Some Tesla engineers are not supporters of Elon Musk’s plans for the Cybertruck, Franz von Holzhausen, the automaker’s chief designer, told Walter Isaacson, whose biography of Musk goes on sale this week.
“Most people in the studio hated him.” says von Holzhausen about the futuristic design, the book says. “They said: ‘You can’t be serious.’ They wanted nothing to do with it. It was too strange.
Even some Tesla engineers They devoted themselves to secretly developing another version of it pick up electric after seeing a model of the futuristic car at the SpaceX showroom in Los Angeles in the summer of 2019, writes Isaacson, who has been following Musk closely for three years.
It’s unclear what happened to the alternate version of the vehicle. Musk, von Holzhausen and a Tesla spokesman declined to comment before publication.
“Von Holzhausen, who is as friendly as Musk is gruff, took the time to listen carefully to their concerns. ‘If you don’t have the support of the people around you, it’s difficult to get things done,'” Isaacson writes.
But Musk, according to Isaacson, was “less patient,” and I didn’t want to hear the concerns surrounding the Cybertruck.
“I don’t do focus groups,” the CEO said, according to Isaacson.
Instead of focusing on optimizing the design, Musk hinted to von Holzhausen that he wanted a driving version of the vehicle that he could show off at a Tesla event in November, to which von Holzhausen said, “forced the team to unite and work 24 hours a day“ Isaacson writes.
After the Cybertruck was unveiled at the November 2019 event, Musk took Grimes on a date to a fancy Nobu restaurant behind the wheel of the prototype, Isaacson says.
The biographer had previously explained to the CNBC that Musk developed the Cybertruck in response to this Pick-ups traditional, which seemed “boring” to him.
Musk first introduced the concept encouragement electricity about four years ago and the project has suffered Multiple delays in the last two years. Musk has assured that the automaker plans to begin deliveries of the Cybertruck this year, but the company has not yet announced the price of the vehicle.
The vehicle’s unusual design – including the dirt-prone stainless steel exterior and giant windshield wiper – was the subject of debate leading up to its launch. Those who have reserved the vehicle at a deposit of $100 have criticized the final version of the Cybertruck.
