Tesla Cybertrash with Ed Niedermeyer

Apr 16, 2024

Journalist Ed Niedermeyer joins to discuss the absurdity and popularity of the Tesla Cybertruck, analyzing its cultural impact and epic fails. The episode delves into the Elon Musk's innovative design, the vehicle's bulletproof feature, and the debate surrounding its functionality and build quality. Insights on likability versus trustworthiness and reflections on technology and media influence.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Cybertruck's Perceived Innovation

Elon Musk often claims his products are revolutionary and impossible to build.
This marketing tactic appeals to a desire for novelty, but the Cybertruck isn't revolutionary.

INSIGHT

Manufacturing the Myth of Impossibility

Ed Niedermeyer notes that Musk's claims of impossibility are often baseless.
Pre-launch secrecy prevents critiques, contributing to a manufactured myth of overcoming doubt.

ANECDOTE

Torsional Rigidity

Musk emphasizes the Cybertruck's torsional rigidity, comparing it to a McLaren P1.
Ed Niedermeyer points out that this focus on superlatives, even irrelevant ones, is typical of Musk's leadership.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Elon Musk’s gigantic, stainless steel, 1980s sci fi movie–inspired Cybertruck is starting to show up on city streets. Perhaps you’ve had the misfortune of seeing one rolling through your neighborhood. If not, you’ve almost certainly seen some of the vehicle’s many truly epic fails on the Internet. The Cybertruck might not work very well, but it still appears to be wildly popular. More than two million people have deposited $250 to get in line for the opportunity to buy one. Journalist Ed Niedermeyer is the author of “Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors.” In this episode, Ed joins us to analyze the Cybertruck as a cultural text and also just to revel in its overwhelming absurdity. What is the Cybertruck? And what does its apparent popularity say about who we are and where we are headed collectively? This is the Cybertruck launch event we’ve all been waiting for. This episode was sponsored by Sheyd Bags and Cleverhood.

*** Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive access to ad-free versions of all our episodes, exclusive bonus content and stickers. ***

LINKS:

Buy Edward Niedermeyer’s book, Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors from your friendly neighborhood bookshop.

You can follow Ed Niedermeyer on Bluesky and Threads.

The Cybertruck fails are being collected and shared on r/CyberStuck on Reddit. This week’s big one? Cybertruck accelerator pedals are falling off.

This, by journalist Victoria Scott is a good read: A Cultural Critique of the Tesla Cybertruck in Road & Track.

If the audio clips in this episode weren’t enough, you can watch Elon Musk’s bizarre performance at the New York Times DealBook Summit.

Buy t-shirts, stickers, hats and more in The War on Cars merch store.

Find us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps people find us!

This episode was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. It was edited by Yessenia Moreno. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear.

TheWarOnCars.org