Tesla faced an onslaught of online ridicule after a video posted on December 12 showed a “release candidate” prototype Cybertruck that had to be towed out of a snowy hillslope. By a Ford, no less. The vehicle, laden with a solitary Christmas tree lacked the traction to free itself from a snowy mire off-road in the Stanislaus national forest, despite being advertised as running all-terrain tires that “have you covered in any environment.”
The Forest Service capitalized on the viral blunder by pithily proposing a partnership with Tesla to promote awareness and education of their motor vehicle use maps. “We feel confident that had the driver of the Cybertruck had a better understanding of the topographical feature indicated on our maps, practiced Leave No Trace principles, and generally been more prepared, this whole incident could have been not only avoided, but also provided much-needed education to many new off-road users,” said Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Jason Kuiken in a press release.
The use maps, which the forest publishes online, illustrate which roads and trails motorized vehicles are allowed to use. If the road is out of bounds, it’s for good reason: the unsuspecting off-roader will likely get stuck.
Cybertruck stuck off-road in the snow
byu/jankology inTeslaLounge
The video, which was shared widely on Reddit and Instagram, prompted vitriol about Tesla, its founder Elon Musk, and San Francisco drivers infamous for misbehaving on snow. Each year, the hordes of fintech and coding bros descend upon the Sierra Nevada and wreak havoc upon small mountain towns.
It seems they don’t teach comp-sci students in systems architecture classes that 80 percent of any vehicle’s traction capability comes from its tires. But maybe the driver’s 18.5-inch TV in the middle of the dashboard just distracted them enough to plunge them into the ravine.
The vehicle was a prototype, so it may not have been equipped with the Cybertruck’s production tires, but taking it off-road in the snow was a particularly boneheaded move if the product tester knew the truck was underequipped. Tesla, who blew up its PR department back in 2020, has not commented on the incident. For their part, the National Forest spokespeople told SFGate they were dead serious.
A better driver would have aired down the tires, which would lengthen the contact point and make the tires more flexible, or brought a traction device like Maxtrax. This driver was probably more focused on adding meme coins to his crypto portfolio than planning ahead and preparing for an excursion into the forest.
It’s heartening to see someone make use of the Stanislaus National Forest’s free Christmas tree permit system, even if the tree itself will probably be decorated with benign ornaments that won’t offend whoever AirBnBs their Tahoe cabin that they visit once a year.
We hope the embattled tech company takes the national forest up on its offer. They could use the PR, and perhaps they’ll add grippier tires to the next fleet of Cybertrucks. For an upcharge.
Tesla’s marketing materials say the truck was built to perform on “any planet.” Maybe it would’ve gotten better traction under Jupiter’s gravity.
The post Tesla’s Stuck Cybertruck Was a Christmas Gift to the Internet appeared first on Outside Online.
Cars & Trucks, Cars, opinion, Trucks
