Accessories for a Tesla truck that doesn't exist
- Joann Muller, author of Axios What's Next
CyberLandr pop-up camper designed for Tesla's Cybertruck. Image courtesy of Stream It
An entire cottage industry has sprung up around Tesla's proposed Cybertruck, with crowd-funded entrepreneurs designing accessories for an outlandish pickup truck that doesn't yet exist.
What's happening: Jalopnik provided a fun rundown the other day of all the budding engineers eager to capitalize on the Cybertruck — if and when it ever goes on sale.
There's the CyberLandr (above), a pop-up camper that claims $110 million in "pre-orders" and features a bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, and office when fully deployed.
- Its designer claims to have raised $540,000 in a crowd-funding campaign and said it is opening an R&D center near Tesla's planned factory in Texas.
Cybercat, designed by a Seattle engineer, is a set of add-on pontoons that turn your Cybertruck into a boat.
Form Camper, another would-be Cybertruck RV, has perhaps wisely designed its unit to work with other electric trucks as well.
Where it stands: Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in January that production of the Cybertruck, first shown in 2019, has been delayed again — this time until at least 2023. Skeptics wonder if it'll ever come to market.
What they're saying: Lance King, CEO and founder of CyberLandr, remains optimistic.
- "Tesla always takes the time it needs to ensure its new vehicle models are not just competitive, but class leading," he said in a statement after the latest delay.
- CyberLandr will use the extra time, he said, to continue testing and improve the design.
- For now, he has to simulate the concept using a flat-bed pickup truck.