Gave this story a "tentative upvote", because I feel the tone and some of the other topics the author mentioned have the potential to steer any discussion into a political mess, but I am genuinely interested in the real engineering concerns regarding the Cybertruck.

The author is basically arguing "large, completely flat metal panels that join in long, angular seams is a fatal design flaw that is unfixable." I.e. they say this design will lead to major problems ("oil-canning", seam gaps, and making repairs even more of a non-starter), and the possible fixes will either be gargantuanly expensive or have other problems (lots of added weight). Can someone versed in this area comment on this? At first glance he does appear to make great points, so I'd like to know if there is something I'm missing.

I think automakers are really going to have to come to terms with repairability costs or else people will start balking at insane insurance costs. There have been a bunch of articles on HN recently about how minor impacts on EVs are leading to crazy repair bills, like the 41k Rivian repair. If it costs 15k to fix a minor door ding on a Cybertruck, I can't fathom what insurers will charge for comprehensive or collision coverage.

He’s right about a couple things

1. Cybertruck is hella late. Lapped even by other makers

2. Cybertrucks don’t look great. The videos of them driving around just don’t quite live up to the hype. If the excitement for the car will be less after launch, why launch it ?

For the benefit of those like me who had never heard of oil-canning before: "Oil canning, a common inherent trait of flat sheet material, is a moderately visible deformation. This is can usually be seen as a ripple or buckle along with the broad flat areas of the material. Oil canning is an aesthetic complaint and does not have any effect on the integrity and strength of the material." [0]

[0] https://stampingsimulation.com/effects-of-oil-canning/

I think it was in a comment thread here that there was some debate about Tesla and novelty, and someone noted that Tesla didn't actually design the cars but licensed the body designs from Lotus. (All of this was in the context of some "does Elon Musk actually deserve credit" debate.)

Some Tesla/Musk fans replied that it probably didn't even help them get to market faster, and now that Tesla was FINALLY using their own design for the Cybertruck they could really create a vehicle that was fully met the electric vehicle and Tesla's potential.

I kind of bookmarked that discussion in my mind, the notion that the Cybertruck represents a new design process, a kind of unleashing of the process, and perhaps represents a fully Elon Musk version of Tesla.

The result has not disappointed! Without using conventional body designs as the basis of this new vehicle they've instead made bizarre and cringy choices that can't be justified aesthetically or functionally. I honestly thought the original Cybertruck design was just going to be a placeholder to attract attention before they made something reasonable... and without Musk maybe it would have been.

Everyone else didn't come upon the conventional designs by accident; there's a lot of hubris in making such a big change, especially since it's not a meaningful part of Tesla's unique value.

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My favorite part is his economic indicator is the volume of promotional emails.

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> MAGA-hats think that Donald Trump is some sort of financial genius who will "save America" by turning it into a totalitarian State ("FREE-DUM!" - ironic, isn't it?).

Ugh, are we still doing this?

This really is quite a biased article. That being said, I will agree with the core premise that the Cybertruck could've been made slightly differently that would've prevented oil canning.

The author certainly thinks highly of himself.