi," it's specifically late 60's to late 70's auto design and prototype language.

When people talk about the CT looking "futuristic," I personally think they're looking the exactly wrong direction on the timeline. The CT looks positively late 1960's Italian prototype design language, for what people in the 1970's thought the future would look like.

I collect Italian modern furniture from this era, and while that doesn't include collecting vehicles, I'm roughly familiar with a lot of the forward-looking auto design from that era.

That era of car design is referred to as "the wedge era"

The vehicles shown are largely from this era (e.g., Delorean, bond's concept car-sub), the movies are trailing and reflecting this ear (bladerunner, robocop). And to the extent the moodboard shows modern boats, etc., those designs themselves are speaking the late 60s italian design language.


As with most things design of the time, the Italian's were at the forefront in the late 1960's, and the rest of the world caught up eventually throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980's.

'68 alfa romeo iguana:

1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo

'68 Bizzarrini Manta

'70 Ferrari Modulo

'67 Lamborghini Marzal

'70 Vauxhall SRV

'70 Lancia Stratos Zero

1971 Maserati Boomerang

Lamborghini Countach LP500 Prototype (1971)

1974 Lamborghini Bravo

1974 Lamborghini Countach

1976 Alfa Romeo Navajo

1969 Opel CD

1969 Toyota EX 3

1969 Mercedes C111

1970 VW-Porsche Tapiro

1972 BMW Turbo

1973 Audi Karmann Asso Di Picche

'76 Brubaker Box

'78 Benz CW3111

1979 Toyota FCX-80

1979 Dome Zero P2

1980 Citroën Karin

1980 Aston Martin Bulldog

And not to forget the 1978 concept by Curt Brubaker, in Penthouse, that some have pointed towards as the nearest conceptual precedessor to the CT:

 

[Prime8]

Love finally getting a glimpse at the CT inspiration board.

It partially confirms my long-held belief that the inspiration isn't merely "sci fi," it's specifically late 60's to late 70's auto design and prototype language.

When people talk about the CT looking "futuristic," I personally think they're looking the exactly wrong direction on the timeline. The CT looks positively late 1960's Italian prototype design language, for what people in the 1970's thought the future would look like.

I collect Italian modern furniture from this era, and while that doesn't include collecting vehicles, I'm roughly familiar with a lot of the forward-looking auto design from that era.

That era of car design is referred to as "the wedge era"

The vehicles shown are largely from this era (e.g., Delorean, bond's concept car-sub), the movies are trailing and reflecting this ear (bladerunner, robocop). And to the extent the moodboard shows modern boats, etc., those designs themselves are speaking the late 60s italian design language.


As with most things design of the time, the Italian's were at the forefront in the late 1960's, and the rest of the world caught up eventually throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980's.

'68 alfa romeo iguana:

1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo

'68 Bizzarrini Manta

'70 Ferrari Modulo

'67 Lamborghini Marzal

'70 Vauxhall SRV

'70 Lancia Stratos Zero

1971 Maserati Boomerang

'72 DeTomaso Pantera,

1974 Lamborghini Bravo

1974 Lamborghini Countach

1976 Alfa Romeo Navajo

1969 Opel CD

1969 Toyota EX 3

1969 Mercedes C111

1970 VW-Porsche Tapiro

1972 BMW Turbo

1973 Audi Karmann Asso Di Picche

'76 Brubaker Box

'78 Benz CW3111

1979 Toyota FCX-80

1979 Dome Zero P2

1980 Citroën Karin

1980 Aston Martin Bulldog

And not to forget the 1978 concept by Curt Brubaker, in Penthouse, that some have pointed towards as the nearest conceptual precedessor to the CT:

Fantastic collection of designs there. The Bulldog is what I always felt was the inspiration for the CT design language until you posted the Brubaker design, I hadn't seen that before.

 

[cvalue13]

Fantastic collection of designs there. The Bulldog is what I always felt was the inspiration for the CT design language until you posted the Brubaker design, I hadn't seen that before.

if you’re able to read the copy, he even talks about adaptable air suspension etc

his earlier “Brubaker Box” was the predecessor to the mini-van… but based on the VW bug platform

generally, Brubaker was thinking about how there is some need between cars at the time, vs the then-limited utilitarian pickup trucks available

 

[SolarWizard]

I was expecting something with air suspension around the Nikola Badger with a giant model X door before the reveal

 

[firsttruck]

Curt Brubaker Tells Us If His 78 Concept Is Tesla Cybertruck’s Father
It was one of the stars of the October 1978 edition of Penthouse.
Dec 09, 2019
By: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo
https://insideevs.com/news/386902/curt-brubaker-78-concept-tesla-cybertrucks/

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A Deep Look At The Design Of Tesla’s Cybertruck
I love weird. I'm not so sure I love this, though.
Published November 22, 2019
By Jason Torchinsky
https://jalopnik.com/a-deep-look-at-the-design-of-tesla-s-cybertruck-1839993654

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[Cybergirl]

I believe that the shape of CT did not result so much from design aesthetics considerations as from economic necessity. Elon has always known that the transition to sustainable energy transport would require drastically reducing the cost of electric cars and trucks. The Cybertruck is the embodiment of his "the best part is no part, the best process is no process" philosophy. Cybertruck is beautiful for the elegance of its engineering economics, more than for its retro futuristic styling.

 

[Macgreiner]

Difference is that this will go into actual full scale production - the predominance of all the examples you listed were all prototypes or concepts that never made it past one or two examples

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

Love finally getting a glimpse at the CT inspiration board.

It partially confirms my long-held belief that the inspiration isn't merely "sci fi," it's specifically late 60's to late 70's auto design and prototype language.

When people talk about the CT looking "futuristic," I personally think they're looking the exactly wrong direction on the timeline. The CT looks positively late 1960's Italian prototype design language, for what people in the 1970's thought the future would look like.

I collect Italian modern furniture from this era, and while that doesn't include collecting vehicles, I'm roughly familiar with a lot of the forward-looking auto design from that era.

That era of car design is referred to as "the wedge era"

The vehicles shown are largely from this era (e.g., Delorean, bond's concept car-sub), the movies are trailing and reflecting this ear (bladerunner, robocop). And to the extent the moodboard shows modern boats, etc., those designs themselves are speaking the late 60s italian design language.


As with most things design of the time, the Italian's were at the forefront in the late 1960's, and the rest of the world caught up eventually throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980's.

'68 alfa romeo iguana:

1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo

'68 Bizzarrini Manta

'70 Ferrari Modulo

'67 Lamborghini Marzal

'70 Vauxhall SRV

'70 Lancia Stratos Zero

1971 Maserati Boomerang

'72 DeTomaso Pantera,

1974 Lamborghini Bravo

1974 Lamborghini Countach

1976 Alfa Romeo Navajo

1969 Opel CD

1969 Toyota EX 3

1969 Mercedes C111

1970 VW-Porsche Tapiro

1972 BMW Turbo

1973 Audi Karmann Asso Di Picche

'76 Brubaker Box

'78 Benz CW3111

1979 Toyota FCX-80

1979 Dome Zero P2

1980 Citroën Karin

1980 Aston Martin Bulldog

And not to forget the 1978 concept by Curt Brubaker, in Penthouse, that some have pointed towards as the nearest conceptual precedessor to the CT:

I want to save your post just for the collection of eye candy. And I agree, the CT is "retro-futuristic" design; what people in the past thought the future would look like. And I love it for that. It takes me back to my childhood and the endless possibilities of what could come. Elon's general vision of a hopeful future with electric cars, clean energy and spaceships is straight out of a kids daydream, and it's wonderful.

 

[cvalue13]

the predominance of all the examples you listed were all prototypes or concepts that never made it past one or two examples

sure

it’s an inspirarion board discussion

RoboCop also didn’t exist

 

[cvalue13]

I want to save your post just for the collection of eye candy. And I agree, the CT is "retro-futuristic" design; what people in the past thought the future would look like. And I love it for that. It takes me back to my childhood and the endless possibilities of what could come. Elon's general vision of a hopeful future with electric cars, clean energy and spaceships is straight out of a kids daydream, and it's wonderful.

The 70’s Italian design always been a main draw for me. It matches my home, my furnishings collection, my side-hustles (I business consult for modern product designers) - each of which reflect my underlying interest/draw towards it.

And like the CT, there are plenty of people who would find my home and/or certain (many?) of my furnishings “ugly” at worst, or simply not for them at best

 

[Prime8]

Fantastic collection of designs there. The Bulldog is what I always felt was the inspiration for the CT design language until you posted the Brubaker design, I hadn't seen that before.

I believe that the shape of CT did not result so much from design aesthetics considerations as from economic necessity. Elon has always known that the transition to sustainable energy transport would require drastically reducing the cost of electric cars and trucks. The Cybertruck is the embodiment of his "the best part is no part, the best process is no process" philosophy. Cybertruck is beautiful for the elegance of its engineering economics, more than for its retro futuristic styling.

Funny quote from someone that put falcon wings on an SUV!

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